We will learn a lot when we meet the One who is guiding His mission in heaven and many will be surprised.
We had many events and trips last month. It started with the fact that my car broke down, and I had to take it to Prague to fix it. A mechanic told me that it is not possible to travel 745 miles with this car. We only could only go by faith, so we prayed and left. Tom, an orthodox believer from Georgia went with me. The car broke again on the way there. In Switzerland, people called the police on us because the car was burning oil and created a lot of smoke but after praying we were able to continue driving.
Tom was very surprised by how God answers prayers. After visiting a church in Prague and socializing with many believers he was surprised again. On the way back, he told me that he wanted to be baptized by faith. He is a very honest person, around 20 years old and reads the bible. He sees a lot of things happening in his church that doesn’t seem to be biblical.
We also visited a church in Faro, Portugal. We are glad for Pastor Eugene because the Lord works through him. A couple from Moscow (Andrew & Lydia) was returning home on the airplane but Andrew (59) became sick and had to stop in Faro. He was rushed to the emergency. Pastor Eugene was called by friends and asked to help his wife Lydia. She doesn’t speak any Portuguese. The Doctors said that her husband’s survival was a miracle. Lydia visited the Pastors house and the church and was touched by the Lord’s grace. They don’t have a personal relationship with the Lord yet, but I think this was one way to get closer to Him.
We also want to thank you for praying for our sons. Many worried about Yuri and Andrew. For the first time in 6 years, we were able to meet in Sanremo.
Andrew has finally returned to the Lord, thank God for this. Yuri is not walking with the Lord but we see how the He is intervening in his life. His promise to the faithful “You and your whole house will be saved.” May God Bless you!
Starting in March we began to gather in Sanremo. God allowed us to meet in the Valdentsev Church. They are known in Europe since the 12thCentury. Thank God, on Sundays we have around 10 people.
We originally didn’t plan to organize a church in Italy since I focused more on Nice in France. We settled in Italy purely for economic reasons. The rent here costs half compared to France. God had other plans for us and is showing it to us.
After Easter, the church in France invited us to participate in sharing the Gospel on the streets of Nice. We received a visit from Vitaly and Inna, the children of Michael Medyanik, who came from Milan. They helped us greatly in the ministry. A week before the oldest son Benjamin came to help out in the music ministry in Sanremo. This is a great blessing for us because before we decided to meet in Sanremo I lost my hearing. This didn’t happen the last 15 years. I previously did lose my hearing for a week but never for months like right now. My hearing recovers back to 50% of the 30% that is left after my Trauma in 2002. This makes this ministry much harder.
Before Benjamin came to help us, I asked a young man to help in the ministry, but he declined. I told him that God will send a musician to us from heaven. The next day Benjamin called me and said that God prompted him to come and help us in the ministry.
At the same time, Constantin and Larissa came with their daughter Rita and the youth group from France shared the Gospel in the streets of Nice. It was an international team and we performed the song “Great God” in Russian, French and even Chinese.
On May the 12thwe went out to enjoy the nature in the mountains which is around 6 miles away from Sanremo. The cold fog was hindering us, but the warmth of our souls helped us through it. We warmed us by the fire and spend our time talking from 1 pm to 8 pm. There were 24 adults and 6 children. We had the opportunity to communicate one on one. Given the weather circumstances, we had a great start.
Pray for our ministry “The War” to continue, it’s not that simple but we are seeing that God is giving us victories step by step and that is inspiring us. Since June 15 we are looking for a new apartment. Our owner terminated our lease agreement. My family will spend the summer in the Czech Republic and I will somehow live here. Last summer I lived at my friend’s house and in the car. The summers are warm here, everything is possible to whom who believes. Thank you form the bottom of my heart for your support.
Time is running out, quickly passing us… Its already the spring of this new year.
The atmosphere here is very tough. Materialism captures the minds of not only the local population but also immigrants. We continue the ministry for refugees from Africa and the Middle East. Recently we see many refugees from Eritrea and we need the Gospel tracts in English, Arabic, and Farsi. Some of them live in a refugee camp, others are on the street, or under bridges. They have a lot of time, so we want to give them to read and want to please them with giving them material in their own language.
They live very poorly, especially those who are under the bridges. They live on the streets because they do not want to stay in Italy. They are trying to get to other countries, where their friends or relatives are. Therefore, they do not go to the refugee camp to avoid any registration. The Italians provide for them, but for everything else they are responsible for themselves. We talk with them about the Lord and of course, the majority are Muslims. We compare the Bible and the Koran, ask them the questions of the relativity of Christ or Isa, as they call our Lord.I had an especially interesting conversation with Hussein, he took the Arabic Gospel. Then came back with his friend Adam who knows more about the Koran.
I found a version of the Koran on the Phone, which is translated into Arabic and Russian. The translation is not very good, but it still can help me to make them think critically. Many have questions: was Christ crucified or not? In the Koran there is no clear to answer this, in some verses, it says that He wasn’t, and in others, it says He resurrected.
If you are willing to help with literature or audio devices for refugees, I will be very grateful to you. We urgently need the Gospel in Arabic, Kurdish, Persian, and English.
Blessings to you, thank you for the prayers, I really need them, since in Nice there is a spiritual wall and the enemy does not want to back off from their lines. I thank those who support our ministry.
Thank you for your prayers. The last summer was not easy. We left our hometown, that is 37miles away from Nice in France located in the mountains. My family was in the Czech Republic and I continued looking for a place to stay and building connections with the Russian speaking population in Italy. Refugees from Africa and the Middle East came here in large numbers to find shelter. Many refugees are open to a dialogue about Christ. I spend the night in the mountains on the dacha that belongs to my brother Alexander. Even though this is a beautiful place, it is not suitable to live with a family.
Italy, by law, offers free housing to families with children where parents don’t have an income. Unfortunately, this benefit is exploited by many dishonest people, and those are not a few. That’s why landlords strictly check if the person, who is looking to live in their apartments, can pay. Most often they require a work verification to move in. Of course, I don’t have such document and many landlords didn’t believe me. Thank God that in the last two days he made a miracle for us and we received two offers. We chose the offer that is closer to the local school. The children now need to go to an Italian school since we are in an apartment in Ospedaletti, near Sanremo. They like the new school and say that Italian is easier than French and they were welcomed friendly. French is the second language here so with Gods help they will master it.
We see how the Lord starts to impact this region. We meet in groups on Fridays and everybody who wants to study the bible is joining. We also started to meet on Sundays in the church (www.ebbn.org/acces.html) The Lord works in the hearts of people and there have been wonderful meetings, in the church and at Irina’s house. Not long ago she fell and hurt herself. When we came to visit her, she had friends over at her house. God gave us a wonderful meeting and conservation of the Gospel.
Last year I asked for you to pray for bible study groups to form and for opening a church in Nice. Now I ask if you could not only pray for Nice but also for the church in Sanremo. We can’t do it without Him and have to put our hope in him if we want to see His power and miracles.
I still keep visiting Nice. The Lord has told me: ”Look far and wide for one person, even one who acts justly”? and sends me interesting people that I can meet. Last year I was given a scooter that helps me to move quickly along the promenade. I now use the car less than I did last year. It costs 2 Euros to get to Nice by train, and when I’m there I use the scooter to move around and then I go back by train again.
Please don’t forget to pray for the family of George and Sharam, they are close to the Lord but traditions and the opinion of their relatives influence them strongly. Thank you for praying for Herman and Irina, who are moving to serve in Spain. I thank everybody who is supporting our ministry in Europe with prayers and financially.
