Greetings from Russia!

2008-03-05T13:24:00.000-08:00

How was Finland?

Well, by God's grace we made it back with another three month
visa! I can't express the bitter sweet this time has been for us. Those of you who know me know that I inherited my mother's skills in planning. Before we left I crossed every "t" and dotted every "i"; we had maps of the Moscow metro system (which we had to navigate early in the morning during rush hour with luggage and children in tow); we had maps and directions to the Russian embassy in Finland as well as all our needed visa papers, money, pictures and two dozen other papers just in case. When we arrived at our housing in Finland we were all exhausted, and Elias and Rayma were just beginning to get sick.
The symptoms were flu-like and seemed similar to what was going around in Perm and even America at the time.

A couple days later I went to the Russian embassy with all the needed materials to get our visas. When I arrived at the embassy location, it was almost unrecognizable as any kind of official facility except for a dull and grimy Russian flag that waved overhead. I approached the locked, rusty gate and pressed the somewhat grubby button. Sure enough a Russian answered and the gate buzzed as it unlocked. Walking passed the gate I approached the embassy door and again it was automatically unlocked. After walking through the large wooden door, I saw a thick glass window and, of course, a Russian security guard behind it. Once he saw I was no threat he opened the third door for me.

I walked into a beautiful hall with a large red carpet and marble stair case. I suddenly felt like I was in an old black and white James Bond spy movie. My sense was only enhanced as I turned into the waiting area and saw a large shiny silver door standing 8 feet tall and the width of a small car. It looked more like a vault than a door. I couldn't believe the world I had suddenly stepped into. The security guard announced my presence and I was asked to sit in one of the waiting chairs. This was easy to do since I was the only other person in the building from the "outside world."

Shortly after I had sat down in one of the chairs, a small Russian gal who spoke English stuck her head through the 'vault' door. "Can I help you?" she asked with one foot still in the door.
"I'm here to get new visas for my family."

She asked, "Are you a resident of Finland?"
"I am not, but I've called here four times and each time I was told that it wouldn't be a problem."

"That was on the telephone" she said, "You can't trust anything someone says to you on the telephone. Sorry we can't help you."

I was shocked, "But you said we could come, please you have to make an exception."

Feeling bad for us she took our papers and returned after speaking with her supervisor. As she opened the door, the director of the entire embassy came through. "What does this guy want?" He asked her.

"A three month visa" she said.
"Is he a citizen?"

"No"

"Than there is no way we will do it. Tell him no."

I understood half of what he said and knew it wasn't good. She explained to me that it would be impossible now that the director had said no and there was nothing she could do. She handed me our papers and began to walk away.

"Wait!" I shouted, "My wife and son are sick, we traveled here all the way from Perm because you said we could come. We spent all our money to get here and have no where to go! What are we supposed to do?"

In my intensity I think I overwhelmed her and she stood there speechless for a moment or two. Finally she said, "Ok. I'll tell you a secret. It's impossible for you to get your visa here because you don't have residency and the director has already seen your face. But in town there is a 'special' travel agency who can help you. They work with us a lot, and if they apply for you we will process your visas."

"Ok," I mumbled a little confused. "Please can you tell me their phone number?" I asked.
"I can't!" she said.
"What is their name?"
"I can't tell you."

"Can you tell me your name?"

"I'm sorry; I can't tell you that either, good luck." And with that she slipped behind the large vault door and was gone.

As I walked passed the marble staircase, the red carpet, and the 3 security doors I tried to recite the instructions I was just given. Find the 'special' travel agency with the 'secret' name and phone number not given to me by the 'secret' 'special' lady at the scary Russian embassy. Right! I'm sure! I explained it all to Rayma and it took her twenty minutes before she actually believed me. We went to the nearest travel agency and asked them, "are you the 'special' travel agency…" they said "No, but we know who you're talking about." The kind lady pulled out a paper and drew me a map. Now our spy story was complete because we finally had a 'secret' map. We found the agency and explained our situation; they took our papers and processed the visas in 2 days for $20 dollars more per person, of course, but that was to be expected.

Eventually, Rayma and Elias came to full recovery and we were able to enjoy the remainder of our time in Finland.
We had a very restful stay and were blessed to breathe the fresh Finnish air. As I reflected on my visit to the embassy, I thought about the children of Israel. After they were delivered from Egypt, God led them to the Red Sea. It looked like a dead end, and many of them may have thought 'God brought us out here to kill us.' I can now relate to that feeling. But as we know God didn't lead them to the Red Sea to let them die but to show them, and every other nation watching, that He is not only miraculous but always in control. He is bigger than any situation!

Will we stay in Russia? Absolutely! It's obvious we can't go back to Finland to get another visa however this does not mean the door is shut. Kiev, Ukraine is still actively giving three month religious visas to Americans. In May when we need to leave to get another visa we plan to go there. It sounds like it will be less expensive than Finland and more convenient for our family.
Even though we are still able to get three month visas, we realize now that it would be too difficult to continue to do this. Instead, I am planning to look for a job. We know this is Biblical, that even Paul was willing to build tents to support his ministry. As of now my hope is to be brought on as a teacher's assistant in one of the many English schools in town. The plan is to offer my services for 10-14 hrs. a week. I could be used for tutoring, special music, cultural insight, improving accents, or even just mopping the floors. The amount of money I would make is equivalent to about $50 a month; however, I would offer my services for free in exchange for a 5-year workers visa.
From what I understand, many of the English schools in town would do almost anything for a native English speaker. Each of them would like to say that they have a native English speaker in their program because it makes their program more attractive to students. This could also open up a lot of doors to do ministry outside of the church. Please pray for this possibility that the Lord's will be done and that He would speak clearly to us as we test the waters in this area.
Some of you have asked about Rayma and the kids so she will be putting together a little update on Russian life from the family perspective. Keep an eye out for it. Thanks for all your love and prayers. We will continue to keep you all updated as things progress.

In Christ Love,
The Barnharts

2007-12-22T18:24:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Thanks for your patience. It took us a little longer to get the family settled than I thought. But we're all doing great!

The church was very excited to have Rayma and the kids back and gave them many hugs and kisses. Everything is continuing much as it was after the concerts. There are about 12 new people that have continued to come and we've begun to actively disciple them in the Word. Several of the more mature Christians started Bible studies with a few of the new ones, and we plan to begin a new believers study sometime after the New Year for the rest. It's very exciting to see them each week and know that we'll soon be baptizing many of them. Praise God!

The next several months have a number of fun events were looking forward to. The day after Christmas we're having a special Christmas service at the church. We'll have some special music, a message, food and a comedic performance of the Christmas story. On New Years Eve we all gather at the girl's apartment and celebrate with a white elephant gift exchange, a message, and more music. On January 8th, Max, Peter and I will be going to Moscow for the National pastor's conference. In February, we have the National women's conference in Omsk and Moscow. And we're hoping to have another Baptism in March. As many of you know we're also planning another concert outreach here to Perm in April, but we'll talk more about that after the New Year. God is continuing to do amazing things in our lives, and we ask that you would please keep us in prayer during this next season of our church's life.

We do have good news about the Visas. The good news is that we don't have to come home!! When we were told about the changes the government made to the religious worker's visas there was a good chance it would be the end to our ministry here in Perm. After talking it through with the CCCPM staff in Moscow and in Oceanside, California we all found that there is an alternative to the (very limited) religious worker's visa. It was such a relief to know that we had another option even if it was the only one; however, and unfortunately, the alternative isn't pretty. The only option we could find that would work for us is the three month tourist visa. Although we can only stay in Russia for three months at a time we do not have to return to America. Let me say that again. We do not have to return to America, instead we can exit to any of the nearby countries and get another three month visa in only 10 days. Because of this, our plan is (Lord willing) not to come home to the United States until our commitment here in Perm is finished. The three month visa is extremely good news to us and our church however there are obvious difficulties and challenges. Leaving the country every three months can be exhausting for a family of four as well as financially draining. We don't yet have all the details of what it might take to leave every three months but once we do we intend to let you know.

I understand this might not sound exactly like the good news you were expecting but it really is. In the last two months many missionaries have already left Russia. Alex and Liliya at the Bible College in Moscow are planning to leave ASAP, another family in Moscow is considering throwing in the towel, because it is not feasible for them to stay. Another family in Volgograd has left, as well as some American friends of ours Ed and Karen here in Perm. A lot of missionaries are returning home to America because of this visa situation. WE WANT TO STAY and believe the Lord will provide for us to do this. That is good news! Please pray for us in this area and we'll continue to keep you posted on our situation.

Thanks again for all of your prayers and encouragement! We hope that you have a wonderful holiday season and, on behalf of the Barnhart family, I wish you a very Merry Christmas.

God bless you all and enjoy the pictures.

In Christ,

Dave, Rayma, Elias and Will

2007-10-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

God has been doing some amazing things!!

1. Baby Will: As many of you know, in August I returned to Oregon to help Rayma through the last part of her pregnancy. After being in Russia for 2 months without my family, it was so refreshing to be reunited. Our time was just as you might imagine it. Some days were filled with rest and relaxation, while other days we were busy meeting with friends and preparing for the new Baby. Eventually, William ("Will") Joshua Barnhart was born at 1:06 P.M., September 2, 2007; he weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 21 in long. Rayma did a fantastic job and had a quick recovery. Our friends and family were all such a delight to us and we thank you for so much love and genuine support. You guys are the best!

2. Organizing the Outreach: 11 days after Will was born I returned to Russia. It was a difficult thing to have to do, but we are confident it was God's will. Upon my return we quickly scrambled to pull together all the details for the concerts. God blessed us with an amazing facility in which to hold concerts. It was the same price as last year's yet it was in a very famous hall in the center of town. When we first spoke to the hall manager about using it for rock concerts, she immediately said "No" and tried to send us somewhere else but instead of leaving Barb (a Russian gal in the church) and I sat down. Somehow the woman completely changed her opinion and at the end of the conversation tried hard to find a way for us to have the concerts there. It was miraculous! We all had a sense that God was preparing us as a church for something amazing. We were right.

3. A Supernatural Outreach: I can say with all honesty that I have never in all my life been a part of an evangelistic outreach that was this powerful and effective. We passed out over 10,000 flyers and people were somehow supernaturally attracted to the team. The musicians did an amazing job and the testimonies were perfect. God provided sunny skies at a time when it should have been snowing. The weather alone shocked the locals. The team was so unified. Our times of worship and devotion were sincere and powerful. On one of the days plans didn't work out, so we sent some musicians to the park instead. A good number of people followed the Americans back to the concert hall. I was shocked. Every night when John or Mike or Peter got up to share their testimonies, the crowd was absolutely silent. In the past after a concert, about 50% of the crowd leaves right away. But each night almost all of the 250 people sat back down and quietly listened to the gospel presentation. On the last night the Americans were ready with gospels of John, invitations to the church, invitations to the follow-up seminars, the plan of salvation, and more. Most importantly the Americans made lunch appointments and meetings for the next week.

4. Fruitful Follow-up: The concerts ended on Sunday. For the next two days we had planned a special follow-up event. John Marr gave a two-part power point presentation on the inspiration of scripture. We had cookies and tea prepared for any that showed up. On Monday 65 people came but on Tuesday 75 people came. Both nights the Russians were confronted by the most powerful evidence that the Bible is the word of God. John covered geography, science, history, prophecy, textual manuscripts, the Crucifixion and especially the Resurrection. We all watched with sheer excitement as our friends who came to the concerts were now hearing undeniable truth about God's word. On the third night (Wednesday) we planned a special mid-week church service. I shared about some of the foundations of the faith. There were 85 people in the room that night! This is exceptional follow-up for an outreach our size. I had many of the key people in the church stand up and we pointed out as many others as we could. After this time of introductions we encouraged the new people to say goodbye to the Americans but to say hello to the Russians that were in the church. The next day the Americans left for Moscow. That Sunday we presented a slide show of photos from the concerts, and 50 people showed up. We expected this to die down but it hasn't. On Monday we had a special men's meeting that 15 guys showed up to, and on the same night we had a ladies' fellowship which 33 women attended (14 of the 33 were not Christians). Sarah and Lisa have been so busy with follow up meetings that they often leave the house at 12 and don't return until 9 at night. They average 2-3 meetings a day. The harvest is ripe and the laborers are few. The church is also doing so much to disciple and reach out to these new people. Barb, Svyeta, Veronica, Peter and many others have found themselves busy with meetings. Several in the church have told me they will be having weekly meetings with two or three wanting to do their part in discipleship. We were as prepared as we could be for this outreach and still it feels like the boat is filled with fish almost about to sink. We have continued to meet in the small hall where we had the seminars unable to move someplace smaller yet.

I chose two young men to meet with Igor and Andre. Andre and I have just started playing basketball together with Max's workmates. He loves it. Last night before I said goodnight he asked me, "Is there Church tomorrow?" I could tell by the tone in his voice that he was excited. Igor and I see each other every other day. I will be starting a Bible study with him in a few weeks. A couple days ago he came over to our house with cookies and snacks. He burst in with such excitement. Once the tea was poured he said, "I want to tell you why I'm here. My father had heart surgery it didn't look like it would go well. I got down and prayed for the first time and GOD ANSWERED MY PRAYER!! My father is doing great! Why would God listen to me?" But He did, and my father is alive!" Praise God!

Let me just list some other names. The twins Roma and Ruslan have come to every service we have. Anya and Olga came with Sarah, Lisa, and me to Igor's house and are doing really well. In a letter they declared, "The Americans brought us truth." Olyesa the Muslim girl is still coming and told Sarah, "I want to keep in fellowship with you." We had the two Lenas over to our house for tea and cookies it was a great time. Barb has been meeting with Natasha, who's husband beats her and can only see her child once a month. Liza said that since she has given her heart to God she has been delivered from alcohol. Aleyona said that she prayed for the first time this week. We don't have time to talk about Luba, Uliana, Ksusha, Olga and Dasha nor does this list include several other believers who rededicated their lives or have been hurt and decided to give church another try.

In all my life I have never seen God work like this. No one gets the credit. It's not a fancy idea or program. God is just doing awesome things. Please pray it continues. While I was back in America several of you mentioned that you have been praying for us every day. Thank you! I hope this report blesses you and shows all of us who are committed to this ministry that our labor is not in vain.

I hate to end on a negative note but there is a threat to the ministry. Not only in Perm but nation wide! I think it's more than worthy of another paragraph.

5. A threat to the Ministry: In yesterday's newspaper the St. Petersburg times published an extensive article on the new restrictions to foreigners living in Russia. We can no longer get one year visas that allow us to remain in Russia the whole year. As of October 4th the new law states that we can stay in Russia for 90 days and then must leave and cannot return for another 91 days. There are no conditions and no exceptions. I received a phone call at 9 in the morning from the international director of YWAM for Russia and he confirmed this. I called our Moscow office and they confirmed it as well. Unlike other laws in the past, this law does not look like it will be reversed. They have already printed new visa forms. Businesses and religious workers all over Russia will be affected and very likely hindered by this new change. To make it worse they may be adding an amendment to this law that restricts us from getting a visa from any Russian embassy except an embassy in our country of origin. We are presently trying to find loop holes and or other options. There is a temporary residency permit that we are all looking into, but we don't know how difficult it is to get. There is a lot of confusion right now, but we hope things will make more sense in a couple of weeks.

You can all imagine how difficult if not impossible it would be to pastor a church in a country when we have to leave for three months every three months. In addition to this, you can also imagine how expensive it would be for us to travel back to America twice a year. This is an obvious threat to the ministry not only in Perm but all over Russia. We all know how things are politically between Russia and the US right now. This stuff isn't just news it's affecting real people and real ministries.

Please pray for us in every aspect of this situation. Pray that God protects the abundant work and harvest we have just experienced in Perm. Pray that God will change the laws in our favor. Pray for wisdom that church organizations would know how best to process these changes. Pray for native leaders to be raised up. Finally, pray that God would continue to advance the gospel in Calvary Chapel Perm Russia. He will take care of us all. He will build His church even still we invite you to join us in prayer.

Your Missionaries,

David, Rayma, Elias and Will

2007-07-30T13:41:00.001-07:00

Good News from Perm!

Hello everyone I hope that you are all doing well. As most of you know, Rayma and Elias returned to the States almost two months ago while I remained here in Perm, Russia. It has been a long and difficult two months, but the Lord has been glorified and I would like to let you all know what I've been doing out here during that time. Of course, much of my time has been filled with studying and teaching the Word along with a great deal of counseling and an incredible amount of preparation for the upcoming outreach in October. I am so excited for this coming outreach and could send an update on this subject alone, however there are several things many of you have not heard about yet, and I wanted to share these with you as well. Please enjoy.

Boat Trip: Once I returned from Kiev, Ukraine I rested for about a week, then 20 of us set out for the Russian wilderness on our first Church boat trip. We drove 7 hours by bus, assembled our boats and headed down river. I can tell you that Russian camping is nothing like American camping! I got more wilderness than I ever wanted. The weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. The water was pure and refreshing and so was the fellowship. However my favorite parts were studying the Word of God next to the campfire. We talked about God's glory! It was awesome to speak of God's glorious character in the middle of His magnificent creation. The river rushing past, the birds and the gorgeous sky were so helpful to enhance our appreciation for God's greatness. When the trip was over we could all sense how much stronger our friendships had become. There was something so powerful about the time; it definitely served to strengthen our church.

Prison Ministry: Every other Monday we have a men's fellowship that meets. About 10-15 guys show up to eat, encourage each other and talk about how the Word of God applies to our lives as men. I have asked Max and Peter to lead this ministry and they are doing a wonderful job. A prison ministry in town is building a house for recovering inmates and our group of men were given an opportunity to help with the building project. In the rain and mud they worked like true Christian soldiers. We were able to meet several from the ministry who had been in prison for longer than I've been alive, as well as several that were recovering inmates. I'm so proud of our men for their servant hearts.

Week of Prayer: The Lord put it on my heart for us to set aside one week and dedicate it completely to prayer. For one week every message was dedicated to prayer. At the end of the week on Saturday we planned a church picnic to celebrate. The time began on Monday. We walked the city in pairs asking people on the street for prayer requests. We prayed for the homeless, drunk people out partying and anyone else that we saw as we walked. Our two main prayers were "God save our city" and, "God break our hearts for the lost," On Wednesday we had another time of prayer and studied the passages in the Bible where men, "called upon the name of the Lord." On Saturday I talked about how Jesus encouraged His disciples to, "pray and not give up" and we had a wonderful picnic. Finally, on Sunday night we met once again and looked at the passage where Jesus said, "My Father's house is a house of prayer." At the end of the service I gave the church an opportunity to rededicate their lives to God. Although I didn't ask for any hands to be raised, I know of several that took advantage of this opportunity. Praise God!

Service changed from Saturday to Sunday: I remember when George Bryson (the president of CCCPM) called me late one night. We talked about the upcoming outreach in October then out of nowhere he said, "Dave, I want to encourage you to move your church meeting time from Saturday to Sunday." I thought and prayed about it and finally said, "God, if you want us to move please just make it so we have to move." A week later I got a phone call. It was the day before we were going to start our week of prayer. The pastor of the church we are meeting in told me they have 6-7 weddings over the next 3 months and will need to use the building on Saturdays. Could we please consider moving our church meetings to Sunday at 5:00 pm? I thought, "Well that's not a traditional time, but it seems to be the Lord." We are very excited about this new change and several more people have been able to come to our service because we meet on Sunday. God is so good.

Baptism in the River: Just a day ago on Saturday the 28th we had our second baptism service since I've been here in Perm. We baptized 5 people at a spot where two huge rivers come together. It was a powerful time! The wind was blowing hard, the water was rough, and it even began to rain! Because of the weather we had to shout everything we said. So I shouted my short explanation of Baptism as lightning flashed in the background. Each person that was baptized shouted his or her commitment to God and love for Jesus Christ. The people who were baptized were all different ages from 16-45. The last guy we baptized came to Christ several months ago his name is Dennis. Our entire church has been praying and hoping he would come to Christ and now not only did he come but wanted to be baptized! After we baptized him the rain and lightning stopped the clouds eventually parted and the sun came out! We pulled out a bunch of food and had a picnic on the grass in the Sun. It was a day I will never forget!

One more week: I have one more week in Perm as of today. I will teach two more times and head out for Moscow on the 4th of August. I will be in Oregon on the 6th. Rayma's due date is 21 days later. Please keep us in prayer as I travel and as our second son will soon come into the world.

We love you all so much and are so thankful for your prayers and support. You are our partners in ministry and we praise God for each one of you.

May God richly bless your lives!

In Christ,

David Barnhart

Pastor Calvary Chapel Perm, Russia

2007-05-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

Hello again from Perm!

I know we just sent out an update about the outreaches, but we wanted to give everyone a picture of some of the other things that are going on in the ministry. So here we go!

When I started writing this update a couple days ago it actually began snowing again. That's right, we're in the month of May and it's snowing!! Just figured I'd start with that to give you a renewed sense of appreciation for your own local climate. However lest you think we are in a constant state of winter I should also let you know that the snow has since melted and today we were able to go downtown to see a Russian military parade. Today is the 9th of May and the day Russia celebrates their victory over the Germans in WWII. Praise God that our victory is in Jesus!

As a church we continue to study the Gospel of Matthew in our weekend service and the book of Acts in our Wednesday night, mid-week study. I've been challenged over and over by other pastors to simply "Teach the word and love the people." At first it seems simplistic but I can tell you that it is effective. Consistently washing with the water of God's Word and a genuine love for the sheep (imparted by the Spirit of God) does amazing things! His Word is living and active, it is inspired and profitable. The hearing of his Word produces faith, without which it is impossible to please Him. As we know Him we cannot help but love Him and from this love flows every good and praiseworthy thing in our lives and ministry. We thank God for the many blessings of His word!

Having this as our foundation, God has led us in a number of different ministries as a family and as a church. I would love to elaborate in detail but unfortunately time simply does not allow for that now. Instead, I would like to give just a short explanation for each of the key events and ministries that have taken place over the last couple of months.

Our first business meeting: This was a huge mile marker in our church. It established a high standard of integrity both morally and financially. It revealed to the church that the leadership is sincere, transparent and committed. I can't begin to explain what this means to Russians. I feel this meeting brought a peace and rest that the church did not have before.

English competition: Rayma and I made a connection with a Russian woman who is an English teacher at a University in town. She was in a competition among other teachers for the best class presentation. We were guests in her presentation as native English speakers in not only 1 but in 3 competitions. She won the Perm City competition among others and almost went to the national level. We were thanked by her entire administration and were able to have lunch with the president of the school. When we have our outreach in October they are excited to have us back to tell their students about our concerts. I love how God opens doors.

YWAM Coffee shop: God led a new couple to our fellowship several months ago. Their names are Roman and Tamara. Roman was instrumental in starting the YWAM that is now here in Perm. He has since passed it on to someone else and is involved in a number of other ministries. Roman said, "When we came to Calvary Chapel we felt like we finally came home." One of the other ministries Roman is presently leading is a Christian Coffee House. It is still in its beginning stages and is very rough around the edges. Our church feels led to work in conjunction with him in this ministry. It has a long way to go but has amazing potential. We hope to do some ministry in this coffee shop during the outreach in October. Please pray for this ministry.

Teaching at DTS: Since we're on the subject of YWAM… A month ago I was asked by John (who heads up YWAM's discipleship training school here) to do some teaching at the school. It was a great time. I think I taught for a total of 10 hours on 6 different subjects. My last teaching was on the presence of God. By the end of the teaching we were all in tears. It was a great time.

Easter: We had a regular Easter service along with a sunrise service. For the sunrise service we met down by the river, read some scripture, worshiped and prayed. It was a refreshing experience. I was surprised to see as many people at the sunrise service as were at our regular meeting. During this time we learned a new Russian phrase: "Christos Vas Kress!" "Jesus is alive!" After it was all over we met for food and fellowship.

Orphanage: As many of you already know Sarah returned to America about a week ago. However, before she left she maintained a very consistent presence at one of the main orphanages here in Perm. It was a wonderful blessing for her to be there to hold and feed the children. Each time she came back from the orphanage, she would share stories with us of the kids. Besides the normal children there, the orphanage also takes care of HIV positive babies and many children with defects. It's so hard to hear of children so disfigured and helpless. We're glad Sarah was able to give God's love to these children.

Village outreach: A group from our church felt led to reach out to some of the villages in our region. So we sent 5 from our fellowship to some of the most remote villages in our region. It took 7 hrs by truck. The first day they visited a site where many years ago human sacrifice was performed. The team decided to worship the true and living God in that place. The second day their truck got stuck in the mud and they had to hike to a nearby village. It appeared to be a ghost town yet they searched every house and finally, after several hours, found 6 people who still lived in the village. They shared the gospel with these 6. The next day they went to several other villages and despite the rain shared the gospel at over 50 houses. They plan to return in two months to visit these again.

Last Girls meeting: Rayma and Sarah held their final girls' meeting several weeks ago and over 15 showed up. It's amazing that they began with a group of just 3 or 4 of the girls who got saved after the concerts. It began as an English class and became a great Bible study for the girls in our church. However with Rayma and Sarah leaving for America there is no one who feels called or capable to lead the meeting in their absence. The harvest is ripe but the laborers are few. Please pray that these girls will stay strong.

Elias sick and schooling with mom: For a week or so Elias was sick. Rayma did an amazing job as always in restoring him to health. She has continued teaching and training him in so many ways. In fact several other mothers have even asked her how Elias is so well-behaved and happy. They marvel at his ability to sit through a service.

Non-Christians: Rayma and I have been able to make several Non-Christian friends by divine appointments at coffee shops and on the streets. Please pray for these, especially Inna and Sirgay.

Sarah's Goodbye party: We just recently had a goodbye party for Sarah. The church loved her and blessed her. Before the night was done the girls all gathered around her, laid hands on her, and prayed for her return. It was a beautiful thing to see and I think every eye had at least one tear.

We will soon begin several meetings in the church and would appreciate your prayers for these as well.

   1) Men's and Women's fellowship: We feel it's time to share the work load and have asked several upcoming leaders to begin a men's fellowship and a women's fellowship. Please pray for Veronica, Olga, Max and Peter.

   2) Servants' meeting: This is a meeting for those involved in worship leading, translating and teaching. Pray that Rayma and I will be able to challenge, encourage and refresh them in these important times of ministry. Please pray for Max I., Max M., Barb, Olga, Peter, Veronica, Alexander, and Victor.

   3) Prayer meeting: Twice a month the church will be gathering to pray for the needs of our fellowship, personal lives, and lost souls. Please ask God to give me wisdom in leading these times. And please ask God to teach our fellowship to be men and women of prayer.

   4) Worship night: We're starting a once-a-month worship night. The Church has been pleading for this ever since we got here. We now have two worship leaders in our church and are able to facilitate these times. Please pray for Victor as he leads us in these times of praise and worship.

New People: Please pray for many of the new faces who have been coming to our fellowship I don't know many of their names and we are not able to have deep fellowship with all of them. Please pray that the Word of God will do its work in their lives and that they will feel at home in our fellowship. Our weekend services are usually between 30-40 people yet in all the ministry serves about 50 people. It's hard to gauge what work is happening in people's hearts but we trust God and pray for more than surface-level impact.

Ukraine trip and Family plans: Our plans have changed a little bit and we would like to let you all know what is going on. Rayma and I must be out of the country by June 14th (which is the day before our aniversary) since that is the end of our one-year visa. Rayma and I will be flying out of Perm to Moscow on June 10th, Rayma and Elias will leave for Albuquerque, NM, on June 12th. There she will spend about a month with family and then head up to Oregon some time in mid July. I will also leave on the 12th for Kiev, Ukraine. It is the best and cheapest place I can go to get another visa. About a week or so later, if all goes well, I will make my way back to Perm. Please keep me in prayer.

In August I will return to the states for about a month for the delivery of our new child. Our due date is August 27th and by the way, IT'S A BOY!! Sorry we don't have a name yet, however the ultrasound showed everything to be healthy and on schedule. After this I'll leave again for Perm sometime in themiddle of September and finish the preparations for the outreach on October 1st. Unfortunately, Rayma and the children will not be able to return with the team in October. We have found out that it takes 8 weeks after delivery to get a visa for the new baby. Rayma will most likely be returning inNovember. Our church out here is so excited for this outreach in October. It will be such a breath of fresh air. Please keep praying for the Outreach team and all of our preparations.

I hope all of this gives you an idea of what we have been doing and where we feel God is leading us. A majority of the fruit we've seen in our time here is not reflected best through words on a piece of paper, but in witnessing first hand the transformation of people's character and lives. I wish I could email these things to all of you so that you could see with your own eyes the glorious treasures God has placed in hearts and lives. It is so beautiful to see Jesus coming alive in these people, to see their passion for Him and their love for each other. God is being glorified in Perm, Russia, and Jesus is continuing to build His church.

In Christ,

David, Rayma, Elias and baby brother.
Perm, Russia

P.S. We'll be posting some new pictures on the web-site soon. www.daveandrayma.com. God bless.

2007-05-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

We hope you're all doing well! Rayma and I are doing great although Sarah leaves us tomorrow morning and we're anticipating her absence. We have wanted for some time to share with all of you about the fruit from last year's outreach concert as well as some of the ideas we have been thinking about for this upcoming October. Let me start by saying we are so excited to have a group of you coming out here to minister in Perm. Tomorrow I will be preaching on Matthew 9 where it says, "The harvest is ripe but the laborers are few." It really is true. We can't begin to explain how much it means to us to have a group of harvesters and laborers coming to join us in the field.

Last year's outreach was amazing! I will never forget my installation service, it meant so much to me, and I know it meant a lot to the church. Before the team came I talked about the McMinnville Calvary as our sister Church but it didn't mean much. By the end of the outreach the church here understood that our connection is real. The team did such a great job of showing love to our fellowship; the impact has continued 'til this day. I know that several from our fellowship still email you and many of your names still come up often.

I asked Max (one of the leaders in the church) what he thought about the outreach last year. One thing he said was that before the outreach the city had no idea our fellowship existed. Now much of the city knows who we are and where we are. This is so true I often meet people while walking the streets who remember me from the concerts. Something else significant that happened during last year's outreach was the unexpected ministry in the schools. The team received 6-8 invitations to come to the schools to share about America and the concerts. Many of the people that came to the concerts were from the schools the team visited. This was amazing! What many don't know is that not too long ago every Christian group in the city was kicked out of the schools in Perm. I heard from someone connected to Campus Crusade that they were kicked out of every school and university in town. Our presence at the schools was the first this city has had in a long time. Praise God! Who would have known?

Most of you remember that several months after the outreach we Baptized 3 new Christians from the concerts. This was a huge landmark in our church. Recently I went to 4 or 5 of the group that got saved at the concert and asked them if they wanted to share how they felt about the concert with you guys. The following are some short comments they made about the last outreach. Enjoy!

"Hi, my name is Tamara and I am a young Christian now. I came to know God through the Christian concerts last fall and I am very, very thankful for that! I can tell you for sure that such concerts are so important to give people who don't know Jesus an opportunity to get to know Him! Thanks." ~Tamara Sherbakova, Perm

"Hi, my name is Natasha. My best friend was a Christian and I heard about Jesus from her from time to time. But when she invited me to the concerts it was so great! I met so many other Christians and I came to know God! I am so thankful for those concerts! God is so good to us!" ~Natasha, Perm

"Hello, my name is Kate. I'm still in school and I'm 16. I met Jesus at the concerts in autumn 2006. The concerts changed my life a lot and now I have God and He helps me in life and teaches me, and I have my church! Such concerts can change a person's life!" ~Kate, Perm

"Hi, my name is Veronica. I think these concerts are so important for youth! I know a lot of people began to think more about God after last fall's concerts. But even for the Christians who want to tell their friends about Jesus these concerts are a great opportunity. I think we need Christian concerts like these in Perm!!!!" ~Veronica, Perm

"Hi, my name is Ruslan. I want to tell you how I met Jesus. I have always loved music: I would wake up with music, then on the bus I would listen to music because it helps me to distance myself from the crowd. But my story is that in autumn 2006 I had just became a student in one of the Universities and everything was so new. I had new friends, new experiences. They were interesting and exciting on the outside and yet empty and lonely on the inside. I would ask people about life and most of them just said, "Don't worry! Just live!" But I didn't know how to live knowing that one day I would die! And then it happened! Everything good in my life happens unexpectedly! One day a friend of mine called me and invited me to go to the concerts, I decided to go. I loved the music and everything was great but I couldn't stop thinking that the concerts would be over soon and I would be back in my empty life…then suddenly they started to talk about God. The soil in my heart was just ready! My heart was opened by music and I received Jesus into my life. I just wanted to say that music is the language that young people understand. Through music you can tell them about God! I am so very thankful to the music groups 'Out of the Ashes' and 'Narrowgate'! God used you guys to give me life; He can use you to give life to others also! We're waiting for you!" ~Ruslan, Perm

I have been talking with some of the leaders in the Church about this next outreach so we can plan our summer in a way that builds excitement in our community for these upcoming concerts. We have decided to look for a new place to meet for our Wednesday night Bible studies and are hoping to find someplace near the center of the city so that when we have the concerts we'll have a great place to invite people on Wednesday nights. Please pray for us, this is a huge step we're taking. We are also planning to double the number of flyers and posters we put up to promote the concerts. In fact, our plan is to put together a number of resources we didn't have last year. Free Christian CD's, some new Russian tracts, new invitations to the church, more Russian Bibles for those who want them, etc. We are also planning to start a new believer's Bible study after the concert ends and thinking about other follow-up events, like showing the Passion of the Christ but in a rented hall, and maybe having a Pizza Fellowship time for those who want to know more. We are also planning to visit the schools again and maybe a couple of coffee shops. Please pray that God will give us wisdom in all our planning and that He will provide for the team that is coming. If any of you have more questions about this outreach or our ministry please feel free to send us an email.

Thanks for all your love God bless,

In Christ,

Dave, Rayma, Elias and Sarah - For one more day...

2007-03-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

It's True,
Rayma and I are...

Loved friends and family!

Rayma and I are going to have another BABY!! Many of you heard me announce this news as Pastor Ron (at McMinnville Calvary Chapel) held his telephone up to a church microphone. Through an endless line of incredible modern technological devices, a tall goofy Russian Pastor (that's me) announced the good news. However, for many of you this is new news and I hope you are blessed to hear it this way.

Rayma is 14 weeks along and is due on August 27th. We had an ultrasound taken here in Perm, and everything is normal and healthy. We don't know yet, of course, if it's a boy or a girl, but everything else checks out great. We were surprised to see that they had one of the most modern ultrasound machines we've ever seen and the ultrasound we had done only cost $12!

Our plan right now is for Rayma to return to America in mid June. She will spend a month with her family in Albuquerque, NM then go to McMinnville, OR to complete the rest of her pregnancy. I will return to Oregon at the first part of August and stay for 5-6 weeks. The McMinnville church is planning to send another team of people out here to Russia next October. We will have a series of outreach concerts much like we did last fall. If it works out we're hoping that Rayma (with Elias and the baby) can return to Russia with the outreach team in Oct. As for the medical side of things we have been and will continue to be in contact with several different doctors, Russian and American. We have a health plan that covers the pregnancy and we are all very excited at this new addition to our family. Please keep us in prayer as we step into another new adventure.

Thank you all for your constant prayers and support we love you all so deeply.

Your missionaries,

Dave, Rayma and Elias

2007-02-19T09:08:00.001-08:00

It's time for another update!

Praise God! We're all alive and doing great! There are so many wonderful blessings to praise God for it's hard to know where to start. This last season of ministry here in Perm has been so very busy. All through these winter months our schedules have been filled with a variety of ministry events. Here is just a small taste of what our hands have been busy with.

On December 15th we had to renew our visa registration which required us to leave the country. Some friends let us stay in a European time-share they have in Finland. It was amazing! The country was much like the USA, clean convenient and beautiful. Our cabin was located on one of the many islands in the famous Finland Archipelago. Over all, the trip was a much-needed time of refreshment.

We returned to Russia just in time for Christmas and the New Year. As soon as we returned Christmas shopping began. It was wonderful. Our house was filled with home made snowflakes, paper chains, and our small 2-1/2 ft Christmas tree had an assortment of home made ornaments on it. Eventually a number of presents collected under the tree and by Christmas morning Elias found an exciting array of gifts in the living room. Rayma and Sarah put together an incredible Christmas dinner and we finished the night with some fireworks in the local park.

Much of Russia doesn't celebrate Christmas as we know it, and the Orthodox day for Christmas is the 7th of January. Still, the church wanted to take advantage of our American heritage and begged us to have a western Christmas party on the 24th. We agreed, and decided to meet for a time of worship, testimonies, fellowship, gift exchange and a comedic reenactment of the Christmas story in Luke. It was a huge encouragement to everyone and for some the only true taste of Christmas they have ever known.

The week after New Year's I left to go to Moscow for a Calvary Chapel pastor's conference. Peter, who many of you know is a key leader in our church, was able to accompany me. We had a great time of fellowship both on the train and at the conference. I met most of the other Calvary pastors in Russia and gained a great deal of resources, wisdom and vision for the work that God is doing in our city.

Many of you already know that we just recently hosted our first Calvary women's conference here in Perm. 90 women came from all over Russia to participate in this event. We had women from Omsk, Nishni, Birsk, Kirov, Novisebirsk, Moscow, and of course Perm. A team of 20 American women came to bless and serve the women at the conference. Debbie Bryson was the main speaker and Sherri Youngward led the women in worship. 7 or 8 of these American women were pastor's wives who came from all sorts of different places like North Carolina, New Jersey, Colorado, California, Oregon and more. Rayma had a number of opportunities to connect with most of these pastor's wives and it was a huge encouragement for her.

In fact our own pastor's wife, Marleen Smith, came from McMinnville to join these ladies in ministry. We were so encouraged to see her again and receive all the love and blessings from our church back in McMinnville. Twenty girls/ladies attended from our church here in Perm and at one point they all gathered in Marleen's room for prayer and encouragement. Everyone from Perm declared the conference an amazing success and all are already looking forward to next year.

Elias continues to beam with constant excitement and joy. We are amazed at his adventurous spirit and continual laughter. He's been blessed with exceptional health to this point and is growing in so many ways. Rayma has been going through a number of different workbooks with him; his hunger to learn increases with every hour.

Rayma and Sarah continue to have a very successful ladies fellowship every Sunday night. The young women at this meeting are so in love with Rayma and Sarah. Every Sunday night at 5:50 PM the doorbell rings and the apartment explodes with laughter, prayer, hugs, kisses and more. We haven't yet told the girls of Sarah's impending return to the states in May; but we are confident it will not be taken lightly.

As I write this letter it is –30 C outside however winter will soon be passed. March is still pretty cold here but sooner than we know the snow will be melting and our first summer in Perm will begin. We're excited about the many ministry plans the Lord has been preparing for us. This summer looks to be full of all sorts of exciting future ministry and will be a huge mile marker in the ministry but we will save all that for another update. We plan on sending out another letter in a couple of weeks with detailed prayer requests and future plans. Please keep watching our web Blog site (daveandrayma.com) for new pictures and stories.

Your Missionaries,

Dave, Rayma, & Elias
Along with our sweet sister Sarah

P.S. Our email list was lost last month. If your address has changed or if you know someone who would like our updates please let us know.

2006-12-24T12:09:00.000-08:00

2006-12-24T07:38:00.000-08:00

To our dear friends and family:

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on
whom his favor rests."

We hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas season. Our Christmas
season has been filled with blessings! However, spending Christmas in
Russia has helped us to realize how much we appreciate, miss, and love
you all very much. We want to send our blessings to you and yours this
season letting you know you are in our thoughts and prayers. We pray
that this season has been filled with Jesus more than anything else,
in your hearts and lives. We love you all and wish you a very Merry
Christmas.

Luke 2:10-11 "But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring
you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.Today in
the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the
Lord."

With love from Russia,

Rayma, Dave, Elias and Sarah

2006-12-01T07:04:00.000-08:00

Привет!! Hello!!

Greetings from Russia! It's been a while since our last update; we have several awesome things to share. God has continued to bless Calvary Chapel Perm in so many ways. He truly is faithful to build His church. We often catch ourselves amazed at what the Lord is doing here.

We continue to minister to those who got saved as a result of the outreach concerts in September. There are about a half-dozen that continue to come faithfully to every service. In addition to these there are several others who drop by or call us to let us know how they're doing. The concerts in September have continued to bear long term fruit.

October was an eventful month. I quickly learned to preach through a translator and actually began to like it. Sarah and Rayma started teaching English to 6 girls every Sunday night and the church transitioned our Monday night new believers group into our first home fellowship. We are working our way through Genesis on Wednesday nights and Matthew on Saturday mornings.

In the first part of November Campus Crusade for Christ came out from a nearby city (5 hrs by train) to do an outreach for the church. It was a lot of fun and very encouraging to have another handful of young people join our new fellowship.

About half way through the month we were informed that CCCPM (Calvary Chapel Church Planting Ministry) will be holding their annual women's conference here in Perm! This means that, in February, women from all over Russia and the US will come to Perm for this national Calvary Chapel Women's Conference. It will be led by Debbie Bryson and, in addition to that, our own Marleen Smith (Pastor's wife of McMinnville Calvary) is planning on coming. They expect about 150 women. Wow, that's a lot of women! Praise God!

On the subject of women's ministry, Sarah and Rayma have just recently decided to turn their English class on Sunday nights into a girls' Bible study. Both Rayma and Sarah have been doing such an incredible job! They are constantly ministering to these women among many other ministry-related activities. A couple of weeks ago Sarah was given a possible job opportunity teaching English at a nearby school. The pay is almost nothing but this would give her a 10-year working Visa and open a number of doors. She continues to pray about this opportunity.

This last weekend our church had its first Baptism service. We baptized four individuals in an inflatable pool the Baptist church uses for their baptisms. Two of the four were new Christians that received Christ at the concerts in September. Each of them shared a short testimony before they were baptized. It was awesome to hear how sincere they are about their faith. Overall it was a very powerful time and a definite mile marker for all of us.

The weather has finally become cold. We have about 3 feet of snow on the side of the roads and three inches of ice on the sidewalks. It's difficult to walk anywhere without slipping once or twice. The large Kama River has already frozen solid and people have begun ice fishing among other things. They predict a cold winter this year. We have begun to get used to –23 C weather at least as used to it as a person can get, cold is cold no matter how long you've been around it.

As cold as it is though, the weather gave us a great backdrop for Thanksgiving. Rayma and Sarah cooked turkey and stuffing with all the other classic thanksgiving foods. Some things we couldn't find and had to be made from scratch but the idea was basically the same. The girls cooked four pies apple, pecan, banana cream and pumpkin. It was all such a treat after five months of eating Russian food.

We will have to leave the country by Dec 15th. We have one-year religious visas and are required to exit and re-enter the country every 6 months. Originally we planned on taking a train to Finland since it would be the least expensive, and we have friends along the way in St. Petersburg. However, some good friends in McMinnville have a European time-share and offered to let us stay at a resort for a week in Finland. The Resort is in a city near Helsinki. We got online and found airplane tickets to Helsinki for about the same cost of the train tickets we were looking at. It turns out that "Turku" the city we'll be nearest is called the "Christmas Capitol of Finland." It's also the oldest city in Finland. They have all sorts of Christmas festivities going on the entire month of December. I can't tell you what a blessing this is for us. We were not looking forward to being so far away from our friends and family over the Holidays, but this is such a treat and makes the distance feel so much less.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. God continues to bless and encourage His church here in Perm. In Matt 16:18 Jesus says, "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." We cling to His promises, we hold to His word. He will never leave us nor forsake us. He is faithful and true. Our hope is in Him and in Him alone. We wish you a blessed Holiday season and pray that in this season's hustle and bustle you will, "Draw near to Him in all sincerity…and faith."

With deepest love… Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Your Russia Missionaries,

Dave, Rayma, Elias and Sarah

2006-12-01T07:01:00.000-08:00

Latest Photos from Russia...

2006-09-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

Hey everybody,

The outreach ended a couple days ago, it was amazing! We are in the middle of our follow up, and barely have time to send this email.

I'm sending to you guys an update I got from my friend Alex who was involved in this outreach. I thought you would all enjoy hearing about the time from another perspective. Attached are some pictures of Alex and three individuals that could use your prayers.

Also please pray for our meeting tonight we will be showing Mel Gibson's "Passion" (with Russian subtitles). I believe it will be a powerful time.

We will send you our own update later this week when things slow down.

Your Missionaries,

Dave, Rayma, and Elias + Sarah :)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: alex enfiedjian

Subject: Wow...russia update. Perm Church Plant!

Wow! I have so much to tell all you guys...i cant even describe how amazing this trip was. I will try not to make this letter too long, and bore you all to death, but i have so much to say...so bear with me.

Things started off kind of tough. We arrived at the airport three hours early, but the lines were so bad, and people were pushing so much that we couldnt even get through check in and missed our flight. They said that it is our fault, and we had to pay three thousand dollars! which we didnt have. So, somehow we paid, and had to totally re-arrange our budget for the whole trip... So we just trusted that God knew what was going on, and that He'd take care of us. Well, we arrived the next day, and got out on the streets and started passing out flyers. Some people from the team met a couple named Mark and Lena...they wanted to practice their English so they came to church that night. They werent Christians. I talked with Mark, and he said..."its so weird...just yesterday i was wishing with all my heart that i had some people to practice my english with...and now the next day you guys are here!". So, we talked, and spent time, and he started coming around everyday. He invited us to come to school and talk with the students there (actually, God opened up a TON of opportunities to go to schools an talk to people...like two schools a day). Well anyway, we went to his class, and played some music, talked with kids, shared why we were there. And then i went around asking everyone to tell us something about themselves...in english...and we went around the class and came to this girl. She was exactly like on of those girls in those 80's high school movies...you know...like the breakfast club. She was the "cool" girl; smacking her gum, rolling her eyes, with her cool clothes, and dred locks for hair. I got the feeling that she tried to look for love by "who she was": who she hung out with, how she dressed, what music she listened to...all these external variables. Well....we just loved on her...showed interest in what she was saying...and she said that she'd come to the concert. Well she came, and we just continued to love on her. Its amazing how the love of God breaks people completely down. She went from this hard girl, to this girl who was so open. Lets jump back to mark. It was maybe the third day...and he told me that somebody had just killed his friend. Of course he was really upset, so i prayed with him. The next day i sat down and talked with him. I told him that all these things that are happening (us coming, his friend dying, problems with his girlfriend)...they arent just accidents. God wants you. He is trying to get your attention (im just summing up the conversation). anyway, i asked him what he thought about everything we had been talking about so far, and if he thinks we're weird crazy christians or what....and he said, he's not sure yet, but when he knows, he will tell me. So...now we are at the Second to last concert. The message was really powerful...and Ksusha (the girl with the dred locks) and Mark both said "wow...im really touched, i have to think about this"....so the next night was the last concert and the holy spirit was just so strong there. After the message we invited people to come up if they wanted to and ask questions, or if they were ready to put thier faith in Christ. I remember looking down and seeing Ksusha crying. Some of the team members hugged her and prayed with her. I talked to her afterwards, and she said that she believes, and she wants to give her life to Christ and follow Him. Then i pulled mark up on stage while people were leaving, and asked him..."Mark...what did you think about what they said tonight?" He said..."i think after tonight, I believe. I believe in Christ".

Anyway...after the concerts they had a follow up day at the church. There were 20 non believers there asking questions, and seeking. Dave (the pastor there) spent three hours talking with Mark, and Ksusha went over to the girls from the church appartment and just spent time with them. It is so good that she is already connected with them and made friendships with people at the church.

Lena is still not sure what she believes, but she is definately feeling the love.

These three are just three of the people that i personally interacted with during the outreach. There were hundreds of people at the concert and on the streets that got to see the love of God through our team. And im sure there are many others who put their faith in Christ during this trip...i just didnt get to meet them personally.

The church in Perm is AMAZING! the church members are from 16 years old to 28...and they just serve serve serve with all their heart. They didnt have a pastor for 2 and a half years, yet they continued to meet, and study and tithe, and everything. Please pray for them, that they would be blessed. They deserve it more than anyone i know. Please pray for Dave that he would continue to BLESS them, and the new believers and the people who are seeking in that city. Please pray for Ksusha, and Mark, and all the others in that city that are new believers...and praise be to God for everything He did there....and is doing. :) it is so exciting.

Thank you for praying. the next trip is to Kirov, in one day! pray that God does a work there too. Feel free to write. I have more to say, but i'll spare you for now. God bless you all!

love,
alex

Note: Due to problems with the site, I was unable to post photos. I will keep trying and they should follow shortly. - Mark.

2006-09-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

A plethora of photographs...

2006-09-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Perm, Russia!

Praise God! We made it to our new home in Perm!

We have been waiting years for this time in our lives. We can sense the Holy Spirit with us, guiding us, blessing us.

It's been a little over a week since we left Moscow. We completed the work project at the dorm with just enough time, money, and workers. Thanks to your prayers, no one got seriously hurt and illness never became an issue. God gave us exactly what we needed when we needed it.

A couple days after finishing the project we said goodbye to our new friends at the dorm and set out for Perm. We squeezed all of our stuff into a small cabin on the train and settled in for our 22-hour ride. When we arrived the church was waiting, ready and willing to haul all of our stuff to our new flat (apartment). Their attitudes were awesome, we felt so loved. During our first church service I shared the story of how God led us to Perm. We were all excited to be reminded of the ways God called us to be here. The church was obviously encouraged to hear our stories.

Now that we are settled in we will set our focus on the upcoming outreach concerts. The team from Calvary Chapel McMinnville arrives in about a week. Our first concert (of 4) will be on the 19th of this month. Please keep our team in prayer as they head this direction. Pray for their safe travel good health and positive attitudes. Please continue to pray that people will come to Christ. Pray for protection. Pray that the word of God would be clearly preached.

We have several other pictures of our time in Moscow, that will soon be on our new web/blog site.

If you're here, then thanks for checking out www.DaveandRayma.com. Thank you Mark Armstrong!

We love you all!

2006-08-12T13:25:00.000-07:00

Prayer List - Urgent Prayer Request

Work Project
• We’re in the middle of a very intense work project at the CCCPM dorm facility.
• We’re about halfway finished and have 10 days left to complete it.

• So far everything is going ahead of schedule. That’s a PRAISE.
• However, everyone is more exhausted than they’ve been in a long time, putting all of us at risk and susceptible to illness.
• Several have sore throats.
• We need all the man-power we can get and can’t afford to lose any if we’re going to finish on time.

Andre
• Andre is in charge of the entire dorm here in Moscow.
• Just yesterday he came down with a really bad case of strep throat.
• He has a high temperature and his throat is so sore it’s painful to swallow.
• A doctor could not come to see him but has recommended an antibiotic which Andre is now on.
• Strep throat is diifficult but tolerable for the individual, but it’s highly contagious.
• Andre is discouraged.

Please Pray
• For protection against illness.
• That we can finish the project on schedule.
• That Andre gets the right treatment and that he gets better soon.
• That he’ll not be discouraged.
• For continued safety for those on the scaffolding and planking around the building.
• That the weather will continue to be favorable.

You are the lifeline that holds us fast and keeps us going. Everyone here is aware that our support team is praying. We can feel it. Please renew your efforts on our behalf. Thanks, appreciation and gratitude are just words but each convey what we feel, knowing that you stand with us in strength and power.

2006-08-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

A few more Pics from our trip over...

A new adventure!

No, I will not go to sleep!

The train between terminals

Sleep at last!

2006-07-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

Kaluga (update from Dave's Mom)

I am glad to be the one to write this update to all of you. Dave has been tremendously busy and when not busy his head is too full to stop and think things through enough to write it all out. Dave, Rayma and Sarah are moving at a fast pace this summer – I’m sure it is at times flying by for them, and at other times they’re so eager to get to Perm that the days seem to drag by.

As I think of Dave at these concerts, I can see him in my mind’s eye. Take a break and think with me … he’s in Kaluga and all is ready. He’s been running around getting the sound set up, answering questions, giving instructions, all in a mad race against the clock. But now, just before the concert starts, he’s standing on stage off to one side, guitar in hand. He watches the Russian young people come through the door of the large auditorium, gather with friends to chat and laugh, and find their seats. There are at least 200, probably 50 more. It’s the last night of the concerts.

As he stands there watching the place fill up fast … his mind is racing even faster. Will the sound system hold? He wonders. Will it sound good? Will it carry their message well? I can see him glance down at his guitar. It looks so comfortable and familiar in his hands and my own mind takes off down a rabbit trail of its own. How many years has he held a guitar in front of a group of people? I remember when he taught himself how to play. It’s got to be a decade.

But then I see him begin to strum with one hand and move his fingers easily across the frets with the other. I can’t help wondering, will the strings hold? Will he have to quickly change guitars in the middle of a song? He looks up again at the crowd. He told me they’d passed out hundreds of flyer invitations and were always ready to follow-up with those who came with questions. There would be no altar call, but they’d use a questionnaire to get a dialogue started and pose questions that cried out for answers. Then they’d get them introduced to the Calvary Church there in Kaluga.

In this image of mine, I can see Dave bow his head to pray.

The other musicians take their places. The room though filled with noise and confusion, in just a few moments would erupt with the clash of symbols and the beat of their drums. The speakers would shout, “Come … come and listen … come and laugh … come to hear what we have to say!”

Watching Dave in my mind, I imagine the noisy crowd and wonder, How many would be interested in what the team had to say? How many would listen? How many would seek answers. How many lives would be changed? But it’s time. Dave lifts his head, puts that smile on his face and grabs hold of the mike … and for us; it’s back to reality and out of imaginings.

Wow, what an experience Kaluga must have been!!! According to Dave, the 1st night was meager and a bit disappointing. The 2nd night a dissenter threw a flare in among about 20-30 of the team after the security people had left. It was startling and caused great confusion. They thought it would explode and needed to get it out of the building. Dave tried to kick it, but that didn’t work. There wasn’t time, so he picked it up and ran it outside. His fingers got a little burned but it was not bad and they are now healed.

The 3rd night was thick with fear and concern, but nothing happened. Then, the 4th night there were about 250 excited people. It was a powerful night and is why my mind went to trying to imagine Dave up on stage. About 50 people responded but for a dozen or so, that night would change their lives forever. For Dave and Rayma, it doesn’t get better than that! Be praying for Pastor Dema and the Calvary Chapel in Kaluga as they disciple those who showed interest.

When I talked with Dave, they were back in Moscow for a “rest,” which meant they’d go out on short outreach bursts into the surrounding city; they’d do prayer walks; they’d play some music in the park and talk with those who gathered. As you know, from Dave’s note he was on his way out again. This time Rayma, Elias and Sarah will stay at the Bible College to practice Russian. (Sarah has not been feeling quite 100%, so will enjoy the rest, I’m sure.)

Meanwhile, Dave was on an 18-hour train ride to the city of Volgograd. By now, he’s arrived with the team, has passed out flyer invitations, and has gotten through two concerts. There are two more – Monday and Tuesday (that’s Mon. & Tues. morning for us). I understand that Volgograd is known to really enjoy rock and roll, so they’re expecting a big turn-out to the “free” concerts.

As Dave’s Mom I sincerely appreciate your prayers for Dave, Rayma, Elias and Sarah. No matter what they’re doing, it’s a pretty intense time. By the way, Elias is well and, as usual, happy. They got to go “touristing” to Red Square (Dave said he’d send pictures or get them up on some website) with a new friend who was there from Perm, Veronica. Veronica was on the outreach to Kaluga and sang with Dave at one of the concerts. They have all enjoyed getting to know each other, forming a friendship that could last a lifetime.

That’s it for now. Dave will be back in another week or so with more to say about Volgograd. As I’ve told some of you, I find myself gazing at the globe wondering just where they are but knowing just the same that they are in God’s hands … a most pleasant place to be.

Char Barnhart

2006-06-28T12:53:00.000-07:00

To Tver and back to Moscow

It is so good to be able to send this update to you. God is so amazing!

We wanted to send out an update and prayer letter a couple of days
before we left, but the Internet here at the Dorm crashed, and we had
no connection. I know that many of you expected to hear from us. I'm
sorry we weren't able to contact you.

A day or so before we left for the city of Tver (Te veer), the dorm
burst into a whirlwind of Oregonians. A team of about 16 Oregonians
arrived from the Astoria area led by their pastor, Jason Biel.
Prepared for cold weather they were surprised to find themselves in
90+ heat with 70% humidity!

They were even more surprised to find that one of their team members
lost his immigration card and about 7 of their bags were lost in
transit. Those bags didn't arrive until the trip was half over.
Welcome to Russia! Let me drop a note to any potential international
travelers. Pack a healthy carry on.

Once the team arrived, Alex (a staff member here at CCCPM) and I
quickly pieced together a rock band. Alex played drums, a guitar
player on the team was thrown on the base, their pastor Jason (33
years old) became our new lead guitarist and yours truly played rhythm
guitar and lead vocals. On top of this there was no sound man so Alex
and I went through all of the sound equipment to make sure everything
was working well. It only took a couple of minutes for me to realize I
would be running the sound as well as supervising setup. At one point
Alex turned to me and said, "God sent you here; it's not an accident
you're here. Make sure you show me how to do all this before you
leave." God is incredible!

All the while I was doing this; Rayma and Sarah were making new
friends, packing all the things needed to keep us alive, and even
taking the time to introduce Elias to Boris, the dorm cat. This cat
has definitely seen better days, but none the less Elias loves him.

Tver was only a three hour drive north (we had two 15-passenger vans).
But if any of you have driven outside the U.S. you know that three
hours on foreign streets is enough to make a grown man cry. We forced
ourselves not to watch the driving.

When we made it to Tver they gave Rayma, Elias and me the best room in
the hotel, which means it looks very much like a normal American hotel
room, from the 50s. Our hot water was brown but we had a fridge. God
is so good to us.

The next day we all hit the streets passing out flyers for the
concert. We met dozens of people and passed out hundreds of flyers. On
the second day we went to the park right across from the concert hall
and passed out even more flyers. We also got to share about Christ
with several dozen people.

The day of the concert was crazy; we had a little less than a hundred
people. The next night was City Day – the 800th or so birthday of
their city. The streets were overflowing with people. Many more people
filled the concert hall. We played as hard as we could. I can't
describe with words what I must have looked like screaming into the
microphone, as I flailed around the stage. We were all surprised at
how God enabled us to become, "All things to all people."

Meanwhile, Rayma, Sarah and Elias strolled through the parks and
waterfront area praying through the city streets which were filled
with young women of all ages extremely under dressed. They could sense
their unspoken cries of desperation and overall longing to be truly
loved.

Elias played with the Russian children in the park unfazed by the
extreme cultural differences. Speaking of Elias he is doing great
besides a little heat rash. He seems to have waited all his short life
to eat Russian food. He loves it! Elias especially loved riding in the
hotel "alligator" (elevator). And the "Babushka" (Grandma) who took
care of our room found a special connection with our little Elias. I'm
sure she would have bought an "I love Elias" t-shirt if she knew they
existed.

Sarah has been an extreme asset to us. Diaper after diaper, meal after
meal she has been constantly available to help us with anything we
need. From buying water to pushing the stroller, she has been a
constant resource and strength. I know we could survive without her in
this time, but much like the water in the hotel, I sure wouldn't want
to try it. She would love to get an e-mail from you if you have the
time. Her email address is Serengeti2@gmail.com.

Getting back to the outreach. By the end of the third night, more than
250 people at one point or another, heard the gospel message – more
than 50 of them individually. And, before we left, a little under a
dozen made decisions to accept Christ. Sarah shared with one young
woman who rededicated her life. Later her boyfriend came to Christ.
One young man who got saved the last night of the concerts said as we
were walking to a baptism. "I have peace in my life for the first
time." He then went on to share his desire to be constantly involved.
Another young woman broke down at the end of the second night. She
said, "I don't want to be a lesbian any more, I want to live for
Christ."

As we drove out of the hotel parking lot this morning, I remember
looking out the back window of the van. I was amazed to realize that a
couple of these young figures waving goodbye to us just days earlier
were still lost in darkness. But now just a couple days later, by the
grace of God have been ushered into eternal life. God is Amazing!!!

In a couple of days we will be leaving for our next outreach in Kaluga
We plan on sending out a prayer list before we go, as well as
responding to our personal emails.

I know this has been a long letter. We love you guys. Thanks for
lifting us up in prayer. God is answering your prayers!

Your Missionaries,

Dave, Rayma and Elias

2006-06-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Moscow!

We made it. Praise God!

The flight was everything we thought it would be: long, fun,
exhausting, exciting. It was so weird to land in Germany. It was like
going from one world to another. Everyone went from speaking English
to speaking something else. It was a little difficult to get around
but we figured it out.

Elias is doing great. In Germany we took a tram to the proper terminal
and were than bussed out to the airplane. Elias loved it. All the
people here enjoy him, and he really is opening doors for us. He's
eating great and sleeping even better.

Once we got through customs our contacts where waiting. They were
really excited to see us. As we waited for the van we rented, they
asked us how we felt called to come. Boy, did they get an earful...we
drove to the Calvary Chapel Bible College extension campus dorm where
they showed us to our room. It's like a suite with a doorway divider
and a full walk-in bath. They cleaned it really well and even set up a
nice crib for Elias.

Today we set out on our first adventure. Diapers! A new friend, Alex,
walked us to the nearby store (20-min walk each way). I can't tell you
how awesome it was to throw Elias onto my shoulders and, with Rayma by
my side, to walk the side streets of this new place. Exciting!

On Monday we are taking off for our first two outreaches. We will be
going to a couple different cities over the next 20 days.

[Spasiba] Thank you, for everything your prayers are being answered.

We will e-mail you all again soon.

God bless.
Dave, Rayma and Elias

2006-06-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Well, many of you know that we are scheduled to leave tomorrow on a 1:25 pm flight from PDX to Germany and then on to Moscow after a brief layover. The only missing detail to our entire trip is this visa issue. Due to complications the visa's were not going to arrive until the day before we leave which is today.

Shannon at CCCPM said if we don't get them by 11:00 am to give her a call. Well, 11:00 am came and went and still no visa's. So I gave her a call as I was driving back to the house where we are staying. She said that she would begin the process of tracking down the visa's at the consulate in CA.

After I hung up the phone I felt so helpless but knew it was in God's hands. At that moment, wouldn't you know, a UPS truck pulled right out in front of me. I followed him into his next delivery and asked if he had any mail for David Barnhart. He promptly checked his list and said, "I sure do".

We got the Visa's and can now get on the airplane. Praise God! We're going to Russia!!

Thank you all for everything. We know that we did not have time to say all that's on our hearts to each person we are leaving behind. We trust you know that we love you.

Thank you for your prayers and financial support.

"May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you... and give you peace."

With love,
Dave, Rayma and Elias

2006-05-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

Prayer List May 29 06'

Departure Preparations
Russian Visa's
A new law that is being enforced requires us to have very specific blood tests done. We weren't informed of this till recently. In order to get our visas in time we need the test results mailed to CCCPM office in Oceanside CA by this Thursday. Due to Memorial day the Labs are delayed. Pray they will get the results to us quickly, so we can in turn overnight them to Oceanside.
Wisdom in packing
As we decide what to take and what to leave to either ship later or to store here.
Language learning
Time management

Personal lives
Our marriage
That it stays strong as the stress increases
Personal prayer lives
Physical health
Especially with Elias; he is doing great but is very sensitive.
That we have God's heart for the Russian people

The City
Poverty
In nice restaurants extra dinner rolls are given to you as you leave, to give to the people waiting in line for hand-outs of food.
Street kids
Some street kids (orphans usually) sleep in the sewers at night to stay warm
Environment
Last year 75 nuclear missiles (from the cold war) were disarmed in Perm. The toxic fuel that contains carcinogens was burned just outside the city.
Alcoholism
50% of the men in Russia are Alcoholics, the life expectancy of men in Russia is 57.

The Church
Max and Veronica
A brother and his sister who are leading the church presently, and who will be our translators when we arrive in Perm.
Peter
Max's good friend who is helping him
Unity
Boldness
Transition