June 2010 

 Last May three couples graduated from Bible School and started new ministries – east, west, and south of Novokuznetsk. Below is a brief update of how the Lord is blessing their ministries one year later:

- A Teen Challenge program has started, currently with 17 students. It has become a great inspiration and training center for other rehab centers in the area.

- In Buryatia, a church needing a pastor, invited this same ministry team to lead their services. The people from the congregation sent us a video, and with tears, thanked us for sending missionaries to them.

- A congregation has started which meets in a movie theatre. They are actively involved in hospital ministry and with helping the poor.

- The Lord has given favor with the local govt., and as a result, they offered a building at a very low rental cost to begin a Teen Challenge center

- In May, Olya gave birth to a little girl – Sonia

- A new missionary couple moved into the village and has begun two services on Sundays to accommodate the new believers.

- TC graduates have moved into this village as a re-entry into society after completing the program. As they help the church and do many humanitarian works in the community, they have gained great respect from the local people who once were skeptical of the former addicts.

We’re grateful to God that three more teams will soon be leaving to start new ministries:

North – Svyeta and Oleg have completed Bible School this May and will be starting a new church and TC center in Noviy Uoyan, 2000 miles northeast of us.

Mongolia – Two TC graduates are currently in a three month training school to learn how to minister in the Buddhist culture. We’ve been asked to help start a TC program in the country of Mongolia and the Republic of Tuva, a Buddhist republic within Russia.

Israel – We’re excited with the possibility of helping to start a TC program in the city of Afula, Israel, as there are many addicted Russian immigrants in Israel. We have been asked to send trained workers to help start the program.

We’re also very excited that a new church has just been started by TC graduates in the worst drug addicted section of our city, Gorkovskaya.

Marketplace conference – Approximately 100 people attended a businessmen’s conference conducted by Global Advance and were challenged to fulfill the great commission in the business world. Kevin Pate and Don and Deb Jones from Dallas, TX, encouraged those in business to see themselves as people of influence and ministers of the Gospel, strategically planted by God.

Youth conference – Our church was able to host a conference with 400 youth over the Russian “May Day” holiday. This was one of the greatest communist holidays in the former Soviet Union, but now we use this holiday as an opportunity to gather youth to learn how to expand God’s Kingdom.

Bible School graduation – We were blessed to have Heather Chowning from Missouri and Pastor Mel Jenkins from Alberta teach in the Bible School this past spring. The students were greatly challenged as Heather taught on youth ministry, and Pastor Mel taught theology courses.

PRAYER REQUESTS

1) Outdoor concerts have begun every Friday evening in different sections of our city. Please pray that many will be reached with the message of salvation through these weekly outreaches.

2) There will be three youth camps this summer. One camp will take place in different villages that have no roads in which to travel. The youth will go white water rafting down a river and stop to do evangelism in the various villages along the way. We’re excited that people who have never heard the Gospel will have an opportunity this summer to receive Christ as their Savior. Please pray that God would protect the youth through these events, and for many souls to be reached.

3) As new ministries started last year and more ministry opportunities are opening up this summer, please pray for God’s leading and anointing for each leader, and for many to come to Christ through the new churches and TC centers.

Thank you so much for making this ministry possible through your faithful prayers and support! We truly thank God for you. If you would like to support any of these new ministries, below is the information where funds could be forwarded for these works and receipts given.

God bless you in every way!

 

April 2010

Unexpected drive through Europe because of volcano    

 What an adventure!  This past week I attended a European Teen Challenge conference in Italy.  Being with over 300 leaders of TC centers throughout Europe was a wonderful experience.  It was an honor to be able to give a presentation from Russia, as I was the only one representing this country.  During the conference, all flights were canceled because of the volcano in Iceland.  I’m thankful to the Lord for providing a ride for me to drive with TC directors from Italy to Poland.We drove for two days continuously through Italy, Austria, Czech Republic, and Poland.  When we came to Warsaw, Poland, I tried to get a train ticket to Moscow.  As I was standing in line for a ticket, I was told that there were no more tickets for Moscow until Saturday, which was five days later.  Afterward, a man stood up in the crowd and made an announcement in Russian.  He said, “We’re driving to Lithuania, and we have one space in the car if someone wants to go with us.”  The Lord miraculously provided a ride for me to travel to Lithuania and Latvia with strangers and also gave me the opportunity to share with them about the Lord!  God is great!  Finally, from Latvia I was able to get a train ticket to Moscow.  Praise God!   I’m also thankful that the flights within Russia weren’t canceled, so I didn’t have to take the 3 day/3 night train from Moscow to Novokuznetsk.   Attached is the presentation I gave at the conference and our response to the BBC news report on Novokuznetsk.

 

 Interesting report of Novokuznetsk on BBC news

 It was amazing to see the recent  BBC news report on the drug problem in Novokuznetsk and all of Russia!  We saved the link and put it on You-tube  for you to watch.  It only takes 2 minutes. 

 Here it is:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5fy2zN9krk

 We are very familiar with this notorious, drug infested section of our city that was featured on the BBC news report as our church had ministered there many times.  It is called Gorkovskaya.  Every Sunday afternoon between the second and third service, people from our congregation spent time in prayer and went to this horrific drug area.   There were used needles scattered everywhere.  God gave such love for these heroin addicts to the people in our church that they went right into their drug riddled apartments and shared the Gospel with the addicts.  Even our children loved going there to talk with the people about the Lord.  Our youngest son, Joseph, said to us, “Mom and Dad, I don’t want to do evangelism with you because you do all the talking.  I want to talk too!”  Often we spent much time on the third floor sharing with the dealers.  We never had fear because as soon as we began speaking about Jesus, the whole atmosphere changed.  The most hard-core people would soften and even cry.  There is such power in the name of Jesus!  After we shared with them, many would come on the bus with us to the third service.  A lot of the students and workers in the Source of Life Teen Challenge Program once lived in Gorkovskaya. Christ is making a difference!  Only Jesus can save and totally transform a person into His image. 

 

CHRIST IS RISEN! 

 For this reason, I have died……

 How many times do you walk out of your house or apartment and find someone lying on the steps because he is intoxicated with alcohol or high on drugs? Well, in Russia, it’s very common to see this. When we find people in this state, we always stop and pray for them. What’s most amazing is that they always remember our prayers! Often they come back and ask how they can go into the Teen Challenge program.

  In your church, how many people do you know who have committed murder or served a prison sentence? In the church in Novokuznetsk, over half of the Teen Challenge staff have served at least one prison sentence. How many people do you know who are HIV positive? Over half of the students in the TC Siberia program are infected with HIV. Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more!

 This Easter, as we remember our precious Lord and Savior’s sacrifice on the cross, we humbly bow down in worship to our mighty God who is saving people in all levels of society and setting them free from the bondage of sin. Where would we be without the Lord?

 The believers in Siberia want to say, “Thank you, Jesus, for your death on the cross and your resurrection! Thank you for saving us and setting us free!”

 We’d also like to thank you, our dear friends and family, for all your prayers and support that have made it possible for us to serve here for 17 years. Thank you for sharing in this ministry with us! Although the social problems are great throughout the region, there’s no other place where we’d rather live. The same power that God used to raise Christ from the dead, is still transforming lives in incredible ways over 2000 years later! 

 

February 2010 

 We’re very excited with all that the Lord has done during the month of January! In Russia, Christmas is celebrated on Jan. 7, so this is a wonderful opportunity to share the meaning of the birth of our Savior with many who don’t understand the reason for His coming to earth. Some youth from our church presented the meaning of Christmas to homeless children in five institutions in our city. The simple story was presented with the theme “there was no room for Jesus to be born as a baby.” Similarly today, people have no room in their hearts for Jesus to be born again. Afterwards, it was wonderful to hear the orphans loudly repeat a prayer asking Jesus to forgive their sins and come into their hearts.

  Also, during the January school break there was a regional youth conference held in our church. The Armenian guest speaker shared his experience as a missionary in the Muslim country Tajikistan and encouraged the youth to be willing to die for Christ. The youth here are very zealous for the Lord and live to serve Him. It was an excellent conference! We thank God for Global Advance in helping us host such a conference.

Two weeks ago it was such an encouragement to baptize 41 new believers. In addition there were 9 new believers from local church plants. Please pray that God will strengthen these 50 new believers in their commitment to follow Christ.

This month, we’re thankful to the Lord that Nienna Hempstead from New York arrived to teach English as a second language. Please pray that God will use her to reach many souls through this outreach.

It’s wonderful that 20-30 youth who have graduated from the orphanage continue to come to church different days of the week for various services. On Saturdays they gather at the church for a meal and Bible Study. Recently, one new believer shared at a home group that he has never met such kind youth and never felt such love from people in his entire life. Praise God!

1) A new law is being passed in the Duma to regulate all non-government organizations. Please pray that God would give Christian organizations throughout Russia wisdom how to work within this new law. (Our Teen Challenge program is in this category.)

 2) We thank the Lord for the growth in the church. Please pray that God would help us train more leaders who will take on the responsibility of caring for new believers.

 3) The population of Russia has decreased from 170 million to 145 million in the past 20 years mainly due to drug overdose, alcohol, and crime. Please pray that we can reach this generation with the Gospel, and that multitudes of souls would come to know the Lord in Russia.

 We’re very grateful for your continual prayers.

We love you and thank God for you!  

 

January 5, 2010

 

 

 

 

December 23, 2009

We’d like to wish you a Merry Christmas and all of God’s blessings throughout the New Year!

O COME LET US ADORE HIM

FOR HE ALONE IS WORTHY!!!!!!

As this year comes to an end, our hearts are filled with praise for all that the Lord has done! We’d like to share with you a few praise reports for which we are so grateful to God.

1) Although the heat in our church has not been turned on, all three Sunday services are full. People continue to get saved, and we are planning to start a fourth service.

2) We’re grateful to God that 84 new believers were baptized this year.

3) New church and rehab centers have started east, west, and south of Novokuznetsk.

4) The Russian channel on the internet has been launched. Sermons can now be watched on http://www.thestreamtv.com (To find, go to TV Channels, then Russian Channel)

5) Approximately 50% of the congregation is actively involved in various ministries. The church has adopted a goal for 2010 which is to multiply those who are serving.

None of this would be possible if it weren’t for your continual prayer and financial support for this ministry. We sincerely thank God for you!

May God bless you this Christmas and throughout the New Year with the presence and leading of Christ in all that you do!

We love you dearly!!

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December 14, 2009

Our heating situation hasn’t changed even though the city administration confirmed that we don’t have to pay the new customer connection fee ($30,000) because we have been a consumer that used the city water heating system in the past. 

 

The executive director of the heating company requested that we provide proof that the church had used city heat before.  We supplied the legal agreements and bank payments to them for the heat which we used in 1999 and 2000 before we had installed our diesel heaters.  At that time the original hot water pipes that brought heat to our building belonged to Sergei Martushov (our neighbor and former owner of the building who took us to court). In February of 2003, he turned the heat off in the building and informed us that it was no longer in his interest to provide heat for our church.  February and March in Siberia are still very cold, but people faithfully gathered without heat and running water.  Consequently, we were forced to install diesel heaters to provide heat, and we’ve been using them until last year.

 As you know, because the cost of diesel went so high the last couple of years, the church accumulated a debt for the cost of heating. The local government did not allow us to install our own hot water pipe until last year when there was construction taking place around our building.  Finally, this past summer the pipe connection was completed, and here we are.  It’s irrational that they won’t turn on the heat.

 

The church is taking this situation as another trial and doing very well.  No one complains about the cold; they continue to come faithfully to every service!  This week we just finished our annual week of fasting and prayer before the New Year with a prayer meeting every evening, and the attendance was better than ever before during this week of fasting and prayer.

 

We’d like to thank you so much for praying for us!  We believe it will be turned on soon. 

 We thank God for you!

 

 

 

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November 29, 2009

Continued prayer needed re below:

This past week the director of the heating company had been ignoring us, although our mayor had called him.   He refused to meet with us, and when we spoke with his assistant by phone, he insisted that we pay the connecting fee of 800,000 rubles which is $28,000 USD to turn on our heat. 

We continued to pray and wrote to our governor and to the website of  President Medvedev.  Interestingly, the President’s administration wrote a letter to our governor’s office, asking them to check into this situation.  We just received a call from the heating company asking us to come in for a meeting next week..

 We know you are praying for us, and we are very touched by this.  Thank you so much!  We will keep you informed with how the meeting goes next week.

 

 

 

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November 23, 2009

Update re Prayer Request (below)

We met today with the mayor, and he told us that he cannot force the heating company to turn on the heat for free.  As of September, a new law in Russia allows heating companies to charge this high amount to all new buildings that are turning on water heat for the first time. 

 

While we were meeting with the mayor, he called the director of the company and asked him not to charge us because our building is not new.  Since it was built many years ago, he said that the church should not be charged the same fee as new buidlings.  We are thankful to God that our mayor made this request for us.  

 

However, this is Russia, and the director can do whatever he wants.  The director’s secretary said he will call us and schedule a meeting with us to discuss this matter.   Would you please continue to pray that God would intervene so that this cost will either be eliminated or greatly reduced.

 

Thank you for agreeing with us in prayer.

 

We thank God for you!

 

 

 

Urgent Request

We’d like to share an urgent prayer request with you.  Last year the cost of heating our church with diesel fuel went so high that the church still has a debt from that heating expense.  This past summer we installed an underground water pipe to the city heating system which will cut the heating bill to 1/3 of the cost of diesel.  Praise God!  However, the heating company won’t turn the heat on until we pay an additional, unwarranted fee of $28,000! They told  us it is an additional  final charge to simply turn on the heat.  We appealed to our mayor, and he has written a letter on our behalf, but the company still won’t cooperate.  Since the middle of October the temperature here has been -20 C/-4 F; however, the people faithfully continue to meet several times a week for services in a cold concrete building, plus the youth have all night prayer meetings on Fridays. We thank God that attendance has not dropped despite these conditions.  We’re also thankful to the Lord that this past week the temperature rose to -3C/27 F as the church gathered for three days of prayer and fasting.

 

The local weather stations are now predicting the temperature to drop to – 46 C/-50 F by the end of the month.  We have an appointment with the mayor on Monday morning 9:00 AM, which is Sunday night 9:00 PM eastern time.  Would you please agree with us in prayer that God would bless our meeting with the mayor, and that the heating company would be required to turn on the heat without any extra charge?  We thank God for the favor He has given us with our mayor, and would also like to ask you to pray that God would open his heart to know the Lord.

 

We thank God for you and for your faithful prayers for this ministry!

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 November 2, 2009

Teen Challenge Testimony

Oleg Gligolia (center) is 26 years old.  He grew up in a normal family and had everything he needed.  However, he started using drugs at the age of 16 and continued shooting heroin for 10 years.  At one point he accidentally overdosed.  His kidneys failed, and he had a brain aneurysm.  The doctors thought he had died and sent his body to the morgue.  One person working in the morgue noticed that he was slightly breathing.  They sent him back to intensive care, and he was in a comma for three days.  Three different hospitals had him in the intensive care unit, while his mother prayed day and night.  When he came out of the comma, he was blind and lost all memory.  After his release from the hospital, he went into the rehabilitation center, repented, and received Jesus.  Within three months, God restored Oleg’s sight, memory, and complete health.  He has now finished the Source of Life Teen Challenge program and is working as an intern.  He feels called to continue ministry in Teen Challenge.

Youth Ministry

We thank God for what He is doing with the youth in our church. For the past nine months they’ve been gathering every Friday for an all night prayer meeting and every Tuesday evening for praise and worship. From their time spent in the presence of God, a ministry to the poor and outcasts has begun. Every Sunday afternoon the youth take an offering among themselves and prepare food to take to the homeless on the streets. See attached links of our children introducing various youth ministry.

Part one – youth ministry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf4Ulq-l3vA

Part two – youth ministry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7NHhzo3XyQ

Musical

The Source of Life Teen Challenge Ministry wrote an evangelistic play about the choices that a young person faces in life. God has gifted them with the ability to write music for the play and has opened the doors for them to perform this in five theatres in our city! There was a clear presentation of the Gospel, and hundreds of young people saw the consequences of choosing to live for themselves, or for the Lord.

We thank the Lord for the progress that has been made in the building of a multi-purpose outreach center located on the first floor of our church. It will be a great opportunity to reach the youth who normally would not come to a church service by providing a coffee house setting with wireless internet access to attract the younger generation. Trained staff and volunteers will be interacting with visitors on a daily basis.

Please pray that God would:

1) not allow a law to be passed in the Russian Duma (parliament) prohibiting youth from coming to church services. A law has been drafted, but has not been passed, which would fine churches for inviting teenagers under 18 to services or for giving them any printed or video materials about God.

2) Continue to strengthen the youth, and help them to reach many others.

3) Provide the finances to complete the multi-purpose outreach center.

Thank you so much for caring for the lost and dying people in Siberia.

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September 19, 2009

CHILDREN’S HOME

We’re excited to announce that the second apartment in the Source of Life Children’s Home is almost finished, thanks to a team of six men from Western Ontario. They labored without ceasing for two weeks, except on Sunday when they visited a camp for orphans. You can watch their visit with the children on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVzHFxolRCo

OUTDOOR CONCERTS

Every Friday evening this summer, students and staff from Teen Challenge and the youth from our church had evangelistic concerts in different sections of our city. After every song, testimonies were shared and people were invited to come to our church. It’s wonderful to see the youth so excited to share their faith. Our children, Jessica, Joanna and Joseph enjoyed playing songs and sharing at these events. In the 1990s the city government did not give us permission to have outdoor meetings, and police were sent to stop them. Now police are sent to protect us and maintain order. We thank God for the favor He has given us with our city administration. Please pray for the people who heard the Gospel message and for religious freedom to remain in this great country.
 

BIBLE SCHOOL

This past week 12 people from our church have finished the Siberian Mission Bible School and will be starting different ministries in Novokuznetsk and other cities. A team of four will be going two time zones farther east in Siberia near Lake Baikal to start a Teen Challenge Center and to work with local churches. Another team of two will be going west two time zones to start a church and a Teen Challenge Center. Another team of two will also be starting a new ministry one hour south of Novokuznetsk. Please pray that God will give them a harvest of souls in Siberia. We’ll be starting another Bible School this fall, as many are sensing the call of God to begin more ministries in other locations.

TC COALITION

From September 7-11 our church hosted a conference for the Russian Coalition of Teen Challenge Centers. Directors and staff workers from Moscow to eastern Siberia gathered to share experiences and cast vision for Russia. We were blessed to have Pastor Doug Boyle from TC Kazakhstan as the guest speaker.

Thank you so much for making it possible to live here through your prayers and support. Because of your help, this ministry continues to go forward. We love you and thank God for you!
 

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July 2009

  Children’s Home We’re very excited to announce that the first Christian orphanage in our region has recently opened! Misha and Yulia moved into the first of four apartments of the Source of Life Children’s Home with two of their own children and two boys, Sasha and Sanya, from the state-run orphanage. They are planning to take eight more children when the paper work is complete. Please pray that God will help this couple to choose the exact children and for wisdom to raise each child to love and serve the Lord.Every Home for ChristLast month Denys Blackmore and Irving Witt from Canada led a seminar on how to reach every home with the Gospel message. We’re in the process of printing 100,000 tracts which will be strategically distributed from home to home in different sections of our city. Please pray that many souls will come to Christ through this outreach. WeddingsThis summer 15 couples in our church are going to be either engaged or married! We thank God for bringing together couples who are committed to Christ. PrisonA team of young men from our church are visiting prisons with an evangelistic concert. Many inmates have responded to the invitation to study the Bible through correspondence. Please pray that they will find hope in Christ through studying these courses. BaptismsThis past Saturday 51 people were baptized, of these 21 had been former heroin addicts who have completed1½ years at the Teen Challenge Program. We thank God for this invaluable ministry to the desperate and dying generation of young people in Russia. It was also very special to baptize our 13 year old daughter, Joanna! Teen ChallengeWe’re also thankful for the help from TC Winnipeg for sending Tim Doerr for six weeks to help teach students in the program. CampingIn July a group of 35 teens and counsellors went camping for 12 days deep into the Siberian Mountains and studied the inductive Bible course on the names of God. It’s encouraging that for several months they had been meeting every Friday evening for all night prayer meetings. They are very excited about sharing Christ and serving the Lord in every way they can. We thank God for how He is touching the youth here in Novokuznetsk. We are grateful to God for all your help! Thank you for making it possible for us to minister in this country through your faithful prayers and support! We thank God for you! With much love in Christ.Please pray:1)  That the freedom to preach the Gospel in Russia will remain, and that churches will continue to stay open.  There is a committee of experts in religion that has been formed by the Ministry of Justice in Moscow.  Its role is to examine all religious organizations throughout Russia and make decisions whether or not they should be allowed to continue.  Most members of this committee are extreme Russian Orthodox believers who are very strongly opposed to any protestant churches.  The chairman of this board, Alexander Dvorkin, is especially opposed to all Evangelical Christians.   Please pray that God would give His church favor with those in authority, and that multitudes would come to know the Lord in Russia.   As God saved Paul in the New Testament , please pray that this man would also be saved.2)  That God would give us wisdom in all our decisions in the ministry, and especially with the property of Teen Challenge as we negotiate its purchase.  3)   For our 17 year old son, Joshua, who just graduated from high school that God would lead him where to continue his education.  We’re so grateful to God for the Christian school and families in TX who cared for our son over the past two years.  

  

  

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 May 14, 2009

Thank you for praying for the property of the Source of Life Teen Challenge Siberia.  Prior to the auction, we had written a letter to our governor asking that he would cancel the auction and honor the agreement between the Source of Life and city administration for free use of this property until 2013.  We’re happy to report that the governor cancelled the auction!  Please pray, however, that the Lord would allow us to purchase this property at an affordable price.  

Thank you so much for caring about us and for the needs of the ministry here!  We’re so grateful to God for your prayer and financial support.

When I was in prison, you came to me . . .

By the age of 30 Jenya had served four terms in prison. After living a life of crime and drugs, Jenya went through the Source of Life Teen Challenge Program and gave his heart to the Lord. He now leads the prison ministry in our church and has given his savings to purchase a building in order to house former inmates when they are released from prison. We have printed 10,000 invitations for inmates to study in a Bible correspondence course and Jenya will distribute them throughout the 28 prison/labor camps in this region. When released from prison, they will be invited to participate at a six month residential program to help them adapt back into society. Please pray that God would give Jenya and his wife Larissa wisdom and grace to do this work and that many would come to know Christ through this outreach.

Heaven’s Gates

For two nights in April we were able to show the play Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames in our church. Each night at the end of the performances approximately 40 people came forward to pray for salvation. Please pray that God would strengthen the new believers and that they would attend church regularly. Please also pray for many souls to be saved as Roma and Yula Kucheruk (on the right) take this play throughout different cities in Siberia. They have even performed it in two prisons, using inmates as the actors! We thank God for Reality Outreach Ministries from St. Catherine’s, ON, who have partnered with us by allowing our church to be their extension

Children’s Ministry

We’re very excited that last week over 40 people attended a three day seminar on how to prepare Bible lessons for orphans and children in the church. Please pray that God would give them wisdom to present the Bible in such a practical way for little hea

Upcoming events:

1) June 16-19 Denys Blackmore and Irving Witt will be coming to hold an “Every Home for Christ” conference for pastors and church planters in our region.

2) Every weekend this summer, the youth in our church are planning to do outdoor concerts and share testimonies in different sections of the city. Please pray that many will be reached through these events.

We thank God for Dr. Leroy Grunner, from KY, who spent six weeks teaching English and leadership classes to the workers at Teen Challenge. What an example he has been to everyone here by coming to serve the Lord in a foreign country at the age of 84!

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support that allow us to continue ministering in this part of the world! Without your help, we couldn’t be here. We thank God for you!

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Praises! Only Jesus…..For those of you who don’t remember Joseph Stalin, he was one of the most evil dictators in the Soviet Union and had more than 20 million people killed.   His grandson presently lives in Novokuznetsk and was married to a woman who was a third generation occultist and a practicing witch.  She happened to work at a local university with Olga, one of the women from our church.  She treated Olga horribly and openly persecuted her for five years in front of staff and students.  Ironically, this woman thought that she was serving God by using witchcraft and told everyone that Olga was a part of a group which worships satan.  However, Olga continued to pray for her salvation and to pray in the authority of Jesus’ name against the demonic spirits in this woman. One month ago this woman became deathly sick, and Olga brought flowers to her and asked if she could pray for her.  The woman broke down crying and said yes.  Afterward she told Olga that it was the first time she had slept all night in many years.  Olga began to explain God’s love for her and His power to change her.  After many discussions with Olga about the Lord, the woman prayed for salvation and asked our church to continue to pray for her.   We’d like to encourage you to never stop praying for your unsaved loved ones and for those who seem impossible to come to the Lord.  ALL things are possible with God!  Christ has risen!  The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is still transforming lives today, over 2,000 years later.  To God be all the glory – for great things He has done and continues to do!Please do continue reading – our April newsletter follows:April 2009Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you.” Is. 49:15

 

 

 

 

Please pray

1) That God would help us soon begin the internet TV ministry. Many messages were recorded, but volunteers need to be trained to edit the programs.

2) For the team from New Market, Ontario, that will be coming from Feb. 14-28 to renovate the multi-purpose outreach center. Please pray for their safety and for God’s grace to complete this project.

3) That God would raise up leaders in the church and give us wisdom to instruct and train them for His service

We want to thank you for your ongoing prayer and financial support, making it possible for us to live here and continue in the ministry. We love you and thank God for you!
 

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December 19, 2008

Greetings to you from Pennsylvania!  It’s the first time in 15 years that we will be in North America for Christmas.  It’s wonderful to be with family again! However, we are also longing to be with the believers in Novokuznetsk.  We’ll be returning on January 3.

As the ministry continues to grow, we want to thank you so much for all your prayer and financial support that allowed us to minister in Siberia for the past 15 years.  It is our strong desire to continue to live in Russia. Would you please pray that the government would grant us residency status so that we could continue to serve the Lord there. Above is a Christmas card from our family.  May God bless you this Christmas and throughout the New Year!

With much love

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October 1, 2008

Harvest in Siberia

Jesus commanded, “Go into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in” (Luke 14:23).  We’re thankful to the Lord for the new ministry that has started in one of the worst drug dealing sections of our city. Every Sunday afternoon between services, approximately 50 people from the congregation gather for prayer and then travel to Gorkovskaya Street to share God’s love. Even our children love to do evangelism there! Recently Joseph, our ten year old, shared with a 27 year old heroin addict who went into the Teen Challenge program that same evening.

Evangelism in this section started when the team from Times Square Church in NYC came to visit us. It was shocking to see people shooting heroin right before our eyes and to see children 10-12 years old dealing drugs. Only Jesus can set them free from this lifestyle of sin. What a privilege it is to lead them to Christ!

George Glover, Executive Director of Teen Challenge Canada was doing evangelism with Yura, a student in the TC program and former heroin addict of 15 years. Everyone in this area knows Yura and is amazed with the change in his life. Many others from this section also came through the rehab program of Teen Challenge Siberia and are now witnessing for Christ.

Darcy and Leanne McAllister, from BC, witnessed the changed lives of those who had come from Gorkovskaya Street as they ministered in various Teen Challenge detox centers throughout the city. What a joy it was for them to be used by God in this manner.

It was also a blessing to have Kim Howson, from Toronto, teach the students English during her month here. And how thankful our children are for their new home schooling teacher, Kristine Powell from TX.

We thank God for sending teams to renovate the Source of Life Children’s Home. A team from St. Thomas, Ontario, came to work on the second apartment. It’s amazing that this team of nine men almost finished one apartment in 10 days! We’re so grateful to God also for those who have contributed financially to buy the construction materials. Your help in fulfilling God’s call to minister to orphans is greatly appreciated.

We’ll be leaving Russia for three months from October-January due to new visa regulations. Please pray:

1. For God’s continual presence and protection over the church in Novokuznetsk.

2. That Residency status will be granted to our family. We submitted the application in August, and the process takes six months.

3. That we would be an encouragement to many that we visit in N. America.

Thank you for faithful prayers and financial support of this ministry in Russia! We couldn’t be here without your help.

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August, 2008

(keep reading below  for Summer newsletter)

 It was a highlight this summer to be able to attend the 50th Anniversary of Teen Challenge in NYC.  We were grateful for the opportunity to represent Russia at this celebration.  How wonderful it was to see David Wilkerson, reunited with the original gang leaders that he led to the Lord.  

Before the conference our children asked us if they would be able to meet Nicky Cruz and Israel Narvaez, the former gang leaders that they read about in the book The Cross and the Switchblade.  We told them that we doubt that it would be possible because over 2,000 people were attending from all over the world.  However, they prayed and asked God to please help them to make a way to meet these two men.  Not only did they meet them, but they invited Israel to dinner one evening after the session!    Israel talked for a couple hours over dinner answering every question our children had.  What excitement there was in our family that week!  How Jesus delights in answering the prayers of those who put their trust in Him! 

Below is the schedule of those who will be visiting us during the month of August.  We would greatly appreciate if you would pray for their safety and for God to use them for His glory as they minister in Novokuznetsk!  Thank you.

 1)      Aug 8-18   A team from Times Square Church in NYC

2)      Aug 8-Sept 30 Christine Powell, Home Schooling teacher from TX

3)      Aug 14-Sept 14   Kim Howson, from Ontario, Canada

4)      Aug 22-Aug 30   Pastor Darcy and Leanne McAlister, from B C , Canada

5)      Aug 30-Sept 2   George Glover, (and his daughter Faith) Director of Teen Challenge Canada

 Thank you again for your prayers for this ministry!  We appreciate you.

 Summer 2008

We had a great celebration this past Saturday when 44 new believers were baptized in water! Twelve of them were former heroin addicts who have finished the Teen Challenge program and are now free from addictions. It was a joy for me to perform the baptism with two of my assistants who 10 years ago were desperate alcoholics themselves. Afterwards, we had a wonderful service in which the newly baptized people received communion for the first time. It was a great time of worship as over 200 people from our church came to this celebration. It ended with a feast which was prepared by the men in the Teen Challenge program. We’re so thankful to God for how He’s transforming lives!

This past week our region was blessed to have a group of 29 from GAIN, the humanitarian outreach for Campus Crusade for Christ. As they ministered to hundreds of needy children, they touched their lives with practical help and most importantly with the love of God through the Gospel message.

Four women, who had completed a course on forgiveness after having an abortion, led a 10 week class for 12 other women in our church. It was wonderful to hear the testimonies of freedom from guilt and shame from these women who had multiple abortions. Their joy was incredible when they were truly able to receive God’s love and forgiveness after attending the course. They are praying that God would use them to start more groups for women in the church and community.

The renovations on the first apartment in the Source of Life Children’s Home have been completed. We’re so thankful to God for the churches in Canada that are giving toward this work. The local administration and mayor of that area have agreed to give this building to us for free use indefinitely, which is the same as ownership! Praise God that we don’t have to purchase it! Thank you for your prayers. This agreement should be finalized in January. Would you please pray that nothing would hinder this from happening?
 

We thank God for providing the finances to purchase equipment that makes construction blocks. Students from the Teen Challenge program work in different shifts and produce 1200 blocks a day. This greatly helps to bring income into the program as over half of the 180 students are staying for free. As the program continues to grow, the financial needs are sometimes overwhelming. We are so grateful to God for those who have given to help this ministry.

Twenty-six teenagers from our church went with 12 adults on a 46 kilometer hike deep into the Siberian forest with no cell phone connection for 12 days. They hiked to such a high altitude that they actually reached snow on the mountains. They returned with great camping stories and testimonies of how God changed their lives. The Lord did a deep work in their hearts as they studied the life of Joseph using the inductive Bible study method. One evening in one of the tents, several of the campers began to confess their sins to one another of being ashamed of Christ. They began to weep and pray so intensely that campers from other tents began to join them in prayer. For about 45 minutes they prayed loudly and earnestly without any initiative from the adults. Afterwards they felt great boldness and wanted to share about God with other campers that they met in the forest. On the way home by train they sang many worship songs without any fear of other passengers in the train car. We’re so thankful to God for the work He’s doing in their lives!

Would you please pray:

1) That God would be glorified during the month of August as we celebrate the church’s 15th year Anniversary. We will have many guests joining us to do evangelism and to do ministry in church. Please pray for God’s anointing and for many souls to be saved. (On the cover page is the schedule of those visiting during the month of August.)

2) We have submitted our documents to obtain a three-year temporary residency status in Russia. It will take six months to process, and if approved we will be allowed to live in the country for three years without returning to our home country every three months to get a new visa. Would you please pray that God would grant us this status to live here for an extended period without being required to leave.

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support! We want to work while it’s day…..and do all we can for the Lord in this needy land of Russia! Thank you for making it possible for us to serve God here.

We love and appreciate you!

Spring 2008

Dear Friends:

Thank you for praying for our church roof project.  It is currently at a stand-still.  It seemed that we had reached an agreement with our neighbors, but they have changed their minds and stopped the work by threatening the construction crew.  We have tried numerous times to negotiate and reach a compromise agreement.  After much prayer and fasting, we have decided to appeal to the court to stop the hindering of the construction of the roof.   Please pray for a favorable decision in court and for God’s protection over our family and church  We thank God for you and for your prayers!

 April Update

 Precept Ministries

We’re very excited to see that the church is growing not only in numbers but in maturity in Christ. We thank God for the group of 28 students who are studying in the Precept Inductive Bible Institute which started in our church last fall. These people are being trained and are also leading their own inductive Bible study groups within the church. It’s wonderful to see the hunger and love for God’s Word among the congregation!

Abortion

According to the October 2007 Issue of Time Magazine, Russia and several other Eastern European countries have the highest rate of abortions in the world. Almost every woman in our church has had several abortions before becoming a believer and now is in need of emotional and spiritual healing. We thank God for Carolyn Rice from South Carolina who came to minister to women who are suffering from depression and guilt from having an abortion. She led them through a thorough Bible study on repentance and receiving forgiveness. She has also trained four women who will continue to minister to this great need on a weekly basis. They in turn will train other women to lead groups. Carolyn also led a seminar on training leaders in counseling. We are so excited and thankful that God is raising up Russians to minister to their own people.

Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames

For three nights our church was packed with people watching Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames. Every evening 40-60 people came forward to pray for salvation. What an incredible response to receive Christ! Each night during the performance there was a group of people praying that God would save souls through this great outreach and add them to the church. On one of the evenings an elderly Christian woman from our church, Valentina, came to be a part of the prayer group. After the play, as she was getting off the bus near her home, she was hit by a car and killed. This was a shock to everyone! At the same time God showed the seriousness of the reality of every scene in the play and how suddenly a life could be taken. She didn’t come to the play to watch it but to pray for those who weren’t saved. What an example she was of someone ready to meet the Lord! The largest response to the Gospel was the final night of the play after hearing about Valentina’s commitment to serve God and her sudden end of life on earth.

 House of Mercy

One of the centres in the Source of Life, Teen Challenge, Siberia, ministers to the homeless. There are approximately 50 people in this program. Alexander is a classic example of someone in great need. He had a wife and two children, worked in a construction company and was injured on the job. After his injury he started drinking heavily; consequently, his wife and children left him. He sold his home for alcohol and has been living on the streets since 2002. In March of this year he was severely beaten and came to church begging for help. We took Alexander to the House of Mercy where he is now living and studying the Bible using the Teen Challenge curriculum. Only Jesus could put a smile on one’s face and give hope to people such as Alexander

 Prayer Requests

• According to new visa requirments for foreigners, we can only stay in Russia for three months and then must leave for three months. This would only allow us to live in the country for six months in a year. The only way to solve this is to receive a Temporary Residency Status. We are applying for this status, but it takes six months to process. We can only apply in July once all the necessary documents are gathered. Please pray that we would receive this status which would allow us to stay in the country for three years without having to renew a visa.

• There are four different locations that we use for Source of Life Centres, which is Teen Challenge Siberia. In the past it wasn’t legally possible to purchase any government properties, however, five years ago the government granted us free use of these facilities. Now according to a new law, we have been given an offer to purchase them. We are negotiating with the government on the prices. Please pray that God would provide the finances and enable us to buy these properties at the lowest possible cost.

 

• On May 6th we will be returning to North  America  because our children’s passports expire at that time. We will return to Russia the first week of July. Please pray that God will be glorified in all of our meetings while visiting Canada and the US, and that God would strengthen the precious believers in Novokuznetsk while we’re gone.  

Thank you so much for your prayers!