Partnering Together

Russian Christmas

2009-01-07T23:48:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Russian Christmas yesterday with the Goluvinski Church. The service was very special. There were about 36 in attendance - 8 guests - 4 from the invitations given out.

Genady shared the Gospel in a very clear way and then he read the Christmas story and lighted candles to represent the different characters in the story. Then he put out all of the candles except for the Jesus candle and we all had individuals candles to light from the Jesus candle. It was really special. An elderly lady named Ludmilla, who was a guest, would not put out her candle. Even after the service, when we were getting ready for the fellowship time, she sat there with her candle burning. I pray that Christ's light will be in her life - that she will really understand what it means to have a personal relationship with Christ.

Another younger lady named Sveta also came. She seemed to really enjoy the worship and fellowship time. The young Russian ladies in the church did a great job of reaching out to her. One of them even french braided her hair for her after the fellowship time. Pray with us that Sveta will also come to know Christ as Savior and Lord.

Pray for all of the guests who came. Pray for God to use what they heard and experienced to draw them into a personal relationship with himself.

It's pretty neat that we get to celebrate Christmas twice each year. That's one of the really special benefits of living in Russia. Now let's all worship and praise Him every day throughout this new year of 2009!

They're Headed Home

2009-01-05T12:25:00.000-08:00

We took the team to the airport this morning. We saw them all get through passport control about 11:45. Their flight was at 1:10. As far as we know, their plane left on time and they should arrive as planned this evening. We were incredibly blessed by their time here. Thank you Crestview for sending them!

Our oldest son, Drew, was able to go with the team to a small town outside of Moscow called Rzhev over the weekend. This was his first mission trip. He had a wonderful time and gave testimony last night about many things God taught him there. He loved going to the orphanages and playing with the children. He loved seeing their smiles when they were given little gifts. He took tons of photos. Hope you enjoy them.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T12:47:00.000-08:00

Wow! 2008 has been a great year for our family. We are so thankful for God's guidance and provision this past year. Our God is great and He is faithful!

We were blessed to spend the last day of 2008 and the first day of 2009 with 7 awesome people from NC. The team was here to ring in the New Year with us. We rang it in singing "Shine Jesus Shine" and "May Our Hearts Be So Consumed By You That We Never Cease To Praise".

May God be honored in the ways we spend our days in 2009. This is our hearts' desire.

I'll post a few photos of our New Years celebrations - Home group with Russians, New Year's Eve party at Stamey's - New Year's Day party at Stamey's. By the way, the guy in the speedo is not a team member. He is a Russian man who swims in the freezing pond water for his health. The team really had fun seeing this part of Russian culture.

And then the photo of Ben shows is bandage. He brought in the new year by sliding down a slide and hitting his head on a cement curb. He is proud to have 4 stitches in his forehead. God really helped him during the trip to the Dr. and the time of getting the stitches. After the initial shock, he was very calm and did not scream or cry.

Enjoy the photos. Happy 2009!

2008-12-30T12:13:00.000-08:00

All 5000 invitations are given out. Praise the Lord! Ask Him to use these invitations for His glory.

2008-12-29T12:35:00.000-08:00

Team Update

2008-12-29T12:19:00.000-08:00

Crestview Baptist Church, you have sent us an awesome team! Thanks so much. Our time together has been so special. The team is so flexible and has worked so hard.

They have been out in the freezing cold weather with no complaining. So far over 2000 Gospel tracts / invitations to a special Russian Christmas service (on Jan. 7) have been given out. The cool thing about these invitations is that they clearly present the Gospel. No matter how many people come to the Christmas service, still many will read the tract and we've no doubt that God will use it in the lives of some. Please pray with us that these invitations will fall into the hands of people who are seeking and open. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work through them to draw people to Christ. Pray that many will want to attend the special service. Pray specifically for Alexander, a man who called Genady today to say that he wants to come to the Christmas service. This is the first concrete response we've received. Praise God for how He is going to work through this effort to bring glory to himself and draw people to himself. Tomorrow and Wednesday the goal is to hand out 3000 more. Pray for energy, strength, boldness, and love as we do this.

Brad has been spending lots of time with the team and I've been home with the kids, but tonight he stayed with the boys and I was able to attend a party for the elderly Christian women at Good News Church. What a blessing!!!!! The sweet ladies were so thankful and just loved having fellowship with the Americans. Margie shared the story of the candy cane and they gave each lady one. We sang songs together. Each lady shared prayer requests and team members wrote them down and promised to pray for them. Almost every single lady asked for prayer for salvation for family members. We shared some food together and also testimonies of how God is working in Russia and in America. It was such a sweet time. At the end the team gave each lady a gift bag with little gifts and fruit. The ladies were so happy and thankful. Thanks to all who gave financially to make this party possible. I know some from Poplar Springs Baptist Church gave towards this and probably many others. I'll post some photos so you can see the joy on the faces of these dear ladies. Enjoy!

2008-12-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

Crestview Volunteer Team

2008-12-27T11:18:00.000-08:00

A volunteer team from our home town of Shelby, NC is here with us this week. We are having so much fun ministering together with them. They have already been an incredible blessing to us. My brother, Jeremy, is team leader. It's been so great to see him and catch up a little with him. Actually everybody on this team has been to Moscow before, so they're pros. Please pray for them the rest of this week. They will be doing many different things. Lift them up and ask the Lord to work both in and through them during their time in Moscow. Here is a partial schedule of what they will be doing. They will be very busy. Please pray for strength, boldness, opportunities, health, and more.

Sunday - worship, fellowship with the Goluvinski Church - the team will lead in worship through songs and testimonies.

- 3 will go to Svetlana's home group - 2 will go out with a church member to pass out

DVDs of the JESUS film - 2 will go to shop for items to be given to elderly Christian women at Good News Church.

Monday - full day of prayer walking and evangelism - giving out Jesus film DVDs, candy canes with the story of the candy cane attached, invitations to a special Christmas service that will take place on Russian Christmas (Jan. 7)

Tuesday - a.m. prayer walking and evangelism - p.m.meeting to discuss personal evangelism with Goluvinskiy church members.

Wednesday - New Year's celebration with Goluvinski Church and evangelism until 4:00. Bring in the New Year at the Stamey's apt.

Thursday - Since it's New Year's Day and this is the biggest holiday in Russia, everyone is busy and everything is closed on this day. Russians will be spending time with family and friends. So the team will be with us all day. We're hoping for snow so that some of us can go sledding. Also Rhenn Cherry, our new strategy coordinator for Moscow will be with us for the day. The team will get a chance to hear about his plans for Moscow and pray for him and his ministry. He may also share a little about his plans for involving Deana and Jeremy in this work in the future. We'll have some great prayer times together asking the Lord's blessings on this coming year.

Friday - Sunday - At 9:00 a.m. on Friday the team leaves for a small village several hours outside of Moscow - Rzhev. They will meet with the church there for fellowship and encouragement and minister in two different orphanages. They'll also be sharing both through testimony and song in the Sunday morning service.

Sunday - travel back to Moscow - debriefing.

Monday - Travel back to NC

I'll try to update an post a few photos later in the week. Thanks Crestview for sending this team! Thanks for co-laboring with us!

Team Retreat - A Blessing !

2008-11-11T02:35:00.000-08:00

Wow! Our retreat this weekend was filled with laughter and fellowship as we spurred one another toward love and good deeds. What did we do?

Sessions - being intentional about evangelism, starting cell groups, and praying

Fellowship - around the campfire with roasted hot dogs and smores

Worship - through songs, Bible devotionals, and prayer

Silliness - through games (always fun when you have young journeymen!!)

Lori and I are so blessed that our lives are intersecting these servants on our team. Please keep praying for them. And just to remind you of who they are:

Karin Wilson and Chris Fox - journeymen, who have arrived recently, just moved into dorm rooms on a university campus, both studying Russian and looking for friends

Peyton Colburn - journeyman, leads a home group each Saturday, teaches at a local university

Dan Rankin - journeyman, extending with us for another year, teaches English at a university, has one new believer he is trying to disciple and looking for others

Mark Sprinkle - carrer, directing the "campus ministry" division of our team, is praying about starting a new worship group in his home

These are awesome folks to work with, and our team retreat helped us grow closer.

Photos of Volunteer Team

2008-11-02T03:22:00.000-08:00

Volunteers arrive - DMin students and professors from New Orleans Seminary

Sharing at Gulovinsky Church

Thanks for the gifts!

No, they're not sleeping. They're praying.

Prayer walking in the Northern Administrative District of Moscow (NADM)

Worship and debriefing - HE IS WORTHY!

Volunteers In Town

2008-10-25T21:57:00.000-07:00

This week a team of 8 volunteers - students and professors from New Orleans Seminary - are here working together with us. They arrived on Friday and will be here until next Thurs. Please pray that God will work mightily through them and in them during their time in Moscow. 4 of them will be preaching in differernt Russian Baptist Churches today. Pray for God to speak through them to minister to the hearts of those who will hear.

Photos of Our Apartment

2008-10-17T10:04:00.001-07:00

After 2 months, we finally feel settled back into our newly remodeled apartment here in Moscow. Thought we'd share some before and after photos. The left side are before photos of how we found the apartment when we returned. It was quite a shock - not at all how we had left it. But the right photos show how it looks now. Everything is clean and neat and it feels like home again. It's good to be home!

Please Pray for Aunt Judy

2008-09-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

My Uncle Ronnie West died this past week. His funeral will be Tuesday at 5:30. I sure would appreciate your prayers for my Aunt Judy. She is a very special Aunt who always stays in touch with us, especially remembering all of us on our birthdays and other special days. Ronnie was a very thoughtful and kind man who loved his wife and extended family very much. He will be greatly missed.

Judy, we love you and are thinking of you and lifting you up in prayer. May you be blessed and encourged by the love and prayers of many during these days.

Baptism Photos

2008-09-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

Saturday was such a special day as we joined the Gulovinsky Church in celebrating the baptism of 4 new believers. We all met together at Genady's house which is just outside of Moscow. We drove our car to get there, but some came by train.

When everyone was there, they gave instructions for everyone to carry something and we started walking through fields to get to the river. It was about a 10-15 minute walk. People were carrying all kinds of things - tables, juice and bread for the Lord's Supper, hot water for making tea, sandwiches, cakes, robes, flowers, gifts, music books, etc. Once everyone was by the river, we gathered around and had prayer and then the service began.

Genady baptized 2 men and 2 women. We actually only knew 1 of the men from our last term. The others are all new to the church since we left. This was Genady's first time to do a baptism. It was exciting for Brad to watch Genady in this role. It was such a blessing to watch as these new believers were baptized in obedience to Christ, as a symbol of their death to sin and self and being raised to new life in Christ.

flickr.com/photos/peytonc/sets/72157607042709176

Above is a link to some photos that Peyton, one of our team members, took. You can click on slideshow up in the right corner, if you want. These are really beautiful. Peyton captured some unique moments. Maybe these photos will help you get a glimpse of the special time we experienced with our Russian brothers and sisters on Saturday. Thanks for praying!

Many of you prayed specifically for a young lady, who was struggling with the decision of whether to be baptized or not because her husband had told her that if she was baptized, she could not come home again. She is the older of the two ladies in the photos. She was there with her two small children. She was baptized. She went home that evening and her husband, who is Muslim, really fussed at her and was not happy. He told her that she cannot attend church anymore, BUT he did not hurt her and did allow her to return home. Praise the Lord for his work in her life. Pray for God to soften the heart of her husband so that he too might come to know Jesus as Saviour and Lord.

Baptism

2008-08-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

The Gulovinski Church will have a baptism service tomorrow. They plan to baptize 4. Please pray that this will be a really special time in the lives of these new believers. Pray especially for a young lady. She was muslim and her husband is muslim. She has shared openly with him about her decision to follow Christ and she has been attending church for a while now. She told him she was going to be baptized and at first he said nothing. But yesterday, she called to tell Genady (pastor of the church) that her husband told her that if she is baptized she cannot come back home. Pray for her to know what the Lord would have her do. Pray for salvation for her husband. I'll try to post an update with photos from the baptism soon.

Back In Moscow

2008-08-27T11:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks for praying for our travels. We arrived safely back in Moscow 1 week ago. It's been a very interesting week with so many adjustments. Please continue to pray for us during this time of transition.

When we got to our apartment on Tuesday, we found that the remodeling was not complete and the apartment was not livable. Thankfully, the IMB owns another apartment in the same building and the family that will live in that apartment is still in the States on furlough until Sept. 1. So we've been living in two bedrooms of their apartment. Their den is full of all their personal things that they packed up before furlough. Their other bedroom is full of the personal things that belong to the family who lived here before and are still on furlough. So we're all sleeping in one bedroom and have made the other room a place where whoever can't sleep because of jet lag can go in the middle of the night. We are working every day to try to get our apartment in good enough shape for us to live in it starting Aug.31 since our friends will be returning to this apartment on the 1st. Please pray with us that this can be accomplished.

The boys are doing great. I know that many of you have been praying for them and God is answering. They went to school the day after we arrived. It was fun to watch them reconnect with old friends and teachers. We are so thankful for their school, Hinkson Christian Academy. They all seem to be very happy with their teachers and classes. They've had a good bit of homework, but haven't seemed to mind too much. Please do keep praying for them, especially as they adjust to being away from extended family. It's hard.

Please also pray for Brad's knee. He hurt it playing basketball several months ago. We thought he was well enough to come back, but somehow he has injured it again and it is really hurting a lot. Pray for wisdom to know how to handle this. Pray for healing.

It has been great reconnecting with some of our Russian friends. Tomorrow evening, we will have dinner with Genady and Vica. Genday is the pastor of the Gulovinsky Church that was started during our last term (the guy on last year's IMB Lottie Moon video). Then on Saturday we will go to a baptism service that the Gulovinsky Church is having. 4 new Christians will be baptized that day. We can't wait!

There have been many hard days and difficult problems to solve during this first week back, but the Lord has given us strength and helped us. There have also been times of joy. We praise God for his faithfulness and know that He will see us through this time of transition. He is good!

Time To Travel

2008-08-16T19:52:00.000-07:00

We have received our visas and plan to return to Moscow, Russia on Monday, August 18. Please pray for safe travel. We would sure appreciate your prayers during this time of transition for our family.

Our time of stateside assignment has been incredible. We have enjoyed some great times with extended family and friends. We have really enjoyed living in the missionary house and worshipping in English at Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church. It's been a blessing to be able to share what God is doing in Russia in many different churches throughout the year.

Now it's time to return to our ministry in Moscow. Please pray for God to show us where He is at work and how He wants us to join Him.

We will try to update this blog regularly and would appreciate your comments. If you want to be in touch with us by e-mail, you can contact us at lorsta@everyheart.net.

Prayer Request

2007-06-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

Please continue to pray for our team, The Co-laborers, as they work to reach the Northern Administrative District of Moscow (NADM) for Christ and start new churches. Our family is leaving Moscow tomorrow morning to begin our stateside assignment and about the same time a group of students and faculty from New Orleans Seminary is coming to volunteer with the Co-laborers. The team will offer free Bibles to thousands of people this week. Please pray that many will be open and have a desire for God's Word.

Drew and Mark

2007-06-03T09:45:00.000-07:00

Drew, better known as "werD" (his name spelled backwards) being honored by his teacher at 5th grade promotion. Mr. Hays gave Drew an award for leadership. In the group photo, Drew already has his shorts on. This is because he has outgrown all of his long pants. He had to really work to get his jeans buttoned. As soon as the program was over, he ran to change back into his shorts.

Mark receiving awards from his 4th grade teacher, Miss Graham. He received several academic awards as well as the "First Recorder Award" for learning to play the recorder so well in music class.

Mark has become quite a good baseball player. He really enjoys the game. He's learned a lot about good sportsmanship too. He played against his best friend's team this week and got beat pretty bad, but had tons of fun anyway.

Kindergarten Graduation

2007-06-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

Ben with his good friends, Anthony and Jae Hun

Our Little Graduate

Karate Graduates

I'm so proud of Ben!

That's my boy!

Mr. Thompson gives Ben his certificate

Ben and his best buddy, Anthony

3 More Days

2007-05-31T21:35:00.000-07:00

We only have 3 days left before we head to America for our stateside assignment. On May 17 we wrote asking that you pray for us as we finish out this term. The Lord has blessed in incredible ways and we just wanted to share a few.

Last Sunday we worshipped for the last time with the Timi Church. A lady named Olga repented and gave her life to Christ. What a blessing! Also, our team member, Karen Fletcher gave her testimony in Russian and did a great job. She and her husband Doyle finished full-time language study this week. We're so proud of them! Sasha reflected on his relationship with Brad and how the Lord led them to work together many years ago. It really is amazing how God has built the Timi Church and we know that He will continue to grow it, even after we leave. Sasha gave us a special magnet to go on our refrigerator. He said that people always go to get physical food from their fridge and every time we do, he wants us to remember that there are people in Moscow who need spiritual food. What a great reminder!

We worshipped with the Gulovinski Church for the last time two weeks ago. It was also a special service. The lady who sits with our elderly neighbor went with us. She seemed to really enjoy the worship and fellowship. Some of the members very openly shared the Gospel with her. She was not ready to accept it, but she was very open. We showed her how she could go back later without us by public transportation, but really didn't think she would because it takes about 1 hour 15 min. by public. We saw her this week though and she told us that she went back to church last Sunday by herself and really enjoyed it. Bless the Lord! Please pray for salvation for Christina. It was hard to say good-bye to Genady, Vica, and the rest of the church. They really have become our family here in Moscow.

This week has been spent helping the boys finish up school and say good-bye to their friends. We've had lots of sleepovers, even on school nights! The boys kept thinking of one more friend that they needed to spend some more time with. And they're actually all spending the night with friends tonight. Today is the day that they'll really have to say good-bye though. It's the last day of school. Please pray for them! Ben had kindergarten graduation on Wednesday. It was such a special service with the theme "Walk Like Jesus". Brad and I both cried because we are just so thankful that we've been able to send the boys to an international Christian school here. What an incredible blessing that is made possible by your gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering and the Cooperative Program. Thank you! Awards chapel was Thursday morning. Both Drew and Mark received several different awards for academics as well as for character. Mark was especially proud to receive the "First Recorder" award for being the best recorder player in his music class. He was very surprised to get this, but he has worked very hard and deserved it. Drew had 5th grade promotion yesterday afternoon to celebrate finishing elementary school. It was also a very meaningful celebration. His teacher had prepared a slide show and he called each child up one at a time to honor them. He shared special memories, gave awards, and gave them a challenge to live for Christ.

So now we'll spend the next 3 days just packing and cleaning. We still have a lot to do. Pray for energy and strength to get it all done. It has been sooooooooooooo hot here for the past week and the heat just really drains us. Yesterday evening at 10:00 it was 85*F outside and 89.5*F inside our apartment. We have two little fans and Brad and I each keep one blowing right on us. We have to move them from room to room as we work. We're looking forward to a little air-conditioning. We probably freeze everywhere we go in America!

We probably won't update for a while. We may not have e-mail access until we get to Shelby on June 10. We would appreciate your prayers for safe travel and for wonderful reunions with all of our family members, friends and churches in America. Please also continue to pray for our team members who will press on with the work to reach the Northern Administrative District of Moscow (NADM) for Christ. And continue to pray for the list of unbelievers from previous posts.

Thanks so much and hope to see many of you soon!

Please Pray With Us

2007-05-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

Because we're leaving Moscow in 2 weeks, God is giving us some great last visits and conversations with people. Please pray with us for the following people.

- Constantine is our elderly neighbor. We were able to watch the Jesus film with him a few weeks ago and have had some great conversations about spiritual things. Pray that he would understand his need for a personal Savior.

- Oxana is a Ukrainian who was here caring for Constantine for 3 months. She watched the Jesus film with us also. She has gone back to the Ukraine now, but before she left, we were able to give her a Bible and tract and talk with her about Christ. Pray that God will give her a desire to read scripture and the tract and open her heart to understand and accept what she reads.

- Christina is Constantine's new caregiver. She is from the same small village in the Ukraine as Oxana. She is very open to discussing spiritual things. She is going to church with us this Sunday, May 20. Pray that the Holy Spirit will speak directly to her and call her into a relationship with God.

- Irena is a neighbor that Lori has developed a relationship with. Lori has been able to talk with her many times and has given her a Bible and tracts in Russian. A huge barrier in her coming to Christ is that she is an alcoholic. Pray for God to remove her need and desire for alcohol so that she can think straight and understand that only Christ can fill the void in her life that she so often tries to fill with alcohol.

- Olim is our muslim friend who attends our little Baptist church with us almost every week. This week or next week will be our last chance to visit with him. Brad plans to speak very directly with him about spiritual condition. Pray for him.

- Galina is an elderly lady who has been attending the G. Church for some time now. Brad talked very openly with her on Wednesday, telling her that she needs to make a decision for Christ. Pray that the Holy Spirit will give her understanding of her need to personally say "yes" to Christ.

- Valera is a man who came to the Jesus film showing several months ago. He has been attending the G. Church ever since and seems to fit right in and feel a part of the church. He has not repented and accepted Christ. Pray that he soon will.

- Andrae is a friend of Genady who came one time to the G. Church. On that day, he stood and asked everyone to pray for him. He is an alcoholic who is not a Christian.

- Igor is the wife of Natasha who is the newest Believer in the G. Church. She accepted Christ about a month ago. At first her husband was against this, but it seems that God is working in his life. He comes to the home group every Sunday afternoon and listens. I saw Natasha last night and told her that I would ask Christians in America to pray for her husband.

- Zhena and Irena are relatives of Igor and Natasha. They all attend a home group that meets on Sunday afternoons. Marina, the leader of this group believes that both Zhena and Irena are very close to accepting Christ. Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in a mighty way in that group Sunday afternoon. They actually meet about the time that churches in America are meeting for SS and worship, so if you could pray for them in your churches today, that would be awesome.

Stateside Assignment Coming Up

2007-05-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

We will be heading to the States on June 4 for a 14 month stateside assignment. We are all really getting excited. We will be living in Shelby, North Carolina near many of our family members. Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church, the church Lori grew up in, has a beautiful missionary house that we will get to live in. This is the same house we lived in on our first stateside assignment. The boys call it "our house".

Before we head that way, there is much to be done. The boys are finishing up school and have many special activities and programs between now and when they finish on June 1. Brad has lots of work to do to close out this term of ministry and to help prepare others to carry on the work while we're away. I'm packing and cleaning everyday. I know we'll get it all done, but sometimes it seems overwhelming. Please pray for us during these next two weeks. Pray for us to finish well. Pray that we will accomplish all that God wants us to before the time for us to leave.

Please pray for us also as we say some difficult goodbyes. Drew will be saying goodbye to his best friend, Kian, who is from Australia. By the time we get back, Kian will have moved back to Australia. We don't know if or when the boys will get to see each other again. The same is true for Mark's good friend, Zachary, who is from Taiwan. Brad and I were talking the other day about the fact that we're really excited about going "home" to all that is familiar and comforting, but we're taking the boys away from all that is familiar. This is their home. I know they'll adjust and love living in the States, but we would appreciate your prayers during this transition time. Thanks so much!

Church Planting Conference

2007-05-11T05:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much for praying for our 4th annual church planting conference. It was a huge success. 22 people attended. We had sessions about cell groups, spiritual warfare, church planting movements, and much more. We spent much time in prayer for each of the new churches and cell groups in the Northern Administrative District of Moscow. The Lord gave us beautiful weather and we were even able to play a few games of volleyball together. Lori had the privilege of taking care of Sasha and Katia's baby, Vanya, who is 6 months old. He's a doll. It was also a time for us to pass on the vision and in a way say goodbye to our Russian friends. We still have 3 weeks here and will see them again at church, but Brad was able to thank them and encourage them to continue on with the work of evangelism and church planting. Thank you for praying with us for this conference. God indeed answered!

Praises and Requests

2007-05-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

- An elderly couple, Vladimir and Valentina, accepted Christ as Lord and Savior at the Timi Church Thursday Bible Study at the senior center. Both are in their late 70s. Praise the Lord for His work in their lives. They will be leaving to go to their dacha for the summer, so we don't have a lot of time for follow up. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work in them over the summer as they spend time in the Word.

- One of the small groups from the Timi Church meets weekly on Sundays in the home of a lady named Ina Alexandrovna. She is not a Christian. Last week, the leaders of the group were excited to hear Ina pray out loud with them for the first time. Pray for salvation for this dear lady.

- We will be having our 4th annual Church Planting Conference this weekend, May 4-6. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to teach us all through his Word and the different seminars. Pray for Brad as he will be leading most of the conference. Pray for clarity as he leads the whole thing in Russian. Pray that those in attendance will hear what God has to say to each of them about how He wants them to be involved in His work of reaching the Northern District of Moscow with the Gospel of Christ.

- Our neighbor, Irena, stopped by this morning. We have been talking with her and praying for her salvation for many months. She is an alcoholic and this makes communication very difficult at times. But this morning she stopped by to say that she is not going to drink for 60 days. Today is day 2. She has prayed and asked God to help her. Please pray with us that God will give Irena strength not to drink for a time so that she can think clearly about her spiritual condition. She said that when she sees us out her window, it reminds her to pray and ask God for help. Maybe God will give us some good weather to play outside more so that she can be reminded of God.

- Please continue to pray for salvation for: Olim, Igor, Constantine, Oxana, Christina, Andrae, Galina, Valera and others who live in the north of Moscow who are lost without Christ.