Calvary Chapel Sokol, Moscow

Church update

2011-08-12T20:13:00.002+04:00

Editions that were made on the 13^th are in yellow

Editions that were made on the 14^th are in pink

Be ware of the wolves

“Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them” Eph. 5:11

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, I would like to update you on the present situation in our church Calvary Chapel Sokol, which was meeting at metro “Prospect Mira” till December 2010 and now is spread around Moscow due to the circumstances I want to describe below. We still need your prayers since, because we were separated and some church members maybe harassed.

Some information that maybe you have gotten from our church before maybe just a scam.

CC Sokol

This blog belongs to our church CCSokol, but for a while Melvin Dean Malispina, whom we considered our pastor, friend, supporter and a missionary of Calvary Chapel Church Planting Mission and later Spiritual Freedom Ministry, was updating it, so you might want to read some of the posts below.

Nataliya Frolova

I have been serving in Moscow, since 1999, after i've graduated from the Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta Hot Springs. Some people know me quite well, but for those of you who never met me personally, you can find my pictures below, since I was the only Natasha in our church. My full name is Nataliya Michailovna Frolova (Наталия Михайловна Фролова)(b.76) and I know the Lord since 1992.

I've been attending CCSokol since 2001, when Vadim Chipinov (CC Volgograd) was pastoring and am serving full time since 2003, since Melvin Dean Malispina became a pastor.

The previous post describes what took place in our church, so if you have not heard of it please, read that message first, to understand that our church, and I believe I can put name of Calvary Chapel here, which is in many places around the world and also missionaries and fellowships with different names have suffered persecution. Also, to avoid any confusion our church has one e-mail address ccsokol@mail.ru and my personal e-mails are natasha4jesus@gmail.com (mail.ru, rambler.ru, voila.fr), also I have twitter (not tweeter), Facebook (which is now closed) and Vkontakte, so if you've received any messages from these accounts with some information it might be untrue since my e-mails and profiles were broken in to and some messages could have gone out without my knowledge.

CCCPM – not CCCP:-)

The first church I've attended was Calvary Chapel Pushkinskaya (we were meeting at Dom Medika), when Allan Esses was pastoring it. When he, his wife Natasha and daughter Rebecca moved back to the US in 1999, Kevin McKen became a pastor and together with his wife Natasha they are still serving at Calvary Chapel Kurskaya-Курская (former Pushkinskaya-Пушкинская) the Russian name of the church was «Голгофский приход» and both my mom and my sister Tania were attending it. After I've returned from the Bible College I became a part of CCCPM (Calvary Chapel Church Planting Mission-Миссия по Организации Церквей «Часовня на Голгофе») led by George Bryson, who was bringing teams to Russia since 1991, I believe. His wife Debby organized many women's conferences and follow up outreaches in different cities of Russia. The Calvary Chapel Dormitory (aka Dorm) was situated at one of the buildings of MADI (Московский Авто-дорожный институт) first at Sokol (Сокол) and then at Planernaya (Планерная) metro. The Dorm was attending to the needs of long and short term missionaries and was headed by different people thought the years – Celeste Romero from New Mexico, US (now serving at CC Prishtina, Kosovo with her husband Mark Yocom.) Also Celeste served with CC Omsk and traveled to several cities around Russia. Chris Wheatly from California, who was organizing several outreaches and became a pastor of CC Tushino (Тушино) and served there together with his wife Sasha. Had to move back to the US due to visa problems, now they have two daughters and live in California. Among the missionaries who served at the Dorm were Guy Tukonaga from Howaii, Jay Dove from California, Christina Dixon from Upstate New York, she was a long term missionary in Nizhny Novgorod, and then helped with Calvary Chapel Bible College in Moscow headed by Ilya Gromov, originally from St. Petersburg, Russia (now serving at CC Novorossiysk with his wife Ira and his brother Alexey's family), Paul and Toni Petrignani (now serving at CC Nice, France with his family), Christabel (Bell) Chua, Scott and Jamie Williams.

Steve and Debora Olshevsky with their daughters Alyssa and Katy, who were serving at CC Tushino when it was just planted and the meeting places were at Turistskaya street (Planernaya metro) and at Mendeleyevskiy University diner, where also Bible College Graduations were held and the outreach teams were having organized meals with people they've met at the concerts and street outreaches. Also, it was a place where CC Tushino and the Bible College were organizing cafe with free music and treats. As far as I know Calvary Chapel Tushino had to be closed shortly after Chris and Sasha Wheatly moved away, the last meeting place was at metro Skhodnenskaya where a small Rehabilitation Center for Blind (помещение реабилитационного центра Всероссийского Общества Слепых) was located. The same kind of rehabilitation center was at metro Prospect Mira where our church CC Sokol was meeting since 2007, before that CC Sokol was located at Architectural College (Архитектурный Коллеж на улице Усиевича) at metro Sokol, then, after we were asked to leave in 2006, for about 4 months we rented a place Sokol Hotel apposite Triumph palace (Гостиница «Сокол» в Чапаевчком переулке). Among other missionaries I can name Page and Promise Bakurich, who were serving at Krasnogorsk and then moved to Dedovsk, the last I heard, they had to move back to the US, but I'm not 100% sure. Scott and Lena Bensen - both of them were a part of church in Smolensk, where Mike and MaryLou Bryan were serving for many years. Both families had to move back to the US because of visa and registration problems. It was especially surprising for Scott and Lena, since Lena is a Moscovite, both of them have a heart for people in Russia and a desire to continue serving the church. The same I can say about Bryan family. Also Chris and Katherine Knox, who served in Perm, Joel and Heather Curtly served in St. Pete Central for many years, Lori Amato, who served at CC Kashirskaya together with Tim and Darlene Mattox, who are now missionaries at Cyprus. There were and are many others who have love for the people and want to continue serving the Lord in different parts of Russia.

It is quite possible that some of these and short term missionaries along with Russian churches could experience some problems and even persecution due to the network system problems and loss of some documents, including database, which was used to organize conferences in Moscow.

I also have noticed that CCCPM site was hacked at least once.

Keeping the Unity.

I know that there were some unity problems between George Bryson other missionaries and pastors, but while at home all this time I've realized that some “little foxes”could cause serious problems, especially when people do not communicate face to face, but have a “mediator “between man and man, who says “I'll take care of this problem for you”, “I'll be the peacemaker” or “I know what is going on with such and such a person and I know what he or she said”. Some small talk of someone who has his own agenda can destroy relationship for many years between people, who love and respect one another. Some assumptions can produce real devision. Personally, I still wonder what had happened between George Bryson and Ken Ortize, who served for years together, since Dean mentioned his sister's Lynn name to me and that she actually talked to Ken personally and if actually anything happened or the Lord just decided to do it this way, so the work may continue in a different area. But I think many of us still miss great conferences we had at Molodiozhnaya hotel, I really miss worship, teaching, time of fellowship. It was always a huge encouragement not only for those, who served, but for those who considered serving or just needed refreshment.

This year I could not even attend women's and St. Pete conferences, because I could not get the right information and the e-mail that I've received were confusing. I also chose to stay at home and not to go to the missions conference in Austria, because I still feel very uncomfortable thinking that I might meet Dean and his “team” there or might be misunderstood by people who maybe received some untrue reports about me or received fake e-mails from my accounts. This can happen to anyone, so this is the reason I'm writing about it. I know that the Lord will take care of any problem sooner or later, but communication is vital especially in serious situations.

Dale Freeman Tweedy

The same can be true about our missionary Dale Freeman Tweedy, who was serving in Russia since 1994, I believe, has daughter Dasha and wife Lena, with which they were separated for many years due to divorce, but continues to keep in contact with her and good father for Dasha. We are still praying for the restoration of the family.

Dale's gmail account daletweedy@gmail.com was either hacked or has a tween, so some unwanted messages could proceed from it.

He begun his work in Russia with Calvary Chapel Church Planting Mission (headed by George Bryson) and then continued his ministry with Spiritual Freedom headed by Phill Wagner and then by Alexey Tichkonov. The situation with Spiritual Freedom in Moscow is rather unclear right now. It was renamed to “Set Free Ministries”, but in Russian, I think it is still the same “Духовная Свободa”. Dale was attending CCSokol almost since the very beginning and thought men's bible studies and for the last several years he was teaching monday night Bible Study. He disappeared from my life in December 2010 and the last text message I've received from him was in January 2011. I still do not know what had happened to Dale, but his place took his tween brother we were not aware of. It may sound even humorous, but this man has the same name, I came to this realization only today, because below you can find a post by Dean called Chaplin Dale Tweedy. I usually edit our blog, so when I read it I though it was a mistake and it was supposed to be Chaplain, because this is who Dale Freeman Tweedy is, but I believe that his ministry in Russia and maybe even in the US was undermined by his tween brother Chaplin Dale and also is true about Dale marriage and relationship with his wife Lena.

We were not even aware of it, but the Lord has faithfully revealed some of these things to me in these last days. However, I am not sure if people in our church know the truth because as it says in 2 Peter 3:3 :”Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with {their} mocking, following after their own lusts,” Many people were lied to and friends and families were separated, because each person knows his own “truth” about people and circumstances. Some people, who came to the church more or less recently were not aware of our church history and small talk behind our backs could produce separation and undermine good testimony.

Servants

Our church had several people serving including CC Bible College graduates from Moscow since Melvin Dean Malispina became a pastor. Lynn Malispina was a part of hospitality ministry and was considered Dean's sister by me and many other members of the church. She left Moscow in 2003 to be married to Brad Prittchard, Dean was performing the wedding in California and two girls from our church Masha Pasenchuk (who is presently in New York) and Marina Marinushkina (who might be in San Francisco at present) were leading worship. When they came to Moscow we watched a video of the wedding together and I remember that they commented that the guys beard was fake. Again, it may sound very funny, but both Masha and Marina were a part of CC Sokol for many years while Chris and Morgan Hess were leading the church. Marina attended CC Bible College and Austria, worked with George Bryson, translated William McDonald's commentary, and had been interpreting for Dean for several years and leading worship. Masha was leading worship as well as oversaw some other ministries in our church. Then she went to the US to work.

Marina continued to serve at the church leading worship and translating until we moved to a new place at Prospect Mira, then she stepped out from the ministry, but was a faithfully coming. So last I heard from Marina was in December, but then I was told that she moved to San Fransisco. Both girls are still single.

Mary Lynn Malispina Prittchard kept in contact with me, but never visited Moscow again. Even though I had all the confirmations that she got married, still some doubts came when I actually remembered the difference between the man on a video and a man on the picture. Also, I remembered that when Lynn was introducing herself, she said that many people thought that Dean and her are husband and wife therefore put them in the same room, but they are just single brother and sister.

Andrey and Rita Antonov came to our church after being in Tambov serving with Ray and Rebecca Curran. They were leading youth ministry and also provision for hospitality. Andrey also was taking care of our church site, which at some point was broken into and stolen from us. Rita played jumbey.

They've continued in ministry for some time then found regular jobs and went to another church. As far as I know they moved to the US.

Luba and Sasha Kustov were coming to our church for some time. Luba was helping me to teach women's bible study after Masha and then another Luba left. Sasha was leading worship, but at some point they both left and after they little daughter Nastia was born they turned to Ortodoxy.

Vova (Vladimir) Oblov – Moscow bible college graduate was a part of the worship team and lived in the same flat with Dean and other guys. Unfortunately, he had to step out from the ministry and never was disciplined properly, living one foot in the world.

After Vova stopped leading worship in 2007, I stepped in and was leading up to December 2010.

Tanya (Tatyana) Terechkova-Bowling – was teaching children along with other Bible College Graduts.

Julia Geshtovt – headed hospitality ministry up until we had to move to Prospect Mira. Julia was faithfully attending the church since 2002 (or 3)after she came from St. Pete with her 3 children.

She moved to St. Pete from Alma-Ata with her 3 children (Veronika, Dima and Sveta) as their family was harassed. Her family was going to reunite, but before they were about to move back to Alma-Ata her husband passed away after having a heart attack and she stayed. She later remarried to Steve Bruton and moved to China for about a year. Unfortunately, her family was again separated, Julia and her younger children moved back to Moscow and her older daughter continued to study in China. I did not hear from Julia since April 2011. When I warned her about Dean in December, she did not receive it and I think it happened, because we did not know about Dale yet.

Geno (Evgeniy Borisovich Grigorovich) – was saved while Dale witnessed to him in prison and after the release was translating and helping Dale up until he was convicted with a same sentence and sent back to prison. It happened shortly after he helped Dean to get his new beeline mobile plan.

Missionaries

We had several missionaries visiting our church through the years, but in more recent years Marcelo Santos (Athletes in Action) with his family were attending our church. They had to move away due to some harassment, but still would like to come back and serve in Moscow.

Tyler and Melissa Goodell were a blessing to our fellowship. They both have heart for Russia. Before they were married Tyler was a part of our church in spite of “3 months in 3 months out” visa regulation. Melissa was a part of short term missionary teams both to Russia and Ukraine.

Steve and Sharon Paul with their 3 children were a part of our fellowship up until they moved on to belong term missionaries in Blagovechensk where they were serving for some time, but had to move back to the US.

And we've never met Dave and Darlys Bird or Matt and Lisha Phillips family in Moscow.

Dean's house

After Lynn Malispina-Prittchard went back to the US, Dean's flat continued to be a place where we would have home fellowships, women, men and prayer meetings. It also was a place where some guys from our church were staying including Vova(Вова) and his brother Sasha (Саша) Oblov, who came from Tambov, Liosha Shakin (Лёша Шакин), who was from a dysfunctional family of alcoholics and had some mental disability, both of his parents passed away and his brother sold their flat, not giving any share to Liosha, some militia man was involved in this situation, we tried to help, but Liosha went back to the streets at some point. It seemed like Dean really had a heart for him and wanted to help and sent him to a rehabilitation center, but Liosha disappeared. Roman Dovol'nov (Роман Довольнов) stayed with Dean for some years after he met him at a homeless outreach with Dale, I believe. Roma was helping out at the church and remained faithful up until we had to close the doors of our meeting place at Prospect Mira. Geno, whom I already mentioned above, also stayed at Dean's place along with Dennis, whom we met at a homeless outreach, unfortunately, he later turned back to drinking. Yuri Timonnikov (Юрий Тимонников), who claimed to be a lawyer, but seemed like a person who does not have an occupation. He tried to help out at the church and he was the person, whom I asked to take care of the offerings during my 3 month absence. Dean told us that Yuri passed away in a hospice. Dima Schneider (Дима Шнайдер, previously had a different last name as he was attending the Bible College in Moscow), had lived with Dean for many years, but several times was accused of theft by different people, though it was not proven. He has some mental disability and is an orphan, we tried to help him as well as Liosha to finish their school education at special education center, based at the St. Andrew's Anglican church in Moscow, so that they would be able to find jobs, but it never worked out. Dima was in and out of the church, visiting other churches in Moscow as well. Last time I saw him at a church that was meeting across the hallway from us. In the last 2-3 years Dean had a flat mate Volodia (Володя), whom he knew for years, but who never showed much interest in the Bible or Spiritual things, but kept coming to the church. Rifat Vakhitov(Рифат Вахитов), was coming to our church for many years and was attending Christian university in 2009-10, then he won a grant and was supposed to go to the US to study. Dean told me that he got his visa and went.

It always looked like Dean really cares for all these guys and has a lot of patience with them, but at the same time he never really discipled them and never disciplined them properly. Many times he would begin meeting with them for a Bible Study, but then stop it in 2-3 weeks.

We tried our best to keep good relationship with the neighbors and make sure they are not troubled by the noise, while Dean lived at Sokol on Usievicha street, but many times guys would misbehave and it would threaten our church fellowship meetings. I even had to deal with militia on that, but still they asked us to discontinue the meetings.

All these men were a part of our church and with the most of them we had a good time of fellowship, prayed together, but only Roma and Volodia are the ones, who remained in the church.

Church support

Since 2003, after Lynn left I was taking care of church offerings, which were coming directly from the people from the church. Dean helped with the rent of our meeting place when we were still at Sokol, but then stopped and asked to do it from the offerings. The Lord faithfully provided for us and we were able to continue supporting different ministries and also help a little to “Spiritual Freedom” and CC Kaluga.

When we moved to Prospect Mira we had enough for Sundays and Wednesdays, but then stopped renting on Wednesdays due to small attendance. Our Monday and Wednesday bible studies continued at the “Spiritual Freedom” office at Saviolovskaya metro.

I also received my support (about $400) directly from Dean.

The administration of the place where we were renting had asked me to sign agreements and make payments trough a bank, so we would have a good stand before the authorities.

Being officially on staff with Association of Evangelical Christian Churches “Calvary Chapel” I worked closely with Nadezhda (Nadia) Martunenko (as far as I know she was going to get married and to change her last name to Morhouse) Nadia helped me to organize the payments through the bank and she was the one who had the seal of the Association. I fully trusted her and after I realized that Dean is truing to manipulate funds and switch to cash, I asked for a meeting with Drew Morhouse and Dale, to remove Dean from pastorate. This meeting never took place, because Dale received a phone call from Kostia Kretov, who told him that they will take care of everything. This happened on the 28^th of December 2010 and I never heard from Kostia. Only later I realized that Kostia could not take care of anything since I never talked to him personally and never really explained anything to Dale.

I thought that maybe Dale and Kostia were aware of some other problems with Dean and he will be asked to leave, so I gave it into the Lord's hands.

On December 30^th, 2010 Nadia sealed the agreement that I signed for the new year, but then she took the agreement from me. I thought that Dean will be removed and this question will be resolved by our next church meeting, but it never happened.

I tried to write as many people as I could, but received no answers. Nadia was the one I tried to keep in touch with but her answers were very unclear. I tried to meet with her too, but it did not happen.

I stayed at home most of the time and had to disconnect from the Internet, realizing that my wifi was hacked as well as both of my beeline numbers.

Resurrection day

After a long waiting and hoping to receive some kind of an answer from people, on April 20, 2010 I got a phone call from Dale and we met so that he would give me some bills and money for the apartment. I hoped for a good news, but it seemed like he never read anything I wrote to him. Also, he informed me that he is going to teach wednesday bible study at Prospect Mira instead of Dean, because he was gone for a week. I was rather shocked by that news and asked where did they get the money and who is taking care of the offerings (since, I previously asked him to hold on to them), he said that he does not really know. I said that it is maybe a good idea to meet with Dean, because he need to leave the church, because more and more things were rising up. He promised to set up a meeting.

Then I went to “Integra” office to pay our bill for the warehouse were most of our church equipment supposed to be stored, but the office worker Irina told me that Dean had asked to give all the staff away and Marat Saphin(who was known to me as the person who pastors CC Kashirskaya and works at the warehouse) was willing to do that.

Later I realized that when we were moving from our place at Sokol, Dale and I were clearing the storage space, but Dean was the one who moved everything to Integra. So, it looks like we lost all our equipment and payed for something that even did not belong to our church.

In the evening I went to translate for Dale and also found out that somebody already payed for the rent.

The next day I talked to the accountants and cashier they told me that some men came and payed for the rent in cash. I asked them how is it possible since my name is on the receipt, they told me that the Administrator ordered them. So, after that I asked them to discontinue our rent until farther notice.

It is quite possible that our legal church registration and my name was used for other purposes as well as for tax fake reports inspection. Also, it might very well be that some other churches, who do not have a registration, could use our name, bylaw and registration, but teach different doctrine, because Moscow is filled with prosperity teaching.

Finally, on Sunday the 24^th, the Resurrection day, I came to our meeting place where Olya Alexsandrova and another woman whom I never met before, but probably had some alcohol problems, because I sensed very strong odor, were ready to lead worship. I told them that it cannot be possible, because at our church everything should be done decently and order.

I had to confiscate the list of people and ask the guards not to let Dean Malispina in. Elena, Olga's friend was rather upset and called Dean right away. His response was angry. So, after this I went to

CC 1905 to talk to Kostia Kretov and ask him for help again and to meet with George and Dale together, but he was unwilling and said that he is going to be in St. Pete for the conference while George Bryson will be in Moscow.

Letter Writing

Thinking upon the situation I though it would be wise to write George Bryson again describing the whole situation in more detail, exposing those people who were involved and tried to procrastinate, undermine and lie, now for many years.

Also, I wrote tax inspection, my Internet and mobile providers. No answers came again. Then I realized that our real Dale had disappeared and since January 2011, I was writing and converting with his tween. Real Dale had an eye surgery before and never mentioned that he had a tween brother, but his tween has contacts and mentioned his tween brother, who has a rheumatoid arthritis. So, I asked some people for prayer, but again no responses had come, besides very negative ones. I have to mention our dear sister in the Lord Karen Kozman, who came to Russia several times before and taught at Women's Conferences. Her e-mail account was broken into and possibly it happened while she was at the Dorm in Snegiry. So it is possible that many missionaries who came to Russia through Calvary Chapel Church Planting Mission and stayed at the dorm could suffer from harassment.

The Big Brother, I guess

Last year on October 12^th, something very terrifying happened to me, I could not understand what it was at first, so it took me several months to figure everything out, while I stayed at home not feeling very well. My whole body was shaking as I was laying in my bed and my tongue was moving as if some evil spirit entered my body or maybe from medical stand point it would look like an epileptic seizure. Being a Christian for many years now, I know that it is impossible for a Christian to be demon possessed, but at that point I was just unable to understand what was going on. After everything stopped, I tried to write in my journal as usual and here someone was trying to manipulate my prayers, which corresponded to my testimony on a blog I posted sometime ago, so that I would write it again. Repeating my commitment to remain single for the rest of my life, giving my desire to have a family of my own as a sacrifice.

Finally, when it was already dark the “voice from the ceiling” pronounced: “now you will have to marry Dean.....” the phrase in English continued and I just tried to pray out loud, not even being sure why this was going on, then I fainted completely as if someone was trying to suffocate me and my head was filled with noise. In a little while I woke up and tried to walk, then woke up on the floor though without any injuries or bruises as if someone had carefully put me on the floor. The next day I felt weak, but the Lord was speaking to me about His kingdom. And after that I was able to sing and praise Him.

On Friday the 15^th I was able to go to the Bible Study, I was running very late, but when I came, I understood that something was not quite right with my friends. We usually have small fellowship at Julia's home and both Dean and Dale were present. Everything seemed fine, but for some unknown to me reason Diana was asking how was I feeling and if my head hurts. I was surprised, because I did not tell anyone anything not being sure what took place. Diana is an anesthesiologist and also my good friend, whom I shared with somethings the Lord was revealing to me, but she was lied to and when I tried to explain to her the situation with our church later in December, she did not receive.

That was the first time when I noticed that Dean looked very angry, though I understood this much later.

After I came home that evening somethings continued, but it was not as bad as before, though I almost fainted several times again. I stayed at home for 3 weeks trying to understand what is actually going on in my flat, in the mid November I came back to church, but Dean seemed very unhappy again, though while I was ill he kept contacting me trough sms and e-mail.

The more I listened to the noise (which reminds me the noise of TV monitors, high voltage electricity, very strong radio and wi-fi transmission, it can be both white and black, the best I can describe. Plus some very strong light, which hurts my eyes even while I am trying to sleep) in my room, the more evident it became that some technical means are used and proceed from the flats next to mine, upstairs and downstairs. I realized that I do not know who my neighbors are and the more I looked around, I understood that they change all the time, sometime just stay for a few hours and leave, then new people come, some with children. One night two men woke me up at 3 am by talking loud and then at 5am they've decided to go to sleep to another flat.

Some people, I've never even met before still hurting my health, stealing my voice by putting me on a leash (that is how it feels). I would like to record some songs that the Lord blessed me with during this time of trial on MP3 player I have at home, to share them with others, but so far it was not possible.

I know that some people lived in my building for many years, but some just moved in and out some flats stay empty, the same thing is going on around the whole city and the center looks almost like it is hunted. I've also noticed that traffic jams are a constant problem on our street, but then I realized that some cars just driving around in circles, like in “Truman Show” - great movie, I recommend it.

I am not really sure where to go with this since feeling like a “radio head” it is probably approved by the some authorities, they know that I've been translating for Dean, it is not a surprise for them.

Unfortunately, they do not or do not want to understand still that people in the church and citizens of different countries should be protected or maybe the problem is much bigger and only the Lord can take care of it by establishing His kingdom around the world, isn't it what many people had prayed for many centuries “Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On Earth as it is in Heaven.” Matthew 6:10

The thorn in the flesh and the Gift of God

For some reason Dean was often boasting that his last name Malispina means “bad thorn”.

Last summer, after CC missions conference in Austria, my sister and I went to Venice with the team from CC Modesto (Damian and Karin Kyle were sharing at the conference) and one person on the team whom Dean called his missions pastor, Matt Phillips, gave Dean a new nick name Malisputnick, I thought it was funny, at first. I bought a little white cross for Lynn to send it to her through the team, but later Dean forwarded me a message from Matt, where he just laughed at the gift and called Dean Malisputnick again. I know that wiki leaked a lot, even from my head, I even saw a billboard advertising Lenovo computers, which had an unfinished idea from my tweeter.

What can I say – our treasure is in Heaven, but also on Earth and it is not in material possessions, but in people, we have this treasure in earthen and glorified vessels.

Satan has asked for us to be sifted as wheat and sifting is good and our God also wants us to be cleansed, so ALL families on Earth may be blessed, it is by Grace that we are saved through faith, it is not by works lest any man should boast, it is a GIFT.

Each person created in the image of God is Loved by God, loved more than we can ever imagine and His Grace is Enough. In 2009, the Lord gave me a verse in regards to my family “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ” 2 Cor. 12:9 I believe, it can mean both for my church and my extended family, because, it is in my weakness and fears, I understand that God can do anything, the way I could not even imagine so that we may be “perfect and complete lacking nothing” James 1:4b

People, can live not even realizing that they live for the last of the flesh, last of the eyes and the pride of life, and call themselves Christians, who will open their eyes besides God, who will draw them, who will cleanse them, besides Him. Salvation is a Gift, but it is also a Miracle, I really want ALL to be saved and I believe He does too. It is impossible to have abundant life and His Kingdom on Earth, when people are still suffering from their own illness or from those who are ill near them, but only God can heal. In some cases He heals when person has faith and Jesus, says “I am willing, be cleansed”, but in some other He admires the faith of those who brought their friend for healing.

Lord, You can heal spiritual blindness and leprosy, please, do that, so all the families on Earth and in Heaven maybe blessed exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask or think or even imagine.

Please, keep our fellowship in prayers.

Blessings, Natasha

p.s. In August of 2006 while attending Austrian Conference the Lord spoke to me from 2 Chronicles 20:15,17,21 (in the context of the passage 15-22):”And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: Do not be afraid nor dismayed, for the battle is not yours, but God's...You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, Who is with you... Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you...and he appointed those who should sing to the Lord and who should praise the beauty of His holiness...”

Last August, 2010 at the Missions Conference in Austria the Lord gave me a verse through Karin Kyle, it is in Exodus 14:13: “...Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today...”

Also, verses from Songs of Solomon 2:11-12a: “For lo, the winter is over and past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the Earth; the time of singing has come...”

please, pray

2011-01-11T14:50:00.001+03:00

Today, i received an e-mail from Dean Malispina, who used to be our pastor and who is for some reason is still not ashamed of his behavior. It is hard to understand how he can be so bold and continue to call himself a pastor.
Our church needs prayers and support to remove this man.
Please, pray for us. God bless you! Natasha

from	dean
to		Natasha
date		Tue, Jan 11, 2011 at 1:21 PM
mailed-by		yourhostingaccount.com

hide details 1:21 PM (1 hour ago)

Hi Natasha, hope you are doing ok. We are praying for you. I have a favor to ask you can you please release the blog site so that people can acess it, that is the right thing to do , please I don't want to be telling people that it was disabled by you,people are going to ask questions. Just reset it please.I hope you are keeping in contact with your sister and Mom, and i hope you can meet with Julia some time. God bless you and keep you,d

Know Jesus, know truth ...we need help

2011-01-10T20:41:00.004+03:00

Know the truth and the truth may set you free...if you believe it. Jesus is the TRUTH, but if you do not believe Him, He cannot set you free.

Being alone in this fight for your faith, for righteousness and for those who suffer is unbearable and almost impossible.

How is it that after being back in Russia for 11 years, after trying to serve the Lord faithfully for 7 years at the church where He called me to, now everything seems to be completely destroyed, just because of one person who chose to disobey his Creator, who decided to follow his own ways and who does not want God's Kingdom to come on the Earth. This one person who was ordained to be a pastor, did not shepherd the flock, but became a wolf for the sheep that where entrusted him for guidance and protection still does not repent and lies to others.

It is painful to understand that something could be done years earlier if people in my home church did not keep silent, but asked for help. It could happen in 2006, when the first public act of unrighteousness was committed, when this person who still calls himself a pastor, whose name is Melvin Dean Malispina, decided that he can disobey God's order in the church and can marry a couple that was never disciplined and counselled properly. He did not protect a single mother who already was hurt by a broken relationship, but let her and her family to be hurt even more by not telling them the truth of the Word of God, by not stopping her from becoming a wife of an unbeliever, but actually pushing her toward this marriage. Even though he knew the Bible and he was rebuked by the Lord through me before the last counseling session took place, still he chose to proceed and made the whole church to be a witness, he made others to participate in this. This became a snare to many believers who being young in their faith and understanding of the Bible followed the same path. Since then the church continues to suffer, it is hurt upon hurt, when both men's, women's, children's, worship and home ministries had been destroyed. Many lives where broken already, but now even more will be broken including mine, because for some unknown to me reason the church is not the church anymore, because people who ordained this person keep silent and do not want to do anything about this. I asked my brothers and sisters for help and prayer, but there is still dead silence.

The wolf still leads the sheep and eats them up, because fatherless, widows and elderly people cannot find protection. He uses the offering for his own benefit and not even ashamed to be called a wolf. Our African brothers and sisters under a threat of deportation right now. Our brothers and sisters from around the World might be under a threat of not being able to come to Russia again.

Our fellowship needs support and prayers and not silence and indecisiveness, because in reality it is not just one fellowship that is being destroyed, but the whole church in Russia and around the World. Righteousness cannot dwell with darkness. The time is running out for the people who suffered and are suffering right now, who need help, protection, encouragement and restoration.

It can very well be that this person's unrighteous acts are known outside the church, even to the Authorities and it can become a public disgrace and destruction for the God's movement that begun in the 60s and which is known as Calvary Chapel, but it will affect not only our church, it'll affect all Christian churches around the world, because it is impossible for people to come to church when they do not see an example of God's love and righteousness.

I do not know what to do, because I've already asked for help from people. I do not want our church to suffer anymore, I do not want other people to suffer, who do not know the Lord yet and for God's work to be destroyed because of one man, who does not want to do what is right and does not love God with all his mind, heart, strength and soul and love his neighbor as himself.

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, whatever a man sows, that he will reap. If he sows in his flesh, he will reap corruption, but if he sows in the spirit, of that he will reap everlasting life" Galatians 6:7-8

Lord, please, do not let Your work and Your people to be destroyed, please, establish Your kingdom. Only You can help Your people who cry out day and night for deliverance. Please, give wisdom to the authorities and to the government to do what is right and to ask You for help, because You have all WISDOM and POWER and You are LOVE. May Your perfect will be done on the Earth as it is in Heaven.

Please, pray for our church. God bless you!!! Natasha

2010-09-23T12:59:00.002+04:00

The information on this post maybe inaccurate
We recently received this letter from Lena a young lady living in the village. It has been our concern for the literally 10,000 of villages over the 10 time zones of Russia, that do not have any access to any evangelical influence. Through the Russian postal system people such as Lena can be built up in their faith, and can have access to solid biblical teaching.

To: Alexey( director of SFR)

Hi, My name is Lena, I am 28.I'd like to study the Bible of the New Testament. But it is not possible as I live in a village. There are no such books in our village library and impossible to buy them. Because of the times and the moral condition of my village, I have no one to ask for help. That is why I’m ask for help… Thank you very much in advance.

Lena
Amurskay oblastVoskresenovka 10/08/25

2010-09-22T01:14:00.003+04:00

The information on this post maybe inaccurate or a scam.

2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Greetings from Moscow, we are experiencing what we call a “Ladies Summer” here in Moscow. You would know it as an “Indian Summer” the fall weather has just been beautiful…For all of you that have been following the journey of Spiritual Freedom Russia, we are still moving ahead. Even though the ministry has had to make adjustments because of finances, Bible courses are being received, courses are being corrected, letters are being answered and new believer packets are being sent. After 17 years the work continues to the often forgot group of society in Russian prisons. We are thankful to the small group of faithful supporters that have made the difference in the last 3 years of this ministry. The fact that SFM continues is testimony to the faithful prayer support of all of you who have a heart for this ministry. Recently a new DVD has been created by Alexy our director. It tells the story behind the office doors of Spiritual Freedom Russia and behind the walls of life in a Russian prison. The new DVD records some rare footage of the people SFR has the opportunity to reach out to. You can view this DVD at the SFR blog site. www.sfmrussia.org.

Prayer requests:

1.) Please continue to pray for Alexy our director, he has been through quite a trial over the last year as his wife Rita has had many different health issues.

2.) Pray that Alexy will have the wisdom need to lead the SFR team. God has gifted Alexy as a leader and we are thankful for his leadership.

3.) Pray for the staff as some of them have had to seek other employment. We know God is faithful and will provide for each one.

4.) Pray for the work of the Holy Spirit in the Russian Prison system and that the doors would remain open for Evangelical work in the prison.

5.) Please pray for the men and woman and teenagers that receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior then are released into society, that they will grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and be a blessing to Russian society.

Thank you all so very much for your faithful prayer support of this work, if only you could come and visit us and see the faithfulness of the Lords work here. Thank you for your concern for men woman you may never meet this side of eternity. God bless you and the work the Lord has called you to. From all of us at SFR

Calvary Chapel Modesto Team+CC Sokol Moscow

2010-09-22T01:06:00.001+04:00

Happy Birthday Moscow 863 years young!

2010-09-22T00:44:00.000+04:00

Moscow's City Hall has scrapped two major events connected with Sept.

4 celebrations to mark the capital's 863rd anniversary today so that the funds could be diverted to help the victims of the recent wildfires. Still, more than 5,000 concerts, street shows and traditional Russian merrymaking with prizes and cakes will be held across the city.Military orchestras from nine countries will march in the central Red square at the opening of the Spasskaya Tower international festival of military bands.

Moscowvites suffer

2010-08-09T23:28:00.000+04:00

Moscowvites suffer from 1,000 year record high temperatures , but not only that Moscow is surrounded by forest fires and underground peat fires which are nearly impossible to control. We have had 6 days of very high levels of smog. Most Moscowvites including myself are without air conditioning and a open window is our source of fresh air. However with the high levels of toxic smoke widows are kept closed. Please pray for the situation, it doesn’t seem to letting up much

Haiti has not been forgotten

2010-08-09T23:16:00.003+04:00

The information on this post maybe inaccurate
Just wanted to let you know that Haiti has not been forgotten. It has been only 8 months since a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 mw earthquake rocked that country. Haiti is a country where the 29th chapter of the Book of Acts is still being written. Calvary Chapel's from all over the US have made a long term commitment to take the love of Christ to Haiti. This is a recent letter from some dear friends of mine Dave and Darlys Bird who the Lord put on their hearts to move to Haiti and be apart of the work the greater body of Christ is currently doing in Haiti. Please pray for the work that God is doing in that precious country.

Hi Prayer Warriors

2010-08-09T22:55:00.001+04:00

The information on this post maybe inaccurate or a scam.

Hi Prayer Warriors,

Thank you for all your prayers and emails in regards to our Women's Events.

As an update, the Event Saturday night went so well. We had about 100 women

and God's spirit was there through pampering the ladies with massages,

worship, teaching and 1 on 1 prayer. I wish you could hear these woman

worship the Lord in song. They sing accapella and sing with their whole

hearts loudly and joyfully. It is truly humbling to serve among these Haitian women who love Jesus somuch and trust Him fully, even for their next meal that day.

Enjoy the photos. I'll send more updates after the other 2 Events.

Tonight is our second event at another church, and we are expecting another100 women.

As you pray for the Haitian women here in Haiti, here are 3 of the most difficult things in their lives right now:

1. The economic situation (especially after the earthquake,

unemployment rate is 90%).and we think it's bad in the States, huh?

2. Stress - Every woman has been impacted with stressful situations

since the earthquake (all of some of the following: loss of family, loss of

home and living in a tent, husband & children relationships, etc,))

3. Sick Children - Since the earthquake, their children are getting

sick more often

Thank you SO much for your prayers and love. Personally, for me, as we are

in the hottest and most humid time of year here, your prayers for enduranceand strength are so needed and felt.

Darlys Bird - Field Coordinator
Calvary Chapel Haiti Initiative
US 909.214.5686
Haiti 011. 509.3881.6098
dar@dbirdfamily.com
http://www.calvarychapelhaitiinitiative.org/
Face Book - Calvary Chapel Haiti Initiative

One+One=One

2010-07-20T01:03:00.002+04:00

ONE +ONE=ONE God's math.........Amen!

Ge 2:23-24 And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

What a beautiful expression God gave a man and a woman to show their love for one another by coming together and becoming one flesh in marriage. On July 3rd Artom and Nastya became husband and wife. It was really a beautiful wedding. They were blessed to have the ceremony at the Calvary Chapel dorm, which is located out in the beautiful village. The CC staff did an excellent job with the food and with the details that made it a special time for everyone. It was a great blessing for me as I had the opportunity to officiate the wedding service. I have known Artom for about 7 years and to be a part of Artom’s and Nastya’s wedding was huge blessing. Many of Artom’s and Nastya’s friends that attended are non believers. Many are fans of their band and have a great love for Artom and Nastya. Many for the first time hearing that it is God’s idea and not man’s for marriage. The worship band from Calvary Chapel Vladimir, (3 hours from Moscow) did an awesome job with the worship. Artom even wrote and sang a beautiful love song to his new bride! God Bless their union, amen!

Believer’s Baptism

2010-07-20T00:12:00.002+04:00

Romans 6:1-6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,6 knowing this that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

Jesus gave His church a wonderful ordinance, Believer’s Baptism. He gave the believer the opportunity to participate in a physical act that would best symbolize what He did for us on the cross. For a believer not to experience water baptism is to miss the profound understanding of what Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit was speaking in Romans 6. As baptism is a symbol of a funeral to the believers old nature that once was under the bondage of sin and that as Christ died, we likewise died in Him. In water baptism it is powerfully symbolized as the believer is lowered under the water and reckoned as dead. Then as Christ was raised from the dead, we also are made alive never to die again in Christ. As the believer is raised back out of the water and given a new opportunity to live it is a dramatic example of the great price that Jesus paid through His death, burial and resurrection, conquering death and the grave, so that we could live with Him forever.
Nastya and Nikita in obedience to Jesus Christ were baptized on Sunday, July the 19th. The place where there was water also happened to be the most popular place to be as Moscow has been experiencing a heat wave. There had to be literally 10,000 people going to the same small lakes where we were going too. But the Lord gave us a place where we could baptize them. It was all very special as Nastya wanted to be baptized before her upcoming wedding to Artom. Artom was able to baptize his bride to be. Nikita is a band member of Nastya and Artom. (see earlier blog on their band)

Roma's birthday! С день рождения!

2010-07-19T16:03:00.002+04:00

Roma's birthday. Tall guy is Roma, the couple Mr. and Mrs Sokolnikov, left is Zalina, and right is Mark the Physicist. (Mark contemplating a quantum theory perhaps) С день рождения, Рома!!!!!

Emanuel's dream

2010-07-19T15:49:00.003+04:00

Many of you may have known Emanuel’s mother Veronica who went on to be with the Lord several years ago. (read her story in an earlier blog) Emanuel was born in Moscow, and Moscow is all he has ever known. He has a brother who was born in Ghana where his parents were from, and Joseph now lives in Las Vegas. Theadora his older sister also was born in Moscow and lives with Emanuel. Emanuel is wanting to live with his brother (whom he has not seen in many years). Also Emanuel has a younger sister who went back to live with his Mom’s sister about seven years ago. Brother Joseph is wanting to bring the family back together in America.

It is a complicated situation to say the least. Even though Emanuel and Theodora were born in Moscow, they attended Russian schools their entire life, they are still not recognized as citizens of Russia. Emanuel is not a citizen of Ghana either even though both his parents where Ghanaian citizens. Please pray the family would be joined once again.

Photo on the left was taken on May 8 2003 with his sister Jovana who is living in Ghana with her auntie.

Photo on the right is a Recent photo.

The Ministry of Dr. Tom

2010-07-19T15:22:00.003+04:00

Those of you who have followed the blog or have visited us, may know Dr. Tom. “ Tommy” as I call him, has been in Moscow many years. We have worked together 10 years. As he treats mostly homeless men and women, it has given us the opportunity to treat their spiritual needs. Through reaching out with medical care people will listen to what you have to say regarding their spiritual needs. Despite having a hip that needs to re replace Dr. Tom continues to provide Medical assistance and advice to a very forgotten people in Moscow society. In Many cases just cleaning a filthy wound so that infection doesn’t set in. Most street people need just very basic Medical attention. Recently the city of Moscow has established a “ Homeless Patrol” with men in vans look for those on the street that need help and can take them to a place where they can find shelter. Unfortunately most homeless get comfortable with that life style and prefer to stay on the street and suffer all its consequences. Each one has their own story and not one of them grew up dreaming to be an alcoholic living on the street.

The man in the picture with Tom is named Sergey, he kind of reminded me of Nebuchadnezzar when he was in the field for 7 years, long finger nails, and wild beard. We recently sat down to speak with him and to find out what his medical needs were. It was interesting that Sergey was so concerned with maintaining his health, and showed a genuine desire to do it, even though he was in such a filthy condition. We talked about Jesus Christ with him, and it was not easy for him to understand. Please pray for Sergey that he will come to the knowledge of the one who loves and gave His life for his.

Valentine’s story

2010-07-19T14:48:00.001+04:00

Valentine’s story. We first met Valentine 7 years ago (see photo) he required medical attention due to a fall. At that time his home was the street. Over the next 3 years Dr. Tom and I maintained fellowship with him having many Bible studies together. We lost contact with Val until just over a year ago we found him once again in the street repeating the same lifestyle over again. It is amazing to me how much one person can endure. Valentine is still holding on and to that little bottle of liquid that gives him a few hours of numbness. Please pray that Valentine will finally come to the place of surrender. There have been so many times over the last 7 years that should have brought him to surrender, but he picks himself back up and continues on his way.

Picture of Valintine taken on June 10 2003 as Dr. Tom, treats him

Current picture of Val.

Refat's heading to America

2010-07-19T12:27:00.001+04:00

Refat is heading to America for one year to attend Calvin College in Michigan. Refat was chosen as the recipient of a scholarship from the Russian American university here in Moscow. (an amazing University) I have known Refat and his sister for about 6 years. The family moved here from Uzbekistan where Refat was born. You can read about Refat’s testimony in an earlier blog.
I believe this is a great opportunity the Lord has provided for Refat. He is bright and the Lord has really opened up opportunity for him as I have watched him grow over the last 6 years. Please pray for Refat that his time in America will be a blessing and that Refat will be a blessing to others. I will be losing a roommate but I am excited that Refat has this generous opportunity.

Refat( left) pictured with his sister Elvera, and her husband Azim (pictures of the wedding in and earlier blog)

The Moscow Times news

2010-06-12T01:00:00.001+04:00

These two articles appeared in the June 11th 2010 addition of the Moscow Times....very interesting

Church Wants End to Darwin School 'Monopoly' The Russian Orthodox Church has called for an end to the "monopoly of Darwinism" in schools, saying religious explanations of creation should be taught alongside evolution."The time has come for the monopoly of Darwinism and the deceptive idea that science in general contradicts religion. These ideas should be left in the past," Archbishop Hilarion said at a lecture to Foreign Ministry officials.
"Darwin's theory remains a theory. This means it should be taught to children as one of several theories, but children should know of other theories, too," he said Wednesday.
The atheist Soviet state used Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to disprove the biblical teaching that God created the world. The theory, which biologists say gives a verifiable explanation for how life forms develop through natural selection, now dominates in Russian schools as it does in science teaching in most countries.
Hilarion said the theory that one species could evolve into another had never been proven. Children "should know about the religious picture, the creation of the world, which is common to all the monotheistic religions," he said.

Children Encouraged to Pray for Putin

Even as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin denied that a personality cult has grown around him, news broke Thursday that St. Petersburg children were being encouraged to pray that God bless Putin and shield him from "demoniacal temptation."

2010-05-12T00:23:00.004+04:00

Greetings from Moscow, spring is here and it is a great relief from winter. On May 9th all over Russia celebrated Victory Day. It was the 65 anniversary of the World War 2 victory. A huge parade on Red Square where soldiers from all the nations (America included) that were apart of that great end to the world war marched together. A total of 161 tanks and other vehicles rolled through the Square on Sunday morning while over 120 various types of aircrafts flew above. In total, more than 102,000 Russian troops participated in military parades around the country. Among the foreign leaders who attend the Red Square parade were, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Hu Jintao. To insure that the sky's would be sunny Mayor Yuri Luzhkov had special air craft circle the out skirts of Moscow and seed the clouds with dry ice and silver #@*? and kept the skies blue during the 65th anniversary. What a great price that was paid by the Russian people as they defended their Mother Land. However there is a greater battle that has been waged against mankind from time of the Garden of Eden, a spiritual battle that continues relentlessly day in and day out that rages against the soles and minds of God’s creation. The Apostle Paul when addressing this foe said Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Jesus Himself spoke Mt 10:28 "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Joh 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. We who have put our trust in Christ also have a Day of Victory that we celebrate. A Victory that was won over death and the grave 2000 years ago through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Nikolay Golovkov 12/21/1958 to 3/1/2010

2010-05-06T01:34:00.005+04:00

Nikolay Golovkov 12/21/1958 to 3/1/2010

If ever there was a student that typified the ministry of Spiritual Freedom it was Nikolay Golovkov and this is his story..........

some time in the early 90’s Nikolay Golovkov was convicted of murder and was sitting on death row in the famous 300+ year old Butirka prison here in Moscow. Nikolay lived in the Urals, in eastern Russia, where he was arrested. He was transferred to Moscow because he appealed to the Supreme Court regarding his case. According to Nikolay, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. One night he was arrested for a murder that took place in a park where Nikolay was found hopelessly drunk. The police arrested him, and because he was an ex felon, they thought they had their man. Nikolay’s appeal was rejected and there he sat on death row waiting for his execution, a bullet to the back of the head. In 1993 then the director and founder of SFR Phil Wagner, and the Alexy Tikhonov our current director were given miraculous permission to visit men on death row. It was there that sitting in death row cell #70 that Nikolay first heard the Good News and came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. God kept Nikolay from being executed so that he could hear the Good News of the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ. Here is a sample of the many letters received by Nikolay over the last 17 years.

“ Good morning, afternoon, or evening in our Lord Jesus Christ my dear beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. Grace, peace, and mercy to you my beloved, from our God the Father and Lord Jesus Christ our merciful and faithful High Priest! Blessed is the Lord God, who never leaves us without His mercy and truth. I thank our Father in Heaven for our brothers and sisters from Spiritual freedom. Bringing to us the Word of Life, our daily bread. With all the depth of my heart I am thanking our dear Lord God for you.

Your brother Nikolay. 05/19/04 Mordovia .

In 2000 the death penalty was lifted and all who where on death row were given life sentences. But Nikolay had already received a pardon from heaven above! Later Nikolay would tell Alexy that even though he was imprisoned falsely, he knew that is where God wanted him to be so that he could know His Son Jesus Christ. Nikolay said that if he would have been free, his life would have ended in destruction. According to Alexy, Nikolay was very zealous about Jesus Christ. He did every course, and then began to write commentaries on the Bible studies. Nikolay had a reputation for not allowing any conversation that was contrary to the Word of God. Once, two things happened, when men were cell mates with Nikolay, they either became members of the family of God , or they begged to be moved to another cell. Nikolay would not back down when it came to the truth of God’s Word, even if that meant going toe to toe with orthodox priests. This simple man grew in his knowledge of the Bible. Nikolay knew how to defend the Word against false teaching that might work its way towards him. We will never know how many inmates and guards were influenced by this disciple of Christ. God kept Nikolay miraculously alive for many years. Nikolay suffered from the effects of TB and was missing one lung and the other was deteriorating but God kept him alive for 17 more years. Pictured is a photo in a frame that Nikolay made and presented it to Phil and Alexy. Notice the very intricate design done all by hand. Nikolay, as far as we know, was an orphan, but this we do know - he is part of the eternal family of God and all we who are in Christ will meet our brother one of these days.

Joh 5:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life..."

Calvary Chapel leadership conference 2010

2010-05-06T01:26:00.003+04:00

“Jesus was and is and is to come”

Servants of the Lords from all over Russia, Ukraine, Finland and Belarus gathered together for 3 days of teaching, worship, fellowship, and the breaking of bread together. Pastor Ken Ortiz, Senior pastor of CC Spokane along with Pete Nelson, pastor of White field community church in Colorado taught from the scriptures. Pastor Ken taught on the family. Also sharing in the teaching of the Word was Pastor Pasha and Pastor Yaroslav from the Vladimir region, and Pastor Bart from St. Petersburg. The setting for the conference was on the shore of the Gulf of Finland surrounded by a beautiful pine forest that seemed very similar to parts of the coast of Oregon. CC Spokane who is a sponsor of the conference brought a team to help out with the children’s church and to serve the guests. They did a great job. Pastor Boris, Pastor Dima and Pastor Bart all from St. Petersburg did an excellent job of organizing the conference. It was truly a blessing for all of us.

2010-04-13T21:28:00.002+04:00

April 12 National Cosmonaut day

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin( Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин) 9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968), Hero of the Soviet Union, On April 12 1961 he became the first human in outer space and the first to orbit the Earth Yuri was born in the village of Klushino near Smolensk Russia. His parents worked on a collective farm. The famous statement that Yuri was said to have made while he was in space as he looked out his window “ I don’t see any God up here” was never said by Yuri. According to his earth to space conversation and Colonel Valentin Petrov a close friend of Yuri, Yuri never said such a statement from space.One of his recorded quotes from space was “The Earth is blue..How wonderful. It is amazing” Isaiah 40:22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

Greetings!!!

2010-04-13T17:17:00.003+04:00

Greetings from Moscow everyone, first of all we as a fellowship want to thank all of you that have prayed for us and have taken the time to view our blog. Last Sunday as a fellowship we joined with believers all over Russia and the world to celebrate the reality that Jesus Christ the Son of God conquered the greatest enemy of mankind. As with many holidays they come and go in 24 hours. The decorations are put away for the next year. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is one holiday that can be celebrated every day.
Lamentations 3:22-23: "Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." For the believer every new day is a reminder that we have a citizenship that is not of temporal earth, but is of the Kingdom of God. Php 3:20: "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." As we see the world in a state of crisis it should be as a reminder to all believers - this is not our home. This earth has been in crisis from the Garden of Eden, what else is new under the Sun? This world is not our home address, heaven is. Don’t be disappointed if things are not going the way we'd like. Hold lightly to the things of this world, for as believers God tells us we are just passing through. As the days become more and more the way Jesus predicted, let us “Seek First the Kingdom” So as this world under the watchful eye of our mighty God is coming undone, recognize it as a fulfillment of "Your Kingdom come Your will be done!" We serve a God who has conquered death and has given us eternal life!

Sorry for the LATE post! CC Pastors conference 2010

2010-04-13T17:11:00.002+04:00

The 2010 Calvary Chapel Russian Pastors conference saw over 70 pastors and assistants come together for teaching worship and fellowship and of course tasty meals! What impressed me during the conference was to look around and see many new faces but to also see so many guys that have been faithful as pastors year after year, step by step, doing the work of the ministry. Many churches have been planted over the last 17 years here in Russia and 99% of them our still alive and still moving along!

Mt 16:18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it."

Moscow sorrows

2010-04-13T16:25:00.005+04:00

As a grim reminder that we live in a fallen world on March 29 over 40 innocent metro riders lost their lives and dozens were injured as two separate bombings occurred during the busy early morning commute. Many of us depend on the metro for our daily transportation needs. Over 6.6 million travel the metro daily. It is the 2 heaviest traveled Metro in the world. Jesus Himself said: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10

Friends for all eternity

2010-04-13T16:20:00.001+04:00

Ernan (left) just returned to his home in Bogotá, Colombia. Ernan is a strong believer. Please, pray for his future as he returns home after a 9 year absence. Cladio moved to Russia when he was 16 from Cuba. Please, pray for his wife and son as to where the Lord would have them to live. Cladio is a very unique believer and speaks 3 languages. Hernondo is also from Cuba, he came here many years ago to go to school. Please, pray for Hernondo and the many challenges that are before him. He has an amazing testimony of the work the Lord has done in his life. Dale (right) as many of you know, has been a long term missionary here in Moscow for over 16 years. Please pray for Dale and His daughter Dasha as they visit family back in Minnesota in June. Dale has had an influence on Ernan and Cladio in their Christian walk.

"Above my own"

2010-04-13T15:59:00.011+04:00

Nikita, Artom and Nastya have a rock group called “Above my own” The name is very appropriate for the times we live in, in a world whose mantra (if I can use the word) preaches that "me, myself and I" should be above everything, that “ first seek ye my kingdom” is the thinking of our day. In our modern world today the emergence of spirituality has become very fashionable, with it’s message "that we recognize our god potential. That we are little gods." It is just the same boring old lie of satan in the Garden of Eden, when he told Eve that she could be like God.

Please, pray for Nikita, Artom and Nastya as they have different opportunities to play in various clubs in Moscow. I attended one of their concerts a few months back and they were far and away the most popular band that played that night. Pray that the Lord would use them to influence a generation of “me, myself and I”

Oleg the linguist learns a new language

2010-04-13T14:48:00.003+04:00

Over the last year and a half I have had the opportunity to get to know Oleg Rakito. Oleg is a retired linguist that during the Soviet times was heavily involved with foreign students specifically from Africa. Oleg had a radio program that would broadcast into Africa. Oleg speaks multiple languages: French, Hungarian several different African dialects and even Swahili. Over the last year and a half Oleg has added yet another language, the language of the word of God. He always has some insightful questions about this new language he is learning. Please pray for Oleg that he would continue to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and that Oleg would be bold with the God News of Jesus Christ among friends and former colleagues. One of Oleg’s interesting stories is that his name appeared in the memoirs of former president Bill Clinton.

Bill Clinton as a young Rhodes Scholar student writes of the time when as a young university student he came to Moscow. Oleg admits that he does not remember meeting him, because he would have been one of the many foreign students he had contact with at Patrice Lumumba University. Bill Clinton writes...

"One night I took a bus out to Lumumba University (in Moscow) to have dinner with Nikki and some of her friends. One of them was a Haitian woman named Helene whose husband was studying in Paris." On the bus back home Clinton says there was only one other passenger, Oleg Rakito, who "spoke better English than I did and asked me lots of questions and told me he worked for the government, virtually admitting he was assigned to keep an eye on me".

Please pray for Oleg that he would be bold in his witness to his friends and former colleagues...and also for his several heath issues, thank you!

Letters from some of the Bible students behind bars

2010-04-13T14:22:00.005+04:00

Most of you know about the ministry here in Moscow of Spiritual Freedom Russia. For over17 years Spiritual Freedom Russia has supplied biblical resources to prisoners here in Russia and the former CSI countries. Over 80,000 students behind prison bars have participated in bible correspondence school. Please pray for the ministry as we are at a time where can only wait on the Lord. In human terms we are really waiting on the financal resources to come in. But in reality God tells us that we should wait not on the financal resoures, but wait on Him alone.

Isa 40:31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

The word God chose to illustrate the word wait comes from the word bind as would be in a rope with multiple strands. As we yield (wait) our way to the Lord and look to Him as our source, as the One who knows the next step we are to take. We then can take comfort as we rest in Him. Bound by the Father, bound by the Son and bound by the Holy Spirit. We are then pulled by His perfect plan, we no longer are a single strand trying to stand. We are surrounded by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit Ec 4:12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Thank you for your prayer support for Spiritual Freedom Russia.

Recent letters from our Bible Students behind bars..........

April 6, 2010
The greatest decision in any humans life is when the person receives Lord Jesus Christ as a personal Savior
from sins. I have a joy to share with you. One of my inmates once came up to me and without saying a word took my book “The Good News” Bible study and started to read it. He told that he also wants to study the Bible. A few weeks ago he was a furious, violent atheist, but today he reads Bible every day. Learning the Bible he has come to Christ and received Salvation.
I’m humbly grateful, thanks to all of you.
Arthur, prisoner
Krasnodar City

March 31, 2010
Dear brothers and sisters, greetings with great holiday of Resurrection of Christ.
Your books helped me a lot. They stimulated me to study the Bible and I am very thankful for that.
I am sending you a list of people (20 people) from my cell block. They want to study too.
Evgeny Footin, prisoner
Pr. #15, Kopeysk city .

March 15, 2010
Hello to all of you at our most esteemed Spiritual Freedom!
We recently requested from you some literature and Bible correspondence studies from the servants of God Alexander and Dmitry (Staff of SFM)
We want to thank all Spiritual Freedom workers for the literature, which you’ve sent us, and to wish you and your organization only the best .We, as soon as we received your packages were very happy and thanked God for He has heard us. Because this prison is in such a remote place we are far away from any fellowship and there is nobody to talk about the Bible. On the very first day, my friend Alexander and I, have started to work on our first lessons. We will be praying for all of you at Spiritual freedom.
Sincerely and warmly in our hearts, servants of God, Dmitry & Alexander
prisoners, Omsk city

2010-04-13T13:15:00.002+04:00

2010-01-25T13:03:00.000+03:00

Spiritual Freedom Russia update Jan 2010

Greetings from Moscow, where it is record cold and we are anxiously waiting for a little bit of the predicted global warming. I first would like to thank those who have supported Spiritual Freedom Russia. We made it through another year. Although we were closed for 3 months we ended correcting 9,513 courses. We had 4,000 new enrollments and we had 5770 continuing students. 9770 new courses were also mailed out. The staff responded to 2,993 personal letters. Each month we receive into the offices hundreds of letters from the students, many testifying of the work the Lord is doing in their lives. Every letter received is responded to personally by one of the staff. Many prisoners have been raised up in the orphanage system.

The letters in many cases are the only contact the prisoner may have with the out side world.

Even though SFR correspondence ministry has been received into over 700 prisons with a population almost at one million only 1% of the prisoners have been effected by this ministry,

The opportunity for the Gospel in the prisons is tremendous

Another great opportunity that has presented itself is to the friends and family of inmates.
Love one’s relatives and friends at the request of the inmates can participate in the correspondence program. Currently 25% of the students have come from people outside the Prison system. Many live in one of literally tens of thousands of villages all across Russia. What makes this area of ministry of interest to us is that in many of the small villages scattered throughout Russia, most of them do not have any access to any evangelical influence. Bible correspondent courses and Christian literature are a way to reach many of these people through the postal system.
I believe along with many other Russian Pastors that the work of SFR is vital to the work God continues to do in Russia. Those that are involved with prison ministry here in Russia have observed that God is doing a wonderful work among Prison population. For many years the gospel was totally forbidden in the prison system .Over the last 16 years the doors have opened and many broken men and woman, have come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, many now serving the Lord in local churches through Russia. We believe God is preparing men and woman in the prisons for the greater work of the Gospel here in Russia.
Unfortunately with new legislation even evangelism in the prison is beginning to close. However since SFR reaches out to the prison population via the postal system these doors remain open.
It has been our desire for Churches in Russia to fully support this ministry.
And we have seen progress from the local churches, individual believers and even from inmates to support this work. Unfortunately at this time in the life of SFR we have had to seek outside support. I know many of you have ministries and missionaries at home and abroad that you support. However if God has given a heart for Russia, this is one ministry that is worth investing into. I would ask you to consider supporting SFR It cost on an average about $18.00 for a student to complete one bible course. We currently have over 40 bible courses. Please share with a friend about SFR. Thank you and God Bless.
Here are a few of the Letters from the students.
Vladimir Eremeev, Tatarstan
Yes, I was a Satanist – the devil's slave. Yes, it was the Bible which has led me to God. In the beginning, I started to read it with the only purpose - to find mistakes in it. But it turned to be the opposite. The Bible has put me on my knees before God in order to tearfully ask forgiveness from Him and help to quit Satanism. Because Bible has no mistakes indeed! The Bible has made me to destroy all the occult books I had. Because it has become my main book.
Praise God for I have quit Satanism and joined Christ – my Savior. This is my last (* 43 completed) Bible study, but I don't what to part fellowship with you. If you happen to get some new studies, please, send them to me. I will wait for it!
Your brother in Christ, * my note

Galiya Borozdina, ex-con, Yekaterinburg region.
I worry a lot about you because there are no letters for a long time.
I really miss a fellowship with you, which gives me life strengths, as you are given to me by God.
I am doing fine, but not always smooth, but I set my hopes upon God and pray more often with my words and life is getting easier.Sometimes I weep, sometimes I smile, but I try to avoid despondency. Only the Lord knows how it is difficult sometimes.I sincerely concern about your problems, but the Lord will not leave you with no help. This is what I believe and pray about. By the will of God today I have received my pension; it's not large only 2118 rubles ($70.00), but I want tohelp your ministry. It's very little, only 200 rubles ($7.00) which I send you in this letter and I am ensure that they will get to you with God's help.
Please, receive it and I always pray for you.

Denis, prisoner, Yekaterinburg region.
I’m praying for you for and the school that you will continue the work. Thank you for the Bible. I am very happy about it. I read it and I share with others who don’t have one. We all pray for you. Waiting for the next course,Peace to you.

Maxim, prisoner, Kazan’ City.
Our fellowship is praying for your supporters and for your good health,How are doing? Is everything OK? Our prison is waiting for your Bible lessons. Please know that the Lord does not send us trials above our strength! Hold on! Write us and share with us your worries.We pray and we will pray for you without loosing hope and faith.May the Lord keep you,

Alexander, released prisoner Volgograd region.

I was waiting for these courses and I confess that for some time I thought that they would never come. But in a meantime I was reading the Word of God. But of course with your lessons and your help it is much easier to understand the Scripture and I learn it with greater understanding. In this aspect your work is undoubtedly the way for me to the truly grow in the knowledge about our Lord Jesus Christ.

Vladimir, prisoner, Yakut region

I am happy that I’m connected to the Holy Scripture and walk everywhere with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. I thank God for the Bible which you sent me and for the very wonderful and vital lessons. I wish I could spend all days long in prayer and in Word of God…

Prayer requests for Spiritual Freedom Russia

For the staff

For our director Alexy and his wife Rita. It has been a difficult last 3 months. There son Alexy JR has been sick and it was finally diagnosed that he had and infection on his heart valve. God did a miraculous work and He was accepted into the best heart surgery center in Russia. Alexy had the surgery last week and he is already recovering. Alexy Jr. has a restored heart but please pray for his spiritual heart to be reborn.

Please pray for the students

For all of you that have followed this ministry I wish you could all get on a plane and come over and see the work here at Spiritual Freedom Russia. God is doing a good work! God Bless you and all that God has called you to in the building of His kingdom. dean

Azim and Elvera are now husband and wife.

2009-08-29T02:22:00.005+04:00

Azim and Elvera became joined together as man and wife recently. Elvera has been attenting the fellowship with her brother for about 3 years. It is great to see a young couple do it God's way!!!

Ge 2:23 And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

The new Spiritual Freedom display board....

2009-08-29T02:16:00.005+04:00

This is the new Spiritual Freedom display board that can be used for presentations of the ministry. It will be a helpful tool for presenting the ministry at Christian events. The display boards, (one in southern Cal and one in Modesto) were donated by friends of the ministry. Thank You from all of us at SFM Moscow!!!

Spritiual Freedom prison ministry "update"

2009-08-29T01:57:00.003+04:00

Due to financial difficulties the Spiritual Freedom offices have been closed since July. We are confident that God will provide the needed resources to continue this 15 years fruitful ministry to 1,000's of Russian prisoners. The letters, requests for new courses and completed courses have been coming in each week. Alexy the director of SFM recently went to the Post Office and picked up a huge bag of completed Bible courses by the prisoners. the Post Office complained to Alexy for not picking the mail up very often, but Alexy told them that he already picked a bag of mail a few days earlier. It was amazing to see so many courses coming. Some of the bible graders have been coming in without pay to keep things going. We know God will come through for us. Thank you for your prayer support and please tell others about this ministry. Direct them to the web site of SFM. (see our link to SFM)

The days are getting cooler here in Moscow

2009-08-29T01:48:00.002+04:00

second year aniversary of the Mitino fellowship! ooorahhh!!!!!

2009-08-29T01:39:00.005+04:00

The Mitino fellowship celebrated its 2 year anniversary. It was a home group that had been birthed with Russian Jewish Christians who came to know the Savior through the ministry of Jews for Jesus in Moscow. They began to meet in the home of Mira for Bible study and fellowship. Many of the believers were led to the Lord by Mira who is on staff with Jews for Jesus. (see the link to Mira’s blog) Our 2 years anniversary was a great time of fellowship, worship and testimony. Max, the director of Jews for Jesus along with Ilya also on staff with Jews for Jesus provided the worship and joined our celebration. God is doing a great work here in Moscow in the hearts of the Russian Jewish people, please pray for the continued faithful work of Jews for Jesus. Isa 62:1 For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns.

2009-08-29T01:02:00.004+04:00

Brendon is from the beautiful Island of Sri Lanka, perhaps you may know that his country for over 25 years has had a the civil war that has caused significant hardships for the population, environment and the economy of the country, with over 80,000 people officially listed as killed during its course. I met Brendon when he was in the hospital. We pretty much met once a week over the course of his one year stay in the hospital. Brendon currently is employed by the Sri Lanka embassy here in Moscow and is their official translator. Brendon has been in the country for many years and came as a student. He will be going home for the first time and stay in Sri Lanka. Brendon's desire is to publish various Journals. Please pray for his spiritual growth as we have spent literaly hour upon hour talking about the Bible.

Geno - please pray for our brother..

2009-08-29T00:17:00.004+04:00

Most of you that visit our blog know Geno. He is our missionary pastor in the prison zone in the far north of Russia. Geno has recently been promoted to director of the cultural club organizing different activity in the prison. Please continue to pray for the hard hearts of his fellow inmates. Geno says there is a real blindness for the things of God. If you would like to write Geno a letter of encouragement please do so, he speaks great English and he would love to hear from you. Here is his address ( Name) Григорвич Евгений Борисович (city)Архангельская обл. (street) Плесцкий р-он п/о Северо-Онежек п. Икса уг 42/21-9 (zip) 164268

Sustenance returns home....

2009-08-29T00:03:00.005+04:00

Sustenance is from Brazzaville Congo, He has been in Russian for over 15 year. It has not been a pretty 15 years for him, but through all the trials he has an amazing testimony and finding Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior. Recently Sustenance has decided to return home to his family and mother who he has not seen all these years. Sustenance also wanted to make a public declaration of his faith in Jesus Christ so last week we baptized him. Even though he will be returning to his homeland with relatively little monetary worth, he indeed returns a rich man having found his Savior and Lord. Please pray for the work of the Lord in the life of Sustenance.

Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

When the day of Pentecost had fully come....Acts 2:1

2009-05-31T21:28:00.003+04:00

On May 29th all over the world Jews celebrate the Shavuot, the Feast of weeks. God commanded the children of Israel to keep the Shavuot once a year. The feast has many aspects to it but most Rabbis agree that it was the day that God gave Moses the Law on Mt Sinai, and conclude that this was the day that the nation of Israel was birthed. On this same day some 1450 years later, would also have a distinction of the birth of the Church of Jesus Christ. Luke records this most famous day in church History in the Book of Acts:

Acts 2:1-4 "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." Happy Birthday Body of Christ!!!!!!

2009-05-31T21:22:00.000+04:00

2009-05-31T21:15:00.001+04:00

Victory day may 9th Moscow Russia 2009.......

2009-05-31T21:11:00.002+04:00

Every May 9th the entire county of Russia celebrates the victory over Nazi fascism. It is the day when all of Russia honors its veterans. Victory Park is my favorite place to be with thousands of other Muscovites and hundreds of heroes of World War 2. Victory Park as well as Moscow are filled with monuments to remind future generations of the heroic efforts of men and women who gave their lives in the great war. The Memorials remind us all of the great and tragic price that was paid to stop Nazism.

Another Moscow's memorial

2009-05-31T21:09:00.004+04:00

One of Moscow’s newest memorials is a memorial to the most tragic event in the history of mankind. It is a memorial that reminds mankind of the source of every war that has been recorded in the history of the world. It is a memorial that speaks of the moment when blood shed, sorrow, destruction and death entered the human race. It's one of the most Moscow’s most unique memorials that depicts the most tragic day on planet earth. In the Garden of Eden when man disobeyed his loving creator and chose to obey the fallen angel. It was on that day when sin entered the human race. Man has had the need for a Savior ever since to save him from eternal destruction. God Himself would shed the innocent blood of an animal to cloth a naked Adam and Eve when their attempt to cover their sin by using leaves failed. (click on photo for a closer view)

Memorials

2009-05-31T20:40:00.003+04:00

Also here in Moscow we have many reminders of the greatest victory over the greatest war ever in the history of the world. It is impossible to walk around this huge city for any length of time and not see the cross of Christ, they stand all over the city as memorials of the world's greatest victory as Jesus Christ, the Son of God came to earth to die for our sins and to overcome death in His resurrection.

1Cor. 15:21-22 "For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive."

John 5:24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."

The Gromov family

2009-05-31T20:37:00.002+04:00

This is a recent picture of my dear friends Ilya and Ira Gromov. We go back almost 10 years ago when my sister and I came to Russia. We had the privilege of working with them at the CC Bible College here in Moscow. Since those day Ilya and Ira became husband and wife and now have two little boys. Ilya is a very talented guy in teaching and worship and is a pastor in the southern port city of Novorossiysk, Russia. I recently was reunited with them at the CC St Pete’s pastors conference.

Geno's green thumbs

2009-05-31T20:35:00.001+04:00

Geno is not only seeing spiritual growth in his little fellowship, but as the picture shows Geno is also experiencing growth in his little garden.

My friend Yuri

2009-05-31T20:32:00.002+04:00

My friend Yuri passed away on the 19th of May of terminal stomach cancer. Yuri passed into eternity without any noticeable pain. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to spend the last 3 weeks visiting Him. Yuri had a great attitude, and I never saw him complain once during our visits. Most of the time together I would just read scripture to him and pray with him. On my last visit he was very weak, and it would be 2 hours after the visit that Yuri passed.

( Yuri second from the right)

1Corinthians 15:51-55: "Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"

Христос Воскресе! Jesus has Risen!

2009-04-14T18:21:00.004+04:00

On April 19th all of Russia will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Russian Orthodox calender is a little different and usually follows a week after the Jewish passover and is appropriately called Paskha which means “Passover”. Also interesting is that several weeks before Paskha every business in Moscow has colorful posters displayed in the windows reminding of the day of Resurrection. Many of these color posters display the words “Jesus has Risen” On Resurrection Sunday here in Russia a common greeting is “Jesus has risen", and then the other person replies without fail “Jesus has indeed risen” Even an atheist will respond when greeted. "He is not here, for He has risen" declared the angel, Jesus conquered death and the grave. He defeated the enemy that pursues every person born, death. Jesus said "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. John 5:24. “Jesus Has Risen”. Indeed He has risen!

April 12

2009-04-14T18:15:00.004+04:00

I almost forgot. April 12 was Cosmonaut day.Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin (Russian: Юрий Алексеевич Гагарин) The first man in space and hero of Russia.

Veronica and Jowana

2009-04-09T20:12:00.007+04:00

Emanuel and Jowanna

Veronica Gardiner, our dear sister went home to the Lord last week. It was a real shock to the fellowship. Veronica had sent me a SMS on my mobile Sunday and said she would not be at the service, that she was not feeling well. Evidently two days later, while she was home with her son Emanuel, she had a heart attack and went quickly. She was an amazing woman. Our loss, heavens gain.

Veronica and her husband Martin came to Moscow to study at the University here as young parents with one son Joseph. I first met Martin her husband at the church. He attended with a group of other men from Ghana. It was some time later Martin tragically fell down in the street and died of a head wound. It was at Martins funeral that I met Veronica for the first time. We have been friends ever since. While Veronica and Martin were living in Moscow they had three more children, Theodora, Emanuel and Jowanna. Joseph moved to Las Vegas about 4 years ago, Jowanna, the youngest daughter went back to Ghana to live with her Aunt about 5 years ago and has not see her Mom since. Theodora who knows no other country but Russia, and was born and schooled here in Moscow, had to leave the county about a year ago and return to Ghana . Even though she was born in Russia, she did not have a passport to continue to live here. She was with her little sister Jownna at the time of Veronicas death. Emanuel, who is about 17, will return also back to Ghana where both His parents and all his relatives are from. Emanuel speaks fluent Russian and has never been to Ghana in his life. Please pray for Emanuel for having to leave a country that has been his home his entire life. He will be leaving many friends behind. And the greatest trial will be that he no longer has his beloved mother. Also for Jowanna , who has been away from her Mom for many years….. And for Theodora who also grew up in Moscow and has many friends here. She was waiting on a Visa to come back to Moscow to be with her mom and her friend and so she could continue her education . Pray for Joseph who is in Las Vegas, who has not seen his mother in years as well. The entire situation is a complicated one, but we have a great God. Veronica had many trials here in Moscow, but you would never know it. I never witness a time when Veronica did not have a big smile. She knew what trials were all about, raising her family for the last 8 years without a husband in a foreign county was not an easy task. But Veronica by her own testimony would say “God is great” She recently wrote a devotion prayer for the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy where she was a member and volunteered every week to work in their soup kitchen. Here are a few of her quotes from that devotion : “Prayer plays a very important role in the day to day life of Christians. Jesus is our finest example of how a human being in a world of evil can grasp the mighty power of God through prayer and prevail.”

Righteousness is gained by faith not by deeds. When walking by faith you must learn to trust in the word of God and believe its honesty. With the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13)
Veronica could say those promises of God with conviction because she lived them. This was her closing prayer, “Father, thank You for reminding me that my salvation is not by works, but by faith. You did the work, I simply believed. Thank you for the faith You have put in my heart to believe. Salvation is all of you and I am so grateful. Amen”
We who are in Christ will see her once again…

SPIRITUAL FREEDOM UPDATE

2009-04-09T20:05:00.004+04:00

Spiritual Freedom update

For the month of March 1307 Bible courses were completed by the students. We are excited to see a study rise in new requests to start the Bible courses. We continue to give thanks to the Lord who has put on the hearts of people to support the work here in Russia. As of April the first we were unable to pay the staff payroll for the month. As each day ticked away, we just waited not being able to control the situation at all. But on the 7th of April Lenna the bookkeeper went down to the bank to check on some paper work. She was surprised to see that the Spiritual Freedom bank account had the money to cover the payroll! We should not have been surprise but we were! When Alexey the director heard the news he e-mailed me to let me know of the surprise and exclaimed “Our God is awesome!!!”

Please pray for the students, that there would be a great harvest in the prisons. That new believers would take advantage of the Bible correspondence courses and the many other books and resources offered, as to prepare them for the work of the ministry whether in prison or when they are released. Please pray for the staff at Spiritual Freedom as they grade the courses and respond to the students. The Lord blessed us with a huge amount Christian resources all for free. See photo of Sergey and Sasha.

GENO GREETS YOU ALL!!!

2009-04-09T20:04:00.003+04:00

Geno says hi to all of you. He continues to lead the prison fellowship way up in northern Russia. Continue to pray for Geno, he still has about 8 years left. He is growing in his Hebrew language studies as well as discipling some of the guys. Geno sent us the picture of Alex who just received a new pair of glasses from Spiritual Freedom. Without glasses Alex was not able to read his Bible.

A HAPPY REUNION

2009-04-09T19:50:00.004+04:00

THIS IS MY GOOD FRIEND MIKE, WE GO WAY BACK A LONG WAY. I HAD NOT SEEN MICHAEL IN MANY YEARS......IT WAS GREAT TO SEE THAT HE HAS RETURNED BACK TO THE LORD......IT WAS A GREAT BLESSING AND SURPRISE WHEN I WAS HOME TO BE REUNITED WITH HIM...

TIMOTHY TITUS

2009-04-09T19:46:00.003+04:00

Tyler has left for America. Who is Tyler you may be asking? Tyler is no stranger to Russia. He has come with many short term teams over the years to Russian and the Ukraine. Last year he decided to come and live here in Moscow, and for the last 6 months he has been one of my roommates. It was interesting to watch how the Lord opened up unique opportunities for Tyler to bring attention to Jesus Christ. Tyler is a professional Wrestler and had the opportunity here in Moscow to team up with a professional wresting organization. He even appeared on national TV in one of his matches. Then Tyler went from throwing guys out of the ring to sitting down with small children and teaching them nursery rhymes. (First proverb for a missionary : “blessed are the flexible for they shall not be broken”) One other door that opened for Tyler was teaching children English. Olga who is Tyler’s boss has a passion for teaching English to young people. At the time she met Tyler, she was doing a DVD project that used cartoon characters reading English fairytales to children and they needed an English speaking person that they could superimpose in the cartoon. Well Tyler was the one Olga was looking for….. It was no easy job getting a such big guy like Tyler into a little bitty cartoon, but modern technology and a good ole Mac, Olga was able to produce a very professional DVD. We are going to miss Tyler, he was personally for me a great encouragement and was a great blessing to the fellowship. I will miss serving with him and him giving me a “motivational speech”. Please pray for Tyler as he will spend 6 months back in California. Both he and his girl friend Melissa have a heart for Russia. Pray for God’s direction in their lives……..

Artiom and Olga

2009-02-03T23:54:00.002+03:00

2009-02-03T23:50:00.001+03:00

Back on November 27, 2007 on our blog post we wrote of the story about a young family Olya and Kostia, and their 3 year old son Artiom who was diagnosed with 4th degree cancer. It was a great trial for the young family and many in the church family reached out in prayer and support. Well I was in Smolensk a couple of weeks ago and I attended the Sunday Church service. A little boy came running in so full of energy he was dancing around and singing. Little did I know it was Artiom, the Lord had completely healed him. The photo says it all. Glory to the Lord in the highest, amen

Our friends in Smolinsk

2009-02-03T23:46:00.002+03:00

Isaiah 9:6

2008-12-24T01:50:00.001+03:00

Isa 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

6 Ибо младенец родился нам - Сын дан нам; владычество на раменах Его, и нарекут имя Ему: Чудный, Советник, Бог крепкий, Отец вечности, Князь мира.(Ис.9:6)

С РОЖДЕСТВО (MERRY CHRISTMAS)

2008-12-24T01:41:00.005+03:00

2008-12-24T01:40:00.001+03:00

Red Square at night

2008-12-24T01:31:00.001+03:00

Christmas tree

2008-12-24T01:26:00.002+03:00

Christmas tree in front of the museum of Russian History at Red Square "Merry Christmas" Savior is born!!!

Spiriutal Freedom Russia; Update

2008-12-24T01:00:00.003+03:00

It has been an amazing year at SFM where each month was a step of faith. It seems that is how the Lord is wanting us to walk with Him here at SFM. God has shown His faithfulness to the ministry for over 15 years. God in so many ways is showing Himself faithful to the ministry. Even though it has been one of the most challenging years for our faith, however the fruit of the ministry speaks for itself. In this year of 2008 10, 706 Bible studies have been completed by SFM students. 799 in December, 73 courses were received in the mail today. Thank you for all your support and prayers for this ministry. Please pray for January that all the expenses will be met. We believe God will continue to provide for His work. From all of the staff of SFM Merry Christmas.
On the picture (top L to R Alexy (director) Natasha, Ludmila, Sergey, Ivan
sitting L to R Alexsnder, Olga, Vera. not pictured Vera, and Natasha and Dale.)

Sergey's story

2008-12-24T00:58:00.002+03:00

Today is one and a half year since I started my study in Spiritual Freedom Bible School. And I can merely say that your and of course Christ’s goal is reached for 100% - I am cleansed and washed by the Lord. I was able to get out from power of sin and find deep faith in Jesus Christ – our Lord and Savior. I was convicted for robbery to 6 years ending 01/16/2010. And I have also decided to listen to the Word and confess to society in number of medium crimes, which I had committed before. Back in 2001 – 2002 when I was a teenager, I behaved like a hooligan and I was an unconscious sinner as I really did not know how to live right (I grew up with no father). Now, by the Word of God, I have quit covering all my crimes and I turned to investigating committee and gave myself up. I am ready to repay and thanking God for this recovery of my sight. I know and I am 100% sure that my further life in Christ will save many lives of others, bringing them to Heavenly Father. I have got a need to preach the Gospel and tell people what the Lord did to me and how He has pardoned me. I want them to know Christ, because to know Him - is to know life. Sergey,IK-7, Karelia Republic, Russia

Christian Fellowship in Penza

2008-12-24T00:52:00.005+03:00

This is the Christian Fellowship in the prison camp located in Penza. Penza is in the south of Russia. Many of the men are SFM Bible correspondence students.

Alyona’s Update

2008-11-11T22:05:00.004+03:00

Here is an October Newsletter from Alyona, our missionary in Turkey, I received it a few days ago and would like to share it with you. It exciting to know what the Lord is doing in Turkey and how He uses Alyona for His glory. I hope you’ll enjoy this news as well as I did! Natasha

"Dear friends, Greetings to you from Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey and the third largest city in the world. As many of you know, for the past year I have been praying and thinking about serving in Turkey. Last December I heard of a wonderful opportunity to serve in Istanbul in a Christian school. I started to pray about this opportunity and corresponded with the school Headmaster. Meanwhile the Lord gave me a job in Moscow that led me to Turkey for a short time in June and I had a chance to see the school and meet the teachers and students before moving here. For the past few months God has been faithful in leading me here through doubt, unbelief and temptations. The hardest thing was to face the questions from both believers and unbelievers who kept asking: do they pay there well? Do they provide the airline tickets and the insurance? Do you know where you will stay? But just like a couple of years ago, when I left my career to go to a Bible college, I was confident of God's will for me. I packed my 30 kg of weight permitted by Aeroflot and flew in. The school I am teaching at is a Christian school founded 2 years ago by the Istanbul Protestant church and a British enthusiast who has been living in Istanbul for over 30 years. Registered as Turkish "School of Tomorrow" in England, the school is called The English Club here for it is not officially recognized in Turkey. Certain laws prohibit Christian or any "different" curriculum to be used for teaching to Turkish children . School education is a very important element of control for the Turkish government . Since education reforms in 1995 when mandatory school education was changed from 5 years to 9 it had become an organization with uniform, strict discipline and a special emphasis on patriotism which often includes a message of how evil and wrong Christianity is. The English Club is a unique educational institution. Along with good education in English based on ACE curriculum it provides a safe environment for the children of Christian parents and Christian workers here. Although Turkey is not as strictly Islamic country as, for example, Iran once you step out of your home you are bombarded with Islamic ideology. The Club is a place where kids are nurtured and taught the truth about God and Bible, good attitudes and manners. Our Turkish students ( there are also children of the Christian workers from Korea and Romania ) have to start Turkish school at the age of 7 , therefore, after 2 years of pre-school at the Club, they attend both schools doing twice as much work as their Muslim classmates but by God's grace they manage to be the best students in their Turkish schools. There are 6 teachers at the Club and just like our students we come from different countries: US,England,and, surprisingly, Peru and Russia! To keep the cost of the English club affordable ( students only have to pay a small fee to help with the rent) all of the teachers are volunteers and usually come to serve for one year. Our constant prayer is for more stability and also for another English Club on the European side of the city since some children have to travel 1,5 hours to get to the Club. Having lived here for 1,5 months I begin to realize the importance of Christian education here. Every day I talk to different people: Christians, Muslims, atheists. Also, I talk to my Turkish flatmate who has been going to church for 2 years yet can't trust the Lord with all her heart, and I understand that their doubt and antagonism to Christianity has a deep root that goes back to their childhood where everything they heard about God was that He is there to punish you for the wrong doings and does not care for you once you are outside of the mosque. The children at the English Club have Christian parents but they still live in Turkey, watch Turkish TV and visit their Muslim relatives. They need to be fed spiritually and prayed for more than any other children. They are the future of the Turkish church and the hope of all the foreign workers here who, like our pastor from Spain, have been struggling through visa process for 24 years praying for the Turkish Christian leaders to rise and witness to their nation about the living and loving God who died for them.
Please pray for:
*safety of the Club ( after the murders last year an alarm system has been installed but we know that Lord is our shield)
*my Turkish friends Osman and Arzu who I can call open minded atheists, Arzu even came to church twice
*healing of my little student Connie who broke her key bones yesterday and will not come to school for a few weeks
*my language studies : time and finances *financial provision for my rent
*spiritual and physical health

Thank you for reading my newsletter and for your prayer support. Please pray.. we need it here. If you would like to support the school or the teachers please contact Beryl Simsek beryl11148@gmail.com or Rosa Orriols romaorma@hotmail.com In Christ Alyona "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers" 1Pete 3:12"

Mira’s page

2008-11-11T21:37:00.002+03:00

Dear friends and family I would like to introduce a new addition to our blog – it is Mira’s page. As some of you already know from our previous posts that Mira is a Jews for Jesus staff servant and she is writing monthly reports and updates on her ministry in Moscow. If you are interested and want to know about this ministry, please follow this link, which you will also find in the sidebar of this page.
We will try to keep Mira’s page as up to date as possible. I hope you’ll enjoy reading and keep Mira’s and Jews for Jesus ministry in your prayers.
May the Lord bless you as you read. Natasha

Fall is here

2008-11-10T23:45:00.005+03:00

We are having a beautiful fall here in Moscow.

SFM update

2008-11-10T23:42:00.003+03:00

Spiritual Freedom update: SFM ministry here in Moscow enrolls inmates into a Bible correspondence courses (see link) in the month of October SFM received 431 new student enrollments. 1019 students continued their studies. 1450 courses were mailed out in the month of October and 1249 courses were graded. 580 personal letters of encouragement were sent to the students. Every letter received from the prisons is personally responded to. This ministry for over 15 years has reached out to 100,000‘s of prisoners. The last year has been a pretty bumpy road for the ministry but God continue to show His faithfulness to SFM. Please pray for the future work of SFM that all needs will be met, and for more and more new requests to enroll in the Bible correspondence courses. And also pray for the staff and for Alexey the director for wisdom to lead SFM.

God's word will be preached to the ends of the earth

2008-11-10T23:40:00.002+03:00

Geno, whom many of you know, is the leader of a fellowship in the prison in the Arkhangelsk region in far north Russia. We recently sent Geno an MP3 player and Pastor Chucks MP3 teaching on the New Testament translated in Russian. Geno asked if we would pray to see if the teachings could be aired on the prison radio station inside the prison that reaches about 800 inmates. Well, less than 2 weeks later Pastor Chuck's Bible teaching were being aired 3 times a week. It caused quite a stir with the Moslem and the Hare Krishna’s wanting equal time. Geno said that several guys were trying to sabotage the speakers in the prison yard. Please pray for the teaching to be aired 3 times if not more a week. It is a real miracle that the teaching are being played. Also the fellowship received a new brother in Christ, Mikale (in the middle) Sergey on the right shared with Mikale who is from the same city Sergey is from. (Picture: Geno is on the left)

The celebration of new birth

2008-11-10T23:36:00.004+03:00

In 1977 over 200,000 Russian Jews immigrated to Israel. In 1988 to 1993 over 600,000 Russian Jewish immigrated to Israel. But many more Russian Jews remained in Russia. Here in Moscow, Jews for Jesus have had seen many of them to come to know Jesus Christ..

During one recent street outreach many Jews received Jesus Christ as their Messiah. Recently Jews for Jesus held a celebration for those who made decisions to follow Christ. Many more attended that had not made a decision. It was an evening filled with songs and teachings from the Bible. Please pray for the work of Jews for Jesus here in Moscow. God is doing a good work among the Russian Jews' community here in Moscow. Please pray for Max, Mira and Ilya - all are on the JFJ staff.

Refat’s Story

2008-09-14T22:52:00.002+04:00

Refat is from a big family, and He and his brother and sister moved to Moscow from Uzbekistan about 5 years ago. Refat and His sister started visiting the church about that time. I have over the years seen the hand of the Lord on Refat’s and his family. It is not an easy thing to move to one of the most expensive cities in the world. But God has been faithful in their lives. Refat recently gave testimony of God's faithfulness before the church. I thought you enjoy reading Refat’s story.

A two week long conversation with God

2008-09-14T22:46:00.002+04:00

Looking back I figured that it was a conversation of a capricious son with the Father. In this conversation the Father doesn't let His son to do foolish things for his own good.

Two weeks ago – I have an attractive offer to change the job. The salary is to be tripled comparing to current. One thing, I feel uneasy about it. Notice, acceptance of the offer will put me in a discreditable situation in the future. I accept the offer anyways. Right after I accept the offer – my heart starts to convict me. I begin to pray, diligently telling God how I need the money, listing all the good works I can do with them. I tell Him that I need to pay for my tuition, and that this salary is most welcome.
Beginning of last week – my heart continues to convict me. I continue to pray, simultaneously looking for at least one layout at which I would "land on my feet". Sincerely, I was looking for an excuse. Monday, last week – 6 rubles in my pocket, approximately 30 cents. I have places where I can borrow some, I just don't want to. I walk home from the office, around 3 miles. Another week to go to advance payment. I trust God, I know He has not forgotten me. No excuse found yet.
Monday night – phone rings at 2 a.m. My brother calls and asks if I would like to make some money. I agree without even understanding what's going on (very surprising). One American lady had food poisoning and is urgently placed to an infection hospital. Translation for doctors required. Money for taxi is found very quickly, landlady hasn't been taking the rent money for over a week now, so borrow some until morning. This very day nobody is at the hotel who could translate, everyone is busy. Well this is another story. Overnight I get paid amount of money equal to monthly salary. Wednesday – I am invited to the hotel to be introduced to two Americans. They were told how I came to the hospital at the middle of the night, and that I had two different socks on because I was tired when I was dressing up. One of them is the president of a foundation. He gives me an amount of money equal to half of my monthly salary.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday – I'm like a baby rejoicing that God is blessing me, I continue to pray and look for an excuse. No excuse yet.
Sunday – I have a great desire to visit Zelenograd Baptist Church. I visit this church quite seldom. This time we are discussing how we try to make excuses of our disobedience, excuses for things we want to do, not God. Many examples from the Bible of bad consequences after excusing the disobedience. Such as Adam and Eve, Saul and David, Jonah, apostle Peter. Second part of the service tells how God shuts the doors when we want to do something that contradicts His will and that at these times we better listen to what God has to say. At this moment I run though the latest events and understand. God, for my own good, doesn't want me to changes the job. He replies to my prayers very plain and clear, - "Son, here is the money, if you need more for tuition I will give you more, just don't go there, no need to be making excuses, trust Me."
On the way home – I feel that my heart is not convicting me anymore. I think of how I talk to the bosses. What will I say when I refuse the offer and what I will say to the boss, who was actually looking for my replacement. And as a closing, two passages from the Scriptures. (1Jn.3:20) "For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things."And (Je.29:11) "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD,thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

(story written by Refat)

SFM Russia update

2008-09-08T23:30:00.005+04:00

These doors are remaining open here in Russia. "Spiritual Freedom" has been an arm here in Moscow reaching out to 100,000's of prisoners over the last 15 years. Over the last year the ministry has experienced some great challenges. Recently it was decided that the staff would take their vacation time in the hopes that funds would come in to support the ministry. During that time the office was closed down the requests from new students and the finished cources ready to be graded by existing students began to stack up over the last 2 1/2 months. This only confirmed that God has his hand on this ministry. Over the last year God has shown Himself faithful in the work of SFM. It appears that we will be able to pay off aboout two months of bills and have the budget for 3 months paid for. God answered, as He does many times, at the last hour. We give thanks to our great and mighty God for all the great things He has done. We now have a few months to breath as the staff returns and is working hard to get caught back up. Please continue to pray for SFM, a great friend to those behind bars here in Russia

Story of the Bible courses

2008-09-08T23:02:00.004+04:00

1 Peter 1:6-9: "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith - the salvation of your souls."

The amazing story of these Bible study courses is that they were saved from a burning house. The Bible student wrote "Spiritual Freedom" to give testimony that her house had burnt, but that she rejoiced that her SFM Bible correspondence courses were saved from the fire. (You can listen to the full testimony about these saved from the fire courses, just click on the SFM video on the right side). What a great perspective this student has in regards to the important things in life.

Alyona is on her way to Istambul

2008-09-08T22:51:00.003+04:00

Alyona(standing center) is on her way to Istanbul, Turkey where she will be teaching English in a Christian School. This is a great opportunity for Alyona to bring the Good New to a thirsty land. Please pray for her as she is going into a country that is not so friendly towards the Christian faith. Pray that God will send her divine appointments, and that she will be an encouragement to the believers there. To keep updated on Alyona click on her blog in our links.

Andre and Rita become man and wife

2008-09-08T22:43:00.003+04:00

Congratulations to Andre and Rita who recently became man and wife. Rita has been a part of our fellowship over the last 7 years. They are a sweet couple. They sing together and Andre is a great teacher of the Word.

2008 Missionary Conference in Millstatt, Austria.

2008-09-08T22:25:00.004+04:00

Taylor family in Moscow

2008-09-08T22:22:00.001+04:00

the TAYLORS are back!!!!!!

2008-08-04T23:47:00.002+04:00

THE Taylor family is BACK!!! The Girls - Shannon and Britney and their brother JT are doing concerts outside of Moscow and in the Russian cities Tombov and Kuluga. Please, pray for the many young people, they attract to their concerts, would surrender their lives to Jesus Christ. Also pictured is their mother Maureen. Ron will be joining his family in a couple of weeks to support the outreaches. It is always good to have the Taylors stop in on our Sunday service.

Eggar goes to Ghana

2008-08-04T23:37:00.002+04:00

Wycliffe Bible translators

2008-08-04T23:35:00.003+04:00

This is my friend Eggar Petrov from St. Petersburg Russia. I have know Eggar for about 9 years. Eggar on his way to Ghana, Africa stopped by and stayed a few days with me in Moscow. Eggar is part of a 7 member team from Russia that will be doing outreach and a vacation Bible school in Ghana. I think it is very exciting to see missionaries from here going out across the world. Eggar and his team will be visiting a Russian family who were sent from Moscow by Wycliffe Bible translators to create a written language and then translate the New Testament into a Ghanaian tribal dialect. I was amazed to know the Wycliffe bible translators were here in Russia. Then I learned about William Cameron Thompson the founder of Wycliffe Bible translating society. After serving for 50 years on the mission field Cameron decided that he was not quite ready to retire. So at ripe young age of 71 Cameron and his wife decided that Russia needed Bibles translated as well. Cameron asked himself, “What about the Iron Curtain countries? Shouldn’t all languages there have God’s Word?” Cam and Elaine arrived in Moscow on October 3, 1968, on their first visit. They both felt strongly that any further invitations to the Soviet Union and, hopefully, permission to do Bible translation would depend first of all on God and, second, on extending a hand of friendship to all they met.
As Cam said in a letter to a friend in the Soviet Academy of Science in 1969 after the first trip, “I am determined to do everything we can to draw our people more closely together in bonds of friendship—the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. In this way we’ll be performing a real service to our country and to the lovers of peace everywhere.”
The Door Cracks Open
By their eleventh trip in 1979, the Townsends had traveled more than 10,000 miles and given away hundreds of scripture portions. They openly shared about linguistic research and Bible translation taking place in Latin America. They had written two books, The USSR As We Saw It and They Found a Common Language.
Cameron and Elaine had also been invited into hundreds of homes where their hosts showered them with gifts and courtesies. They were graciously given the privilege of importing a car and travel trailer and were allowed to travel unaccompanied for months at a time. The Townsends enjoyed wonderful fellowship in packed churches, especially in Moscow.
Cameron never shied away from presenting his hope to university academics and others that one day the 160 languages of the Soviet Republics and Eastern European countries would have God’s Word available to them. Through friendships they had made in the Soviet Academy of Science, four translations of First John were eventually completed by a Russian linguist. What an amazing testimony of God’s hand on Russia.

Worship songs

2008-07-17T22:30:00.003+04:00

Hello everyone! Please, listen to some of newly uploaded songs on our site CCSokolWorship.
Also some of you may know Zalina Fedotov - talented song writer and dear sister in the Lord, who was leading worship at CC Sokol some years ago. She is currently serving at Koinonia Fellowship in Rochester, NY and is a part of Koinonia worship team. Zalina gave me permission to upload her songs and you can listen to them over at http://www.esnips.com/web/ZalinaSongs
As you read posts on this site, you can scroll down, turn on the player and listen to a worship song. Enjoy! Blessings! Natasha

Our God is an Awesome God!!

2008-07-06T19:10:00.002+04:00

Saturday as I was studying for our Sunday service, a hard rain had ended and I got ready to see the rainbow to appear out my window and sure enough it appeared, a rather large section of the arch full of color. My camera recently broke and so I pulled out my mighty 4 pixel Kodak digital that I bought in 1998 before moving to Russia. The battery case is held by some good old scotch tape, and it has seen better days. As I started to take pictures of the rainbow, the batteries kept dying. So I found 2 used batteries and kept shooting. Well the clouds moved in again and an electrical storm started. I was thinking “God it would be great to get a photo of the lighting” Considering the condition of my mighty Kodak, that was a real prayer of faith. Well I took five shots trying to anticipate the sequence of the electrical storm which is really saying I was just wasting my time. So I went back to my studying. I then noticed that the clouds had a beautiful color and so I snapped one last shot. To my amazement at that very moment the lighting struck and my mighty 4 pixel digital Kodak, which has a very slow delay between the click and the image registering on the memory card, caught this shot. Knowing the odds of the speed of my camera catching a lighting strike, God showed me that even in the little things He loves to bless His children.

You have served Russia well!

2008-06-30T02:01:00.002+04:00

Hello everyone, today Rick and Rebecca Emenaker returned back to California after serving here in Moscow 7 years. Rick was the director of Mission Aviation Fellowship here in Russia.

Rick has been a good friend over the years and I will miss him. I will surely miss the wonderful thanksgiving dinner (with a real turkey) that they have hosted. The Emenaker family lived in South America before coming to Moscow and have been on the mission field since 1992. They will be returning to their home in southern California for the next year. Their home church is Calvary Chapel East Anaheim. Their three children Hannah, Nathaniel and Rachel are already moved back to the US. Please pray for God’s will for the Emenaker family. We will miss them, they have been friends to Russia.

That the word of God will go forth...

2008-06-30T01:52:00.003+04:00

Please pray for our good friend Dima, he has returned home for one month. His home town is in the coutry of Tajikistan. Dima is a Christian and his faith in Jesus Christ is not well received in his town. Please pray for Dima, for the Lord to open up the opportunity for the Good News to be shared to his mother and his relatives. thank you

Geno's update

2008-06-27T22:49:00.005+04:00

Here are some recent photos of Geno from the zone. Usually I speak to him once a week but these are the first photos of him that I have seen in a couple of years. He is looking healthy. For those of you who may not know our dear brother Geno, he is in prison in the Arch Angel region in the far north of Russia. Geno is the church leader in his small fellowship there. Geno also is a worship leader, writes songs, and is seriously studying the language of His ancestors, Hebrew. We consider Him our missionary to the Russian Prison zone. Geno is a part of the tremendous work God has done through Spiritual Freedom Russia. Dale was the first known American to be allowed into the Russian solitary confinement of the prison. He then was allowed to speak with Geno and share the gospel with him. Please pray for Geno and his small faithful fellowship. That the blinders would fall off the eyes of so many of his fellow inmates and they would come to the knowledge of Christ. Pray for Geno’s continued health. Thank you.

Geno's photos

2008-06-27T22:47:00.006+04:00

Summer smells and wedding bells

2008-06-27T00:27:00.003+04:00

Greetings from Moscow, hard to believe we are already knocking on the door of July. Summer is always a nice time to have weddings here in Russia. On the first of June, Steve and Julia became man and wife. It was a sweet simple wedding after our morning church service. Julia is an amazing woman and has been a part of our fellowship for about 5 years. Julia rarely misses the opportunity to study the Bible. She and her 3 children Veronica, Dima, and Sveta have been a great blessing to our fellowship. Steve came to Moscow to build a golf course in north Moscow, Steve is a professional turf grower. Steve now is building a golf course on the coast of China, and Julia and the kids will be moving there soon . It will be exciting to see what new adventure God has for this family, we are going to miss them……

Mr. and Mrs.Steve Bruton

2008-06-27T00:26:00.002+04:00

Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Kalinin

2008-06-27T00:23:00.002+04:00

Evening on the Volga River, Cheboksary Hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Kalinin

2008-06-27T00:19:00.008+04:00

Also on June 14th Olga and Eugene were married in Olga’s home town Чебоксары (Chebokcary) it is a beautiful city almost 400 miles east of Moscow located on the Volga River. It was a wonderful 2 day event. Olga‘s brother Misha , who is a Calvary Chapel Pastor in Sochi officiated the service. I have known both of them for the last 8 years. After a very intertaining wedding party, we all that evening took a river cruise on the Volga, it was very charming. The next day Eugene and Olga put on a BBQ and then later we all went on bus tour of the city on the river Cheboksary. Cheboksary has it’s own unique culture, and language. It also has its own Calvary Chapel. It is so wonderful when you see the Lord bring two people together and Eugene and Olga are a sweet witness of God’s plan for man and woman. Also Christina Dixon came back to Russia to visit. Christina is a great friend to Russia and has many friends here. She worked at the CCBible College in Moscow. It was great to see her back. (see photo Christina on the left, Olga who did a great job with the wedding party, on the right)

Please take time to view the SFM video

2008-06-27T00:18:00.001+04:00

Pray for Spiritual Freedom

2008-06-27T00:15:00.003+04:00

Please pray for "Spiritual Freedom" (SFM) the ministry to the prisoners in the Russian prison system. (Please take time to watch video about this great ministry.) The ministry is going through a difficult time. Please pray for the resources to continue. The Lord has blessed this ministry for 15 years. We believe the Lord will provide the resources to continue. Please pray for our situation. As we met with the staff today the life of George Mueller was mentioned and how the Lord provided for his ministry to the orphanages in Bristol even to this day. George never sought money; He just prayed and believed God for their needs.

Andre " Growing in the knowledge of Christ"

2008-06-27T00:12:00.002+04:00

Please pray for Dr. Tom he still is waiting to have a hip operation. It has been drawn-out for 3 years now. Tom desperately needs to have his hip replaced, please pray that the operation will come, and that all resources needed, will be supplied. Also Tom is living with his friend Andre. I have known Andre for about 6 years. He was one of the guys who would hang out with a group of homeless guys at the University Metro. Andre would usually show up at our outdoor meetings under the influence of alcohol. Andre was never interested in the gospel. He was one of the few that did not responded to Christ. Fast forward 6 years and Tom moved in with him. So we started meeting once a week for a Bible study. Andre would join in and listen and he started responding to the Good News. Andre one night last December left the house to join up with one of his friends for a night of drinking that resulted in Andre severely breaking his femur bone. A metal rod put in his leg. It has left him for about 6 months confined to his bed. But the blessing of all this is we have seen Andre grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. He now understands the gospel. Both Tom and Andre are pretty confined to the house. Please pray for God's continual work in his life and the recovery of his leg.

Pray for Dr. Tom, waiting for a hip operation

2008-06-27T00:10:00.002+04:00

Pray for Victor

2008-06-27T00:09:00.001+04:00

Please pray for an opportunity to visit another TB hospital. I met Victor when Dr. Tom was in the hospital as his roommate. Victor was next to Sasha the young man who past away in February. (see blog the March link) Victor was in the hospital to have his leg removed. He went home in December. I got a call from Tom last week that Victor just had his other leg removed and that he was back in the hospital. So I was able to get back into the hospital to visit Victor. I visited Victor for the first time last week. Victor is not a believer. Please pray that he will be open to the gospel. Perhaps with the loss of his second leg God may have his attention. Also the last time I was there a group of patients were sitting outside. So I handed them all the book Daily Bread in the Russian language. As I walked away one of the young guys yelled to me, "Sect!!" I just kept going and he yelled it again. I believe what happened next was as close as you can get to righteous anger, I turned around and headed back to the young man and told him that what I had given him was God’s word from the Bible. He listened closely and when all was said in done we were the best of friends. Hospitals are a great place to share the gospel. People have time on their hands and usually they are under difficult circumstances.

Victory 60 years ago, and a greater victory 2,000 years ago

2008-05-10T02:00:00.002+04:00

Today on the 9th of May all of Russia celebrated Victory Day. It is a salute to the victory over Nazi fascism of World War 2. There is an estimated 3 million surviving veterans living in Russia and its former Soviet states. Many celebrate Victory Day at Victory park where 1,000’s of families come for a day of remembrance and celebration on the grounds of Russia largest war memorial. With day long activities, concerts and huge firework display it is a popular place on the 9th of May. Every year Jews for Jesus takes advantage of the multitude of people and the theme of victory, by handing out a track that speaks of a victory that was won 2,000 years ago on the cross. And just as many brave men and woman gave their life to save Russia, that Jesus also gave His life, and defeated the enemy of death, and paid the price for man’s sin. That the greatest victory in the history of the world was won on a hill in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.

Over 10,000 of these tracks were passed out today. It was amazing how many people took the time to read them. I personally only had two returned to me. I even had one older woman come up to me and ask if she could have all the tracks I had in my hand. I thought she was going to take all I had remaining and throw them away. But she told me I’m Christian too and I want to help pass them out also!! I have to admit I was a bit nervous as there police all around the area I was standing. At one time a group of 6 came walking towards me and I thought, well they are going to want to see what I’m passing out but they just walked by un-concerned! How exciting that we have the freedom to pass out the good news freely in Moscow!! What a true victory that is!

Heros of World War 2

2008-05-10T01:58:00.000+04:00