The Dean Family

Our plans for Vanavara are moving along. It has been a very busy few weeks. Between buying the supplies for the Vanavara housing project, meeting delivery trucks, packing our belongings for transit up the winter road, moving my family from the village of Shila to a temporary apartment in the city, and all the other little details that go with such a move. Our plan for the next few months is this: my family will live in the city for a few months while I prepare the flat in Vanavara for their arrival. Missionary Matt Northcut and I will make trips up the winter road. We have met a truck driver who lives in Vanavara. He is going to transport the bulk of our building supplies and we will follow him, like a caravan. This is also the safest way to travel on the winter road, as if one person runs into a problem he is not stranded in dangerously cold weather. We plan to start our first trip tomorrow. We spent most of today packing the truck with building supplies. Please pray for us in the ...

The Good News: First and foremost, I thank the Lord for His protection, things could have gone terribly wrong. Praise the Lord that no one was hurt. As to the condition of the van;  if it was a typical van, it would have been totaled; but because it is designed for off-roading, everything is beefed up. As a result,  the suspension and frame held together surprisingly  well. Prior to the accident, I had went through the engine compartment replacing anything that even looked worn out. (A very important step, as you don't want to break down on the winter road.) Nothing in the engine compartment was damaged, praise the Lord. That work was not in vain. The Repairs Needed: Earlier this week Missionary James Pranger and I replaced some steering components so that we could move it . (We had to bring it in on a flatbed.) Here is what I know so far: - It will need extensive body work. - It will need an alignment done. - It will need two new rims and tires. - A new seat...

Let me start out by saying that I am OK.  Our car is not. I had planned on writing this week to tell everyone about our van. We had bought a van for the purpose of winter road travel. It is a Russian UAZ van designed for both on and off road driving. Its four wheel drive, high ground clearance, and low gear ratio make it ideal for the winter road. In addition to that, its  stout suspension allows it to carry a heavy load. We had planned to use it to transport goods and ministry materials over the winter road. As you may recall, there is no road going into Vanavara during the summer, so most goods are transported across the winter road. This is especially important to us as we are planning to get our apartment ready this winter, which includes some remodel work. Also, we are planning to move our household goods up this winter. This van was key to many of our plans. I had just finished going through the van mechanically. It is dangerous to break down on the winter roa...

Missionary Matt Northcutt and I flew up to Vanavara to buy property. This is a big step towards moving to this village to share the Gospel with them. I want to thank every one who has been praying for our  housing needs. We had a very productive trip. I went up with the intent to secure land, or at least start the document process for securing land to build on.  I was going up on faith; knowing that we had enough finances to secure land, but would need a considerable amount of additional finances to build. The Lord opened up an amazing door.  We found a large village flat for sale. It is a fairly large flat, 70 square meters (750 square feet).This a pretty big deal. You may remember from our earlier letters, that typically  most of the village apartments and flats are too small to meet the legal requirements for the size of our family. Often times they are more like a dormitory than an apartment. Also, the few people who do own the larger ones hold on to th...

In the midst of VBS, missionary Matt Northcutt and I are flying up to Vanavara to buy property. Please pray for a smooth trip, and that the Lord will direct us to the right properties. Pray for the Vacation Bible School this week in the village of Bartsov. The Vacation Bible School last week in the city of Krasnoyarsk went very well, with over 11 visitors the first day. Once again, I covet your prayers as Matt Northcutt and I fly to Vanavara tomorrow to buy properties, our first step towards moving to this village to share the Gospel with them.

VBS is starting tomorrow. We are starting a little earlier this year then usual. The reason is that July marks the 20th anniversary of the Krasnoyarsk Baptist Church and we will be having a special service. We wanted to finish the VBSs before then so that we could have time to focus on preparations for the anniversary service.  Like last year we will be holding VBS in four different locations: the city, three villages; one of which being Shila, where we live and minister. Each VBS runs from Wednesday to Sunday.  This year's VBS theme is "Unto the Uttermost." The focus of the teaching will be on the Gospel and missions. This past Saturday we finished the decorations. To go with the theme, we made the church to look like an airport. Please pray for this summer's VBS. Please pray for souls to be saved and for Christian  young people to see the importance of missions.