Praises – Rejoice with us!

v The new church in Ternopil and a church in Rostov, Ukraine, held a public evangelistic meeting. About 900 listeners heard the Gospel! The also heard salvation testimonies from former drug addicts, and uplifting Christian singing. Each guest received a Bible. Some have now begun attending youth club. Vitaly Bilya reports that the church will baptize five new believers this month!  

v      January’s BIEMs of Light mentioned a female Bible institute student who was raped and became pregnant near Moscow. We praise God for a caring Christian family that has invited her to stay in their home. We also thank God for a gracious offer that has been made to pay for her current medical bills and for the hospital costs when the child is born. This is surely an answer to prayer. 

v      As part of special Christmas and New Year’s events, a number of churches around Ukraine distributed thousands Bibles provided by BIEM and shared the plan of salvation. These churches report some good responses. We pray that the seed of God’s Word will continue to grow and bear fruit in people’s hearts. 

v      BIEM’s Rick Barry praises the Lord that BJU Press has accepted his manuscript for a Christian WW II novel. The finished book, Gunner’s Run, should be available before summer. Because the Barrys’ support level is at 75%, this literary tent-making may eventually help to fill part of that gap. We praise the Lord for a “novel” method of glorifying Him while providing needed finances for one of our staff.

Prayer – Pray with us!

v      When local authorities expelled Tim and Luda Smith from Magadan, Russia, there was no ordained minister to take over the ministry. However, the Smiths managed to return for a short visit. During that time, Stas Skortsov (a man Tim had been mentoring) was ordained and accepted responsibility for two local churches. Stas has already faced harassment from authorities. Please uphold him in prayer! 

v      Please continue to pray for Ann, of our Central Asia team. An ongoing infection after her previous surgery seems to be improving with medication. She will face another operation (in early Feb.) to remove some lymph nodes and determine the extent of the cancer to decide on a treatment plan. 

v      In Romania Iulian Stoian reports that a family in Saveni, a village where he had not previously been active, asked him to visit and to share God’s Word with them. Now that family is offering to open their home for local Bible studies. Pray for God to move souls to repentance and salvation.  

v     Dr Ron Brewer writes, "I am anxious to get the treatments from the doctor in Moldova that is supposed to 'cure' me.  Please pray that I will get considerable relief. The pain has been severe for months and without some significant relief, I will not be able to continue to function for much longer."