Dear Friends,
We hope that everyone had a blessed Easter. We are all so
thankful for Jesus, the Passover Lamb, who not only took away the sins of the
world, but specifically gave his life for each one of us, so that we could be
free and have something to live for!
We are excited to announce the birth of our new church here in
Tallinn, Estonia. It is called The Living Room Fellowship, and it presently
consists of 9 people who feel called to be part of what we are doing. Our
church meets in the café, and our first official service will be tonight April 6th. This is exactly two years to the day that we signed the contract with the city for our student café. All of the church members are under 30 except Sara and I, and it
is a blessing to work with faithful and dedicated young people. Our outreach is
primarily to youth, and specifically college aged kids.
We are very interested in having people with a missionary call
on their lives come and see what we are doing and even come to work and live
here in Tallinn. If you or any members of your church feel led to come and
visit or to come and work for a season, please drop us a line. We specifically
need musicians, artists and generally any young people under 30 who enjoy
evangelism and praying for people.
Last week I had a very interesting experience. While out walking
I was approached by a Hari Krishna devotee. I usually try to tell them Jesus
loves them, but normally the conversations do not get far. When I looked into
the eyes of the young man who approached me, I saw someone who was sincerely
searching for the truth. I spoke briefly with him and gave him a 2 minute
version of my testimony of coming to Jesus. As I walked away I started getting
words of knowledge for him, so I stopped and asked the Lord if I should go back
and tell him now, or go back to him after finishing the walk. I decided to talk
with him later, so as I continued walking I felt the Lord give me more things
about him, and that I should also pray together with the young man.
An hour passed before I came back, and I asked
"Nikita" if he had a few minutes to talk. I shared with him that he
was a sincere seeker of truth and that he is a person who has never been
interested in material things, and has always known there is more to life that
a nice house, big car, money and things. I told him that he is on a path
looking for truth and the time would come when he would realize that Krishna is
not the way, and that when he realized that, Jesus Christ would be waiting for
him. Then I shared with him a longer version of my testimony, about my
understanding that I was a sinner needing to repent and accept Jesus as my Lord
and Savior. I told him that Jesus was the only way, the only truth and the only
way to heaven. He was very receptive, and although 2 older Krishnaites tried to
break up our talk, it continued without interference. He was eagerly listening
to everything I said. When we finished talking, I forgot that the Lord had told
me to pray for him. So, as I shook his hand to leave, he said, "Wait, will
you pray for me that I can find what you found." I took his hand and began
praying, breaking off deception and lying spiritual influences. Then I asked if
he would like to give his heart to Jesus Christ right now, and he said,
"Yes." So we prayed together for repentance and receiving Jesus.
Again I was about to leave, and shake his hand, but he embraced
me like a son with a father. It was a beautiful experience. Please pray for
Nikita that he gets plugged into the word of God. The experience was a good
reminder to always be ready to give an account of the faith that is inside of
you. As 1 Peter 3:15 says "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone
who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with
gentleness and respect."
Thank you for your friendship, prayers and continued support of
our ministry!
John Russell
StreetCry Ministries
The Living Room Fellowship
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