DAY 3
Dear Prayer Warriors,
It has been another wonderful day here in beautiful Ukraine
Our team had great morning and afternoon VBS camps in the villages of Glybchytcia (morning) (not Nova Borova as I thought) and Berezihno (afternoon). In Glybchytcia, the Lord brought 60 children which is double the number from our first day. In the afternoon VBS in the small village of Berezihno
During the afternoon, the FBC Norfolk missionaries led a group of 50 children in the church camp at Pastor Vasily's church in Bilkivtsi. The children are studying the amor of God and today's lesson was on having the shoes shod with the gospel of peace. They heard of episodes in Jesus' life where He loved people and how He spread message and brought His peace to them. Tomorrow, the children will hear the story of Daniel and his friends and how they were protected by the breast plate of righteousness. Please pray for the Lord to continue to speak to these children as they hear the message of Jesus and as they grow in knowledge and in application of His Word.
A portion of our team went to the small city of Nova Borova Pastor Vasily has such a heart for reaching people for Jesus Christ and helping other Baptist pastors in the Zhytomyr region. We were so overjoyed to help Pastor Alexander spread God's love through this powerful outreach opportunity. Pastor Alexander has a small Baptist church of about 16 members and these servants are nearing the completion of renovating an old house to be their first House of Prayer (church building). We ask you to pray for Pastor Alexander and his church as they reach out to the many, many lost people in this small city of about 7000 people.
The Lord was so faithful to bless our evangelistic service tonight in Nova Borova. There were approximately 120 plus people in attendance. Slava Bog! We sang seven of our Ukrainian and Russian songs and from what we could tell, the people were truly blessed by our offering of singing in their language. Mary Purington and Jodi Harrity shared their testimonies and without a doubt we could have given an invitation after hearing of God's amazing love and forgiveness found only through Jesus Christ! Folks, there is nothing like sharing your story with people around you. You may feel inadequate to witness to someone but God will definitely use you and your testimony about how God transformed your life. Who do you know that needs to hear your story? You don't have to be in Ukraine
During the time of preaching of God's Word, I (John) shared a message from Matthew 7: 21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' Many people think that good works, church attendance, etc. should allow them to enter heaven one day. The Word of God is clear about salvation…."For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves , it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast." (Eph. 2: 8-9) The Orthodox Church here in Ukraine America
Well, the Lord heard your prayers for us tonight. As the invitation was extended during our evangelistic service, we are so overjoyed and are praising God for the 16 who indicated that they were repenting and giving their life to Jesus Christ! There is great rejoicing in heaven today!! Please pray for the many who were changed and the many others to whom God planted seeds! We never know this side of eternity all that God did tonight but we are confident that Jesus and His truth was so evident tonight. May God send His Spirit upon all who heard His Word and voice! "Father, we praise You for all You did and are going to do as a result of Your work tonight! Amen!"
Tomorrow we will continue with our two VBS Camps and Church camp. We will also have some of our team inviting people to our evening evangelistic service in the village of Berezihno Pastor Vasily shared with us that to his knowledge there are no known believers in Berezihno which is a population of about 500 people. We truly believe that God is working through our VBS camp and we also believe that He will change some of the parents who will attend tomorrow evening. So please increase your prayers for us around 6 p.m. local time (10 a.m. CST/11 a.m. EST) as we begin our evangelistic service.
As always, we thank you for your faithful and earnest prayers. We cannot imagine not having your prayer support. We love you all! Have a blessed day in Jesus Christ as you live His mission.
In Christ Alone,
Your Ukraine Mission Team
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.” Jesus (John 17: 20 NLT)
