Nelly brought several DVDs for me to watch. I really liked couple of them: “About a Boy” with Hue Grant and “Antwone Fisher” with Denzel Washington. Both movies brought me to a deeper understanding of the simple truth that God won’t ask what kind of car I drove in Cherepovets. He will ask how many people I drove who didn’t have transportation. Jesus won’t ask the square footage of my place; He will ask how many people I welcomed into my apartment. He won’t ask about the clothes I had in my closet, He will ask how many I helped to clothe. God won’t ask how much money I had; He will ask if I compromised my character to obtain the monies. God won’t ask what my job title was; He will ask if I performed my job to the best of my ability. Jesus won’t ask how many friends I had; He will ask how many people to whom I was a friend. (“About a Boy”) God won’t ask in what neighborhood I lived; He will ask how I treated my neighbors. Jesus won’t ask about the color of my skin either but He will ask about the content of my character. (Antwone Fisher) Also, God won’t ask how many people I influenced in a positive truly Christian way and they changed; He already knows them. (Antwone Fisher and About a Boy) I truly recommend everyone to watch these great movies!!!! I understand that we come into this world to live 70-80 years with one purpose… and it is to do somebody a favor. I thought doing somebody a favor is minor but according to Jesus it is huge! He did me a favor; He died for me and redeemed me from the power of sin and death.
Serving Jesus in America, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Africa, India and to the ends of the Earth... this is a blog of our family life, ministry experiences, and thoughts relating to ministry Jesus called us in to... "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations... teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you..."
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Hospital/Moscow/Day 11
Nelly brought several DVDs for me to watch. I really liked couple of them: “About a Boy” with Hue Grant and “Antwone Fisher” with Denzel Washington. Both movies brought me to a deeper understanding of the simple truth that God won’t ask what kind of car I drove in Cherepovets. He will ask how many people I drove who didn’t have transportation. Jesus won’t ask the square footage of my place; He will ask how many people I welcomed into my apartment. He won’t ask about the clothes I had in my closet, He will ask how many I helped to clothe. God won’t ask how much money I had; He will ask if I compromised my character to obtain the monies. God won’t ask what my job title was; He will ask if I performed my job to the best of my ability. Jesus won’t ask how many friends I had; He will ask how many people to whom I was a friend. (“About a Boy”) God won’t ask in what neighborhood I lived; He will ask how I treated my neighbors. Jesus won’t ask about the color of my skin either but He will ask about the content of my character. (Antwone Fisher) Also, God won’t ask how many people I influenced in a positive truly Christian way and they changed; He already knows them. (Antwone Fisher and About a Boy) I truly recommend everyone to watch these great movies!!!! I understand that we come into this world to live 70-80 years with one purpose… and it is to do somebody a favor. I thought doing somebody a favor is minor but according to Jesus it is huge! He did me a favor; He died for me and redeemed me from the power of sin and death.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Hospital/Moscow/Day 10
I woke up this morning feeling so blue. Good morning, Father. No answer… Daddy, please don’t play hide-and-seek with me today. But He still did… often times my life reminds me of the game I played with my mom and dad when I was little. They often played hide-and-seek with me. It seems to me that my heavenly Father likes to play the same game with me over and over again. He hides and I seek. I guess hide-and-seek must be good for me. It is a learning process. I constantly learn to realize He is still around although I can’t see, feel, or sense Him. Dad wants me to realize He is the absolute. He exists always. I find it very interesting… a minute ago I saw Him in the Word, or the simple truth, or a miracle but next thing I know, He is not around anymore, I can’t see Him, I look around and all I see is the troubled world I live in. I learned His favorite hiding place, though… He likes to hide behind His creation. To find Him, I sit still and gaze at His creation: waterfalls, skies, birds, mountains, animals, ocean, rivers, fishes, and of course, peoples. I see Him there. When I concentrate on His works and powers, I forget about my sickness, cold feet and high temperature and start believing in Him even more!
Hospital/Moscow/Day 9
Astronomers found out that not every star in the skies shines her light. There are huge massive stars there in the universe but they do not shine their light, on the contrary they consume the light. Such stars are called Black Holes. There are too many black holes there in this world. If there’s any light there in you, let it shine. Lord, please help me bring the light into this dark place!
Hospital/Moscow/Day 8
To tell you the truth, I am very happy that no one can be told what the Kingdom of God is. Every person has to see the King and the Kingdom for him/herself. Everyone needs to come and taste how good the Lord is for himself! It is a serious decision to come see the King in person and let Him free oneself up from the system of this world. A human who knows or feels that something is wrong with the system, can’t tell exactly what it is, but knows that it is there will be able to make the decision. It is this feeling that will bring the person to the Lord. There should be a question like a splinter there in that person’s mind, driving him/her mad: What is this system all about? Can the system tell me who I am? If not, who can? Who am I? All these questions have nothing to do with you becoming religious but FREE from the system of the corrupted world we live in. Being free from the system enables a person to bring spirituality to material people. I strongly believe that only free spirits are given the power to perform miracles and bring the light into the dark.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Hospital/Moscow/Day 7
Hospital/Moscow/Day 6
Observed an interesting thing this morning, if I allow depression or anxiety to come in, my God Channel gets cluttered, the signal becomes weak and breaks up on me, I then lose touch with the Lord! When I lose touch with Him I am lost. David once said: (paraphrase) You hid your face from me and I am lost! Like an astronaut, as soon as he loses touch with the Base, he is lost in space. It is scary! I have been that road before. I know where it ends and I do not want to be there. I need Him online all the time; He leads me, gets me back on track helping me take my showers, shave, read, pray, and go thru my daily routine living it from almost to utmost… still dizzy in my head… sick in my stomach… my body temp fluctuates… Lord, have mercy on me!
Hospital/Moscow/Day 5
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Hospital/Moscow/Day 4
This morning I realize it even deeper that every little thing that takes place in my life was allowed in by the Almighty! The biggest miracle of today is that I am still alive and God is still working on me remodeling, changing, and recreating! It hurts. Jesus, please free my mind. Let me hold on to your abundant Life! Thank you, Lord! Father I feel so sick and fatigue… feel terrible…
Hospital/Moscow/Day 3
What happened to me? – Honestly, we do not know… we couldn’t detect anything in your blood or in your stomach. You took strong medicine on the plane... it is our guess the Malaria and Giardia parasite that were detected in Tanzania made you feel very ill; your body was not prepared to handle those two together, on top of that, the parasite along with the strong medicine obviously made you real sick… the Malaria only makes people sick after it goes untreated for a time but in your situation, it behaved differently due to the intestinal infection you got, anti-malaria pills you have been taking, and your weak immune system: you are 44, and you live in the cold and never used your immune system in the tropical climate… am I seriously sick? – You ARE and you are NOT, the doctor said. Great, I thought to myself... Lord, what do you have to say about that? I am still very weak and burning in my face, legs, and feet? What is going on with me, Lord?
Hospital/Moscow/Day 2
A nurse woke me up by taking my blood… feel very weak, tremor on the inside, every other hour ladies in white gowns come take my blood and go away and come back again… next time I woke up, I saw an IV stand by the bed… what are you going to do?... bring you back to normal, young man... rest… test results and answers are coming…
Hospital/Moscow/Day 1
Feeling so sick… never felt that way in my life before… going down… deep down… seems I am dying… tumbling down the rabbit hole… how deep the rabbit hole goes? my skin is burning, my stomach is rumbling constantly… threw up a couple of times… went cold, went hot, went out… here we go again… down the rabbit hole… bad dream… woke up… opened my eyes… dark hospital room… am I dead? – Not really, said the nurse, you are down but still alive… praise the Lord, I murmured
Monday, December 8, 2008
To my African Family
Thank you for your prayers and encouraging messages! I am writing to let you know that Alex and I think of you often and lift you guys up to the Lord in our prayers! As you may already know, I became very sick on the Malaria the day we came back from Tanga, Tanzania. I was so very weak and dizzy that all I could do was to stay in bed at Troy’s. Next day I went to see a doctor in Moshi and was diagnosed with the Malaria and some kind of intestinal infection. The parasite along with the medicine made me very ill. Alex and I had to fly to Moscow next day. I cried out to the Lord, my friends Troy and Jen, Alex, Charles and his wife lifted me up to God in prayer and He heard our cry and had mercy on me, Alex and all my friends who prayed for me, lest they should have sorrow upon sorrow. On the plane I became very ill again and when we arrived in Moscow, the doctor on duty at the airport rushed me straight into the hospital. At the hospital the tropic diseases specialist told me that there’s no one in Cherepovets, my hometown who could have helped me with the malaria. There are no malaria specialists there in Cherepovets, he said, all malaria patients are sent to Moscow to this place from Cherepovets. Alex and I thanked the Lord for sending me directly to this wonderful place. I am going to be here for 15 more days. In spite of my circumstances, I go to the Lord to give thanks to my Father for all the blessings He has bestowed unto us all while in Tanzania. I am praying that you, my dear brothers may continue to seek the face of the Lord and be filled with the knowledge of His will and walk in a manner worthy of the Lord so that you may please Him. For it is He who reconciled you in His fleshly body through His death on the cross to present you before the Father holy, honest, blameless and beyond reproach. Moses, Peter, please take heed to the ministry that you have decided to commit yourselves so that you may fulfill it. May the Lord bless you and keep you in His Light! Today I find joy in my sufferings for your sake and for the sake of the ministry remembering good times we had together in the Word, prayer, and fellowship. Because of my illness I was unable to travel to India, God is my witness how I longed to go there and speak forth the Word and the mystery of Christ but satan thwarted me. No matter what, I have decided to let my mind dwell on whatever is lovely and worthy of praise! I know that I know this trip to Tanzania was very fruitful and glorious! For that, I praise the Lord and want to thank you, brethren for letting us be a part of your lives!
Friday, November 21, 2008
Blessings to all who support us!
Thank you for your prayers and financial support for this trip to Eastern Africa and other trips we make to train and equip people of God.This Africa trip was the most difficult for me (I became very sick on the malaria and intestinal infection) and, at the same time, the most rewarding trip I have been privileged to make! Without God’s help, your prayers and financial support, it would not have been possible, and fewer lives would have been touched for the cause of Christ. Please continue to pray that the seeds that were planted and those that were watered will grow and produce fruit that is pleasing to our Lord! Thank you! Thank you!
Ministry in Boma
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Imparting into faithful men in Africa...
Ministry in Moshi, Tanzania
Mountain Kilimanjaro is always shy and...
Highest peak in Africa 5,895 meters (19,340 feet)
Tallest free-standing mountain rise in the world.
Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano. No volcanic activity is expected but apparently there are fears the volcano could collapse.
The glaciers at the top of Kilimanjaro are rapidly melting, over the past century the ice cap volume has dropped more than 80% and it is predicted that all the ice will be gone between 2015 and 2020.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Arriving in Arusha and ministering in Moshi, TZ
Saturday, November 1, 2008
On the way to Africa...
Friday, October 31, 2008
Quality time with Jesus who abides in Olga :o)
Invited to empower God's people in Tanzania
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Awesome Church Growth in Cherkessk
Monday, October 27, 2008
Bible Study Training in Siktivkar, Russia
The senior pastor of the church wrote me a Thank-You letter saying that Alex and Avenir did a great job teaching the course to his beloved core group! He also mentioned that the church leaders would like to take IBS Level 2 next year.
Bible Study Seminars in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
Friday, October 24, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
A Visitor From America
On Sunday 5th, my good friend Nate came and visited us in Cherepovets. He recently moved to St. Petersburg from the US to stay for at least a year. He has come to help with our IBS seminars and to minister to the orphans and shelter kids in Cherepovets and surrounding villages. We are excited to have him here in Russia, and pray that the Lord will open doors for him to minister with us in Cherepovets.
During his short trip here we were able speak with the children at our church and spend some time fellowshipping with the orphans at Krevets. This is what he has to say about his trip to Cherepovets:
Hello,
As Igor said, I recently moved to St. Petersburg, Russia. In addition to working with Igor and Olga I am teaching English to gain entrance into Russia and to support myself. I first met Olga and Igor in Gardnerville, Nevada, when they came and spoke at our church. I immediately fell in love with the two of them, they are so on-fire for the Lord and such and encouragement to me. Igor’s energy, wisdom and persistence in serving the Lord is an example to me. Their example is a large part of what first gave me the desire to come to Russia. So when God closed doors, and opened the ones to Russia, I jumped on it. But it has been a long prosses getting to Russia, and then getting to Cherepovets, so I was extremely exited to finaly get to come and minister in Cherepovets.
That Sunday Igor was asked to talk to the children about what it means to be a missionary, so Igor brought me along, since I am a missionary. It was such a blessing to share with the kids. Igor explained who I was, where I came from, and what a missionary was; then I told how God laid it on my heart to come to Russa and how I ended up here. After wards the kids wanted to pray for me, this was such a blessing! I was reminded of the verse, “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” I know that the faith of these children is precious before God; they have the ability to simply believe in a way that is near impossible for us adults. I was especially blessed when one of the boys had the, I believe, inspired intuition to pray that I might learn Russian, which is something I really need. We spent the next few minutes playing missionary, running from corner to corner, pretending they were in different countries, and praying for them. I was encouraged by these children’s desire to pray for these nations, and their heart for the lost.
Then we went home for lunch before we went to Krevets. I had been to this orphanage twice already on previous short-term mission-trips and was excited to see the kids I had come to know. When we got there I saw some new and familiar faces. We sat down to fellowship, which again made me realize how much I need to learn Russian. I had to say everything through Olga and Igor, but it was still fun. They had me eat some fresh picked cranberries, and they thought it was funny that I liked them so much. They later told me that they expected me to make a funny face. The kids were shy, and I was a little to, but I could tell that there is a connection. They are curious about me, and I want to get to know them too. I only hope that as they get to know me I will be able to show them Jesus, as he uses me to reach these kids.
I left there with a strong desire to come back. I was so encouraged and motivated. Even though it seems awkward now and I sometimes feel I am doing no good, I know that this is where the Lord has me. There is so much opportunity here, and the Lord is capable doing amazing things. I am sure that I am going to witness amazing things here in Russia. All I have to do is follow where he leads and be attentive to his leading and he will do the hard parts. I am looking forward to working more with the ICM teams, teaching IBS and spending time with the kids. It is my prayer, and I hope you would join me , that the Lord would take all the obstacles out of the way and give me the ability to do all I can for him. Obviously I could use some help in learning Russian, but also there are visas, and work that I have to worry about too, so please pray that the Lord would provide in awesome ways.