Planning for Russia

  Now that my vacation is over, I've really started to get in gear with getting everything set up and ready for Russia. Here are a few important things I need to take care of in the next few weeks:

• Send all my information to Russia regarding my Letter of Invitation from the Russian Baptist Union
• Get my visa filled out and sent
• Look into plane tickets
• Save/raise money
• Get all my paperwork into JWU Co-op Office
  

Besides these things, I have been hearing about some things that the Russian church wants us to bring over, specifically modern English praise and worship music, books, and cds. If anyone has any ideas about some good music books (like sheet music kind of things), let me know! Whats everyone's favorite praise and worship songs and cd's? I'm interested to see.

New Update: I think that I previously mentioned that I will be living in an apartment while I am in Zavolzhye. After much thought from Pastor Sasha and Natalia (my Russian contacts), they have decided that I should probably not live by myself and have made arrangements for me to live with Olga, a member of the church as well as a tour guide! On last year's trip, she showed us all around Gorodets. I dont remember her very well, but she was nice. It will be good to live with someone who can speak English and Russian. Its also amazing because she is a tour guide and I am excited to talk to her about her experiences in that field.  I hope we will be able to build a good relationship and have an enjoyable time together.

 Also, I want to definitely thank those of you who have financially supported me so far. It is such a blessing to be friends with such generous people. I really appreciate it, and cant say thank you enough. As well as financial support, I know that there are many people praying for me, and that I am truly grateful for as well. Prayer is the most important thing in this endeavor, and I welcome it with super wide open arms.

If anyone out there reading this is interested in getting a list of prayer requests regarding the trip, or wondering how to financially support me, PLEASE- email me at alissagraham116@gmail.com and I can get you that information asap.

Thanks again everyone,
-Alissa