Rick & Pam Barry Prayer Letter - October 2004

 

Dear friends and family members,

 

Please excuse this “generic” letter. Pam and I wanted to share our latest news with you, and this much-overdue letter seemed the best way to update all our friends at once.

 

Every day we have something new for which to thank the Lord, and our hearts are full of gratitude for His blessings. As many of you know, a couple of years ago, the president of Baptist International Evangelistic Ministries asked me to prayerfully consider the possibility of joining the mission to help in their program of planting new churches in Russia and Eastern Europe. Then, last October, I joined him on a trip to Russia. I was amazed when total strangers would walk up to me in Russian churches that I had never visited before and exclaim, “I remember you! You used to work with Georgi Vins!” These folks made me feel like a long-lost relative, and before the trip was over I felt the Lord tugging at my heart to join BIEM full time. This meant raising financial support as a missionary, but we trusted that, if this was God’s leading, He would provide.

 

Another blessing is that BIEM had been searching for a new, affordable office building. The old office was small and cramped, and there would have been no room to add me. But the Lord blessed by making available a building for sale on the west side of Indianapolis in Danville. It had been vacant for a long while, and the seller even agreed to lower the price by many thousands of dollars for BIEM.

 

Next, Pam and I began house-hunting in the area. Even though the financial support committed for us is still hovering around 20%, we felt that this was the time to move. After all, in Elkhart I was working a secular job while contacting churches about support, and was able to help BIEM in only a small way from there. Living nearby, we would be able to be a part of ministry. And again, the Lord provided. By “chance,” we stumbled across a VA-repossessed home for sale that should have been listed in the local realtors’ MLS system, but wasn’t because the realtor handling the property hadn’t paid his dues to the Indianapolis board of realtors. So, when the bidding period established by the VA ended, ours was the one and only bid offered for this house, which we purchased for at least $20,000 less than it should have sold for. Once again, God provided. We concluded that He kept our new home shielded from other buyers so we could purchase it with our limited resources.

 

In November, I will be traveling extensively with Russian pastor Peter Rumachik and visiting churches ranging from New York to California. Pastor Rumachik was a close friend of my friend and co-worker Georgi Vins. Like Brother Vins, Peter spent many years (18 years!) in Russian prisons and labor camps for his faith in Jesus Christ. At the age of 73, he is still energetic, joyful, and eager to be used by the Lord. During our time together, I will set aside raising support for Pam and myself in order to interpret his Russian messages into English. This trip will be a special fund-raising effort to aid some new churches in Russia to buy bricks and lumber for their buildings.

 

Meanwhile, Pam will be searching for a job on the west side of Indianapolis. At least until our support level grows, this will be a fairly important need.

 

Some of you have asked, so here are our latest praises and prayer requests:

 

Praises:

 

•            For the office building which has become BIEM’s new home.

•             For the repossessed house that is being transformed into the Barrys’ new  home.

•             For very special friends who drove from Elkhart to Indianapolis with us to help unload our truck.

•             For a blessed service with Pastor and Mrs. Rumachik in Crown Point, Indiana, on October 17. (The listeners’ attention was truly gripped, and many were touched by Pastor Rumachik’s life story.)

•             For the hand of God, which has been guiding us in a very special way.

 

           

Prayer requests:

 

•             That our former house in Elkhart would sell soon. (Wealthy folks might enjoy owning two houses, but we can’t afford more than one!)

•             That the Lord would guide Pam to just the right job for her.

•             For the upcoming services that Rick will be in—that his Russian interpreting skills will be up to the challenge, and that those who hear will consider their own walk with the Lord and whether they know Him well enough to endure hardships for His name. We don’t want to simply ask for offerings, but to truly minister to people’s hearts.

 

Thank you, for any and all prayers on our behalf!