Dear Prayer Warriors,
"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118: 24. We praise the great I AM who was and is and is to come. Our Lord and Savior is changing lives in Ukraine. We give glory to the Lord for all He did today!
We know that you were praying for our team today as we shared the plan of salvation in our VBS Camps and church camp. In our morning VBS camp in Glybchytcia the Lord brought approximately 80 children and some adults too. We are so overjoyed by God's handiwork as 70 children and 1 adult indicated that they were repenting and trusting in Jesus as Savior and Lord. Hallelujah! In the afternoon VBS in the village of Berezihno the Lord brought 26 children of which some were teenagers. After the gospel was presented by our missionaries and the invitation was given, 21 of these children repented and received the gift of salvation through Jesus. Glory to God! In the church camp in Bilkivtsi, our missionaries from FBC Norfolk presented the gospel of Jesus Christ to a large group of children. When the time came for the invitation to trust in Jesus alone for their salvation, approximately 10 children indicated that they were repenting and trusting Jesus as their Savior and Lord. To God be all the glory! We know there is such rejoicing in heaven over these who received God's precious gift of salvation!
We ask you to continue to pray for tomorrow's final day of the VBS camps. Our missionaries will be reviewing with the children the decision they made today to trust in Jesus. In addition, our leaders will be sharing with all the new believers about the important next steps that are necessary in growing in Jesus. It is important to note that most, if not all, of the children have memorized and can quote John 3: 16. We know that God's Word will never return void. Please pray for the spiritual growth and development of these children.
Once again your missionaries walked many miles today to invite people in the village of Glybchytcia (morning VBS location) to our evening evangelistic service. This fairly large village has a strong Orthodox church influence, yet our team was greeted with friendly smiles and appreciation for our team coming to sing and to share with them. Yes, we had some negative responses and in fact, one lady said she was planning to get the ear of the village mayor and see that nothing like what we were doing with VBS and the service would happen again. So many of the staunch Orthodox members can be quite mean with their response. However, we are reminded the Jesus has all authority over all of creation. We know that throughout history there have always been governments, dictators and people who have tried to snuff out the gospel of Jesus Christ. We also know that their efforts are always in vain. Jesus has all authority over all flesh and nothing will ever
stop our Savior and His truth.
So the wonderful news is that after inviting many people to our evening service, the Lord brought approximately 150 people tonight. We praise the Lord for how He spoke through our team, our songs and though those who shared their testimony of salvation. The Lord clearly communicated His love and amazing grace through Cody McClellan, Michelle Brown and Kira Rothenberger. Each of these servants were God's vessels to declare to the many unbelievers in the audience that Jesus Christ is "the Way, the Truth and the Life". God was once again glorified through their witness. It has been so powerful to see the Lord boldly speak through each missionary as they have testified and witnessed for the Lord!!! Amen!
Tonight, I (John) had the privilege of preaching a sermon from Luke 16: 19-31 on the rich man and Lazarus. If you have note read this passage from God's Word or, if it has been a while since you have read it, then I encourage you to do so. Oh how Jesus wants people to repent before it is eternally too late. Jesus paid the price for our sins so that we could have His free gift of salvation. God loves you and me and He is not willing that any should perish but only wants all people to repent. Do you know Him? If not, turn to Jesus Christ by repenting of your sins and asking Him to be your Master and Savior. You will never regret the decision to follow Jesus as your Lord.
After the message, Pastor Vasily, extended God's invitation to repent. We praise the Lord that approximately 15 children and 5 adults stepped forward and knelt down to repent and trust in Jesus as their Savior and Lord! We give all praise and glory to God for these new brothers and sisters in Christ!
Please pray for the spiritual follow up on the children, teens and adults who have repented over these past few days. Some time ago, Pastor Vasily had been praying about reaching out to the two villages of Glybchytcia and Berezihno where we have been hosting the two VBS camps. This week has certainly been an answer to the many prayers given by Pastor Vasily and the three churches he leads. Through the VBS camps and the evangelistic services and the numerous decisions that have been made thus far, it so obvious that the Lord is at work. In both last night's service and tonight's service, Pastor Vasily extended the invitation to those in attendance and to those who repented to join him this next Sunday in Studenytsia. Pastor Vasily plans to have a bus come by to pick up as many people as possible and take them to church each Sunday. So pray for God to provide more leaders and servants who will come along side Pastor Vasily in the awesome task of discipling and reaching these new believers and seekers.
I just have to share with you all how humbled and blessed it was to hear of the prayer services that Pastor Vasily and his church have had prior to our arrival to Ukraine. He shared that his church has been meeting and praying for this week of evangelism and for all of us. Several weeks ago his church met on a Friday night and had a prayer service that went from 9:00 p.m. until approximately 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. in the morning. Oh, we are seeing what can happen when God's people pray. Folks, God is at work here in Ukraine! The prayers of God's people here in these villages and the prayers offered by all of you in America and wherever you may be in the world is making an eternal difference. Please continue to earnestly pray for us as we journey with Jesus as His witnesses. Pray for our strength, health and most of all for God's anointing as we share Jesus with many, many people tomorrow!
May you and all of us live His mission with a sense of greater urgency and purpose each day. We love you all!
Slava Bog!
Your Ukraine Mission Team
