On my way!

Well, friends!  This is it!  I'm on my way.
As I write this, I am sitting in the airport waiting to board my first of three flights totaling 18 hours of travel.  I'm so excited to see how God will work over these next 6 weeks.  Thank you for your continued prayers!  I cannot express how amazed I am at God's provision and direction for this trip.  I am confident that I am where He wants me as I set out for the Ukraine.  I'm praying for you all, and I love you tons!
-Jasper (from the airport in Las Vegas en route to Ukraine)

1 Peter 1:3-8 esv
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to [3]his own glory and excellence, [4] 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, [5] and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities [6] are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Big News!

Well, friends, God has done amazing things within the last few weeks, and I am so excited!

I haven’t written for most of the month, primarily because until a few days ago, I had no idea what would happen with my trip.  As I briefly mentioned in the previous post, my contact in Perm, Russia and I were waiting on a letter from the Russian Government in order to get my visa.  I was encouraged to hold off on purchasing my plane tickets until all visa issues were straightened out.  After some weeks of waiting, we realized that there would not be enough time for me to be there for 6 weeks before I had to be back at school in the Fall.

My contact in Perm suggested that I contact a friend of hers at another YWAM base in the Ukraine in hopes that I may be able to serve there on short notice.  After emailing her, I was quickly contacted by my new contact in Ternopil, Ukraine!  The team there has invited me to serve with them this Summer in much the same capacity as I would have been serving in Perm.  In fact, I will have the opportunity to help begin a new ministry called King’s Kids as well as to be a part of a large Christian festival in the city. 

The website for the Ternopil base is www.ywamternopil.org.  Please be praying for this entire team as I join them in ministering to the city of Ternopil, specifically the youth.  I’m so excited to see how God is going to work this Summer, and I’ll be leaving on Thursday, June 30^th!  I’ll be coming back home on August 14^th for a few days before I return to Biola for the Fall semester. 

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support!  I look forward to sharing this time with you through this blog! 
God bless you all! 

Prayer Request!

Dear friends,

I have a few prayer requests:

*I have already learned so much about international travel.  It turns out that there is more paperwork to this process than I originally understood.  Please pray that all of this comes together in a timely manner.

*Please pray that my "letter of invitation" into Russia from the Russian government comes quickly.  I have been advised not to purchase plane tickets until this invitation is in my hands.

* I still have  most of my support to raise, and I hope to be on my way no later than July 1.  Please pray that I have the ability to purchase these tickets as soon as I receive my invitation.

Thank you so much for your prayers!  I will keep you posted.

This Summer...

Hello Everyone!
Thank you so much for visiting my blog!
Here I will give updates on the happenings of this Summer.
I'll be raising support and traveling to Perm, Russia to meet up with the YWAM missions base there.
I'll be working in their program "King's Kids" to reach the children in the area.  Prayerfully God will use this Summer to not only reach many with the Gospel, but also to develop my vision for my future.  I am so excited to share this amazing time with you, and I am confident that God is going to do some amazing things.

Please pray that God will provide according to His will for this trip.