BIEMs of Light: February 2024

Praises – Rejoice with us!

  • Praise God, we have surpassed $100,000 in gifts for our warm-clothing-for-soldiers project! But please do not stop giving. Although we have filled requests from 33 churches (representing 1,200 soldiers), applications keep arriving. As you give funds, we will fill requests through February. What a blessing to provide warm clothing plus New Testaments to souls in harm’s way! On March 1st we will share the final figures.

  • We praise the Lord for this message from one of our men in Central Asia: “Hello, thank you for all your prayers. Just led 2 Afghanis to faith in Jesus, and one more is very close. The family of God continues to grow here. Rejoicing in the God of our salvation.”

  • Oleg, the brother of BIEM missionary Sasha Petrenko, has been a prisoner of the Russians for nearly 2 years. For the first time, he was permitted to phone home. He told his daughter he is alive and well. While we rejoice that Oleg alive, we pray he will be allowed to return home.

  • In another corner of Central Asia, there is a particular city for which one BIEM worker has prayed for 13 years. In January, a coworker led 2 people to Christ there! As far as he knows, these two are the first believers in that city. Praise the Lord! May they be the first of many.

Prayer – Pray with us!

  • This first week of February the winter session of our Seminary in Kyiv is taking place. Since the Russian military continues to target Kyiv, please pray for the safety of the students, workers, professors, and Sam Slobodian, who is there as well. Praise God, despite the war, over 30 students have come for this session. They request prayer that they don’t get conscripted into the military since each student has been called to ministry. Many are already in ministry.

  • Our long-awaited container has now arrived in Vyshneve, which is near the capital city, Kyiv. Although the container is geographically closer to our people, they still can’t receive it due to a huge amount of paperwork that must be done. Please pray for God to help speed this process.

  • In Western Asia, one of our church planters reports that newcomers in civilian clothes now appear regularly at Sunday services, but it is clear these are police or other government observers. Please pray for our missionaries’ safety and ability to continue serving in country.

  • In the town of Nizhylovychi, Ukraine, recent improvements continue on the house that was purchased in 2023 for renovation into a church building. These include a new well and a new, heated floor among other updates. Sadly, the home of a mom and daughter who began attending last summer burned down on January 24. Please pray for them and how believers might help them.

  • Click here for a printer-friendly version.