August, 2003 Prayer Letters

August 1 2003

Dear Praying Friends,

 Greetings from Ufa!  We are having our first summer cool front, reminding us that winter is just around the corner here in Bashkortostan.  We wanted to update you on things for which you have prayed and to ask for your continued intercession:

 1. A team of believers for whom you prayed recently has returned from a summer evangelism project.  12 individuals participated in the distribution of a bible-study correspondence course tract, as well as sharing the gospel through the use of the Evangecube (www.evangecube.org) and showing evangelistic films in local villages.  Praise the Lord with us that several folks repented and have become believers in Jesus!  Others have already responded to the tract and are wanting to study the Bible. KEEP PRAYING FOR THESE NEW BELIEVERS, AS EXISTING BELIEVERS WILL BE MAKING PERIODIC TRIPS to meet with them and begin the discipleship process.

 2. A team of Latvian Baptists came to Bashkortostan recently and led a Vacation Bible School-type event in one of the cities here.  We were privileged to be able to provide various forms of assistance and encouragement in this project. The team was well-prepared and did a great job of communicating the love of Jesus with both young and old.  Over 100 people gathered to watch the Jesus film one evening.  Many of those seekers have been visiting the small Baptist church in that city.  PRAY THAT THEY WILL CONTINUE TO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR THE TRUTH AND KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND HIS SON JESUS CHRIST! Pray for the Latvians as they anticipate and plan to bring two ministry teams next summer! 

3. Pray for our team members Larry and Josie Moon as they go out of country soon in order to receive new visas. PRAY THAT WE WILL GET THE VISAS REGISTERED IN A TIMELY MANNER!

 4. Pray for Chris as he prepares a mini-seminar on how to use the Evangecube to being a witnessing conversation with people.  The seminar is scheduled to occur in early September.  PRAY FOR US TO RECOGNIZE PERSONAL OPPORTUNITIES TO SHARE THE GOOD NEWS USING THE EVANGECUBE AND OTHER METHODS!

 5. Pray for the continued development of the video advocacy project on which we are working.  We are so thankful for Carl & Arline Ryan of Missouri for leading out on this project.  They came at their own expense to Russia in June & spent two weeks with us shooting raw footage and hundreds of still photos.  We are busily at work with them to develop media tools which will help tell the story (both in USA and Russia) of what God is doing here in Bashkortostan and what needs to be done. ASK THE LORD FOR HIS BLESSING ON THIS PROJECT, THAT IT WOULD BE USED OF HIM TO DRAW MORE BELIEVERS INTO SERIOUS INTERCESSION FOR THE WORK, FOR MORE SACRIFICIAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR THE WORK HERE, AND FOR MORE PERSONAL INVOLVEMENT FROM BELIEVERS IN BOTH SHORT- AND LONG-TERM SETTINGS WITH OUR TEAM.

 6. On a more personal note, please pray for us and the believers here in Ufa.  We suffered a great tragedy on Thursday the 21st, as a fellow believer, known to many of us, died in a car wreck not far from Ufa.  Valentina was the wife of our landlord Pavel, and we are grieving her death.  Two of her children are in the USA as of this update, and were scheduled to return next week.  However, they are attempting even now to change airline tickets in order to return as soon as possible.  Valentina's young daughter, Evangelia, was critically injured and will likely be in the hospital for some time.  Pray for the spiritual leaders of our churches in Ufa, who have a difficult task of ministering not only to Pavel and his children, but also to the entire Baptist community of Ufa in light of this occurrence. 

We thank you for your prayer support.  We are asking God to give us at least two teams of believers in the next year, who will come to Ufa and help us prayer walk the city, share the gospel, and distribute Bibles.

Thank you for your financial support through the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for Int'l Missions.  We believe that God is still calling individuals and families to live out their lives as cross-cultural, incarnational missionaries.  God SENT His Son to this world rather than just being satisfied to write a check.  He has become personally involved in our lives as humans.  And He still calls people and SENDS them to live as apostolic, incarnational believers among those who have not yet had the gospel presented to them. The apostle Paul's methodology shows us that GOING and LIVING among the lost is the most effective way over the long-term to see His kingdom grow.

Perhaps He is calling you out? Go to www.imb.org to find out more of how you can become PERSONALLY involved in God's great mission plan for the ages.  Or, contact us at chrisandeileen@iname.com  for more information on how you can become more PERSONALLY involved with our team on both short- and long-term bases.  We invite you to also periodically check out our ministry website for news of what God is doing here in Ufa and around Bashkortostan.

(www.hope4ufa.com)

 With much love,

 Chris, Eileen, Nathan, Timothy, Heather, Stephen and Seth Carr

Your IMB workers in Ufa, Russia