CBU: St Petersburg – being Bold for Jesus!

An update from the team in Saint Petersburg: It is unbelievable to think we only have  a few days of ministry left in St. Petersburg! This has been such a full week, but I think we are all feeling the weight of leaving the kids in the transit center. There have been many spiritual battles, breakthroughs, and relationships formed. There is so much to share, it is difficult to know where to begin. When you begin to hear the personal tragedies in each of the teen’s lives, our hearts just break for them! From toddlers through teens who have been … Continue reading

Interns: In Novgorod!

We are now in Novgorod! But the last days in St. Petersburg were not to be forgotten . Some of our new amazing friends from camp met up with us in the city to show us what their city was about. The bus driver from camp took us on an amazing night tour of the city. We also were invited to the cook from camps house for an amazing dinner with her and her daughter. It was such a great time and we felt so blessed that God had placed these wonderful people in our lives. We also worked at … Continue reading

CBU: Celebrating birthdays!

Having decided to take our Sabbath on Saturday, we began our day by catching up on some much needed rest.  After a late breakfast, we headed to a local souvenir market to purchase gifts for our loved ones back home (and a few for ourselves, as well).  Our team really enjoyed bargaining with the local vendors and immersing ourselves in the culture.  We ate dinner at our favorite Russian café and enjoyed a relaxing evening of team bonding over popcorn. Sunday marked the beginning of our last week of camp, this time consisting of seven consecutive days at the Transit Center (prayers are … Continue reading

CBU: Beautiful children!

On Thursday we said good-bye to little Visilli. He has been declared an orphan and left the Transit Center for an orphanage. We were able to give him a gift before he departed and to share with him that he is never alone, that God is with Him and will protect him. Our gift and card brought him, as he so beautifully shared, “tears of joy”. Having this experience blessed Visilli and our team immensely in that while our hearts were breaking, God in his loving-tenderness reminded us that he is fully in control of all of our lives; that … Continue reading

CBU: Starting the first day of camp

We safely arrived in Russia and have enjoyed immersing ourselves in the culture. On our flight here, we dealt with a few health problems such as upset stomachs, but everyone is healthy now. Upon arriving to St. Petersburg, we discovered that Lauren’s luggage, as well as one of our team bags, did not make the connecting flight. However, the next day we were pleasantly surprised to find it by our door. We started our team training and sightseeing and have been amazed at what we’ve learned so far. We’ve enjoyed training with the Vanguard team also serving in Russia at … Continue reading