Dear Friends and Family!
We want to first of all wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a blessed and fruitful new year of 2017. We are very excited about 2017 and believe that it will be a year of breakthrough and fruitfulness for those in the body of Christ that persevere and press through believing His promises.
We are very thankful to the Lord for every one of you, for your continual prayers for us and our ministry, and for your faithful financial support. For those in the US and Canada, we hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving season. We all have so much to be thankful for.
CHRISTMAS FEED-IN
Christmas season is approaching very fast and we are preparing for our 9th Annual Christmas Feed-in in Tallinn, Estonia, and our 21st in St. Petersburg, Russia. This year the Feed-ins in Tallinn will be held on December 17-18. We have just one and a half weeks left. Over the course of two days we are expecting to host and provide Christmas dinner for 100 Estonian and foreign students who don't have families or are unable to be with them over the Christmas season. We are really excited and in anticipation to see what the Lord has prepared for this year. We are believing and praying for many souls to experience God's love, His presence and touch.
In previous years we have had good connections with food companies and many brothers and sisters in Christ have supported these projects. Because of generous giving we have usually had an abundance of food and everything else we needed. We are very thankful for everyone's support.
NANCY'S TESTIMONY FROM TALLINN FOOD FESTIVAL
Every year the Tallinn Food Festival is held in the end of October to showcase new and old food companies doing business in Estonia. Almost every year we have been going there to meet companies that would be interested in participating and donating food and other products for our Christmas Feed-in.
Before going in we prayed that we would be able to be a blessing to the people we meet, and that God would lead and guide us, give us divine appointments and opportunities to pray for people there.
The first person we approached was a lady who was feeling really sick. She was open for us to pray for her. Overall we had a chance to pray for 5 different people and share with them the love of Christ. Just before leaving the building a man with crutches came in through the doors, and I knew we had to pray for him. I came up to him asking: ''Would you like to be healed?'' He answered, ''I will be healed after undergoing an operation.'' I asked him, '' But would you like to be healed right now?'' We could see that he was very surprised as he said, ''What do I need to do for that?''. I explained to him that we will just pray to Jesus and ask Him to heal him. After laying my hand on his knee and praying for him I asked him to move his leg. As he was moving it he said in amazement ''It is better!'' I told him that Jesus is healing him. Shannon and I were so filled with joy and excitement that God was moving and touching people.
Please join us in prayer for the people we met and the contacts we built, that God would continue to touch their hearts. Most of the companies were interested in cooperating with us.
THE LIVING ROOM OPEN MIC
Once a month we have been holding Open Mic evenings at the coffee shop. Different musicians can sign up to be auditioned and then participate in the event. These events are designed to make it possible for young people to have opportunity to share their gifts and talents in a friendly and supportive environment. Many young people have been participating, and we had 6 performances last time. The Living Room band and some other Christian groups have been performing as well. For us the main purpose of these events is to meet new people and to share the Gospel with them. We have been able to share our testimonies between the songs and were talking with people about Jesus. One of the girls told us that the concert she attended was better than all the concerts that she has been to and had to pay for. Another girl was touched to tears because of the personal testimony Imre shared. Our prayer is that the Word of God that we share would fall into good ground of the hearts and bear fruit into eternity.
SATURDAY STREET EVANGELISM
It is always encouraging to be able to go out witnessing on Saturdays. People that we meet on the streets are often open for conversations about Jesus.
One Saturday we met a couple of muslim guys who were interested in talking about Christianity and wanted to know more about it. We shared with them about Jesus being the only way to the Father and how much He loves them. In the end we asked if we could pray for them to experience the love of Jesus, and they they were happy to do it. They were thankful that we prayed for them.
Three other girls we talked with were so amazed when we shared about God's power to heal that they wanted to know more about it. So, the next day they came to our Sunday service. We shared prophetic words with them and Imre shared his testimony. We pray that God keeps on touching and drawing them to Himself.
One Saturday we met a couple of muslim guys who were interested in talking about Christianity and wanted to know more about it. We shared with them about Jesus being the only way to the Father and how much He loves them. In the end we asked if we could pray for them to experience the love of Jesus, and they they were happy to do it. They were thankful that we prayed for them.
Three other girls we talked with were so amazed when we shared about God's power to heal that they wanted to know more about it. So, the next day they came to our Sunday service. We shared prophetic words with them and Imre shared his testimony. We pray that God keeps on touching and drawing them to Himself.
FEED - IN, RUSSIA
This coming January we are going to hold the 21st Christmas Feast expecting about 300 people from 17 Christian rehabilitation centers. Many young men and women come to an event like this for the first time in their lives. Some who are new to their rehab center do not know Jesus personally yet. So it is a beautiful opportunity for them to hear the Gospel and powerful testimonies of salvation and deliverance of their peers and to open hearts to Jesus and to start a new life in Christ. Rehabilitation centers participate in food preparation and transportation to the facility we rent for the event. The participation of many in the spirit of unity and bond of peace is a huge inspiration for us all.
This year Sara is taking a team of 5 from Estonia to participate in the Feed-in. We would really appreciate your prayers for God to supply the needs for this trip and will be grateful for any financial donation if God puts it on your heart to give for this celebration.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
- for preparation for Christmas Feed-ins
- for hearts to be touched and lives to be changed through the ministry during this Christmas season
- for powerful ministry through music and worship
- for spiritual and physical strength of the staff
- for volunteers in the church and for the Feed-in
- for many souls to experience God's love, His presence and touch
- for God's provision and support for the ministry
- for safety and protection of Natasha and Lana, and their team, blessing and growth of their ministry in India
- for fruitful 2017 year for the church in Tallinn, church growth and growth of the members
Much love and thanks to you all! May you be blessed beyond measure this coming year!
John and Sara Russell,
and the Living Room Fellowship team
for StreetCry Ministries, The Living Room Fellowship and the Living Room Student Cafe
John and Sara Russell,
and the Living Room Fellowship team
for StreetCry Ministries, The Living Room Fellowship and the Living Room Student Cafe
Much of the preparation is happening in the spirit realm as we get together on a weekly basis to intercede for the souls who will come. At the same time we are in touch with food companies in Tallinn, and also getting together for music practices and working on dinner menu.
