March-April, 2007
“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work. John 9:4
Dear Pastors & Friends,
Never underestimate the value and importance of your prayers. We are grateful for each one who kneels together with us in bringing our needs before the Lord in prayer. We can be extremely busy in all kinds of ministry activities, but all of this work is only beneficial when God blesses those efforts. Jesus plainly said, “Without me ye can do nothing.” Therefore, we are constantly standing in need of the prayers of God’s people. Thank you for praying!
God certainly answered prayer in our trip to Central Asia that we mentioned in our last prayer letter. What a thrill to see that folks in this very Muslim area are coming to Christ. During one weekend we were there meeting with our missionaries and nationals, 2 Muslims accepted came to Christ that Saturday with another 3 getting saved on Sunday! As we met together we rejoiced to hear that despite the difficulties and formidable opposition, Muslims are coming to Christ. We came thinking that the greatest need in these areas would be the huge challenge of trying to reach Muslims with the Gospel. However, we found that many are being saved as we learned of groups of new Christians appearing through the effective and brave efforts of nationals. There are not nearly enough trained workers to lead these groups. We have just received word that one of our national pastors in Uzbekistan, Pastor Andrey has been arrested for operating a table top Christian lending library he has set up on the sidewalk for the past two years. He has been released and is now awaiting trial that could result in heavy fines and up to 7 years of jail time. Please pray for Pastor Andrey, his family, and his ministry.
The Lord-willing we hope to focus on this important and strategic need. There are two efforts being launched in this direction for which we earnestly seek your prayers. As the next phase in our developing ministry to formerly communist nations of Central Asia, two BIEM personnel are now relocating from Eastern Europe to Istanbul, Turkey. Please pray that God will direct them concerning housing and other decisions involved in this move. This is the best location to meet with Central Asian nationals for training and organizing purposes. By the way, when we mention our Central Asian outreach we are referring to 5 specific countries, which are Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Since these are former Soviet Republics under Russian control, many speak Russian and there are large numbers of ethnic Russians among the population.
This brings us to the second project for which we need prayer. We are organizing a Missions to Muslims Conference in Kiev, Ukraine this Fall (September 20-22). The best candidates to work in these countries, which were formerly a part of the Soviet Union, are Russians and Ukrainians. Americans simply cannot do missionary work inside the borders of these countries. We are praying that God will raise up national missionaries from among our Russian and Ukrainian students. With this goal in mind we hope to gather together as many Russian and Ukrainian students, pastors and youth for this important conference. We will be bringing in folks from Central Asia to inform and challenge these potential missionaries for the needy fields of Central Asia that are under the hold of Islam. We would also like to invite American pastors and local church leaders involved in missions, to attend this conference. For those interested the dates the American group would travel are Sept.18-23. Contact us for more information about this mission trip opportunity and please pray that this conference will succeed in raising awareness and servants for Central Asia.
Finally, we would like to share two needs we have for your consideration. Our summer camping programs will soon be underway and we plan on at least 800 campers in several locations. We have had an excellent response of supporters giving to this need who have already supplied about 75% of the funds. Currently we need at least $10,000 more to cover the cost. We also have a need to replace our 2000 Buick that has gone over 200,000 miles with something newer. Any help you can provide for these needs would be gratefully appreciated. May God bless you all!
The Slobodians