December 29, 2003Dearest Prayer Team!Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace toward men with whom He is pleased! The Khabarovsk team joins believers everywhere celebrating Christ's birth and looking forward to His return- soon. 2003 has been an exciting year! We praise God for you who are workers with us by your prayers, your giving and serving with us - Messiah Choir, business team, Auburn University and Austin Peay students - all who continually lift up the work here. We are praying for those we've met that they will come to know God. He's helping us to keep in touch as we ask Him to show us how to better share the Gospel. This year Victoria prayed to receive Christ and God brought to us Polina and Olga- new believers. Pray as we disciple them. God blessed us to share about the birth of Christ at an after-Christmas gathering with Pasha, Olga and her daughter Zoya, and Ksenya. Pray for their salvation; also that God will comfort and meet the needs of Olga and Zoya in the wake of the murder of Olga's husband-a cabdriver killed on the job. A few weeks after she buried her husband, Olga slipped on ice and broke her arm. She's recovering and spoke often of the condolences from Messiah Choir members. COMING UP!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plans call for a news conference when he arrives to get the word out about the event, then that evening a combined church service so Christians can meet and hear the speaker, and be encouraged as to continue telling non-Christian friends about the upcoming event. Throughout the week, three seminars are held every day. Each is roughly the same, but the audience is different. One might be in a university hall for professors and students. Another may be in a trade union hall for members to be present. Others may be at a medical school to target health professionals... at the chamber of commerce plus a session for the Rotary Club. Each will be held over lunch for leaders of the city. A public conference, for which all advertising is aimed, will be on a Friday night in a large hall. The public conference is open to those who didn't attend the other sessions which are invitation-only for specific professional groups. The topic of each seminar centers on success. At the conclusion of the sessions, participants receive a book called "The 3 Keys That Open The Door To Great Success", and are given an opportunity join a small group study of the book. The book demonstrates how success can only be realized in Jesus Christ. Christians will lead small groups. Join us in praying that "people of influence" will become Christians, and the groups become churches or will meld into an existing church based on the desire of each group and that group's facilitator. An organizing committee of Russians- all believers- is working on this project. Please pray for them. During January, they will identify at least 10 key Christians to facilitate groups. Your prayers for the committee and those who facilitate are extremely important. Remember Connie as she works with the committee and co-ordinates this project with Dan Hurst. Pray for Lonnie and Janet as they fill-in where needed. May God use this to bring more people and families to Himself. If you don't pray, we can't stay!!!!! November 28, 2003Dear Prayer Warriors,We hope each of you and your families had a fabulous Thanksgiving Day as you expressed your gratitude to God for his love and mercy. Connie, Lonnie and Janet shared dinner at Lonnie's home with Russian friends - Dima, Veronika, Yanna and Sonya. We feasted on turkey and all the trimmings as Lonnie shared the history of Thanksgiving. We talked people and things in our lives that we are thankful for and then shared Scriptures offering thanks to God. Praise:
And what's coming up this month:
Scene and Heard: No jingle bells, but it looks a lot like Christmas in Khabarovsk. People pile onto already overcrowded buses. Snow is on the ground and the streets are icy. I (Janet) find myself often saying "Now unto to Him who is able to keep you from falling... O God please keep me from falling." I'm pretty sure Jude didn't have fear of falling on ice in mind when the Holy Spirit inspired him to write the closing verses of the New Testament epistle, but it reminds me that God is concerned about everything in our lives- no matter how small or great. So if I'm concerned about falling on the ice, it's nice to know that God cares and protects. God has FAR GREATER things in mind in the benediction, "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever Amen." What a vision of who God is! All of His majesty, glory, power and authority- thinking about this is another way to approach Christmas. Then angels proclaimed the glory of God with good tidings of great joy. As we celebrate Christ's birth and praise God for sending Him to die for our sins giving us eternal life as well as abundant life... we look forward to seeing Him face-to-face. Talk about wanting to sing the Hallelujah Chorus! Keeping praying for the people of Khabarovsk so more will join us in looking forward to Jesus' return. Pray too for the students Connie, Lonnie and Janet have been able to get to know, including some at Polytechnic University's English Club. September 1, 2003Dear Prayer Team,August was exciting and busy for the Khabarovsk team as God answered your prayers over and over and over again. First the visit of the Austin Peay resulted in the start of a Bible study that meets in the study room in the center of the city. Praise the Lord for Jim and Estelle's English classes and for students Steven, Sarah, Amy, Callee, Heather and Amanda who labored day after day in trying to meet college students around town. Pasha hung out with them and acted as their tour guide. Shortly after they left Marina, Tanya and Marina's mom Olga began attending the new Bible study. Katya who also met the Austin Peay team attended once and said she'd like to come again. Pray that these students will develop a genuine interest in knowing who God is and why He sent His only Son to save them. We're also praying they'll invite their friends. We praise God for Pasha's friend, a new believer, who has been attending this study as well. Pray as she seeks to win her husband to Christ. September promises more excitement because the Far East Church Planting Conference takes place in Khabarovsk at the end of the month. Speakers from several countries plan to address believers from around Russia who are committed to establishing new churches. Please bathe every aspect of this conference in prayer- before, during and after the event. Right now, urgent prayer is needed to secure the conference site. Pray for Connie as she works on this and prepares for an SC meeting in early October. Pray too that God will thwart the evil one's [Satan] schemes to disrupt or keep this meeting from happening. God is able to do exceeding abunduntly above all we ask or think. We trust the Lord to bring this conference together perfectly in-line with His plans and His vision. To Him be the glory!! Praise notes: We're thankful that God blessed Connie and Lonnie with new visas, each for one year! The Birobijan seminar went well as churches learned about prayer walking, Chronological Bible Storying, CPMs, work at crisis pregnancy centers and ideas for Sunday School workers and worship leaders. Lonnie has been asked to do a 2-day conference for Sunday School teachers in December. Praise the LORD!!!!!! Some women in the Bible study Rob and Joan started called to let Janet know they are back in town and want to study the Bible study. This group includes 3 women who have yet to accept Christ, but we're thankful they are eager to continue studying the Bible. Note from Janet: My term was slated to end this month, but God graciously is allowing me to extend my current term for another year. Thank God some believers came alongside to help me so that I can go Chicago to see family and friends on a 3-week vacation that also will include getting my passport renewed and applying for a Russian visa as well as getting a physical checkup. (My broken nose is healing nicely.) Please pray that I can easily and quickly (in 2 days) get my passport renewed. I ask you to bathe this entire trip in prayer as I leave Khabarovsk on Sept. 7th for the States through my return. The Khabarovsk team is grateful to God and humbled by your faithfulness to pray for us- Connie, Lonnie and Janet- during the past months and also for lifting up the Russian Christians and unbelievers we work with. As the Bible says in Psalm 34:8, "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Verse 10 adds, "...those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." InHisHands, August 1, 2003Hello Prayer Team,Your prayers are key as students from Austin Peay University in Tennessee are in town trying to build relationships with Russian students that will result in Bible studies. So far, they have made contacts and keep in close touch with Nastia, Natalie, Katya, Ann, Marina and more. Team leaders Bill and Estelle Alexander taught ESL classes last week to build new relationships with Russians before returning to the U.S. Now the 6 Tennessee students are in town for 5 more days to continue building friendships. We thank God for bringing this team. They've been working in a smoke-filled city. Forest fires outside the city have created a hazy atmosphere. Pray for them and their work here and for the Russians that they are meeting. Pasha and Katya, a Russian believer, have been assisting the students faithfully during their stay. Pasha loves being around Americans to improve his English but we pray that he'll desire Jesus more. Katya has worked with us, but how we desire to see more Russian believers work with us too. She is starting a Bible study with a friend who has questioned her about God. We're praying some of the students the team is meeting with will join Katya's study. Visa renewal time!!!!! Lonnie is in Seoul to get his Russian visa renewed for one year. We pray that he'll have no problems securing that visa and have a relaxing time. Last time around, Lonnie was able to get only a 3-month document. Pray that the authorities grant him a full-year visa this time. Connie's next!!! She leaves in about 2 weeks to go to Prague for a meeting and while there she'll try to get her Russian visa renewed for one more year. Missionaries have had mixed results in getting these one-year visas in our area. Please pray for our team. Health stuff!!!! A hymn, "Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus" says in the chorus, "Jesus, Jesus how I trust HIm! How I've proved Him o'er and o'er! Jesus, Jesus, Precious Jesus. O for grace to trust Him more." O that God would grant each of you, and us here in Khabarovsk, the grace to trust Him more! June 30, 2003Dear Prayer Team,We neglected to mention the need for prayer as Lonnie attempts to renew his visa in July. He has a 3-month visa now, but we are hoping that this time he'll be able to get a one-year visa. Right now, he needs a document from the Russian government BEFORE August 1 when his current visa ends. Pray that he receives that document before the end of July when he'll fly to Seoul for visa renewal. The Russian government requires foreigners living in Russia to leave the country to get their visas renewed. In the past we were able to get 1-year visas, but due to a change in the law we have been able to get only 3-month visas. However some missionaries in other cities recently got 1-year visas. We are praying that Lonnie (and in mid-August Connie) can do the same. Please pray: We praise God in advance for what He's going to do about Lonnie's visa. June 30, 2003Dear Prayer Team,Victoria, an English teacher at a university here, prayed to receive Christ during a Bible study! Praise the Lord! O, that God would grant her a heart fully devoted to Him! what's up? Into this setting, six students from Austin Peay University in Tennessee will come this July in an outreach to Russians in parks or those boarding boats for the trip across the Amur River to their dachas. A couple, Jim and Estelle Alexander, will provide English classes for Russians at the office in the city center. We praise the Lord that He has provided this place for us! Now we're asking Him to send students who not only want language lessons but who want to get to know Him through studying the Bible in small groups. In fact, the team is putting a stepped-up emphasis on starting these cell groups and training Russian believers in facilitating Bible studies with unbelievers- as a first step in planting new churches. We're asking the Lord to help us start 5 new groups this month. At the same time, we're praying for the Bible studies under way. The Russian Christians who study with Janet have been taking turns leading the study. Pray that they will trust God to help them lead new groups. Katya, from that Bible study, has been particularly diligent in helping both Lonnie and Janet in student outreach. New Christian Polina also wants to build groups. Polina and Victoria are in a Bible study group with students from the Pedagogical University who haven't yet made decisions for Christ. Pray that the other girls - Ksenya, Zhenya will see the difference in Polina and Victoria and desire to know Christ. We pray that they'll all attend the group each week and that Lucia will return to us as well. Pray as Janet considers using Chronological Bible Storying to supplement the Bible study lessons this group uses. Students in Lonnie's Bible study group have gone home for the summer, including some who recently expressed an interest when the Auburn University students came. Ask God to direct Lonnie as he works to form a new group. Pray as he reaches out to a retired couple he meet on the bus and continues to see Dima and Veronika and Pasha. Thank you for praying about our health, language study and ministry. God is opening doors for us and we pray that He'll help us to be wise in relationships with Russians He puts in our lives. Note from Janet: Thank you for praying about my future. I believe the Lord is leading me to continue working in Khabarovsk.That means that when my current 2-year term ends this fall, I would return to the U.S. for a brief period... and then return for a new one-year term. I'm asking God to continue to confirm His will in the days ahead. InHisHands, June 1, 2003Hello Prayer Team!God brought Auburn University students to us who went out of their way to engage students and play basketball, making a host of friends along the way and sharing their faith as God gave them opportunities. Thank You Amanda, Tamara, Alice, Wade, Chip, Logan, Jered, Josh, J.T., Landon and Cliff for coming! Despite only a short time to prepare and jet lag, they managed to talk with students and establish new contacts with athletes and those studying English at several universities. (Wade came despite the fact that he's on crutches and faces surgery on his knee. Logan injured his ankle during a game and Josh had stomach problems during the trip, yet they continued to reach out to athletes). Their work yielded exciting results: Polina, a 18-year-old student the AU team met at an English class, came to a Bible study Friday. She is a new believer who came to Christ in the U.S. and who immediately jumped into the Bible study discussion with the other girls who have yet to accept Christ as Lord and Savior. We pray Polina will continue to come and invite others. Pasha hungout with the team and watched them live out their faith. He even stayed overnight the team once. So far, he hasn't expressed an interest in reading the Bible but does want to keep in contact with the AU team and hangout with us, too. Pray for the AU students as they keep in touch across the ocean via email with the Russians they've met. We're praying that we'll be able to continue and build on those relationships. Lonnie's invited some students to attend a study Thursday at his place. In addition he's planning a get-acquainted time Saturday to ask another group of students who might be interested in studying God's Word. We're praying that God will establish Lonnie's Thursday Bible study with students and anyone else He sends. (Praise God Lonnie had a great vacation in Prague with his Mom, got a new visa, attended a seminar and returned to Russia safely!!) Janet's been invited to hang with some Sports Academy's girls volleyball team members Their next game is this week on the beach. Pray that she'll make friends with Ksenya, Katya and Anna and that language won't be an issue. It would be great to see Bible studies forming that include students from the Sports Academy, Railroad University and Polytechnic University plus those at the Pedagogical Institute, Academy of Economics and Law and the Far Eastern Foreign Languages Institute. Thank you, prayer warriors, for bathing in prayer the Auburn University team as well as us and Pasha who worked hard to set up basketball games around the city. God used Pasha to open doors at universities. We praise the Lord for that! We pray that God will ignite a rapidly reproducing church planting movement throughout the city, territory and the Russian Far East. God is faithful and He will do it! March 31, 2003Dear Prayer Team,In just a few days, a team of businesspeople arrives to begin working in the city. They have a schedule of seminars and consultations planned within the business community as well as with pastors who hope to hone their management skills. That four-member business team desperately needs you to bathe their work in prayer as they move about the city doing work that ultimately will resound to God's glory. Pray for their health and safety as well as their peace of mind as they encounter Russia, many of them for the first time. Also pray for the entrepreneurs here who will seek their advice and try to tap into their wisdom as they seek to run and manage successful businesses. The business team earnestly desire opportunities to share their faith in God with those in Khabarovsk who they will meet. We're praying that God will them each of them plenty of opportunities and that many will come to Christ as a result of their work. We're also praying that those they talk with will be interested in joining a Bible study which will be part of a rapidly reproducing church planting movement throughout this city and territory. Continue, too, to cover in prayer our ministries here. Lonnie has just launched a Bible study with several students who plan to meet weekly. We're praying that these young men will develop and genuine interest in searching the Scriptures to know who God is... so that they can be born-again. Pray for Lonnie as he leads this group. Also pray that the group will be able to agree on a meeting schedule and that they will all consistently attend. Thank you for praying for Connie, who returned safely this weekend from a supervisory conference in Moscow with other missionaries. Rob and Joan will soon return from Vladivostok where they've been involved in training others to operate suicide prevention hot lines... and other crisis services. Joan continues to have problems with her knee, but we praise the Lord that their elevator is running again. Yet another praise: LONNIE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY. Friday evening Lonnie invited friends to his home for a birthday party... and 21 people showed up!! Everyone had a great time, including Lonnie. But what's so very cool is that the majority partygoers were not Christians, yet there was no smoking or drinking. And no one brought liquor as gifts! Praise the Lord. Some guys from the university choir sang songs as one guy played guitar, later we played charades. The party ended about midnight, but everyone had a good time. Keep praying for Pasha as well as Dima and Veronika, who have received Bibles as gifts from Lonnie. They are not involved in a Bible study and have refused offers to attend. The women in a Bible study with Janet plan to resume meeting soon. Please pray that all of us will agree on a schedule and be faithful both to attend the meetings and do the lessons each day. Pray that God will bring to this study those he desires. Also pray as Janet seeks to begin an ESL class at the university- that officials will OK it and that relationships will form that led to Bible studies as well. In addition, Janet has met 2 other women who are unbelievers. Pray that those friendships will grow and that they will desire to know Jesus. March 17, 2003Dear Prayer Team,By God's grace, we all arrived home in Khabarovsk safe and sound after time in Moscow and on the island of Cyprus where we met with other missionaries from this part of the world. It was a good time of praise, worship and renewal as we heard the Word of God preached each day and got updates on important issues. We greatly appreciate your prayers for us. Also I (Janet) enjoyed a week of rest in France with good friends also laboring for the Lord. Thank you for praying. We've much to praise God for... and to pray about: Just a few days ago, Rob and Joan's elevator was repaired!!!! Praise the Lord. They were without an elevator for about 6 weeks, which meant walking up and down 9 flights of stairs with groceries, etc. We Praise God for his gracious provision of elevators that work!! Lonnie is soon to begin a Bible study with 4 guys who from the choir at Polytechnic University. Lonnie asked them and they are eager to attend. They even showed up at his apt for the study when Lonnie wasn't home!! Now plans are for the group to hold their first meeting this Thursday night. Please continue to bathe this study in prayer. God is answering. Tonight (Sunday) a festival of music ended with a concert with all the Baptist churches taking part in an evangelistic outreach. Lonnie's Russian language teacher attended. Pasha came briefly, but left before the concert really got started. He said he felt uncomfortable. He also declined when asked to join the Bible study at Lonnie's apt. But we praise God that Pasha even came into the building where the concert was being held and was greeted by many Christians! (There was a time that Pasha wouldn't have done even that!). Pray for Lonnie's Russian teacher... and yes, Pasha. He's reading small portions of his Bible on his own. We plan to talk again this week. Ask God to show usI what to do and say when we are with Pasha. Pray that Pasha will to want to "hangout" with us and that we will always point him to Jesus. Connie's was in khabarovsk, but left this afternoon to go to Vladivostok (an overnight train ride away) to try to get her car registration taken care of. Connie has had a car since early this year but hasn't been able to drive it because of problems with the paperwork. Please pray that everything will work out while she's in Vladivostok and that she'll soon have the car registered so she can drive it. Still to come, Lonnie and Janet will be speaking this month at Vera's class for people studying to be translators. We can't talk about spiritual things in these meetings but it is a chance to meet new students who might be interested in God's Word. Pray that this will be a springboard to a new Bible study involving these students. Connie will be helping set up meetings for the team of businesspeople coming with Richard Plasket to Khabarovsk in April. Pray for that team, that God will give them a series of "divine appointments" for HIs glory. Pray for Connie as she does some of the legwork prior to their arrival. Finally thank you for praying for my Dad's health. He was in the hospital but now is home recovering from heart problems. I talked with him this week and all he wants to do is go back to work! Praise the Lord for that too.
Thanks for all your prayers for us! February 16, 2003 - some trust in chariots and horses, but not us!!Dear Prayer Team,Prayer changes things! The Messiah Concert continues to be a praise point and we are still seeing doors being opened as a result. Keep praying for those people who attended the concert and for others who will see it on video or TV. All of us on the team have been blessed to begin or strengthen relationships with Russians as a result of the concert. Also, Lonnie is making inroads with students in the choir at the university where we study Russian language. Pray for Peter, Zhenya, and Misha with whom Lonnie hopes to meet with next month. Says Lonnie, "These 3 guys are from the choir I'm in so that is a hopeful sign that I'm starting to make some friends there and hopefully will be able to invite these dudes to a Bible study. " Also don't forget our friend Pasha- pray that he'll become interested enough in knowing God that he'll agree to study the Bible or watch the Jesus film. Thought we'd send the March prayer calendar a bit early since shortly we will be heading to Moscow, where some team members will see a dentist as well as take Russian language evaluations to see how we are doing. We'd appreciate your prayers while we are "on the road." With all that's going on in the world, a Bible verse echoes in my mind: Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God. - Psalm 20: 7 (KJV) InHisHands, janet for the Khabarovsk team February 6, 2003 - pray for authoritiesRecently the governor of the Khabarovsk krai, Victor Ishaev, was touring the new sports complex that is being built. As he was there, he noticed the red and white brick building with a silver steeple on top. He went over and asked what this commanding building was. He was told that it was the Baptist church. His response was "if I had known it was a Baptist church, I would not have given permission for it to have been built".Let's focus our prayers this month on all authorities in Khabarovsk and the krai that God will soften their hearts to Him, that God will give them a sense of humility toward the work of God, and that they will not be against the spread of the Gospel. Once more, this reminds us that putting money into buildings and other material things is not necessarily the wisest thing to do. They can be destroyed quickly. * Church at Portovaya has been trying to get documents to make their building legal for 5 years, with no success * Church at Gorky has been trying to get documents for their construction for 4 years, with absolutely no success (they turn in papers, and the next day the office says they have lost them, pastor is told he should leave the country while he can since the problems are his) * Transformation church has been sent out of every place they rent after about 1 year * Second church was registered in a person's name who has filed for half of the building in a divorce law suit * Bible college is not registered correctly (Korean church on Schmidta is seemingly without legal problems) Bridging the gap, Connie Robbins IMB representative to Khabarovsk, Russia Real Life In Khabovsk For ChristiansPressure from the Orthodox church in Khabarovsk has grown unbelievably in the past year. The officers' hall where the Messiah concert was held is an example. So, what are your missionaries doing here? We are building relationships with non-believers, being uplifting toward the Orthodox (Romans 12:17-21), and training Christians in starting small groups and developing leaders. We don't know how much longer we can be here, so the foundation must be set for the rapidly reproducing church. We may be out in one year or 20 years, only God knows. The Khabarovsk team has a strategy that we are using. The needs are great, but we must be focused on what we are doing. We can't do everything, and have to say no to many things that would be good and helpful to do. Different groups are focused on different ministries which lets the whole body of Christ work together. We do not do ministry in orphanages, hospitals, prisons, and many other things because that is not our focus. We leave that to others to do, who are doing a fine job. We are here to start churches and train leaders coming up from the new groups, and only that. It is the most difficult to do, especially in our circumstances, but only with God's help can it be accomplished. Volunteer groups are used to reach into people groups where we or other Baptists can not. |
||||
