“Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Col. 3:24

Warm greetings once again from the Slobodians! Having spent most of October in Russia and Ukraine, we are rejoicing to see what God is doing through this ministry. We were able to see growth and progress in the churches that have been established, and we also surveyed some new locations that we are prayerfully considering for planting churches.

We thank God for each one of you who faithfully upholds us in prayer and support, and we rejoice for this fruitful partnership in the harvest fields of Russia and Eastern Europe. Last week a Ukrainian pastor made reference to this partnership during a service where a young lady sang a song in English while playing the bandura, a distinctively Ukrainian stringed instrument. “Did you notice,” this pastor said, “that while the American song she sung was in English, the instrument she played was Ukrainian?” He then used this relationship to illustrate how we at BIEM are blending with Ukrainians to win souls and plant churches. Just as the beautiful music we had heard was a blessing to the listeners, so is the work being done through BIEM’s efforts with nationals pleasing to God, Who is the Author of all missionary work.

 There is exciting progress in the new church effort in Ternopyl, Ukraine, which is the home of several colleges and universities. Vitaly Belyak, our church planter there, has been busy distributing thousands of flyers inviting students to attend a Bible study. Eight showed up at the first Bible study, 12 for the second meeting, and by the third meeting over 20 students attended! Please pray that many would be saved in this strategic city. After several months of evangelism, children’s work and youth work, Vitaly is ready to begin regular Sunday services. Please pray for the finances that are needed to rent a meeting hall in this key city.

Please pray also for Novograd-Volinsky, one of the cities we are considering for a new church. This is a military city of 15,000 between Kyiv and Lutsk with absolutely no church at all, not even an Orthodox chapel! God has opened some inroads for us in this place through a Ukrainian Army major who has been very active as a lay preacher in one of our churches. Next year when he completes 20 years of service, he hopes to retire from the military, enroll in our Kyiv school, and prepare for full-time ministry. This could become the 3^rd Ukrainian military base God has opened up for us to establish churches.

Prayer is also needed concerning the economic and political challenges we are facing in Russia and Ukraine. By inventing new restrictions, Russia is creating obstacles for Americans ministering there. One new rule (which the business community is trying to overturn) now requires Americans to be tested for five diseases, including leprosy. Since this ruling requires the tests to be administered in Russia, the intent is clearly to make it more difficult for Americans to live and work in Russia. While the new government in Ukraine has initiated beneficial pro-Western changes (such as dropping visa requirements for Americans), economic challenges have mounted. The price of food—even basics like potatoes—has risen sharply, and gasoline has shot up to over $4.00 a gallon. Combined with the fact that the dollar has lost 25% of its buying power against the Euro, we must raise a considerable amount of additional support just to maintain our current Ukrainian efforts. Please pray for us as we seek to raise additional support for these needs over the next few months.

Thank you for kneeling with us in prayer for Russia and Eastern Europe!