APRIL, 2009

Dear Friends!

We thank God for your love, prayers, support, and interest in our ministry! The spring reaches its peak in April when we all celebrate Easter! The resurrection power of Christ is definitely at work in our midst and we are happy to share with you what God is doing here with us!

EVANGELISM

We opened the season of evangelism concerts in our coffeehouse (it is still cold and snowy outside). BIOS band, with whom one of our school of ministry students is a drummer, and some of our evangelists, students, and church members got the opportunity to minister to the lost. The coffeehouse was packed with all kinds of young people coming from the streets, universities, dorms, etc… We spent the week before the concert distributing flyers and posters in the places where the kids hang out. There were a lot of divine appointments, beautiful times of personal fellowship and sharing the love of God. Alexei saw a poster in his university and came. Sveta got invited from the street by one of our students – together they came to the concert. By the end of the evening both Alexei and Sveta gave their hearts to the Lord and came to our fellowship the next day. You can see them in the photo on the right with our evangelist Gosha and our student Natasha Bakshaeva who led them in the prayer of repentance. Sveta – standing on the right. Alexey – sitting on the right.

In the October 2008 issue of our newsletter we shared that quite a few of our school of ministry students and graduates are active in children’s ministry. Some work at Christian orphanages and children’s hospitals, others are helping with children’s church – we have many kids from this Christian orphanage coming to our services now. Jesus is touching their lives in most amazing ways.

Dasha (in the photo on the left – with her Mom) was sent to this Christian orphanage by her district police station officer. Her alcoholic mom’s alcoholic boyfriend attacked Dasha with a knife. She managed to escape almost without injuries with her grandmother’s assistance. With no time to even get dressed properly, and without a coat or boots, this young child ran through the snow and frost to the police for help. As the police inspected Dasha’s home, they found a destroyed apartment, with almost everything sold in order to buy alcohol. There was no food and not only Dasha did not have a desk to do her school homework but she did not even have a bed where she could sleep. The court case began by denying Dasha’s mom parental rights. While the case proceeded, Dasha was placed in the Christian orphanage. Very soon, she received Jesus and began attending Sunday school at our church.

As the mom sobered up and realized that her daughter had been taken away from her and this may be forever, she began thinking… She visited Dasha at her new place to stay and encountered the atmosphere of God’s presence, genuine care and the love of Jesus… During her initial visits, she scared the orphanage workers with her appearance of a drunk – black eyed, broken leg, dirty…

Dasha told her Mom about Jesus and invited her to church. Her mom, Svetlana agreed rather reluctantly. However, it was her only chance to spend time with the daughter. She sat through the worship and preaching and fellowshipped with church members… Once, twice, three times… Then she began coming to church even straight from home independently from Dasha and finally at the March worship and intercession night Svetlana opened her heart to Jesus, came forward and received Him as her personal Lord and Savior.

The repentance was so real that she immediately got rid of her boyfriend, began cleaning her flat and equipping it to be livable for a child. The court case is not finished and the decision is not made regarding Dasha being permanently taken away from her Mom so Dasha cannot move back home but now the orphanage workers let Dasha stay at her mom’s for weekends – together they pray and read the Bible. Svetlana confesses that her daughter is more advanced in understanding the Word of God and is glad to learn more. Please join us in prayers for Svetlana and Dasha – for their spiritual growth and sorting out of their legal and family situation.

Thank you SO MUCH for your prayers for Roma and the developing church in prison. (see the photo on the left – Roma is sitting). New converts continue to join. Recently Gosha visited Roma’s family and shared the Gospel with them. Consequently, Roma’s mother Nonna and wife Masha repented and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior,and Gosha introduced them to the local church.

JESUS HEALS TODAY!

Olga Ryazhskih oversees healing teams in our ministry. Here she shares an amazing testimony of God’ intervention in the life of a former drug addict, Rain who is pictured here:

“In 2006 we hosted the worship conference Heart of God 2 with Suzy Wills-Yaraei and the team from MorningStar. During this conference a young man, named Rain (see the photo on the right) approached me and asked for prayer. He had HIV due to the drug addiction lifestyle he led before Christ set him free; he had a dangerously low immune count and suffered from hurting and enlarged lymph nodes. I prayed for him. Three years later, I met him again at the seminar on evangelism we conducted in Estonia this past winter. “Remember, you prayed for me?” – He exclaimed as we greeted each other. - “My lymph nodes returned to normal. But this is not all. Recently I was tested for HIV and the blood tests are showing the negative results. They cannot detect HIV in my blood. In any case, soon after you prayed for me my immune count grew drastically” ISN’T GOD WONDERFUL?! CAN’T HELP BUT PRAISE HIM FOR THE GREAT THINGS HE IS DOING FOR US!”

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: SERGEI SMIRNOV

Sergei is 32 and a first year student in our School of ministry, lives and ministers in a rehab center for alcoholics, drug addicts and men just coming out of prisons, at the same time raising his 8-year-old son as a single Dad. Here is his story:

“I was born and raised in the city of Vologda (central Russia) in a family of simple workers. At fifteen, I began rebelling against my parents and society. This was the time when I met subculture teens and adopted their lifestyle including lots of alcohol and all kinds of drugs. This brought me a sense of false freedom. I thought that now I am free to do whatever I want and I wanted to try everything that life had to offer. Soon enough I tried heroin.

Several months later, I had to go to the army. But even the army failed to discipline me. Two years quickly went by and as soon as I returned home, I got back to using heroin. Six month later, I was the enemy of everybody I knew. I was in love with drugs. Heroin occupied my thoughts, heart, emotions, body, everything, I lived for it. I considered myself free to do as I please while I was already a slave to my destructive habit – an obedient slave of drugs. The daze started clearing up only two years later. I realized that I was addicted, but could do nothing to help myself. I desired to die, but instead I had to live and face the police, the creditors, the gangsters… My relatives rejected me friends hated me. Even heroin betrayed me – I stopped feeling any pleasure from using it, but could not stop.

I got together all my will power, my heart crying out inside for help, and did my best to stop. Got a job and a girl and decided to start a new life. For a while, it looked like everything is working out just wonderful for me, but 2 weeks after our son was born, my girlfriend left me. She was not a drug addict, but had spent 7 years in prison for robbery, was very self-willed, capricious and hard to get along with. I was broken and immediately resorted to alcohol and drugs again and soon ended up in a narcological hospital.

Once a month an orthodox priest visited this hospital to tell all the patients about God. It was rather difficult for me to comprehend the meaning of his speeches but when he offered us to pray and ask God for forgiveness of sins and for help I thought: “Why not? What if there is God!” So I prayed the prayer. But the priest left and I forgot about it.

Nevertheless, God began His work in my life. Two things happened immediately. The court closed two cases against me. And my ex-girlfriend came to my parents and gave them our son to bring up. It was my dream – to be with my son!

But I kept on the lifestyle I lived. Half a year later in a drunken fight, my brother cut me with a knife really badly. Unconscious, I was rushed by ambulance to the emergency room. Later the doctors told me that I was very lucky that none of the life supporting organs were damaged. This made me start thinking about the reasons why I live and who could help me to stop being a “skunk”. I even turned to philosophy in search of truth but it did not give me sufficient answers. I wanted to live a different life but I did not know how.

Another attempt at a new life began when I started a small construction company with friends. It generated a good income. I tried to work on my character, provide for my parents and son, etc… Nevertheless from time to time, I fell back to alcohol and drugs. Years went by. I was becoming angry, unstable and suicidal.

In December of 2006, I met an old friend (Gosha who is pictured and mentioned throughout this newsletter) whom I had not seen for many years. I always thought that he was much worse than me but this time he was a different man – he had changed so much! Instead of talking about drugs, he talked about Jesus. I found out that he moved to St. Petersburg went through rehabilitation from drug addiction and was ministering to drug addicts, alcoholics and men coming out of prison. He invited me to their regeneration center.It was a hard decision to make. I had debts. I had a son. On the other hand, I knew I could not help myself – eight times, I went through narcological hospital detox treatment with no lasting results. No friend or relative could alleviate my soul pain. I started having cramps all over my body and my eyes and face muscles often jerked. So I decided to go. In the regeneration center, I met Jesus. Thank God for the people who constantly prayed for me and taught me the Word of God. Jesus forgave my sins and gave me the new life I tried to obtain so many times but always looked in the wrong places! Right after I met Jesus personally all my body cramps and eyes and face jerking ceased forever.

Often times I think that if only back then, when I first time prayed the sinners prayer with the priest in the hospital, if someone could have taught me the Bible, helped me build a prayer life, and introduced me to fellowship of believers, perhaps I could have learned some things earlier! Most probably my life could have taken a completely different direction and I would not commit so many more sins that I ended up committing!

Now I moved to St. Petersburg together with my 8-year-old son. He goes to a Christian school here while I go to the StreetCry School of Ministry. It is a huge challenge to combine studying with working and raising my son as a single parent but God is helping me every step of the way, lovingly teaching me how to proceed in life.”

PRAYER POINTS FOR APRIL:

• We are 2 months behind in our church building rent, which is $1,900. We also have not been able to pay out full budgets for food and other needs for our ministers. Please join us in prayer for this and please help if you can. We know that what Jesus is doing here in people’s lives is extremely valuable and your help will be used to further the gospel here.
• Please pray for our School of Ministry - our goal is to continue raising up more evangelists, pastors, teachers, prophets, apostles and ministers in all the gifts of the Holy Spirit
• For evangelism strategy for the spring and summer season - we want to make the most of all the opportunities God gives us to touch as many lives as possible with the Gospel
• For the new converts to come to Jesus and become His disciples
• For Dasha and her mom and other children we are helping
• For physical and spiritual protection for the entire church and ministry, divine health and strength for all of us in the midst of a flu flying around and hitting many in St Petersburg
  Unity, love and wisdom for the leadership team
• For direction, anointing and grace in the pioneering work in the neighboring nation of Estonia
• For a breakthrough with an abundant supply of finances for the advancement of the Kingdom of God here. We have debt, but are continuing to press on in spite of the difficulties. Please pray specifically for $35,000 to cover debt. Thanks so much!

Thank you again so very much for your prayers and continued support of our work! If you are not doing so already we would like to ask you to prayerfully consider helping us on a regular basis.

Your help is much needed and highly appreciated!

God bless and keep you all,
Your StreetCry family