Hi Everyone!
This has been an incredible couple of weeks - we finished the Dedovsk outreach, which, Praise the Lord, went better than any of the previous outreaches to this area. The last night of concerts we had some of the kids come back to the dorm and were able to share with them. Also, one young man, Ivan, who was handed a flier in the city of Istra came out and shared that he is a Christian who Jesus has saved from drug addiction and he's looking for a church to attend! Please pray for him as he continues to seek the Lord, and pray for the Dedovsk church that it will take root and grow through the faithful efforts of Pastor Page and his wife Promise.
The day after the Dedovsk team left the Tambov team arrived! This team is from my home church in the States, so it was such a blessing to see my beloved church family! They arrived on Sunday, and Monday we travelled to the city of Tver. We did a two-day VBS for the kids at the country orphanage, and it was so great to see their smiles, and continue to build the relationships with both the kids and the staff! The team shared two puppet shows - one was the Parable of the lost sheep, and the second one was Noah's ark - where the kids got to participate with paper bag animal puppets they'd made at craft time! It was such a joyful time - and I know that Jesus' love was felt by everyone present! I got to know a family of four kids who've been given over to the government because their parents can't afford to feed or house them. Their names are Sasha, Ivan, Nika and Dasha. They were so sweet! I got to speak with Dasha, who told me that she loves Jesus and knows that God loves her. Please pray for these kids, as we seek to show them Jesus - the one who will never leave them or forsake them! We also met two brothers, Vasya and Styopa. I had met Styopa on a previous occasion, but didn't know his story. These boys were found living in terrible conditions, and are severely delayed in their development. They are 3 and 4 years old, but seem to be like 2 year olds. Please pray for them to grow according to the great plan that our Father has for their lives! It's always hard to leave these kids, but it's such a blessing that the Lord has opened the door so that we can continue to minister to them and share our Father's love with them!
The next day we took the overnight train to Tambov, where the first day was spent handing out fliers inviting people to the concerts. We came two weeks earlier this year than we did last year, and there were many people out and about. We walked down the river walk and met with some of the believers from the Calvary Chapel there, who helped us hand out fliers to people passing by. Thursday was the first night of concerts and so many people came out! As many people as would normally come out to the second or third night of concerts! Pastor Steven from PA shared the gospel with the crowd, and four bands performed - three from the States, and the praise team from the church there also performed songs in Russian. The second and third nights were also well attended, and, of course, there was a lot of fellowship after the concerts! The third night was the most special though. Shannon, the lead singer for the band "Sorrow Underfoot" asked the audience if they knew why they came all the way from America every year to their city, and shared that it was because God loves them - that's simply what she said, and you could hear a pin drop in the auditorium! The audience was hanging on her every word, and she proceeded to point out people in the audience "Jesus loves you, and you, and you". It was such a Holy Spirit moment. At the end of the night she got to pray with Katia (who I had asked prayer for in my mini update). The next day we spent the afternoon in the park, where we invited all the kids from the concert to come out and meet us. It was a beautiful day, and we sat down by the river, played soccer and "cat and mouse" people brought their guitars and some sang worship. The Pennsylvania team bought ice cream for everyone (about 50 people!) and we all sat under the willow tree to hear Ron Taylor, the father of the kids in "Sorrow Underfoot" share about creation, and the Gospel. I got to share with two girls named Alina and Lena, and invite them to come to the English classes that the Currans (the American missionaries) offer every Monday night.
After dinner, and before the English class, I walked to the store with my friend Ny, from the PA team, and we passed two girls in the park who were taking photos. I said "Priviet" ("Hi" in Russian) to one of them, and then proceeded to talk with them, ask them whether or not they spoke English, and invite them to the English classes that night. They said they didn't speak English, and that they'd come! This is one thing that is so wonderful about the city of Tambov - the people are very friendly, and open to come out and see what's going on. At the English class I got to sit with them, and they got to practice the English that they'd learned in school - we talked about our lives and our faith, and learned that Ella is planning to travel to the States next year and really wants to work on her English before she goes. We were able to introduce her to Rebecca, Pastor Ray's wife, and she's planning to come out every week. Vera, the other girl, shared that she has faith in Christ, and attends a Catholic church in Tambov. Please pray for these girls to grow in the grace and the love and the knowledge of our Lord, as we come alongside other believers and encourage them to seek the Lord and his strength!
The last day in Tambov we had another afternoon in the park, but this time it started to downpour! Elle and Vera came out, and so did Alina and Lena, and we all ended up down at a cafe on the water. There we sat out of the rain, and were able to fellowship with the kids and each other. The guys had been spending time with the skater kids, Max and Vadim, and the guys from the church, Dominic and Dima. And I met Katia, and had a great conversation with her. She shared that her parents are divorced, and she lives with her mom in Tambov. She's 18 years old, and we talked about our beliefs and how she was greatly affected by the skit that the PA team had performed during the concerts. She had cried and cried, even though the mask that she hides behind wasn't represented in the "King of Hearts" skit, she felt the depth of the presentation of people hiding behind masks of bravado when truly they're brokenhearted inside. Please pray for her as she prayed with Shannon and Jeremiah that night that she will be surrounded by believers who will continue to build her up in her faith, and in her relationship with Jesus.
That night we walked back to the train station after dinner, to take the overnight train back to Moscow. As we walked we were joined by a bunch of the people from Tambov who accompanied us to the station. I walked the whole way with a guy named Vlad, who has come out in previous years. Please pray for him - he's at a crossroads in his life, and although he has attended church in the past he hasn't been going recently - he said that he has lost interest. Please pray that he will grow in his relationship with God, and that he'll be built up in his faith. He found out that we were coming when he ran into an old friend on the bus earlier that week! Praise the Lord for the way that he is drawing people to himself, loving us unconditionally.
Today, here at the dorm, we're preparing today for the next team to come in, we have three outreaches scheduled with this group: Tver Orphanage, Kaluga Concerts, and Dedovsk church plant support. Please pray for this group as they're travelling today and arriving tomorrow. Please pray for prepared hearts and open doors. Thanks for your prayers! It's such a blessing to know that you are praying and we are seeing the results of our Lord's faithfulness to hear and answer prayer.
Another thing to pray for is the opportunity for Nadia (on staff here at the Bible College) and myself to visit Olga down in Volgograd. She has been in the hospital there undergoing chemotherapy. I heard from her yesterday that she was able to go home for Sunday, but is back in the hospital for continued treatment this week. We hope to travel there to visit her on August 20th or 21st and spend a few days with her! Thanks for your prayers!
With Love Always,
Mary
“Pre-ve-et” (hello) from Russia,
I just thought I would share a few thoughts from the “Papa”, as they call me in Russia. There have been so many precious moments already on this trip and I see God working in the people we have met and in our own lives as well. To minister as a family has been a blessing. Here are a few highlights.
1) To see my kids take such an interest in and love the kids at the orphanage was a blessing. I was particularly touched by how Justin reached out to these two little orphan sisters, Nika and Dasha. They wanted to be around him all the time. There was a language barrier but the love of Jesus he had for these kids just broke through that barrier. It was so hard for him to leave them.
2) It was so touching for me to see Shannon and her fiancé Jeremiah lead a girl to the Lord on the streets of Tambov after the concert. Maureen and I prayed for them as we could see they were having a deep emotional conversation with a girl. The girl had ideas of suicide and a life of drugs and who knows what else. She felt she was not good enough for God. She prayed with Shannon and Jer to ask Jesus in her life. What a blessing for me to see my daughter and her future spouse reaching out together in Christ’s love. It was priceless and brought a tear to my eye.
3) Brittany touched me when she shared at the Church service in Tambov about the importance of starting your day out in God’s word. She really ministered to the Russian church but it also spoke to me. It is such a blessing when Christ ministers to you through your kids. See the picutre of Brittany sharing at the church in Tambov with Lizzy, the pastors daughter, interpreting .
4) It is awesome to see how Maureen has been and continues to touch the lives of many young Russian women. Some of the Russian girls call her “My American Mom”. She has been able to share with some girls that are now getting married, close to marriage and newly married. She shared much about God’s plan for marriage and they treasure the words the Lord has given her to share. Elveera, in the picture, will be getting married next week.
5) I was able to speak on three occasions which was a stretch for me. I gave the message at one of the concerts, then shared at the outreach in the park. One of the most emotional and special times for me was when I spoke in front of the Church in Tambov and shared some things from my Dad’s life to encourage them. I shared how Dad, a follower of Christ for over 50 years, had such an unconditional love for family and even the unloved. It touched a number of people, and to see how my Dad’s life is having an impact on lives all the way in Russia, even while he is with the Lord, was real special.
6) The concerts were well attended and gave us a chance to meet new friends and for the band and the team to share with the kids. We had two special days hanging out with the kids the days after the concerts. We had some old friends and many new friends. There were many special times being with these kids and showing them Christ’s love. Many came to the train station and saw us off which was special, but it was hard to leave our dear friends. I am amazed how close we can get to these kids after only a few days, just by sharing the Love of Christ.
This trip was a difficult one for me to decide to go on for various reasons, but I know this was God’s will and I would not trade the experiences I have had already for anything. One of the challenges was that I tore my ACL ligament in my knee a few weeks prior to the trip. But the Lord has kept my knee strong and I was even able to kick a soccer ball a bit at the orphanage and the outreach in the park (please don’t tell my Dr. or my Mom).
We have a break before heading back to Tver to visit another orphanage then on to Kaluga to have another outreach concert and encourage the church in that city. Thank you all for your prayers.
God Bless,
Ron (Papa)
Hi Everyone!
We've spent the past week gearing up for the Dedovsk outreach. The team arrived on Friday and Saturday - they went on an outreach to the country orphanage in Tver, saw some sights and handed out some fliers on Sunday, and today they hit the street to invite people to the concert series that started tonight. The band from North Carolina is called "Pierced" and they are the worship team from Fernley it was an awesome concert, the music was great, one of the songs they performed was "More Love, More Power" which holds special significance for me because it's a song that I learned on my first missions trip to Russia back in 2004. (And we all recently heard the words in Russian when the Jesus Fellowship team came and we sang it in Russian at the orphanage!) It was so powerful to hear it, and the Russians in the audience
appreciated it too I think.
The other band that performed tonight is a group that's just been formed, made up of Denis, who's on staff here at the Dorm, Vova, who attended Bible College here, Aaron from the North Carolina Band, Sasha from Kaluga and Jeremiah Koczman who's here from New Jersey on a month long internship. They all started practicing together on Saturday and performed tonight - and they sounded great!
Please pray that the people who came tonight will invite their friends and family out to hear the music and the gospel message! The concerts are at 7pm Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday this week.
I just got home today from a side trip with George, the Director of CCCPM, who was preaching at the Calvary Chapel in the city of Nizhny Novgorod. Tyler, one of the interns here, George and I took an overnight train south where we met with the believers at the church, some of whom had come to serve with us as translators on out first trip to the orphanages this summer. It was great to see them again, fellowship with their congregation, and pray with them as they send out Sonia (who translated for us) and her older sister Dasha, who are heading to Austria to do an internship at the Calvary Chapel Bible College there. The church in Nizhny Novgorod was founded by an American pastor with CCCPM and is now lead by a Russian pastor - and they have sent out Russian pastors to other fellowships and church plants (like Pastor Dima in Kaluga). Please continue to pray for these believers as they continue to serve the Lord, share the love of Christ with their neighbors!
Thanks for your prayers! This first month has been busy, but I also believe it has been fruitful because of your faithfulness to lift this ministry up before our Father who lives in heaven. Please pray for the internship program as we are beginning a new fundraising process for the Russian believers who are interning here this summer - at this point we don't have enough support to send them on the upcoming outreaches to Tambov and Kaluga, so please pray that the Lord will use them as He sees fit. Also, an update on Olga, the intern from Volgograd: Thanks so much for praying -- she's begun a three week course of Chemo, and the effects have not been so detrimental as they were the last time she underwent this kind of treatment. Please pray for her body to hold up under the strain. Lord willing she was well enough to attend church this week. Please also pray for her faith to be strengthened through this trial!
I know I keep typing "Thank you for your prayers" but truly it's been a new experience for me to be doing "back-to-back" missions trips - and I am so blessed to be able to be here. I'm also excited to see some of my "church-family" come over for the outreach to Tambov -- please pray for all their visas to come through (hopefully today or tomorrow!) and for safety flying over here and back.
In His Love,
Mary
For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13
Dear all:
Thank you for your prayers! In the short time I've been here it's been a blessing to see Jesus working in hearts, and drawing people closer to Him. Here's a little of what's happened these past couple of weeks:
ROMENSKAYA CONCERT OUTREACH:
Last Monday and Tuesday we spent in the city of Romenskaya - it's a beautiful city not too far from Moscow. There is a small fellowship there lead by Pastor Anatoly and his wife Natasha, who arranged two evenings of a "coffeehouse" outreach. I joined the team from Calvary Chapel Houston in handing out flyers and inviting people to come out to the concert and coffee which was sponsored by the church. We spent the warm sunny afternoons walking through the parks and Pastor Dan and Aleksey (a graduate of the Calvary Chapel Bible College here) gave free concerts near a fountain in the center of town. Calvary Chapel Romenskaya rented a small hall for each "Coffeehouse" and each night a rock band from their church played Christian songs, Pastor Dan from CC Houston played worship, and Jess Koczman from New Jersey also performed. During the breaks each evening there was time to chat with the people who had come out to hear the music, and testimonies were shared by Aleksey the first night, and Pastor Anatoly the second night. The first night I met (and got to practice my Russian with!) four teenage girls named Katya, Katya, Rita and Ira. I introduced them to Jess and went to sit with two other girls whose names were Paulina and Natasha. We talked about ourselves, and our families, and then I got to share my testimony with them - with the help of Sonia, one of our translators from the church in Nizhny-Novgorod. Later I learned that Jess had gotten to pray with the girls at the next table -- another testimony of our Lord's faithfulness! The second night I sat with a girl who is my age, and got to share a little about God with her. Her belief is that God is something that you only believe in inside of you - which is a belief that I think is common here. I also sat and chatted with Oksana, who used to attend church, but hasn't been attending regularly, because she feels distant from God - I got to share with her my testimony of questioning God: whether or not He was really there, whether I should explore other means of "religion" - and the ways that He is so faithful to reveal Himself to us. It's so true that if you "Draw near to God ... He will draw near to you." (James 4:8) Please pray for her as she continues to seek God - and find Him revealed to her through Jesus who is the Way the Truth and the Life. Please pray for Pastor Anatoly, Natasha and their daughters Alyona and Ira. Alyona just turned 14 and is an intern here at the Bible College for the summer. Please pray for them and their fellowship as they continue to reach out to those who may never have heard the good news that there IS a way to a relationship - a true "re-ligion" or "re-linking" of our hearts to His.
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14
TVER ORPHANAGE MINISTRY:
For the past four days our team has been ministering in the City of Tver, which is three hours north of our Dorm (towards St. Petersburg). Over the past few years Laurah Ward, the orphanage ministry co-ordinator here at CCCPM has been developing relationships with the administration which allows us to bring the Gospel in to the orphans and the staff. CC Houston came prepared to put on a full-fledged Vacation Bible School for the children, but when we arrived at the orphanage, we found only about 12 children there. We learned that the other children had gone off to summer camp, and these were the ones who had been left behind. We had 29 people on our team including the interns and translators, so we outnumbered the children more than 2 to 1, but we went ahead and sang Bible songs with hand-motions, played baseball outside with the older boys, did arts and crafts projects with everyone (including staff!) and had bible time. If anyone had been disappointed that there weren't more children to minister to, Laurah put it all into perspective when she shared what the Lord had put on her heart - to look at how much He loves each one of those 12 children who had been left behind (and surely disappointed) to bring a team of Americans with games and crafts and God's love. The second day there were even fewer children, and Laurah learned that the next day all but two of these children were going to go to another facility (I'm not sure where). So she contacted another orphanage in the area and they gave permission for us to come visit their group of children who were unable to attend summer camp. Again there were about a dozen children, this time 4-11 year olds, and a couple of older teenagers. We had a wonderful time spending time playing games and doing activities - painting T-shirts and baseball hats! Cindy from Houston gave a lesson about cleaning our hearts from the sins which we all inevitably commit, and we came back again on Sunday morning to play "Utka-Utka-Gooseya" (Russian duck-duck-goose!) with them again and do a craft project. The staff at this school had a few questions for us - a little wary of the loud, rambunctious, smiling Americans - but at the end they told Laurah that they were touched by our attention to the kids, because people come from the surrounding areas and drop off donations of clothing and toys for the kids, but rarely spend time running, chasing, playing and laughing with them. Please pray for this orphanage ministry, as we continue to build relationships with both the children and the administration, that there will continue to be open doors and open hearts for ministry, in Tver and other areas!
Thank you for your prayers for these outreaches - coming up later this week a team from Jesus Fellowship Church in New Jersey is arriving. They're coming to put on a summer camp for orphans, and then there are outreaches planned for the cities of Dedovsk, Tambov and Kaluga. Please pray for us as we work on visas for the teams coming over, for people to be raised up with a heart to serve - both Russians and Americans! We hope to launch the new cccpm.org which will have more information about serving with us and updates on the ministry here in Moscow and across Russia. Right now we have the summer internship program going on, which is a lot of fun: Russian youth (and adults!) come and live at the dorm, travel on the outreaches with us to minister, and have bible assignments to complete. They've been a real blessing to us, especially seeing them minister along side us! There's a lot happening here - so thank you so much for your faithfulness to lift this ministry up in prayer!
In His Love,
Mary
Stand at the crossroads and look; ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. - Jeremiah 6:16
Summer 2009 Schedule
FALLBROOK ---- When Shannon Taylor started a band with her sister
and a couple of friends three years ago, she didn't foresee a future
of playing concerts in cities with unpronounceable names and
visiting orphanages in below-freezing weather ---- in a word,
Russia.
But that's exactly where Taylor and her Christian band, Sorrow
Underfoot, found themselves last month, having made their fifth trip
in two years to the world's largest country.
Since 2006, the band has gone through several changes, the most
noticeable being the addition of three male bandmates.
"It's too hard trying to find all girl (musicians)," the 22-year-old
lead singer said.
The band's style and set list have also gone through somewhat of a
transformation. But the love of playing music for Russian teens has
not diminished since the group's first trip to the country in 2006.
"I remember the first time we went to a town in Siberia ---- when we
walked into the school and the kids found out we were from America,
we might as well have been celebrities," said Taylor, who is
studying communications at San Diego Christian College in El Cajon.
"The kids were just going crazy. They didn't even know anything
about us ---- just the fact that we were from California. They'd
never seen Americans before."
And the Taylors, a family of five living in southeast Fallbrook,
hadn't seen many Russians.
"I find that it's almost a gift," she said. "We can use the fact
that we're Americans to reach people and love people."
Brittany, the middle Taylor child, plays guitar, while Justin, the
youngest of the family, plays drums.
Two Oceanside residents, Josh Campbell and Chris Wright, make up the
rest of the group.
For Campbell and Wright, December's trip to the cities of Kaluga,
Dedovsk and Tver was their first time overseas.
"It was definitely life-changing," said Wright, 24. "I realized just
how different their society is... It was hard leaving, because the
time went by really fast.
"We're not trying to get famous or anything like that, we're just
using music as a tool to spread the love of God," he added.
What originally started as a musical endeavor expanded to include
orphanage visits while the band was in Russia last summer, Shannon
Taylor said. Now, she said, she can't imagine going to Russia
without making time for the orphans.
In December, the band took about 80 Christmas gift bags to the
orphanages they visited, and this summer, they plan to host weeklong
summer camps for at least 25 orphans near Moscow.
George Bryson, who has worked alongside Sorrow Underfoot as an
Oceanside-based administrator with Calvary Chapel Church, said that
the band members' efforts are beyond their years.
"I couldn't be happier to partner with them," Bryson said. "They
have just given themselves to reach out to Russians in general, and
to these children in the orphanages, in particular. Even though I
haven't known them that long, we're pretty tight now, because we've
spent a lot of time together."
As for the musical aspect of the band's endeavors, Bryson said rock
'n' roll music is an especially effective way to connect with
Russian teenagers.
"There's no way you're going to reach young people without playing
music that somebody my age wouldn't normally listen to. The young
people love it," said Bryson, who is 60 years old and has been
working in Russia for 20 years.
"The kids love their music ---- everywhere they go, they have a
following," he added. "They're waiting for (the band) when they get
off the trains, and they run alongside the trains when they leave
the city."
Shannon Taylor, who writes most of the lyrics, said during a recent
interview that the music will continue to change as the band gets
more experience ---- and more miles ---- under its belt.
"It's always evolving, but we're trying to settle on some sort of
indie rock, kind of alternative-sounding," Taylor said. "Probably
not as much punk rock anymore. We're always changing and working on
our style.
"Now we have this whole orphanage thing that we're doing," she
added. "I'm excited to play shows, but probably more excited to go
see the orphans."
Sorrow Underfoot, a band started by two sisters in
Fallbrook, recently completed a charity trip to Russia,
where they played free shows and visited orphanages. From
left: Brittany Taylor on guitar; Shannon Taylor, lead
singer; Joshua Campbell on bass; Justin Taylor on drums; and
Christopher Wright on guitar. (Photo by John Raifsnider -
for the North County Times)
Sorrow Underfoot, a band started by two sisters in Fallbrook,
recently completed a charity trip to Russia, where they played
free shows and visited orphanages. From left: Shannon Taylor,
lead singer; Brittany Taylor on guitar, Christopher Wright on
guitar; Joshua Campbell on bass; and Justin Taylor on drums. 
Sorrow Underfoot, a band started by two sisters in Fallbrook,
recently completed a charity trip to Russia, where they played
free shows and visited orphanages. From left: Joshua Campbell,
Ron Taylor (father), Maureen Taylor (mother), Shannon Taylor,
Brittany Taylor, Justin Taylor and Christopher Wright, with a
photo board from their trips to Russia. 
Imagine what it would be like to have no belongings except a pair of shoes and maybe one change of clothes. Or, if you did have any possessions there would be no place to store them because all you could claim was a bed, in a line of beds, exactly the same as yours.
That is the story of Russian orphanages where the Taylor family of Fallbrook has ministered over the last two years. Ron, wife Maureen, daughters Shannon and Brittany and son Justin, attend North Coast Church in Fallbrook but minister through an organization affiliated with Calvary Chapel. On December 27 they are embarking on their fifth Russian ministry trip.
“The Lord has continually shown us the many needs of the Russian people and has put such a burden on the heart of our family for them,” Shannon commented.
The ministry that took root two years ago in the heart of a young college student, Shannon, has now become a family passion. She and Brittany began a Christian rock band they call Sorrow Underfoot. Shannon plays the keyboard, Brittany plays guitar, Justin is drummer and new band members are Josh Campbell, bass, and Chris Wright, guitar.
The band was compelled to use their music to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus to Russian youth. The concert venues have not always been traditional or comfortable. In fact, most indoor venues during the winter have been too cold, and in the summer, too warm. A very non-traditional venue was a Moscow nightclub!
Although the three younger Taylors minister through concerts to large groups, another aspect of their outreach takes place on a more personal level – to orphans. What can they do for these children who live without the security of a loving home? They give them lots of hugs, bring Christmas gifts, listen to their stories and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All this attention adds up to an enveloping cloud of love. Also, returning to the same orphanages helps to foster trust in the children.
Siberia in the winter? It was zero degrees most days, but that was the first ministry destination for Shannon, Brittany and two other band members, plus dad Ron as “roadie.” After their outreach concerts in frigid Siberia they were told that their band posters remained frozen to telephone poles for quite a while.
The needs of Russian orphans and youth were, to Shannon, almost overwhelming, so during the summers of 2007 and 2008 she and her family spent four months total ministering in the Moscow area.
They visited various orphanages outside of Moscow, sometimes traveling by train for eight hours. A train trip that might appear miserable to others generated excitement in Shannon: “Every time I embark on the crowded, warm and sticky overnight train…I get excited that again the Lord has blessed me with an opportunity to return.”
The farewells at the train station last summer were difficult for several Russians whose lives had been changed by their new belief in Jesus Christ. Shannon recalled, “As our train began to pull out of the station, some of the younger men ran alongside the tracks until they could no longer keep up.”
The ministry team is filling small backpacks for the orphans this Christmas and items are still needed. For further information, e-mail fallbrooktaylors@gmail.com.
