Slobodian's Prayer Letter: November-December - 2003

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."  II Corinthians 9:15

 Dear Pastors and Friends,                                                               

             As we approach the celebration of our Savior’s birth, we would like to take this opportunity to extend to you our warm Christmas greetings!  We would also like to bring you up-to-date on what our family is up to these days.  Sarah (23) is now working full-time in our office and has really enjoyed projects like updating our website and organizing some of our summer camping ministry overseas.  Susan (21) has moved back home and continues to work at her bank job while Steven (19) after a year at Maranatha, has enrolled in the business college of our local university.  Therefore our home is back to being filled at full capacity that makes Amy and I feel younger than we are.   Sharon (17) is well into her senior year and Stephanie (15) is a freshman.  We all especially enjoyed the girls’ volleyball season this year since Sarah coached and both Stephanie and Sharon played on the team.  Amy and Sam have been busy with family and ministry and are proud of and grateful for each of them.  A couple of special blessings this year were Sam’s parents moving into the Indianapolis area and the fact that Stephanie has now completed one year of full remission from her JRA condition.   We are grateful for your prayers for us over this past year. Thank you very much!

As we consider this past year, we at BIEM have much to praise God for.  On the fields we continue to see a harvest of souls.  Faithful supporters have enabled many to receive Bibles and to hear the Gospel.  We continue to receive reports of souls that have come to Christ as a result of our summer camping programs, during which hundreds of children were able to enjoy Christian fellowship and to hear the Scriptures explained.  What a wonderful (and eternal!) impact on young lives!  In addition, our ministry to homeless children—now in its second year—is beginning to bear fruit as young people have been taken off the streets and in some cases reunited with their parents.  (In Kyiv a special Sunday school class for these rescued children is now being taught.) The drug rehabilitation ministry begun by one church BIEM planted was able to move into its own facility and has successfully freed many from the shackles of drug and alcohol as these former addicts put their trust in Jesus Christ.  Praise the Lord!

We have also been blessed with tons of clothing, shoes, medical supplies, and other forms of aid that have been shipped overseas.  The Christian compassion shown through such material gifts definitely opens doors and hearts to the Gospel of Christ.  One of the highlights of this year was the Barnabas Conference, which brought together over 50 Romanian and Moldovan missionaries and workers for a week of spiritual refreshment and encouragement.  In Ukraine, we began regular Sunday services on military base in Desna, and God has opened the possibility of planting a similar church on a second military base! Furthermore, this year seven different groups of Americans traveled overseas to serve in various areas of BIEM’s ministry in Russian and Eastern Europe.

We rejoice that the Lord has enabled BIEM to plant over 40 churches now.  Over one dozen of these are now self-supporting.  A major challenge confronting church planting efforts everywhere is obtaining a permanent place for worship.  The Lord has blessed in this as well.  For example, this year congregations in Magadan, St. Petersburg, and Lutsk were able to obtain their own buildings.  Church-construction projects in Fastov and Istra are nearing completion, and encouraging progress is being made on buildings in Dyedovsk, Fetesti, and Duralesti.  Since 1997 BIEM has taken on over 20 separate building programs.  Praise God for we can truly say, “Great things He hath done!”  Since this is accomplished through the prayers and support of God’s people, we sincerely thank-you for your part in this ministry and pray that God would grant you a blessed Christmas and wonderful New Year! 

Your Missionaries,

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