2006 / 2007 Ministry School Graduation

If you have been reading our newsletters this past year you have gotten to know some of our students through the monthly ‘Student Spotlight’ feature. This past month these and other students finished their ministry school courses. June’s newsletter features one final student spotlight from this past year’s class and also news from the graduation ceremony.

Student Spotlight: Irina Smirnova

Irena is a 1st year student in the school of ministry and works as a journalist for a Christian television network in Russia. She has a passion for evangelism and shares the gospel with people wherever she goes. Here is her story:

As a child, before I had heard the good news about Jesus, I had a sense there was a deeper meaning to life than I understood. While most children were concerned with playing my thoughts were often consumed with spiritual matters and finding the true meaning of life.

My first experience with Jesus occurred when I was 10 years old. During perestroika (a time of social, economic, and political reform in Russia) the ‘Jesus’ film was broadcast on national television in Russia for the first time. As I sat alone in my living room watching that night I was captivated by the sacrificial love of this man named Jesus. I became aware that He was the one I had been searching for.

At the conclusion of the movie there was an invitation to pray the ‘sinner’s prayer’ and begin a relationship with Jesus. In tears I repeated the prayer and asked God to take away all of my sin and also the sin of my family.

The following year a group of Pentecostal missionaries moved to our city and planted a church. One day while my mother was at work, a woman from this church gave her an invitation to attend a Sunday service. She agreed to attend and brought my father and I with her. In a short amount of time my parents accepted Jesus into their hearts and became actively involved in the church.

Following my parents example, I took an active role in the church youth group and helped with leading worship. I carried a burden for the unreached in our community and inviting everyone I knew to church to hear the gospel.

After a couple of years my spiritual life began to wane and influences from the world began to work their way into my life. I continued my heavy involvement at church but began smoking, drinking and even experimenting with drugs. At times I would show up to worship services high and fall unconscious while worshipping. People would ask my parents if there was something wrong with me and they would explain that I was just having some kind of experience with God.

This double minded lifestyle continued throughout my high school years. When I turned 17 and graduated from high school I was recruited to attend a university in St. Petersburg. I made the decision to accept the invitation and leave behind everything familiar to move to the ‘big city’.

In St. Petersburg the new group of friends I joined was made up of non-Christian creative people studying theater, art and music. One day a group of us interested in music decided to form a punk band and began playing concerts in clubs around the city. We pursued the dream of becoming ‘rock stars’ and would drink excessively while experimenting with different psychedelic drugs. Because of the drugs I began losing my sense of reality and developed many different irrational fears about death and the world coming to an end.

One night after a concert, one of our band members was instantly killed in a car accident. The suddenness of his death came with great impact and caused me to begin rethinking the state of my spiritual life. While attending my friend’s funeral I began silently crying out to God asking Him if I could return to Him. However, the weight of shame and self-condemnation I carried prevented me from receiving any forgiveness from Him. Because I did not understand God’s heart towards me I returned to my lifestyle of touring with the band.

Soon after the funeral I accidentally ingested some poison and my body went into toxic shock. The friends who were with me quickly called an ambulance and began saying their goodbyes to me thinking they were going to lose another friend. Fortunately I recovered but was left with extensive damage to my digestive system.

This damage left me unable to digest food or liquids normally and caused my body to begin breaking down. While lying in bed one day my eyes were drawn to a Bible I kept on a bookshelf that had the words ‘God is love’ written in bold letters across the cover. I began to reflect on the meaning of these words as I lay there and began to wonder if God’s love was big enough to forgive me for my years of backsliding. I remembered a church I had heard about in the area and decided to attend the next Sunday service.

When Sunday morning came I was almost physically unable to get out of bed. Eventually I worked up the strength to get out the door and headed towards church. When I left my apartment I had one request to God in my heart - I wanted my life to be restored.

That morning, during the worship time, a supernatural peace surrounded me that I had not felt in years. For a few minutes I was able to forget all of the problems surrounding my life and focus on Jesus. The warmth of His love surrounded me and I felt Him drawing me towards Himself. The eyes of my heart began to open and I recognized in that moment that His love towards me was more than enough to cover all of my sin towards Him. Unable to resist this force, I turned my heart towards Him and repented for resisting Him all these years.

After worship, communion was served. As we ate the bread and drank the grape juice I began to feel the supernatural power of God surge through every cell of my body. I responded very emotionally to what was happening and began crying uncontrollably. This lasted for about 30 minutes and created quite a disturbance in the meeting. After the feeling had subsided I realized that God had completely healed my body!

As I left church that morning I realized God had answered the desire of my heart and completely restored me both spiritually and physically. My perspective on life changed completely and I now saw the world in full color. My life is a true testimony of the overwhelming love of God and His heart to restore anybody who is willing to receive Him. It is now my passion to share this love with the world and declare His greatness everywhere I go.

News

School of Ministry Graduation

The school of ministry graduation ceremony was held on May 19th and this year 14 first year students and 10 second year students received diplomas. The ceremony was a joyful time of celebration and reflection on the great work God had done in each student’s life.

In the past, some graduates have gone on to pursue full-time ministry. Natasha, an alumnus of the school of ministry, was in attendance at the ceremony to share on her experience in ministering at a drug rehab since graduating. She delivered a challenging message on some of the difficult realities of pursuing God and being used in ministry. It was a timely and sobering message especially for the graduating students.

Everyone at the ministry is extremely proud of this years graduating class and hopes to see each student continue in a lasting, fruitful walk with God. We thank God for every life that has been changed though attending the school and eagerly anticipate staring again in autumn as we begin to process incoming applications.

School of Ministry Testimonials

The following are brief testimonials from graduating students describing their experiences at the school of ministry:

My training at the school of ministry has given me freedom from the fear of what man thinks about me and greater fear of what God thinks about me. I have also gained a greater understanding of prophetic ministry and how to use prophecy to minister to and encourage others. Additionally, I now understand that godly character and walking in the fruit of the Spirit is more important than spiritual gifting and that using your gift can have destructive consequences if it is used without having the fruit of the Spirit in your life. Also, I have learned to set priorities in my life and that my first priority is my personal relationship with God.
- Christina Kapralova – 2nd Year Graduate

As a result of attending the ministry school I have learned to pay closer attention to the voice of God. Now that I am hearing Him speak to me I am able to make better decisions in what I should do with my life. I have fallen more in love with God and continue to draw closer to Him as I learn His language. This past year God has also taught me how to overcome offenses I struggled with towards others.
- Irina Smirnova - 1st Year Graduate

While at the ministry school I developed habits that have helped me in my relationship with the Lord. I have learned to delight myself in the Lord and trust Him in every situation. God has taught me how to be a friend and love people. I have gained a sincere compassion for the lost and been compelled to regularly pray and reach out to them. I have also been activated in using my spiritual gifts such as: prophecy, evangelism, prayer and worship. I now know that I personally have a ministry and calling.
- Victoria Dulas – 2nd Year Graduate

During my daughter’s 2 years of studies at the school of ministry, God has been healing and restoring her heart in dramatic ways. Each day I would wait for her to come home and share with me what she had learned. Often at night we would sit together until the morning hours as Tanya would expound on truths from the Word of God. For me it was living water and as if I had gone through the ministry school together with her!
- Galina (Mother of 2nd year graduate)

Student Ministry Trip

Following their graduation, the students participate in a ministry trip to outlying areas of Russia or bordering nations. These trips present unique opportunities for the students to apply their ministry training in cities and towns where there is much need and spiritual hunger.

This year they will be traveling to the city of Novokirbirchesk in Southern Russia near Kazakhstan. While there, the students will focus on doing street evangelism and teaching believers in a local church on prophetic ministry, evangelism, and worship. The church they have been invited to speak in has been meeting for only 2 months and is made up mostly of rehabilitants from a Christian rehab center in the region. The students will be leaving St. Petersburg on June the 23rd and returning on July 6th. Please pray for their safety and God’s blessing on the trip.

Prayer Points for June:

• Direction for gradating students as they seek God for the next season of their lives
  

• For an effective School of Ministry Outreach in Southern Russia
  

• Power and anointing for street evangelism concerts taking place in St. Petersburg
  

• Righteousness, peace, and joy for everyone in the ministry
  

• Spiritual breakthrough in St. Petersburg and Russia
  

• Physical and spiritual protection for the entire ministry
  

• Wisdom and understanding for the leadership team
  

• Abundant supply of finances for the advancement of the Kingdom of God
  

• Wisdom, compassion, boldness and power for evangelism ministry
  

• Spiritual growth of school of ministry students and staff
  

• Financial supply and increased fruitfulness for the ministry

Open Doors

God has been opening doors for new ministry opportunities this past month. We are praying that doors continue to open as the ministry school students prepare for graduation and decide what’s next. Featured in this month’s newsletter is a new student spotlight and news regarding an upcoming event with Streams Ministries and an outreach in a public high school in Kolpino.

Student Spotlight: Zhenya Sushkova

Zhenya is currently studying in her first year at the StreetCry School of Ministry and is 27 years old. In addition to spending her time as a student, she ministers at a Christian female rehab center in St. Petersburg. Zhenya is engaged to be married in June, following her graduation from the School of Ministry. Here is her story:

My life as a child was typical of most other young Russian girls. I had the typical dreams many girls share of one day falling in love with a ‘prince charming’ and then having a fairytale wedding and living happily ever after. Unfortunately, very few girls growing up where I did ever saw these types of dreams come true.

As a student growing up I received praise from all my teachers for my academic excellence. The gifting I possessed enabled me to also excel in extra curricular activities such as music and sports. However, by the time I entered my teenage years I began to exhibit signs of rebellion. Soon I found it easier to go out and be with my friends than stay at home and practice the violin or study algebra. I was bored with life and looking for some excitement.

I found this excitement in a particular guy I fell in love with at school. He introduced me to a whole new world of excitement I was eager to explore. At this time in Russia it had become very fashionable to use heroin. Not wanting to be left behind in any trend, we began experimenting with this drug. In a short amount of time we (and many others our age) were hooked and using regularly.

By the age of 16 I had become an addict and was living with my boyfriend. Although Russian society is far from being a standard in moral conduct, one thing still considered taboo is for an unmarried couple to live together. Because of the stigma surrounding this lifestyle my parents pressured my boyfriend and I to get married.

There comes a point in the life of most heroin addicts when the growing addiction becomes too expensive and additional methods of obtaining income are explored. For some this means resorting to prostitution, but for the majority it becomes theft. My husband and I chose the latter and developed a daily routine of stealing in the mornings and then shooting up with heroin in the afternoons.

After two years of following this routine my husband was caught by the police and taken to prison. I continued stealing from expensive boutiques and outdoor markets on my own. My insatiable appetite for heroin made me fearless in doing whatever it took to get money.

In the year 2000 I celebrated my 21^st birthday. For most girls this is a time to celebrate being in the physical prime of life. My physical prime had already been wasted because of my lifestyle and I felt more like an old ‘babushka’ (Russian for grandmother) than a young woman.

Soon after my birthday my husband was released from prison. When we were reunited it felt as if we were complete strangers, however, we still shared a dependency on heroin which gave us a reason to once again depend on each other.

My life hit rock bottom when eventually I was physically unable to get out of bed in the mornings until someone had injected heroin into my body. My husband would bring my dose to me and try and find a vein big enough to receive the needle. Over time my veins became so small that the only place I could receive an injection was through my fingers and toes.

Soon after this I made an attempt to end my life. I slit both my wrists but was saved by a friend before I lost too much blood. Today, the scars left behind from this incident are a reminder to me of how close I came to death.

In 2005 I had a surprise visit from an old girlfriend from school who now lived in St. Petersburg with her husband. They had both been drug addicts but were now free as a result of joining a Christian rehab. As she was describing her experience at the rehab I felt hope begin to rise in my heart that I too could be helped. I needed to make a drastic change in my life and thought that this was my golden opportunity.

My husband’s response to the idea of joining a Christian rehab was not very positive. He had major issues with Christianity and did not feel he was ready to leave drugs behind. Still I felt this was my only chance of surviving my addiction and secretly I enrolled to join the rehab. As soon as I received my acceptance letter I packed my bags and told my husband I was leaving to get the help I needed.

Once at the rehab I was told about Jesus Christ for the first time in my life. The leaders explained to me that He was the only one who could truly break the power of addiction over my life but that first I would need to acknowledge my sin and repent. This was difficult for me to accept because I was a very proud person.

A few days later I woke up with an unfamiliar feeling in my soul. I felt restless and that something was not right inside of me. I went to my leaders and tried to describe what was happening. They recognized that I was feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit and suggested that we pray together.

As we began to pray the wall of pride around my heart fell and I began to weep uncontrollably. I felt God’s love pour over me and asked for Him to save me. After we finished praying I stood to my feet feeling that a transformation had occurred in my inner man.

Upon completing the rehabilitation I received the news that my husband had divorced me. This was difficult news for me to accept but I have since moved on and chosen to allow God to continue piecing together the broken parts of my soul.

Everyday I’m alive I stand in awe at the love of God. It is beyond my understanding how someone as Holy as He is could reach down and help a proud, filthy, drug addict. This love has renewed my youth and filled me with the vision of helping other girls who are in the same situation as I was. He has become my hope and my future.

News

Upcoming Training Course with Streams Ministries

StreetCry will be hosting a spiritual development training course at the end May with two itinerant speakers from Streams Ministries. The topics to be covered include intercession and prophetic evangelism. The speakers will spend three days doing intensive training with the school of ministry students and then one full day of meetings open to the general public. Everyone at the ministry is very excited to be hosting such a dynamic event. To learn more about Streams Ministries you can visit their website at www.streamsministies.com.

Drug Prevention Outreach in Kolpino

A group of school of ministry students recently had an opportunity to speak in a public high school in Kolpino on the subject of drug prevention. Although they were not permitted to openly share the gospel, they were able to warn the students about the serious drug problem facing Russian youth. They were also able to share their testimonies of how attending a Christian rehab center helped them to overcome their drug addictions. Many of the young people they talked to responded very positively and important relationships were formed that could open the door for future ministry opportunities.

Prayer Points for May:

• That we would have a fruitful, life changing conference, and that all necessary physical and spiritual preparations for it would be accomplished
  

• For fruitful spring and summer outreaches resulting in souls saved and Kingdom advancement
  

• For fruitful evangelism trips for the graduating students
  

• Open doors for the gospel to go out to youth in St. Petersburg
  

• Financial supply and increased fruitfulness for the ministry
  

• Spiritual growth of school of ministry students and staff
  

• Wisdom and understanding for the leadership team
  

• Physical and spiritual protection for the entire ministry
  

• Spiritual breakthrough in St. Petersburg and Russia
  

• Righteousness, peace, and joy for everyone in the ministry
  

• Wisdom, compassion, boldness and power for evangelism ministry
  

• Abundant supply of finances for the advancement of the Kingdom of God