Moscow Bible Weekend, April 2009
We had a great attendance of contacts and brothers and sisters. 14 of us crammed into the tiny apartment of Brother Igor and spent an intense time together. We did studies on Jonah, but the highlight of the weekend was the baptism in Igor's bathtub of VALYA and also a husband and wife, ALEXEI & LENA. Alexei and Lena live in the north of Russia in an isolated hamlet. Moscow is still under snow, and where they are all lakes and rivers are still frozen, and they have no bath tub. So they made the journey to Moscow to meet us and be baptized. They had never been in Moscow before. Here's a picture of them on the metro train... it was a huge experience for them, quite the missionary journey for them. 
They gave an excellent confession of their faith, having come from atheism through Orthodoxy and JWs to the full picture of the Gospel. 
As we wanted to make the most of our time together, we went out and bought McDonalds, ie. Big Mac and fries, from a nearby McDonalds. The visitors from the provinces had never heard of McDonalds and simply loved it. That said, there were other meals to prepare that weekend, and we're grateful to sisters Lena Belyaeva and Tanya Boldetsova for all their work for us... it all got pretty claustrophobic, 14 people couped up in 40 square meters for a weekend!
Incidentally, it was good to see the large print Bibles some of you sent over in good use, and notes being made in the margins:
BROTHER X
We’ve received news from our Iranian Brother X, who learnt the Truth through the internet and in Feburary 2008 came specially from Iran to Turkey to be baptized by Brother Scott Ketelsen of the Tacoma USA ecclesia and Brother Duncan. He writes of his experiences:
"I was arrested about six month ago, because of the problems I had encountered in Iran with faith.They gave me one month to change my religion from Christianity to Islam . Ten days after my arrestment,I was also dismissed from my work.When I found the situation so hard, I came to Turkey and stayed in Istanbul for three months. I hoped that some of my problems would be solved. I returned to Iran after these three months, but I got arrested again after 16 days from my arrival. They tried to force me to say the name of the person who introduced Christianity to me and also the one who baptized me. Again, they gave one month to repent and convert to the ‘true’ religion of Islam. But I had chosen my way, so I did not accept that. Although it was against my will, I had to ignore all what I had in Iran and seek refuge in Turkey. I introduce myself to UNHCR and I get a time for an interview...I am in a difiicult situation ,I really request you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me. Thank you. your brother in our lord Jesus".
Please do pray for our Brother. We are doing all we can to assist him with his appeal for refugee status but it will be a long wait.
Brother Leonid, Winter Welfare April 2009
One of our Sisters who lives in the Riga Women's Shelter is a Jewess, a refugee from the Tat mountains of Azerbaijan caught up some years ago in the Armenian conflict there. She was offered a job caring for a bedridden old man of 83; the deal was that she could sleep in the room he was in and collect his pension, care for him, buy his food with it and feed herself also with it. But his pension is so tiny it can't stretch to that. The room belongs to his alcoholic daughter who simply doesn't want to care for her father any more. She took even his war medals to a shop which is both a pawnbroker and antiques shop, and traded them for vodka money. So our sister Lilija is in a difficult situation, wanting to care for the old man but also needing to eat herself. She says that it's better to do this than stay at the Women's Shelter, where the women can only spend the night and must search for work in the day. Anyway, she has been reading the Bible and Bible Basics to the old man, and it was our pleasure to baptize him on Saturday.
LEONID is fully ‘with it’ and has quite good sight and hearing for his age. As a 19- year- old he had his right leg blown off at the hip whilst in the Red Army, storming the Vistula. He still has shrapnel in his hip - since 1945! He recounts how as he lay in a field hospital, two medics walked by him and muttered to each other "He hasn't got long", and that he has felt this all his life... and now, as he says with a wink, he knows he really hasn't got so long. Formerly a staunch Soviet-style atheist, "a Rus of the Rus" ['Russian of the Russians'... maybe interesting for students of Ezekiel 38] as he describes himself, he admits that he has always had a niggling doubt that there is a God. In the long painful days and nights he lay there alone in that room, he prayed for God to come to him. And God did- He sent our sister Lilija to him and she read the Bible to him. God worked through his daughter's selfishness. The room he lives in is just about 2 x 5 metres, actually the former boiler room of a dilapidated tenement building. He's incontinent and there's no hot water, only a cold water tap and sink. No kitchen - it's just one room. No toilet, just a bowl which must be taken outside and emptied. Photos can't really do justice to this pathetic place:
Photo: Now he has gone through Bible Basics he asked if he could be presented with his own copy, and it was our pleasure to do so.
Photo: Leonid is rather proud of his one leg!
Photo: His remaining prized possession - his wedding photo.
This is a triumph for the Lord Jesus Christ, His Truth and His Kingdom. We feel Leonid really has come to Christ in truth. Caring for him is going to involve a lot of home visits, he can be moved but with great difficulty.
Meanwhile, we continue providing winter welfare to many brothers and sisters in need throughout Eastern Europe. We've received some blood pressure monitors and more are on the way. Cindy's been taking the blood pressure of sisters in various places, and after the Sunday meeting in Riga she measured the pressure of several sisters – we will do this at each meeting, God willing, and try to get them some medication where needed. Some of the readings are pretty scary, and the idea is that by measuring each week we'll be able to see some progress. Here's Cindy with the sisters with high blood pressure, and also with her list of names and readings.
Poltava Bible School, May 2009
Charles Abel, (Horley Ecclesia UK)
POLTAVA Bible School convinced me that the spirit of God is alive and well in Ukraine, despite the many setbacks endured by the enthusiastic people of this huge nation caught between Russia and Europe. Almost 50 brothers and sisters had travelled from all parts of Ukraine to attend, some spending over 12 hours on trains and buses to reach their destination, the Almaz Hotel in Poltava. My three hour flight from London to Kiev and five hours on a coach to Poltava, 300km east of Kiev, seemed easy by comparison. Sadly, I was unable to arrive in time for the Friday evening talk given by Sis Ludmila, the founder of the Poltava ecclesia and main driving force behind much of the work to spread the Truth in Ukraine. However, her in-depth study of the beasts in Daniel’s prophecy had clearly captured the enthusiasm of the visitors.
Despite the language barrier I had fun trying to communicate with Brothers and Sisters and interested visitors. Sis Marina, from Kharkhov, had brought her nine year-old daughter, Anastasia. Sis Tamara from Lugansk told me she was a human ecologist, although I’m not quite sure what that means! Sis Anna had travelled up from Kherson with her daughters Tanya (21) and Nadia (14), with Tanya’s boyfriend Valeriy. Valeriy had never been out of his home town before.
I had a particularly touching chat with Sis Nadia from southern Ukraine. Through translation, she recollected how she had given birth to a daughter in the Soviet era and been told the little girl would not live – officials had even given her paperwork to that effect. Someone suggested she get the girl baptised, by an orthodox priest operating covertly, to safeguard her salvation. As Sis Nadia recalled, she did not imagine that baptism saved the baby, but she decided God could save, and this inspired Nadia to start searching for true salvation. When the Gospel message arrived in south Ukraine she welcomed it joyously as the truth she had been seeking. Angelika, her daughter, now lives in St Petersburg, with her husband and daughter, all baptised into Jesus.
Saturday started with the daily Bible readings, all conducted in Russian, and followed by some healthy debate. Ukrainian Bro and Sis clearly love and enjoy discussing the Word. There is no holding back in sharing their knowledge and seeking new insights. Their enthusiasm was infectious – even across the language barrier. A very inspiring start to the day! My talks followed, including “Shine like Stars”, “Speaking with Grace” and “Kingdom Visions”. Each was translated by Bro Igor from Kiev, further help to help get my messages across I used a camE font series of PowerPoint presentations, which had been expertly translated by Sis Lena Podgayskaya in Moscow – thank you, Lena, they made all the difference! 
Indeed, I was surprised and really delighted by how attentive the audience was – it can’t be easy listening to a visiting speaker who is burbling on in his own language. But these Brothers and Sisters gave huge feedback, nodding enthusiastically, looking quizzical, hanging on each phrase. These are enthusiastic Bible students, eager to improve their knowledge and insight.
Lunch, like all the meals, was taken in the hotel, providing a great opportunity for Brothers and Sisters from different parts of Ukraine to catch up on news – this was clearly a church family who were delighted to be together again. Much fun was had pinpointing home towns on a huge map of Ukraine, an activity that really fostered connectedness and stimulated discussion. Duncan also distributed spectacles and a blood pressure monitor - many have little funds left over each month for medical needs.
In the afternoon we had the joyous baptism of Vera, a lady from southern Ukraine, who had met other Brothers and Sisters in the area. Since the hotel had no suitable facilities the baptism took place a short walk away in the bath of the flat of Sister Veronika’s flat. Sis Vera’s excitement and relief as she emerged from the baptism waters was wonderful to witness. Back at the hotel the day continued with more talks, Bro Duncan Heaster of Riga Ecclesia in Latvia, discussing Peter’s denial and a Russian video about the Holy Land playing after dinner. Only at 10:15 did the last Brothers and Sisters finally drift away to their rooms.
Sunday started with the daily readings again and, with more healthy debate, accompanied by an illustrated talk on Rahab’s role in the fall of Jericho by Bro Duncan. At the breaking of bread I exhorted on the theme of dependenecy, how we are completely dependent upon God’s grace and mercy. The emblems were shared with reverence and meditative reflection. After lunch everyone started heading for home, but there was more excitement in store. Nikolay, husband of Sis Nadia, had asked to be baptised, following years of study, prompting a return to Sis Veronika’s flat for another joyous committment to a life in Christ.
As we travelled back to Kiev by coach, across a vast landscape of deep fertile soils, long open stretches of empty highway, lurching between patches of repaired road surface and subsidence, bumping through potholes, ploughing remorselessly through quiet little villages, with cows tethered by the roadside, Poltava memories flooded back. We visited Bro and Sis in their homes. Life is not easy living on a pension of 650Hrivna a month (pound;65). Many employees get little more. No wonder they find life hard. Despite this, the Ukrainian Brothers and Sisters are eager to share their faith. There are no ecclesial halls, but they remain positive all the same, bringing friends and interested contacts to the truth. With a population of over 46 million the potential to share God’s word is colossal. In all we packed a lot in and I’m glad we did. Many of these Brothers and Sisters return to lives isolated from fellowship, eagerly awaiting the next gathering. They are not alone. Brothers and Sisters all around the world depend on such meetings for fellowship and mutual encouragement. If you get the chance to attend one, do so. I certainly gained much more from my time in Poltava than I gave out. Praise God for making such events possible.
NOTE: We are always looking for speakers and assistants at these gatherings [as well as sponsors]- please let us know if you'd like to get involved at info@carelinks.net ; and thanks so much to those who enabled this gathering financially.
