Phil – currently 27 years old (06/7/83)

Employment qualifications -  Outdoor recreation,  degree in computer science post grade diploma in “Divinity”

Phil arrived: September 2010 and has been worked in the house for 6 months.

An average day in the house for Phil -  he says there is no typical routine for him, every day is different.  He just does what needs to be done.

Some of his activities included - cleaning tidying, driving,  computer admin, cooking, helping with Kids club, helping with the babies, and home schooling the Harrison’s kids, shopping sorting and delivering of donations fixing stuff, playing games and sharing life experience with the kids, learning Russian

Spare time - snowboarding, escaping to the forest hiking and winter camping, skiing, ice fishing, games nights with a local youth group

Some good things about living here -

  • Living in a cold climate
  • Learning a new language
  •  Seeing that Christians are still like family no matter where you are living in the world
  • Bonding with the kids here and at the orphanage

How people in the house would describe Phil-

Peter and Tracy loved having Phil and as much as they have loved all their team members Phil has been up there with the best of them. He is thoughtful and considerate and the kids have really enjoyed his company and sought him out which is a big thing as sometimes they can be closed off to new comers. He has been an asset to our team and will be sorely missed by all!! For Pete having someone to share the driving has been great as well as all the everyday tasks and keeping things running smoothly wether we are here or not.

Some hard thing about living here –

  • At times not being able to fully communicate with people- limits depths
  • Sometimes hard to find somewhere quiet. (usually only kitchen when everyone has gone to bed, well after midnight)

What’s next from here - Go home for a little bit, while he looks to see what happens long term in regards to mission work.

Phil hopes to go somewhere where there is no church already,  maybe in Russia maybe somewhere completely different. He is waiting to see what doors open up.

I asked if he would re-visit HGH again and he said  it depends where he ends up long term, but wouldn’t avoid it. He doesn’t like to plan he leaves God to plan steps.

How would you guide people considering to join our team -

  • “Try to see the enjoyment factor in everything even if it is illogical or inefficient as you can’t change it”
  • Put in the effort to find time to find somewhere quiet and away from everyone, every day to spend time with God.
  • Try and get involved in what the kids are doing. For example ice fishing with Max,  Skiing with max and Roma, Orienteering with Max, snowboarding with Roma, playing games and cards at night