On October 19, I went to the Amazon along with three other brothers from our ministry. For 16 days, we visited village communities along various rivers, missionary homes, jointly planned, and experienced much. The first settlement was an indigenous village. On the way to the village, we were overtaken by a police boat, and when we arrived, it was already leaving. The day before, a young man had taken his own life by suicide after an argument with his girlfriend. We entered into the grieving community and were able to share the Gospel. Another couple took the opportunity to reconcile and found peace in Christ.
In another village, we preached the Gospel for two days. When, in the afternoon, we prepared the ship for departure, an elderly woman arrived with her granddaughter. The girl’s mother had left the family for a drug dealer, and now the grandmother, who is over 70, has to look after three grandchildren (there are no stores, they must catch fish every day, and everything else must be bought in the city, a day’s journey by boat). The girl wanted to accept Jesus. We were able to pray together, and then went to the riverbank to baptize her. As we stood in the water, a man approached. The day before, he had declined the offer to accept Christ, saying he was not ready. Now he came and said he was ready to follow Christ, with all the consequences for him. So, we decided to baptize both of them by faith in Jesus Christ. Praise God for His work in this tribe! Ministry in Brazil
I want to share about what we are experiencing together with the parents and children in their difficult fates. This month, two children passed away. Anya was 11 years old, and she did not return from St. Petersburg after a bone marrow transplant. Her body couldn’t cope, and her organs failed. I accompanied this family, and we had a serious conversation with Anya and her mother; we prayed, and I shared hope and explained the Gospel. I hope a choice was made.
The second child died in Omsk in the hospital, and we prayed with him, and I am still communicating with his father, helping them cope with the loss of their son. Overall, our ministry is to be there where there is need and where it is difficult. This month, we were with children in orphanages, hospices, and pediatric oncology; everywhere we served as usual.
But a particular joy for me is that we accepted 22 graduates from orphanages in our city. They enrolled in educational institutions and live in dormitories. The first month is the hardest for them; they still don’t have allowances and their life is not yet organized, so we fed them and helped. We also had a meeting where last year’s graduates and our team of teenagers were present; for three days, we lived and communicated together, and on Sunday, everyone was at the church gathering.
Two children prayed the prayer of repentance, and one girl, Sofa, wants to be baptized; she signed up for mentorship. Finally, I saw with my own eyes the fruits of five years of trips to orphanages, our prayers, gifts, and time spent have borne fruit. Over 30 children during this time have given their lives to God and can live according to the Gospel.
Praise God, thank you for your prayers and help! Sincerely, with prayers for you.
After intense prayer, we went to remote tribal villages to seek out people who particularly needed help. We drove 50 kilometers away from our city and started going from house to house, distributing treats, food, and preaching the Word of God. This family, about whom I will speak, lived on the edge of the village. They are a family from the Raglai tribe (100,000 people in the world), who welcomed us in a special way by opening the doors of their home to us. Their house was like a barn for livestock, with more than 10 people living in it. I don’t remember if there was electricity, but the water was about 50 meters away from the house, downhill (they live in the mountains). During droughts, the stream would dry up, and there was no water. With God’s and your help, we dug a well and brought water to the house. We sang them songs, talked about the Savior, and communicated. We started visiting more often, bringing food, clothes, toys, medicines, and their life began to transform and flourish before our eyes. On Easter 2023, four members of this family received Holy Baptism, which was a wonderful celebration. The church leads these people in the teaching of the Lord, and recently in November, three more family members made a covenant with the Lord. Praise God!
The evangelism movement continues. Today, the neighbors of our brothers and sisters approached and asked for help in digging a well. We are praying and asking for wisdom in this matter. We ask for your support in prayer. The cost of the well is only $500. We thank you, precious friends, brothers, and sisters, for your prayers and help in the work of God. Together we can do a lot. We also plan to distribute hundreds of Christmas gifts! We would be grateful for any help you can provide!
In October 2022, I came to Lebanon to start my ministry in this country. This country is home to many different nationalities, among them about 30,000 Russian-speaking people. The purpose of my stay is to organize home groups among the Slavs for Bible study. To meet people, I use social networks and then through friendship and personal relationships, I witness to people about Jesus Christ.
All this time I have seen God’s hand and guidance in the ministry. Within a few months, a small home group was organized, which met at the house of one of the girls. The process of obtaining a residence permit was long, but thankfully, that issue has been resolved. Now I can stay in Lebanon for a longer period.
I need your support, I ask you to pray that:
The Lord leads and guides in the ministry.
God provides His protection and defense!
In Lebanon, there is no public transport except for intercity buses, so to get to the meeting place, I have to use taxis. About $100 goes on taxis in a month. I would be grateful for prayerful and financial support. God’s blessings to you.
In the last 3 weeks, I spent 10 hours in the kitchen daily. Don’t even ask me how many people I have fed during this time and how many times – I’ve long since lost count. Somewhere in between, I turned 35, but I hardly noticed. Every day, I wake up at 5:00 AM with only one prayer on my lips – that what I have in my hands, Lord, use for Your glory. After all, He said in John 21,“Feed My sheep”
“Feeding the sheep” means explaining the Word of God to them. Interpret the Holy Scriptures. Preach the Gospel. Engage in discipleship. But the more I delve into this passage, the more I realize that it’s much deeper than it seems at first glance. As it turns out, the command is the same for everyone – “Feed the sheep”. For some, this looks like a pulpit. For others – like a dark kitchen at 5:30 AM, where we tread so carefully not to wake anyone. And, as it turns out, He doesn’t ask us, “Can you do it?”, “Do you mind?”, “Are you ready?” – but “Do you love Me”. If I love Christ more than anything, then whether I have a microphone, a hammer, or a kitchen knife in my hand, I know – I am fulfilling His commission. I am feeding His sheep. And I will do it with joy!
The day after lunch we continued our journey straight to the border of Uruguay. I have a bus driver’s license, so I was allowed to take turns driving our bus with students all night along with another missionary. We arrived safely and were able to hold a missionary conference over the weekend.
Giuseppe also attended the conference. I talked about his story in lectures in Germany. He is an Indian from the Paumari tribe. Together with some of our colleagues, he was in the south to help eliminate the damage caused by the hurricane and flooding. He stayed with a family who, he was told, had been praying for some time for God to encourage them. They asked him many questions and were very interested in his story. When he told them everything that happened in his tribe, they suddenly said that it was not strange to them. They knew a missionary who worked in the Amazon among the Indians. Her name is Maike. They arranged a meeting, and something wonderful happened.
Giuseppe and Maike were able to get to know each other personally. This was the same Maike who then gave them medicine, who preached the Gospel to them, and translated the Bible for them. It was a touching meeting. She even chose the name Giuseppe for him when he was a baby. He is the only Indian with that name. They immediately made contact with the tribe and were able to organize a wonderful fellowship.
As you can see, this story is not yet over. Only when I returned from the trip did God add another chapter to this story. How wonderful it is to belong to our God. Thank you for your faithful help!
