ANISIMOVO LIGHT OF HOPE FELLOWSHIP FOTOS

TOWN OF ANISIMOVO

GALINA'S PLACE

TEACHING A NEW SONG TO THE CONGREGATION

LISTENING TO THE WORD (MARK 1)

DISCUSSING THE TEACHING AT THE TEA PARTY...

SVETLANA SERVING TEA AFTER THE SERVICE...

ENJOYING THE FELLOWSHIP...

Light of Hope Fellowship of Anisimovo

Dear Partners and Friends of ICM of Russia,

I would like to say big big Thank You for your prayers and financial support you sent us this month! As you may remember a couple of years ago the Lord spoke to Olga and I about a new church plant in a small town of Anisimovo, where Olga was born in 1971. Andrey who was trained by us to conduct Inductive Bible Study Seminars relocated his family to Anisimovo last year and started a small Bible study this year! For that, we praise the Lord! 

Andrey ministers to the small group of believers each Sunday at 12pm. When he has to work Sundays, we come or send ICM of Russia ministers and partners to fill in the pulpit. The group is small, Olga's mom Valentina comes to the services, my Dad Eugene when he lives in Anisimovo just loves to come and study the Bible with Andrey. Andrey's mom Galina is handicapped, she can't move around no more, we decided to hold services in her place which blessed her in a very powerful way! Galina is very blessed to be able to hear the Word and participate in the service. Sasha, the young guy got saved a couple of months ago, he comes to the service each and every Sunday saying he wants to know more about God. There's another elderly woman there in the village who gave her life to Jesus a year ago, Nina is her name, she is pretty weak and unable to come to the services, Andrew comes to her place on Sundays before church and reads the Bible and prays with her. I wish you could see the joy in her eyes when we come to read the Scriptures with her!  Svetlana, Andrew's wife ministers to the kids who come to the service, their names are Lena, Zhenya, Ulyaana, etc. 

Please keep this church plant in your prayers as the Lord leads! In Russia if you are not Russian Orthodox you are considered part of a “cult.” So many people in this village are resistant to Andrew and the gospel, thinking that we are trying to deceive them, take their property, and even take them into the forest and kill them. Strange ideas have gotten into their heads, but they believe it. They are very provincial. Andrey and his family need prayer for strength and wisdom, and the people need the Holy Spirit to touch them and break through the lies of the enemy that has them so trapped. Please keep them in prayer as they seek the Lord and to spread his kingdom in the hearts of men!

ORPHANAGE BACK TO SCHOOL project

Dearest Friends and Partners, last Saturday  we have done our annual Back to School Evangelistic Project. ICM Russia and  Light of Hope ministry team went to two orphanages in Krivets and Suda to bless the kids there with school supplies. Often times the orphanages are not able to order the materials that their kids will need, or if they can they will always get them so late that they might as well never got them. Thanks to the support given both from the members of our Light of Hope Church and from the generous help from our Irish and American supporters we were able to provide for each and every kid with what they need to be prepared to go to school.

In Krivets.

We led the team of four: Abner, Nelly, Sonya, and Nate. It was a great trip! The kids were very happy to see us. The orphanage workers were happy to see us as well, which was nice, since sometimes they are very leery of sectarians. We gathered the kids while Abner did a short message encouraging them to study good at school because it will prepare them for their future. Then he asked them if what they learned at school would help them not to sin and enter heavenly places, and they all agreed it would not. He continued to tell them about the freedom and salvation of Jesus Christ and how Jesus has changed his life. Then we gave them their school supplies and played games.

Nelly prepared several games to play and the kids had a great time. They don’t have very much and for us to come spend time with them is a big deal, even more than the material blessings at times. It is a blessing to see the once shy kids come out of their shells and have fun in the Son!

Olga and I, Nelly,  Abner, Andrew, Olga Petrushova, other ministers  from our church have been coming to these orphanages for quite some time now and some of the kids prayed Jesus into their hearts. We know the kids pretty well. Cyrill in particular prayed Jesus into his heart some years ago and was very receptive to our messages. This time he was proud to show me his certificate of baptism. In the Russian Orthodox Church they issue a certificate when you are baptized. The teachers of the orphanage take the kids to the Orthodox Church every now and then. Cyrill has always been listening very careful. But we don't think the message has  fully sunk into his heart. Please keep this young man in prayer that the seeds of faith would continue to grow and blossom in to salvation.

Talking to Cyrill who showed me his Baptism Certificate

We hope to be able to spend more time with these kids in the following months. We would like to go out the orphanages monthly and teach them skills for life like how to manage money, how to cook, how to sew and knit, and to do a small Bible study. When we brought this up to the orphanage leaders they were very receptive of the idea. Keep this in prayer please. That we would be able to do this and that this would produce fruit in the lives of these kids.

Thank you for your prayers and all that you have given. I can’t say enough that is through your prayers and support that we are able to do these things. Please continue with us in the ministry as the Lord leads you.

In Suda.

click here to see more pictures :)