Gospel News — Sep-Dec 2012

Many talks were given by local brethren with some, such as brother Kolya, making their debut. Sister Vanessa Boler and her Russian daughter-in-law were present from England, and sister Suzie Lange from the USA. They made a deep impact on everyone, entering fully into conversation through translators and with sign language as they shared their own lives and Biblical thoughts in a very helpful way.

The total amount of effort made by so many to be present must have been noticed with pleasure by the Lord we all serve; some travelled for three days to be present, including sisters from Kazakhstan, where our community is under pressure and persecution from the local Moslem authorities; Brother Valerij from the very far north of Russia arriving with nothing but a small bag, his Bible and his crutch [with an umbrella strapped to it]; 84 year old brother Pavel from Siberia, who spent days on the train to be with us, and still participated in the play; and brother Vova and Galina who came especially to the Bible School at their own expense, Vova having been baptized by us in the River Jordan in Israel in 2000- 12 years ago. It was a great pleasure to baptize Galina.

Old brother Anton plays Job and 84 year old Pavel plays one of the friends in the presentation on Job and his ecclesia; The play took the approach that the "sons of God" were fellow believers, and opened with a presiding brother giving an opening prayer and welcoming all to the ecclesia. Then there was a discussion about Job, who was then struck with illness and began scraping himself at the meeting, with his wife commenting

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But the hardest journey to the School was surely made by sister Viktorija from the Kuban area of southern Russia. A refugee from Chechnaya, she has no documents and is in very frail health, walking with pain on two crutches, and surviving by selling hot potatoes on the sea front of the Gelendzhik resort. Our sister was baptized many years ago, but had never been to a Bible School; she begged us to meet her off the train in Moscow as she wanted at least once in her life to come to a Bible School. She needed transport by taxi as she cannot manage much walking or steps. She thoroughly enjoyed herself- and the amazing thing was that whilst at the Bible School, flash floods hit the very town where she lives in the Krasnodar region, killing 200 people and leaving 120,000 people homeless, becoming one of the biggest disasters in recent Russian history. With her limited mobility she may well have perished. Those who survived in her area did so by climbing trees or onto roofs. Along with her, we watched with amazement the news coming through on the large screen TV in the reception area of the facility we used for the Bible School. Her coming to the Bible School may well have saved her life. This was clearly the hand of providence and a great encouragement to us all that really God is active in the world today. Sister Viktorija took a full role in the Bible School, and playing Naomi in the play on Ruth.