SPU: Tomorrow is our last day…

Here’s an update from each team member! 🙂

Hilary- Hello friends and family!  Tomorrow we are finishing our VBS and are saying goodbye to the kids and teens we have gotten to know in the last few weeks.  Honestly I think saying goodbye is going to be a bit tough.  I truly feel that I could stay in this place for another year and am a little worried about the re –entry process.  Yet, if this trip has taught me anything it is that the Lord works in mysterious and powerful ways so I must trust Him as we prepare to leave Russia.  Thank you for all of your prayers.

Rachel- Hello loves! As our trip is winding down, I’ve been trying to slowly sort through all that I’ve learned since being here. I think the biggest thing I will take away from these incredible children and this awesome culture is the importance of family and support. Saying our goodbyes at the TB center tomorrow is going to be unfathomably hard, but I know that the work we are doing is only a small part of God’s huge plan here in Novgorod. Thank you all for your love and support. Hi Mom!

Mary Ann- Hello from Novgorod! Tomorrow, we’ll be finishing our two week VBS with a trip to the circus with the kids! My time here has been incredibly challenging, as well as incredibly rewarding. I’ve felt such a close bond with a few of the children and am NOT looking forward to having to say goodbye. However, I fully trust that God is working in the lives of these kids and I have learned so many things through this experience. Thank you all so much for your support and prayers!!

Laura-Hello family and friends!  Tomorrow is our last day of our two-week VBS here in Novgorod.  We’ve spent so much time with these children and teens, and tomorrow will be very difficult for everyone.  While this is a sad time, I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of God’s plan here.  I’ve learned so much from these incredible youth and know that God will continue to bless the TB Center.  Thank you so much for your prayers!  Love you.

Emily- Well fam and friends, I’m thinking about refusing to get on the airplane.  Just kidding (kind of. . . ) Seriously though, I am in love with Novgorod. I am in love with these kids. We’ve all grown so close to them! This week FLEW by, and now tomorrow is our last day with them. It’s going to be difficult. Really difficult. Yes, God is still going to very much be present in Novgorod after we leave, but it’s still a very, very hard goodbye. Please be praying. Thank you for all of your continued support!

Bethany- Hello Family and Friends! We have just spent the last three hours preparing for our last day at the Children’s Center making gift bags and now I’m beyond exhausted. But losing sleep to bring the kids joy is worth it every time. I don’t know how to say good bye to the kids that I have come to love so dearly. My hope is that we will be following the Spirit’s leading and leave the kids with the love of Christ. I know my experience in Russia is and will continue to be rewarding for me. I feel blessed to be here! Thanks for the support and prayers; I can feel them surrounding me. I love you all! MWAH!

Natalie or maybe Natasha? So as I adventure to discover how infectious disease challenges people, I’ve fallen in love with the children I’ve played with the last two weeks at the TB center. Despite my intrinsic love of borscht and the Russian language, I’ve fallen deeper in love with the culture through the eyes of the children. I’m definitely going home understanding how disease can affect the most innocent. I’m definitely going home with a stronger urge to stand against the inequalities of disease, poverty, and social injustice. Christ is using my strengths, weaknesses and desires to lead me closer and closer to a future in His name. It’s exciting. I’m so thankful to be here. I’m so thankful for the children, their joy. If the Russian government wouldn’t kick me out August 31^st, I wouldn’t leave. Thank you to all who have supported me. My next task at hand: Learn Russian so I can come back and continue to love.

Brittany-  To my dear family and friends.  My time here has been a huge blessing and I have felt God’s touch in my life in larger doses than I ever have previously.  I look back at my experiences in Russia and see how God had been preparing me for this trip over many years.  Every time I think of one of the youth, here at the TB center or back at the HIV orphanage, I smile because I can hear their laughter rolling in my memory and the heart-to-heart talks we were able to have with the older teens.  I know that these memories are precious to me and they will remain in my heart for years to come.   I’m not sure quite what to think about tomorrow being the last day at the TB center, but I know that God has more planned for my life than I could ever imagine and I’m excited to see where He’ll take me next!  As for the youth, I release them to God knowing that He’ll take care of them in ways I never could.  Thanks for your continued prayers and comments.  I love you all dearly.