+Tim's space+ What is Truth?

Sadly, because Hotmail and this site does not work in Russia, I've set up all the same things on google.

 

Therefore to check further updates please visit my new site:

 

 

I've built up some good faithful friends on this site so its a shame to have to stop.  But because I want to keep writing I need something I can access from home easily.

 

Take care and do leave a comment on the new site.

 

Blessings as always,

 

Tim

We were into June now. God had bought us so far surely he wouldn't leave the job unfinished now, would he? Not until the very last couple of weeks would we know for sure though, either way. The review date of 15^th July loomed just over a month away – soon enough it was figured before we go to stop all our stuff being shipped out on the 23^rd July, as was due to happen. (The company doing this for us wanted paying 3 weeks in advance though, thereby the first week of July – this would require some wisdom!)

Regarding church presentations, having missed the chance of sharing at the April regional leaders meeting, we felt that we weren't to go down that usual route. We weren't particularly natural or confident communicators though when we did share, to individuals, talking from the heart made it all so much easier to do, and we were always being told that what we shared encouraged those that were listening.

With a couple of good friends in the Chesterfield church plant, they had invited us to see them for a weekend and then arranged for us to share at their church on the Sunday. So following our meeting in Sheffield on the 6^th June, and having spent the Saturday with Rachel's parents, we made the short trip down to Chesterfield, arriving on the Saturday afternoon. When we'd been at Cardiff we haven't actually shared anything publicly but on the back of the backing from their leader, Andy, the church had really got on board and such encouragement was received from the time there. In Chesterfield it would be different as I'd actually be talking for about 10 minutes. We have one Powerpoint slide of Western Russia that we used but the rest was just sharing the story & our journey and plans. Our friends had clearly put the word around a little as we got much encouragement before the meeting as strangers came up to us and said how excited they were to have us here and were looking forward to hearing from us!

I shared as best I could – it went well as far as I can remember. Just talking from the heart I took everyone through our journey, sharing about why we were going and where we were going to and what we planned to do. I talked about the need, the financial shortfall, though this, being still new having changed our approach following the Friday meeting in Sheffield, still felt a little awkward. But most of all we asked for prayer support.

We went onto have lunch with a group of them after, which was great. Warm fair-wells were said as we left, people who had been complete strangers to us at breakfast now standing with us in prayer and looking forward to hearing updates from us in the future.

Around this time (can't actually remember if it was before or after Chesterfield) we shared at Colin Baron's church in East Manchester, which was even briefer but worth doing and good to be with them for the Sunday morning.

Then came a busy few days – On the Tuesday morning I led a Bible study at a Stockport Business Men's breakfast, speaking from Hebrews which happened to be on faithfulness – the theme of our journey to Russia – and intertwined with this was our story about going to Russia. Then that evening, after a full day at work, I drove down to Matlock, in the Peak District (a 3 hour round trip) and shared briefly at their church's family night. - Not long before sharing in a question and answer format, I was told 'helpfully' that someone who'd heard me at Chesterfield had commented that I'd 'lost' them midway through and so by them asking a question here to which I'd answer, in as shorter way as possible, they'd hear what he wanted them to know about! I didn't feel it was that helpful or well timed at that precise moment but it helped continue to teach me to trust in God alone.

I shared and gave out about two dozen contact cards for the Russia prayer group (of which there has been some take up). I drove home tired from the long day but happy how things had gone.

On that Thursday of the same week I was off work and we both shared at the Manchester leaders meeting in Burnage. Each time we'd shared it'd always been slightly different in what we'd said, almost slightly geared to the listener, though this wasn't intentional. After hearing lots of really encouraging stuff and following a good worship time, I shared our journey a little, and talked about a couple of prophetic words that had been brought some years ago and how they fitted into what we were doing. Colin Baron said after it was the best he'd ever heard me – that's some compliment from a man I greatly admire, so if you're reading Colin, thanks for the encouragement.

By the end of June we'd heard back from some friends and family that they'd be supporting us monthly. Some had even been set up already. There was still a long long way to go but it was nice that there were at least some people backing us. We also knew that our church would be doing something. We'd had the Russia Evening, which was good but totally draining and there was also to be a special offering taken on the last Sunday in June and first in July. Part of this would be for us.

We had a four day break away in Anglesey at the end of June before coming back to work our last week in our job's. Rachel finishing on the Wednesday 2^nd July and me on the 4^th. July was upon us – due to be the final month but still so much to do and lots of finance still to come in.

One thing that I haven't mentioned at all yet is in regards to our house. We are home owners in Stockport and a few months back, in a way only God could do, we'd come across a family that were planting a church into the area that we lived and really wanted to move into the area. We'd offered them our house to buy, to which they'd visited and said yes straight away, agreeing to our asking price. We 'sold' the house without putting it on the market!

As the months passed by and they were still not in a position to sell their house, mainly due to the falling housing market and house prices, we got to about July still with no movement, and now time was short. We'd prayed about things and suggested to them that they rent our house from us and in turn rent their house out, to which they'd had two individuals interested in doing just that. If they got to a place in the future where they were able to sell their house then we'd look again at this option. As the 4^th July came, and we'd both finished at work, still they had no one to rent their house out, with the two individuals who'd previously been interested now not able to afford the rent. Our house was a regular request in the Tuesday updates from this moment on.

The Brighton leaders conference was due to start on the 8^th July, to which we were booked in, and we were meant to travel down to my mum's in Sidcup on the Sunday after we'd shared at South Manchester church in the morning. Unfortunately our car had broken down on the Thursday, this time the clutch, to add to the exhaust and four new tyres we'd put on it in June. Our garage could only do it on the Monday morning, and with no better options around having called loads of others, we knew it'd have to be then and ended up hiring a car for the weekend to enable us to do the things we'd planned to do already.

Around this time also the church that Dave Harper leads, The Church in the Peak Matlock, together with Chesterfield, confirmed to us that they were supporting us with £5,000 a year for two years. This was a huge encouragement to us and showed their faith to reach the nations.

Just before we went down to Brighton, having paid the £300+ bill for the car (which we'd sell in 4 weeks time anyway!) we'd heard the news that our own church was giving us £2,500 as a one-off, which was money from one individual as well as the special offering, and then £5,000 a year which included all the individual amounts from people within the church as well as the church's input. Both amounts already included the gift aid. Knowing much of the individuals that had given, it was clear that the church, as an entity, was supporting us about £200 a month, which included gift aid, though they said they'd review it in September.

At the time this was quite a blow to us – because, having been totally aware of the huge amount that we needed to have in place before we went, in our minds we'd built up a hope that our own church would play a big role with us financially and that once we'd hear the amount they were supporting us by, we'd be a lot nearer our total. It might have surprised others a little too but it didn't surprise God. Not one bit – as Brother Andrew would say, God had a royal way of doing things as we'd soon find out.

So having heard this news and having got our car back, we travelled down south on the Monday evening ready to go to the conference the following morning, while leaving our daughter at my mum's for the week. With other amounts known as well at this stage the total was up to about £13,000, but this was still £12,000 short of the £25,000 budget shortfall and we had just eight days until the 15^th July – our cut off point!

We should of by now had paid our relocation company the £3,800 they wanted to move our stuff to Russia, but had managed to 'hold' the booking and collection date with just £100 deposit, which bought us some valuable time. We'd also lost our flights through an administration error with our travel agent so didn't have that to pay, though re-doing the booking cost £300 extra but the flights did work slightly better for us. We could also wait a while before confirming these tickets.

Our Visa invitation's had also come through by now. We'd planned to send them off just before heading down south but a key piece of information, that we literally found out on that weekend, meant we couldn't do them without a letter from New Frontiers. Somehow with all the planning, no one had ever told us about this. This meant we couldn't post them off but would have to pick the letters up by hand while at Brighton and probably apply in person at the Embassy.

The conference was fantastic, which all the talks so spot on to what we were, in theory, about to do – to go to the nations and church plant. The issue of finance though hung like a sword over our heads the whole time we were there. Therefore, hearing all this stuff that rang true to what we wanted to achieve by going only made it harder to be in a situation, with a week to go, where we didn't know if we'd be going or not! Having heard from our own church and most of those we'd written to, we still found ourselves so short of the total needed. And now there was less than a week to go.

Mark Driscoll was a particular highlight and I'd recommend to anyone to download his talks from the New Frontiers website. Well worth the time spent listening to them.

We met with a leader from our church, the only one who was able to make it, and shared our feelings following the news of what the church we're able to do. As Tuesday and Wednesday went by, it felt more and more pressure was growing. We'd spent some time with Dave & Hannah Henson on the Tuesday night as they'd returned back from Russia for the summer before going to St Petersburg. We were to have another meeting with them on the Thursday, together with Al Gregory and his wife. Al was part of the oversight team and is based in Dartford. The meeting would be to look at how we'd form team in Russia as well as a chance for all three couples to get to know each other.

But before that we'd had lunch with Andy Davies, from Cardiff, on the Wednesday. So much was flying around our heads at this point. We'd bumped into Andy briefly on the Tuesday night had he'd asked how short we were, to which we'd said about £13,000 I think. He said he'd see what he could do! At lunch on Wednesday he'd said how he'd spoken to a chap from his church who'd just sold a business – having explained our situation to him, he agreed to give us £6,000 plus the gift aid! It was hard to take in at the time. But still that thought was there of the other £7,000 that we still needed. Getting to £18,000 was good but it wouldn't be enough to have the green light from New Frontiers. Oh the inner turmoil that was going on.

On the one hand we were hearing everything preached about doing the things we were about to do and yet, though we were prepared to do them, we were not in a position yet to know for sure whether we could go or not due to finance!

On the Thursday of Brighton things hit an all time low – but God would save the day.

For me, I'd come to realise during the week that 'Plan A' was us going on the 1^st August and doing everything we'd just done (eg leaving work etc). And there was no 'Plan B'!! And I didn't want one either. But having chatted with Andy on the Wednesday, he said how there had to be one, so that if we got to the end of the 15^th and we didn't have the finances in, then it wouldn't seem the end of the world but instead 'Plan B' would come into effect and we'd carry on, basically getting out to Russia several months later. I hated the thought of 'Plan B' and openly admitted that it terrified me.

So sitting there on the Thursday lunchtime with the six of us, with all these things going through my mind, and talking about how things are going to be in Russia, it was so hard when we came back to the position of where we were finance wise. We both got emotional and tried hard to keep things together. For me, wrongly but just a real, I battled with the thoughts that this shortfall was because people didn't believe in us and therefore hadn't backed us.

We arrived late to the afternoon session, Mark Driscoll's closing one of the three, and had some time together over dinner to process things before the evening meeting at 7pm. We were near Andy Davies so sat with him but just needed some time together to talk so Rachel & I left part way through – Andy later admitted to us that he was really concerned for us at this point. We walked along the Brighton seafront and around the pier. The sea air was good but our emotions reflected the ponding waves that crashed continually onto the beach.

We went back to get some rest, aiming for an early night. The conference would finish tomorrow afternoon when we'd go back to Sidcup to see our daughter again. This hadn't been the restful week by the sea that we'd thought it would be months before.

But laying in bed, I could not sleep. The fall emotion of Plan B started to birth itself. Having not ever processed anything else happening, now my mind was going through how I would feel waking up on Wednesday 16^th if we were not going. It was an emotional dam breaking as I processed through all the thoughts and feelings that went with this and I could not sleep for a long time while I lay there silently going through all this.

Just before I feel asleep though, our Plan A seemingly dead, I felt God suddenly and gently remind me again that it was only Thursday night and that he'd given me faith back again for things working out by Tuesday after all. It was a very strange experience, sort of missed at the time as I soon feel fast asleep within minutes of this happening, suddenly filled with peace and hope again. It was only a few days after it did I realise what really happened. The death and then resurrection of Plan A – I guess God does know what he's doing when it comes to raise things from the dead!

The Friday part of the conference went up until lunchtime. Nothing really much more happened though while we were waiting by the exit for the people who were taking us back to Sidcup, Howard Kellett from central Manchester's Hope Church gave us both a hug and said how they wanted to support us but hadn't done anything about it yet, though if we ever got to a real crunch point we could contact them about it – it must have been the expression on our faces that told Howard that point was now. We said the shortfall was £7,000 and though he said they couldn't do that having just given to another church setting, he asked us to email them about it once we got back – we did end up emailing him but on a totally different basis in the end.

We got home and later that night I went around to my brothers with the laptop to check email and update where we were up to. Having knocked together a simple spreadsheet that basically listed all the people we knew to be supporting us, and then the amounts if we knew, soon I was able to total the columns up. There hadn't been any startling emails that dramatically changed anything, but once I'd totalled the columns, including an amount my brother was going to support us, it suddenly looked as if we were there?! I called Rachel to nervously state this position but it was late, we'd had an extremely tough week so it was best to get a good rest and leave things until tomorrow and check that I hadn't made any silly mistakes with the figures.

On the way home from my brothers house to my mums house, all of about 5 miles maybe, I had a text from a couple in Manchester saying they wanted to give us £2,000 plus gift aid! On the Saturday, before we'd got back to my brothers, we'd had a text from Rachel's God-father. He'd felt stirred to call Rachel's parents that morning, and they'd told him about the situation in relation to the deadline approaching. The text to us said they would support us £100 a month plus gift aid! There were one or two other bits and pieces confirmed as well so by the time I got to updating the figures later that morning the totals, including gift aid, were coming to something like £32,000 (about £5,500 in gift aid so still well over the £25,000) and this didn't include the money in our account of the small amounts we'd get from selling a few things, including our car (which went for £900 in the end)! It seems God answered the prayer and in abundance. Maybe he knows something we don't? Or maybe he's put something into the pot for year 2 already as much of this amount was one off gifts which will leave a small whole in next years support. Either way we were going!

We also had on the list 5 people who we knew wanted to support us but that we did not have the amounts down, plus the Hope Church as that safety net, for want of a better word. It was great to be able to email Howard to confirm our situation and say that if we needed them we'd drop them a line. Maybe year two, who knows.

Our only safety net is God. He has been an amazing God. It's as if, having gone through this all, he's looking at us saying “What was all the fuss about?” You see, ultimately he said Russia, he said to go and he said 1^st August 2008. And now, for certain, everyone else, included us, could be sure about that!

Needless to say, having confirmed to all those involved on about the Sunday that we'd got there, Tuesday 15^th July came and went without the fireworks or tears that there might have been, though something tells me God always had it sorted anyway.

We decided to post our visa application up to the embassy in London after all and with much prayer again going into its collection on Tuesday 22^nd, we were thrilled to hear that it was done and the collection by my sister-in-law had gone without any problems.

We received them by special delivery two days later. Having been able to pay our relocation company, they came as planned on the 23^rd and everything was packed away. Also at this time the family looking to rent our house confirmed that that same week they'd finally received an inheritance cheque through and therefore would be renting our house out from the 1^st August.

With all our beds gone and house empty, we moved out on the 23^rd to stay with Rachel's brother in Romiley. It took about another week to finally leave the house for the last time. Flights have been booked, medical insurance paid for and now, I sit here typing this at 9:36pm on Wednesday 30^th July. We fly in less than 36 hours at 7:15am on Friday 1^st August, just as God said we would!

So before I go, what do I make of this all? Well I write this not just as a reminder to myself but to give all glory and honour to God for what he has done. I also want to encourage those moving to other nations though what we have experienced. I would also love to hear from you as I'd like to help you through the process if I possibly can.

But ultimately God is true. He does what he says he does, he does what the Bible says he does and he is who is is.

Though throughout, at the time, there are loads of things I would have changed, sitting here today looking back I wouldn't change a thing because God has answered all our prayers and we are going to Russia.

Quite what the following few days has in store, let alone the next year, I do not know. I guess the next time I write, the part 4 update, things might be clearer.

I'm excited and amazed to be at this point – I wait with eager expectation to see what God is going to do next.

Still to come in this Adventures of Faith series;

Part 4 – The First Impressions

Part 5 (next summer) – One Year One.

“Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6)

None more so were we to learn the truth of this verse than in our final six months before we were due to go – on 1^st August 2008.

This is the date God had given me at the end of a week of prayer at the end of January. Having faced frustrations through misunderstandings and delays in meeting up with people, as well as some (Christians) telling us we were mad to go to Russia at all, we had no ideas of the storm clouds that were approaching. But just like real clouds in the sky, the sun is always above them and it will always shine again. The clouds just threaten to get in the way and make you think you'll never see the sun again!

Things kept moving along slowly in February & March. We were due to share our plans at a Manchester regional New Frontiers leaders meeting in the middle of April which would be an important time of helping churches to get on board as well as open opportunities to share in some of them on a Sunday morning. At this point though we still were far from ready, in some peoples eyes. No finances in place, nothing much sorted in terms of house & moving, people seeing our timing as a little ambitious, some telling us we were crazy and we didn't even have the VISA sorted, though we thought that we would just do what the Henson's had done (with them having gone before us they very much were an example for which we could just copy, and this pattern would continue to be a blessing going forward as well). During this period though things took a serious down turn. By now we'd been sending out regular Tuesday updates on our Facebook prayer group which was growing each week. This prayer group would be called into serious action and would see a dramatic answer to prayers, but not before a frantic few days.

It was a Wednesday night just before our home group when I took a call from Dave Henson on Skype. There were problems with their VISA renewal which would mean the same would be true for us. Their type of student visa for the university now was not suitable for families. Access was also being restricted to three months in Russia, then returning to your home country for three months before another three months in Russia were allowed. Thereby only six months a year – and still not for families either as the university had to provide accommodation of which none was suitable for a family with children. The Henson's could not renew their visa and we were now back to square one, but now with far less time.

Dave had mentioned that he'd had some contact with a language school in St Petersburg, the Swiss Centre. He suggested we get in touch and if we found anything out to let them know because they were in a difficult situation as well now in regards to their visa situation. So I sent off an email to them – suddenly the visa situation was top priority. Without it we were going nowhere, no matter what else we had in place. We hadn't needed to do anything on the visa front up to this point because we thought we knew the route that we needed to follow when it came to applying for the correct visa type, where-ever we were to end up. Now we had nothing to work from. Because it was Wednesday night and I'd just sent out an update on the prayer group the day before, I had to wait a week before another update as I had made a conscious decision not to overload people with to many updates. I was able to share with the home group that night and we prayed there first. There'd been some contact back from the Swiss Centre I think but nothing was clear by the following Tuesday morning with regards to a way through and it was time for another update – a major one this week all about the visa situation.

And God answered the prayers of the saints!

By 4pm that same day I had the final email (having checked back and forth during the day) that confirmed they would be able to issue us all a visa, as a family! Mainly because they were independent and not state run, they did not have to offer us accommodation and therefore we were fine. And we wouldn't have to leave after three months either. This was a thrilling break-through and a very quick answer to prayer. There would be quicker ones to come but we were relieved. God had to make us aware of the problem early so that he could reveal the way through just as quickly.

And now an extra bonus emerged. Because the Henson's had been in the same situation as us visa wise, our answer became their answer – they would move up from Tver a year earlier than planned and would therefore join us in St Petersburg straight away! Wow – when God answers prayer he really answers prayer!

Now our heading straight to St Petersburg suddenly seemed to make more sense – and we wouldn't be on our own either.

We'd come through one major storm that threatened the whole trip – it seems OK now but it really was a dark week as the visa situation, fuelled by growing political hostilities between Russia and the UK, really looked a mine field and even though we were going to help and work with the Russian people, without a visa there was no going at all.

April came along and another slight set back was looming. Just a week before we were due to meet with the Manchester leaders at their Thursday morning monthly meeting, we had a call that said there wasn't going to be many people around as it was still in the holidays and best if we postponed it. They weren't meeting in May and work wise I had no idea if June could be done either. These were not discussed but it looked like we would not get to share with the leaders in a face-to-face setting.

Things at our home church were still moving along in much the same way, which was basically dealing with the lack of a full time leader and all the extra stuff this creates. There just wasn't the capacity to get to involved with us and maybe they were going along with the 2009/10 timing as well so knew, as they saw it, there was no rush. This, as well as the understandable fact that no one in leadership had gone through what we were going through and therefore could not offer any advice, meant for much of the time for us it was a very lonely journey. We were close to God in this, so don't get us wrong, but relationally with those around us, at times it just felt like this was something we were doing by ourselves and we missed having that someone we could really turn to who would understand what we were going through. However, this process threw us time and again onto God and having gone through much of it, and in time far more, we are in a far better position to be able to walk someone through a similar experience in the future. And this is something I really look forward to doing time and time again.

By about April our church had agreed that they would administer all financial gifts received for us and collect any gift aid applicable. This would prove a great help and would mean they were playing a hands-on role going forward with us in Russia. Because this was all in place now, we were able to put together a support letter that we were going to send to certain people as we felt led. It was on the basis of asking them to pray about any financial support they might feel God leading them to give to us. We were asking for this over the two years as once we've learnt language we intend to get jobs in year three (this remains the plan but we are totally open to the leading of God in this area and await to see what opens up for us). Just after the middle of April, we were in a position when we would send out a batch of about 25 letters. But more on this in a moment.

Another thing that emerged at this point was something that had started as a bit of a joke in the office I worked and suddenly we took things seriously – could I carry on working remotely for them? With the technology available for this it was arranged that I would test things out by working from home on Tuesday 22^nd April.

Coming back to those support letters, I had a growing feeling that when they were sent and in the post, I was to fast and pray about the finances. It had started to become a bit of a real test area in my spirit, something I wanted peace about but wasn't feeling at the moment. With Tuesday being our update day and fasting time at lunch, as well as the 22^nd being the day I was working from home, it meant at lunch time, with all the letters ready, I was able to walk around to the post office, buy the second class stamps and send them all out. I'd had breakfast that day but fasted for lunch as usual, aiming to continue a little longer this time as the letters made their two or three day journeys across the country.

Wednesday and Thursday came and went. Some people had told me on the Thursday that they'd received our letters, but I didn't feel it was time to stop. On the Friday night at our church there was a meeting on the Holy Spirit. Could I make it that long, nearly 4 days, and go to the meeting still fasting? With Rachel away I could then eat a nice treat on the way home! I went but knew there was more to come in the way of this fast. Saturday & Sunday came and went. Now this was the longest time I'd ever done and yet I felt great. What was going on? I'd gone six days without any food and felt well. My mind started to dream and race ahead to doing a really long fast like 20, 30 or 40 days! What crazy thinking! I'd only ever done 4 days before and at any moment I was sure that my flesh would give way and hunger would attack – and yet I continued not to feel hungry. A week came and went. Then 14 days passed. What was God doing? By now I knew a miracle was at work in me as something supernatural, that being God, was sustaining me so that I was not weak, or hungry. I still kept dreaming ahead but knew I had to take a day at a time. Didn't people take medical advice and stuff for these types of things, yet I'd never set out to do this in the first place as it had just happened. I was reading loads of the Bible though and praying at meal times. I loved these times with God. I ended up reading through the whole New Testament and then Romans again during the fast.

As things continued I started to think that maybe by the end of the fast, whenever that would be, the money might be in? Or we might know that we would have enough?

It was now into May, which in the UK has two bank-holiday weekends. May 1^st had marked the three month mark to when we were due to leave. My mum had also been up for a long weekend (we always seem to have a meal or two out when she is up but because I was fasting we didn't). The weekends proved the biggest test during this time. The loss of family meal times with my wife and daughter was far harder than any physical hunger, which I didn't feel for the entire time. We also had a weekend down in Cardiff with our old leader and great friends Andy & Liz Davies. While I might not have been able to eat anything (I was not really missing out at all because my Bible times were real highlights) the time with the church in general really encouraged us as they instantly caught the vision, via Andy, about Russia, as we didn't actually share anything ourselves! God had been moving in a fresh wave of power in their church and it was a joy to arrive when we did. It certainly won't be the last that Cardiff see of us as a real spiritual connection was established that went far beyond the strong connection that already existed between us and the Davies household.

Sunday June 1^st was the end of the 40 days. I've detailed this more in my blog from that day so don't need to comment more here, but things certainly went far beyond what I ever dared to dream was possible. And though there was no physical financial provision in place I had come to learn one thing – God had answered my prayer in a totally different way than expected. By providing for all my physical needs by how he sustained me so that I was not hungry for the entire time, he proved to me that he was able to provide for all our other needs as well.

So June 1^st 2008 was here. Two months now before we were due to go. But we still had no finance in place – we knew the route for the visa's but wouldn't get the invitation letters until about the 24^th June. We hadn't seen anyone from our oversight team though did have a date for Friday June 6^th when Rachel & myself would meet with the three guys in Sheffield. We hadn't shared to any churches, having not shared at a regional meeting, didn't have that much time to do so either. We had a Russia Evening planned for our church coming up but that was about it.

Things would have to dramatically speed up – and they did.

June 6^th in Sheffield went really well. We talked about all sorts. We got to know each other a little better. We looked at our budget. Having planned to work 20 hours a week remotely with my current job, it was advised that this should be much less as we needed to spend about 40 hours a week within the Russian language if possible, and clearly jumping back into English would have a negative impact as well as make getting those 40 hours much harder. They proposed just 8 hours a week in two sessions. How would this news go down? This also effected budgets as well as I'd be earning a lot less. It was now looking like starting at a £25,000 shortfall for year one with about the same amount for year two as well! It did become clear now that it was more like a two year project in which we needed financial support but from year three, if we are both working, we should earn enough ourselves.

Dave Harper, the Manchester regional leader, certainly felt more faith for this stance – once we can see the need, you can help meet the need. Looking at the facts of the situation isn't limiting faith – as with Abraham as quoted in Romans, he looked at the fact that his body was as good as dead, but... The facts with us was this huge financial need but it would be faith that would see the money come in.

Our diary was quite full by now but suddenly some more dates were thrown our way – could we make an evening with Dave's church in the Peaks on Tuesday week and then share with the regional leaders on the Thursday during the day? Amazingly we could!

A date was also set – the Tuesday after the Brighton conference – where we would all check with them how much money we had in – the date was 15^th July. If everything wasn't in place by then then basically we wouldn't be going!

We came away from this meeting with much more on our plate – but things were still to get a lot more pressured as the 15^th July approached. From Sheffield we were due to go onto Chesterfield and share at their church on the 8^th June. That Sunday would count down the 7 weeks left before we were due to go – the build up was to become the going!

Still to come in this Adventures of Faith series;

Part 3 – The Going

Part 4 – First Impressions

Part 5 (next summer) – One Year One.

I wanted to take time out from my existing study to type up this first part of a mini story about our going to Russia.  Being a story of the faithfulness and miracle working power of God, I want it to serve as testiment to a God who changes lives.

 

I also felt it important to write things up while they were still fresh.  Even now, though we are still 3 days away from leaving, due to the ways things dramatically worked out, I'm sure that I still will not be able to relay quite how vulnerable and emotionally raw we felt at times, and certainly very intensely over the last three weeks, much of which will be commented in part 2 of this story.  But if I leave it any longer it'll just feel, in time I'm sure, an easy process, which certainly it was not!  My thinking is this - ask a gran-mother what it felt like to give birth and I'm sure it'll be much more tame than if you asked a women in the latter stages of labour.  While I haven't chosen to do the 'delivery room' account of things, I didn't want to get to the day when I said "I wish I'd written some of those experiences down" either.

 

Much of the vision and God stuff surrounding the question of why we are going I have already covered previously so will not repeat myself here.  But once we'd committed to going to a Russia Day in April 2007, things very must moved from the future into the present.

 

You see up to that point things had been preparing us in a slower, natural way.  Things like our language lessons.  They fitted around our ever increasingly busy life, playing just a small part to our week.  How we heard about the Russia Day and our making contact and signing up to things was just normal, almost coincidental.  Little did we know that even then, the clock began to tick.

 

The Russia Day itself was a Sunday in April 2007 that was hosted in St Albans by a local church, put on to gather anyone interested in Russia, highlighted by the fact that a family where just about to move out to Tver in the next month.  The family, the Hensons, were in St Albans as well for this day.  The day unfolded with a 'normal' church meeting, though non a little Russia themed, followed by a lunch (all Russian food) and some further information about what was currently happening in Russia.

 

Having left our daughter in Sheffield with family the night before, we travelled down not knowing that things were about to seriously change.  What was it about the day?  What was it that happened?  God was clearly there, and that made a lasting impression.

 

Through a ministry time and then a brief 5 minute chat with the Henson's after, it was clear to us at the time that something was happening.  We were both impacted quite powerfully at the time, far more so than anyone else there who responded, and before we left we'd arranged to spend a day with the Henson's before they flew out with their 3 children.

 

And so, about 4 weeks later, we found ourselves in Loughborough for the day with their family, and by the end of the day realised that we were talking in terms of when we go and not if.  Clearly, without knowing it and without problem, we'd already settled one of the very difficult questions any Christian must face - to go?

 

As May went into June and then June into July, we prayed loads, already knowing that we were to go in the following year, and at that initial time we were thinking about the same time of year as the Henson's had gone out, early Spring, therefore May 2008 so as to get the longest time of nice weather before winter hit in.  It was only our thinking but it started to give us a time frame to work towards.   But what was clear was that from that moment, we knew the clock was ticking and that soon we'd be going to Russia.

 

During this time in the April & May, our home church setting started to go through some problems and the only full time leader decided to step down.  He had been fully supportive when I'd shared our plans with him but a meeting the following day meant he felt he couldn't go on leading and took the drastic action to step down.  So by about the June and July, as things were forming clearly in our own lives, an opportunity opened up at church within a new wider leadership team for me to be part of it and help bring things through what would be, and indeed was, a difficult time.  I remained within this team until about February this year when Russia was taking more time so I knew it was time for me to focus on that and allow the existing team to carry on and focus on the church.

 

During the following months there wasn't a great deal of physical stuff to do - though we prayed loads, and made Tuesday lunch times our specific prayer times for all things to do with Russia.  I carry with me fond memories of walking around the park in Heaton Moor, Stockport, praying into everything.  It's funny how park's have played such a key role for me in regards to prayer and Russia!

 

We did start to share more with people, including my employers, who are Christians, so they were more understanding than your usual employer might be when they hear that potentially they are about to lose a key member of staff.  I would say that had they been a secular employer, it could have waited until much later into this year before needing to tell them, though that too is hard, if your like me, because its such a big thing for you, you want people to know.  I had to do that route originally in London when I moved to Manchester.  I knew a year in advance but only told them once everything was sorted two months before I left (it was just easier that way and you don't lose out of vital training and opportunities that might otherwise have been given to someone else).

 

Most within the church did know that we had thoughts leading to Russia, but only in these months did they quite realise the relevence it made with us coming up to Manchester in the first place.  And every time you spend an evening with a new person, you need to retell the whole story because for them, they've never heard it.  This would be good practise for the final two months.

 

I can't honestly remember our specific thoughts as 2007 drew to a close.  I know all our families knew by that point so it made Christmas and New Year a little more emotive, maybe, as thoughts tend to lead to the same time the following year when we wouldn't be there.  Though we've seen most of these people again since, and more so than usual because of our going, it was the last time for my wife's great aunt, who died last week at the grand age of 96 and who's funeral, the day before we leave, we are just not able to make.  I'm sure these thoughts and similar ones were in peoples minds for some of the time - each time we say goodbye it tug's just a little more at the emotions.  One of the small costs that we pay when you go to follow God.

 

January 2008 I remember started in a much more positive way - for us we knew it was no longer 'next year' that we go - now it was this year! 

 

With our home church being a New Frontiers church, we were also linking into what New Frontiers, as a wider family of churches, were doing, and clearly the experience for working into Russia needed to come from outside of Stockport.  It is clearly the local church who send but within the wider NF framework, we were coming into contact now with the leaders who were more involved in Russia.  We say contact, but it was all email mainly, and not in person, due to the geography of us being in Stockport and our main contacts being in the Peak District, Bedford and Dartford.  This is something that we were desperate to sort out but getting us (with child care considerations to think about) and three outside leaders, plus three from our home church, together on a set date, meant throwing loads of dates around and trying to find one that worked!  We got one for January, a little later that we'd originally hoped having started the process in about the November, but better than nothing.  The Stockport people would travel across to Sheffield, which worked as a convenient meeting place for those coming from further south.  With Rachel's parents living in Sheffield it made it a convenient location for us to meet in their house and spend some more time with them as well.

 

With the date set about 6 weeks in advance, we went into the middle of January looking forward to this important step.  You see, it's important in a process like this to submit yourselves to the authority and wisdom of leadership, both within the local church (of which I was in the leadership team) and also to outside oversight.  As hard as it is, or seems to be, I don't think there should be any other way to do it.  I think its hardest when relationship and communitation are weak, so work hard at this if this is something you are going through.

 

Having chatted back in mid 2007 with the outside leaders, we'd been told that people in our position, from experience, take between two and three years to actually get out there.  With our timing of summer 2008, as it had become, this experience would have to be changed or we'd be going a lot later than we'd hoped.  Regular discussion was going on as well throughout with the Henson's in Tver via Skype.  A lot was very practical help and advice about what we need to do, but we also heard vision and started to hear what their future was going to look like.  One of the things that had come out from our day spent with the family in Loughboroguh before they went was their heart for St Petersburg.  Something, even then, echoed in our hearts - we'd looked into St P's over the last five years.  Personally, having visited Moscow in May 2005, we didn't feel that Moscow would be the right place for us, for whatever reason, even though we'd had a great time of fellowship within the church there.  Something just didn't click.  We'd also never heard of Tver before we heard about the Henson's moving there for two years of language at the university.  If we were to join them there in 2008 we'd have a year before they moved off up to St P, leaving us alone in Tver.  This didn't fit either.  But having first looked into St P when we'd made contact with OM in about 2003/04, with the OM office being in St P, something had stayed.  For us the thought began to grow that we should go to St P directly and that, if after a year, the Henson's joined us then great.  In Tver there is a New Frontiers linked church but nothing in St Petersburg.  Being a year on our own, though hard, would surely be like jumping in the deep end, but it would help our Russian and at least we could start to make friends and then not have to move (as we might have done in Tver).  But it was the thought of church planting that excited us - we were however told at the time that nothing would happen on this front until 2009, maybe 2010, and we couldn't therefore say we were going to go and church plant.  It was advised that we might be better off waiting until '09 or '10 when St Petersburg would have a bigger profile with NF as a church plant and therefore easier to raise any support that we might need.  We took this on board, but didn't let it take root.  Surely we had known God speak to us and we felt sure that we were to go in 2008, and before Autumn as well.  But at the same time, taking the advice on board, we knew there needed to be a lot in place before it was clear we could go.  Some of the practical stuff need only be sorted in the last few months, but there was the finance to think about - St P is a very expensive city to live in and as we couldn't work, due to our lack of language as well as the student visa we'd have, it meant we'd need to raise the support from within the church.

 

A lot was going on inside at this point.  We knew what we felt but we were being told, as we heard it, it couldn't happen in our time frame and that lots would need to be in place first before it was clear that we were to go.  At no point did the oversight team not think that we'd heard from God - they knew and told us so, it's just our weak human minds can easily change these things we hear into - "No-one believes in us".  A wrong, but very emotional thing to think.  God was working through us and preparing us for much more to come!

 

Again, it was easy for us to interpret what we were hearing, via email, from our oversight team, and mis-understand their line of questioning and put it down to the fact that they didn't know us, hadn't met us and didn't know our calling or vision (one guy actually knew far more than we realised, it was later discovered, as I must have discussed in length before our trip to Moscow, which his office helped arrange for us).  Oh the games that the enemy loves to play!

 

With the January (about 16th I think) meeting looming, we were glad to get to the place where we could share vision with everyone and all get to the same page.  It would also provide a great chance for the Stockport guys to meet the wider New Frontiers guys, or oversight team as I've been calling them.  But things didn't go to plan - far from it.  Back to the problems of not having a full time local leader, though we'd met with the team to discuss and share, one of the chaps maybe had not heard what he wanted to hear.  Though we'd arranged the meeting, he'd contacted the oversight team to check the purpose of the meeting, which was unclear in his mind, and as they'd said they wanted to discuss once the local church was on board, these unanswered questions in his mind meant he decided it wasn't worth everyone travelling to Sheffield so cancelled the meeting.  It felt like a bit of a kick in the teeth at the time, but God continued to teach us to take these 'punches' - he had greater things in store.  So we meet that night anyway, at our house with just the Stockport team and we had a great night and shared all, we thought, what we would have shared had we been in Sheffield.  We did feel that missing the chance to meet face to face with the three oversight guys was a hard blow.  But it would (eventually) happen.

 

 

This was one area where I really had to battle in faith with.  I guess I was very much down the line of saying that if God say's something, he'll make it happen.  To the practical person, this does drive them crazy, but I do think that faith is important, very important, when you do anything for God.  I've come to realise that faith is a 5 letter word - spelt TRUST.  It was the coming months building up to our final weeks of going that really taught me this, but more on that later.

 

At the end of January there was a week of prayer at our church.  This was a significant time for me as it brought clarity and assurance - but was I sure I had heard from God?  The details of how God spoke to me through the story of Abraham when called to make a sacrifice, I have already written about.  The need for a stake in the ground, a point where if God didn't work we would know if wasn't right.  This was a faith jump to end all jumps.  I came out convinced that night that our date was 1st August 2008.  This was the day to aim towards.  It was just over six months away at the time.  We had no VISA, no finance in place, no churches on board.  We had nothing sorted.  But now faith played centre stage.  Clearly the practical would have to follow up very close behind, but if God had said Russia to us and if he had said 1st August, then he would be able to sort out the practical things.

 

 

 

 

To come;

 

Part 2 - The Six Month Countdown 

Part 3 - The Going

Part 4 - The First Impressions

Part 5 (In 2009) - One Year On