from Noel Morris Many people ask me what is happening in Russia. Often I can only answer "I don't know" because of a frustrating lack of communication. But I do know that God is doing some wonderful things in people's lives on one hand, and on the other there are unimaginable difficulties and situations that they face each day just to survive. In the safety of our society and culture we can hardly imagine the living conditions, restrictions and poverty that are part of their existence. Remember we are talking about Russia, a country that claimed superpower status but still has thousands of villages where no running water and outside toilets are the norm, and where work is not available and most men die early of vodka-related causes. In the midst of all this, there are trophies of God's grace. We meet some of them as they come to us for training in the Word of God and a Christian life-style. Here are some stories of students along with a report from Dima, the Principal of the school.

From Dima Chernakov
Principal of FIA
The fall of Communism in Russia has created the hunger for a new ideology. Russians are searching for a new kind of hope. The absolute spiritual poverty in modern Russian society has created a huge vacuum. While help floods into St. Petersburg and Moscow, Northern Russia and the Far East receive only scant attention. Therefore projects such as our Bible School are unique in providing hope for the young churches. Our students are pioneers in this region. Many pastors see the clear necessity for our ministry. As a result of the work of our school in the last two years there is an active awakening in our region. 18 Christian groups and 3 evangelical churches have been started from the efforts of students from 6 different denominations. Here are some examples: Konstantin S. loves to do street evangelism. He was given the address of a woman paralyzed from the waist down. He prayed and anointed her with oil. The woman was healed and stood up. As a result, the next day there were 30 people in the street who wanted to hear the Gospel. Zhenya S. pioneered a village church and has gathered a group of teenagers from 16 to 19 years old. Especially now Russian youth easily accept the Christ, because the world's attractions have not satisfied their desires. Fedor A. preached in Brisk village. At first about 40 children and teenagers came, and then the parents of children started to come too. The spiritual need in the Far East is enormous. Because the hopelessness of the Russian people is so deep, evangelism is more effective than ever. But it is possible to miss this opportunity. Currently requests from the Russian churches for our graduates are twice the number we can train. We presently have 19 students. The students are actively preparing for Easter. Also some students have started a cell group near college. This semester the student body is unique, with students from Georgia, Azerbadzhan, Ukraine, and Russia. There is a surprising unity between these minorities and the Russian Christians, which is in complete contrast to the secular situation in Russia.

STUDENTS TESTIMONIES

Sergei N.

30 year-old Sergei was saved 2 years ago. He had cancer and was in hospital. Some people from a Charismatic church visited him and he received Christ. The next day his cancer was gone, and the doctors were very surprised because they thought he would only live 3 more years.

Now Sergei is a student in Bible School and looks very healthy. He plans to go back to his village and start a church there, because there is no church in this village.

Roman is the youngest student in his class. He received Jesus one year ago. He was a street kid, and he met an American missionary and his interpreter in the street. He didn't believe then, but he received a small New Testament from them. He began to read and pray, and ask God to help him in his life.

When he finishes Bible School he wants to be united with his parents, and continue to work with the church.

Zhenya S.

Zhenya, aged 43, is from Siberia and has been a Christian about 3 years. His wife told him about Jesus. He used to be a typical Russian man, working during the week and drunk in the week-end. He didn't believe anything in particular. He had no hope. One day he came home and his wife told him that she believed in Jesus, and was attending a Pentecostal church. He began to beat her and threaten to divorce her unless she gave it up. But she prayed and prayed for him, and after one year the pastor of the church visited Zhenya and said to him "If you do not receive Jesus in your heart right now, you will die." That night he received Jesus, and 2 days later he was baptised in the Holy Spirit, and after another month he was baptised in water.

After he repented, 5 of his friends also received Jesus, and so with these 5 families they want to begin a branch church in their district. Now he is a strong Christian, and after Bible School he will go back to his church where the pastor is preparing a ministry of evangelism for him.

Konstantin is from Spask Dalni, and had been involved in corruption and drug addiction. At 19 he married an older woman and had 3 children. He continued taking drugs, and also selling them on the street.

One day the electric wiring was broken in his house, and he began to fix it. He touched a live wire, and the shock made him unconscious. He opened his eyes to find many people around him. Then he remembered what had happened to him. He saw a light, and he was flying towards the light. He saw something like a shining man in the light, who told him that he would return to his home and tell people about Jesus. This is when he opened his eyes.

He didn't understand anything, but a neighbor in another apartment was a Christian. He asked the neighbor for a Bible which he began to read and pray to God. But he was still not yet changed.

Two years later he was put in prison for corruption, and in the prison he met some other Christian prisoners. So in this place he truly received Jesus, began praying and reading the Bible. After finishing his sentence he came to Bible School, and his dream is to go back to Spask and begin a ministry to rehabilitate people who are released from prison.

Larisa B.

Larisa comes from a village, and she received Jesus when some students from "Faith In Action" came to her village for their practical training. In fact the couple who are now pastoring her church are graduates from FIA.

She has had a difficult life, married 3 times, with 3 children, and was in prison for killing her first husband.

At the time she received Jesus, Larisa had so much bitterness in her heart, but step by step the process of healing all her inner hurts has taken place. Even through the teachers at FIA she has received a lot of healing, and her life has really changed. She is becoming a mother in the Lord to others too.

One of our oldest students, Fedor is from Pogranichni village. He received Jesus 2 years ago. Before that, he had a strong addiction to alcohol and had a terrible life. He has 2 daughters, and when they were growing up they said "Papa we won't ever marry because we hate all men" because he had been such a bad example of a husband.

One day he was so drunk that he couldn't make it home from the restaurant, and he fell down in the street. When he woke up he found he was inside a house. The pastor of a church had taken him to his own home, washed and cleaned him, changed his clothes and taken care of him. He received Jesus and began coming to the church.

But after 2 months, he again started to drink vodka and he got TB. The doctors said to him "In 2 or 3 years you will die." Pastor Oleg began to visit him in the hospital, and through prayer he was healed and became normal and cheerful.

After Bible School he will go to start a new church in a village in Primorski region.

A sequel to the story is that while in Bible School he visited his daughters and asked for their forgiveness. They cried together, and their relationship was restored.

Telman A.

Telman is from Chechnya. He grew up with a Muslim background. He remembers when he was about 5 years old, seeing an Orthodox Priest come to evangelize the village, and the villagers stoned and killed him.

When he was 17 the Russians came to his village and made all 17 year-old men sign a paper. Next day they were all taken away and conscripted into the Russian army. Telman was sent to Primorski in the Russian Far East. He had many problems because he couldn't speak Russian very well, and the culture was different from his Muslim ways. The Russian officers said he was disobedient and sent him to a prison.

In the prison he met Chaplain Mikhail who shared Jesus with him. After one week he showed really strong repentance, and was saved and baptised in the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues. Right now he is on fire for the Lord, and is a growing Christian.

In future he plans to go back to his village in Chechnya to evangelize his own people. At first he was so scared even to think about going back, but he had a vision from the Lord and some prophecies. So he says he wants to go and show by his life the difference that Jesus can make to his relatives and friends.

Gocha is about 36 and grew up in Georgia, and his parents sent him to Russia to study in University. He came to Vladivostok to study law, but he didn't finish because some men involved him in a plan to steal some money and he was put in prison. In prison he met Chaplain Mikhail, and he received Jesus. He learned to pray, was baptised in the Holy Spirit, and on his release he came to Bible School.

Gocha is a funny man. He even speaks Russian with a funny accent, but inside he is a very wise person and his heart is really open to Jesus. His future plans are to build homes for homeless children because he loves kids and they really love him too.

Ruslan P.

Ruslan is a Jewish boy, and because Jews in Russia have a really terrible life they have to strive to get along by having a better education, getting higher marks, etc. Ruslan was determined to survive by fighting to be strong but in his heart he was closed.

Through a combination of circumstances he got involved with a gang of criminals on the streets. They were stealing money in the market and from shops. One day the police caught him and he was sent to prison. He received Jesus along with Gocha (story above). He began to read the Bible and pray, but there was a struggle inside him. The first day he would read it, but the next day he didn't want to. But the third day he picked it up and began again. Step by step, slowly he began to be changed.

In September he came to Bible School, and he caused problems with the staff because he had a really strong will. But as he opened his heart to Jesus, Jesus personally said to him "You must be obedient. You must be like a Joseph in this place, because this school is a great opportunity for you. I will build a church through you." So now he has a very strong vision for that.

Galina received Jesus in Ukraine about 5 years ago, through the Word of Life Church. She had an incurable woman's sickness for many years, but when she was baptised in the Holy Spirit at a prayer meeting, she was completely healed. The next day when she came back, her parents and her children all said that she looked like a different person.

Galina then moved to Nahodka to live. Her pastor introduced her to Dima, principal of FIA, and she said that for 3 years she had been praying about taking some Bible training to make her a better person and help her to evangelize.

Zhenya Z.

Zhenya is about 32 and has been a Christian for 2 years. He wasn't a criminal or such a bad person, but all his life he had been searching to find the reason for life. He was involved with so many cults, eventually coming to a legalistic church group and received Jesus. He tried to serve God with his own good works. One day he met some students from FIA, and they explained to him the love of God. He saw love in their hearts, and realized that salvation is not from what we do, but from our attitudes. So his heart was changed, and also his church, and after some time he wanted to come to Bible School. Now he is a good and obedient student with a vision to see others set free from the legalism of Cults.

Marina had killed her husband because he beat her up many times, and she spent a year in prison. She became a Christian about 2 years ago in the prison. Through this experience she became a different person, and she met other Christians who prayed for her. The root of bitterness in her heart was healed. At Bible School she received further encouragement and inner healing, and now she has vision to go back to her village and work with children.

RECONSTRUCTION AT THE BIBLE SCHOOL CAMPUS

For 10 months we have been waiting for the report from a group of Christian architects and engineers who went to Vladivostok to advise us about reconstruction. We are still hoping to receive the information in time to construct a dormitory and repair our main building this year before it snows again, but it will take time to invite volunteers to help with the building and to raise finance for the materials.

Please pray that we can get this under way before too late.

FIA GRADUATES IN ACTION

Edik and Katya met at FIA in 1994 and married after they graduated in 1995. After serving faithfully in the church in Tynda, Siberia, they were sent last year to help pioneer a church and other ministries in Khabarovsk. Their son Mark came with them, and this year a daughter Lilia was born. They are happy that the weather in Khabarovsk is not as severe as the winter in Tynda, and spring has come already.

As well as working with Pastor Sergei in the church, Edik has a vision to bring unity to the churches in Khabarovsk by having the youth groups cooperate.

Another ministry is to the many Military people in the region. Recently they showed the "Jesus" movie to 150 soldiers, and explained to them about morality and spirituality. They had many questions and the response was positive. The meeting was also reported favourably in two local newspapers and on the FEBC radio station. An outreach to Military and civilian people in a village is planned for April.

In July last year Edik took part in a unique kind of evangelization. The group hired a ship, and travelled from Khabarovsk down the Amur River towards the sea. They stopped at each town to preach, sing and pray, reaching thousands of people with the Gospel. The ship was used for the team's accommodation and also for holding concerts and meetings.

THANK YOU TSUYOSHI TOKIWA

Tsuyoshi has been our representative in Japan for the last 2 years since I moved to NZ. Now his company has transferred him to the USA with his wife and 2 children. A significant part of our funds have come from Christians in Japan, and we are grateful for the tremendous effort Tsuyoshi and his wife (and the members of their church) have put into promoting Faith in Action Bible School in Vladivostok and Faith Ministries.

	WELCOME TO TIM TAZONO Our new representative is Pastor Seiichi (Tim) Tazono, who has been a friend since our earlier days in Japan. Tim has recently moved back to Japan after pastoring in Hawaii, and now lives with his wife Betty and 2 children in Chiba, north of Tokyo. Tim is planning to go to Vladivostok to teach in FIA at the end of term and officiate at the Graduation in June.

Gifts for our support and continuing ministry to Russia can be sent:
In NZ: C/o P.O. Box 12357 Hamilton
In Japan: Postal Furikae 01150-8-74597Å@ (Shinko Ministries)
From other countries:
(Bank: A/c name: Faith Ministries, A/c No. 060603 0000421 00
National Bank of NZ, Chartwell Branch, Routing No. NBNZ22)

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