We have witnessed an amazing transformation. A woman who was once strongly opposed to Christians, even demanding back everything she had ever given to those who became Christians, has started attending our Bible study. Remarkably, she and her husband have decided to follow Jesus and have stopped worshiping spirits.
We now hold Bible study sessions at their home, where they are eagerly learning how to pray and study the Word of God together. This is a significant change and a serious decision for them, especially since many of their family members are not yet followers of Christ.
Please join us in praying for this couple and for a few other families who are open to learning more about Jesus—some have even started coming to church! We are also thankful to God for the elderly couple who have joined us in serving. They have been a tremendous blessing, especially in reaching out to the elderly in our community.
1,000 Reasons to Be Thankful
As I wrote before, there has been a war in our neighboring country for many years. Last week, we had the opportunity to visit refugee children in schools and camps. Most of these children have lost their parents and the places they once called “home.” Now, they live in huts, tents, or even under the open sky, holding onto hope for a better future.
One of the places we visited shelters 500 children who are clinging to God for their daily food. Most of these children are aged three and up, with only a few adults to care for them. Despite the extreme heat, lack of fans, and visible hunger and fatigue, the children were singing:
“Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son!…”
In moments like these, it’s hard to find any words to say, except to join them in prayer to our Heavenly Father, asking Him to provide for their needs, and reminding myself of 1,000, and even more, reasons I can be thankful to God!
With God’s help and the support of Christians like you, Avoda was able to send food aid to these children. Ladies from our church baked 600 cookies to bring some joy to them. God is good!
We are deeply grateful for your financial support, which helped us send cookies to these children. We invite you to be part of this important work in Thailand:
1. Pray: Ask God to send more partners to provide food aid for children in desperate need.
2. Participate: Join a team to run children’s programs in the refugee camps, share the Gospel, and bring joy and hope.
3. Donate: Contribute to providing nutritious cookies for the children, and witness the joy it brings them.
4. Spread the Word: Tell others about this ministry and how they can be part of it.
We are preparing, by God’s grace, to visit again in August. Please pray for the right people to join our team!
We are very grateful for you. May God richly bless each of you, provide for all your needs, and remind you of the 1,000 reasons you can be thankful!
In previous letters, I wrote about a girl who was suspected of having cancer and asked for prayers for her. I want to share the continuation of her story. I met Natasha through social media. One day, she called me and said she was in the hospital. When I arrived to visit her, she was very weak, pale, and had great difficulty moving. She was in a serious condition, but the doctors couldn’t diagnose her. During the diagnostic process, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, and a biopsy was taken to confirm it. Together with Natalia, we began to pray for her complete recovery and healing. Some time later, the test results came back, and the diagnosis was not confirmed. When she was transferred to another hospital, the new doctors reviewed all her tests, and although dark spots were clearly visible on the scans, the fresh tests were clean. She has now been discharged and is fully recovering. The Lord has shown His mercy once again and healed this girl. Thank you, Jesus, that the power of His Blood is still at work in us today, for “by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
Thank you for praying for the ministry in Lebanon. I need your prayer support so that the Lord will continue to lead and guide the ministry among Slavic women. May the Lord open the hearts of people, and may the sown word bear fruit. I also ask for intensified prayers for peace in this region of the Middle East, that God’s protection will be over the people. May God’s Word spread throughout the earth, changing lives and destinies. I thank God and you for the opportunity to be His witness
After the summer, the rains and monsoon season will start again, and we’ve told you about our need for a means of transportation (a vehicle), for which we already have half of the funds. We still need $5,000 more. In the fall, we have planned evangelistic trips to Laos and Cambodia. We’ve made such trips in rented cars (very expensive), on mopeds (very challenging—1300 km), and by bus (24 hours to the destination—difficult, and our legs swell up). Recently, two teams came to help with evangelism, and while one part could travel by moped, the other couldn’t. We needed to move a lot, but due to the lack of transportation, not everyone was able to fully participate in the ministry.
Therefore, dear friends, we ask for your help in acquiring a vehicle (through prayer, financial support). May the Lord be glorified in this matter. Even if you can donate $10–20, it will still be a contribution to the work of evangelism. We always remember you in our prayers, thanking you for your labor and participation in spreading the Word of God in Southeast Asia. We are glad to serve with you. May the Almighty, Omnipresent, and Unchanging Lord and our God bless you with an abundance of His grace, meeting both your needs and ours.
My soul is shaken. I feel deep pain watching what is happening to my country. The war continues. Every day, a huge number of Ukrainians die. I was just informed that another brother from our community has died. A young man. He has a wife and 3 children. Now they are orphans. Please pray for this. Another member of our church was abducted tonight. He is being forced to become a soldier and go to war. But he has no training, no weapons, no food, no shelter. Such young men are sent to die. We turned to a lawyer. The lawyer says that there is almost no chance of avoiding mobilization. It hurts me deeply, and I am terrified that our government continues to send defenseless and helpless people to their deaths. Fear hovers over the country. People fear Russia, and people do not trust our government. The border is closed for men, and this also creates panic among the population. I ask you to pray that we stay alive. I also ask you to pray for me so that I can continue my ministry. I, too, could be forcibly sent to the front line. I trust in God and ask you to pray for God’s mercy for me and my family. Russia continues missile attacks. Last week was very difficult for our region. Twice a day, we have power outages for 8 hours. In winter, it is expected that power will be out for 20 hours a day. I understand that we need to buy batteries so that in winter we can have light and continue our ministry to children. Please pray for this. Thank you for your service to us.
Our team has started 4 more Discipleship groups in prison. We are grateful to the Lord that we can serve the prisoners each week without any hindrance – providing not only spiritual food but also physical food, as the conditions in the prison leave much to be desired, and many prisoners are emaciated or ill.
Last week, we were able to hold an eye clinic in the village of Mamarai. Over 50 people received glasses, and the entire village heard the Gospel! Daniel and his team also conducted a children’s/youth program. For this village, it was unforgettable, and the tribal leaders kept thanking us. For us, it was a wonderful opportunity to tell them about Christ and His sacrificial love for each of them.
Next week, our church is planning a baptism! We rejoice that we can fulfill the Lord’s command: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Is there any joy in this world that compares to living at the center of His will?
The Lord is leading us to open another Promise Land church on Bougainville Island. This is one of the remote regions of Papua New Guinea, which will soon become an independent state! There is already a group of believers there, and one family from our church has received a calling from the Lord to move there for permanent ministry.
Last week, I returned from the Amazon. Together with friends from Germany, we visited indigenous tribes and river dwellers on the Purus River. The work in Crispim, the largest indigenous settlement, is progressing particularly well. Over the past few years, we have trained several leaders there who now lead the ministry, visit other small settlements, and spread the Gospel. They regularly send us photos and reports of their work.
The work among the river dwellers continues. Brother Pita, who lives upstream, started with a small group in his home, which now includes indigenous people from another tribe. The people are very open to the Gospel. Unfortunately, very often they cannot read, but with the ability to listen to the Bible via an app, this barrier is overcome. Thus, they gather to listen to the Bible together.
We visited the Apurina tribe on Puma Island. There we met a very remote group in the Nova Bandeira settlement upstream. The former chief of the tribe asked us to find someone who would agree to move there for a month and teach them the Bible daily. They are already converted but do not know the Scriptures. So, we notice that there is still a shortage of workers.
After the service, another woman approached me and asked to talk. She is often attacked by occult forces. Demons come to her and physically torment her. Before her conversion, she worshipped Satan and actively served among the indigenous people with her occult gifts. Now she is converted but still suffers from the consequences of her previous sinful life.
Please continue to pray for our ministry among the lost people of the Amazon!
