September – October 2006
“Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand.” Psalm 73:23
Dear Pastors & Friends,
Warm Greetings in Christ from the Slobodians, your missionaries to Russia and Eastern Europe. We are thankful for each of you who pray for us and invest missionary funds into this work of reaching souls and planting churches in these needy fields. In addition to this prayer letter that is sent out every other month, we publish a monthly newsletter entitled “BIEM’s of Light” and a quarterly newsletter which is called, The Challenger. If you are not receiving either of these publications and would like to, please let us know.
We want to thank you for praying for our 25th Anniversary Conference we mentioned in our last prayer letter. God certainly answered prayer for this conference that far surpassed our expectations. With 115 registered participants along with a handful of cooks and conference staff we packed out the place with over 120 in attendance. Delegates came from Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Moldova, Romania, the United States, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Norway (one of the Turkmen was exiled to Norway). The Hotel & Christian Center we rented on the Black Sea turned out to be an ideal setting for the conference.
God's hand of blessing was clearly evident. The Turkmen and Uzbeks captured our hearts as they shared amazing stories of how God is reaching Muslims which they were all before they got saved. One shared how he thought Jesus was a Russian god who was born near Moscow until he heard the Gospel. Several were severely beaten and escaped. Others are still living there risking their lives to serve Christ. Another will be meeting with the Mullahs (Muslim Priests) in his hometown when he gets back. There were thrilling reports, with a lot of tears and other moments of great laughter. This was a highlight and great experience for these brave men and women.
There were many, many wonderful stories of how God has used your prayer and support to reach all kinds of people for Christ. One of our first church plants in the Moscow area gave a report of how they were able to open a Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center since they were able to reach many drug addicted people for Christ. The program is now a 24 hour a day ministry. Their location was largely built by those in the program, which includes physical labor as well as Bible study and counseling. They have been able to deliver many from the stranglehold of drugs and alcohol that has ensnared alarming numbers of people. What a thrill to hear the testimony of a young man who had attained fame as the European kickboxing champion, then fell into drugs that landed him in very serious trouble. Now he has been saved and recently baptized through this ministry and is now serving God and helping others find victory through the power of Christ.
By the time you receive this prayer letter Sam will be in Ukraine with two church mission teams from Indiana and Pennsylvania who will be assisting with building projects. Some ladies who are going on this trip are nurses and plan to use their abilities to help needy children in the homeless children’s ministry. Please pray for effective results from both goals. A specific need in the orphanages and in the homeless children’s ministry is for athletic-type children’s shoes (about ages 6-16). Our children’s workers tell us that gym shoes from America last longer than children’s shoes available in Ukraine. Therefore we are always in need of good gym shoes for our container shipments.
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to let you know of a new ministry opportunity you may be interested in which would not require you to travel overseas, just to Indiana. We would welcome a couple of church groups who would be interested in spending a day or two in our headquarters helping prepare for container shipments by sorting and packing boxes of donated items. Between our guest quarters and our home church mission house, we could accommodate small groups of up to 10 people. Please let us know if your church would be interested in such a missions project. May God bless you all!
The Slobodians