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Changing Russia

 

To Contribute

 

 

Noel Morris

 

 

"Faith in Action" is supported by Faith Ministries & Faith Bible

College in New Zealand,

Faith Ministries Japan,

and World Outreach.

 Download Printable PDF version 196KB

TWO STEPS FORWARD AND ONE STEP BACK

When we go and teach the Bible about marriage and divorce in foreign lands, sometimes what happens in our own culture can negate the very teaching we bring. Having come to the Lord from the brink of divorce, I know the power of God to restore marriages, and how he desires to see couples avoid divorce. He doesn’t measure and compare the size of the sin of infidelity of one and the unforgiveness of the other. He expects repentance and forgiveness from both his children. But when the couple involved are in leadership in a church, the example to the believers (and the world around) is not what we as teachers intended. Let us focus on living the message of the Bible, and showing that the Word of God is powerful in all areas of life. Last newsletter I mentioned the situation in Vladivostok following the break-up of the marriage of Alexei and Sveta, Pastors of the “Living God Church”. Since then their divorce came through, and also Sveta has been stood down from pastoring according to the regulations of the covering body that provides their registration. Sveta has recently remarried. We are sad that the public ministries of two dynamic people have been terminated. Mikhail K has now been appointed as senior pastor of the “Living God Church”, and the church has begun to pull together again. Some who left have returned, and the Lord is healing their hurts. Last year all these problems had a detrimental effect on “Faith in Action”, with few new students, some coming straight from rehab. Last October I met and taught these students, and many are trophies of God’s grace, polished up from the “rough diamonds” who came to learn the Word of God. Some of their testimonies are in this newsletter. While the church situation is being stabilised, FIA has cancelled the first semester this year, and will start again in September. Pastor Mikhail has been visiting daughter churches in the villages and inviting them to send students for the September restart. Meanwhile refurbishing the classroom, kitchen, and other section of the school’s building have been progressing. The building itself was constructed in 1945, the cement & brick walls are very solid, but some of the timber framing, flooring and finishing is very “tired”. We have been able to send some money, but there is still a lot more that needs to be done. Because there are no students in class, it is an ideal opportunity to do these renovations. Please give generously. PROJECT DENIS Denis Davydov who has been Dean at FIA, has applied to come to study at Faith Bible College in NZ. Denis, now 40, became a believer in 2008, and his only Christian experience has been at FIA. However his potential as a leader could be expanded with a year of study in NZ so that he could return to Russia and invest in the future of FIA in Russia. Denis has been granted a scholarship for his tuition, but we need to raise his air fare of about NZ$3000 to get him here. Right now he is making his visa applications and hopes to come to NZ in July this year. Please give generously towards Denis’s travel needs. Any extra money will go towards his personal support. PRAY FOR:     The staff and students at FIA     Air fare for Denis to study in New Zealand     Finances needed to run the school. Approximately US$2,000 per month (NZ$3,000, 250,000 Japanese yen) Please give generously and regularly to support your brothers and sisters in Christ at FIA (Giving details below)

The students at “Faith In Action” Meet the students from when I was there last October. They were a small group, but wonderful examples of the working of the grace of God in Russia.

Zhenya F I was educated at a Mining Technical School, and I fully intended to work in the mining industry. However the mining system went through a restructuring and many workers moved on to other jobs. I was very glad that my Grandfather had taught me beekeeping, and so I was able to make a living through that. Then I came to the Church of the Living God, and enrolled in classes at Faith in Action. I desire to be used in our church, and I am asking God to strengthen and work out my vision for the church. Tanya T At Christmas 2003 I was on a business trip with 4 other people. Our driver was a Christian and he took his wife on the journey too. During the 4 days we became fond of them because they really cared for us. Though we were not Christians they told us interesting stories about Jesus and other Bible heroes. They knew the Word very well, and were able to answer all our questions. I had been going to an Orthodox Church for 10 years, but I didn’t know the Bible. I wanted very much to know God the same as they did, and to be able to tell others too. More than that, I liked their sincerity, simplicity, and openness. I asked them to take me to their church as they seemed very different to Orthodox believers. I was curious - what did they do in church that made them so quiet and confident? But they told me I probably wouldn’t enjoy their church. I became even more curious and wanted to check out how this church differed from an Orthodox one. Eventually I persuaded them to take me to the Church of the Living God in Ugolnaya. They picked me up and took me there, where I repented and confessed my sin, and believed in Jesus Christ. Since then my life has really changed, so much that the lives of my relatives, my friends, and their relatives have changed too. The wisdom of the Lord is so great and boundless that He used me in spite of my obstinacy, curiosity and envy to bring me to Jesus, to bless me and make me a blessing to others. Sergei Y I was born in 1950 in the city of Novokuznetsk. In 2008 I sold my apartment but was swindled out of the money and became homeless. In 2009 I repented and accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I was baptised in the Holy Spirit and then water baptised while I was a student at FIA. I want to serve the Lord the rest of my life. Sergei T I grew up without God in a family of unbelievers. My father was a military officer and my mother was a teacher. I was also a Soviet Pioneer and trusted in Communism. And I was a sinner. I started smoking, drinking, and taking drugs while I was at school. I went on to study at an Institute, but I did not finish my education. My life was not heading in a good direction. My older brother had married and gone to live in Blagoveshchensk. He used to drink and do drugs like me, but I heard that he had become a believer. On Victory Day I was drunk and decided to visit my brother. I turned up at his church, where I repented of my sins and became a believer. God gave me a wife and child, peace inside, new friends, a good job and ministry in the church. But I fell into sin again and I lost it all. God, however, had not left me. I found myself in the rehabilitation centre at Church of the Living God, and now here I am in the Bible School! Ilya R My parents always taught me to be strong. So like an army tank, I rumbled through life relying only on my self. I thought my friends were the same too. I thought I had them fooled, and I almost fooled myself. The harder I tried, the greater the pressure, and it finally destroyed my life. I was looking for truth, but not from God. So when I found Him, I discovered that He wanted to lead me, and through a series of strange situations I came to FIA. What I had actually been searching for was God’s presence. In His presence I found the Truth. My desire now is to share that Truth with other people so that they might know the Truth and become free. Valery I came to God through sickness. My youngest son was dying in my arms, and I had leukemia myself. Life seemed to be coming to an end. I was afraid of hell and I saw my need of repentance. When I accepted the Lord Jesus in my heart it was like moving from death to life. He healed my youngest son who had epilepsy, my oldest son who had cancer, and me from my leukemia. I have been walking with God for 16 years now, and here I am in Bible School, still in His hands. My older brother had married and gone to live in Blagoveshchensk. He used to drink and do drugs like me, but I heard that he had become a believer. On Victory Day I was drunk and decided to visit my brother. I turned up at his church, where I repented of my sins and became a believer. God gave me a wife and child, peace inside, new friends, a good job and ministry in the church. But I fell into sin again and I lost it all. God, however, had not left me. I found myself in the rehabilitation centre at Church of the Living God, and now here I am in the Bible School! Slava D I have always wanted to know God. But I was brought up with a communist mother and an atheist father who sympathised with the communists. My mother had a friend who took me to an Orthodox Church to be baptised as a baby. Years later after my parents had died, I had an accident and lay in hospital with a broken leg. My brother had sold the apartment we had inherited from our parents, so I had no place to stay. When I was discharged from the hospital I was on my way to stay with a friend, but on the way I met a couple on the electric train who suggested I should go to the Rehabilitation Centre. After my time there, the leader Sasha suggested I should go to the Bible School. I was afraid at first because I hadn’t studied for a long time, and also my memory isn’t as good as it used to be. But I decided to do it, and even though I wasn’t sure that God could use me as a church worker, at least I would get to know Him better and help people who are homeless like me.

“Faith in Action” prayer needs:

• - for airfare for Denis to come to New Zealand to study
• - for extra money to pay for renovating the classroom s and kitchen
• - for the leadership and staff of “Faith in Action”
• - for the students on practical assignments in churches
• - for new students to come and study in September
• - for financial provision for the school and staff needs
• - for the churches in Russia to continue public evangelism freely

DONATIONS ON-LINE You can make an on-line donation in many different currencies:  US$, AU$, CAN$, UK£, JPYen & Euro. Please give generously and regularly to support your brothers and sisters in Christ at FIA Gifts for this ministry to Russia can be sent: Online:   click here  to donate by Paypal (various currency choices) In NZ: C/o P.O. Box 12357 Hamilton In Japan: Postal Furikae 01150-8-74597 Faith 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