Psalm 96:3 Declare His glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

Is God calling you to be his instrument to deliver the good news this year? Applications are now being accepted and team trips are being planned. All applications are due to the missions office by February 14. Trips currently being planned are:

• Mississippi - March 20 - 27. This will be our last trip to the Mississippi gulf area to work on the reconstruction of homes devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. For more information contact Chris Larsen @ 944-1232.
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• Czech Republic (Spring) Team will be going to Prague to work with Teen Challenge in a day program teaching and doing crafts and games with elementary age Roma children (Gypsies), who are very under-resourced and discriminated against as a population. There may also be some light construction on the House of Hope. For more information contact Tim and Terry Dakin @ 962-0546.
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• Russia (June) Working with several evangelical churches in Kostroma the team will be working on a women's retreat, men's Bible study and children's program. They will also be working alongside our sister church in ministries the church is involved with. Possibilities include relationship building, prison ministry, ministering to orphans, church planting, and children's ministries. For more information contact Carl & Harriet Kuhn @ 961-7750.
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• Rancho Santa Marta, Mexico - June 19 - 25. Team members will be helping with maintenance around the 450 acre ranch and school which may include construction projects, orchard work, painting, etc. as well as put on a teacher appreciation luncheon and a BBQ picnic for the children who live on the ranch. We are currently looking for leadership for this trip. For more information contact the missions department.
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• La Esperanza, Mexico - July 31 - August 7. Participants of this team will be doing work projects on the site and in the community and helping to run a Vacation Bible School at a nearby migrant camp. The time at the migrant camp will also include health and personal hygiene lessons for the children. In the evenings the team will go back to the migrant camps and do film ministry or in the community to participate in sports ministry. For more information contact Kevin and Lauri Balbi @ 772-6659.
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• Malawi, Africa (Fall) We are moving forward with our partnership working in Chiradzulu. By fall we hope to have the construction for the Hope Center well under way. Team members may be helping with completion of the building project, the selection process of the orphans, participate in the medical clinic, etc. For more information contact the missions office.
  

Applications for all 2010 team trips are due by February 14.

To download a copy of the 2010 Team Trip Application:

Come with us on a Short-Term Ministry Journey to Kostroma, Russia!

The Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church has established a working partnership with the Kostroma Evangelical Christian Church in Kostroma, Russia. A group from FOPC has been to Kostroma, which is about 360 kilometers northeast of Moscow, on three prior occasions to visit and worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ in this beautiful region along the Volga River.

It is the groups’ intent and purpose to continue the process of developing the partnership with the Kostroma Evangelical Christian Church and the leader in that region Pastor Sergei Didovets. On our next visit, subject to the final composition of the team, we expect to do the following things:

• • Conduct a retreat for women from the surrounding area and churches
• • Hold a Men’s Bible Study and Fellowship
• • Participate in the Sunday School program for the children of the church and neighborhood
• • Meet with Pastors in the Moscow area to explore doing a seminar on marriage and family counseling at a later time, meet with the regional Bishop in the Yaroslavl Oblast, and make visits to some of the places in the Kostroma community that the Church does ministry.
• • Work with Roma leadership to help establish a community Christian Center and to develop job creation opportunities
• • Explore possible opportunities of establishing an Upward Basketball Ministry
• • Undertake some light construction work to help finish up the new church building.
• • Perform some household maintenance chores for Pastor Sasha & his wife Taisa who are serving in Privolzhsk a village a short distance from Kostroma
• • Continue our search to identify dynamic, young potential national pastors and leaders, invest in them, and help them plant new churches and ministries

OUR TEAM is open to all persons who want to be challenged and used by God to minister to the Russian people. We want to have an intergenerational group; however the team is limited to a maximum of 12 members. The team will likely depart June 8 and return June 24.

Our Team is always looking for additional believers to join us in our ministry to the Russian people. If you cannot go on this journey but would like to become involved please contact us. There are many ways to be part of this ministry, such as becoming a prayer partner or participating as an associate on one of several committees. You can also assist by helping to arrange Russian Cultural evenings at the church in order to promote this ministry and to improve understanding of the Russian people and their country.

ESTIMATED COST is approximately $3,850 per member including airfare. To insure your place on this team a deposit of $200 needs to be made no later than January 17, 2010.

For more information or to sign up, contact the Mission Office.