In the Beginning
In August, 1991, Ron Garrison made his very first trip to what was then the USSR. Glasnost and peristroika had greatly increased religious freedom, and allowed foreign ministers access to the country. Little did Ron know that this was just the beginning of something that would change his life forever. In January, the following year, Ron made another trip. This was one of the most significant trips he had ever taken. It was the middle of winter, and it was cold. Ron and his traveling companions spent days traveling from city to city in an unheated bus filled with humanitarian aid. The last night before Ron was due to fly home, the group spent their first night in a hotel room. The hotel was a cross between a YMCA and a morgue. Between the oppressive heat from the room's boiler, and the snoring of his five companions, sleep evaded Ron that night. In the middle of one of the most miserable nights of his life, God opened the window of heaven to give Ron Garrison a startling vision of the future of Russia. There was nowhere to record it but the fringes of a Russian newspaper. After this vision, Ron returned to Canada extremely disturbed. He began to ask God why He had shown him this. After all, he was just a visiting pastor with a church of his own in Canada. Gradually, he began to realize that it was God's will for him to take up ministry full time in the post USSR countries, and resigned his church to take on this calling full-time. By May of 1993, Ron and his wife started an official ministry named Ron Garrison Ministries and by 1995, the ministry had incorporated, formed a Board of Directors, and renamed the ministry "Mission Partners International." In 1997, MPI gained charitable status in the US.

Ministry to Churches
Our very first ministry focus became the assistance of existing Christian churches. Although freedom of religion had come to these countries, the tools for ministry that we take for granted here in the West were rare or even non-existent, and many pastors were surviving on little or no income because of severe economic conditions. Both national workers, and Canadians who have felt called to become full-time missionaries to the CIS, are doing a wonderful work, pioneering churches in difficult circumstances. Living on faith, these young men and women are in the front lines of ministry in this part of the world. It has become our privilege to partner with these men and women in their calling from God. From the beginning of this ministry, we have taken on many different areas of support for churches and pastors, such as the "Christmas Blessing" project which began in 1993, a special Christmas gift for pastors.

Children
Seen with the benefit of hindsight, we realize just how important the year 1996 was for Mission Partners. Until this time, we had worked almost exclusively with churches. This remains of prime importance to us, but the Lord was preparing us for another stretching, and more growth. In May of 1996, Ron made his first visit to the Almazovo orphanage in Moscow. Ron's heart was touched by the living conditions of the poor boys in that orphanage. When communism fell, however, the economy was been so tortured that there was a serious lack of government funding for institutions such as orphanages. Rampant alcoholism, and social strife has led to poor family life and to many children being abandoned on the streets or in orphanages. After that first orphanage visit in 1996, our work with children exploded around the entire CIS. We began to take food, medicine and clothing to various orphanages and also began to support some of the workers who gave of their time and love to hurting children. Hand in hand with the mercy ministry, we now reach out to children right in their own homes. Many children in the CIS, even those in loving homes, live in abject poverty lacking even the essentials of life such as food and warm clothing.

Teams
In May of 1993, Ron took the first team of Canadians on a short term missions trip. The burden God had laid on Ron's heart for the Slavic people was spreading. Many began to take their commitment to missions one step further. They decided to go, to help and to love the people. From working in areas of evangelism, preaching and teaching, to working with children and seniors, to construction and renovation projects, these Christian mission teams have generously given of their time and talents to the Lord's work.

Humanitarian Aid
In 1998, our ministry grew in miraculous ways. We have always taken many gifts overseas but that year we began to regularly collect humanitarian aid on a larger scale to be shipped overseas in containers or taken personally with our many mission teams. The humanitarian aid is a great blessing to churches and communities in the CIS. With this aid the local Christian church can reach out to those in need and follow up with a presentation of the Gospel. With many new partners, more and more new items can be effectively shipped overseas to those who need it most.

Mercy Ministry
In December of 1998, Ron met Dr Irina, who shared her vision of ministry to the elderly, widows and shut-ins in Kiev and surrounding villages. Providing food, clothing and medicine for these seniors often living on US$50 a month pensions was not just a blessing, but a life saver. These people were so encouraged by her visits and often her little help kept them from complete starvation. Ron was touched by Dr Irina's work and felt that MPI needed to support this ministry.

New Office
In 1998, MPI outgrew the basement office in the Garrison's home which we had occupied since 1991. There was no longer room for all of the office supplies and no room in the storage spaces to hold all of the humanitarian aid. We knew that we needed a proper office with warehouse space. Thankfully, God provided such a place to us, and in November 1998, we set up our new office at 1069 Clarke Rd. What a blessing it has been.

MPI Staff
Growth is always challenging. For many years, MPI was staffed by only Ron and Heather. Since moving into our office and warehouse, we have gone through several staffing changes and now have five permanent staff members. God has truly blessed this ministry in bringing together this team in a spirit of unity. The staff complement each other well, each willing to do whatever it takes to make this ministry effective.

Anniversary
In September of 2006, we celebrated our 15th year of involvement in the former Soviet Union. A special celebration was held in London with guests from Ukraine - Pastor Valery Reshetinsky and Andrei Shander.

The Future
To write a section on the future is always a precarious thing. Who knows, except God, what will happen. We do have confidence, though, that the future is in God's hands. As we are obedient to His leading and His will, we know that God will prosper our missions work overseas. The many pastors, missionaries, orphans and street children, as well as the poor, the widows and the elderly are looking to the Lord for help. Through MPI, we are meeting some of those needs to the best of our ability. It has been and will continue to be of prime importance to MPI.