Three years ago I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior, and I was baptized into the family of God at First Baptist Church, Centerville (FBCC) on May 15, 2006. I had no idea at that time what God had in store for me.

In January of 2008, after hearing an inspirational sermon by Pastor Allen Hughes, I was called by God to volunteer to join a church mission team. Not really knowing how He wanted to use me, I was ready for anything. . or so I thought. Ten months and eight thousand miles later, I found myself in Kamensk-Uralski, Russia watching God doing absolutely incredible things and feeling truly blessed that He allowed me to be there to witness them.

In a country that had been repressed by over 70 years of communism and the suppression of the worship of God, there are today, literally, tens of millions of people who have never heard about God, let alone His Word. In addition, there are others who know God, or at least of Him, but are starved and even desperate to hear the Gospel and have fellowship with other believers.

Now, the main purpose of FBCC establishing a relationship with Brother Joseph Savchenko's church in Kamensk-Uralski is so we can play a supportive role in helping Joseph establish his church in the community. Our first mission team traveled to Russia in October 2007, into the city of Brother Joseph's church. The initial results seemed disappointing, since a much-anticipated meeting with the city administrators was cancelled at the last minute. The team spent the remainder of that first trip praying and establishing relationships with the church members there.

On FBCC's next trip to Russia in November 2008, I was fortunate to join in as a team member and to witness some miracles. The previous trip's groundwork of prayer had worked. Not only did we have a meeting with the city administrators but, as a result of that meeting, three additional appointments in the community were opened to us. The first was at the Institute of International Relations, the second at a linguistics college, and the third at a community children's hospital. God opened the doors and allowed us to establish a relationship with each of these entities, and we revisited all three on our third trip in April.

On April 17, 2009, I boarded a Lufthansa Airbus, along with four other members of the team from FBCC–our Pastor Dr. Allen Hughes; Associate Pastor David Grantham; Dr. Luann Purcell, Executive Director, Council of Administrators of Special Education, Inc. ; and fellow church member Megan Salter. Twenty-four hours later, I was back in Russia.

We met Rusty Hart, the missionary placed in Russia by the Southern Baptist International Missions Board, at the airport in Ekaterinburg. Rusty has served God in Sverdlovskaya, Oblast, a state of over seven million people, with his family for more than seven years. Megan Hart, Rusty's middle daughter, was there, along with a few members of Rusty's team who would accompany our group to the city of Kamensk- Uralski, where Brother Jospeh's church is located.

We loaded our bags, which included several pounds of candies, ink pens, crosses made by the women's ministry of our church, and other small gifts for people, into two SUV's and drove the last leg of our journey to our hotel on the banks of the Iset river. The church had shipped other items before our trip including 100 Frisbees, which have Bible stories written in Russian on the underside. These were to be given to the children we would visit during our week long stay.

We arrived at the hotel with just enough time to head to the church for their Easter service. During this service, Pastor Joseph Savchenko invited anyone to come forward who was willing to repent and accept Jesus into their heart. Five people came forward! I thought, " This is what it's all about!" Even Rusty said the he'd never seen that many people in Russia come to Christ at one time.

Through Brother Joseph's relationship with the Mayor's office, we had so many appointments on our most recent trip that we had to be split into two groups to attend all of them. Praise God! We visited four of the cities orphanages where we played games with the children, had a public church service at the city's Cultural Center where another person accepted Jesus, attended a linguistics "competition" also at the Cultural Center, toured the cities Historical Museum as well as the largest bell manufacturer in Russia, prayed with residents of two Christian rehabilitation centers and, rather unexpectedly, we were invited to the office of Mayor Mikhale Astolov . He was so grateful for our service to his city that he presented our team with a sculpture that had been given to him by the children of an orphanage in town where he volunteers his time. At every location, we had the opportunity to give out Bibles, crosses, and other gifts to residents and staff members alike.

It was quite clear that God had used us in such a way that Pastor Joseph was able to establish much needed relationships within the city's administration to "get his foot in the door" and continue moving in the direction that God had intended when he sent Pastor Joseph there from his home in Ukraine.

Later in the week, the church had a dinner in our honor and there were new faces in attendance. Some of the residents of the rehab centers had joined Brother Joseph's church, and we were there to witness the greatness of God's glory as he worked in the lives of our Russian friends.

As for me, it's back to fund raising and practicing my Russian as I look forward to my next trip. . back to Russia with hope.