Tim’s Travel Blog

What a great trip!

Thu, 6 Aug 2009 20:15:25 -0400

I can’t thank God enough for all the opportunities He gives me. Its not just me that He gives opportunities to, it is all of us. Everyday the Lord presents us with situations that if we handle them correctly are opportunities to honor God. Many times on this trip I had the opportunity to worry or to trust. When you are dealing with flight connections, Television needs, preaching responsibilities and ministry incidents there are plenty of opportunities for the Lord. One of the great things about this trip is, I believe I succeeded with them all. I am not saying that to puff myself up, I am saying it because so many times I do blow it, it is nice to see that it is possible to not blow it.
There was a difference on this trip. My life was totally in the control of others. I don’t know if you have been in that situation but without knowing it I had set it up that way. When I go on these trips, I take the attitude that I am there to serve. I force myself to remember that by asking my host, “How can I serve you?” I believe the Lord really likes it when I have that attitude and he blesses. I think I also placed my self in a posture to see more of what He was doing and in return what He wanted me to do and I was able to do it. There were days of long travel, little to no sleep, 24 hours of non-stop ministry, as exhausted as I was The Lord was there strengthening, encouraging and making it all happen to bless His people.
I saw healings, spoke prophetically both on a regional scale and personal scale. I was able to encourage my friends and the Body of Christ as a whole. I married off one daughter and am blessed with another one. I made many new friends and had my heart broken for a people I had never met before. I was totally worn out, yet His Spirit poured through and used me in ways I could have never hoped for. I gave my heart away and received back more than I could ever imagine.
Jesus said if we lay down our lives, surrender it all, that we will receive more in this life and the one to come. I believe on this trip, I got a taste of what that means. The Body of Christ is suffering in Kosovo but they are strong. The Church in Russia is preparing for the worst but the next generation is being to see that they can move in power. The Albanian church is still young but believing God for Revival.
Thank you for your prayers, it all was amazing but lease keep your prayers going for Vasiliy and Olga Skorykh in Russia, Chris and Laura Dakas in Albania, and Blendi and Ulee in Kosovo. Your prayers have sustained them this far and it will change nations in the future.

A day in Kosovo

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 18:02:52 -0400

Kosovo is not what you think, at least it proved to be not what I had thought. From 1997 - 1999 this nation was ripped apart by war. literally neighbor against neighbor. Serbian Christians against Albanian Muslims. The Serbians were about as much Christian as the crusades were Christian and the Albanians are only culturally Muslim. However both sides managed to tear this nation apart. I expected to see what I saw in Lebanon, buildings with bullet holes and bomb blast scaring. No such thing exist, at least in the city of Jakova. The European Community has been busy rebuilding the infrastructure, despite the rebuilding the country is still impoverish, suffering greatly from the world wide recession. The suffering is even worse for the Roma or Gypsy population. Gypsy children, like the little girls picture above are treated horribly in this culture. During the war the gypsy were employed by the Serbs to move the dead Albanians to graves. The Albanians consider them lackeys for the Serbs, so ten years after the war gypsy children are abused horribly in school and refuse to return. The physical infrastructure may be in the process of repair
but the emotional and spiritual one is barely
being touched. Blendi an Albanian, gypsy
pastor has taken up the cause to reach these
children and change their lives. Twice a week
he goes into the community and has some
what of a sidewalk Sunday school with the
children, He has started a school were the
gypsy children can feel safe and he has grown a church from nothing to about 60 members all of whom are former Muslims. I don’t know how much you understand but that has been an impossible task made possible by a miracle from the Lord. We are just beginning our relationship with Blendi but I am impressed by his loving gentle heart. Interesting thing about his church, most of the people
attending are gypsy men aged 16 - 30. Blendi is a
quality man. When I first met him, I saw Jesus in
his eyes and then when I saw him with the people,
they have such a high respect and love for him,
they know he carries something or someone that
they want in His heart. Please keep praying for Blendi. He has a wonderful for wife, Uli and a daughter Esther. There is no money in his outreach but I don’t know of any ministry reaching Muslims that is as effective.

Kosovo or bust!

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 02:56:28 -0400

This picture doesn’t really do it justice but the area of Macedonia and then Kosovo is some of the most beautiful mountainous areas you can imagine. We spent Sunday morning in Korce, Albania with our team from Emmanuel Radio. The radio station is doing extremely well. God has given favor with the Muslim government that as soon as they have the funds they will be able to place the tower on a mountain like these and send the signal to cover all of Albania. This picture was taken from a region of Macedonia were the Emmanuel Radio signal is reaching, bring the Gospel to the Albanian people in Macedonia.
It was an 8 and 1/2 hour drive from Korce to Jakova (ja-cov-ah) Kosovo. I was pleasingly surprised at the development in Kosovo. More about that in the next blog.

The kids

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 02:35:15 -0400

We spent our last full day in Russia in a children’s home in Yekaterinburg. The children homes are run by the government but the Lord has made a way for Vasiliy and his team to continue to have complete freedom to minister to the kids. At the age of 11 Jenna found herself on the abandoned and on the street. The government found her and placed her in the children’s home. She spent the first few years in the abusive world of a children’s home. Daily she was told she as nothing, worthless, and would be better off dead. When she was at the point of suicide at 15, a new social worker was brought into the home who saw her in her wounded state and loved her back to emotional health. Jenna became a Christian. Her new faith gave her hope and a passion to make sure that no child was ever treated the way that she was again. Jenna is now in her twenty’s and is a respected social worker in the children homes, she has pen the door for Vasiliy and his teams to keep bring love, joy, hope, and most of all the Gospel to the abandoned children of Yekaterinburg. Thousands of children are in these homes because of alcoholic parents, poverty, or simple abandonment. Please keep them in prayer that not one of them will be lost and that the Answer in Jesus team will continue to have the freedom they have to reach these kids.

Walking by faith anyone?

Sat, 1 Aug 2009 04:47:44 -0400

This picture was taken in the city of Krasnicomv, three hundred miles south of Yekaterinburg. Pastor Vlodia, his wife Irena and their two daughters began a work in the city with no support, nothing to their name but their love for each other and the Lord, and only a handful of former drug addicts. Vlodia, had been a drug addict himself when God spoke to him personally about walking away from drugs and following him. Vlodia has one of the largest churches in this region, it was built by faith and by reaching out to drug and alcohol addicted people. I had the privilege of praying for all of his people in the church and all of the addicts in the rehab and leading one of them to the Lord.
For my son Christopher it became a faith walk as well. He came along to be my camera operator and photographer and ended up needing to pray for dozens of people. The need was so great we needed all hands on deck. Its not that he doesn’t like praying for people but that this type of environment where you aren’t just praying simple prayers you are impacting peoples futures forever by what you say, that experience is very humbling. It was a stretching of his faith. He prayed for drug addicts, those HIV infected, and church people. He was ministering to little kids in the orphanage just by playing with them. He was forced to trust the Lord daily for strength as our schedule of preaching and teaching was so tight we were living on 3 - 4 hours of sleep a night.
The pretty young woman next to me lived a faith walk as well. Lena was born in the Ukraine but moved to the US over a dozen years ago. She helps with children’s ministry in Vasiliy Skorykh’s church. One of the details about this trip that was missed was an interpreter for me. Vasiliy had me scheduled to speak over a dozen times plus personal meetings with the leadership in this region. Without an interpreter none of this would have happened. Lena came to serve on the outreach never expecting to become an interpreter. It was a stretch for her, but she was willing to take a scary step of faith and the Lord honored it. In just a few days time she went from being shy to the best interpreter I have ever had. I watched her grow from a shy young woman to a mighty warrior in the kingdom. She is a great example of what God will do if we just say, “yes” to Him. She did not feel qualified to complete God’s call on her life but she was willing to lay down her own to follow Jesus. There is more to interpreting than just speaking the words, it is about having the same heart for the people you are reaching. Keep her in prayer because God is going to use her mightily. because of your prayers, I was able to help get her started but she surrendered to the Lord and she has become one powerful young woman of God.
I was stretched too. I had to walk a faith walk. I preach and teach all the time. I am used to it. I am normally ready in season and out. God placed me in the position numerous times on this trip where I had no time to prepare, I simply had to trust him. One night in particular, I was exhausted from a lack of sleep and preaching several other times that day. As I preached, the Lord adjusted some things, Lena responded in her style of interpreting and the result was the entire church came forward for prayer. I did not count how many where healed, saved, prophesied over, or said they changed in some way but it was in the hundreds, perhaps even over a thousand. I do know it changed me. My faith level increased, my understanding of God’s heart grew and my trust in the Lord filling my mouth has developed greatly.
As always, its not about us, its about him. If he pushes you, it is only to cause you to see the answer to your prayers that you would become more like him.