A very important Mission Update
By
the Havertape Family
November 21, 2011
Recap on our ministry in Russia
In 2003 we packed up in 5 suitcases and 4 carry-on cases and moved our little family to Vladimir, Russia. After 9 months in Vladimir we moved to Kolchugino and began a church-plant in the city of Kolchugino. We stayed in that city for six years before moving back to Vladimir. In between Kolchugino and Vladimir was a very interesting season in our lives. For any of you that followed the ministry during that time will remember that we struggled with what was next. The visa laws had changed in Russia and we did not know what the Lord wanted from us. After much prayer, we returned to Russia to apply for a temporary residency visa. The Lord preformed a miracle and granted us this three-year visa. With this visa we made the commitment of two years to begin Calvary Chapel Bible College in Vladimir. CCBC Vladimir opened in January 2010.
During our first semester of Bible College in 2010, our family traveled to Kolchugino twice a week to continue to Pastor the church. In September of 2010 we were able to hand the church over
to a Russian man and his wife, Anataoli and Ira Khinkos. The goal always was to eventually turn the church plant over to a national so that the church could continue on.
After we turned the church over we understood that our prayers should be directed to praying for a national to take over and direct the Bible College. Our visa would end and with this understanding the need became more apparent. So we began to pray and ask the Lord to provide a Director for the college in His time, and to also send us out again to church-plant if that is His will.
Last fall, Britny and the kids, went to America. They were there for five long months. Over those months with health issues and other circumstances the Lord began to speak to us each individually about our time in Russia, confirming things in one another’s hearts. We knew that the Lord was bringing this season to a close. Last April we sent out a letter to all of you stating that most likely we would be leaving Russia in the next 6- 12 months.
In the last six months in Russia we have been able to hand the leadership of the college over to a National named Roman Usmonov. He will be directing the college after our departure from Russia. Praise the Lord for His pr
ovision and that the ministry will continue on that was begun two years ago.
Future Direction
As far as our family goes we would like to share with you what the Lord has been showing us about our future direction. First of all we will remain in Russia until January 21st. We will depart back for Los Angeles on that day. The Lord has opened a door for our family to go on another church plant. Pastor Ben Garate of Calvary Chapel Montrose, CO and Pastor Jeff Johnson of Calvary Chapel Grand Junction, CO have invited us to come and plant a church in Delta, CO. With much prayer and the support of our sending pastor, Pastor Cliff Watson of Calvary Chapel Valle Vista in H
emet, CA, we have made the decision to move forward in this direction.
We will move to Colorado either at the end of February or beginning of March. During this time of tra
nsition back to the United States, after having lived abroad for eight years, we will need your support. Our family will be making many transitions: reentry to our own culture after making many adjustments to another, raising our family in a different environment that our children have never lived in, finding work in a new city after not having been in the workforce for eight years, and beginning a new ministry. So we ask as our prayer team and financial supporters that you would continue on with our family as we finish well here in Russia and move in a new direction that the Lord is taking us. The mission has not changed just the location!
As far as our financial situation, currently many individual families sacrifice monthly to financially support our family on the foreign-mission field. We are so grateful for the faithfulness of these people especially during these hard years that the world has been facing financially. Praise the Lord! We want to be upfront with all of you; we do not have a home or anything to fall back on as we reenter the USA, therefore we ask that you would continue on to financially give to our family as we make the transition into the new ministry and reach the city of Delta. I will be looking for work to support our family. My resume has already been sent. However, during this period of transition we need the body of Christ to financially support and assist us. In order to begin a church th
ere will be many costs. Such as renting a meeting place, buying supplies, and miscellaneous costs. Our current monthly support that we receive to live on in Russia will not be enough for our family to live in America let alone to support the new church in Delta, Colorado. So, in recap, we are praying that our current supporters will continue to support the New mission- ministry to people in the USA, and those who receive this newsletter and perhaps have wanted to support us or wanted to support a home-based missionary we would ask you to jump on board with us.
We are blessed and so grateful for all of your prayers and financial support and we look forward to serving with you in this next season of ministry. It has been such a blessing to see the Lord’s provision for our family these last eight years and we are excited to see what God has and what He will do with this team that has faithfully served our family and been apart of the ministry in Russia and what is next for the season with you in Colorado!
We have a couple real practical needs that we would like to share with all of you so you could be praying and if the Lord puts it on your heart to help us meet those needs:
1.) When we arrive to the USA we will need to rent a UHAUL and drive out to Colorado this will be an extra expense for us. (You can send support for this need directly to my parent’s house: 43330 Sunshine Court Hemet, CA 92544- put a note in the envelope what it is for)
2.) When we arrive to the USA we will need a family vehicle. If you know of anyone who is selling one for a good price or would like to donate one to assist us that would be such a blessing.
Send Support to the following Address:
Shepherd's Staff Mission Facilitators
PO Box 53640
Albuquerque, NM 87153-3640
*** Write check to Shepherd’s Staff Mission Facilitators and in the memo of the check write account #1237
Or go online to www.shepsstaff.org and find other ways to donate.
We will keep you informed about the format of giving and any changes as we change from the foreign field to the USA.
God Bless,
Jason Havertape
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