December 2011

Above: The snow-covered forest on the campus of the Theological Institute of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria

“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”” John 8:12

It has been twenty years since the USSR ceased to exist. At times I have to pinch myself when I recognize that LCMS World Mission has been evangelizing in Russia for about eighteen years, primarily working with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria. In Advent, we in the Church focus our meditation upon Christ’s first coming, our Lord Jesus powerfully symbolized as The Light in a dark world. Throughout the year 2011 I have been reflecting upon the trials and blessings which the Ingrians have experienced as they mark their 400-year anniversary. In keeping with the tradition of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, I’d like to conclude the year with one more reflection upon the past, a picture of the present and a glimpse into the future.

THE PAST- Moloskovitsa- Oldest Church in Ingria (1632)

On the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 Moloskovitsa still had 2537 members

As Ingrian Lutherans celebrated their 400^th anniversary this year, perhaps none of the remembrances conjured up a more striking image than the service that took place in the open-air cathedral in the village of Moloskovitsa. Built in 1632 with white stone and thus bearing the moniker “the white church”, this congregation had through Word and Sacrament ministry strengthened the faith of Ingrian Lutherans for centuries.

On the eve of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 Moloskovitsa still had 2537 members, almost all of them of Estonian heritage. But as the communists continued to strengthen their power base over the next decade, it was perhaps only a matter of time before they would turn their attention from the state Orthodox Church to the Lutheran Church. As the persecution of Lutherans intensified throughout the 1930s, Pastor Lev Schultz was shot (1935) and the church in Moloskovitsa was finally and forcibly closed in October of 1938. Since the communist government by law owned all of the church property, the building was eventually given over to a club.

In the succeeding years the roof collapsed and the Moloskovitsa church was reduced to a jumble of crumbling walls and beams, joining a host of ruined churches across the Soviet landscape. When members of the Ingrian Lutheran Church gathered this summer to reflect

Above: My former student, Rev. Mikhail Ivanov, strengthens the foundation for the cross at the church in Moloskovitsa

upon their past struggles, they simultaneously praised God for His many blessings and decided that it was appropriate to place a wooden memorial cross on the spot where the altar once stood. The stones used to fortify the cross were taken from the almost 400 year old walls, accentuating the fact that no matter what difficulties may come into our lives, Jesus Christ continues to reign in His Church until the end of time.

 THE PRESENT AND FUTURE-Theological Institute of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria

(Above) Dr. Prilutsky accepts his new position as rector

Moving forward into the present, teaching a class each semester at the seminary in the village of Koltushi has been one of the greatest blessings of my missionary service. The seminary has grown since its resurrection in the 1990s after being officially closed by the communist government in 1934. It now offers courses for those working with youth, Sunday schools, music, diaconal work, as well as those studying in the Beginner’s Course and the regular courses for the Bachelor of Divinity (B. Div.) degree.

LCMS World Mission has been part of the staff since Missionary Douglas Reinders began courses here in the late 1990s. I took over for Doug when he returned to the U.S. with his family in 2003. I teach the courses in Russian and thus have a unique opportunity to work one-on-one with students.

There are now 16 full-time students in the B.Div. course, 30 students in the Beginner’s Course and 15 students in the Cantors’ (musicians’”) course, not to mention the many other part-time courses which put the number of students closer to 150-200 throughout the year. Dr. Alexander Prilutsky was recently named the new rector of the seminary (November 2011). The previous rector, Rev. Fyodor Tulinin, decided that he needed to spend more time with his family and his parish in the city of Pushkin, just south of St. Petersburg. We wish Fyodor God’s blessings and pray for Dr. Prilutsky in his service to the church in the future.

As we close out the old year, I am grateful to you for your support of my missionary work as well as support for our church partners in Ingria. I have witnessed a church rise from the ashes and grow to be a sound biblical presence in the country of my grandparents. While Russians search for hope in an increasingly complex and confusing world, we are honored to share in strengthening the Christian witness of our Ingrian Lutheran partners. The Lord who has kept His Church alive despite all obstacles will in no wise abandon it. His promise is to accompany us until the end of time. May our Lord Jesus Christ fill you with His joy and peace this Christmas!

 Prayer Requests:

Please continue to pray for my cousin Shawn Nunnink, battling cancer.

Thank the Lord with me for safe travels throughout this year and now as I head to Michigan for Christmas and St. Louis for study in January.

Please pray for the students and staff at the Theological Institute of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria. Pray that their commitment to our Lord will remain strong and firmly rooted in His Word.

Please pray for those families who have lost someone in the past year. In particular remember the Roemers and Blokers after our missionaries Karen and Jim passed away this summer. I had the chance to meet Karen’s husband after church in Frankfurt, Germany last week. Dr. Albrecht Roemer and I remembered Karen’s humility and strong faith. Dr. Roemer spoke of how she comforted her own family when she knew that she was going to die. Karen knew her Lord and knew where she was going. Please pray for the comfort of the resurrection to the families that will have an empty place at the dinner table this Christmas.

E-mail: matveih@yahoo.com—mailing address- 26650 Woodshire, Dearborn Heights, MI., 48127.

To support my work financially, you can send a tax-deductible gift to:

LCMS World Mission; Missionary Support; PO Box 790089; St. Louis, MO 63179-0089

—–Make checks payable to LCMS World Mission. Mark checks “Support of Matthew Heise.”

If you would like to partner with me in my ministry with ongoing support as an individual or congregation, please contact Debra Feenstra for information on Together in Mission or Mission Senders at 1-800-248-1930 Ext. 1651 or Debra.Feenstra@lcms.org Thank you, and merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT OUR BLOG!

A Christmas Cards from Leif & Zhanya Camp

 May we along with the Shepherds of old, continue to marvel at the wonder that God, out of His great love and mercy decided to come and dwell among us for our salvation–that He might reconcile us to Himself.

The Church-wide Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria's Christmas celebration

The English Language Worship service held today.

Blessings,
Leif & Zhanya Camp

PS.  My monthly prayer letter will follow in a few days… 

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October 2011

Darkhan, Mongoli

Lutheran Bible School students and teachers-I’m in the back row

I finally had the opportunity this past month to return to Darkhan to continue my course on the Pentateuch (First five books of the Old Testament). It had been almost a year since the opening of the first Lutheran Bible School in Mongolia, but other duties had kept me from returning to finish the course. The phenomenon of a Bible school is actually a traditional means for educating laypeople in the Scandinavian countries. In Norway, students will often take one year after high school to study somewhere, at a cooking, sports or dancing school, whatever your fancy. But others will explore their faith more seriously and thus Lutheran Bible schools have become a means for strengthening the faith of young Christians. Oddly enough, out of its education budget, the state will give the taxpayer money for this! (One of the pluses of having a state church that I had never considered before).

In Mongolia, our friends from the Norwegian Lutheran Mission (NLM) and the Finnish Lutheran Overseas Mission (FLOM) have utilized this Scandinavian tradition to elevate the biblical knowledge of new believers in Mongolia. In addition, this is an excellent opportunity for Mongolians to understand a little more clearly what it is that makes Lutheran theology so special.

Buddhist shrine in the center of Darkhan

The students are primarily but not exclusively young. Some are working in the church as deacons or deaconesses. Most, though, have completed university and are now looking for work. Still, they take their Christian faith very seriously and want to learn more. It doesn’t often occur that I have a class respond negatively to my request to take a break. But they frequently asked to keep going when I was ready for a break! If I can keep myself from taking breaks J, I plan on concluding my course when I return to Darkhan in November.

A Milestone for Christianity in Mongolia

While walking to the city center in Darkhan, I noticed that a Buddhist statue was still the main attraction in the city. But even here in northern Mongolia, one couldn’t miss the fact that Mongolians were celebrating 20 years of Christianity this past month. In the capital of Ulaanbaatar, a major civic center was rented as a large number of Christians reflected with joy upon the explosive growth of the faith in this predominantly Buddhist country. When the communist system fell near the end of 1990, it was said that there were all of four Christians in the entire country. As Christian leaders came together during the weekend of September 16-18, estimates of the current number of Christians ranged anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000. All of this in just twenty years! The uncertainty surrounding the number of Christians reflects the fact that many Buddhist fathers in this patriarchal society answer census takers on behalf of the entire family. Highlighting a developing conflict between generations, a father will often claim that his whole family is Buddhist when in fact many of them are Christian, especially the young. Whatever the actual number of Christians in Mongolia today, I am reminded of Luke’s account of the Early Church in Acts 2:48 “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

At a cemetery on the outskirts of Darkhan and a Christian Gravesite

Changing of the Culture

On a free Saturday afternoon, Norwegian professor Knut Kirkholm and I wandered off to the outskirts of Darkhan. There we spied a sprawling cemetery in the distance, encompassing what my Western mind would conceive as quite a few football fields. As I inspected the tombstones, I noticed that virtually all of them seemed to have emblems of little flames. Others were wrapped with blue ribbons, symbolizing the blue sky. As I calculated the birth and death dates, I also observed that people died quite young. The life expectancy rate in Mongolia is 68 (compared to 78 in the U.S.), but it seemed that the overwhelming majority of those buried here were in their forties. Alcoholism is one of the reasons, a scourge in Mongolia that cuts short potentially productive lives and depletes the male population.

Nevertheless the culture of Mongolia is changing as this isolated country, now freed from an oppressive communist system, makes its way into the 21^st century. Most importantly, though, Mongolians are coming to faith as the Holy Spirit fills their hearts with joy to lead lives worth living and confess that Jesus is Lord. Just before we left the cemetery, I found the gravesite of one named Zh. Enkbayer. I assume from the first letter that this was most likely a woman, but whoever it was, the cross on her tombstone proclaimed a believer now resting with our Lord.  Our prayer is that the Lord will use the witness of these new believers to add to the number of saints in Mongolia. Soli Deo Gloria! (Glory to God alone!).

Sunset adds color to the hills of Darkhan

Prayer Requests:
Please continue to pray for my cousin Shawn Nunnink, battling cancer.

Thank the Lord with me for safe travels and pray for continued safety and blessings in teaching as I travel to Russia (October 12), Kyrgyzstan (October 25) and Mongolia in early November.

Please pray for the students at the Mongolian Lutheran Bible School. Pray that the Lord will bless them with deeper spiritual understanding, courage to witness to their faith, and suitable employment for those seeking work.

E-mail: matveih@yahoo.com—mailing address- 26650 Woodshire, Dearborn Heights, MI., 48127.

To support my work financially, you can send a tax-deductible gift to:

LCMS World Mission; Missionary Support; PO Box 790089; St. Louis, MO 63179-0089 —–Make checks payable to LCMS World Mission. Mark checks “Support of Matthew Heise.”

If you would like to partner with me in my ministry with ongoing support as an individual or congregation, please contact Debra Feenstra for information on Together in Mission or Mission Senders at 1-800-248-1930 Ext. 1651 or Debra.Feenstra@lcms.org Thank you, and may God bless you!

October 2011

OK, I am a day late–all Saints instead of Reformation day.  But if I made it yesterday,

our organist's son had a fever so she called Sunday morning saying she couldn't make services. My mother filled in and did a credible job.

I would have to wonder if my letter would be received as a trick or a treat!  The big blessing from God this month is that my mom visited–this is her 7th time in Russia.  She is still 29 for the last 52 years!  But that may not
interest you all so much as it interested my wife, me and the kids.

Attached are some pictures and my prayer letter (which is after all the pictures).  God gave me a lot to do this month, the pictures below cover some of them, but since we just received such a great gift of books and
journals, I seem to have focused on that.  So it goes.

One prayer request that I forgot to add is that next month I will be teaching at the Youth Worker course at the Ingrian Theological institute.  This is the first time I will be teaching in that particular course, so pray
for that.  Otherwise, enjoy the attached pictures and prayer letters, and respond if you have questions and comments.

Blessings,
Leif

my car with a load of books. If you look close you can see the bomber is made from duct-tape. This was the load of books I brought for the Syndical gathering.

a local pastor received a copy of LHF's Commentary on the New and Old Testament.

The Car

By the grace of God my old Ford is still running, but I really think the next thing to go will be the transmission—it is the only thing that has not broken yet.  Buying a car is a major thing in Russia and since credit is not so readily available, and since the whole market is buyer beware, I am struggling more than I should I suppose.  To buy a car, however, is a great financial outlay.  On one hand I see the need for a mini-van type vehicle that seats more than just my family since I see it would help in ministry and service, but such are more expensive than I can afford.  I have, however, given up on a new car, since the only new cars I can afford are Russian or Chinese built, and as one Russian told me about one of the Russian 8 passenger jeeps I was interested in—“you spend one day in them and two days under them…”  I logged about 5000 kilometers this month going to villages, distributing books and so forth—my car is holding together on prayer and bailing wire (yes, they still have that here).  So pray for me, I hope to buy somethingthis month…

one of the ongoing ministries in Nizhniy Novgorod (one we started back in 1996) is a Christian lending library. This month when I visited Nizhniy to lead a mission seminar I also brought several LHF books for this ministry.

On Friday the 29th there was a special seminar at the Ingrian Lutheran seminary, during a break I gave the participants a copy of Chemnitz' Enchiridion which LHF has translated into Russian. I caught these three pastors reading it enthusiastically.

October 21-23 I was in Nizhniy Novgorod holding a mission seminar. The question I was invited to answer was how to listen to God's voice. At the end of the seminar I handed out the Good News JOurnal on prayer. This picture was taken at tea time after the seminar.

Here I am with Alexander Hlynov with a book table we set up before a classical music concert presented at the Church. Over 100 non-congregation members attended, everyone received a Good News Journal and many received an LHF book (one on the History of Lutherans in

While in Nizhniy I also helped install ladders on the roof--OK, sometimes the nuts and bolts of mission work are just that, using nuts and bolts. The ladders will help with safe snow removal.

while I was in Nizhniy I got to preach. There are a lot of pictures of me preaching at English service, thought you might want to see one of me at a Russian service (and also one this month where I am not handing out books or journals!). Russia, another on the Augsburg Confession). After the concert several people expressed interest in attending Worship services or finding out more about the parish.

Lutherans for Life Foreign Liaison Pastor Don Richman was in town teaching at the Ingrian seminary and asked if we could meet and strategize on his visit next spring.

all the attendees of the reformation seminar at Koltushe

Nastya and Karl at a scout meeting. Again, I am pushing to do more Bible study type things with scouts. I do have the opportunity to witness and there have been some good opportunities to teach the faith, but they are fewer than I would like.

Prayer Requests

Please say a prayer of thanks for my mother’s visit and safe travel.  Pray for the  Confessional Lutherans in Finland who are struggling with the liberalization of their Church.  Pray for our Bishop, Arri Kugappi, for strength and insight as he faces challenges of leading this small Bible believing Church in the face of a lot of res

My mother and the family at a restaurant her last evening in Russia.

istance.  Pray for the possibility of building in Nizhniy Novgorod; for Alexander Prilutsky who has been named rector of the seminary, for Fedor Tulinin who has stepped down from being rector of the seminary; pray for Alexander Hlynov and me as we seek to use the great gift of literature we have received properly for the planting and strengthening of the Christian faith, pray for my family, for Zhanya as she continues to study and work, for Karl and Nastya as they grow in faith, and for me—as I am still struggling with what car to buy and so forth.   Pray for my work with the scouts—with the new laws and so forth, it is becoming more complicated, but the idea is that I begin a class on “biblical ethics.”   Pray that God grant me more faith, wisdom and strength to trust, know and do His will.  Remember as well that you can send us your prayer requests, and we will pray for them here.

Mother’s visit

My mother came this month for a visit—actually came at the end of last month and stayed until the end of this month.  When my siblings and I were children, she would leave notes in our lunches, sometimes between the slices of bread so we would be sure to read them.  By the second bite, we always did.  She would sign them M for mother and then OX for hugs and kisses.  So now my mother is affectionately called MOX by all her children and grandchildren.  She has been a great support in my work here, and it was great to have her visit.  My children just had a great time with her and we miss her already.

In Christ,         

                                                                                                                                     Leif & Zhanya Camp

CONTACT ADDRESSES Feedback, questions, whatever are most welcome.

Telephone: after getting an international line by dialing 011, dial 7- 812 (our area code) 321-1508(our phone number)

Note—Between St. Petersburg and central US time, the difference is 9 hours.  Stateside contact telephone: 708-344-4472

E-MAIL:  lzkcamp@mail.ru & leif.camp@elci.ru.  Please feel free to share this prayerletter with your Church, friends, or enemies if it might help (just please do not quote things out of context or edit my words in such a way as to change their intent).  If you would like to receive a copy via e-mail, simply email me directly and ask!

July 2011

This 18th century cross is all that remains from the first Ingrian Lutheran church in Lembolovo, Russia

 Russia’s Time of Troubles

Reflecting the changing times and ever-fluctuating interpretations of history in modern Russia, the internationally recognized celebration of the Bolshevik Revolution (November 7) was officially replaced a few years ago by the remembrance of an even more distant historical event. Now on November 4 Russians get a day off and memorialize the defeat of the Polish forces who invaded their country in the early 1600s. The so-called “Smutnoye Vremya” (Time of Troubles) was a catastrophic time in Russia’s past. Not only were the Poles invading the country from the west, the Swedes were also launching their own attacks upon Russia’s northern frontier. Meanwhile, to add insult to injury, Russia had been undergoing a succession crisis ever since the death of Czar Ivan the Terrible’s son Fyodor in 1598.

In that year an influential yet controversial figure in the Kremlin by name of Boris Godunov took the reigns of power and was declared czar. His short rule, while not popular with Russians, actually proved to be quite hospitable to Lutherans. Some historians even claim that he allowed the construction of a Lutheran church inside the Kremlin! Unfortunately for Lutherans, Godunov was perceived as being far too chummy with foreigners, a veritable no-no in Orthodox Russia. So after Boris’ death in 1605, followed by a protracted civil war and several imposter czars (known as False Dmitrys I and II), Russia and the Orthodox Church finally regained control of the land in 1613 with Mikhail Romanov being crowned czar. (See the book “O Luteranakh v Rossii”- “About Lutherans in Russia” by Pastor Slava Boychenko).

 A New Lutheran Church is Born in Russia- 1611    As you can imagine, these troubles forced a religious people to wonder whether God was punishing the nation because of its sins. Amidst all this turmoil, in the northwestern border village of Lembolovo, a Finnish-speaking people known as the Ingrians founded a small Lutheran congregation in 1611. Before that time, the message of the Reformation had minimal influence on Russia even though Ivan the Terrible had invited German and Scandinavian Lutherans into the land. He allowed them to form Lutheran congregations but sternly forbade Russians from joining what he considered a “heretical” church. (He soon reneged even on this permission, calling for the destruction of all Lutheran cathedrals. Alas, he didn’t earn that moniker “The Terrible” for kindness to strangers).

St. George’s Lutheran Church in the Ingrian region of Russia

A peace treaty with Sweden in 1617, though, gave new life

My visit with longtime Ingrian Lutheran and Gulag survivor, Lena Saakonen

to the Lutheran Church as the Ingrian region came under Swedish sovereignty. By the time Russia regained this territory one century later, the Lutheran heritage of the Ingrians had been firmly established. Today that Reformation proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ continues through the bold witness of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria in Russia, church partners of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod since 1998. I continue to teach a course every semester at the Ingrian Lutheran Seminary in Koltushi, about 10 kilometers east of St. Petersburg. This year as the Ingrians reflect upon and celebrate 400 years of God’s faithfulness, Russia’s Time of Troubles and Communist experiment in the 20^thcentury are reminders that trials and tribulations do not negate but rather accentuate God’s sure promise of eternal life through the death and resurrection of His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. His church continues to witness to that certainty amid all of life’s difficulties in Russia today.

Future Travel

Confirmed upcoming visits: After classes in Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in July, I will be at…

July 26-August 3: Bethel Bible Course Training in Madison, WI
July 31: Living Christ Lutheran in Madison, WI
August 6-7: Grace Lutheran in Rochester, MN
August 9: Trinity Lutheran in Shenandoah, IA (7 PM)
August 10- Mission Central, Mapleton, IA  (at 1 and 7 PM)
August 11- Peace Lutheran in Grand Island, NE
August 12: Beautiful Savior Lutheran in North Platte, NE
August 14, 10 A.M.- Trinity Lutheran in Des Moines, IA
August 14, 5 P.M.- Grace Lutheran Mission Festival in Le Mars, IA
August 21: St. John’s Lutheran in Midland, MI
August 27-28: St. Lorenz Lutheran in Frankenmuth, MI (Mission Festival on the 28^th)
Then in late August/early September, I will be meeting Pastor Sainaa from Mongolia and getting him set up for classes in St. Louis at Concordia Seminary- then, I head off to Mongolia to teach at the Lutheran Bible School in Darhan, Mongolia.

DUE TO THE AFOREMENTIONED TRAVEL, THERE WILL BE NO NEWSLETTER FOR AUGUST- I WILL WRITE TO YOU AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER.

Prayer Requests:

Please continue to pray for our Eurasian mission accountant, Karen Roemer, and my cousin Shawn Nunnink, battling cancer.

Please pray for safe travel in the States and then on to Mongolia in September.

E-mail: matveih@yahoo.com—mailing address- 26650 Woodshire, Dearborn Hgts., MI., 48127.

To support my work financially, you can send a tax-deductible gift to:

LCMS World Mission; Missionary Support; PO Box 790089; St. Louis, MO 63179-0089 —–Make checks payable to LCMS World Mission. Mark checks “Support of Matthew Heise.”

If you would like to partner with me in my ministry with ongoing support as an individual or congregation, please contact Debra Feenstra for information on Together in Mission or Mission Senders at 1-800-248-1930 Ext. 1651 or Debra.Feenstra@lcms.org Thank you, and may God bless you!

We had 120 children attend from Grace Lutheran Church and the Camp RCLS program. VBS was held at RCLS. We had over 40 volunteers and had a great week with the theme ‘County Fair’. All the kids got blue ribbons for having fun and learning God’s word with music, skits, games, crafts, snacks, and bible stories.

Thank you to all who volunteered and who donated items or money towards the VBS program.

The kids had a goal to collect 400 items for Channel One (between food items and dollars) and they exceeded it with 410 items! This is really great as Channel One is such an important mission project. When the food was delivered to Channel One it was weighed and VBS donated a total of 240 pounds of food and $175.14. Thanks to all the kids who donated towards this important mission!!

Thanks everyone! It was a great Vacation Bible School!

Opening with Pastor Heidorn teaching the kids about the Fruit of the Spirit.

Crafts were a lot of fun. We did many projects including a wood bookshelf, potted flower, hand prints, animal magnets and more.

The decorations were great! We were at a “County Fair”, here are the cool cows that were part of the decorations.

Games were a lot of fun! We played most of them outside and included some water games as well as used memory verses in the games to help us remember the Fruit of the Spirit.

Bible Study was held with age groups and we learned how to take an apple and twist the stem and say the Fruit of the Spirit while we did it. Each day was a different bible story to help teach us about the fruits that we have from the Spirit.

Music was amazing! We learned new songs and also learned how to line dance. Cool!

We learned how to milk a cow and also make butter from cream!

The skits were great!

Closing program was held each day at the end and we sang the songs from VBS program and learned about the mission project “Channel One”.

Pastor Matthew Heise

Grace Lutheran Church helps support Pastor Heise, one of two LCMS missionaries serving in Russia.  Pastor Heise assists Russian churches with church planting and mission outreach programs. He also assists Jonathan Muhly, the area facilitator of LCMS work in Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia who resides in Warsaw, Poland with his wife Julie.

Rev. Matthew Heise also serves as a theological educator to Russia and other former Soviet republics, such as Georgia, where he resides. Matthew teaches seminary students in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Ingria. He also conducts theological seminars throughout Russia, identifying future students for the ministry. In Georgia, he supports the work of Georgian evangelists as they reach out with the Gospel to others around them, leads Bible studies, and works toward planting churches. He has long had a fascination with Russia, being the grandson of Russian-German immigrants. Before studying for the pastoral ministry, Matthew served as a missionary in Moscow from 1994 to 1996, where he taught English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classes and was the ESL coordinator.

Born in Dearborn, Mich., he is a lifelong member of Guardian Lutheran Church in Dearborn, MI. Matthew holds a bachelors degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, a masters degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI., and a masters degree in divinity from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO. His hobbies include sports, traveling, and reading.

Hayley and Avery

Hayley Johnson was born in Hibbing, Minnesota.

Mission Ambassador

She is a registered nurse at Mayo Clinic and has lived in Rochester four years and been a member of Grace for two years. Hayley’s interest in mission work is fulfilling God’s command to spread the Gospel and to help others wherever He calls us. Hayley says. “We are all missionaries: Some at home, in our community, at work or school, and some, like myself, are called abroad.” Hayley will be traveling to Managua, Nicaragua from September 17-30, 2011 through a Christian partnership with Calvary Chapel. This ministry planted a church, a Christian school for K-6th grade, a bakery (to help employ local residents), outreach programs for the youth of the community, established multiple Bible studies each week for all age groups, and continues to provide a safe place for children to spend time when parents are unavailable. Nicaragua is second only to Haiti as the poorest country in the western hemisphere and has been battered by natural disasters, dictatorships and civil war. The pastor and missionary team originally from Florida started this ministry in 2000 and has since built a community. The three main objectives of her trip will be to:

Iglesia Everngellca La Capilla Del Calvrrio

1) teach English in the school;
2) share the word of God with others, Bible classes; and
3) help with preventive health education and assessments.

She will also gather dental supplies and other health related items to distribute to the local residents.
Hayley has already garnered some support for her trip. Once her co-workers heard about it, some of them “donated” their vacation time to switch with her so that she could be on the mission for ten days. Her parents, Randy and Jolaine from Pequot Lakes, MN and her sister Heather, husband Kevin and three nieces have collected many school and other supplies for her to distribute in Nicaragua

Map of Central America

Managur, Nicaragua

Map of Nicaragua

Church of Ingria 400 years

Leif the soundman at International Christian Academy's graduation

Leif and Andrei Savilainen, the Ingrian pastor

Pastor Bill Moberly of the AALC, head of the Eastern European Mission Network, has partnered up with Ingria to organize 3 English language evangelism camps this year.  One in Petrozavodsk, one in Koltushe, and one in Gubanitza (Zhanya) 0r helps organize transportation, busses and so forth,  at one of the camps, Karl and Nastya will help translate–as I am responsible for coordinating the camp in Gubanitza).

Leif with Pekka

Lyle Thomas teaching seminary students

The Bishop gave a pointed sermon.

Leif, Nastya, and Karl

Prayer Requests

Another Call for Volunteers

To be with Thee forever