It’s the new year, and we’re anticipating 2007 to be a year of victory and breakthrough for the ministry and the entire body of Christ. We feel joy and excitement in our spirits about the coming season and what God has in store. This month’s newsletter focuses on the recent Christmas feed-in and also includes a new student testimony. Student S
potlight: Vika Dulas
Vika Dulas is a second year student in the
As a child growing up in the small Russian town of
My father took the more influential role in raising me and he did so with the precision of a drill sergeant. By the age of five he had taught me to recite my multiplication tables by heart. Most Russian children begin 1st grade at the age of seven, I was accepted into school at the age of five.
By Russian standards the Dulas family was fairly wealthy. We lived in a fully furnished apartment, drove a new car, and even had a boat for leisure activities. I never knew exactly what my father did for a living, but remember coming home from school one day in the second grade to the shock of seeing him being arrested and taken to jail. A few days after the arrest some men came to our apartment and confiscated all our of furniture, leaving only one armchair which we used as the family bed.
My father’s absence forced my mother to take the role of being sole provider for the family. She began the daunting task of working three jobs in order to keep up with bills and put food on the table. In an effort to alleviate my mother’s burden, my older sister and I found a low paying job washing floors at a local orphanage.
At the age of seven, my daily schedule was enough to fatigue a grown man. After finishing school in the afternoons, my sister and I would head off to work to clean floors until late in the evening. With no father to defend us, my sister and I were easy prey for the boys at school. We became accustomed to their ridicule, and physical abuse. At home mom became increasingly distant emotionally and would physically beat us when her rage spilled over.
In a surprising turn of events my mother remarried, and took my brother to move in with her new husband. My sister and I were abandoned and left to survive on our own. Alone in an apartment, we kept ourselves alive on a regular diet of bread soaked in water. On special occasions my brother would bring us sugar he had stolen from my mother for us to eat with our bread soup.
I became an expert at hiding my inner pain and loneliness. I was determined not to allow people to see the poverty and depravity I lived in. Outwardly, I always tried to smile and look happy. No one cared what was going on behind my plastic façade of happiness.
As an outlet for my frustrations I began to pursue sports and became very successful as a track runner. At the high school level I received top honors, winning gold medals in various national competitions.
During college I left sports to pursue my true passion - music. As my talent developed I began receiving invitations to perform at venues around campus. A local radio station picked up my music and began giving me regular air-time. Then, at the peak of my success tragedy stuck and I completely lost my voice leaving me unable to sing.
After receiving six months of treatment at a local hospital I regained my vocal strength. However, it wasn’t long before my voice once again disappeared. This time the doctor’s diagnosis was more serious and they broke the news to me that my singing career was over. Being no stranger to difficulty I took the news in stride and moved on.
At the age of nineteen I decided to move from small-town Arhangelsk to
On the outside things looked good, but the secret inner condition of my soul was worsening. I longed for contact with my mother and secretly hoped she would call and ask how I was doing - she never did. The realization that no one cared for me became more apparent each day.
One day, while walking home from the theater a flyer caught my eye advertising a free Christian rock concert. My love of music and the fact that it was free compelled me to attend. The music I heard at the concert was different than anything I had heard before. The musicians sang with joy and conviction and all the songs were about God.
After the concert I went to meet the band and soon found myself engaged in a conversation about God. They began to tell me about Jesus and his desire to have a relationship with me. I never doubted the existence of God but for the first time I heard Him described as someone relational. At that very moment I turned to Jesus with my whole heart and found the love I had been searching for my entire life.
I joined the fellowship of believers connected with the band and began walking through the process of inner healing. Every time someone asked me about my past I could only respond with uncontrollable weeping. As people prayed for me, I was able to open up and allow the Holy Spirit to restore my broken soul.
No amount of psychological help would have accomplished even a fraction of what Jesus did for me. I’ve been transformed. In the process, He’s also restored my voice and I now sing on a worship team in church. Jesus has saved me from the constant torment of loneliness and despair, and satisfied me with the deepest longing of my soul – a relationship with Him.
News
2007 Christmas Feed-In
Each Christmas StreetCry hosts a feed-in celebration in honor of God’s love for the poor and needy. This year’s feed-in was directed specifically towards freed former heroin addicts from 11 Christian rehab centers from in and around
The evening began with a time of worship led by Bios (a visiting band from outside of
Towards the end of worship a leader from each rehab was invited on stage for a time of corporate prayer for the drug problem in
Every year our goal is to serve the best quality food affordable, so that each guest feels valued and receives badly needed nutrition. This year’s main course consisted of chicken, smoked fish, cold-cuts, cheese and a selection of five salads. Everyone was encouraged to return for a second serving (stomach permitting). It was a joy to watch the food being appreciated and devoured by the hungry guests. A dessert course of fruit, cookies and tea was served after the main.
Following the dinner, the evening concluded with a final worship time with
Prayer Points for January:
- Drug Rehab work in
- Wisdom and understanding for leadership team
- Physical and spiritual protection for entire ministry
- Spiritual breakthrough in
- Much joy for everyone in the ministry
- Wisdom, compassion, boldness and power for evangelism ministry
- Financial provision
No comments:
Post a Comment