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<\/a>ary- Hello friends and family!\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Honestly I think saying goodbye is going to be a bit tough.\u00a0 I truly feel that I could stay in this place for another year and am a little worried about the re \u2013entry process.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Thank you for all of your prayers.<\/p>\nRachel- Hello loves! As our trip is winding down, I\u2019ve been trying to slowly sort through all that I\u2019ve 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\u2019s huge plan here in Novgorod. Thank you all for your love and support. Hi Mom!<\/p>\n
Mary Ann- Hello from Novgorod! Tomorrow, we\u2019ll 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\u2019ve 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!\u00a0 Tomorrow is our last day of our two-week VBS here in Novgorod.\u00a0 We\u2019ve spent so much time with these children and teens, and tomorrow will be very difficult for everyone.\u00a0 While this is a sad time, I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a part of God\u2019s plan here.\u00a0 I\u2019ve learned so much from these incredible youth and know that God will continue to bless the TB Center.\u00a0 Thank you so much for your prayers!\u00a0 Love you.<\/p>\n Emily- Well fam and friends, I\u2019m thinking about refusing to get on the airplane. \u00a0Just kidding (kind of. . . ) Seriously though, I am in love with Novgorod. I am in love with these kids. We\u2019ve all grown so close to them! This week FLEW by, and now tomorrow is our last day with them. It\u2019s going to be difficult. Really difficult. Yes, God is still going to very much be present in Novgorod after we leave, but it\u2019s still a very, very hard goodbye. Please be praying. Thank you for all of your continued support!<\/p>\n Bethany- Hello Family and Friends! We have just spent the last three hours preparing for our last day at the Children\u2019s Center making gift bags and now I\u2019m beyond exhausted. But losing sleep to bring the kids joy is worth it every time. I don\u2019t 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\u2019s 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!<\/p>\n Brittany-\u00a0 To my dear family and friends.\u00a0 My time here has been a huge blessing and I have felt God\u2019s touch in my life in larger doses than I ever have previously. \u00a0I look back at my experiences in Russia and see how God had been preparing me for this trip over many years.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I know that these memories are precious to me and they will remain in my heart for years to come.\u00a0 \u00a0I\u2019m 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\u2019m excited to see where He\u2019ll take me next!\u00a0 As for the youth, I release them to God knowing that He\u2019ll take care of them in ways I never could.\u00a0 Thanks for your continued prayers and comments.\u00a0 I love you all dearly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here\u2019s an update from each team member! \ud83d\ude42 Hilary- Hello friends and family!\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Honestly I think saying goodbye is going to be a bit tough.\u00a0 I truly feel that I could stay in this place for another year and am a little worried about the re \u2013entry process.\u00a0 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 \u2026 Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Natalie or maybe Natasha? So as I adventure to discover how infectious disease challenges people, I\u2019ve fallen in love with the children I\u2019ve played with the last two weeks at the TB center. Despite my intrinsic love of borscht and the Russian language, I\u2019ve fallen deeper in love with the culture through the eyes of the children. I\u2019m definitely going home understanding how disease can affect the most innocent. I\u2019m 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\u2019s exciting. I\u2019m so thankful to be here. I\u2019m so thankful for the children, their joy. If the Russian government wouldn\u2019t kick me out August 31st<\/sup>, I wouldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n