Armavir, Russia
Frequently Asked Questions
(For Russian version click here)
PURPOSE FOR ATTENDING THE SCHOOL
Holy Given Armavir International School of Missions is located in the Northern Caucasus area of Russia, on the edge of the 10/40 window, surrounded by many Muslim republics and countries.
You will be trained and equipped to be a pioneer, bringing light into the darkest corners of the earth,
especially to the mostly unreached Muslim world. This school is for strong committed Christians
who dare to take this risk!

WHAT AGE MUST I BE?
You must be at least 18 years of age. (No exceptions.)

CAN I COME WITH MY FAMILY?
Yes! Our heart is to release families into missions. We won't have childcare. Some outreaches are more difficult than others and your children won't be able to join you on those. One of the parents
will have to stay in the centre with them. However, we will have outreach opportunities for
families as well. Children pay the same tuition as adults.  Children under the age of five pay half
price. The tuition covers a small percentage of the cost for each individual. It is an act of faith in
God's provision.

CAN I STAY ON AFTER ATTENDING THE SCHOOL OF MISSION AND SERVE?
Students HAVE TO LEAVE within 2-3 days after graduation. If you want to come back as a long-term missionary, you must re-apply after returning home. We need to get to know each individual
first and hear about them from God, before taking them on as a long-term missionary.

CAN FRIENDS/FAMILY/PASTOR VISIT ME DURING MY TIME IN ARMAVIR?
We are looking for people to serve at Living Waters, loving the lost and broken to life.  That's why we are here. However if they want to serve at Living Waters they can apply for short-term
missions.

HOW DO I GET TO ARMAVIR?
You will need to apply for a Russian visa and then book a flight to Moscow or Krasnodar.   
See section on "How to apply" at "Step 4" below.              

WHEN WILL I KNOW IF I'VE BEEN ACCEPTED?
If your student application, pastor and friend/co-worker recommendations are completed
and submitted via e-mail we will let you know ASAP.

WHAT DOES THE $1350.00 USD TUITION INCLUDE?
Communal housing, a diet of basic Russian cuisine (mostly potatoes, bread, porridge, borsch,
and soups) and outreach transportation.  School $1350.00 USD 2 Week Outreach $350.00
USD additional or 3 week outreach $500.00 USD additional

The tuition does NOT include:
Taxi or trips downtown, extra snacks or sweets, personal spending money, the cost of your
airfare, your visa, medical or travel insurance and drinking water (approx. $20 USD per month).

WHAT TO EXPECT AT SCHOOL:  WEEKLY SCHEDULE
You have the amazing privilege to be impacted by outstanding anointed men and women
whom God is using today in His kingdom!

Monday-Friday you will have class in the morning and some afternoon classes.  Evenings and some afternoons will be for outreaches, studies, small groups, laundry and a time of rest.

Weekends, you will help with outreaches and regional church meetings.  Each week, you will have
one day off. On this day, you can go to the internet cafe or do other things you enjoy, such as
visiting with your new Russian friends, etc.

OVERNIGHT OUTREACHES
There will be at least one overnight outreach for about 2 nights in a row. Normally we will
take an overnight train to get to our destination. We may get to sleep in the houses of locals,
or we may be sleeping on a church floor. It would help if you brought with you a sleeping
bag, pillow and inflatable mattress. Living conditions may be basic without hot, running water.

Please see list below of what to bring for outreaches.

  • sleeping bag
  • pillow
  • inflatable mattress if you need one
  • sweater/sweatshirt
  • long trousers
  • small day pack with needed toiletries, etc.
  • lantern or flashlight/torch, a small penlight for under your pillow

HOUSING
Holy Given partners with Living Waters who is hosting the school. Living Waters is a Trauma
Counseling Centre bringing the love of Jesus to people traumatised by war and terrorism in
the Northern Caucus and the surrounding areas. You will be living in the centre or nearby and there will be about five to six students per room.

LIVING IN ARMAVIR:  EXPENSES AND CURRENCY
Living expenses are not too high in Armavir and you can buy mostly what you need in the new supermarket that has just been built a 20 minute walk away from the centre. We recommend you
bring US dollars or Euros. They are the only currency readily exchangeable in Armavir. Be sure that
you bring only newer US bills, with the large portraits, as older-style bills are NOT generally
accepted. Visa is fairly widely accepted, MasterCard less so for ATM but not for purchases in
local shops. Only roubles are accepted. Travellers checks are almost never accepted.

The local currency is the rouble. The exchange rate is approximately $1 USD = 26 roubles. For up-
to-the-minute conversion rates, please click here.

Note: Renting a car is nearly impossible. There are buses & taxis available for trips to town.

Please see list below for what to bring.

DIET
As a student of Holy Given, we want you to eat with our team. We are blessed to have a good diet of basic Russian cuisine (mostly potatoes, bread, porridge, borsch, and soups).  The circumstances
won't normally allow you to buy your own food. If they do, we still kindly request you to join our
lifestyle and meals.

WASHING CLOTHES
There are washing machines in the centre which will be available once a week for students to use to wash things that are difficult to wash by hand, like sheets and jeans. There are no dryers. Other
items of clothing we expect you to wash by hand.

MEDICAL INSURANCE
We require that you come with emergency medical insurance in place. Travel medical insurance covers health needs while traveling or living temporarily in another country that your home-based
health insurance does not cover. Some home-based policies cover foreign travel but most don't so
each person must check carefully to see if there is a possibility their home medical insurance will
cover them. If not, then you need to purchase the insurance for the three months from a carrier.

The only company we have any experience with is Specialty Risk International, Inc. based in the
US (www.specialtyrisk.com). International travelers are now able to obtain free, no obligation,
online quotations. You can then purchase coverage immediately through SRI's secure server and
receive a Virtual ID Card immediately. Please arrange your own health insurance in advance. We
will ask for the details of your health insurance that includes emergency air-care flight before your
arrival in Armavir.

Attention:
Please note that none of the hospitals serving you in Russia will file a claim for you! You must have
the resources to pay up front and then file for reimbursement with your insurance company. You
must be sure that your company covers emergency air-care to a hospital in an extreme emergency.

TRAVEL INSURANCE
Travel insurance, usually offered by the travel or ticketing agent, covers you if your trip is interrupted by health reasons that result in a cancellation of your trip. It would recover losses due
to non-refundable tickets, etc. Some airports offer machine travel insurance that is simply accidental
death insurance in case your plane crashes, etc. Almost no one ever collects on this type. It is a
poor investment.

INTERNET ACCESS
We have only one computer at Living Waters for students to use. You will be able to buy cards from our office to use the internet on that computer. There are also internet cafes in town; however,
we especially long to pursue the presence of God during these three months. We expect Him to
move in our lives and be transformed by Him. Spending too much time on the internet, even e-
mailing, can be a distraction from this pursuit. For this reason we ask that students limit visits to
the computer or to the internet café to twice a week.

PHONE
The centre has 4 phone lines, and if you would like to have friends or family phone, you can arrange for them to phone after office hours on either of these 2 numbers:

+7-86137-55054 or
+7-86137-55064

If you need your own mobile phone we request you to bring one with you. Russia uses dual-band
mobile phones. Americans mostly have a different type of dual-band, which doesn’t work in
Russia. Americans should bring a unlocked tri-band or quad-band phone.

SIM cards can be bought here for just $5 US. With a Russian SIM card you can be reached easily
by anyone from the other side of the world. This is the main way we communicate in Russia.

You can purchase a phone here for about $100 USD minimum but it is better to bring one with you.

For placing calls, you will need to purchase time cards that are available locally. This is inexpensive
for Russian use but very expensive for international calls. When you have a Russian SIM card in
your cell phone, incoming calls are not charged to you.

For Americans:
The least expensive method for your friends in the USA is an AT&T phone card that can be
purchased at retail stores such as SAMS.

LIST OF ITEMS TO BRING WITH YOU
We have listed for you all the required items you must bring. Whatever you feel you would like to leave behind when you go, would be much appreciated for mission use at Living Waters.

Housing Items
  • Power is 220 V and a two-pin round plug. Some of you might have to bring a converter
    (220-110 volt) and several adaptor plugs if you have electronic items (such as a cell phone,
    digital camera, battery charger, etc.) Please note that the voltage consistency is very poor
    when electricity is on.  Your laptop or camera AC transformer may not be enough to
    protect them against power surges.
  • pillow
  • all your bedding sheets
  • sleeping bag
  • key-chain for your room key (one you can wear around your neck   would be the best)
  • batteries (rechargeable ones are very good to have; be sure to bring a battery charger which
    can be used with 220 volts)
  • If you like coffee we request you to bring a French coffee plunger (Coffee can be bought
    here)

Toiletries
Most toiletries you can now buy here in Armavir. Please bring:
  • a towel with you,
  • mosquito repellent (for outreaches)
  • sun block
  • a hat, as it gets very hot in August (up to 45 degrees centigrade).

Clothing
As a mission school, we long to reach the heart of people in a different culture than ours, we   
want to be sensitive and respectful.

Ladies
When we are on outreach or have meetings with those from the Northern Caucuses you are required
to wear a skirt and no tank tops.  T-shirts or something similar for tops are fine. Women must
cover their shoulders and not show any skin at the waistline.

Men
It is OK for you to wear shorts...modest ones.  The people dress in their nicest clothes on        
Sunday for church or conferences. To honour them, please dress in a respectful way. (Please
don't wear cut-offs to church).

For Class
Please bring everything with you for note taking (paper, pencils, journal, etc.). We will send
you a list of books to buy

Other Useful Items You Can Bring
  • Russian dictionary
  • Russian/English Bible to learn the language
  • Tri-(or Quad-)band non-blocked cell phone (SIM Card and time cards can be purchased
    here)
  • Walkman, CD- or MP3-player and worship music
  • Guitar or other instruments
  • Laptops, cameras and other electronic gear may be brought at your own risk (we suggest
    insuring these). (To be able to use your laptop, you will need a power-voltage regulator.
    This will cost you approx. $75 USD. Since voltages vary greatly, your supplied card may
    not protect your laptop.)
  • We request that you do not bring expensive items with you. We keep life very simple here.

REQUIREMENT OF PARTICIPATION IN SCHOOL
Your participation in class must cover at least 80%. Required readings must be completed and your homework assignments have to be handed in the time set by your tutor. Participation in your
student small-group, outreaches and other required school activities (including practical work on
base) are expected.

We ask out of respect to our Russian culture, that you don’t:
Smoke, drink alcohol, use drugs, wear body piercing (other than normal ear-piercing for women) or
have intimate relationships outside of marriage. Do not enter rooms of the opposite gender.

To honor the vision & mandate of the School, we are only keeping students at the school who
follow all the above whole heartedly, in order to graduate.  Should any of the above not be adhered
to, the School Staff reserves the right to send students home at their own expense.

HOW TO APPLY FOR THE SCHOOL
Step 1:
Read through all of the above material about Holy Given Armavir International School of Missions.

Step 2:
Start the application process by email. Application procedures will be indicated clearly in the instructions for completing your student email application, pastor's recommendation and friend/co-
worker recommendation.

E-Mail Address: HGArmavir@yahoo.co.uk
(Please send no mail through the post office.)

Step 3:
If your application is completed, we will try to let you know whether you have been accepted
ASAP.

Step 4:
If you are accepted
  • Apply for your VISA
  • Book your FLIGHT

Please note that we require you to book a round-trip ticket only!  Let us know your arrival &
departure time in Krasnodar/Armavir as soon as you have booked your airplane (or bus/train) ticket.

Step 5:
Be sure your health arrangements are in place.   Arrange your Health and Travel Insurance.  Check
the list of suggested injections. Notice that some injections must be taken up to a few months
before leaving!
Living Waters Healing Centre