| “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19 |
Komi, RussiaRussian InitiativeWe have partnered with this ministry and the Republic of Komi since 1999. Many people within this Republic find themselves living in poverty without their basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing. We strive to make life bearable for their orphans and elderly. 
New Jerusalem MonasteryThis is our first stop in our 800-mile journey North to the Republic of Komi, where our ministry begins. The picture to the right shows Terry (right) with Tony Casagrande in front of the New Jerusalem Monastery outside of Moscow, November 14, 1999. 
Orphanage at KoidenThe picture to the right shows the Russian Initiative's delegation at Koiden's orphanage. Pictured are (1) Dr. Scott McKenzie, (2) Rev. Dennis Henley, (3) Rev. Terry Collins - Director of Discipleship Ministries, and (4) Tony Casagrande. 
Koiden's old kitchen (left) was converted into a new bedroom which now accommodates five more children. 
Dr. Scott McKenzie and Olga Schneider, Deputy Chairman of the Komi branch of the Russian Peace Foundation, view Koiden's new kitchen (left). In February 1999, Rev. John Flower and I (Terry Collins) were introduced to this orphanage along with four others. The Russian Initiative of Western Pennsylvania decided to feed the children of these five orphanages through the months of February through September of 1999. In November of 1999, Discipleship Ministries joined the Russian Initiative of Western Pennsylvania. As a result of the November trip, the initiative is now involved in feeding 378 children in seven orphanages. 
Russian Initiative VideoWe now have a video of a 2002 trip to Russia available for you to download. It is in windows media format, and requires windows media player to view. The quality has been reduced to decrease the size of the file. The movie is about 15 minutes long and is about 4.5MB in size. Download by clicking here or on the picture (left) and using your browser's "save-as" feature. |