“Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ.”  Philippians 2:16

 Dear Pastors and Friends,

It’s hard to believe that another summer is almost past! We thank God for each one of you who bless us in this ministry with your support and prayers. You are a great resource and encouragement since so much depends upon the prayer of God’s people. Let me share how recent months have been particularly eventful for the Slobodians and BIEM.

On June 24^th Sam’s father and BIEM’s founder, Dr. Peter Slobodian, went home to be with the Lord. The funeral service was a great victory celebration that honored the memory of this dedicated servant of God who accomplished so much for Christ during his lifetime. His wonderful legacy continues to inspire all of us at BIEM as well as many around the world. You can view a pictorial history of his life by logging onto BaptistInternational.org, then clicking on “Overview & History,” and going to the end of the page.

That same month our ministry reached an important milestone with Kyiv Theological Seminary celebrating 10 years of service in preparing pastors, missionaries and other Christian workers for ministry. It was a special blessing for Sam to participate in this graduation. Praise God for 195 graduates who are now serving in 65 different churches throughout Ukraine!

Progress continues in the remodeling of our homeless children’s ministry center in Kyiv. The Center received an unexpected visit by an official from the Mayor’s office. The mayor had heard favorable words about this project and sent his envoy to say that, even though the mayor couldn’t offer financial aid, his office would be glad to assist with any bureaucratic issues that might arise. When Sam visited, he was shown where two homeless kids had broken into the building and created their own “hotel” right underneath our Center! This desperate brother and sister who had escaped a sordid home situation certainly came to the right place. Our workers immediately reached out to help. What a blessing to tell them that they didn’t need to break in but could walk right through the door! We urgently need a diesel-engine van for this ministry. Please pray for the $18,000 needed to purchase such a vehicle.

In July our various ministries conducted over a dozen camps for several hundred young people. Sarah and Stephanie flew to Ukraine with Sam to work in several of these camps. We’re now receiving encouraging reports of the results. For instance, 24 kids were saved in a camp in the St. Petersburg area, and another 48 in a camp near Kyiv. Three of our summer camps were in locations targeted for new church plants, so the children were almost all unsaved. These efforts have made promising contacts in each community, so please pray for these towns: Goncharivske and Ternopyl in Ukraine and Farcasa in Romania. Exciting reports continue to arrive, and we look forward to issuing a report concerning the camping ministry.