Far Reaching Ministries Blog

Obtain Mercy and Find Grace to Help in Time of Need

Two words, “grace” and “mercy” were mentioned as people prayed for me before my recent trip to Russia, and God reminded me daily of these two words during my travels. It was not until the end of the trip when I visited families in Rybinsk that I realized God had given me these words to remind me of His purpose and helping in a time of need.

God’s faithful hand was at work beyond the Christmas gifts and the winter camp. It was very clear for me to see that through your prayers and support of these projects, God blessed many families in need. I was frequently asked about the economic crisis in the U.S. and how it was affecting me. However, our economic difficulties do not compare with what many are faced with in the city of Rybinsk. The crisis has impacted many families, where salaries have been reduced 20‐30% and now have 4‐day work weeks. During the national Christmas holiday break most of Russia shut down from January 1‐11. For those in Rybinsk this vacation was without pay. One family who received financial support told me “God sent you during our time of need.” It was a tremendous blessing to have the opportunity to purchase and deliver groceries to several families as well as pray together.

Christmas Celebrations
Despite the declining economic conditions in Russia the Christmas gift ministry project was a tremendous blessing to many children again this winter.

Orel ‐ My first trip from Moscow was to the city of Orel which is a 5‐hour train trip south of Moscow. My friend, Ilya Kartashov and I visited for them at a local church. One young man, Sergey, has some mobility, but needed to be carried down the stairs to the vehicle. It was a blessing to have the opportunity to share the Christmas story with them and afterwards have a time of fellowship around the table enjoying a light meal together. Lena returned to the local orphanage on two occasions in December and January to distribute gifts to handicapped children ages 3‐18 and share the Christmas story. She shared that all the children were excited and very happy to receive a stuffed animal and Christian literature. Lena Filimonova, who works with handicapped orphans and adults. We hired a small bus to take a small group of people to minister to five handicapped young adults that Lena has developed friendships with over the past several years. Our first stop was at the house for invalids to pick up anyone who wanted to come to the Christmas celebration held specially for them at a local church. One young man, Sergey, has some mobility, but needed to be carried down the stairs to the vehicle. It was a blessing to have the opportunity to share the Christmas story with them and afterwards have a time of fellowship around the table enjoying a light meal together. Lena returned to the local orphanage on two occasions in December and January to distribute gifts to handicapped children ages 3‐18 and share the Christmas story. She shared that all the children were excited and very happy to receive a stuffed animal and Christian literature.

Rybinsk ‐ The Christmas celebration took place on December 27 where 150 children received a gift package containing a Christian book, fruit, nuts, chocolates, candy and a small toy. It was a blessing for me to personally distribute each of the gift packages and to see each happy face receive a special gift. I received many thank you letters from parents. One in particular shares the heart of thanksgiving expressed in the letters.

Peace to you our dear friends in the Lord, Heartfelt greetings to you, in the love of Christ. We thank you for your help in the Christmas camp at our church in this hard time of economic crisis. Christmas was such a great gift from God. I have two sons, Mark, age 7 and Dima, age 5. The plant where I work is almost bankrupt so the holiday in the church was a great joy for my boys. The youth of our church prepared a beautiful Christmas story and many Christmas songs so kids could pray, sing songs, play and have tea with cookies all together. At the end every child received a Christmas gift. The eyes of the children were shining with happiness when they looked into the Christmas box which they expected for a long time and saw a toy or an orange. Thank you that God put it on your heart to take care for our children in this difficult time for our city. At the Christmas celebration we had children from the orphanage. They gladly took books about God, listened to the Christmas story and we hope that God knocked on their hearts that Christmas evening.

Many of those children have been in our Christian camps and they sang the Christian songs they knew with great joy. May God reward you with His blessings, for your generous hearts we are so thankful for everything you have given to our children in those Christmas days. We believe that through this ministry many have heard about the Savior for the first time and maybe someone will admit their sins and repent before God. My children Mark and Dima are very glad and happy to receive the wonderful gift from the Savior. I am a mom and a Sunday school teacher. Thank you from my whole heart for taking part in the life of our children. May the Lord meet all your needs and solve all your problems.

With Sincere heart,
Your sister in the Lord, Ludmila

Urozhainaya
Sasha and Luba Cherednichenko hosted five Christmas celebrations in their city this year. The ministry to the children in their city, local orphanages and two youth prisons were a blessing as they were able to share Christ’s love with these children and youth. Sasha was not able to send photos and reports at the time of writing.

I look forward to share additional details in the next newsletter. Please continue to pray for the children who attended these celebrations.

Updates

Winter Camp Vacation Bible School ‐ Rybinsk
Twenty seven children from the Rybinsk Sunday school attended VBS in Rybinsk from January 5‐9, 2009. The children were divided up into three groups according by age. The daily lessons focused on the theme: “Putting on the armor of God.”

The camp was held at the church this year and the teachers and children attending were very happy with the camp. Highlights were: tasty meals, Bible lessons, craft time and playing in the snow at –10F degree weather.

Special thanks to each of you who prayed for the camp and who provided scholarships for the children. Thank you for making camp a special time for each one attending.

  • Thanksgiving for the successful Christmas gift project ministry that took place in December and January.
  • Pray for the children from orphanages, youth prisons and Sunday school who attended the Christmas celebrations, that they will fully comprehend God’s greatest gift ‐ salvation through Jesus Christ.
  • Pray for the Christians who are enduring financial difficulties during the present financial crisis. Thanksgiving for God’s provision in giving me an opportunity to help several needy families this winter.
  • Thanksgiving for God’s blessing on my trip this winter.
  • A heartfelt thank you for your ongoing support and prayers which give me the opportunity to serve God and the Russian people. Praise to the Lord for his ongoing work of changing and redeeming lives of children, young adults and people for eternity ‐ God is at work through your prayers and financial support.
Sincerely yours in Christ, Mark