Archive for ‘St. Petersburg, Russia’

God’s Faithfulness

24 Commentsby   |  04.25.11  |  St. Petersburg, Russia

For my brothers and sisters in WWW who are setting out on their journey this summer and this next year, I want to share a story of God’s faithfulness.

You don’t know me because I haven’t been in class with you. You haven’t seen me around campus. I am finishing out my undergraduate time at a state school in Ohio.

Four years ago, I was an exchange student to Russia. I spent ten months in a Siberian city. While there, I gained a heart for missions and I wanted to do what I could to help the congregations in Russia grow. I felt like Russia was a forgotten mission field. While I was in Russia, I did some research on mission work being done, but didn’t find a lot.

Upon my return to the states, I enrolled in a local university. I didn’t attend a Christian school because I wanted to continue my study of the Russian language and none of them had advanced Russian language classes. I had worked so hard to get to the level I was at, I didn’t want to lose it.  A problem with attending a state school if you’re interested in missions though is that there isn’t a lot offered.  I considered dropping out and doing AIM through Sunset International Bible School, but there was no guarantee that I would be able to serve in Russia and that was where I felt called.  So I tried to find other means.

There was a missionary at a local congregation here who worked in Russia. I excitedly went to visit so I could speak with him. I mentioned my desire to work in Russia and the first words out of his mouth were “That’s not possible. I work alone.” I cried all the way back to campus. God wasn’t done though, he was just waiting for his time.

It’s been about a year ago now, that several things in my life happened all at once. A climax of sorts. I was frustrated and down, and wanted to serve Russia. One night I was trolling through the web and happened to stumble upon the WWW site. For three years, I had been looking for a program like this and it randomly appeared one day. I saw that teams had gone to Russia in the past and the next day I decided to call about it.

The number I called sent me to the wrong department, or so the woman who answered the phone told me. I explained that I was trying to find out about the WWW program and she told me that Gary was not available, but if I left my number she would pass it on. Used to the bureaucracy of my state school, I left my number and expected to never hear anything back. Two days later, Gary Green called me. I have no idea who the woman who answered the phone was, but I praise God for her and for Gary who was so enthusiastic when I spoke to him. He was willing to work with me from afar, to get me involved in any way he could and to put me in touch with the congregation in St. Petersburg with whom I will be spending the next year.

I guess my point in writing all this, is to encourage you to keep the faith and remember that God has a plan for you. Looking back, I can see how God has been preparing me to go and work for him this next year. It can be difficult when we can’t see the road ahead. But if we wait on God’s timing, we will be richly rewarded!

I ask that you please keep me in your prayers as I embark on this journey. I will be leaving in August to begin it. I’m nervous because not being in class every week, I have not built the support and friendships that you have in your teams. I will be praying for you as well. Praying that you are successful in your work and that God touches not only the lives of the people you encounter, but your own lives as well. May he increase your love and cause you to grow in him.

I don’t know how much I will be posting in this blog since I have one of my own to chronicle my journey. It is learnspeak.blogspot.com if you would like to follow it.

С Богом
Abigail