Slobodian's Prayer Letter July - August 2003

Dear Pastors and Friends,

Warm greetings from the Slobodian family!  We have ended the summer with most of our family participating in several camps in Ukraine.   Once again God has greatly blessed our summer camping programs and has answered the prayers of those of you that have given to and prayed for this important outreach. The wonderful response we received made it possible to conduct a number of camps in several locations.  Campers included youth from the new churches we have started, as well as orphans and needy children.  Once again we were able to conduct summer camp for homeless children in Kyiv.   Several of these neglected or abandoned youth are now regularly attending church and some have been reunited with their families.  God also answered prayer for good weather as most of these camps were conducted in ideal temperatures. Praise God for a missions group from Lakeshore Baptist Church in Grand Haven, MI that participated in these camps. Many young people have been saved and other important decisions have been made. In one camp alone BIEM sponsored near Lutsk, Ukraine, 60 young people trusted Christ!

We are writing this prayer letter from Romania where we have attended BIEM’s “Barnabas Conference” organized by brother Fred Canaday, our Field Director for Romania and Moldova.  Over 50 Romanian and Moldovan National Missionaries and workers attended this conference that featured challenging messages, practical seminars and encouraging reports from the various missionaries and workers.  The fellowship certainly encouraged these dedicated Romanians and Moldovans as they were able to share the victories, burdens, and prayer needs of their ministries with other BIEM workers in similar fields they would otherwise not be able to meet with. 

This conference was the first gathering for BIEM nationals in these countries and certainly a highlight of our ministry.  Especially to recall how brother Fred and Sam took an exploratory survey trip to Romania and Moldova in 1997, which led to our church planting efforts in this area using the same strategy of training, supporting and equipping nationals that we have employed in Russia and Ukraine.  Now six years later, it was a great joy to see how God has blessed us with a dedicated group of national missionaries who have planted seven churches in Moldova and nine churches in Romania.  Hundreds of souls have been saved and baptized.  Five church buildings programs are in various stages of completion and two schools for training nationals have been established.  As we all praised God for such a bountiful harvest, it was also evident through all who took part in the conference that there is quite a bit of work that needs to be done.   Furthermore, it was also clear that the people’s hearts in this part of the world are unusually open to receive the Gospel.  Please pray that God would continue to bless our labors in Romania and Moldova.

Your prayers and support have made these efforts possible and God is reaping a bountiful harvest of souls as new churches continue to take root in these lands.  What more wonderful reward is there than to reap souls for Christ?  Thank you and may God bless you all!

Your Missionaries,