I promised a few stories from my time in Russia, so here’s one.
We stepped off the train in the city of Pechora just before 7am to temperatures of -20 (Celsius) and was greeted by the pastoral team there. The cold crisp air freezes the

Almost all of the posts you have read over the past few weeks were pre-written & time released. I did this in case I wouldn’t get to a cpu because of travel schedule &/or internet access while I was in Russia. Turns out I only had 2 opportunities to blog in the 16 days I was overseas. That means there were very few updates, so in honor of the snowy cold spring weather I encountered while in Russia, I want to unleash a flurry of highlights of the mission trip …

Just a quick update on the mission trip here in Russia so far as I don’t have much time.I just returned from 6 days going from city to city in the Komi Republic – traveling north until I was above the arctic circle almost to the White Sea. Every city was amazing and God did powerful things in the lives of the people & in mine and my ministry campanions lives: Americans KC & Cheryl Jones and our interpretor Elijah.Thanks to everyone who prayed regarding the “immigration official” that visited …

I slept only a couple hours on my 36 hour journey to Russia but it was quality sleep which usually doesn’t happen for me on planes. It helped that I had an entire exit row all to myself as the flight was maybe 1/3 full!
Now I’m in Syktyvkar preparing for the Million Leader Mandate conference tomorrow & Saturday, where leaders will gather for training and then commit to teaching 25 others in the principles of godly (based on 2 Timothy 2.2). We have had an increase in the number of …

It took some exorcising of virtual demons, but we are back online and ready to blog again. If you hadn’t noticed, the 100+ past posts were inverted showing the OLDEST first – a glitch thousands of other bloggers were encountering too and if your an opportunist a good chance to read up on some of the archives of this blog!
So we’re back up & just in time, as I depart to Russia tomorrow for two weeks. As usual I’ll give updates of my travel & ministry as internet access and …

Russia has a new president. Dmitry Medvedev was hand picked in December by former president and most certainly new prime minister, Vladimir Putin. Yesterday’s election was really just a formality as the only real question was what percentage of the vote would Medvedev receive (68% by the way).
We have been traveling to Russia for mission trips and to teach leadership for 5 years now. The implications of the elections and new Kremlin leadership on our work there isn’t exactly clear. However, signs are emerging that indicate a general discontent with …

The South Haven Tribune will run an article on treeoflife missionary Gary Haga this coming Sunday!
Gary is currently in the Philippines on a mission trip where – last I heard – he and the team of Filipino nationals there were driving the Jeepney as far the road would take them and from there setting out on foot with backpacks to reach villages and people off the beaten path with the message of Jesus.
Remember Gary and the national team in prayer and if you are able, grab a Sunday edition of …

I was in London January 1, 2000 for the millennial New Year and will never forget watching on BBC as Boris Yeltsin resigned as President of the Russian Federation and surprisingly named Vladimir Putin as his successor.
At the time, I had no idea that I would one day travel to Russia, train over 600 Christian leaders in that nation or even become a missionary at all for that matter. However, I had an overwhelming sense that day in London that Putin coming to power was significant not only in my …

In order to fully experience Russia, there are a few things you MUST do:

visit the villages and see how the majority of Russians live
take a ride on the Trans-Siberian railway
have a genuine Russian-style sauna called a banya

Well, I have spent much time in the villages, periods of weeks at a time, and Monday I’ll be on a 26 hour train ride. But after a year and I will have a banya tomorrow evening and I am looking forward to it. I really enjoy relaxing in the 100 plus degree steam …

OK so on the plane over here (Moscow, Russia), I started reading a book I have put off for a long time: The World is Flat – which is basically a manifesto for globalization.
The author Thomas Freidman, makes some good observations – all of which I don’t agree with – but keen insight none-the-less. As a follower of Jesus, we must wrestle with what it means to live our faith out in the shadow of the global empire that Freidman says is so inevitable. But that is a post for …