We're willing to go . . . are you willing to send us?
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Investing in relationships
After spending a couple of months intentionally seeking God for direction, Paul and I felt that the Lord has spoken very clearly to us. God has given our hearts a huge desire to continue serving Him in Russia, and confirmed this in many ways. Numerous people have encouraged us with words like, "your ministry in Russia has only just begun." But in the immediate future we are planning to return to Atlanta (from July 2009 through August 2010) in order to launch our two oldest sons well into their university studies. After that, our hope is to return to Nizhny Novgorod with our other four children. Each of the 8 of us has had significant input and is in unity in this decision. We've been investing lots of time in relationships in our final weeks (for this season), and packing along the way. We arrive back in Atlanta on July 8th.
While we're in Atlanta, we plan to continue our ministry to Russia, while serving however needed at our sending church, the Atlanta Vineyard. God has given us a vision to find, develop, and distribute prayer and Bible study tools and other resources in Russian. We will continue to connect with the hundreds of believers we’ve gotten to know here, equipping and encouraging them from afar. We plan to continue studying Russian in Atlanta, guided along by my university teacher here. Due to the complexity of the system here in Russia and the logistics involved with transitioning between countries, we will be in preparation mode to return to Nizhny Novgorod pretty much as soon as we unpack our bags!
We would like to extend you an invitation to continue investing in making a permanent impact in Russia through your prayers and support. We cannot thank you enough for your prayers, support, friendship, encouragement, and love. We plan to continue sending our monthly newsletters so will keep you informed along the way. We always enjoy hearing from you - please let us know how you're doing and how we can pray for you, too!
Meanwhile, enjoy some pictures from the last month, a very full one for us . . . taking advantage of the long days here, I guess! The longest day, June 21st, had sunrise at 4:14am and sunset at 9:57pm!
Pastor Dave asked Karen to teach a series on prayer - it was such a joy to encourage and equip the 25+ enthusiastic brothers and sisters who came. Every Wednesday for the last two months we explored topics such as meditative prayer, praying in times of crisis, praying for people who don't seem to be seeking God, prayer personalities, prayer targets in the church, crafted prayer, and praying for others on the street. It is pastor Dave's hope to continue the training in other areas. Karen also had the privilege of preaching twice at the Nizhny Vineyard in June, on "Youth Sunday," and last Sunday as the Nizhny Vineyard blessed our family in a special way. We'll include the pictures from our last Sunday in next month's newsletter since we have so many pictures already from this month!
On June 7th, we organized and hosted a "youth mystery adventure" after church - teens and students went on a walking tour around the city, completing various challenges along the way. They busked (sang songs for money) on Pokrofskaya Street (the 25 of them earned a whopping 22 rubles lol); they gave a special souvenir they purchased to a stranger in order to show her the love of God; they played games together; and eventually made their way to our apartment for food and fun. A professional videographer in the church (a.k.a. our good friend Gyena) made a super DVD which we hope to upload once we get back to Atlanta.
God blessed us with a very memorable weekend with some of our closest friends here playing, praying, and eating together at a retreat center just outside of the city.
Karen had the pleasure of visiting one of the other soaking groups that has sprung up in Nizhny Novgorod this year. Our friend Marina, who has been a part of the soaking group we've hosted for almost two years, began leading this weekly group across the river last autumn. Of course, all good prayer groups thrive on drinking tea together!
We have become close friends as a family with the Chavdars, who are also a large family, with 4 kids. Their older son, Roma, turned 15 last week, and his birthday wish was that our two families spend the day together. We had a wonderful time swimming, eating, and playing together. We praise God for this family - He has knit all of our hearts together, especially our 5 sons, who spend all of their free time and every weekend together. Please pray for each one during this time of transition . . .
We had the final soaking group meeting at our place last Friday. It was not only the last time for us to host the group; the group is taking a sabbatical because Misha & Larissa, the leaders, are going to the Vineyard Leadership School in Perm in July / August. This group has been such a huge source of life, refreshment, and healing to the dozens and dozens of people who have come from around a dozen churches. There were many testimonies and tears on Friday, and we are looking forward to seeing what God does in the future with each one. The fire of God is burning brightly in Nizhny Novgorod!
P has completed all of his exams at the University of Nizhny Novgorod, earning top marks in every subject (mathematics, computer science, and Russian language)! We are very proud of his achievements. We're awaiting his paperwork, and hope to show you a picture of his certificate next month. In two months' time he's looking forward to beginning his engineering studies at Le Tourneau University in Texas.
Karen also completed her first year of studies at the Linguistic University and hopes to continue there when we return. Anna, her fabulous teacher, has offered to continue mentoring her via internet (gotta love the 21st century) - such a blessing! We celebrated together with Anna, her mom, a new American student Thomas, and our good friend Almira.
Early in June, we were invited by our dear friend Yana to visit her hometown, Kirovo-Chepetsk, about 7 hours east of Nizhny Novgorod by train. We thought we were just going to visit our friend, but God had additional plans. The church she grew up in planned some activities around our visit (youth gatherings, two afternoons of reaching out / playing with neighborhood children & youth, orphanage visit). It was an inspiring time for each of us . . . the best way I can describe what happened is that we saw up close what God can do with a prayer-saturated, passionate, outward-focused, servant-hearted group of believers - kingdom transformation! Each of the Sculley kids made some very special friends during our visit. God really encouraged us and enlarged our vision through this special time.
As part of our “missionary debriefing”, we interviewed each of our six children separately about their experiences here in Russia. While living here, each of our children has grown in lots of ways despite significant challenges. Each one is a priceless treasure – we thank God for entrusting us with the joy of raising them. Paul and I are so proud of each one as we’ve watched them overcome, bloom, and grow. Here is a compilation of what they said – I hope it blesses your hearts as much as it blesses ours.
“You can’t really describe Russia – you have to be there to feel it. Walking along Pokrovka Street is a good learning experience. Russia is a nice place, and the people are nice. The people in Russia are friendly. I have made friends with people here, but their food is strange. I didn’t expect to know as much Russian as I do now. The people here are not really that different. They’re a little bit different because they speak a different language. It’s a little more normal than I thought it would be. When I think about my life here, it’s been interesting, and it’s something I know that some of my friends will never experience. I feel that it’s been pretty good. There have been some difficult things but it’s still ok. It’s nice that you can go outside of church and boom, you’re right back in Russia. I like how people go on more walks here. I like how people in Russia normally give a lot out of the little bit that they have. I have made friends with a lot of people here. I like having all the friends that I made here in Russia. I feel like I’ve made a difference in my friends’ lives here. I feel good about that. I’m glad we came.”
We all agree - we're glad we came!
Thanks for all your prayers, encouragement, and support! We love you and appreciate you!
Financial Partnership Opportunities:
We'd like to offer you a variety of opportunities each month . . . let us know if you'd like to partner with us in any of these ways. THANK YOU for your support . . . it is a joy to walk this road together with you!
* Sculley Family support
o Update next month on our support level . . . need to recalculate everything . . . Praise God that He always faithfully supplies all of our needs!
* Leadership Development
o We've had the opportunity to partner with multiple emerging or existing leaders recently. Here are some highlights from the lives of those with whom God has enabled us to share financial support:
one family will be receiving further training that will better equip them to pastor a church in the future
God enabled us to help two young people to take the next step in their respective paths, as they seek to serve God with their lives, one as a doctor, the other in serving children
we were able to help one couple step out from under a load of debt that had accrued several years before they began serving as pastors
as we began packing and looking at storage possibilities, God put it on our hearts to give away most of our belongings here, and God has given great encouragement to many, especially the three families (all of whom are missionaries in their own culture) who are receiving much-needed furniture.
We trust God to provide everything we need to do all that He wants us to do in and through us. If you would like to invest what God has given you in Kingdom activity, through financial partnership, here's how (all financial contributions are 100% tax deductible in the U.S.A., and are processed through the Atlanta Vineyard, our sending church to whom we are accountable):
• automated giving (automatic monthly deductions from your checking or savings account - click here for the form - be sure to write "Sculley - Russia" in the space under "recommended giving"). Once you print out and fill in the form, please mail it to the address indicated at the bottom of the form.
• online giving via PayPal (www.atlantavineyard.com — just mention “Sculley - Russia” on the online giving comment line)
Praise Reports:
• We praise God for His faithfulness and goodness in our lives. Our times are securely in His hands!
• We thank God for some significant breakthroughs in the lives of three families we've been involved with. We can't share personal details here, but God is always working and we thank Him that He restores and heals broken relationships and sets people free from addictions!
Please pray for us:
• Please pray for the Nizhny Novgorod Vineyard Church. We are so thankful for each member of our church family here and ask for God's blessing on each one and on the church. Pray especially for the youth and children, as the reality is that our kids are leaving a large hole behind.
• Please pray for our family as we go through more transition. We're greatly looking forward to seeing our loved ones in the U.S., but need God's grace and strength each day as we adjust cultures and locations again. Over the summer, we'll be getting P ready to move to university in Texas and preparing for the next school year at the Sculley Academy . . .
We pray for you, too - please let us know your specific prayer requests. It's such a joy to pray for one another! We have all of our email and facebook friends' names written on our prayer wall in the kitchen.
Our vision:
• mobilize prayer
• promote unity in the body of Christ
• encourage and equip leaders
We appreciate your prayers so much! Thank you!
“The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” (1 Samuel 30:24)
In Russia with love,
Paul, Karen, P, J, M, C, E, & K Sculley
May the LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
May the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.
(Numbers 6:24 - 26)
