Steve's Birthday, New Life's 20th Anniversary & Lots of Dear Friends...

Steve's birthday has been celebrated again and again. Personally, I believe it's a sign of how much people love and respect him. At New Life Church in Kiev yesterday, Steve was honored for his birthday with traditional Ukrainian Clothes (see photo to right). It was a day of celebrations as it was also the 20th Anniversary of New Life Church in Kiev. It was such a blessing to be there to celebrate with them.

Steve's birthday was also celebrated at the Radooga offices today, where he was given a beautifully symbolic painting made by Lena Vasilevsky's sister (see below). We had such a great time with the staff at Radooga and personally, I felt that you could see the energy of that team just by being in the same room with them. We are so excited about the new programs that God has been stirring in their hearts.

We've also had a lovely time with Sveta & Taras Boiko, Sveta is the Director of our MDI Ministry Center in Kiev, and we were encouraged and excited at God's goodness from our meeting with Oleg and Oksana Magdych, who are leading the youth at New Life Church - Kiev.

It's been a busy several days and poor Steve is still not sleeping well, if at all. Please pray for rest for all of us, but in particular that Steve would get a full night's sleep tonight. Also, pray for our meeting tomorrow with the Regeneration team at New Life in regards to the upcoming Christian Morals and Ethics Conference in Ukraine. If you are unfamiliar with this amazing project, or that God has opened the doors for Christian Education in the public schools in Ukraine, then click here for more information.

We are also meeting with Anatoly Kaluzhny, pastor of New Life Church tomorrow afternoon. So please be in prayer for all these meetings and for our travels on Wednesday as we drive 6-8 hrs to Odessa.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers for our trip. We so greatly appreciate all of you!

Heather Karls

Operations Manager

Team now in Kiev

From Marti Scudder:

"We arrived safe and sound this this evening. All luggage was with us and customs was a breeze. The biggest hassle was taking an hour to get out of the airport parking lot!!!! We got here about 7 pm and have a huge apartment that is very nice with three separate rooms, a kitchen and bath. We had a special dinner with Anya Kaluzhna tonight. She is a delightful and amazing young woman. Tomorrow (Saturday) starts a full day of work. Please pray for us as we prepare to speak on Sunday. It is late now so that means we are getting up early to prepare in the morning.

Thank you!
Marti"

Red Hill Christian Centre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England

We are now on our 3^rd day in England, attempting to get over our jet-lag and adjust to the time change. We have had a wonderful time of fellowship and encouragement with Randall Morgan of MDI at Red Hill Christian Centre. Randall has shown us the grounds of Red Hill, where he is currently ministering and were his annual worship festival, SOZO, takes place. We also discussed some of his upcoming trips and plans for the coming year. It’s very obvious just from seeing his interactions that he is truly a blessing to his community here in England.

We also had a lovely time with Stephen and Bryony Brooker, the Wardens of Red Hill Christian Centre, before seeing them off on their trip to Isreal. Pray for safe travels for them and blessings over their time in such a holy place.

This morning, Marti and Steve had a wonderful meeting with Bruce & Bonnie Robinson, who are missionaries with IGO Ministries. It’s such a blessing to see the way God directs exactly what He wants when we are all open to His leading.

I am off to bed as we are flying out for Ukraine on the red-eye flight in the morning. Please pray for us:

1. For safe travels and ease with Ukrainian Customs.
2. For Steve as he hasn’t been sleeping well.
3. For God’s blessing over those we’ve already met with and those we have yet to meet.
4. For New Life Church – Kiev who is celebrating it’s 20^th Anniversary on Sunday.
5. For Tanya Baranova of Journey to Freedom – Ukraine, that she would avoid getting the chicken pox and for her son, Ilya, who has just fully recovered from chicken pox.
6. For the planning meetings for the Christian Morals & Ethics (CME) Conference in March.
7. Praise for a 3^rd teacher from the US joining our CME trip!
8. For God’s continual blessing on this trip and for health, energy & peace for all of us on this trip.
9. Praise for the deliciousness of Sticky Toffee Pudding which I was just introduced to this evening!

Thank you all for your prayers and your support!

Heather Karls

Operations Manager, MDI

MDI team arrives safely in England

On January 24, new staff member Heather Karls departed with Steve Lorenz and Marti Scudder to Europe. They will first spend time with Randy Morgan of MDI at Red Hill Christian Centre in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England, the site of the previous two SOZO Festivals.

They have arrived safely in England!

After a few days there, they will head to Ukraine, to hammer out the details of the Christian Morals and Ethics conference coming up in March, as well as continuing MDI's work with partner ministries in Kiev and Odessa.

Here is how you can join them on this mission through prayer:

1. Pray they will be Christ's ambassadors to all they spend time with
2. Pray they will be an encouragement to Randy as he prepares for a year of ministry in England and Eastern Europe
3. Pray for the finalization of plans of the two Christian Morals & Ethics conferences (for more on that project, click here).
4. Pray for the planning of an upcoming vision trip (possibly in June) from the United States for friends of the ministry to witness Journey to Freedom Ukraine in action
5. Pray of course for good health, traveling mercies, and for the family members they leave at home

Help us welcome a new face to our staff!

This month, MDI is pleased to add Heather Karls to our staff as Operations Manager.

Heather's background and experience in administration, event planning, and marketing are sure to serve MDI very well in the future.

Heather attends Midtown Fellowship Church in Nashville and has been a monthly supporter of MDI for two years prior to joining us on staff. She is extremely excited about the opportunity to use her gifts and talents in support of our mission! Please pray for Heather as she transitions into her role here at MDI.

MDI's trip to orphanages a great success!

Earlier this month, Russell Anderson of MDI led a team of 11 folks from Midtown Fellowship Church to Kharkiv, Ukraine with our partner Radooga Ministries. While there, they visited two orphanages that feed into Radooga's orphan camps during the summer.

The team contained many of the same people who have worked the orphan camp with Russell and Radooga the past two summers. The trip was a very blessed time for the American team, who were able to continue building and strengthening relationships with these children, and showing them the love of Christ. They also survived the Ukrainian wintertime unscathed.

For Radooga, it was also a great success, as it marked the first time it has ever hosted an American team for a project outside of summertime. The success of this trip opens up new opportunities for American teams to work with Radooga not only over winter breaks but fall and spring breaks as well!

Most importantly, the trip was a great blessing to the children. In Ukraine, Christmas is observed on January 7, and this stretch of time can be incredibly lonely for them, as some of their peers go off and celebrate with extended family. MDI and Radooga were able to bring some much needed joy and activity to these kids when they needed it most, and remind them that they are not forgotten!

To see more photos and here more stories, visit midtowninukraine.blogspot.com

Team at the airport

The team is off!!!!

The team is off to Ukraine!!! Pray for them! Heather is already there and Josh left early and will arrive 4 hours before everyone else!

MDI working with Orphanages in Kharkov next week

Russell Anderson of MDI will be leading a team from Midtown Fellowship Church to work with children in orphanages in Kharkov, Ukraine. The team leaves Sunday, January 2 and returns Sunday, January 9.

The team will be working with MDI's ministry partner Radooga while in Ukraine. They have set up their own blog site at: http://midtowninukraine.blogspot.com

Please visit that site to follow their progress and learn how to pray for them!