For almost 10 years the local Baptist church “Word of Truth” in Omsk, Russia has desperately tried to construct their own sanctuary on the land given by the local government. We are glad to see that the construction of the church has resumed and several churches and individuals donated towards the project. Here is the latest update:
We had to halt the construction of our new church building due to lack of funding but now we are finally continuing with the roof. After the roof is done we will be working on the interior but we still need funds for it. Please support us if you are able to. Thank you for your prayers and participation.
The church was planted 7 years ago. When we started the Lord showed us that we need to serve children from disadvantaged families by organizing games on playgrounds. We met children and developed close relationships with the youth playing in our community. Seeing their desire for Christ we organized get-togethers which later evolved into our Children’s Christian Club “Joy”.
Now between 12 – 20 children are visiting us on regular base. Their ages vary between 5 – 12 years.
Our meetings are held on Saturdays. The purpose of it is to show them the love of God and take care of them in a way they don’t experience at home. We are teaching them in a playful way the biblical truth. They also learn to be creative and do things on their own.
We end the meetings with a small snack, a sandwich with tea and sweets. Our plan was to create full dinners for them but as long as we don’t have the place to cook hot meals and also lack financial stability we won’t be able to do it.
Once in a while we also organize trips to various places like museums, theatres, parks, and also factory visits.
We organize it with the goal in mind to educate the children about culture and want to help them to create relationships with each other.
Please pray that we can grow this ministry and that the Gospel would influence the life’s of this young generation and their relatives and friends as well.
We are ready to fulfill the plan God has for us, but we are very limited financially. Our dream is to purchase equipment, so we could organize various sports events for children. During specific holidays we expect to build new relationships with children but also their parents. Therefore, we ask for help, if you would be willing to participate in this ministry financially. Your help is important for us and for those children to whom we can bring the Gospel.
Our plans are to spend more time in the open air. For those activities, we need to purchase a trampoline, balls (Soccer and Volleyball) and sound equipment (mixing console, amplifier, microphones, and speakers.) The cost for all of it is around $1250.
We believe that God will provide everything necessary for us to organize those nights.
Unray Mary is responsible for our group that we call “Pearls” here at the Ark. In fall 2004 we received 2 little girls who are twins. They were 3.5 years old. They were walking around with sad eyes in our apartment, pointing at usual household items and asking what they are for.
They were getting used to everything and learning the new things. They didn’t have hair when they came to us, so they looked at my hair and asked: “What is this?” After explaining they asked if they will have hair too. Growing up with love and care of Mary they learned very quickly and became well prepared for school.
When Mary told them about a 95-year-old grandfather, one of them said: “I wish he could live 100 years.” From that day on, she prayed for that grandfather. After his 100thbirthday we were fortunate enough to visit him. While visiting him they sang for him. He lived for 101 years. The younger girl Svetlana received Jesus into her heart and now she serves Him by leading church in worship. Her older sister is not quite ready to take this step, but we are praying and waiting for this moment with all of our heart. We are grateful to those who pray for us and support us.
Children’s Ark Ministry in St Petersburg – Julia Podbuzkaya
Peace to you, my friends! We believe that our Father desires to bless us and let us grow. Therefore, we focus on multiplying the disciples of Jesus Christ, multiplying groups for spiritual growth, multiplying the number of presbyters, deacons, missionaries and new churches.
On January 15, 2017 we founded a new church in Moscow, which we called “Father’s House.” Since inception, we have baptized 15 people. In September 2017, we started another church in the nearby city of Odintsovo, where we also baptized 9 people.
In February 2018, with our active participation, a new church was planted in the city of Irkutsk. In April of 2018, the team that founded the new church Father’s House” in Moscow was blessed from with a new church plan that already baptized one person.
Currently, I work with a team wishing to found new churches in Tuapse, Krasnodar, Obninsk, Minsk and Aytorf, Belgorod, Omsk, Obninsk, Kyzyl, St. Petersburg and other cities. In April 2018, a missionary school began its work at the Church “Father’s House.”. Graduates will receive a 6 months training and then go out for a year to found new churches in Moscow and the region Golitsyno which is near Moscow. Please pray for it. We are motivated by the desire to make disciples for Christ, to strengthen them in faith and to bless them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Evgenia and I have 4 children. The oldest one is in college, please pray for her health. Our two following sons are still in school and our youngest daughter is still at home. We now need to rent a house since our service at RSECB came to an end, also we need support to pay for our daughter’s college and living costs.
Children’s home for mentally retarded children is the place where our team regularly travels. Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, oligophrenia and other diseases that put a “cross” on children’s future. Our visits, gifts, attention – is “a breath of fresh air” for them. This year, we baptized one of the graduates from this orphanage. The power of God was revealed in this boy. This means our ministry is not in vain! And diagnoses are not obstacles in the way to know God!
God opened our doors to two more children’s homes, which are located 200 km from the city. In one of them, there are 50 children, in another 20. Most of them are children who have parents. They either have no rights, or they simply have nothing to feed the children. While they are looking for work, the children are temporarily given to children’s homes… In the city, we have not heard of such problems, but in the villages, it becomes a routine. With your help, we were able to give not only a gift to every child but buy additional food to somehow diversify the ration. We were confronted with another problem – shortage of medicine. Children need to be treated, there are doctors, but no medications. We were able to buy a set of essential medicines.
Some of our families after visiting these orphanages were considering adopting children. May God grant these families strength, wisdom, and patience. Thank you for helping us ministering to children without a future!
At the End of 2017 there were many happy events in our Children’s Ark. And I want to share some of them with you. In December our graduate Vanya got married. We are especially happy for them because they got baptized and went through premarital training together.
In the same month two of our girls were baptized. Diana is 17 and Irina will turn 16 soon. Diana is the daughter of a tutor of the group and Irina lives in the same group with her brother Vitaliy. Irina came to us when she was only four years old and Vitaliy was three at that time. It’s a joy to see that children who grew up here choose to live with Lord. This shows us that we are on the right path.
We all watched how girls went to the baptism class and prepared for their most important day of their life’s. On the day of the baptism we went with a large group of people to the church “At the declining hill”.
We cried and rejoiced, seeing how our girls made a covenant with the Lord and then we had a celebration afterwards.
At the end of December, we celebrated Christmas here in the Children’s Ark. Traditionally is our biggest, most bright and joyful holiday. The preparation of the scene, rehearsals and pastry baking started long before the event. This led to a Christmas atmosphere for a whole month. And two girls, 2 and 8 years old, joined our family and became our Christmas gifts. With the Christmas atmosphere it was easier for them to get involved and welcomed in the first days.
We had a lot of guests and graduates attend and are glad that not gifts, which we had of course, were the center of the celebration but birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Children’s Ark in St Petersburg – Lyudmilla Vasilchenko
