Slobodians Prayer Letter: January - February 2005

Dear Pastors and Friends,

It was a blessing to begin another year of ministry by celebrating Christmas with some of our national church planters in Ukraine and Russia.  An extra blessing was having along our pastor, Brother Rick Adkins from Mt. Tabor Baptist Church.  Arriving in Kyiv on January 5, Pastor Adkins and I participated in several Christmas festivities, since Russians and Ukrainians celebrate Christmas on January 7.

 The holidays provided wonderful opportunities for evangelism.  For example, orphanages and other institutions open their doors to guests who are willing to present a musical program and distribute Christmas gifts – which in our case included Gospel literature and New Testaments.

 An especially exciting opportunity occurred on the military base in Desna, where BIEM missionaries Vitaly and Victoria Sychov have planted a church.  The base is actually a town, where one side is populated by officers and their families.  The other half of the base consists of barracks, which house thousands of army recruits.  Ever since a new base commander took charge, the Sychovs hadn’t received permission to evangelize soldiers directly.  However, because of Christmas the commander allowed a special program.  What a thrill to see hundreds of young soldiers march into the auditorium! After a men’s choir we invited from a local church sang, we preached and distributed New Testaments.  Please pray that the Word of God would bear fruit in these young soldiers’ lives.

 Another highlight of this trip was to visit our homeless ministry center in Kyiv, Ukraine.  Our hearts were broken by the story of one boy (about age eight) who was rescued from the streets where he had lived since a vicious gang robbed and murdered his mother and then strangled him and left him for dead.  Excellent progress has been made in renovating the building.  Even though repairs aren’t yet completed, the building is already being used to minister to homeless kids in the nation’s capital.  We praise God for Sergei, who leads this outreach.  We saw evidence of the sacrifice Sergei makes on behalf of these neglected children: when we were there, he had broken out in a rash he caught from one of the street children.  Please pray that God would keep Sergei encouraged and healthy in this worthy ministry.

Of course, Pastor Adkins and I couldn’t miss the enthusiasm resulting from the success of the “Orange Revolution,” which overturned the falsified results of Ukraine’s election and installed a new president dedicated to reform.  This event brought renewed hope to many Ukrainians who had grown weary of the corruption and mafia influence in society.  Some believers predict that these events will bring expanded opportunities for missionary work.  Please pray that the new government would indeed result in further opportunities to reach souls for Christ.  May God bless you all!

The Slobodians (Sam, Amy, Sarah, Susan, Steven, Sharon, and Stephanie)