Reaching to Russia (and Ukraine!) - Reach and Touch

Reaching to Russia (and Ukraine!) – Reach and Touch

I’ve written often the last few years about our ministry having unique reach into places that others, for whatever reason, have not been allowed/able to penetrate. This became evident again the last two weeks as business circles, new countries, churches and a few hearts of developing leaders were reached for and touched by God’s love in a truly transformative way. Some had been touched this way before but some experienced this for the very first time.

Nothing has impacted my personal spritual development the last nearly 2 years like the training I’ve received from the International Leadership Institute. I’m thrilled the say the same thing about our top leaders in Russia is true. The conduit that we have been able to spread this teaching to our volunteers and partner network with is called “History Makers.” You can read all about it at www.history-makers.org. Note the 8 Core Values this ministry is built upon and see if a more intentional focus on one or more of these areas might not be a source of challenge and growth for you as well. Just a suggestion.

If you looked at a picture of those who attended our History Makers Journey last week, you would see people who came from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Great Britian and the United States. I was thrilled personally to have my brother and sister in law join me on this trip to Russia and then to Ukraine. More on that in a minute.

YouthReach International has decided to use the History Makers training as the chief source of spiritual development for our volunteers in both Russia and Ukraine. This is supplementary of course to their belonging to and growing in their local churches as well as ministering with our short term teams that come throughout the year. Even with those things in place, we feel that this training is so vital that we include it for all volunteers. It not only grows them up as mentors but it makes them better leaders in their local churches, places of work and families as well. In that sense, it is a win-win for all.

Philip, Kara and I traveled first to Novosibirsk, Russia, to carry out a one day business seminar for some young Christian business leaders there. This project flowed out of our spring Chick-fil-A SERVE Seminar that we carried out in Novosibirsk and Tomsk this past March and April. To be able to invest in a young team of business leaders as they embark on their professional lives was a great blessing and challenge to us. The principles shared with them allow them a unique chance to build a business from the DNA on up knowing and practicing God honoring principles each step of the way. Please pray for them and the churches they come from in Novosibirsk. It is a daring new day in the life of church leaders and Christian business men where spiritual and commercial entrepreneurship intersect. Pray for wisdom, courage and humility for all involved.

We then left Novosibirsk and traveled to Donetsk, Ukraine, where the home base of YouthReach International is located. Three of our strongest leaders from Novosibirsk, having completed the History Makers training themselves, also joined us in Donetsk which allowed for the first time ever our Russian arm to meet our Ukrainian arm. It was wonderful to see people who have prayed for each other, spoken on the phone with each other and worked towards the same goals together actually meet face to face to pray, learn and worship together for a whole week.

I want to sincerely thank Chick-fil-A’s Winshape Foundation for providing this opportunity for our Russian and Ukrainian teams. Your investment in our ministry has equipped us like nothing has before. Thank you for allowing us to be stewards of what God has entrusted to you.

Our week together was strategic in many ways as well as educational and fun. YouthReach has vision and hopes beyond Ukraine and Russia. This gathering began to open those doors up in a very concrete way. More on that in later newsletters throughout the fall and winter.

With the hurricane bearing down on New York City and Philip, Kara and myself due to fly through there on Sunday in order to return home, we high tailed it out of Donetsk Saturday morning to get back to Moscow to begin the trip home. Philip and Kara made it out but I did not. Another day in Moscow allowed me to meet with a dear friend and one of our former mentors who now lives and works there. Though getting home was my desire, God allowed me a chance to bring some much needed encouragement to one who has invested so much in our work in Novosibirsk. I was able to leave Sunday morning, transit Paris and make it home a full 6 hours earlier than originally planned when I left my family on August 16. Indeed, God ordained every step of the way.

With that arrival on Sunday night back into Atlanta, our 2010-2011 ministry year, which runs from September 1 to August 31, is over meaning no more trips or projects directly involving us. Of course, ongoing ministry in the lives of orphans continue in Russia and Ukraine. That never stops! We now turn our attention to 2011-2012. First and foremost we find ourselves in need of some financial “juice.” You’ve all probably received an email about it but if you have not, click here for more details. ANY help is needed and greatly appreciated right now. As you can tell by the thermometer, there is still some work to do.

Also, a final prayer request if I may. 53 weeks ago today, Traci had her BIG surgery which was the proactive beginning of her road to absolute freedom from cancer. We have said more than a few times what a journey it has been. While we linger in certain aspects of it, we are for the most part finished with battling this instance of this disease. Others are not though. I humbly ask you to pray for a young boy named Caleb Kinnersley. He’s 6 years old, the same age as our Aidan. Caleb has a nasty, nasty form of cancer that treatment does not exist for. You can read more here and meet his family here. Their support network is strong as was ours but never, I assure you, did we say “enough already” to the prayers or the words of encouragement that came our way. As the Lord leads you to pray and respond to this family, please do. Thank you.

Our staff, families and board gather together in TN September 9-11 to launch next year’s ministry calendar. Please pray for us as we commune together and begin seeing just a bit of what God has in store for us in the year ahead.

Your help, your prayers, your encouragement and your financial support the last year have seen us through some daunting days. Thank you are words we say often but mean more than ever. Please hear our hearts when we say how grateful we are to all of you.

In Him and oh so thankful to be, we are,

Rob, Traci, Benjamin, Nate, Aidan and Anna

Traci Browne - One Year Later

August 10, 2010.  Frankfurt, Germany, and Loganville, Georgia.  Two phone calls we’ll never forget.  One said, “you have cancer.”  One said, “I have cancer.”  More questions, concerns, tears and fears than we have ever had in our lives.  A difficult day for sure but absolutely a day to remember, not forget.

 

One year later, either by accident or sovereign intervention, we find ourselves sitting in the waiting room at Breast Care Specialists of Atlanta pretty much where it all started.  We are here for Traci’s now required annual check-up.  It is one year to the day since we learned cancer had become part of our journey.  That journey also included surgery, treatment, healing and restoration both in the physical and spiritual sense.  It’s a year we don’t wish to repeat but one that we pray we never forget.

 

We hope we have sufficiently stated our thanks to you all for the innumerable emails, cards, gift cards, meals, visits, words of encouragement, phone calls, checks, acts of kindness and you get the idea.  If we have not then one year to the day since it all began seems to be a good time to try for sure.  Our love for the body of Christ has been greatly deepened through this and that, among many other things, is a part of the journey we are very thankful for. 

 

(That was the us part of the note.  The next part is all Rob and has not been cleared in advance with Traci.  I’ll deal with the fallout later.) 

 

Part of Traci’s journey forward is to be member of the community of care for current and future cancer patients and survivors.  While the forms of cancer and community are many, she has chosen the breast cancer community as the one she wants to invest in going forward.  Makes sense, don’t you think?  This October she will be taking place in the Susan B. Komen 3 Day For The Cure in Atlanta October 21-23 as Team Captain for her team, the Overcomers.  Walking 60 miles in 3 days is beyond anything even Russia made us do.  She’s already training and preparing for this event and I am just short of in tears given the pride and love I feel for her.  I am risking her ire here a bit but I’ll deal with that later.  If you would like to be part of Traci’s virtual team by making a donation to her OR her teammates Jessica, Kimberly or Allison, please email me and I’ll let you know how. 

 

Being that we have done a fair bit of asking this year both for our ministry and our family, I am not going to insert a link here.  I’ll ask you to email me directly and I’ll let you know how to go about doing it.  It’s still an ask but I’m making it just hard enough that you’ll only do it if you really, really want to.

 

Again, thank you.  Even the overly verbal me can’t express our thanks to you all.  It is fun trying but will always be impossible to do.

 

Love you all,

Rob and Traci as well as Benjamin, Nate, Aidan and Anna

 

Rob Browne Director of Russian Operations   rob@youthreach.org
678-935-0220 x103 Direct 404-518-5646 Cell 678-935-9674 Fax	http://www.youthreach.org           1911 Grayson Hwy, Ste 8-344           Grayson, GA 30017

 

 

Reaching to Russia - Olga...Your New Sister in Christ and Why Russia Matters!

Continuing on with summing up our most recent summer in Russia, let me introduce you to Olga.  She’s 22 years old, an English teacher and has been mentoring young orphans for more than a year now with YouthReach International.  This picture below with Traci’s mother, Sheila, was taken last summer during the first camp Olga ever worked with us at.  My how her life has changed since then!

 

 

It was at this point in Olga’s life that a mere curiosity about God began to be a pursuit of God instead.  As many of you know, our ministry model works in such a way that we invite non-Christians to come and work alongside our Christian mentors testing the claims of Christ lived out while they still wrestle with them between their ears.  While I think many things about YouthReach International are unique, this might stand out as most unique.  God uses non-Christians to mentor orphans and while they do so those mentors are drawn into relationship with him. 

 

That is exactly what happened to Olga this past year.  Sheila mentored Olga long distance towards Christ while Olga mentored young orphan girls in her home city towards purity, awareness of their talents and life skills.  As a result of Sheila’s prayers and the Holy Spirit’s work Olga surrendered her life to Christ this summer.  On July 17, with her parents and younger sister as well as two YouthReach Mentors present, Olga was baptized into Christ.  Two weeks later she took her sister on her first mission trip back to Big Lakes which you read about in our last report (check out http://blog.youthreach.org for that and all other updates).  Olga is now talking to her sister about Christ while also inviting her to  her to live out his claims of love, service and relationship with orphans in Russia.  Amazing isn’t it?  I don’t mean our ministry model.  I mean the way God calls people to himself.  He is truly relentless in his pursuit of his people!

 

Moving on…

 

Alvin Conyers is a missionary in Novosibirsk that I’ve heard about for years.  We briefly met at a baseball camp (no really) in Siberia last summer.  His heart and gifts have him ministering on the most prestigious university campus in Novosibirsk.  He teaches there and finds the idea of challenging people’s worldview as a great way to open up doors to deeper conversations.  One reason I like Alvin so much, other than he is so genuinely humble, is that he uses an approach I too believe is practical and effective in reaching Russia’s lost today.  Some people are under the belief that Russia is somehow “closed” or “not a good investment” these days.  I demand to differ.  Approaches might grow tired and outdated but people still hunger for the water only the gospel can provide.  We see it happen every year in the lives of our mentors (Nikita, Olga, Anya, Olya come to mind immediately) and in the kids we’re working with as too. 

 

Well Alvin recently wrote something in a newsletter that really caught my eye.  It’s so convicting that I’ll just cut and paste it and provide no more commentary on it other than to say simply consider who is saying this about Russia’s openness and our need to be committed to working there.

 

Here’s the quote: 

 

Recently, several of my colleagues and I travelled to Russia for meetings with pastors and religious leaders in that country. I do not believe I am overstating the case when I tell you that I sense a tremendous Christian revival coming to that nation. Even noted atheist Christopher Hitchens acknowledges and laments the resurgence in a belief in Jesus Christ among the Russian people.

 

The Russian people, exceptionally gifted in thought and athletic prowess, are hungry for the power and coherency of Christ’s Gospel!

 

Ravi Zacharias authored those words in a newsletter to his ministry partners on July 6, 2011.  If you do not know the work of Dr. Zacharias, Google his name. 

 

The words of Galatians 6:9 rang out as I read those words above.  “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  For the youth of Russia, may we, may the Mentors, may the church, may YouthReach International, may our partners in ministry not become weary.  There is a great harvest coming.  Of that we can be sure.

 

Nuff for now.  Love you all,

Rob, Traci, Benjamin, Nate Aidan and Anna

 

 

Rob Browne Director of Russian Operations   rob@youthreach.org
678-935-0220 x103 Direct 404-518-5646 Cell 678-935-9674 Fax	http://www.youthreach.org           1911 Grayson Hwy, Ste 8-344           Grayson, GA 30017

 

 

Former Orphans reunite at "Annie!"

Last weekend, YouthReach International was invited to attend Nashville's Lifesong Theatre Group's performance of Annie: The Musical.  Proceeds from snacks, and sales of Annie and Sandy dolls, were donated to help real-life orphans through YouthReach!  Thanks so much to Alice Griffith and the entire cast and crew for a great job on the show, and for making a point to make a difference in the world!

Joining me at our orphan sponsorship table were Sasha Hennessey and Anna Tomlinson.  These two friends from Saint Nicholas orphanage in Siberia had not seen each other for 2 years, and the last time was in Russia.  Now, each of them has been adopted by American families (one lives in the Atlanta area and the other lives in Nashville).  The show served a second great purpose - to unite these two together again!  It was fantastic to see these two friends giggling together, chatting in Russian, and hanging out all weekend.

Sasha Hennessey, Annie (Laura Griffith), and Anna Tomlinson
stand in front of the orphan sponsorship table

Thank you, Jesus, for providing an opportunity for these girls to reunite, and provide hope for the kids that are left behind in the orphanages!

You can be part of providing that same hope by sponsoring a child in our YouthReach for a Thousand initiative!

Click here to find out how...

YouthReach Honors Greg Perry, Founder

Last Sunday morning was pretty cool!  We were at Otter Creek Church in Brentwood, TN, and had the opportunity to recognize and honor a friend, brother, and co-worker in the Kingdom.

Wayne Tomlinson (Board Member), Greg Perry (Founder),
and David Hennessey (Executive Director) after presenting
 Greg with a plaque for his accomplishments.

Wayne Tomlinson, Board Member, and I got to lead the "Ministry Moment" at Otter Creek to present Greg Perry with a plaque in appreciation of his founding World Wide Youth Camps, which evolved into YouthReach International.  Through Greg's efforts, thousands of children around the world have heard the saving message of Jesus Christ, hundreds have responded to the call to missions, and dozens of kids now have permanent families (2 were in the room at the time!).  We deeply appreciate Greg's accomplishments and his heart for the Lord and the next generation.  Thank you, Greg, for your dedication to the Lord and your response to His call in your life!

The plaque reads:

PRESENTED TO

GREG PERRY, FOUNDER

IN APPRECIATION FOR YOUR

SERVICE, LEADERSHIP,

AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS

IN REACHING YOUTH FOR JESUS

Greg has responded:

"My thanks to the staff and Board for the very kind and considerate gesture in honoring my Founding and Leading of World Wide Youth Camps/YouthReach for seventeen years. It is satisfying to see that the work that is so much of my heart is being led today by those who are as passionate for youth as I was and am to this very day. My thanks to all the wonderful participants and supporters of the ministry. You have helped us make a real difference in the lives of so many young people around the world.

The next phase of life for me is wide open for suggestions and ideas. Jana and I are living here in Nashville and raising the most magnificent boy ever in Seth Larkin Perry.  We would love to hear from you.

Greg, Jana, & Seth Perry (Deuteronomy 31:6)"

Greg, Jana, and Seth Perry

If you've been impacted in some way through Greg's ministry efforts over the years, I encourage you to send him a note at ggpfamily@gmail.com.