Turn Spring Cleaning into a Tax Deduction!

Cleaning out your house for spring? Turn your spring cleaning into a tax deduction by donating your old home office equipment to MDI.

MDI is moving to a new office space (same building; new space) in July and we are in need of some office equipment. If you have any of the following items that you are looking to get rid of, please contact Heather Karls at: heather@mdiweb.org

Conference Table (seats 6)
Filing cabinets (lateral files)
Bookcases/sidebar storage cabinets
End Tables
Chairs (desk chairs, living room chairs or kitchen table chairs)
Lamps (appropriate for an office; floor or table)
Computers (mac preferred; less than 5 yrs. old)
Printers (color, laserjet)
Cell Phones (smart phone)
White Boards (4'x6')
Carpet (wall-to-wall; 18'x22' or 14'x18')

Pass this along to your friends if you know anyone who is downsizing!

Finding Freedom...

What if the healing power of Jesus Christ completely transformed your life in such a radical way that you were set free from the strongholds of life controlling issues that held you captive for so long?  This is Journey to Freedom.  …more info 

In June, MDI is hosting a conference in Odessa, Ukraine, featuring Nashville keynote speakers Scott Reall, Author/Founder of Journey to Freedom and Jason Hancock, Chairman of the Journey to Freedom Ukraine Advisory Board.  Pastors from all over Ukraine are traveling to this conference to learn about the restorative power of the Holy Spirit through this program. This is a tremendous opportunity to see the Spirit move and release the strongholds of generations throughout this former Communist nation, but in order for MDI to host the conference,

We need to raise $3,250! 
 

In addition, each team member is raising their own trip support of $3995, including MDI staff members Marti Scudder, President & Steve Lorenz, CEO.  Please support the conference costs and our staff members by clicking here.

Mark your calendars for June 7– 16 to pray for the trip, the conference and the individual meetings that the team will have with pastors throughout Ukraine.  To receive prayer updates for this trip, simply click here.
 

Thank you all for your prayers!

Heather Karls

MDI: Operations Manager

Journey to Freedom: Ukraine Conference Keynote Speakers

In June, MDI is hosting a conference in Odessa, Ukraine, featuring Nashville keynote speakers Scott Reall, Author/Founder of Journey to Freedom and Jason Hancock, Chairman of the Journey to Freedom Ukraine Advisory Board. Here is some more information on our keynote speakers:

BIO. JTF: Scott Reall

Scott Reall is an author, recovery coach and teacher. He is founder and executive director of Restore Ministries of the YMCA of Middle Tennessee in Nashville.

Scott began his journey with the YMCA over 20 years ago when he became the Senior Wellness Director of the Green Hills YMCA. In this position he found his passion for helping people change their lives by overcoming life-controlling issues so they can achieve their full potential in spirit, mind and body.

In 2000, he began Restore Ministries. He is now the author of five books in the Journey to Freedom series published by Thomas Nelson. Journey to Freedom is now being used by YMCAs, churches, corporations, and prisons all over the USA and other countries across the world.

Journey to Freedom has been translated and published in Russian. It is currently being translated into Spanish. Through Restore Ministries, he has helped close to 10,000 people overcome obstacles of change in their lives truly making Restore a life changing program of the YMCA.

BIO. JTF: Jason Hancock

Jason Hancock grew up in a small agricultural community in the Panhandle of Texas in the United States. He attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas and majored in Advertising. He joined his father’s advertising agency and worked with him for several years, and then went to work for a larger regional advertising agency.

It was during this time that he became involved as a board member of the local chapter of Big Brothers / Big Sisters, a program that provides mentors for children in single-parent homes, and later served as the Board Chairman. He was also on the board of the YMCA of Midland, Texas, and was the Communications Committee Chairman of the United Way of the Permian Basin.

He moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1998 and worked for the largest advertising agency in the Southeastern US, managing the Out-of-home advertising division. In 2005, he started his own company, Hancock Advertising.

Jason and his family were members of the Green Hills YMCA, and after a chance meeting with Scott Reall, he became involved in Restore Ministries as a Board Member, Journey to Freedom participant, and facilitator. He served the Board as its Chairman for 4 years.

He has seen the direct impact of faith-based community recovery both in his own life and in many others. He is currently serving on the Green Hills YMCA board as the Restore Ministries liaison.

Jason and his wife, Amy, have a daughter, Mollie, who is 17.

In his spare time, he enjoys golf, riding his scooter, gardening and computers.

Thank you to all who joined us for our event! We had, what we call in the office, great “family time” with our whole MDI family and friends. It was such a lovely evening of community and sharing.

We were blessed to have Oleg and Lena Vasilevsky join us from Ukraine and share about the journey that God has had us on together.

We would especially like to thank our donors: the E.B.S. Foundation, Marvin & Phoebe Nischan, Breathe America, Tennessee Bank & Trust and Volvo of Nashville for their generous support of the evening.

Thanks to everyone who came and to our donors, we were able to raise over $20,000 towards our $240,000 annual budget!

If you were unable to attend and would like to have a DVD of the Premiere film (suggested donation $10) or if you would like to host a private viewing for your friends, click here or call Heather Karls, MDI Operations Manager at: 615-812-1520.


To see more pictures from the event, check out our facebook page at: www.facebook.com/mdiweb

Christian Morals & Ethics Update...

On our first Christian Morals & Ethic (CME) Trip we were able to reach over 200 teachers with the tools to teach CME in the public school classrooms and to encourage them as to the benefits this curriculum can have for the future generations of Ukraine.

This was an incredibly encouraging time of seeing God’s hand move in every way from securing a new venue one week before the conference to making sure not one person’s luggage was lost in transit. Here is what some of our American teachers had to say:

"An amazing experience, our trip to Ukraine was marked by God's care from start to finish. In spite of resistance, God opened doors, and through this teaching conference allowed many teachers and college students the opportunity to hear about the life-changing power of Christ, which can affect a classroom (and thus a community) for good. Our team bonded with each other, our translators, and the many amazing people we met. God intimately accompanied us. As is always the case in God's economy, we received far more than we could give, and we left Ukraine changed, including a more global view of God's plan." - Kendra Posey

"The moment I stood behind a microphone and looked out at all those teachers' faces, I realized I was a very small person in God's really big world; It was an indescribable privilege to partner with some of the future leaders of Ukrainian education. These men and women were at the conference even in the face of opposition to learn about teaching using Christian morals and ethics. I learned from them the first of many lessons from the trip; God is larger than any government." - Carey Dincauze

Despite mounting opposition, both conference went on as scheduled. And even though we are not being permitted to give an alter call from stage at the conference due to governmental sensitivities, one of our US teachers was still able to pray with a Ukrainian teacher individually to receive Christ, plus many questions about Jesus were asked at break times! Praise God for the many doors that He opens!

Currently we have a second trip scheduled for October and we are in process of recruiting teachers for the trip. The Ukrainian government has opened the doors for us to bring a total of 3-4 teachers on each trip. So if you or someone you know is a teacher who would be interested in this once in a lifetime experience, please contact Heather Karls, MDI Operations Manager at: heather@mdiweb.org for more information.

We will miss you Russ...

After two years being on staff with MDI, Russell Anderson is venturing out to start his own company. We are so excited for him and this new chapter in his life.

Together with a couple friends, Russell is starting a web based fundraising site called helpFundit that will focus on helping non-profits all across the country raise funds and run campaigns for their projects with a real sense of urgency.

We are so grateful for all he has done for MDI and pray that he will continue to be a part of the MDI family for many years to come.

Look for information on his new company coming soon...

June Conference: Journey to Freedom Ukraine

In June, MDI will be taking Scott Reall, author of Journey to Freedom (JTF), and Jason Hancock, on the Green Hills YMCA Board, to Ukraine! They will spend time with our MDI Staff who lead Journey to Freedom in Odessa, Ukraine and be a strong encouragement to our core team that is working hard to spread the message of the life transforming power of Jesus Christ throughout the country.

While there, MDI will also be hosting a conference for Ukrainian pastors and leaders to learn more about the amazing impact that this curriculum can have in freeing individuals from life-controlling issues by learning to trust in Jesus Christ.

Currently, there is a lot of inter-denominational resistance within Ukraine. We are praying that having the American author present this non-denominational curriculum will break down some of those barriers and open the doors for healing through these churches starting their own JTF small groups.

This is an amazing opportunity to share the message of finding freedom from life controlling issues by learning to trust Jesus and walking in community. This ministry can impact churches, cities and nations! Please partner with us by supporting this conference. We need $3250 in order to put on this conference, click here to donate.