Dear friends, beloved brothers and sisters, grace and peace be multiplied to you! This year is more special and inspiring than ever. And, as always, we have dared in our Lord Jesus Christ to do more than before. From December 15-20, we are planning a ministry in Laos; we are printing calendars, brochures, preparing food packages, and providing financial support for the wife of the murdered pastor. We plan to distribute 20 food packages and 30 Christmas gifts.
Laos is one of the countries where Christians are persecuted, and gathering is not easy! Today, the country is ruled by a people’s revolutionary communist-type party. It is very dangerous and difficult to serve there.
In Vietnam, we plan to distribute 30 food packages and 70 Christmas gifts. A food package today costs $20, and a gift is $7. Yesterday, I visited one of our families in the Raglai tribe, and our beloved little girl Sue (the little one) was eating a cupcake so happily and deliciously that she was even ready to eat the wrapper. The children, thank God, are very grateful.
We thank you for your caring and loving hearts in spreading His Word in Southeast Asia. May the Lord bless you abundantly.
We have been praying and reflecting for a long time about the construction of a house of prayer in the village. The Lord has already met us halfway, and we have land! We are praying for the formation of a team of workers. We need sacrificial, dedicated ministers! We are also praying for the expansion of the church. Three brothers were baptized in the summer of 2024, and two are preparing for baptism in January 2025. This is a great blessing for us! There are already two small groups in the village, and we are praying for the expansion of this ministry!
Christmas services are ahead. We plan to participate in several short-term missions across Siberia (ranging from three to seven days), with the goal of preaching the Gospel, conducting children’s programs, and distributing sweet gifts and calendars to small ethnic groups. The first trip will take place in mid-December, and we will bring 700 gifts. After the Christmas holidays, we will pray and start the third group in the village.
Over the past year, we had one wedding, and the newly formed family has stayed to live and serve in the village. At the end of the summer, they had a son. We continue to run a children’s and youth club.
We thank you, dear ones, for your help and prayers in supporting the mercy house ministry. Over the past year and a half, we were able to make cosmetic repairs to the shelter building: we replaced the electrical system, installed fire alarms, painted the walls, put up a suspended ceiling, solved the water supply issue, reorganized the kitchen, and made a separate dining room.
Thank you, dear ones, for your help and prayers for us.
Although the church in the village of Tombetaka has been around for about 5 years, it is only now that the Lord has allowed us to begin building a house of prayer. The village is located high in the mountains (a 3-hour steep climb), and although every time I visit I swear it will be the last, the beauty of untouched nature, and most importantly, the hunger for God’s Word, continue to call us, and we return again and again.
So, all the materials (iron posts, windows, bags of cement) are carried on people’s own shoulders across the pass. There is no road to the village, only a trail that, during the rainy season, turns into a muddy mess, and progress looks like one step forward – three steps back – fall – and start over.
We thank each of you who has already donated finances for this project! Dear friends, we only need to buy the roof now! If the Lord touches your heart, we kindly ask you to cover the cost for the roofing sheets – the walls and cement have already been purchased.
Perhaps not everyone can physically visit Tombetaka, but with your contributions, you can serve even while staying at home, and thanks to you, the residents of this remote village, who are so eager to know Christ, will no longer gather under a mango tree but will move to a real house of prayer, under a roof that is so needed during the rainy season.
Every day I hear words of gratitude from the parents of the children you help, and I see the eyes of children when they are in great pain, but we are there with them.
Currently, we have a special prayer for Karina and Dinara, two girls who are preparing for bone marrow transplants. The issue is that their tests are unstable, and their condition changes suddenly. In order for them to undergo chemotherapy and survive the flight to St. Petersburg, they need stable and good test results. For that, they need treatment, care, and the inner strength that God can provide through us and you.
We are also taking care of children from the hospice, where a new boy, Kirill, has been admitted. He is a full orphan and will not be able to live independently; he needs care and attention. I don’t know how effective we are for such children, but I know for sure that we cannot pass by. If God sends us such children, we must show them His love and care as a Father.
There is also good news: the girl, Nastya, from the hospice was transferred to a special boarding school. Her life is now safe, and we played a part in that, as we worked with her for a long time. Thank you, friends, for your prayers and financial support. We really need you.
Today I want to introduce you to Andrey Afanasyev, who is 57 years old. Our first meeting with him took place just over a year ago. One day, a woman called and told us about her neighbors. The husband had suffered a stroke and was unable to care for himself, while his wife was constantly looking for alcohol, not working anywhere, and would disappear for several days at a time. Andrey, the neighbor, was almost always alone. His house was in disrepair. There was no firewood, and there was nothing to heat the place with. The house was full of filth. He was constantly hungry, cold, and alone.
We offered to take Andrey to the shelter, and he cried, asking not to be left to die alone. We joyfully took him to the House of Mercy, where he was accepted and surrounded with care and love. And so, for a year now, Andrey has been constantly hearing about the love of Jesus Christ, demonstrating the image of a loving God. Now, Andrey remembers his past life, the time when he was on the brink of starving to death, as a terrible nightmare. Today, he is well-fed, clothed, and regularly receives medical care, emotional, and spiritual support. He is cared for in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We believe that the Lord guides us, and we understand that there is still much work to be done. We must stand in the gap for the souls of the people entrusted to us by Jesus.
We ask for your prayerful support for this ministry:
1. We pray for the people living in the shelter, that each may reconcile with Christ.
2. Pray for the team of servants at Bethesda.
3. We pray for the completion of the repair and construction work and the improvement of the premises.
God is good and protects us. That’s why we continue our ministry. We are starting a Christmas gift project, and our goal is to distribute 3000 gifts to refugees and their children. Please pray for this project. We plan not only to distribute gifts but also to hold meetings where people can learn about our faith.
The Children’s Aid Center is still functioning despite everything, thanks to the fact that we have a bomb shelter. I want you to know that the bomb shelter requires a propane gas heater. Please pray for this. Our goal is to provide warmth to the children, even when there is no electricity. Electricity is a huge problem as rockets destroy power stations every week. Praise God we have generators, and we actively use them. However, we need help to buy fuel for the generators. The fuel costs are very high, but there is no other option at the moment. For example, today we had electricity for only 6 hours. Therefore, during the winter months, we need additional help to buy fuel and run the generators.
Thank you for your prayers. And thank you for your involvement in our ministry.
