The Next Step

          From February 1^st until December 10^th of last year, I was a student in the two semester Missionary Training Program at Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe in Vajta, Hungary.  During my time in school, I went on mission trips to Serbia twice, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia and Romania.  In all of the places we were, God used us as His hands and feet.  Both of my 10 day outreaches were spent in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and were incredible for many reasons. Mainly because they were saturated with the Holy Spirit, the love of Christ and the leading of God in all that we did.  Our team from the Bible College worked alongside an amazing team of people from the United States, Ukraine and Brazil.  Some of the members of the team have been in Bishkek now for about 7 years! 
            The first section of scripture that I read from God’s Word which convicted me that I need to be in the mission field,  is known as the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:18-20 which says:
 

                           18“Then Jesus came and spoke to them saying, “All
                                 authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth.
                           19“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
                                 baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
                                 the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
                           20“teaching them to observe all things that I commanded
                                 you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

When I read this I realized that these words are the last words of Jesus.  Also God revealed to me that these words aren’t just for the Disciples of Christ, or for Paul and Barnabas, but these words were and still are for anyone who would say that they serve and follow Jesus Christ.  From the very moment that I read this passage, I knew that I needed to start doing something for the Lord, but what was it?  A few days later I was reading in Isaiah, and came across Isaiah 6:8 which says:
                                         6“Also I heard the voice of the Lord saying:
                                                  “Whom shall I send,
                                                    And who will go  for us?”
                                             Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

After reading this verse, I thought to myself, “I am willing, and this kind of sounds like me.”  So I prayed and told God, “Here am I, send me to do Your will.  Where do you want me and for what?”  And I heard God say, “Be prepared.”  A few nights later I was in my bed and had a Holy Spirit inspired dream or vision, and I saw a globe spinning very fast, as if time is running out.  Then I saw two giant hands grab the globe, indicating God is in control of the world and time all together.  Then finally a place on this globe became highlighted, and one of the fingers of the hands pointed to the same location, and I recognized the location as somewhere in northern Russia. 

            After seeing this clear vision, I asked the Lord what steps I should take in preparation for this calling.  I had suggestions from people in authority over me to consider going to Bible College, and through prayer God led me to Calvary Chapel Bible College Europe.  Not only did CCBCE give me the proper training to go out into the mission field to be a powerful tool for Him, but God also gave me many useful contacts and recourses that will be invaluable to me.
          In the last few weeks I have been praying and seeking what the next step is in going to the Siberian region where I know that God has called me. Currently, God is calling me to go back to Kyrgyzstan, to help the team that I was with, in Bishkek.  They are in need of male support there, and God is calling me there to support the ministry.  This is what I am hearing the Lord tell me to do, in my pursuit of reaching Siberia.  Kyrgyzstan is a former Soviet state, so they are a Russian speaking people, which will immerse me in a culture similar to what I will experience in Siberia.
            I need you all to know that this Gospel message that I am going to these distant lands for is the most important thing in my life.  I love my friends and family, and my fellow brothers and sisters who share a common faith in our amazing God.  However, they all pale in comparison to the love that I have for Jesus Christ and His will that He has for my life.  There is nothing more important than going where the Lord has called me; to do His good work of telling all who I come in contact with of the almighty and all powerful name of Jesus.  There are some in this world who have never heard the name of Jesus.  That is heartbreaking, and makes bringing the name of Jesus and the Good News that goes with His name to those of utmost importance to me.  The director of Outreach To Asian Nationals and a very close spiritual mentor of mine, Chris Gnanakan, has a little “slogan” about missions: “Christians need to be reaching the lost, at any cost.”  I remember hearing that and thinking, “What am I willing to go through for the Gospel?  How far am I willing to go to reach the lost?”  I can say with confidence that I am willing to go to any extreme to bring the Gospel of Christ wherever the good Lord calls me.  I have three life verses to challenge me and encourage me to be prepared, and to be excited to endure all things for the advancement of the Gospel. One of them speaks of why missionaries do the things we do, and two of them ensure Christians that we do not need to fear anything.  The first one is:

                           20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who
                                 live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live
                                 in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
                                 me and gave Himself for me.
                                                                                            Galatians 2:20

This verse is why I have to go to Kyrgyzstan and fulfill what God is calling me to.  The moment I accepted Christ into my heart and was baptized with the Holy Spirit, it was no longer I who was living but Christ took up residence inside of me and is now literally living inside of me.  Once we finally allow God to come in and take up residence inside of us and we finally submit to Gods will we realize that we are meant for Gods amazing plan, and it is absolutely magnificent.  That is what I have recently discovered.  God has been teaching how to submit to His will this whole past year, and I have finally submitted to Gods will for my life and I know that His next step for me is to go to Kyrgyzstan, and eventually Siberia to do His good work among a lost and unreached people.  There is nothing else on earth that is more important to me than to do that for my God.

          The next two verses tell of why I do not fear the next step of the Lords will in my life.  The path that God has me on could be dangerous, but I am confident in the Word of the Lord, and he tells me not to fear:
                                                              
                             9“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good
                                 courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord
                                 your God is with you wherever you go.”
                                                                                                        Joshua 1:9

          In this verse, God tells us that we don’t need to fear anything, but Him.  He has control over everything, whether that’s our finances, or a family situation, our health, our car breaking down, or our life.  I know that God will use this verse to sustain me in times of trouble in the future on the mission field.  And my third life verse says:
       
                             21“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
                                                                                               Philippians 1:21

            I love this verse so much!  Like Joshua says “do not be afraid or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  I do not need to be afraid of anything the Lord puts me through or what the Devil throws at me.  Even if God puts me through a situation that will have me wind up in prison or lead me to my death, Gods Word tells me that I do not need to fear.  For to me, to live is Christ, is saying that I want to live, because I get to do the work that Christ has for me and living life for Christ is wonderful, because we get to help non believers look to God and we get to help lead people to Jesus.  However, to die is gain!  If you look past Philippians 1:20 and read 22-24 you see that Paul actually says that for him death is better and he would prefer that, because he would be in the presence of Jesus.  He says however, that it is more beneficial for the people he is helping to continue on with what Christ has him doing.  And in doing the work that Christ has for me and obeying His will for my life, I might die by execution or by life in prison, or by accidental cause, but whether I live or die Christ will be honored with my body.  To die means that I am transported from this fallen world, to the presence of our amazing heavenly Father!  That is amazing and I honestly can’t wait for that day.  That is why this verse is my most cherished life verse.  I am not going into the mission field to become a martyr, but I am going to live like my heavenly Father showed me to live while He was on earth.  To love everyone, and to be kind to all who I come in contact with.  To not be afraid of anything and to be bold for Christ in all that I do.  And in doing that, I will not fear death, because I know that to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

          I will be going to Kyrgyzstan as a long term missionary with the Обновление Calvary Chapel church in Bishkek.  While I am in Kyrgyzstan I will work with the youth group there by helping to build the teens in the church up in the Word of God.  I will be challenging the kids to truly be followers of God, and to be bold for Jesus.  I will also be involved with a mid week Bible study and I may even lead that.  I will be doing practical ministry for the church by doing upkeep on the building.  I will be doing a weekly orphanage ministry where we go and spend time just loving on the kids of the orphanage, and teaching them the Word of God.  After I go to Kyrgyzstan and complete the work that the Lord has for me there, I will be continuing on to Siberia, Lord willing.  That is where I will meet up with David Markey who I originally met on my first trip to Kyrgyzstan.  David has the exact same calling to Siberia as I do.  We both have had Holy Spirit inspired encounters in which the Holy Spirit showed us the Lords will for our lives by going to the unreached people of Siberia.  I have faith that God will still lead me to Siberia in His time, but for now He has me going to Kyrgyzstan as a stepping stone, for a reason which He has not shown me yet. 

I am writing this letter mainly to inform you of where I have been and where the Lord is taking me, and also to ask for your prayer support, because it is so vitally important.  Although prayer support is the most important kind of support that you can give, I ask you to pray about financially supporting the mission that God has set before me.  By prayer support and financial support you are taking part in the mission with me, for without your prayer and financial support, the mission is next to impossible.  Having a strong prayer support and financial support team is so crucial for missionaries.  So I encourage you to pray about supporting this mission financially so that the task that the Lord has set before me may be accomplished. 
          Below is a list of all the needs I will have while in the mission field:

Housing/rent - $200-$250 per month
Food - $150-$200 per month

Transportation - $70 per month

Utilities - $70 per month
Ministry - $70 per month

Incidental/miscellaneous - $100 per month

Total: $700 monthly support

There are many different expenses that missionaries have to deal with overseas, and it is very hard to be able to afford everything.  I will be busy everyday serving the Lord by helping people and visiting orphanages and working with the youth group, that I won’t have time to work somewhere else to get money.  All the work I will be doing is for free.  So in order to be able to do the Lords work and still be able to live in an apartment, and pay for food, I need the body of Christ back home working their daily jobs to be willing to commit to supporting me and my monthly needs that I will have.  By supporting me and the work that I am doing, whether it be through financial means or through prayer, you are a huge part of everything that I will be doing.  I encourage you to pray for the work that I am going to do in Kyrgyzstan, and also to be in prayer about supporting me, a fellow brother in the faith, with monthly support.  Whatever you feel God telling you to invest into His kingdom, I encourage you to be faithful and give, and God will bless you for it here on earth and you will also be rewarded for it in heaven one day.
          For those of you who feel led to be a part of the financial support, you can send your tax deductible donation to Calvary Chapel Downeast and indicate on your check that is for Evan Valarik:
513-1 Bar Harbor Rd
Trenton, ME 04605.

I want to thank you personally for taking time out of your your days to pray for me and for what God is doing with me and where he intends to send me next.  Prayers for protection, and encouragement and conviction are all very much appreciated.  Also thank you for any financial support you invest into the Lords kingdom through me.  Your money will be going towards helping people who have never heard the name of Jesus, come to know Him in a personal way, and one day in eternity, you will be able to meet the people that your prayer and financial support helped lead to salvation.  This work that the Lord has given me vision and calling for is absolutely incredible, whether your going out into these countries with me, or supporting it from home, we will all be blessed and we all can know that we are helping the Lord bring people to the saving knowledge and understanding of Himself.
            I pray that you will take part in helping me join with the team in Kyrgyzstan.  With an abundance of prayer and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, God will do unfathomable miracles for me in my goal of joining with the missionary team in Kyrgyzstan. 
          Many people have said to me, “We’ll be praying for you, it’s the LEAST we can do.”, but I need you to understand, that prayer is actually the MOST that you can do for somebody.  We serve an amazing, unfathomable God, who has no boundaries and no limit to His capabilities! Through prayer God CAN make the impossible happen if it is the will of the Lord to do so.  I really hope that all of you guys believe that.  God is so incredibly faithful to hear and answer our prayers according to His will.  He wants to sustain and hold us up in our time of need. I will leave you with this verse that shows us the love and faithfulness of God.

9“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth,

to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him"

                                                                        2 Chronicles 16:9

My Email: valarik92@yahoo.com