God's New Plan for Us - Explained

Recently I shared with you the tug Dawn and I have on our hearts for the children and people of Russia. This has been something on-going since our first trip in December 2007 and it has just grown and gotten stronger. So, it is not something we are just jumping into. In fact, three years ago I had a business contact that became a dear friend. Butch kidded with me that he wouldn't be surprised if our next step was to be missionaries to Russia. I laughed it off because even then I did not think it would go this far. This gentleman retired in 2009 due to health reasons and I need to call him and let him know he was right.

Moving to Russia is not easy. Immigration laws make a permanent stay darn near impossible. For that reason, Dawn and I started looking at other opportunities. We spoke with our friend Jeff Ballard who works with orphans in southeastern Siberia. Jeff shared his heart for the orphans and people of Siberia - and then he made us an offer. His offer was to assist him and his family with the homes they had established for orphans. I say "homes' - currently there is only one home, but there are plans for a second home. I had planned to visit the current home in 2008 when we were in Russia for court but due to an illness, I was unable to do so. However, since that trip, we have raised money at church each Christmas for those children and for children in the orphanages they visit.

Dawn and I prayed over the matter and I later sent Jeff a note accepting his offer. We applied to Jeff's mission agency and had an interview with them the last week in April. They called us back in the day following the interview and informed us the board had accepted us. One of the happiest days of my life.

Now for the Q&A.

You have a full time job, are you quitting?
No. Since I can not move to Russia, I will continue my job as long as it is available. This will provide income and insurance.

You say you're missionaries now, but you are not moving and you are working a full time job. What are you going to do?
We will visit churches here in the states to raise money for the homes. For now, we will travel to Russia twice per year - once in the spring and once in the fall. Due to expenses (travel is very expensive), Dawn and I plan on rotating on the trips. I'll make one trip and she will make the other. In Russia, we will spend time with the home(s) and working with the locals in their ministry efforts.

Are you going on deputation (raise money for personal support)?
No, not at this time. As long as I have a full time job, I will not visit churches to raise money for personal support. My desire is to devote 100% of my visits to raising support for the homes in Russia. We will absorb the expenses of the work for as long as we can.

This is long, so I will stop here. I just wanted everyone to know what our plans are. We are excited and probably even a little scared. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.