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MIR continues to grow and expand into new areas of ministry: Remont! That's the Russian word for remodeling. We're in the process of remodeling our office kitchen, bath and guest rooms. We expect the process to take several months as we pull permits and completely gut several rooms. Right now the place is a dusty mess. In Full Swing Our Autumn activities continue apace. In December, we'll send Russian orphans to live with American families for the holidays. We recently welcomed several short-term teams from Texas, Washington, Ohio and New York. Our most recent monthly prayer meeting was attended by people from Scotland, Northern Ireland, Canada, Russia and the US. We continue to see growth (and challenges) in many areas. Vice-President Maria Mikhaylova has moved into her new role as
Vice-President. Over the past 6 years, Masha has been involved in a variety of
ways at MIR: she's a founding member, has handled team administration for dozens
of teams, is well known by many of our partners, has many times offered
invaluable advice regarding our programs, and has been a faithful supporter of
our work. Her experience and knowledge are a great asset to MIR. Though she's
been a member of our team for years, we welcome Masha into this new role. Summer Plans An African friend who lives in St. Petersburg was asked how he likes the Russian winters. He replied, 'the white ones are terrible, but the green ones are not so bad.' Well, several teams are beginning their planning for summer ministry. This means that the MIR staff is already starting to plan for the summer. Often, it takes longer than one would think to accomplish tasks in Russia, so we have to start early and plan for delays. We're plan for teams from Georgia, California, Massachusetts, Texas, Ohio, Washington, and Toronto among others. And we'll be sending Russian orphans to a summer camp in Florida! Teams, teams, teams Several teams are currently in Russia or will arrive soon. These teams are ministering in orphanages; and most have been here several times before, continuing to deepen relationships that were started years ago. The teams are from Texas (3 teams), Ohio, Georgia, and New York. Making Connections In January and February, Mike Cantrell is traveling in North America, visiting several partners in the USA and Canada. We have several new programs and partnerships beginning, in addition to our on-going work. Stops along the way include: a visit to Texas to meet with friends, teams, and partners; attending a Hearts of Hope board meeting in Florida, where we plan to send 20 Russian orphans for summer camp this year; a visit to Toronto to meet with the leaders of Christian Horizons and Mission of TEARs; meeting with leaders of New Horizons for Children in Atlanta; and speaking at a world missions conference in Wenatchee Washington. |
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MIR © 2006 |
There is always a lot going on at MIR. In addition to our regular activities of transferring humanitarian aid, overseeing programs and hosting teams, we have more than enough to keep us busy --