Hey y'all! I'm Ashley, a South Carolina native and senior nursing student at The University of Alabama's Capstone College of Nursing graduating in December 2015 with a BSN.  Before I give some background on my reason for being here I want to say thank you for taking the time to read my story.  My love for nursing goes back to the late 90s and being a kid watching my mom through a window interact with the babies in the newborn nursery as a nurse.  It may sound crazy and at such a young age, but it was then I knew that I should be a nurse.  My mother's love for newborns transferred to me and just like she I plan to become a NICU/Well baby nurse.  My long term goal is to become a level II neonatal nurse practitioner in the NICU.  As you may have guessed, serving others is near and dear to my heart.  Being able to make someone else smile and feel better keeps me going.  At the end of the day, knowing that I provided the care to someone, that I would want for someone to provide for my own family ultimately satisfies me.  I've always desired to study abroad even though I'm an out-of-state student with my parents paying out of pocket and no scholarships or financial aid.  I've been aware of various opportunities to study abroad, but when I learned of the opportunity to travel to Russia (May 3-12, 2015) with EF, two faculty, and other nursing students from my nursing school it was different.   God placed it in my heart to step out on faith and plan to go on this trip despite how the road looks ahead.  He knows that I will be a blessing to His children in Russia.  I'm a walking testimony on how if you wait on the Lord and be patient He will bless you because with God all things are possible!  We would be traveling to Kursk, Russia a town southwest of Moscow. While being there we will work in the clinic with Roma gypsies and native Slavic people who desperately need healthcare, we also plan to see a Russian hospital and interact with Russian medical and nursing students.  All of this will be done while spreading the love of my Lord and Savior. So if you can, I appreciate all donations no matter the amount.  The money will go towards air and ground transportation, lodging, food, additional insurance, and pre-trip preparation through the university.  If you can't donate I'd appreciate your prayers, I can never have enough prayers.  Thank you all so much :)

-Ashley

Join us in Russia as we help Russian churches plant new churches in villages where no current church exists. As we venture into these smaller villages to evangelize, train up disciples and plant self-sustaining and reproducing churches, we are grateful to have a medical component that will help open doors for our church planting teams.

The expedition will need a handful of professional doctors/nurses, dentists/hygienists and chiropractors/massage therapists to provide a well-rounded medical team. Additionally, we need non-medically trained people who have a heart to share the Gospel and train in discipleship basics like how to pray, how to read your Bible and how to share your faith. These church planting team members will spend 1 or 2 days with the medical team, but spend most of their time working among one village or city for the week.

The trip will conclude with a day of sightseeing in Moscow where you will get to see places like Red Square and the tomb of the unknown soldier at the Kremlin.

Less than 1% of Russians have a personal relationship with Jesus! Come be a part of changing that and serve with us in Russia in May 2015!

If you want a peek at what an e3 medical mission trip looks like, take a look at a recent video put together that shows e3 Medical involved with church planting efforts in Romania.