God is so wonderful! We are so excited to be alive and to be part of God’s family! God’s wonder, beauty, glory, majesty and faithfulness never cease to amaze us!
We just have so much to be thankful for, and the future is as bright as the promises of God! He continues to be not only the God of the mountains, but the God of the valleys as well. We just can’t stop praising His Name and shouting about His goodness in the land of the living!
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and financial giving to StreetCry. It is greatly appreciated and continues to be used to further His kingdom, saving souls and growing up believers, as you will read below.
We have been having a very exciting summer, with ministry at a summer camp, continued ministry at the women’s prison and at the methadone center in Tallinn.
TESTIMONIES FROM RUSSIA
Right now we have a small StreetCry church in St Petersburg and two full-time Russian missionaries. Although the St Petersburg church is small, they are faithful and dedicated to reaching the lost with God’s love. The Bible clearly demonstrates what God can do for those who believe. When his people place their confidence in Him, He repeatedly gives victory against overwhelming odds. The lesson, written time after time, is that physical circumstances don’t limit God, for "nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few" (1 Samuel 14:6).
Here is a testimony from Sergei Abezin (see picture of his family on the left), a faithful minister and deacon in our ministry for a number of years. It is a testimony of continuing to love people and follow up on them with perseverance. It is a privilege to have Sergei and his family in our ministry!Sergei shares:
From the time when our church used to meet in another building (1998-2005), I stayed in close contact with the director of the building Inna Mihailovna and her husband Lev Davydovich. To tell you the truth, at that time, Lev Davydovich’s attitude toward us and our our faith in Christ was very antagonistic not only in words but also in deeds. The fact that he used to work as a soviet scientist played a big part in forming his beliefs.
A few weeks ago Inna Mihailovna asked me to do some repair work in their apartment. During one of the breaks I started talking to her husband Lev. Both are in their 60’s. To my surprise he started asking questions about Christianity. Besides answering his questions, I suggested that he read the Bible. The next day when I came back to work, Lev showed me his big Bible which he had made an effort to find among his books after our conversation the day before. He shared that since his childhood he heard about God and used to know the events of the Old Testament very well. He told me that his grandma used to take him to an orthodox church in secret. But as he grew up in a communist society those values were rejected with time. While we talked together, he would stop and cry about every ten minutes. We spent a lot of time talking about the Lord that night.
Later his wife called and said: “There was a double blessing from you coming to our house today: First of all, as a worker and second as a help to Lev. After your conversation with him, Lev said, ‘Inna, please don’t think I am going crazy but I have made a decision to read my Bible out loud every day’”.
These are precious souls that we continue to pray for. God is so interested in their coming to know Him. Please join us in prayer for Inna and Lev’s salvation.
ESTONIA
MINISTRY IN WOMEN’S PRISON
Over the past 3 months there have been 10 new young women who have received the Lord at
the prison. Most of them are young - in their teens and early twenties, and this is very exciting. Normally the younger ones are more difficult to reach. These girls are very precious and so open to the word and love of God. Every week, we come home so excited after Bible school and church at the prison (John, Sara, Natasha, Olga on prison ministry day). God’s spirit is moving strongly among the women and it continues to be so exciting to see the changes in the women’s lives. They are true sisters and so precious to us and to God.
Olga Ryazhskikh (picture on the left), a graduate of StreetCry School of ministry, planned to spend her summer vacation ministering to the lost in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Holland is one of the first countries Olga visited after she understood the call of God on her life to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel. A few years earlier her cousin died there from drug abuse. His death only confirmed to Olga the urgency to share God’s love and His power to save and deliver. This time she will be joining with others that regularly witness to drugs addicts and prostitutes in these two cities.On the way to Holland, Olga spent a few days ministering with us here in Estonia, on the street and at the prison. Here are some testimonies from Olga:
The first miracle that happened was that I was allowed to get into the prison. For some reason my name was not on the list of people attending the service on that day and under no circumstances do they ever make exceptions and let people in. Natasha had just heard a testimony of God doing extraordinary miracles and she prayed to see some in her life as well. So when Olga was refused entry, Natasha sprang into action, full of faith that God could turn this seeming defeat into a victory. As the guards were trying to make phone calls and find out what was the matter, we started to pray for God’s favor. After a phone call and some time passing, the guards told us that I was permitted in. Praise God that He is the One who holds the hearts of all people in His hands and He turns them as He wills. I was the main speaker that day and God touched their hearts to let me in.
Before coming to Tallinn the Lord put a message on my heart about complete trust in Him. During the service there was such a strong presence of God in the room. After my sermon a few girls came up and asked for prayer. They were asking to be closer to God. Two other girls came up and received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. They have repented of their sins and asked Christ to come into their lives.
As I was preparing my sermon the Lord gave me a word of knowledge about a prison girl who is unable to forgive her father since her childhood. After the service I shared this word with the girls saying that the Lord wants to minister His forgiveness. Right away two girls responded to the call saying that the word was for them. At the very end we all got together, holding hands and praying. One of the girls started to pray out loud asking forgiveness from the Lord and the girls. She was crying and asking them to forgive her for hurting and offending them in the past. I felt that her prayer was very sincere and from the heart. After prayer, a lot of the girls came up to her and gave her a big warm hug.
We believe the Lord continues to do His work of healing in the hearts of many women in the prison, restoring there lives and broken relationships.
After the meeting in prison Olga was on the way to Holland and we will hear soon about her trip there.
RUSSIA
Vera Abezina
Vera is now a full-time missionary, sent out from StreetCry Ministries. She is presently living at the Betel Rehab Center in Kolosok, Russia and will soon be getting married and moving to Finland to work together with her fiancé, Marco (see picture on the left), overseeing the rehab center in Finland.Here is a testimony from Vera. “Kolosok is a converted summer camp and is very spartan compared to normal Russian living..
Slowly-slowly I am adjusting to life in Kolosok. I am included into the preaching schedule, in addition to personal counseling which is going on everyday as I work with newly saved former addicts. Every co-worker usually shares her life story, and problems she is going through right now. We pray together over those matters and I do my best to answer their questions about the Bible. So far I have ministered at one of the girls’ fellowships and shared from Luke 4 about overcoming temptations and one time preached during morning devotions on Psalm 139. Both went great. Many (including leaders) came up to thank me. I am always happy to produce more hunger for the Word of God in people. With God’s help I want to always stay the same in this regard IN AWE AND AMAZED BY THE WORD OF GOD AND MAKE IT CONTAGIOUS TO OTHERS!
Then I had a fun week in St. Petersburg helping in girls rehab and going out witnessing with them and passing out information about the center. There was a team of four girls. Two of the four girls, Lena and Marina, ARE GIFTED EVANGELISTS – they are minestering non-stop… and people are attracted to them… So for me it was rather easy to flow in such a team – no need to break through.
We stood at Metro stations and big supermarkets and spoke to every passerby willing to stop for a minute and listen. Mostly we were informing the people about the rehab center. BUT DAILY GOD GAVE ME OPPORTUNITIES TO REALLY WITNESS! I spoke with a mother whose son was a drug addict and an elderly lady taking a little girl to the Zoo – the little girl was her granddaughter and the daughter happened to be a drug addict. I was sharing with them how Jesus can really change lives and encouraged them not to give up but to refer their children to Jesus – I left with them our tracts with testimonies of former drug addicts who were delivered by Jesus. One day as we were on the Metro the drug addict sat next to us and we witnessed to him for an hour. Another day we met 2 boys in their early 20’s touring St Petersburg from Murmansk. Both were drug users. One - a drummer named Elijah… At first they were just mocking us but I ended up speaking to one of them who was very receptive and even though he did not repent on the spot, I could tell that the Gospel was touching him – we had a real deep talk. Meanwhile Marina was cutting right through with the other guy using her personal testimony. The young man shared that he began using drugs to escape from the deep pain after his father’s sudden death and his mocking turned into tears by the end of the conversation as the Holy Spirit was touching him…
I spent one week in Finland visiting my fiancé Marco. It was a fruitful week. I interpreted for Marco as he preached on Wednesday night. It was about denying yourself and following Jesus with all of your life as opposed to just getting free from addictions and going back to the world to live for yourself. I was very inspired to interpret because I agreed with every word. Marco was happy to have me helping him.
Besides seeing Marco I was very glad to talk to the “two Alexei’s” two precious young men that Gosha ministered to in Tallinn and sent to Betel in Finland (see March 2009 and June 2009 issues of our newsletter). They are growing into good leaders, and raising up a second generation now. Very inspiring!
CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS, SUPPORT AND CARE FOR ME! Love, Vera”
Sveta Moroz
This month we are excited to announce that our sister, Sveta Moroz, will be moving to Moputo, Mozambique in October as a full time missionary working with Roland & Heidi Baker’s IRIS Ministries. Nothing could thrill us more than to see these two precious women of God, Vera and Sveta, forsake all and follow God’s call to minister to the poor and helpless. It always has concerned us that we did not produce more missionaries, although we are very thankful for all of the wonderful brethren saved and those that have gone into full-time ministry in Russia.
Here are Sveta’s vision and goals:
I have a call to missions on my life to serve the Lord in different countries of
the third world. God has broken my heart for the lost, orphans, street kids, drug addicts, prostitutes, and for the sick people with deadly disease like HIV, hepatitis, cancer and others. I spent one month in Mozambique and now I have been invited back to minister there full-time. My vision for the next year is to be part of the Iris Ministries team and serve with gifts that God gave me wherever there is a need, to care for the kids’ health in the ministry and for others.
I will be ministering, witnessing, and praying on the streets, city dumps and hospitals as I did previously. I want to see young people saved and delivered. I am dedicated to serve with God's love, to care for health and fight in prayer for healings and deliverances. I feel that these verses are a calling on my life.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to [them that are] bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified (Isa.61:1-3).
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mk.16:15-18)
Here is Sveta's testimony:
I was born in the Russian part of the USSR. I grew up in a poor family. My father was murdered when I was 6. As long as I remember, I always worshipped something or was someone’s fan. First I was a fan of ‘Alisa’ (famous Russian rock-group) and all my behavior, looks, fashion and even ideas were the expression of my fanaticism. I spent all my free time, hanging out in the sub-culture youth scene. We drank, smoked, stole people’s money, and beat up the younger kids who were new to the scene. Every week I managed to get into various rock-concerts, as a rule, without a ticket. I was fascinated by the life-style of my idols (rock-musicians) until one day I encountered their ungrateful attitude to the fans and was deeply disappointed in them. I understood, that they are people, just like us, far from perfection and, by and large, they could not care less for their fans. They were using us to make money and become famous. Disappointed in ‘Alisa’, I immediately found something else to worship and dove head first into the football world. Very soon my life was completely given over to my new idols. I shaved my head, began to go to other cities where my team Zenith played against other teams, getting on trains without tickets. Every year I could hardly wait for the winter to be finished and the football season to begin! All I dreamt about was to go to the stadium and receive adrenaline from each game shouting and going wild as much as the boys and men around me.
When we went to Moscow and other cities, we were very often opposed by fans of other teams. It resulted in cruel fights. I was quite tough and could defend myself well enough due to my experience in boxing, but nevertheless each time I was not sure if I would return to St. Petersburg alive. The probability to get my head kicked in was very high. I remember that during such life and death moments I could not think of any other help but to pray and ask God to save me. Each time I did that He was faithful to get me out of trouble without a single scratch. Then gradually I began to realize that around me there was no love, no genuine care of each other, only cruelty. Fans came to the games mostly to get drunk and to beat each other up. Even the score was determined not by how well the team played but by how much they paid bribes to the referee. All this was so fake, that I came to the conclusion that football is not worth my worship and devotion.
During this time my friends and I started to visit the StreetCry Christian coffee-house. They had free coffee and tea, live bands performing and the main thing a warm place to hang out in a dreary cold and wet St. Petersburg fall. I remember sitting in the coffee-house one day and someone came to my table, sat next to me, and started telling me about Jesus, how much He cared, how much He loved me, how much He has done, that He gave His life for me and went to the cross. We talked about the fact that deep down in the heart of each person there is - instilled by God - the desire to worship and how we all try to satisfy this desire but are so often misled into traps by the trends of this world while God is looking for those who would worship Him in spirit and in truth. He is waiting for us to take a step and open up to Him and He will take ten steps to us and reveal Himself in ways that surpass our wildest imagination! He is the only One who is really worthy of our complete devotion. I saw that worship of football and music groups did not bring any lasting satisfaction, but destruction and pain into my life, so I repented and dedicated my life to Jesus and discovered firsthand that He is for real - does not deceive, nor disappoint! Now I’ m 27 years old. I have been in StreetCry Ministries since my salvation in 1996.
To begin with I tried to help everywhere where I saw need. Soon the Lord has revealed to me, that my calling is to work with children and I started teaching Sunday school. I have graduated from StreetCry Bible School. For a while I worked at one of the Christian schools In St Petersburg teaching biology, physical training and ‘basics of security in life’ which is taught in Russian schools.
Orphans and street children were always on my heart. I worked as a volunteer in an orphanage for HIV infected children. I love to pray for sick people and to see the Lord heal them. I went to medical school for 4 years and became a certified nurse. I then completed another medical school program and became a physician’s assistant. I'm working in an intensive care unit for children and in ambulance.. At the same time I was helping in our children’s Sunday church.
StreetCry is now helping to support Sveta and Vera on a regular monthly basis. If you have any designated gifts for them, please specify. We appreciate your continued prayers for these women of God as they step out into the next season of fruitfulness in their lives.
PRAYER POINTS FOR SEPTEMBER
• For physical and spiritual protection for our church and ministry, divine health and strength for all of us during the cold season ahead
• Unity, love and wisdom for those in our ministry
• For Sveta Moroz’s final preparations to move go to Mozambique in October
• For Vera Abezina’s wedding preparations, especially paperwork -red (as in Russian) tape
• For Zhenya’s work with abandoned children in Tsimbalina hospital, especially for complete healing and restoration of Masha Orehova. Zhenya is no longer part of our church, but we strongly identify with her love and care for the orphans and wish to continue prayer for her and her fruitful ministry
• For Gosha’s healing from hepatitis C and restoration of his liver
• For the work in Estonia – more souls saved, drug addicts delivered and placed in the rehab centers, and for establishing a greater, stronger presence there
• For prison outreach in Estonia, for more salvations, deliverance from drug and other addictions, freedom from peer pressure and fear of men, for physical and emotional healing, renewing of the minds of the inmates who just got born again, for their spiritual growth and developing steadfast personal relationship with Jesus
• For a breakthrough with an abundant supply of finances for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. We need more regular support. Every single person, church and ministry that gives to us helps our ministry to preach the Gospel. Every single donation is needed and received with much gratitude.
Thank you for your continued help!
God bless and keep you all,
John and Sara Russell and your StreetCry family
