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Prayer Updates


July 2008 - RECOVERING, WORKING, & WAITING

Update on Lisa

       Lisa is home and recovering well from her surgery. Her doctor is confident that they have corrected the problem now and Lisa is very happy with the results so far. She feels better than she has in a long time. Thank you all for your prayers and visits while she was in the hospital. Please keep her in your prayers as she continues to heal.



Update on Russian Church

       After my departure from St. Petersburg, my partners there decided it was time to turn a large portion of the church leadership over to the Russian families in the congregation. Often mission churches become very dependent upon missionaries to lead them indefinitely. It is vital for them to make the work of the church personal and take ownership of the ministry. This is a bold move and will truly challenge our congregation to live out their faith. Please pray that God would work in and through the lives of the Russian believers there in St. Petersburg.


Serving Where We Are

       As always, the summer provides many opportunities for us to serve in our home church. We have been privileged to lead the Missions class at Vacation Bible School for several years now and it is always exciting to think of the future missionaries that may be sitting in front of us. Our church is involved in various mission trips and camps which gives me the opportunity to fill in for our pastor while he is away. Preaching and teaching in English is SO great. I have really been enjoying helping with visitation and it has been an added blessing to get to know people better. Just getting to serve alongside my pastor is an honor. I am fortunate to have a wonderful pastor who has taught me a great deal about ministry. Please pray that we would always be busy about God’s work.



Call Waiting

       Many of you have inquired about where we will end up serving. God has not opened a door yet, but we are confident that He has a plan and a place for us to serve. It is our prayer that we will be able to remain close to home so that we can be near our families. We think this will also make the transition easier for our children. However, we are open to whatever God leads us to do. We know that His plans are always better than our own.

      I have often preached that biblical "hope" is not just wishful thinking, but rather a confident expectation. And we are confident in our God and expect great things from Him. I cannot wait to see what He has in store.


What About Finacial Support?

       Several have asked us if we still need financial support, and we do. Transitioning home from the mission field is tough for missionaries. If you feel God leading you to stop supporting us then we understand. If you feel led to help us through this season of change, then we thank you and ask that you continue sending support to MCII as usual. God willing, we will be ministering at a church soon and will no longer have this need.

      Thank you for your faithful partnership!

How You Can Pray:
  • For Lisa’s complete recovery and continued health.
  • For our church in Russia to take leadership of the local ministry there.
  • For God to continue using us in His work.
  • For our family as we wait on God to open a door for our future service.
  • For our financial support to continue through this time of transition.
Serving Him,
Shaye, Lisa, and Kids



January 2008 - SPECIAL HOLIDAY REPORT

Indians for Thanksgiving

       What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than to invite Indians to join you. Okay, our guests were actually from India, but details aren’t important. I have discovered that the traditional Turkey dinner is a treat even for those from very different cultures. We were all stuffed along with the turkey and had a great time of fellowship. We also got together with some other missionary families to celebrate and have some "American" time.


Indian Student Choir

Christmas for Indians

       Every Christmas we have an evangelistic outreach event on the campus of the Indian Medical Institute where we hold weekly Bible studies. This year around 80 non-Christian students turned out to hear the Christmas story from the Bible. Our Christian Student Movement sang Carols, read the Bible story from Scripture and invited other students to come to our Bible study in the dorms. I was very excited for the opportunity to preach about Jesus to such a large group of Hindu and Muslim college students. Amazingly, many of them thanked us and expressed how much they enjoyed the event. Please pray that they will visit our meeting and respond to the gospel.


Christmas Services


Don’t Forget the Russians

       We also held a special Christmas service at Church complete with Christmas songs, a children’s play, and a fellowship. Our members invited friends and family and our meeting hall was packed (several of us ended up standing for the entire service). As always, we thank God for every open door to share His Word with those who don’t know it. Our visitors not only heard the gospel but most of them stayed to fellowship long after the services were over. Please pray that God’s Word would sink deep into their hearts to draw and convict them.

The GREAT FLOOD!

       I don’t want you to get the impression that everything went off without a hitch. During the week leading up to our Christmas service the sewer clogged and overflowed into our church THREE TIMES! With much to be done in preparation for our Russian and Indian services, as well as a fellowship for our language students, we ended up cleaning sewage out of the office for two days. I will not force you to look at the photos, but trust me when I say, it was not a pretty sight.

Special Prayer Needs

       In December our rent was increased from $1000 to $1400 a month. It was a shock to us, but the reality is that this is a great deal in the Russian market. Please pray that our support would cover this increased expense each month.

      I recently discovered that my gear box and radiator on my van need to be replaced. Parts for my van are expensive and must be ordered from Korea so this will be a very expensive hassle. Pray that we can resolve it quickly and inexpensively.

      Russia announced new visa laws that may hinder missionaries like us from staying in the country for more than three months. It is still unclear if these laws will affect western missionaries, but please pray that God would keep the door open to minister here.

How You Can Pray:
  • That the unbelievers who attended our Christmas services would respond to the Gospel.
  • That our support would be sufficient to cover our rent increase.
  • For our van repairs to be completed quickly and inexpensively.
  • For God to keep the door open for missionaries to minister in Russia.

Thank you all for your support!
Your Partners,
Shaye, Lisa, and Kids



October 2007

Chase after gum removal

The Journey

       We made it to St. Petersburg!!! Hooray! But the long journey back had a few "bumps" along the way. Bump 1: On the way to the airport, Chase got a huge wad of gum stuck in her hair. We were rescued by some kind hair dressers with a jar of peanut butter. Bump 2: We only had one hour to change planes in Washington, DC and our flight arrived late. Just like in the movies, we were sprinting through the airport with bags draped over our shoulders, dodging all the "walkers", trying to get to our gate on time. We JUST made it onboard before they closed the gate. Bump 3: None of us could sleep on the planes so by the time we reached St. Petersburg we were all completely wiped out. As we began our final descent, I sat in a half-conscious state with Zane and Chase by my side. Zane suddenly began vomiting all over himself. So instead of being buckled in with our seats and tray tables in the upright position, Zane and I were in a tiny bathroom, bouncing off the walls, trying to change his clothes without making a bigger mess. Bump 4: And what should we find when we finally get to baggage claim? You guessed it… No bags. Not exactly the best trip we’ve ever had. But we are so glad to finally be here, and we thank God every day for bringing us safely back.


Free Bags!

Glorious Baggage Claim

       Wondering what happened to our bags? I’m glad you asked. I found out the next day that our tardy bags had arrived, but that we had exceeded our permissible weight (for baggage, that is) and our bags were held up in customs. I’ve dealt with customs before and it’s serious business. So we arrived at the airport wondering if we would have to pay a hefty fine, and just praying that God would do something amazing for us to tell others about. After being shown our bags we were asked to bring them to an x-ray machine. They scanned them, had us fill out a customs form, and the customs agents began discussing the problem. We just stood there waiting to see what God would do. We had already determined that if God wanted us to have them He would work it out. Without ever asking us a single question, the agent finally turned and said "You can take your bags now" and she walked off. We just stood there stunned. Not only had God worked it out, but we never even said a word to help. Yes, He is the God over Russian Customs, too!


English Lessons


Indian Bible Study

Back To Work

       Jetlag is for sissies. Okay, I’m a sissy. But that didn’t stop me from diving back in to ministry. Our first week back, my partner Kevin and I took Craton and another teenage boy out for some street evangelism. I was not prepared for the bitter cold I experienced. I was shivering and my fingers went numb, but we all had a great time on the street and some hot tea at McDonald’s afterwards. The next night I was teaching English at our office where we have evangelistic language lessons. We had church on Sunday morning and that evening Kevin and I visited the Indian Medical students to discuss the beginning of another year of Bible Study. For most of the week we have drifted in and out of sleep, but we are all almost acclimated and it is great to be back in the field.

Keep The Prayers Comin’

       Thank you for keeping this ministry and our family before God on a regular basis. Your prayers give us strength.

Praise Report - God provided all the funds to cover our end-of-year expenses

How You Can Pray:
  • That our monthly support would be sufficient to cover those expenses this year.
  • For our family as we get settled back in to life, school, and ministry.
  • For our street evangelism, language classes, and Indian Bible study.
Your Partners,
Shaye, Lisa, and Kids



September 2007 - Dear Prayer Partners

       In my last prayer letter I mentioned that we still needed to raise $7500 before we depart. Since my last letter I have had four donations for $1000 each and one for $100! Some of these were from sources that I never expected and we praise God for His provision. He always amazes us by providing in ways we never thought would happen. Often people ask us how we can live never knowing where our support is going to come from, but actually we know exactly where it comes from... God. And we always know that we will have what we need.


      We depart on October 5th. We have our visas, our tickets, and are packing our 21 suitcases in preparation to move our troop back to St. Petersburg. We are praying that God will provide the remaining $3400 needed to cover our annual expenses. If you have been considering a donation to this ministry, now is the perfect time. Please pray with us that this need will be met before our departure next week.


Your partners,
Shaye, Lisa, and Kids



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