During July two teams from our school of ministry left the comforts of St. Petersburg for ministry trips. On these trips, the students put into practice what they had learned and they allowed the Lord to challenge them in ways that cannot be taught in a classroom. One team traveled to Novokuybyshesk in southern Russia , while the other team was in the city of Uralsk, in the Muslim nation of Kazakhstan.Novokuybyshesk
A team of five took a 48-hour train ride to get there. The city is full of heroin addicts, as it is on the smuggling route from Afghanistan where the raw heroin is produced.
Working with a small local church, that included several former drug addicts, the team shared their personal experiences and testimonies of street evangelism. Along with adding music and evangelism concerts, the local believers caught a fresh zeal and desire to be on the streets witnessing and evangelizing, sharing how much more effective they now were in their efforts.
A young man named Sasha was sitting on a bench in a park waiting for a friend. One of our team members started talking to him and learned that he was the third person in two days to talk to him about Jesus. Sasha's friend joined them, and the two of them sat through a light rain, listening as the team shared their testimonies. His heart was touched and he repented with a team member and gave his life to the Lord.
One of the things the Lord told the team before they left St Petersburg , was that they would meet and minister to backsliders. Ilya was with two of his friends and came up to the team after one of the concerts and shared how he had been with the Lord two years ago, but left and was living in sin. The Lord had touched his heart during the concert and Ilya repented afterwards. He sent a text message later saying how he has overcome his fears and now has a desire to go to our Bible school. Praise God for His huge love and mercy.
The team was also able to minister at a drug rehab center and at a local hospital where they treat drug addicts for their addictions. At the hospital the chief doctor, who does not believe in God, confessed that the medical procedures they practice are only temporal, but he has seen real freedom in some people who believe in God and got their freedom from Him! Our hotline for drug addicts has already received several phone calls from people from Novokuybyshesk, and one girl has already come here to go through rehab.Together with three local churches, we were able to have a night of worship and intercession. The presence of God filled the hall and many people started to weep tears of joy and cleansing. After worship and a time of intercession, the team shared several prophetic words with people, as well as words of knowledge and words about healing.
One lady started to weep as the team shared with her that she has the heart of a pastor and the Lord wants her to step out in that gift. The pastor of the church later shared that he had been trying to share the same thing, but she never reacted.
Uralsk
For the third summer, a team traveled to Uralsk in the Muslim country of Kazakhstan . Although this was the third time, the team knew that the Lord had something different for them this year, and things that had worked in the past would not necessarily work this time. Flexibility and listening to what the Lord is doing today, were important lessons that the team learned throughout their trip.
The team returned to a government run medical center for drug addicts. They once again saw the hunger in the hearts of those that worked in the
center trying to help the addicts get free from their addiction. In this center over half of the addicts were Muslim and started to speak out when the team started to give their testimonies of how Jesus Christ had set them free from drugs. One team member challenged the crowd by quoting the verse in the Koran where it says that those who know Jesus are saints, "so please sit and listen to what I have to say." After sharing his testimony, all of the Muslim heroin addicts allowed the team to pray for them.Later the director came to the team and asked them how long had they been in the city. After the team told them they had been there a week, he asked why it had taken them a week to come the center and asked if there was anything he could do to help the team. The director set up a time where the team was able to show a video of one of our evangelism concerts we had done earlier this year with another band from a local rehab center. Two testimonies of former heroin addicts from our school of ministry especially touched hearts. All the addicts came up and received prayer after the video was finished.
While witnessing in a square in the center of the city, a place that had been very fruitful in the past, the team met a man who turned out to be the chairman of the government agency that oversees religious activities. He had one of our tracts on his desk and mentioned that according to the law, what the team was doing in the city was technically illegal. He went on to state that if the team was foreigners, they would be kicked out of the country, but since they were all citizens, he would just give them a warning. The team mentioned that although they agreed with the law, would it be fine if they talked with people and just gave the tracts to those that are interested. He agreed that this was a different story and was going to contact the team's leader and get on his case. When the team asked how he was going to get on God's case, he laughed and said he meant the pastor of the local church. Although the team was able to witness to him and share their testimonies, they realized that the Lord wanted them to use a different strategy and that they needed to pay more specific attention to individuals.
The team went out to the small village of Potstepnyi and really did not know why the Lord had sent them there. After a small meeting and showing the video of the evangelism concert to a group of mostly grandmothers, the team when out on the streets of the village to witness. They met a girl name Olga who was an orphan. Olga had grown up in a orphanage and her brothers and sisters had been separated and all lived in different orphanages. As the team witness to them, a supernatural love came upon several of the team members and this allowed them to minister the Lord's love to Olga. After experiencing true love for the first time in her life, Olga wept, repented and gave her life to the Lord.
Other News:
We continue to have concerts on the streets each week in St Petersburg and have had the opportunity to see many people repent and give their lives to the Lord. We have also received many phone calls form drug addicts asking for help, many of whom are now in a rehab center. Our children have also been actively participating in evangelism and are at almost every concert, passing out tracts and witnessing to other kids and young people. They have led several people to the Lord, including a ten year old girl at a recent concert. Please continue to pray for the new believers as they forsake their old lives and are being discipled in the things of God.
Prayer Points for August:
- Continued fruit in the lives of those ministered to by our teams in Uralsk and Novokuybyshesk
- For an effective ministry in upcoming outreaches in Finland and the Pskov region of Russia
- Power and anointing for street evangelism concerts taking place in St. Petersburg
- Financial supply and increased fruitfulness for the ministry
- Wisdom and understanding for the leadership team
- Physical and spiritual protection for the entire ministry
- Spiritual breakthrough in St. Petersburg and Russia
- Housing for the new drug rehab center
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