True Freedom Found In Christ!

With fall here and winter quickly approaching, our Bible School/ School of Ministry is underway. We will be continuing to feature a different student each month in our “Student Spotlight.” Evangelism has shifted from street concerts to personal witnessing in student dorms and other locations. Our women’s rehab center has recently been dedicated and officially opened.

Student Spotlight: Gleb

Gleb is currently in his second year at our School of Ministry and is 27 years old. He ministers and travels with the evangelism and worship bands as a soundman. During our street concerts, Gleb shares his testimony, talks with drug addicts about how Jesus changed his life, and how He can do the same for them. Here is his story:

I was born in Monchegorsk in the Murmasnk region of Northern Russia, located above the Arctic Circle. I never knew my father, as he left before I was born. My mother was the only person that cared for me and raised me.

When I was five years old, I went to the local stadium to enroll to play field hockey, but I liked the idea of playing soccer much better. Although I was two years too young to play on the soccer team, my desire was so strong that the coach decided to accept me. Very quickly soccer became an important and central part of my life. Don’t give up and win at all costs became the principle of my life. Our team was very strong and became like a family and we won many local championships. In 1998, we won the Russian national championship for junior teams and traveled to play in tournaments across Europe. My life became competitions, training, and everything revolved around soccer.

I liked this very much and soon was forgetting about school. I was away all the time traveling with my team and training in sports camps. This caused me to miss many classes, but the teachers passed me knowing that I was a good athlete.

My life started to change as new interests came into my life. I started spending time with girls, going to clubs, and drinking beer. One of my friends was constantly telling me about his older brother. We thought he was cool; hanging out at different clubs, and enjoying the street and nightlife. He would also occasionally use heroin. Once I met him on the street and he asked me to chip in some money for some heroin. He was with a group and I was so happy to be accepted by them so I gladly gave them some money. They also let me have some of the heroin that they bought.

The first time that I used heroin, I really didn’t feel anything. My new friends told me just to forget about it. Yet, the dissatisfaction with life and the desire to understand what they found in heroin stayed with me. This led me to buy some heroin on my own and try it with some other friends. This was the beginning of the end. In reality, if you try heroin once, you become addicted. Like most drug addicts, I didn’t think that I was addicted. I thought I was fine and could stop any time.

I was still a good athlete, but after six months I started to see the truth. Heroin was taking a toll on my body and was consuming me and taking control of my life. One of the new priorities was finding the money I needed for heroin.

My mother realized something was wrong when I started asking for money on a regular basis. After a short period of time, I confessed everything to her. She tried to help me get out of my addiction, but none of her attempts worked.

I started using heroin because many of my friends encouraged me and told me how cool it was. My life did not become more cool and interesting because of heroin. Just the opposite happened. My life became filled with criminal activities, and with lying and stealing. My life turned into a living hell and I was the one that realized it better than anyone else. I was now constantly around dirty people, in dirty apartments, and in trouble with the police. I lived in constant fear of withdrawals, with endless efforts of trying to stop by going to hospitals and meeting with doctors and psychologists. Horror and hopelessness had filled my life. I couldn’t see light at the end of the tunnel. On one hand, I did not want to live like this, but on the other I was afraid to die if I stopped.

One day I was lying in bed in what was now our almost empty apartment because I had stolen and sold everything that belonged to my mother. I was looking at the ceiling and I could not even get up. When my mother came home from work, she had a flyer and started telling me about a rehabilitation center from StreetCry. She kept telling me that only God could help me.

Finally I agreed to go to the center. I really didn’t have any faith that it could change me, but there was a small spark of hope saying, “What if?” When I arrived at the center, I met several young people my age and was very surprised. Their eyes shined with light. They smiled. There was life in them. Hearing their life stories, I knew that they used to be drug addicts as I was.

The people in the center kept telling me about Jesus; about having a personal relationship with Him and how only Jesus could save me. My first evening in the rehab center, I spoke to Jesus and asked Him to change my life. I did not feel anything special or supernatural at that moment. I simply went to sleep.

When I woke up in the morning, I realized something unusual had happened to me. The pains of withdrawals, the brokenness, and the desire to die had all disappeared. They were all gone! I also realized that I had slept through the night, which is very unusual for addicts in my condition.

Instead of all the horrors of the past, I was filled with the peace I was looking for all along. For the first time in a long time, clarity came to my mind. Although I did not understand what was going to happen next, I understood that my past was gone. I knew that my life with drugs was over!

Gleb has become a faithful member of our staff. He is fighting with hepatitis, and is unable to afford the $2000 a month costs of the medicine. Please join us in prayer for Gleb’s complete healing.

News

Outreach in Chechulino

Just over 100 miles south of St. Petersburg, lies Chechulino, typical of many small villages in Russia. Hopelessness, poverty, drugs and alcohol are all epidemic. For three days, our team spent time with youth from a nearby church evangelizing in the village. For several young people in the village it was the first time that they had ever heard the Gospel. After sharing about rehab, one person we spoke with has already gone to get help. Several children also repented and gave their lives to the Lord. One girl ran home to find her friend, brought her to hear the Gospel, and repented that day.


Drug Rehab Center Opens

After many months of prayer and seeking the Lord, we recently dedicated our new women’s rehab center. The team is led by two delivered heroin addicts and graduates of our School of Ministry. Using the Word of God, the power of prayer, and the Lord’s ability to deliver, the team is waiting to see the transformation in the girls that the Lord will bring. The center not only sees people delivered from heroin, but also sees lives transformed into the reality of the new creation that can only come in the saving knowledge of Christ. The rehab program is one year, where the girls will experience the love of God while studying His Word. They also learn new work habits and skills that will lead to a successful Christian life after their rehab is finished. Please continue to keep Sergei, Christina, and the team in your prayers as they minister and see girls on the verge of death come back to life.


School of Ministry Starts

October 1st marked the beginning of the new school year. We have 18 students this year. Eight of our students are delivered former drug addicts and four students are living and ministering in rehab centers. Please join us in prayer for a fruitful year as the Word of God continues to transform each of the students.

Prayer Points for October:

• For a fruitful and life changing year at Bible School/School of Ministry
• For all physical and spiritual needs to be met and for growth in the staff and students
• Grace and favor for the ministry here in St. Petersburg
• Spiritual breakthrough in St. Petersburg and Russia
• Grace and anointing for the team at the women's rehab center
• Open doors for the Gospel to go out to youth in St. Petersburg and across Russia
• Anointing for the recording and work on our CD projects
• Wisdom and understanding for the leadership team
• Physical and spiritual protection for the entire ministry
• Righteousness, peace, and joy for everyone in the ministry
• Wisdom, compassion, boldness and power for evangelism ministry
• Abundant supply of finances and fruitfulness in the advancement of the Kingdom of God
• For women to come to Christ and maturity through the rehab center

Summer Evangelism Continues

The Lord has continued to open doors to minister here in St. Petersburg and other cities over the past month. Whether at evangelism concerts or just on the street, hungry people are crossing our path to hear the good news of God's Kingdom. We thank you for your prayers as we continue to see fruit in lives changed by the power of God.

Evangelism News

One of the concerts with the biggest impact was at the metro station Lomonosov. Over the years we have seen literally hundreds of drug addicts at the different concerts throughout the city, but here many of our hearts were broken as there were so many really young children that were on drugs and sniffing glue. In a place where sin and hopelessness abounds, the Lord poured out His love and mercy at this concert and several repented and gave their lives to the Lord. One of these was a man who came to the concert with his family. When he was 18, he had accepted Jesus, but because of the fear of man, he walked away from God. After 15 years of drugs, and spending time in prison, he realized what a mistake he had made. He repented and dedicated his life to the Lord.

Near the metro station Bolshevikov, the Lord drew several people to the concert. Two drug addicts, who had recently left a rehab center in Moscow, were witnessed to and paid close attention when a born again former drug addict was giving his testimony. Another young man decided to walk home after work instead of taking the bus. He stopped and listened to the music and we talked, and shared scriptures with him for over 30 minutes before he repented.

Outreach in Finland

Finland neighbors Russia on the northwest border. It is a beautiful, orderly nation, one of the most expensive in the world and always ranks among the highest nations in suicides. Earlier this summer, John and Sara were in Finland and came across a rock festival in a park in Helsinki. While witnessing to sub-culture youth, their hearts were broken even more for the youth of Finland. They met a group of Christians who were also witnessing and we were invited to bring a team to witness at a larger rock festival later in the summer where over 20,000 youth from across Finland and many other nations would come.

Our team of ten joined a group of around 100 Finns to witness to the youth at the festival. The group we joined has been throughout Finland witnessing summer.

On the road leading to the festival was an area that was set up where the team could preach and witness . Although many youth had a negative reaction when they walked by and saw a cross, once we got a chance to talk to them, we were able to share our hearts and some were very open. One young musician, who stopped by later in the day and jammed with us, woke up hearing us preach about the love of God and we were able to minister to him. Another girl heard the Gospel preached and was deeply touched. She was sitting all alone with head down and in obvious depression. One of the team members came up and sat beside her silently. In a few moments the girl asked him, "How can I give my life to Jesus?" She had previously attempted suicide by slashing her wrists and had been in a psychiatric hospital. She gave her life to Jesus that day on the street.

A young man shared with us how lonely he was. We sat, talked, and read the Bible with him. When asking him if he wanted to give his life to the Lord, he kept saying, "One day, one day." We left after praying with him, knowing the Lord had touched his heart.

A young man we met didn't want to talk about Jesus. When asked why, he said he didn't believe that Jesus was the Son of God, but was simply a good man. This opened the door and we were able to minister to him for more than an hour; read scriptures and prayed with him.


Outreach in Ostrov and Pskov

A team traveled to Ostrov, a town of 30,000 people 180 miles south of St. Petersburg. We had an evangelism concert attended over 150 youth. Although we had problems with the electricity, our drummer kept playing through as the singers kept singing until the power came back on. Three people repented after the concert. One young man listened as we shared the Gospel for over 20 minutes. He repented, came to church the following day where there was a acurate word of knowledge about the Lord wanting to heal his stomach.

The next day, the team ministered at the church that had invited us; leading worship, preaching, sharing prophetic words and praying for many people. After the service the pastor shared how the prophetic words hit the bull's-eye and had encouraged the congregation who had received the words.

Later that night, the team traveled to a nearby city, Pskov for an evangelism concert. Many sub-culture youth came dressed in black and all the latest gothic get up. One girl was glued to her seat and you could tell that she was deeply touched by God during the concert. Although she didn't repent at the concert, we were able to pray for her that the Lord would continue the work He had started in her life.


Updates:

Following up from the trip our students took to Novokuybyshesk (see last month’s newsletter, August 2007), over 21 people have called our hotline for drug addicts and several have gone to rehab centers. We thank the Lord for these and ask for your continued prayers for those that have entered rehab and for continued fruit from this and the many other outreaches the ministry has been involved in this summer.

Thank you for all of you who have prayed for us to find a building for our women's rehab center. We have found a building about an hour and a half from St. Petersburg and recently signed a lease. We plan on moving in and dedicating the facilities during the first part of September.


Prayer Points for September:

• Continued fruit in the lives of those ministered to by our teams during the outreaches this summer
• Grace and favor for our ministry here in St. Petersburg
• Anointing for the recording and work on our next CD’s
• Financial supply and increased fruitfulness for the ministry
• Wisdom and understanding for the leadership team
• Physical and spiritual protection for the entire ministry
• For the students and staff for the upcoming year at the School of Ministry
• Grace and anointing for the team opening a women's rehab center this month
• Spiritual breakthrough in St. Petersburg and Russia