Peace and grace to you from Russia! We thank God for your faithful service and prayers for us since our recent move. There are people here who love Jesus, and they thank God for bringing us to the community to minister the word.
Since the gospel has not been proclaimed clearly in this area, and the churches are unhealthy, we want to strive to preach the gospel accurately. By the end of the year, we desire a better understanding of the people and to have a defined membership of the church. For this purpose, I plan to preach on the Psalms, the Gospel, and the First Epistle of John and to teach “Foundations of Faith.”
Last week, I went to a nearby town to communicate with the pastor of a small church of 15 people. In the evening, we discussed with three brothers until midnight, the place the gospel of grace occupies in our hearts and how hard religious hypocrisy and trust in our own merits keeps us away from Christ.
The thing that now occupies the hearts of people in our church the most is the battle of one of our sisters with cancer. I repeatedly see this interesting pattern in my ministry: people who need encouragement most are not those who are sick but those who are healthy. And it is not healthy who encourage the sick most but vice-versa! Indeed, the Son of Man came not to those who are healthy but to those who are sick. If you pray for sister Tatiana, I want you to be encouraged. Her elder daughter said, “To be honest, I am much more pleased with mom’s spiritual condition now than before she got sick.”
Every time I apply truths of Scripture to her life situation, she erupts in thanksgiving. This is happening even as she is pain from metastases that spread into her bones. One night she asked her husband to call me and ask me to come. She was exhausted from the pain and lack of sleep. Seeing her clung to Christ is a huge encouragement to our little congregation.
Pray please for the salvation and service of the Lord of my house. Ask the Lord to awaken the hearts of unbelievers in our Assembly and bless the establishment of our church. Also, pray for our evangelism with Molokan cults, in which there are hundreds of people.
Sincerely, Andrei
