Natasha's Story

On every trip there are great stories of how God moved and what he did. But we always have our favorites. There are some people that immediately grab a special place in our hearts and we always remember them. When I think back on Ryazan Russia 2010, I will always remember Natasha. God sent us to meet her Monday afternoon.

She is a 40 year old mother, battling cancer (upper left in the top picture). Her husband, like many men here, struggles with alcohol. At times when he's drunk he beats her, but like many Russian women Natasha patiently endures and won't leave him.

She is weak and thin from her illness and some days she doesn't leave the house. We got to sit with her Monday and share a bit with her and her friends. We prayed for her and her illness but we ran out of time! We didn't get to share the gospel with her and explain how she could be forgiven and have new hope in Jesus.

Angela, my teammate, and I both prayed for Natasha (as did many of you) and hoped we would get to visit her again. Wednesday we got that chance. She was feeling much better since we had visited and prayed with her Monday. She was strong enough to go to the market. We got to sit down with her and Angela shared the gospel with her. Natasha was so ready. She decided to receive God's free gift of forgiveness and make Jesus her Lord and Savior. It was great. We were able to spend more time with her and Angela helped teach her how to pray.

We invited her to our celebration service Thursday and she came. More than that, Natasha brought her friend Leana. Then we heard what happened Wednesday night. We left Natasha with some follow-up materials for her and her friends. That night Natasha shared what we had told her with her friend Leana, and Leana received Christ! Natasha was less than a day old in her walk with God and she already led someone else to the Lord! That's the way it should be. We were so excited to see them both Thursday before we left.

The picture below shows 3 generations of Christians. Angela shared Christ with Natasha who shared Christ with Leana! Awesome!

Meet Nikita

Wednesday night we hung out with the youth that stop by the church. We almost died playing soccer but afterwards we had some great conversations. After dinner Michael and I got into a great discussion with Nikita. We each thought he was part of one of the families in the church because we saw him all week. As we talked to him we realized he just came by even though his parents wouldn't like it if they knew.

He was hungry to know about God and eager to talk with us. Mike shared the gospel with him and we though he was ready to respond. He is sooo close! But not quite there. He really understood the gospel. He understands that his next step is to call out to God, ask him to forgive him, and receive him as Savior and Lord. But he's not quite ready. As we talked we learned that he is wrestling with what his parents and friends will think.

Pray for Nikita! His heart is so soft (which is rare). He desperately wants to turn to God but he is weighing the cost.

Enemy Territory

When we arrived Pastor Dima shared situation that has been burdening him.

This map shows the Ryazan region and its 25 districts. Currently there are 14 churches in 9 of the districts. 16 districts have no church at all. In total over 1.1 million people live here! There are 14 churches for 1.1 million people! This is enemy territory, a very dark region.

Everywhere we went we saw hopelessness and despair. As kids grow up they get to a certain point as teenagers when they realize they don't have much hope for the future and they get hardened.

Pastor Dima and his fellow pastors want to establish 16 more churches- one for every district in the Ryazan region. Pray that God would bring it about. And pray that God would expand their vision, not just to adding 16 more churches but to multiplying 100's and 100's more churches to really reach this area. It will take a new approach and a new kind of church, one that doesn't require buildings and paid pastors! Pray God would show the way.

Does Prayer Matter?

On Tuesday last week we travelled with Pastor Dima out into the countryside around Korablino where we visited Vladimir and Lucia on their little farm.

They have been believers for many years and we had a great time of fellowship with them (I tried caviar for the first time!). They called afterward and told us they were very encouraged by our visit. They wanted to share 1 Thessalonians 3:9-12 with us in response to our visit.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20thessalonians%203:9-12&version=NIV

We found out that they have been praying for a church in Korablino long before Pastor Dima was there. In fact, God may have sent Dima there in response to their prayers!

Vladimir and Lucia have been praying for this region for so long, God may have SENT US there because of their prayers! I don't think there is much we can accomplish without prayer and when we get to eternity we'll find out just what a difference prayer makes.

On our way to Russia we weren't sure exactly where we would end up. The plan was to work with Pastor Dima in the Ryazan region but we had heard that parts of the region were closed off because of the fires.

Approaching Moscow we smelled the smoke as the airplane began to decend. In the airport the hallways were hazy from the smoke. But God is good. The city of Korablino was still open and we spent the week there at Dima's church. Here is the view from our apartment. Throughout the week the smoke began to clear so by the end we could see the stars and the sky again!

Pray for the people there. The record heat and long drought have made it a tough summer.

We're back! We had an amazing trip to Russia. God was at work in many lives. We worked all week with Pastor Dima and his church in Korablino, in the Ryazan region. This was the first campaign to this region. Throughout the week we had appointments with those who were interested. We shared the gospel, helped disciple the believers and trained the members of the church. This first trip laid the groundwork for future campaigns that will multiply churches throughout the region.

Daily Prayer Request - Sun., Aug 15

Rejoice over the new worshipers of God and ask God's protection over their new faith.

Daily Verse: Rom 12: 1-2

PRAISE to GOD!