Tartarstan, May 6th, 2008

Dearest Friends,

We are so blessed! Who has the sweet privilege of sharing Jesus Christ in a Muslim nation. Because you pray and by God's grace, this is our testimony. Let me share with you some blessings.

1. We were in a Tatar village and God provided someone who could translate from English into Tatar. Then the children could understand the stories about Jesus.

2. Sam, Silvana and I are so blessed by one of our Ukrainian puppet teams that is working with us. Masha, Oleg, and Oksana spent the night in the Kiev train station and then traveled 2 days by train to reach us. They saved the money for this trip and paid for their own mission trip. This effort represents great personal sacrifice. So we are a team from 4 different nations. We laugh allot and often confuse each other, but we are having so much fun!

3. After one show, I spoke with 4 widows. They had sat and stood for an hour, listening to the puppet show! We made all of the children balloons and we made each of the ladies a special flower balloon. They were very pleased and happy to listen to me talk with them while they waited for their balloons.

I told them about the great love story that the Father gave Mike and I. The love a Christian man can show his wife is very different from their own experiences. It was precious to share with them about Jesus. One lady was very touched by what she heard. My hands were very dirty from drawing pictures. She grabbed my dirty hands and began to kiss them, telling me how grateful she was for the stories she had heard.

4. One little girl had made a sign that she held up during different parts of the puppet show. It was written in beautiful English and beautifully decorated. It said, "Very Good". Her sign made all of us smile!

5. Earlier today, we set up our equipment in a large culture hall. These places were built to teach people about communism, that there is no God. Today, that auditorium was filled with public school children who heard about the one true God. It was a very special show. All of us could feel a great out pouring of Gods spirit on the children. Many of the teachers came to us and thanked us. They were excited! Praise God!

Prayer Requests

We have traveled deeper into Tatarstan and need your constant prayers for protection and wisdom.

Thank you!

In Jesus,

Linda for
Samuel Shaw - Assitant Director
Silvana Simioni Shaw
Oksana
Masha
Oleg

Russia, May 5th, 2008

Dearest Friends,

A TATAR VILLAGE SCHOOL

We are having the most encredible opportunities. Today come we drove about 80 kilometers to reach a village school. For quite a dustanse we followed behind the manure truck. The man who was driving for us said that he had grown up in a farm so he did not mind the smel. He said it made him think of home. The rest of us were praying to pass the truck.

The director and his wife gave us a very warm welcome. They knew that we were christians and we had been very honest in telling them that we would talk about Jesus Christ, God touched their hearts. Even thought they were Muslims, they were happy to have us come to the school, they prepared tea and lunch for us, they even gave us a Tatar hat to use in our program. These children were hearing about the good news of the Gospel for the first time. This place was very far from a major city and required traveling some poor roads. Please pray for these children to think about the story they heard today. We told them how they could invite Jesus to be their Savior. Please ask God to call these children to faith tonight.

Food

Schuk Schuck is a favourite Tatar food. It reminds me of rice crispy squares that i ate as a little girl only better. It is noodles that are stuck together with lots of honey and is a special treat.

The first day that we were here, some little boys told me to be sure and eat Ish bish muck. It is a pastry stuffed with meat, onions and potatoes. The boys said it was delicious and they told the truth!

Training the New Puppet Team

Tonight was our first opportunity to meet with our Tatar friends that will become the new puppet team in Kazan. They were very enthusiastic and were willing to try everything. We will meet again next Monday. Please pray for these friends and ask God to give them a great desire to do this work. One young man, came up to me after the teaching and was really wanting to learn more about storytelling. However he will be out of town next week and unable to attend the class. He was so desperate to learn that we agreed to give him a special class over the weekend. I am very excited about how interested everyone is in learning these skills.

Prayer Requests

Tomorrow we are leaving for another city and will make stops along the way doing puppet shows. Our driver for this part of the trip is the director of childrens ministries for summer camps. This will be a great opportunity to work with him and also learn from him. Please pray for us as we are traveling. This is a Muslim country and we have already been told that if we were staying here for a long period of time that we could not do what we are doing. We are attracting allot of attention and we need you to pray that we would be able to finish our work without any outside interference.

Love in Jesus,

Linda for

Sam Shaw - Assistant Director
Silvana Shaw
Oksana
Masha
Oleg

Kazan, Russia May 4th, 2008

Dearest Friends,

Russia or Tatarstan

We are in Russia! However, no one here will tell you that you are in Russia. They are very proud of their regional history and are quick to tell you that we are in Tatarstan. This is a Muslim state with very few Christians. If you are Protestant, you are often looked at with questioning eyes. Most people think you are members of a cult.

We are staying in an apartment owned by a Bible College. I can look out the window at an endless sea of 12 story buildings. Most look identical, with little external or internal differences. They are all in various stages of decay. The apartment buildings are the same across the old Soviet Union. We have worked in numerous countries that were part of the Old Union and everywhere, it is the same. You get the feeling that decades ago someone paid an architect to design the first one and they simply kept building it again and again.

There are 1 and a half million people in this city, Kazan.

Worship

Sunday morning was not what we had planned or what we had expected. We were scheduled in 2 churches, but they cancelled because most people in their congregations had to be at school or work. They told us that such a situation happens once or twice a year at special holidays. A third Pastor invited us to come and worship with him.

It was so amazing to be sitting in a Muslim country and worshipping with brothers and sisters. They sang “Shine, Jesus shine”. Our prayer is that He would flood this place with His light. Please pray for wisdom as we must be careful not to attract the wrong kind of attention, but still share Jesus with the children.

Two Street Shows

We never expected to have such a sweet privilege. Our very first day, we did two shows outside on the courtyard that sits in the center of multiple apartment buildings. Children, teenagers, and adults came. Most were Muslims, but they eagerly listened to the Gospel. We also had many conversations with children and even older adults after the show. Even more people stood at what they judged a safe distance and listened. Please pray for all those who came. God knows their names. Please ask Him to call them to faith.

So many of those listening were hearing about Jesus Christ as the only son, of the one true God. The fact that they listened was a wonderful gift from the father. We were threatened at one location, but in the end, they did not call the police. Praise God!

Prayer Requests!

Please pray for Kazan. The Tatars are a dear people. There is so little light in this city and so few believers. Please stay on your knees!

Tomorrow, we are going to a village and we have a training session planned. We are so excited!

We have a very special praise report. We passed through customs with all of our luggage without anyone opening any of the suitcases. This was a miracle! We were stopped and asked if we intended to bring all of our luggage home with us. I prayed for wisdom and the Lord give us a very funny answer I began to explain to them how I liked my suitcase's and I really hoped I could put the smaller ones inside the bigger ones. They were of course really asking me if I intended to give away all the things that I had inside so, I just kept talking to them about how much I loved my suitcases. God was very kind to us; they became so frustrated with my explanations and told us to go.


In Jesus,

Linda Summer – Director
Sam Shaw – Assistant Director
Silvana Simioni Shaw
Oksana
Masha
Oleg

To Russia with (AGAPE) Love

Dearest Friends,

Thursday, May 1st, I am leaving for Russia. I will meet Sam and Silvanna Shaw in Frankfurt and then we will travel to Kazan, 500 miles east of Moscow. It is the capital of old Tartarstan, a Muslim area. Three Ukrainian friends are traveling 3 days on a Russian train to join us, do puppets, and help with translation. Please pray for all of us as we travel!

As always, I am concerned about the luggage arriving with us and without damage. Please pray that we will have no difficulties in customs.

Begin to pray for the children and ask the Father to call many to Himself! Ever since I was a very little girl, I have prayed for the people of Russia. To me, this trip is a privilege that I never imagined that I would have! I am really excited!

Please stay on your knees!

In Jesus,
Linda for the team
Kazan, Russia Google Maps