Please, pray!

The holiday season has not yet started in Russia , so we have an opportunity to continue looking for a new location for the church. On Tuesday, we have couple of places to look at. Please, pray that the Lord would guide us to the place He prepared just for us, that we would know it is the one where He wants us to be.
Thank you for keeping us in your prayers and have wonderful holidays celebrating our Lord’s birthday!

Visits and the staircase

This past Monday was a day of visits. First, Dean and I went to the Architectural College (our former meeting place) to pay a visit to Rific and Nelly, just to say “Hello” and give them a small gift for Christmas. It may sound funny but walking up the 5^th floor to get to the Youth Center where Rufic and Nelly work and where the church used to meet for many, many years, was like a special treat. I did not even notice how I got to the top this time, where before I would gasp, stop a few times on the way and think to myself how horrible it is not to have an elevator in such a building where 5^th floor can be compared to the 8^th in regular apartment building. It is a memorable staircase; we used to joke about it on the way to the 5^th floor or come up with different ideas how to install an elevator. Once Mira, our good friend, who serves with Jews for Jesus and often brings new believers to our church, shared a little secret with me. When I was telling her that I’ve never heard a complaint about the staircase from the older ladies that came to our church with her, she said that they have a good motivation. I of course asked her what was it and she said that Dean told the ladies that when Jews went to worship God in Jerusalem they had to go up to the temple and there were a lot of steps. And not only that, those steps also were different – a number of small and then one big one, it was made this way so people would not run to the temple and enter in a hurry, but so they would meditate on God going up. I thought it was a great motivation and explanation for our staircase, and I adapted it too.

Well, I was not going to write so much about this, but it is one of the good memories I have about our time at the Architectural collage. These last months and especially last a few weeks I was really missing Nelly and Rufic and the good relationship we had and have with them and what a pleasure it was to work together. So, please keep them in your prayers, that they would see how much the Lord loves them.

Our second visit was paid to Rudolf, who is the director’s assistant at the “Sokol” hotel. We just wanted to know if everything is going fine with our church meeting there, if there were any complaints from people and if we could stay for another month, since we still have not found a more permanent place. Rudolf told us that everything is going fine and we can stay longer, he also gave us couple of suggestions and that was pretty much it. In this case, there are no memorable staircase stories :-)

This same evening we had a Bible study and as we came back to the hotel, I received a message that I need to call Rudolf as soon as possible and if I will not do that, (the staff lady said) then tonight will be our last time here. I was really surprised to hear that, because we just had a meeting with Rudolf. There was not much time left before the study, so I decided to call the next day.

The phone call

I do not really like to make phone calls and here is one of the reasons why: I called Rudolf right before our stuff meeting on Tuesday and he told me that 30 minutes after we visited him, director of the hotel called him in and told him to get rid of us right away. Wednesday will be our last day. He apologized and told me that we will get a refund. I tried to get an explanation and he gave me a few reasons.
Well, it was one of those times when I wished somebody else would have to tell Dean and Vova this news. I will not write about all the feelings I had at the moment, otherwise it would take more bloog space than the memorable staircase story plus all the other stories put together :-).

It is Hanukkah!!!

After such news, there was not much to talk about because now we did not have a place for our Christmas project and celebration. Dean decided to go and look for a new location right away, but we did not, because there was not much time before Hanukkah celebration where we were invited in the evening. I was glad that we had to alter that plan, because this evening completely changed my heart and gave me a different perspective on things. The Lord gave me His amazing peace while I was listening to beautiful Jewish songs, then to Mira’s message, which was fully Evangelical, and meant for Jewish non-believers, but for me as well, because the Lord “restored to me the joy of my salvation and renewed His right spirit within me”. Then at the end pastor Max, blessed everyone with the special Aaron’s blessing, first in Hebrew and then in Russian. Those words, so familiar were like a balm to my soul. You know what they were?

I’ll tell you: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

Selah

Wednesday

On Wednesday, we went to see Rudolf again and he met us with apologies, but at the same time said that he cannot do anything about the situation. Then I just asked if it is possible for us to still keep the Sunday, because it is the day when most people come, so we would let them know what is going on. Rudolf said, “Ok. I’ll take the responsibility upon myself.” Honestly, I did not expect this, but it is the Lord answer for us.

Then we went to administrator to talk about the refund. I want to tell you about this young lady, when I met her the first time she was the most suspicious one, she asked me a lot of questions and not all of them were nice, “Are you a sect?” was one of them. I really wanted to give her “More than a carpenter” to read, she said she had a Bible. But every time I would bring the book to her she either was not working, or was leaving, or was too busy. However, one time, when I came up to ask some question, in return she asked me to bring her one of our booklets. We ran out of booklets, but we had “More than a carpenter” with the Gospel of John. So, now as she found out about our situation she said “May God help you”. That was so special.

Of course, we do not know about all of the details and reasons why we have to leave, but the Lord knows and if He touched through us at least one person’s life that is already good reason enough for us being there for 4 month.

Please, pray for Rudolf, for the Administrator, I believe her name is Nastia, for the director of this Hotel and others who work and stay there.

Please, pray for us as well. Thank you and the Lord bless you…

Natasha

P.S. On Wednesday night we were praising the Lord and praying for the people in the hotel. “Blessed be the Name of the Lord” song, became the theme of the evening.

Please, pray for Chas

Please pray for Chas, (see photo standing next to Jacob)

Chas is in a very serious condition, he is suffering from T.B. He has lost one lung already, and the other is deteriorating. He is very sick and I will visit him today and give an update. Chas is a very unique young man he speaks 5 different languages. Chas needs a miracle.

Jacob

Greetings from Moscow, today at 12:00 pm Moscow time my good friend Jacob at age 34 went home to the Lord. Many of you knew Jacob through my emails over the last 7 years. Some of you had the opportunity to meet Jacob. There is so much to say about this young man. Jacob knew what tribulation and poverty was all about. Born in Cameroon, (Oteh as many called him) left Cameroon and ended up in Moscow like so many other young Africans to find a better life. Unfortunately for Jacob it was a hard road that few people will ever walk. However it is here in Moscow where Jacob found His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jacob over the last 8 years has helped many Africans, not just fellow Cameroonians, with visas, support, food, lodging, and in many other ways. Jacob worked with me on sending many Africans that found themselves over their head here in Moscow, back home to Africa. I often would suggest to Jacob about returning home but optimism would always get the best of him and he would endure to the next trial. I cannot tell you the times Jacob has been assaulted, harassed and discriminated, but he would always rise to the top and move on. Jacob had an uncanny way establishing friendship with various police men. Jacob would amazingly earn their respect and would have an opportunity to give them a Bible. Over the last two months Jacobs’s heath had been deteriorating. Several days ago I met him (at the same Hospital I visited him 7 years ago), and prayed and anointed him with oil. Jacob could hardly speak and was very tired. For more than two weeks he had a hard time breathing and was getting almost no sleep. Jacob told me he was tired and he wanted to go home to Cameroon. To make matters worse, Jacobs’s father had died two weeks earlier. Jacob was grieved for his Dad, he told me his Dad loved him very much. Every hospital that I visited Jacob in the last month (which was 3) everybody knew who he was from the nurses to the patients. I would bring along bibles and other pamphlets about the Good News of Jesus Christ and Jacob would give them to his fellow patients. The last time I met with Jacob he told me of the young Russian man in the bed next to him. Jacob told me that he had taken a liking to Jacob and helped him in and out of bed. Jacob had become so weak that he could not even lift himself in and out of bed. Jacob told me that the young man was very attentive to all his needs. I met Jacobs’s new friend and shook his hand, I noticed his arms were almost completely covered with colorful tattoos. I commented that they were beautiful and he allowed me to inspect them. It was evident that this young man had had a tough life, and the tattoos gave testimony of his prison life. But yet he had a huge smile and you could tell he loved helping Jacob out. One thing that struck me about this young man was not his tattoos, or even his big smile, or the fact that he would get out of his bed and help Jacob get back into his bed after relieving himself, what struck me about this young man that had a hard life written all over his face was that he had no legs. But that did not stop him from serving his fellow brother that was born in a different country, and had a different shade of skin. God has some very incredible children He has created and I‘m awed at times by the character I see displayed in lives of people who know what tribulations and poverty are all about. Jesus wrote to 7 literal churches in the book of Revelation telling the churches what He liked and what He did not like in His churches. As Jesus spoke to the church in Smyrna, Revelation 2:8 He said “ I know your works, tribulations, and poverty but you are rich. Jesus did not have one bad thing to say to the church of Smyrna. He was not ashamed of them, and did not rebuke them for their wretched condition, say they lacked faith. Jesus did not give them a quick solution to get out of their tribulations and poverty. He only told them that they could expect more, and “to be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life.” Jesus seemed to be very comfortable with the church of Smyrna, and all their trials, persecutions, and poverties. Jesus said Himself in John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." One thing Jacob has never been able to do is clap his hands to the Lord. Sometimes during worship I will glance over at Jacob, and knew that he could never clap his hands and praise the Lord, and I know he would if he could have. You see Jacob as some of you know was missing an arm. It was severed in an accident as a small child. But today December 7 2006 Jacob was able for the first time to clap and raise both his hands before the Lord. Romans 8:11 "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you." 2Corinthians 5:8 "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Please pray for the service for Jacob, Jacob was well known in the African community here in Moscow. Many of the guys and gals do not know the Lord, that God would get all the Glory.

Also in the photo is Dr. Tom, I could spend the same amount of time talking about Tom and how he has been a great help to the helpless here in Moscow. He is in the hospital awaiting a much needed hip replacement surgery. Please pray all will go well and Dr. Tom will be restored to active duty.

“Ruskie Stoal” means Russian table

“Ruskie Stoal” means( Russian table), and that is what me and the guys had tonight after our prayer and worship night. (DISCLAIMER: WE DON'T EAT LIKE THIS EVERY NIGHT) First we will talk about the Ruskie Stoal ( Russian Table) and the food for the physical body. The center piece was a nice flat fish, (and I mean flat, like you know 18 wheeler tire ran over flat) that is called Zabrie, and it has been Kapchornized (smoked). Astarowsna apasna koste (be careful dangerous bones!!) Then you will notice a nice bowl of chessnook, no not a place where you play chess but (garlic). Chessnook is good to eat with each bite of Kapchornie Reba (smoked fish). Also we had (see photo)Tavork which is a solid block of (cottage cheese) but much better tasting. Tavork is like cottage cheese on steroids. The Banka (jar) you see is Smaroadnaya ( currant jam) yum yum!!! (yum yum!!!) And let’s not forget the Krooglie Belly Haaleb (round white bread)with a stakanchik(glass) of Moloko (milk). Also we had two types of Kalbassa, Kalbassa without Salla, and Kalbassa with Salla (baloney with and without fat.) Hey its winter and we need as much fat as we can get!!! But we shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

Now about the prayer and worship meeting. Every Friday we gather for worship and prayer, we usually do 5 to 6 worship songs and then have corporate prayer then the men and the women pray in groups. But tonight we never made it past worship and it was a beautiful time with prayers of thanks giving. It was wonderful, as tonight we remembered our first love, and what He means to us. I am so thankful that it is His church and that He loves it and looks after it. Spakoynanoche!! (Have a peaceful night) Cbogim ( God Bless) Дин (dean)

believe it or not!!!

Greetings everyone, believe it or not practically all the snow has melted. global warning? Even so called global warming will not keep the snow away from Moscow. I am one of the few people I know that is looking forward to snow. Snow to me is still a wonder, living in California my entire life, those few times in my life when it did snow (a quarter of an inch) were unforgettable. So I anxiously wait for that white stuff to fall from the sky.

Prayer retreat. On November 5-7 we had our prayer retreat and believe it or not praying was the focus. Starting from 10:00 pm on Sunday night to 4:00pm Tuesday afternoon we had the opportunity to pray continuously. Everyone picked their hour or hours (even the kids) to pray so we all had our alarm clocks ready to go. Rumantsevo the camp that we stayed at is about an hour plus ride out of Moscow. It is located where nothing at all resembles the monster city we live in. It is a place where the busy pace of Moscow is left behind, where the air is fresh, and the sounds of a big city are not to be found. It is interesting in the book of Exodus that Moses found a place out side the populated camp of a million plus Jews to go and seek the Lord at a great time of sin among the children of Israel.

Ex 33:7 Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the LORD went out to the tabernacle of meeting which was outside the camp.

I found for myself and I know for others, getting out of the city where our only focus was on the Lord was very beneficial. Through out the two days we had simple teachings on prayer which was good and well, but the great lesson of the power of prayer was in just making a step to pray for an extended period of time. For some an hour at a time, others 3 hours at a time. Just praying teaches us so much about prayer. Natasha as always, organized the retreat and made it very special with many little touches that were a blessing, and honored the Lord.

Please continue to pray for the Lord’s perfect will in our next move to a more permanent place which we can use 24/7 if we like. Pray for Dr. Tom as he now has entered the hospital for a much needed hip replacement surgery. Dr. Tom as some of you know has been a great help to many homeless men and women who need medical assistance. Tom being from Gambia, is well know in his region for his service to the forgotten. Please pray for Sveta a precious sister in the Lord (see the June prayer retreat on the blog regarding her) she is suffering from the cancer, she is a great woman of faith and needs a miracle. Her mother is a Muslim and God will get the glory from all that Sveta has suffered. God Bless, dean

I'm back and ready for SNOW!!!

This was my last night in Modesto, My good friends Troy and Sheila, with Logan and Beau, and of course my sweet Sis and my brother in law Bradley, by the way Shiela and Bradley are brother and sister as well

Hello everyone, it has been a little over a week since I returned to Moscow from my 6 week stay Modesto. It did not take me long to get back into the swing of things, after being awake for almost 2 days. I was greeted at the Airport by Shasha, Yuri, and Natasha who whisked me away right to the Friday night prayer meeting. For you who travel this is a great recipe for avoiding jet-lag." We are still meeting in the Hotel Sokol and will be there at least until the end of November. We are looking for a new place as most of you know. I believe it’s time to have a place where we can meet at any time. Right now we have run out of room at the hotel but it is very nice and we have a great opportunity to be a witness to the workers and the guests.

Staring on Sunday afternoon about 20 of us will be going out side Moscow to the Baptist camp to have 3 days of prayer. Some of you may remember we did the same 3 days of prayer in the summer. ( see blog ) We will start around the clock prayer at 9:00 pm on Sunday night and continue until 4:00pm on Tuesday. The theme is going to be James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning”.

On our Sunday service we had a new addition to our church. We were able to use our new digital projector for the songs during the worship service. This wonderful and totally unexpected gift is such a great blessing to our church. Now all are able to see the words of each worship song clearly on the wall even if the sun light is coming through the window, a problem we usually had with our old style overhead. Thank you Kevin and Herta!!!! ( see photo of them)

There is so much thanks to give out for making my time home such a memorable time. I’m a hopelessly spoiled missionary by my home church CC Modesto. My Sis and her husband Bradley are part to blame. Special thanks to Franz and Jonathan, who went out of the way to load me up with a year of CD of various teachings, and my favorite Pastor D. Thank you all at CC Modesto, you all are a wonderful role model for me.

Please continue to pray for God's perfect will in seeking a new location. Pray for Dr.Tom who desperately needs a hip operation. He has been waiting for an opportunity for over a year and it looks like it will be soon. Pray for Losha who returned to the street life. Pray for the guys in my flat, that their lives would bring glory to God. And for the prayer reteat, that we would all come away for it with a greater love for prayer. God Bless you,dean

And yes we have had our first SNOW!!!!!

The fallen leaves…

These are my favorite colors of the Autumn in Moscow.
"HE has made everything beautiful in its time..."

Please, pray!

Please pray for Joanie and her son Matthew, who is in a very serious condition in a hospital right now. You can read their story here.

Divine appointment

Tonight after our Bible study, I stopped by a store to get some groceries. As I walked around looking for things, a lady came up to me quickly and asked for a mirror. A mirror??? In a store??? Why would somebody need a mirror in a grocery store??? Well of course there’ can be many reasons why, and especially for a woman, but I could not think of any. I guess, I looked so puzzled that the lady said, “I need to look in a mirror, because I’ve returned to the store after I already bought things and to return means bad luck.” She asked me again if I had even a small mirror, then realizing that I cannot be of any help for her she walked away mumbling, “It is a bad luck, I need a mirror.”
I’ve met superstitious people before and it’s very common here to spit three times over left shoulder if a black cat walked across the path or if a person whistles to let him know that he will whistle all his money out (Dean got in trouble with this one). Or not to give even amount of flowers, because it means death or something, and so on and so forth.
Today, however I’ve realized how bad it can get, so bad that it becomes bondage to a person who believes all that stuff. I felt really sorry for this lady and I immediately remembered that I have a copy of “Living water” with me, which was in my handbag for a longest time and a few times I wanted to give it away, but it never happened . I knew I had to give it to this lady. She already went trough the cashier and as she was exiting the store, I held out the booklet to her with the words “This is better than a mirror.”
To be honest I was a little afraid of the reaction, because last time a tried to do the same thing and give the booklet to a man who was asking for money, he yelled at me “Are you from a sect, I do not need this kind of stuff, go away!!!”
So the lady took the booklet and I was about to walk away and continue my shopping when she asked me for my phone number. I was blown away, she was so open. I asked for hers too and told her that I will pray for her. So would you please join me in prayer for this lady, her name is Ludmila and she is in a desperate situation. She told me about her son who is a hard drinker, demanding money from his mother. Ludmila said that last time when she did not give it to him; he tried to commit suicide by cutting his veins, So please pray for him too and also that the Lord would help me and use me in this. Thank you and may He bless your today. Natasha

Mission trip to America

Hello everyone from sunny California (sorry my beloved Moscowvites). After staying up for about 50 hours I arrived in San Francisco at 10:00 in the evening of the same day I took off from Moscow. I gained one day!!! Today I just got back from the Northern and Central California's pastors conference which was for 3 days at the beautiful retreat center Mt. Herman. No not in Israel but in the Santa Cruz Mountains here in Northern California. It was amazing that I ran into so many people that I had met in Moscow over the last 7 years that had taken short term missionary trips. Jeff, and Rich from CC Grass Valley who came on the trip when Pastor Chuck Smith visited Moscow 3 years ago. Terry and his wife, Dave Johnston who is now pastor of CC Santa Cruz, Manny, Matt who is now a Pastor, all who came to Moscow with CC San Jose 6 years ago. Dan who is from CC Weed California who came to the Russian Men's Conference 2 years ago. Mark Piester, who stays with Dale when he does his winter and summer youth camps here in Russia. Mark came with his Pastor who was here and did outreach in Tver (Russia) with his band. He is the Pastor of CC Marrow Bay. Rob Nash who is a friend of Russia, and who has been here many times. I'm going to visit him in Southern California. The teaching was awesome and it was a great encouragement for me personally. My home church CC Modesto organized the conference and Jeff and Franz did a great job. CC Modesto also did all the worship and it was wonderful. And as always I had a great time with my pastor!! It was so encouraging to see so many of the people that have come to visit us in Moscow are serving the Lord. I have many opportunities to share what the Lord is doing in our church. So many people are interested in what is going on here in Russia. So many people are praying for our fellowship, it is so encouraging. Friday I will be speaking to the singles at our church. I may have a few words to speak about the single life, its one of the few areas that I have had the most experience in. Hope to see many of you that may read our blog site while I'm home. God Bless you, dean

New address and our life in a new place

Just want to give you our new address, in case you want to visit us. It is metro Sokol (still:-) Chapaievskiy pereulok, 12, second floor, room 141 and in Russian it is Чапаевский переулок, дом 12, 2 этаж, комната 141. Our new place is right across the largest apartment building in Europe “Triumph palace”. Here is the picture so you just get an idea.

Monday
On early Monday morning, Dean flew to the States, so now all of you who read this blog from that side of the world, California in particular, have a pleasure to meet Dean and fellowship with him for the next month and a half. That’s fine, we’ll try not be jealous, I mean, we really really have to try, but we’ll not be jealous!!!!:-[
Monday night Dale begun teaching on the book of Psalms and it was an incredible encouragement to those who was able to come.
Tuesday
On Tuesday, we sent off our missionary to Washington D.C., Olga. She is going to be working there at least until January. The beginning of her move was a bit rough; as she was going through the customs; her luggage was checked to and fro, then she had to take some things out because one of her suitcases was overweight and she was unable to pay for it since there was not much time left before the departure. After all, her stuff got lost somewhere between New York and Dallas. She is a little discouraged right now, so, please pray for Olga as she is trying to adapt to a new place and to find and plug in to a new church that solidly teaches the Word.

Wednesday
This Wednesday we had a worship night and it turned out to be a beautiful evening. It was so sweet just to worship the Lord together and quiet our hearts before Him. Vova shared a little from Psalm 31 (32 in English) and we took a few moments to pray. I am really looking forward to what the Lord is going to do through these services.
Please keep us in prayer as we continue to follow our great Shepherd, Jesus.
God bless you! Natasha

Latest news

Hello everyone, greetings from Moscow. Tomorrow is the 859 birthday of Moscow old.We have had rain all week but the mayor has promised to seed the clouds and chase them away as there will be an amazing 2,000 concerts going on throught the city.Well it has been almost a month since we were asked to leave our 11 year church location. But last week we found a hall in a hotel close to where we were meeting.We had our first Sunday service there last Sunday and it was a wonderful time. It is a little small for our needs but it is a peaceful place and the management have welcomed us. It is interesting that the Hotel is owned by the army. We are able to use the hall 4 times a week and so we will be returning to our regular schedule. I'm so thankful the Lord opened up the opportunity so quickly to find a new location especially as I'm retuning for 6 weeks to California. It will make my trip a lot more enjoyable knowing we have a place to worship. During the last of our Sunday outdoor services in the park, which would have been two weeks ago, I was a bit discouraged. It looked like it was going to rain any minute. The best place in the park to have the service had 2 men that were drinking and were under that influence. We could hardly chase them off. I still remember that popular acronym WWJD. But one by one people begun to show up. Yuri was at our old location directing people to the park. One man called me on my cell phone trying to find us in the park. He and his family had gone to the old location and were directed to the park. As I went out to the street to meet them it was a great surprise to find it was Ilya and Zalina former worship leaders at the church of Sokol. They had moved to the USA before I moved to Russia. It was such a timely visit as they joined our outdoor service and did worship for our communion service. The Lord encouraged me so much that day, He turned the circumstances completely around and we did not get one drop of rain. God did the cloud seeding that day and gave us a great service.

We are settled for the moment and it will give us time to find a location where we can better serve our community. A place where we can have the church open 7 days a week. Almost every building has a basement, they are huge and most have natural light and they even have kitchen. Please pray for the Lord's guidance.

On Monday I will be traveling home, and I look forward to seeing many of you once again. Please pray for Natasha, Vova, and all those that will serve in my absence. The Lord is doing a wonderful thing in our fellowship. God Bless and see most of you soon!! dean "The Lord has done great things!!!"

Missions Conference

Thanks very much to all of you who prayed for my Austrian visa. This year was unlike any year before, I had to go to the embassy 5 times and each time to be there for nearly 2 hours, but it is all in the past now and I already went to the conference and got back two days ago. I had some time in Munich where I went on a free tour around the city and enjoyed great weather (for pictures-click here). Then the next day, I took a train to Spittal where the conference was taking place. Brian Brodersen, Bil Gallatin, Ray Bentley and Samy Tanagho were speaking this time and as always, it was good teaching. Men & women’s session had a little different setting this year – we got together in small groups and had prayer and a time of sharing and encouragement. I liked that very much, because this way we were able to meet more people and to get to know each other better, ministering to each other in more personal way. Also the Lord has really blessed me by fellowship with my friends from Nice, France and it was a special treat to see them again.
Truly, it was blessed and fruitful time. The Lord answered many of my prayers even while I was there. I just love times like this, when my soul can rest in Him and can be quiet before Him and I get a little glimpse of Heaven as we worship, fellowship, enjoy Him and each other every day for a whole week. I cannot wait for the day to come when we will have not just a week, but eternity. Until then, let’s continue serving Him and others faithfully, wherever He’s called us to be.
God bless you! Natasha

Trip to St. Pete & more

Hello everyone, as most of you know last week on Sunday the church ended 11 years of meeting at the same location. I will talk a little more about that later.

Last week some of the servants in the church had the opportunity to attend the first Calvary Chapel conference in St. Petersburg. It was timely and it was a great encouragement for all of us. The teaching was right on as usual for a CC conference. Pastor Ken Ortize of CC Spokane, Lloyd Pulley Old Bridge New Jersey, and Gale Erwin taught over the 3 day conference. I had the greatest birthday party: I got to see Gale live and in action, we got to take a boat ride down the canals of St Pete (The Venice of the north) and had so many friends that I have made the acquaintance in the last 7 years in Russia. For more pictures of St. Pete trip click here.

Today we had our first service without a building as we met in the park across the street from the church.The Lord gave us acceptable weather, as it looked as if it could have rained a few times. We had a perfect time as we worshiped the Lord, and partook of communion today. Lord willing we will have a place to meet next Sunday, if not we will meet once again in the park.

Pray for Natasha as she is going for her Visa on Monday, so she can fly to the CC European leadership conference in Austria. God Bless, dean

...no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly

Greetings from Moscow, today was like any other Sunday, I was up early preparing for the lesson in the Book of Mathew 18:15. I ironed my shirt, at which I’m almost as good as my Mom, grabbed the piano, Losha followed with the guitar, Yuri went to get grape juice for communion today, and Roma went to the store to buy all the things needed to make sandwiches after the service. On the way to the church which about a 10 minute walk, I met my neighbor Luba she is about 75 and she told me she is having trouble with her eyes and not able to read the LARGE PRINT Bible I bought her. Today our plan was to go to the park after the service, but we received an unusual (almost) 24 hour rain. Upon arriving at the college we met Jacob, Olga and Natasha. The guard usually comes and opens the door for us but today we were greeted by Sasha. Sasha is the one we have been praying for, for a long time and he is the boss of the security guards. Sasha usually has a dry humor and so today he told us that we were no longer able to meet at the college. We are thinking that Sasha is joking and we are waiting to see him laugh but he is not laughing and continues to tell us the new director said to tell the church they are done. One by one the church began arriving only to hear there was not going to be a service today and that we need to find a new place to meet. I can tell you I have perfect peace about this. We were told one month ago by the administrator of the hall we rent ( Rufic and Nellie the husband and wife that we have a great relationship with) that current director was fired and a new director was coming. We knew at that time that our time at the college might be over. But Rufic felt confident that all would be ok after he talked to the new director. So Natasha and I were not totally shocked. We have so much to be thankful for. The church has been at the college for more than 10 years, without really any inconvenience. I know some churches have had to move many times, and don’t have the space that we have had. We have nothing to complain about, God has been so faithful to our fellowship. We are confident that God is moving us in a different direction. We have prayed off and on over the last 7 years that we might find a different location but it was just not God’s will. The church building had many positives, but it also had some negatives. We would like to find a place where we can use it 7 days a week. And that our time would not be limited. We are on the 5th floor without a lift and it has been difficult for people who may not have the best health. If a street person would like to visit the church they are not allowed in the building because it is a school. We would like to reach more out to the displaced people in our area whom we have an abundance of. Please pray for us to find a location easy to reach with public transportation, most of our members do not have cars, including myself. Pray for a place where we can meet as often as we want. And pray that it is in our region. It is not easy finding places in Moscow, one of the most expense cities in the world. But God is in control and it is His fellowship. He has shown Himself so faith to our fellowship, answering so many of our prayers.

Friday Dale was finally able to take his daughter Dasha to America. It was a miracle of events, but the church has faithfully prayed for the situation and today Dasha is visiting her other family in Minnesota with Dale. Please pray for the 8 of us that will be traveling to St. Petersburg tomorrow night on the train to attend the first CC St. Petersburg leadership conference. Gayle Erwin is going to be one of the guest speakers. Since we had all ready made plans to go with all the tickets bought I felt that we must go, and that the Lord is going to work out our new location. We have many people that have ideas about where we might be able to rent. Next week we are going to meet in the park across the street from the church for our Sunday service. If you’re in the area please stop by we will have church in the park. God is faithful to the church He gave His life for, and so we rest in that. God bless you all who love and pray for CCSokol we love all of you also!!! dean

bringing Life to Big City life

Greetings everyone from one of the world's most expensive cities to live, Moscow. Where you will not see more Mercedes Benz this side of Stuttgart Germany. You won’t see more luxury sky rise apartment under construction anywhere. You won’t see more shopping malls this side of southern California, or this side of the world. There are over 170 metro subway stations in Moscow and they are determined to build monster sized malls at almost every stop. Moscow is a fast city moving faster. Why am I telling you all of this? Because I have not written in a while and I needed something to write about. Really, Moscow is a great city to be a Christian, there are so many great ministry opportunities here. Everything has been going fine with the church. I had to leave the country at the 6th month mark two weeks ago. It is required by law that foreigners leave the county every 6 months and get a new immigration card. I’m thankful to the Russian government for this law because it gives me an opportunity to take a short excursion across the border. I traveled with Dale, another missionary (many of you know him) to the city of Kiev in the Ukraine. It was the first time I had been there, and found it to be a beautiful city, or should I say village, only 3 million people, compared with Moscow upwards of 14 million. It was interesting to see how they are doing and it seems they are moving along well. We were able to see the tent city in the center of town as they await the outcome of the future government. I must say they are well organized and the camp was very orderly. Calvary Chapel has a very healthy church in Kiev and has planted numerous churches in Ukraine. The Ukrainian language is very similar to Russian and so it was easy to move around in the city. Oh, by the way that is where Chicken Kiev came from and yes, we tried it. The prices on food and transportation, and housing were delightfully less than in Moscow.

I just finished the Ken Ham “Answers in Genesis” on C.D. that took place at my home church CC Modesto. Perhaps we will do a mini one and a half day Answers in Genesis type of meeting. It is as much for the believer as it is for the non-believer.

God has been so good to His church here in Sokol. We have seen the Lord answer many of our prayer requests. We will be planning another prayer retreat for November.

Please pray for Chas, He is the young man from Africa. He lost one lung to T.B. and the other lung is healing very slowly. The doctor told him that he can not continue to take the medication for the T.B. because it is affecting his heart and liver. Chas needs a miracle. Only God can bring him through this. Chas really should have died according to him while he was in prison. Out of all the men that were in the prison T.B. hospital, Chas is the only one that survived. I believe God has a great plan for Chas. Also pray for Dr. Tom, many of you know him, and we have worked together for about 7 years. Tom needs to have hip replacement surgery. Tom is in a lot of pain but he will never let you know. He has been seeking an operation for about one year.

Update on Geno, I am able to talk with him once a week, and he is doing great under the circumstances. God is using him, and his prison church is growing. Please, if you remember, pray for Geno and the work God has called him to in the prison.

Look forward to meeting with some of you in September when I come home visit. God Bless you and what God is doing in your life. dean

Prayer list update

If you would like to pray for our church, here is our prayer list.
God bless you!
Natasha
P.S. You can enlarge the prayer list by clicking on the picture.

The Lord has completed the work

On Saturday, in the afternoon, the Lord moved Olga’s mom, Nina from her earthly tent to His heavenly home. She left this earth peacefully and quietly while her daughter was right there by her side. And as the Lord gives to a body the breath of life, so He takes it back to Himself to be with Him forever. When Olga saw that her mom had gone home, she experienced great peace and wonder at the same time.
As I was on my way to meet Olga and Dale (who came to Olga’s house to help and support her), my heart and mind were in confusion, I could not really understand why, but the Lord gave me comfort through His Word as I read Psalm 116, which gave me an assurance in Nina’s salvation.
“I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
The pains of death surrounded me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold of me; I found trouble and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O Lord, I implore You, deliver my soul!”
Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yes, our God is merciful.
The Lord preserves the simple; I was brought low, and He saved me.
Return to your rest, O my soul, for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.
For You have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
I believed, therefore I spoke, “I am greatly afflicted.”
I said in my haste, all men are liars.”
What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?
I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.
O Lord, truly I am Your servant; the son of Your maidservant; You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people,
In the courts of the Lord’s house, in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!”

I want to tell you a little about Nina and the way the Lord has touched my life through her. For the last 20 years of her life, she was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis. There is no explanation to what causes this illness and from what I’ve learned and have seen in the hospitals it can appear at any time and then slowly destroy the body, afflicting person by a great pain, making crippled to the point that it is impossible to hold things or perform simple tasks. Person looses a lot of weight and muscles and bones become very weak. When I first met Nina, which was in the begging of May she was in the condition that I’ve just described and in addition to that her leg was broken. As we got to know each other a little bit I found out that in spite of this condition she had a unique sense of humor and also that before her hospitalization she was fully taking care of her self. She had a very sweet smile and beautiful bright blue eyes. She had very much life in her and as I mentioned before she was open to what we were telling her about the Lord. Nina also was telling me about her life and I was just amazed how in such a weak body can live such an unbroken spirit. As I thought of Nina’s life and all of her suffering, I suddenly realized that all of it was used by the Lord to bring her life on this earth into completion and these last months of her life were the finalization of His work. He did as He has purposed – to save Nina’s soul it took 20 years of pain and suffering and 2 and a half months of complete disability, that her unbroken spirit would be tamed by the great LOVE of her MAKER, that she would put her TRUST in HIM.

The previous time I was asking you to pray for Nina, she was still in a hospital, but on July 5th the hospital was closing for a remodel, she was moved and for her last 10 days stayed in Olga’s apartment.
Dean and I were able to come and visit Nina more often. My last visit was on Thursday and it was a difficult time, but before I left that evening both Olga and I prayed for Nina out loud and then Nina and I said “Good bye” to each other, it was quiet and a little sad. On Friday, Dean was there and before he left he told Nina “Olga loves you, Natasha loves you and I love you too!” Olga told me that that same evening when she came home, her mom and she had a good time together talking and than Olga said, “Mom, you need to receive Jesus in to your heart.” Nina kept quite, but then said “I know, Dean also told me that God loves me.” Olga prayed for her.
This reminded me today of a song: “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so….Yes, Jesus loves me!...”
The night followed, at 4am Olga felt prompted to pray for her mom by her bedside, some time after Nina went to be with the Lord.

Through this time, the Lord was teaching all of us and for me it was a great lesson on the power of FORGIVENESS and the deadly poison of unforgivenss, which can ruin many people’s lives. I have also learned to appreciate and to enjoy more the simple things that the Lord blesses us with, such as beautiful blue sky, or a thunderstorm, green trees and white clouds, flowers or just an ability to walk on a soft silky grass. These first things always caused Nina’s amazement and excitement, but the last – was her great desire, which I believe now is fulfilled. Praise the LORD!!!

I want to ask you to pray now for Olga’s brothers. We would like to invite them to a memorial service, which is planned for the 30th of July. So, please, pray that the Lord would give them a desire to come and use that time in their lives so they would come to Him.

Thank you for being with us in prayer through this time.
Natasha

God's small world

Hi everyone, sorry it’s been a while since the last update. IT”S SUMMER time in the big city and for someone who is from California it has been great. Vova who is our worship leader is up in the far north of Russia with a team from south California. A Few of the team members visited on a Sunday. It was interesting to find out that one of the girls on the team was from Hughson. Kristen Ensley I believe was her maiden name. Her parents are now living in Turlock. God’s small world, getting even smaller.

Next week I have to leave the country. Every 6 months I have to leave Russia. It is just a matter of crossing the boarder and then returning. It looks like I will be going to Kiev Ukraine which is an over night train.

Please pray for Charles, I spoken about him in the past, he is the young man from Ghana that has lost one lung to T.B. It is a miracle that he is alive. But now things are complicated, by receiving so much medicine for his T.B. his kidneys are now in jeopardy. Charles has drawn closer to the Lord during these last 5 months. I believe God has a great plan for Charles.

It appears Lord willing that I will be coming home on Sept. 5 and will be in the states for 5 weeks. I’m looking forward to fellowship with my, family and friends, God Bless, dean

Multipurpose missionary’s service or counting my blessings

Today I came to church at 11:00am and we did a quick 15-minute set up before the service. Since our worship leader Vova went to Tver’ for an outreach, Dean asked me to fill in on the worship team today. So before Marina (our keyboard player and singer) came, I was doing sound check for two mics and a keyboard all by myself. I am not omnipresent or omnipotent like our Lord, but somehow He helped me to accomplish this task and I even enjoyed singing into the microphone today, which usually is a big struggle for me, because I am a little afraid of them. For me the worship was beautiful today and I hope for everyone else at the church too. When the service begun I remembered that our two wonderful Sunday school teachers went to Tver’ (where they are both from) for an outreach. So, after worship I ran into our Sunday school room and found 5 kids waiting for me there. One of them was Katia, who speaks Russian and who came with her little sister Tessa, who does not speak any language yet. Another one was little Jessica, who is from Brazil, but knows quite a bit of Russian. Still one more girl Diana, who came to the church the second time and spoke English, even though her mom is Russian. And lastly Patrick, who spoke only English with some incredible pronunciation. So, what could I do with this amazing bunch of kids by myself? I thought that it is always great to share the Great News, so I got out colored bits and began to tell them about it both in English and in Russian. Soon I switched to English, because I’ve realized that Diana and Patrick were not familiar with the story. Both Katia and Jessica were very patient with me and just listened and tried to understand what I was saying. Closer to the end of the Great News story Patrick began to ask me a lot of questions and I tried to answer as soon as I was able to understand what he was saying (remember? the incredible pronunciation :-) We came very close to the most important question of salvation and also to the most important decision making…but…the time was up and I had to finish and go back to the main hall. Before I left, Katia was begging me to tell her what I was talking about. I am glad that I was able to keep my promise and she was very excited to take the little bit cross with her and also to tell me that she could understand some English.
After the service and fellowship, we had men and women’s Bible studies. I was sharing about faithfulness: Lord’s faithfulness and ours as well. We usually have only Russian ladies come, but today Sarah came and she does not understand very much of Russian, so I tried to translate the main points for her. I think the study went well:-).
As I reflect upon this day I just want to stop and praise the Lord for all the blessings He blessed me with today.

I did not really want to share about this day at first, because I did not want to sound as if I am boasting. However, it is just dawned on me; the Lord was faithfully answering those prayers that you faithfully bring before Him on our behalf. So, it is a praise report. And also He was showing me His faithfulness as I was trying to be faithful in these many little tasks He has given me for this day. He is so wonderful!!! He is our Faithful God and I am thanking Him for His wonderful faithfulness and also I want to thank you for being faithful in prayer. Natasha

P.S. Please, pray for Diana and Patrick, that their hearts would be open for the Lord and that they would make the most important decision in life.

Please, pray!

Once again, I would like to ask you to please, continue to pray for Olga’s mom Nina. Dean and I went to the hospital today (we’ve been doing it every Thursday) and it was a difficult visit for various reasons. However, one thing I know: the Lord is working and His work is powerful, but it appears that a real spiritual battle is going on right now, the wicked one does not want to lose his positions and he tries really hard to sow disappointment, discouragement and distrust. Nevertheless, I believe that he will no get his way, because the Lord hears our prayers, He is in control of all things, and He will get the glory. Please, specifically pray for our Thursday visit, I might go to the hospital on Monday as well. Pray for Olga and strength for her: physical and even more spiritual, that she would continually keep her eyes on the Lord, for the Lord’s comfort both for her and her mom, also patience for both of them. That Nina would give her life to the Lord and trust Him with everything.
Thank you very much! Natasha

Familiar faces

You never know who will drop in on ya on a Sunday service here at CCSokol. These two are not strangers to Big Moscow. Alisa and Michelle both out here in Moscow for the three month intern program, Alisa and her family planted CC Tushino almost 5 years ago and Alisa knows her way around the language very nicely. Michelle was here last year with the team from CC Modesto. It was nice to see her always smiling face again.

On the way back

It’s just so happened that Dean, Sergey and I missed the train that everyone else took, however I had my special agent there and she took some pictures for me, which indicate that fellowship continued :-)
I also have some more pictures here for you too look at…
God bless! Natasha

3 DAYS OF PRAYER

The preparation
As we were planning the retreat I was constantly reminded by the Lord, that prior to such event will be a spiritual battle going on and there was. But the greatest thing is that every time discouragement and desire to give up would come, I knew I should go on and trust the Lord, knowing that everything will be wonderful at the end. He is Faithful and He made it wonderful.

P.S. Shopping was quite serious event too :-)



On our way
As we were preparing to leave after church to go to the camp site in Moscow region the dark clouds hid the blue sky and pretty heavy rain started, but before we left for the bus Dean encouraged us not to be surprised, but trust the Lord. We prayed for the good weather, because all of our sessions were supposed to be outside. The Lord answered and for me it was a special blessing to know that this event was His doing from the very beginning. (Look at the “3 days of prayer weathercast” here)

As we got on the bus, I asked people to start signing up for the 24-hour prayer. The schedule looked kind of blank scary, but by the time we arrived it was filled up completely.
On the way, I was thinking how to arrange the prayer room, because when we came to look at the facility the first time, the room, which we were going to use, looked more like an office with desks & chares, not very comfortable. BUT …now … as I walked in, I could not believe my eyes, the room was totally transformed, it looked just like I imagined it should look: quiet hideaway.
During the whole time, I had constant awareness that the Lord is everywhere ahead of me, I just followed, without even thinking about details, things were falling into their places and it was another special blessing for me, because there was no stress, no tiredness, but wonderful time of fellowship with Him and with the others. He also blessed me with a great helper, Marina, who served in many ways.

The start
As Dean mentioned the 24-hour prayer began at 10pm on Sunday and from this point on the room was never empty, at times there were even much more people than signed up. You had to see our kids: they were faithfully coming for their hour of prayer whether at 11:00am, or midnight, or even at 2:00am and sometimes they would stay longer. There are many testimonies that I will write about too.

Our time together
As the 24-hour prayer was going, the rest of us gathered for times of worship and teaching, we also set a time for personal communion with the Lord.

Since we had kids and they are always ready for fun, so we had fun and adults joined them gladly. (Special video report & pictures from pastor’s room:-)

Monday evening we had a special SHashLiK dinner and great fellowship time (mosquitoes were very excited about our coming and gathered together around our bonfire :-) Dean is a professional ShashLik maker:-) so we had incredibly delicious dinner prepared by our pastor.

We also had a time of fellowship and worship.

The Lord’s doing
There is no doubt about that the time when we come into the Lord’s presence is the most valuable for our lives. This is where we find peace, joy, comfort as He touches our hearts by His Spirit. So it was for every person who would come to the prayer room and open up his or her heart before Him in quietness. Those who were weary and tired form the cares of life, received renewal and refreshment. Those who were embittered by circumstances, softened under gentle touch of the Lord. Those who were looking for answers found them. Those who just wanted to talk to Him and spend more time with Him received this opportunity.
However, most of us still wanted more time :-), because every full hour seemed like 30 minutes or even less. It never was too long it always was too short.

Testimonies
Marina shared that the first night she had a little plan in her mind and decided what she will be doing. Her time was at 4 am and she thought that she would read, take a shower and go to bed before the early rise. She even thought of what she was going to pray about. However, the Lord had a different plan. As Marina was trying to go to sleep as her flesh demanded rest, her spirit was awake and she decided to yield and to go pray. Soon she realized that the Lord was leading her in a different direction and she prayed for the people that she did not really think of before. It was the most amazing time and even thought Marina did not get any sleep, she did not feel even a little tired or drowsy. She was overjoyed being able to fellowship with the Lord over extended period of time, and to receive a special blessing communing with Him.

Ira said that before this retreat she was tired and felt that she is being consumed by the cares and worries of life. Her “wings” were pulled down (it is a Russian idiom) and she was under much pressure. This time of prayer helped her to renew strength and leave the heaviness in His hands, so, she can fly again :-).

Jacob shared that he had experienced a beautiful time with the Lord, even though he had different opportunities before to participate in various prayer meetings this setting was much different. His attitude toward prayer was changed, because while he was bringing his requests before the Lord, the Lord gave him a verse from 1 Samuel 23:4 when “David enquired of the Lord…and the Lord answered…” . For Jacob it became so much simpler to come to the Lord with confidence knowing that the Lord answers.
When Jacob came back to Moscow, his roommate told him that two of his friends that Jacob was praying for at the retreat were kidnapped and tortured. Jacob’s response to his roommate was “Do not worry. Let’s pray!” The next day his friends were released. Praise the Lord!!!

Denis expressed his experience in a simple phrase, but with a meaningful intonation “It was woooooooonderful!!!”

I can write much more, but I think most of the testimonies can be summed up by Denis’ statement: “It was woooooooonderful!!!” As for me, I am in agreement with those who say that we should get together for another time like this, so that we grow in our prayer life, draw closer to the Lord and learn more about Him and His character. Until then, my desire is to continue to grow, to draw closer to Him and to learn more about His character in my everyday life.
Praise the Lord for His wonderful work, for this time that we had with Him and with each other, for His listening ear, for His answers that already came, and yet to come, for His many blessings, that He pours out on us. Praise Him and thank Him for His amazing love!!!
And thank you for praying for this retreat. He has answered in an amazing way :-)
May the Lord continue to bless you as you seek His will and follow Him. Natasha

Where the idea came from?

My first week in France (in November 2005), the 24-3 prayer was introduced by Tonio (pastor Pierre’s son) who was putting it together. I did not sign up for it, because I was not too sure (since my understanding of French was very limited and still is :-/), what was required for the participation. The 24-hour prayer began on Sunday evening and continued for three days. I came to church (CC Nice) on Wednesday night and found out that the prayer is still going. Than Nancy, pastor Pierre’s wife asked me if I would like to see the prayer room, I did and she took me upstairs where I ended up staying for 2 hours. First hour I prayed with Delfine, and the most of the second hour I spent by myself just singing aloud praises to the Lord. I was really touched and moved; I loved the time I had spent in that room, it was wonderful experience and a special blessing to be a part of this 24-hour prayer. That same evening the church gathered for worship and some people shared what the Lord did during this special time.I was very excited and eager to share this experience with my church at home. The only problem was, we do not have a place to use for 24-hours and even if we had, Moscow is so huge that it is practically impossible to travel somewhere in the middle of the night, when transportation does not work. Anyway, I thought of it and soon the Lord gave me this vision for the “3 days of prayer” retreat, which just took place to my great joy and excitement.

simple people simply praying

Hello every one, greeting from a rainy evening here in Moscow. I just wanted to give an up date on our first prayer retreat. Natasha will follow with photos and what took place, but I just wanted to share a couple of high lights. First I was rally amazed at the response we had. We had 41 hours of prayer time to fill and every hour time slot was filled up. We started praying at 10:00 on Sunday night and finished on Tuesday at 3:00 pm. The theme that emerged in the teachings was the simplicity of prayer. That there are no great deep, deep theological insights to prayer. That a PHD is not needed, that prayer is simply trusting in our God. The first deep, deep truth about prayer is seen in a small child. A small child asks his mommy and daddy for every thing it has need of. They are quick to ask for all things they need without hesitation. They know that they can call upon mommy or daddy, and they will respond. They don’t think it over, they just simply ask.
The second deep, deep truth is seen in a child’s persistence to ask. Mommy, can I have some candy? No! Mommy, I want some candy. No! Mamaaaa, I want some candy!!! I said, no. Mama, I Really Want Some Candy!!! Ok, here, have some candy.
But then the last deep, deep truth in a believer’s prayer life is seen when mommy or daddy say no! Because a parent knows that there are times when the answer has to be no. Because a parent knows what is good and what is not good for their child, and they love them enough to say no!!
Prayer is simply relying on God for all things, being persistent in our request to Him, and knowing that some times God’s answer is no. The simplicity of our communication with our Heavenly Father could not be any simpler.

One moment that stood out for me personally, came in the closing moments of the retreat as we were waiting for the shuttle bus to take each group to the train station. One woman by the name of Sveta, who came with one of the ladies that attends the fellowship, came up to me and shared her story that she has been battling with cancer. And that the doctors told her that her cancer was incurable. She told me that when she heard the news she rejoiced because she knew then that only Jesus could heal her, that she didn’t have to put her confidence in man but only in the hands of the Savior. I marveled at her response to humanly tragic news. But is it not what it is all about, all the teaching from the Bible leads to one conclusion, simple trust in our God. That as a believer we have been bought by His precious blood and we belong to Him, and Him alone. That what ever happens in the life of a believer, that life is in the hands of our all mighty God. God Bless you, dean

Amazing Grace

Hello everyone, just a quick up date: on Sunday after church we will be boarding a bus that will be taking a group of us an hour and a half outside of the Big city to the beautiful forest. There we will be having our first prayer retreat. It will be from Sunday night to Tuesday night and our plan is to have continual pray during the retreat. Please pray as we as a church seek the Lord. That the Lord would fill and refill us with His Holy Spirit.

Also Geno sent me this picture of his first 2 disciples in the prison, the picture tells it better than I can. God is doing a wonder thing in that prison camp. Geno’s first disciple is Sergey on the right and Dima on the left. Please pray for the work that God is doing. It is very exciting to hear what the Lord is doing in the Prison Zone. It also has great challenges. Geno lives 24 /7 with these guys. He also lives with many non- believers 24/7. It is ministry in very difficult circumstances, but God is giving Geno the grace he needs to be His servant in that prison zone.

Please pray for the upcoming CC pastors and leaders conference in August. We are very excited about the up coming conference.

Losha has been back for about 2 weeks and God has touched Losha’s heart. We see a real peace and humbleness in his life which is the real Losha that we know an love.

Today I met with my neighbor Luba who is in her early 70’s and gave her a large print Bible. She is not a believer but has questions. Please pray as we meet with her, that she would open her heart to the eternal truth of Jesus Christ. God Bless you all, and thank you for taking the time to read about what is going on in our neck of the woods. It is very special that you would take the time to know what God is doing in these precious lives over here.

Please, pray!

Please, continue to pray for Olga’s mom Nina. We (Marina, Dean, Dale & I) had an opportunity to visit her four times since she went to the hospital, and her heart is wide open for the Lord. It is a praise report and an answer to all of our prayers that we lifted up to the Lord together. He is working miracles in this lady’s life, but we're still praying for one more – miracle of salvation. So, please continue to lift Nina up in your prayers. Also, please pray for Olga, she is taking care of her mom and comes to the hospital 3 times a day, therefore she is very tired. Now the situation became a little different because Nina was moved to another hospital yesterday and it is in Moscow, which is better both for her and Olga. It is a praise report as well. I will try to tell more about this later, but for now, I just want to thank you all for your prayers. Natasha

Tanya's Baptism

Hello everyone. Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting a professor of genetic psychology. I did not even know they even existed. Her name is Tanya and not only is Tanya a brilliant woman , who is Jewish, but she loves Jesus. Her face just glows with the love of Jesus Christ. Tanya also is very ill. She is suffering from the effects of stomach cancer, and has Parkinson’s disease. How I got acquainted with her is through Mira, a good friend and a Messiah Jew who works with Jews for Jesus, Mira has shared with so many Jews that have become Christians. Mira asked me if I would baptize Tanya. And so Natasha, Mira and I went to visit Tanya, and celebrate her Baptism. As we talked about baptism and the Lord, Tanya's face just glowed, and she would weep with joy about the Lord. She has such love for the Lord, even though her body is so sick. I had nothing to teach her about the Lord, just spending time with her and seeing Jesus alive in her life was powerful.
Since Tanya is so sick, I just dunked her hands in the water and baptized her in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, it was very moving as Tanya began to weep and wash her face in the water, so joyous that she could be baptized. Tanya has a great influence with friends and colleagues, pray that her premature illness would be used to bring them to the knowledge of the Savior, Pray also that God would heal her.

There is a place of fellowship with the Lord where only those who have experienced such suffering in their lives can experience.

Good Bless, d

Little did I know…

When I picked up a guitar for the first time in my life, it happened because I just loved and still love to worship the Lord. I had no idea that some years later I will be singing to the Lord in front of a congregation, or leading worship, or even teaching somebody else how to play. Well, the last two weeks I’ve been giving some lessons to Dima. He is a wonderful young Christian, who loves the Lord and goes to church together with his mom Marina, who is a huge blessing and support for me and not only for me. Marina and her husband Murman not long ago had a wedding ceremony at our church recommitting their marriage to the Lord.
About two weeks ago, I was invited to Marina’s house for dinner and I have to mention she prepares exceptionally delicious Georgian dishes (she and her family come from Georgia). So, I found out that Dima being out of school has some free time and I asked if he would like to learn how to play guitar. He was not sure at first, but then decided to try. We had only 3 lessons since, but Dima’s desire to learn keeps him practicing every day for 2-3 hours. This is not it…we have another teen who recently came to our church (another story:-), his name is Rustam. On Monday, after the Bible study he saw how Dima picked up a guitar and started to play. Next thing I know, he comes to me and asks, “Can you teach me too?” … We had our first lesson with Rustam and third lesson with Dima, yesterday. The most exciting thing is that this time Dima begun to teach Rustam what he already learned himself. I just had to make a video of this guys…for the history…what if they become famous :-)? + video for pros only;-)
Please, pray for our guitar lessons; that the Lord would bless them and give boys the necessary skills to play and to sing and for me wisdom and patience in teaching them. Also, please pray for Rustam, that the Lord would help him to understand His Word, speak to his hear and direct his and his sister Zulia’s steps.
Pray for Murman, Marina, and Dima: for the Lord’s guidance and direction in each of their lives.

Thank you and Lord bless you!

Natasha

Geno in the GOD zone

Hi everyone, I wanted to give an update on Geno, He sent this recent picture from the prison yard. Geno informed me that they have received official status to conduct a weekly religious service. From the beginning the administration has been apposed to Geno conducting a protestant service, as apposed to an Orthodox service. But the Lord has opened the doors, and Geno has been given the permission to have church sevices, Jesus style. Geno told me that they have 14 believers, and that 3 men last week surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ. Geno also had the wood shop make him a pulpit that they just have finished. Geno is believing for a great move of God in the prison. Geno is right where he needs to be, and is our first missionary. Please continue to pray for Geno and his fellow believers, and for the prison and all of the administration, that God would do a great work in that prison in north Russia.

Please continue to pray for Losha as he has returned from the street. Pray for Roma as God is working in his life, and for Yuri, Sasha, and Vova my other roommates. Pray as we make the preparations for our prayer retreat on June 11-13.

Thank you for all of you, that God has given you a heart for the work He is doing in Moscow. You are a great part of what is going on here. God Bless, dean

Glorious sunset

Yesterday, after the Bible study we were able to witness an amazingly beautiful sunset. It was one of those things that God gives us to enjoy. We could see His marvelous artwork in perfect harmony with the work of men’s hands. This is what makes our city to look beautiful.
Enjoy the sunset with us!!!

Sometimes it is like in a Circus

Today, after the Sunday school we went with the kids to have lunch together, then played a Bible game, then played some more and after all I had a chance to see “Circus” performance :-) that was great!!! I filmed it, so you can watch it too (click here).
Thank you for praying for our youth ministry!
Natasha

Update

Hello friends and family, so much has happen here since the last BLOG up-date, I don’t know where to begin. Steve and Shesteen the couple that have come to Moscow to minister to the Jews have had an amazing trip so far. They have connected so well with the Messianic Jewish community here in Moscow. Steve was able to make a new CD while he was here with Yuri, who is a Rabbi with a Messianic congregation. He is a professional clarinet player. With a combination of Steve’s gifted piano and Yuri's clarinet skills they were able to record during their short 3 week visit a new CD, that, as well as all Steve’s CDs can be downloaded from their website. http://www.stevekerstin.com/. Steve and Shesteen also have been a great blessing to me. The Lord has definitely brought us together. They have also been a great blessing to our fellowship. Steve and Shesteen will be returning back to Tel Aviv on Sunday to re reunited with the ground children. They will be missed, but I believe we are going to see more of them here in Russia.

Today was Victory Day celebrated all over Russia for the ending of World War 2. It is always a great holiday for me to visit Victory Park - the huge park and museum in memory of the Great War. I joined up with 19 others from Jews for Jesus and in less than 3 hours passed out 10,000 tracts speaking about the great victory 2000 years ago over sin. It was amazing how many were walking around reading them. God Bless,d

Please, pray!

Please pray for Olga’s mother, she was put into a hospital today. Olga had prayed for her mom’s salvation for many years and we, as church, for last three or so. I really believe that the Lord is doing something great right now and we are planning to go to the hospital this Friday to visit. Olga’s mom had many serious health problems over the years, but the Lord has been faithful to keep and protect her life until now. So, please pray for our visit, that we would be able to minister in anyway possible and for healing, first of all spiritual and also physical.

Tonia’s Birthday

Today we met for our youth Bible study. As always, it was rather spontaneous and as before, at our favorite place ..... you know ..... IKEA :-). I was expecting Dima and Egor to come, but they did

not. Instead, Nika came and it was a pleasant surprise for me, Sveta and Tonia (Egor’s little sister) came as well plus Olga and I, so we had a girls’ day :-). I already had planned what to talk about, but when I found out that Nika is going to be with us I tried to think of something else since she is older than the other girls are. Anyway, my mind just would not go anywhere and I decided to stay with what I had. We began to talk about the last hours before Jesus’ crucifixion. First, about the last supper and what was the meaning of it, then the prayer in Gethsemane. At some point, I paused, because for some reason it was very hard to find words and I felt like I am completely unprepared for this study, which was more like a conversation where I was asking questions and Sveta and sometimes Nika were answering. Tonia looked like she was a little puzzled.
I looked at Olga and she asked the girls, “How do we know that we are saved and will be with Jesus?” Sveta explained, but Tonia could not answer. Besides they were not quite sure what sin is.
So, I began to explain what is sin and how it came to this world starting from the garden of Eden. Again, I was not sure, if I was making much sense and if Tonia understands everything. It may sound funny, but the things I have known for years did not come out off my mouth easily.
All of a sudden, Tonia lifted her hand up and said, “I have two questions. How to get rid of my sin and what do I need to do for that?” …I could hardly believe my ears. Little Tonia who is just 9 years old with a seriousness of an adult asking the most important questions one can ask. Oh, Lord, thank You so much!!!
Tonia invited Jesus to come in to her heart and she became born again today. Praise the Lord for this wonderful blessing and for His gift that we can share with others.
Please, continue to pray for our youths’ spiritual growth and also for Tonia-our newborn baby in the Lord :-)

P.S.Pictures and video(just click here)