С НОВЫМ ГОДОМ HAPPY NEWYEAR!!!!

Please, pray!

Dear friends and family, would you please pray for my dad. He had a stroke last Monday and is in a hospital right now. At first, his condition did not seem to be too serious and from his own words, his doctor even said that he is getting better rather quickly. However, in the past few days my dad was feeling weak and refused to try getting up. My mom talked to the doctor, who said that this situation is alarming, because usually people in the worst conditions start getting up on the 3^rd to 5^th day after the stroke and she does not see any reason why my dad is not doing that. She also said that his type of stroke is the worst one and he should forget about a possibility to go back to work, “if he lives,” she added. There were some other things that the doctor said which only left us more perplexed.
My dad is not a believer. I’ve been sharing the Lord with him over the years and all the more when he had a heart attack some years ago, he was resisting then.
Please, pray for my dad, my mom and sister and for me too. May the Lord be glorified through this situation!
Thank you! Natasha

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

Tonight we celebrated the birth of our King

8 nights, 8 candles, 1 Christ the" Light of the World"

Hanukkah

Recently we celebrated Hanukkah with Jews for Jesus. They as an outreach to the Jews in Moscow invite them to celebrate their beloved Feast of Dedication.
The only reference in the New testament where the Feast of Dedication is found is in the Gospel of John 10:22- 23: " Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter.
And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch."
The Festival of Hanukkah has been celebrated since the year 164 B.C. and continues to this day as a witness of its validity.

Ilya, Anya, Mira, and Max lead worship, prayer and the story of Chanukah

The story

In the year 169 B.C. the wicked ruler of Syria, a vile and godless man Antiochus Epiphanies attacked Egypt and won, but was compelled to withdraw from Egypt at the command of the authority of Rome. It is recorded that Antiochus in rage turned his anger against the Jews and Israel and entered Jerusalem and destroyed a large part of the city, and slaughtering men, women, and children. He then turned his demonic inspired hatred against the temple and the entire Jewish religious system. He and his army defiled the Holy temple and carried away the golden altar, the oil lambs and all the golden vessels and sacred treasures. Then in his attack against the True and living God of Israel he sacrificed a pig to the Greek god Jupiter and poured its unclean broth over all the holy books in the temple. In his wicked rage he forbade the Jews thought out the land of Israel to forsake the command of God to circumcise the young and the observance of the Sabbath, and the laws pertaining to clean animals. (Daniel the great prophet prophesies in Dan8:9-12 and again in 11:31 of this horrible offense). Then one day one of the officers for Antiochus came to the little village of Modin 3 miles north of Jerusalem and commanded the Jews to sacrifice a hog. Mattathias Maccabee, head of a priestly family faithful to the Lord enraged by the decree, rose up against the authority and killed them all. This began a turn of the tide and with their small band of gorilla type army, step by step facing over whelming odds in the physical sense but not in the spiritual sense they over powered the Syrian army. They then took back Jerusalem and the temple. They quickly began to restore the defiled Holy temple, re building the defiled altar and on December 25^th 164B.C. they rededicated the temple of the living God. They discovered in a hidden place in the temple was a jar of the Holy oil to burn in the lamps that had the seal that it had been prepared for the use in the lamp stands. However as great this discovery was there was only enough oil for one night. But the oil burned in the lamps for 8 days until a new patch of oil could be made and consecrated. This is the celebration of the eight candles on the Hanukkah lamb stand. Also the center candle sits higher than the other eight. It is from this center candle that the rest of the eight are lit. The first night one candle is lit. Then the next night two are lit and so on until all eight are lit.

Jewish believers see that the true light of the Hanukkah is Jesus Christ. That the center candle is a beautiful picture of the source for all light given to man. Even the fact that the center candle is raised above all the rest gives a great testimony to Christ as He is the center of the Hanukkah. Physical light has never changed man. Light does not change a man’s fallen sinful nature; light does not make a man a better person. With invention of the light bulb by Thomas Edison did not change mans sinful condition. Jesus said John 8:12 "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

Jesus is the true light that can change a man from the inside, His light can reveal man’s true sinful lost condition. It is His light that can guide a man to repentance , so that man can find his way home in a dark world back to his creator. Jesus is the true light of the Hanukkah, Jesus is the true light of this fallen world.

God's Mercy and Grace in the life of Laura

Laura on her way back home! Laura in the middle with two students who are believers.

Laura's Story (l to r: Jackson,Chas, Alfa, Laura)

In 2003 we had been making weekly visits to T.B. hospital in Solnechnagorsk over a period of a couple of years, but we were asked not to come back because of the health risk. Then in the summer of 2006 one of the guys coming to the church Chas was admitted and so we had the opportunity to return to the hospital without any problem and began to have a weekly Bible study at the hospital. During the course of are visits Laura who is from Cameroon Africa, had been admitted with T.B. and began to attend the bible study. Felix, Chas, Jackson, and Laura were all French speakers from Cameroon, so Chas would translate into French. Laura was sick and her life was a mess, she had left Cameroon with a dream that she could come to Russia to transit and then move on to Europe, but as it has been the case with many Cameroonians that are desperate to find a better life, they fall prey to fellow countrymen that promise to get them to the promised land of Europe. They collect a sum of money which is a huge sacrifice for the person and their family to come up, take their passport and then make all the arrangements knowing full well that they will not get them any further than Moscow. Once they arrive in Moscow they find that they cannot move any further and their visa expiries and they end up in very difficult circumstances in a foreign land. To complicate Laura’s situation, as I would later find out that Laura had left two small boys behind to live with her relatives as she sought for a better life. The last contact that I had with Laura and the rest of the guys in the Bible study was late August of 2006 as I was returning back to America for a visit. The photo shown is the last Bible study we had at the hospital. Upon me returning to Russia Chas was very sick (his story is in an earlier blog) and was dying of T.B. of the lungs. He later would go on to be with the Lord. Laura left the hospital and I lost contact with her. Later Alfa and Felix (Felix not shown in the picture would both die of T.B. About 7 months ago I got a call from Laura in her broken English and she wanted to meet, she was living 3 hours away in a different city and so we met at the Leningradskiy train station. She began to tell of all the things the Lord was doing in her life, and how He had touched her life in a powerful way. It was obvious to me she was a different gal then when I had known her at the hospital. It was then that she told me about her children back in Cameroon and so I encouraged her to return as soon as possible and that we would help her make that step. To leave Russia when your visa is expired is not a quick and easy process but I was amazed how quickly it fell together and within 3 weeks Laura was at the airport on her way home. I believe God has a great plan for Laura who was very anxious to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to all her family. She has quite a story to tell of God’s mercy and grace, that even though she had made many bad decisions, and was thousands of miles away from home away from her family, tricked by fellow countrymen, living in very difficult circumstances with no money, no job, improper documents and in a hospital where she could not speak the language, with tuberculosis. God knew exactly where she was at and got a hold of her life and changed it. It will be interesting to see how God uses Laura back in her native country of Cameroon.

Messianic Conference

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of attending the all Russian Messianic Jewish church conference, where pastors from various Messiah church fellowships came together for a time of fellowship.

Please, pray!

Please pray for Olya and Kostia, the family from the church in Smolensk (city Southwest of Moscow) their 3-year-old son Artiom was diagnosed with 4^th degree cancer (neuroblastoma of retroperitoneal space). Currently they are staying in Moscow Oncology center where Artiom will undergo 3 courses of chemotherapy and blood transfusions. If his condition stabilizes then doctors will do the surgery to remove the tumor. Pray for Artiom’s parents that the Lord would be their grace, mercy and strength and they would trust and hope only in Him. Pray also for finances and provision for blood transfusions, that is a difficult thing, because doctors often turn people down and only 1 person of 6 was able to give his blood. Please pray that the Lord would heal Artiom!

Pastor Kostia of CC 1905 visited Artiom and his mom on Sunday to pray for them and found that Artiom is pretty upbeat and running around. Praise the Lord for that!

We will keep you posted. Thank you for being a part of this ministry in Moscow! Natasha

Thank you for praying!

Thank you for praying for Julia and her mom! The Lord is very faithful! He has answered our prayers in His beautiful way! (see the previous entry with the prayer request) He has provided enough finances for the surgery and Julia’s mom is already at home getting better. Julia is very thankful for your prayers and support. Please, continue to pray that her mom would learn how to trust the Lord even more and realize the importance of growing in Him. Praise Him for He is Good, His faithful love endures forever!!!
May the Lord bless you! Natasha

Little Daniel

This is little Daniel, and were thankful to the Lord that Daniel only walked away with two fractures in his leg as a car hit his baby stroller. It looks like my soccer partner is going to be out for the season. We usually kick the soccer ball around before the Bible study. Daniel has some serious kicking talent. He is expected to make a full recovery and so we look forward to seeing him in action next season. God Bless.

Our little Tuesday Bible study

Our little Tuesday Bible study. Daniel's Babuska is on the far left, and her friend Mila first time to the study. Lisa, and Valya Daniel's mama, with baby Masha. When I left for America Masha was still crawling, and when I returned she was walking like mad!!!

Visitors

One of the opportunities we have is greeting those who are traveling trough Moscow. Fred (Florida) and Blair (Wisconsin) traveled to Moscow and then on to the far east to meet with church Pastors and lay workers for a week of leadership training. We gave them the 10$ tour of our city..... of course for free.

"ALL HANDS ON DECK"

Greetings from Moscow as I enter my second week of returning back to my normal routine living in one of the world’s largest cities. I must say it’s a bit of a contrast from spending 7 weeks in Modesto. I confess I enjoyed every minute of my time there among many dear friends and family who spoiled me to the bone. I also must confess that I receive the best from both worlds as I return to the place I call home almost 11 months out of the year, and that has been my privileged pattern for the last 8 years. I am truly blessed living here in Moscow. But in looking back at my 7 weeks in America, I want to thank my sister and her husband, Lynn and Bradley for being the main culprits of the spoiling of this missionary, as well as my home church Calvary Chapel Modesto, where I was surrounded by doers of the Word. Special thanks to my Pastor, Pastor Damian who walks the talk…and that’s some big talk to fill….

Perhaps the greatest highlight of my visit home was the opportunities to share what is going on here in my neck of the woods. I was taken back with the sincere interest in the work here in Moscow. I was amazed at the amount of people and even children that came up to me and said they pray for me and the church every day. I owe much to the prayer support of the work that I’m privileged to be a part of due to the faithful prayer of many of you back in Modesto. As I returned to Moscow as a church we are faced with many old and new challenges, I say that now more than any other time in the last 8 years. Perhaps the greatest challenge that has faced the work here in Moscow surfaced last week in regards to the issuing of visas. There are tough laws that now are surfacing regarding length of stay, and policies for receiving new visas. Without going into detail please pray for the will of the Lord in all of this as the new laws have the potential of affecting many foreigners in Moscow. God alone opened the doors here 15 years ago and it is His work going on. He is certainly not nervous a bit about all of this. Please enjoy a few of the photos that blessed by trip home. God Bless you all, and remember if you are born again you are a fellow missionary wherever the Lord has placed you in this world. It’s time for “All HANDS ON DECK”. dean

College Career group

My meeting with the College Career group was the one group I really had the desire to speak with. Because they are at the age where not too much holds them back for going full out for the Kingdom of God. It was a special night and I believe the Lord was in full control. Thanks John for inviting me!!

Kids at CC 7th street

A picture is worth one word"JESUS" What a privilege to come and share with the greatest kids at CC 7th street about Russia. I think I had a room of future missionaries. What a great work God is doing. If you want to be where the action is at talk to Pastor Leif, the Lord is up to some amazing stuff in that fellowship. The one picture I don't have is when Pastor Leif had all the kids lay hands on me and pray for me....It was a photo recored in heaven.

Matt and Breezee's wedding, (what more can I say!)

Sharing at the Church

Share night at the church is always a highlight of my visit, Special thanks to Jonathan, Jeff and KathyE for making it a great night.

My cousin Jimmy, my Unc Harold and My POP!!

Bradley, Sis, and MY MOM

BBQ

Dead Eye Dave on the left, and Man handler Mark did a great Job M-SEEM the CC MODESTO CHILI-COOKOFF!! special thanks to Dave for all His computer skills! My hats off to ya dudes!!!

Men's breakfast CCValley Springs, Valley Springs is right down the road from were I grew up.

Our pictures

Dear friends and family, we now have our photo albums on the net, with our old and new pictures. It will be kept updated and more new pictures will be coming soon. I recommend you to view the pictures as a slide show, this way you will be able to see it all and with the comments. Here is the link http://public.fotki.com/ccsokol/ and I am going to put it on the side bar as well.
I hope you will enjoy meeting people from our church:-).
God bless! Natasha

Help and Prayer Need

I received the following message today:

"Dear Friends, some of you may know Julia Smirnova (Juls) (see the link).

She served with CC Sokol in Moscow, and studied in Moscow Bible College. Later she went on to serve with CC Volgograd. Few months ago Julia's mom had a stroke and Julia came back to Moscow to take care of her mom. Couple days ago her mom fell and broke her hip. Julia was told by the hospital that 50 000 rubles needed for surgery. Julia works as a nurse and does not have such money. Neither do we. But we know it's not a problem for our Lord. So we wanted to ask you to pray for Julia and her mom, and this situation. Pray for mom's heart to turn back to the Lord, and also for financial provision for the surgery. If you would like to help Julia, please send a message to Valeria Machula(click the link) - pls, disregard the user pic- she is a much nicer person :)) or to Sasha Wheatley (click the link). But most of all please pray. Julia really needs our prayers and support right now.
Serving Christ,
Sasha Wheatley

CC Tushino, Moscow"
Please join in prayer with us. Natasha

Joy in Mitino at the Feast of Joy - Sukkoth

Another story written by Mira, about the Celebration of three Jewish feasts. It took place on September 29th and I had an opportunity to participate to take some pictures and videos. It was a great blessing, be blessed as you read about it and listen to the beautiful Jewish praise songs. Natasha

"The Jewish congregation in Mitino started its services in July, and we openly declared about ourselves when we celebrated Sukkoth, and it was really a great joy for everyone. The Lord filled everyone with His joy abundantly. The idea of a celebration was born in parts. I clearly knew only one thing, that the birth of Jewish congregation in Mitino, a distant district of Moscow, was a great joy!
But let me tell you everything step by step. The idea to speak about three fall holidays was born during the fellowship at church that ministers to the Jewish people, where I was invited to speak in August. And I tuned to the joy in the Lord in Alma-Ata (Kazakhstan), where I participated in a campaign. The Lord's ways are marvelous!!! As I dreamed of getting to a church service in Odessa that was started by Jews For Jesus, in order to learn from them about how to build the ministry, the Lord led me to the Shabbat service at a Messianic congregation in Alma-Ata. I hadn't seen such rejoicing in the Lord since the time when I was young and danced at Jewish weddings. The whole hall sang and danced and rejoiced in the Lord, and the following words sounded in my heart, "Joy of the Lord is my strength." And I rejoiced with everyone, and the Lord was already placing His vision of the celebration in to my heart.
When I came to Moscow, right away I begun the preparation, as the holiday service was due in a month. The Lord sat me down to make phone calls to people, and it wasn't easy, as I called
to open and closed, to old and young people... I called to a lot of people, as I made more than 400contacts. The Lord literally tied me to the phone. At the same time, I wrote a script for the celebration, and when it was almost done, I even became angry with myself for choosing such a difficult task, because it would have been so much easier if I had chosen to speak only about Sukkoth... I had many things to do and not enough time, but I realized that the Lord was going before me, and it was delightful to follow Him! We received the hall for 80 people almost
for free; an American missionary Mary Chase gave money for meal. Volunteers were also open and promised to help.
Now September 29 came.
I was the first one to arrive at the hall. While I was luxuriating in the sun, the security guard started himself (!) asking me questions about God and ... made a decision! And it was just the beginning! We prepared the hall; we had enough volunteers, and people started
coming. 84 people came! There were 20 believers, a children's group of 4 people, who participated in the concert, and 60 Jewish people! A group of young people from Word of Life Church (which is the base for Zhabotinsky Operation) sang and danced for half an
hour, and I'd like to believe that we will minister with them again. Then our service started. I spoke about the ancient holiday traditions and told people about Messiah Y'shua, and about the salvation that He brought to the world. We sang a lot and danced (our old volunteer Olya Oreshkina came with her dancing group), but the most important thing is that we reflected on God and repentance... And then we prayed and called Y'shua our Savior! When I asked who had prayed, almost everyone in the hall stood up! 12 Jews opened their heart to Jesus for the first time! Wonderful and marvelous Lord, thanks be to You for Your mercy! The holiday service ended with the joyful Sukkoth; we praised the Lord and only lacked place for everyone to dance... Precious Jews were filled with joy and God's peace; they left in peace and thanked for the celebration. People, who had lived almost their whole lives in the Soviet atheism, got to know God's life at the end of their lives. All glory be to You, the Living God of Israel!"

Click here for more videos

Mira's testimony and a new Jewish fellowship

Following is a testimony of Mira Grachiova, who is serving with Jews for Jesus ministry as well as her story about the beginning of new Jewish fellowship in the Northern part of Moscow called Mitino. It is a blessing to work together with Mira and to be a part of the Lord 's work among Jewish people. I hope you will enjoy reading it. Natasha

"The birth of a new Jewish church in Moscow (Mitino)! It is really "the birth of new" and really Jewish! Ten Jewish believers that were born by the JFJ ministry formed the core of the church. It completed the 7th year of my ministry with JFJ and the 8th year of my knowledge of the Lord. All glory be to You, Living God of Israel!
Though the services so far have been conducted in my small room, 7-8 Jewish people praise the Lord in the new church with joy, and the Lord again and again adds new Jews!
How did everything start? When you fly through your life and don't notice days, or months, or even years, it's sometimes helpful to stop and look back in order to see and try to realize how the Lord is working. Only the 7th year of my ministry with JFJ is ending, but the Lord had been preparing me for it for my whole life. He led me the way of Joseph.
My mom passed away when I was 16 years old, and I became child who had lost both parents. Then, after 21 years of good family life, my husband betrayed me. During all that time, both in joy and in sorrow, my God was with me, who didn't know Him! I would tell myself during my difficult, but rich life, "Someone has been protecting me." I was so stupid and my mind was dulled with the Soviet atheism, godlessness that I even didn't think about Who was holding me by the hand and leading through the life's tests. It is such a great happiness to know now the One whose name is Love.
I was an astronomer by profession, and I worked as a programmer, but suddenly, I became enthusiastic about school and kids, and I became a teacher. It wasn't just a school where I taught kids; it was a great God's school where the Lord Himself taught me to love the kids with
the sacrificial love. He taught me not to encroach on the free will of "my kids", but to love them, at the same time remembering about strictness and exactingness, you can't teach them otherwise. He taught me to devote all my heart and all my time to the favorite job. Unbelieving parents would tell me, an unbeliever, "You are a teacher from God!" At the very peak of my career, the Lord showed me very clearly, that one candle burned out, and a new one was lit: I underwent my first and the most difficult JFJ campaign (St. Petersburg), I came out with broadened heart, saying that God was alive and He stood next to me(!) and I ... left my school and my students, and went to serve with JFJ, shocking to many people by that, even my daughters, who decided that their mom's gone crazy.
My earthly school was a wonderful place where the Lord melted my heart, and I have many times recalled with gratitude the training that the Lord conducted with me, who didn't know Him yet. I was carried away, and I carried away my students. I taught them to work with joy and admire the beauty of mathematics. Those very qualities helped me in my work with my adult students. I was in the Lord for just one year and I thought myself as I was teaching them. I was overfilled with the Living God, I "ate" His Living Word, and infected everything around me with His life. People that were looking for life began to gather to me seeing His light! We saw films, listened to sermons on cassettes, but the main thing is that we studied His Word. I don't know when exactly the Bible group was started, but once Galya Barbanel said, "We wanted to start our group, but the Lord started His group," and suddenly everyone saw that "the born baby" was already growing and getting stronger. Thus, our studies gained the status of Bible studies. And then there were years and years of struggle for people: prayers, phone calls, talks.
.... Can I describe this? Those are all my reports for these years, and so many things remained unwritten... We began to celebrate Jewish holiday services and now 60 people gather, but n the beginning it was so difficult to gather even 5-6 people... Before, and sometimes now, I often lose heart because of tiredness and exhaustion, and I think, "I cannot abase myself anymore before these vain people ... But again and again, being prompted by the Holy Spirit, I keep knocking to hearts. My kids grew and began to receive the water baptisms. We faced a serious issue of church where they could be all together. Once, I almost accidentally received addresses of Calvary Chapels in Moscow, and I forgot about all them. Suddenly, in a year, I remembered about them and came to one of the pastors, Dean, and right away understood that I found the church where I could bring my Jews.
Later, we began inviting Dean to our holiday services and studies. He became our pastor long before we began to call ourselves a church. My precious students keep growing in the Lord; to tell the truth, they don't grow as fast as I'd like them to; they prepare holiday services with me, make phone calls to people, learn how to receive by giving..., but it's often difficult for me with them, as all of them are 55-80 years old. I pray God for a helper and for a room, as so far all services have been conducted in my tiny apartment, and all the ministry of Martha has been on me. I'm very grateful to Maxim (the branch leader) and Anya (our former administrator) for taking the worship on them. I trust in the Lord and believe that He will be glorified through His work, the Jewish church in Moscow, in its distant district of Mitino! Praise the Lord that His love and mercy is enough for each person. Be blessed, God of Israel!"

Please, pray for "Spiritual freedom" ministry

Dear friends and family, I want to ask you to pray for the ministry called “Spiritual freedom”. Dale, who is substituting at the church while Dean is away, and who is serving at “Spiritual freedom”, shared that the ministry is going through a very difficult time right now and it seems like it is under attack from every possible direction. So, your prayers will be absolutely vital and appreciated. This ministry is a very important one for Russia because it is reaching out to those people who are presently in prisons or in a zone, helping them with their physical needs, providing things that they are unable to get because they do not have any family or because their family does not want anything to do with them. But most importantly “Spiritual freedom” gives an opportunity to these people to obtain true freedom and to come to the knowledge of Jesus. I personally know some of those who came out of prison having a new life in the Lord and if I am not mistaken, Geno is the fruit of this ministry as well and the Lord is using him mightily to bring more people to Himself. So please, join us in prayer for “Spiritual freedom”, its director Phil Wagner and all the people who’s been serving the Lord faithfully. Thank you very much and may the Lord bless you for your faithfulness. Natasha

Trip to Europe

Dear friends and family, I want to share the wonderful blessing of the Lord that I’ve received this August and may the Lord encourage you through this and speak to your hearts.

Preparation
Every August for the last 4 years, I was attending conference in Millstatt, Austria and every time the Lord would have something special for me, it usually is a highlight of the year. However, this year I was not going, because I had a very difficult time getting my visa for my last trip. Well, when I received an invitation this spring to attend the conference, I knew in my heart that I should go. I prayed about it for some months and I made all the necessary preparations: got my ticket early (ticket is necessary to get the visa), my insurance and application and went to sign up for the interview. To make the long story short: when I got to the embassy the guard told me that I am already late, if I wanted to make my trip I had to come earlier, all the slots for interview were taken up to the mid August and it is when I needed my visa. I told the guard that I already have everything and my official invitation is coming in a few days, he responded that for my type of visa, it is too late, but I still can try an agency though it will be more expensive. I said that I cannot pay any extra money, his answer was short “Well, then you are not going…” but after thinking for a moment he added “come on Monday” Later I read on the embassy’s site that going through an agency may result in refusal to grant the visa. Go figure.
As I was leaving, I told the Lord that I give up and I do not care if I lose my ticket, because I have no desire to fight for this little sticker in my passport called visa. Then there was a still small voice telling me gently: “Do not worry about this and do not give up, I will take care of everything.” And the most wonderful peace entered my heart.
I can tell you it was the easiest getting of my visa and I did not do anything for it. The Lord helped me through Dean, who got hold of ambassador and also took my invitation to the embassy. What a blessing to have a pastor like that:-)! This was only a prelude.

On my way to the conference.
When I came to Austria, first 2, 5 days I stayed in Vienna and it was a very nice but also interesting time, because I did not get hold of any of my friends and had to spend this time by myself, which was fine since I like to walk around beautiful places taking pictures. However, one thing really bothered me: three weeks before my trip I cut a cold, I recovered really quickly, but a sore throat would not go away, even though I was taking stuff to cure it. Now it got so bad that I could hardly talk. I asked the Lord to heal me, but He did not answer. Finally I decided to get a stronger medication, which I rarely do, but after taking it, I felt even worse, the food had no taste and I even could not enjoy coffee:-\.
Well, I believe it was in the morning of my departure to Millstatt, I was talking to the Lord saying that it is ok with me if I will not be able to talk to anyone, I’ll just sit and listen, and I will not sing, but if I cannot sing how will I praise You!!!? It was my question to the Lord and He instantly gave me an answer…the sore throat was gone right that moment. Hallelujah!!! …This is just a beginning.

Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.
On my train ride I’ve noticed a small group of Americans and I guessed that all of us are going to the same station. Later, already at the Castle, I was able to get better acquaintance with Steve and his wife Anita; they came from Costa Mesa and traveled through Europe with an evangelical outreach.
After an evening session, I got to talk to Anita and we prayed together. I had a personal request and I really desired to hear from the Lord about this matter at the conference, because it was an important matter for me that I’ve been praying for the last 4 years and it was not clear to me whether I should continue to pray and to wait or just to let go. Anita gave me verses from 2^nd Chronicles 20 and I read them, trying to understand if there was something that would speak to my heart, but nothing really clicked at the moment, besides that she pointed out how king Jehoshaphat put Levites to the front lines of the army that they would praise the Lord. Well this I could do! The Lord gave me my voice back and now I could worship Him aloud and it was the most beautiful time of worship I’ve experienced in a long time.
During the conference we had women’s sessions and this time they were on prayer. First, we had a teaching and then we would break in to groups for a discussion and a prayer time, we’ve also received a little study outline which we were to read before each session and to do some home work.
One of the studies was called “Keep it real!” and the passage we were to read that day was in 2^nd Chronicles 20!!! Well this time the passage really got my attention, because when the Lord speak twice it means …pay attention!!! I was literally taking every word in, this chapter started to make perfect sense to me, and now I could understand what the Lord is saying to me. When King Jehoshaphat faced a challenge, he was afraid and he set himself on seeking the Lord. And as he prayed he reminded to himself and to God too of His power and His wonderful deeds, of His promises and His will. The answer to this honest and humble prayer came right away and the Lord said not to be afraid, but to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Jehoshaphat in response bowed and worshiped the Lord. The next day the Lord gave His people and the king His victory as they were worshiping Him they saw how the Lord is fighting for them. I think it is so important that Jehoshaphat not only received the answer from the Lord, but he also believed it and acted upon it and gave Him praise. It is such a beautiful picture of the way our relationship with the Lord should be. Because sometimes I can ask for something and God gives me an answer and I might receive it, but then my mind begins to think…and I refuse to believe it, to “walk by faith and not by sight”. Or maybe I received and believed what the Lord said but then do not act upon it, because I am still afraid of … whatever; either I had a bad experience before, or because it might hurt or it costs me something … and I do not praise Him as a result.
Later during the worship time Dave Sylvester, who was leading it, prayed, “Lord, as you told King Jehoshaphat to stand still and to see the salvation of the Lord….”
I think the Lord REALY wanted me to pay attention to what He told King Jehoshaphat:-) wouldn’t you agree?
Besides this absolutely wonderful blessing of hearing the Lord’s voice and an answer to my prayer, He also blessed me with beautiful time of fellowship with my friends that I’ve known for a while and with those I just met.

Back in Vienna.
Djudji whom I met at this conference for the first time has truly blessed me by inviting me to stay with her family in Vienna on my way back. I had only 2,5 days, but it seemed like a whole week or even longer, I felt like I had another vacation. We got to do a lot and I do not remember sightseeing so much, it is because Djudji is a very good tour guide:-) I got to meet her family and each member has an incredible testimony. Djudji’s father came to Austria from former Yugoslavia about 30 years ago and found God in this new land, then his wife came to the Lord, later their son and after all Djudji. She shared her testimony with me and I would have never guessed that she went through many trials, because the Lord made a big change in her. She went to the Bible College in different countries – Japan, Brazil, US and Israel. She has a desire to go back to Israel and serve there.
On Sunday, we visited Calvary Vienna. Before the service there was a reading of Psalm 34, it is one of my favorites and I love the verse 8: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”
It was a nice service and it was good to see friends, to have mission’s conference reunion and also to meet some new people. One girl came up to greet me and asked where I was from, as soon as she found out she begun to speak Russian. The girl’s name was Nurzy and she came from Kyrgyzstan to work and to study in Vienna.
On Monday, Djudji invited Nurzy and some other girls for a prayer meeting, but only Nurzy made it and we ended up having time of sharing, fellowship, encouragement and prayer. First Djudji wanted to share a verse with us and it was from Psalm 34 verse 8: “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”, it is so interesting, but hearing it again made me to realize that it ties together with “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” from 2^nd Chronicles 20. It was another blessing for me – to see the Lord opening His Word to me and speaking to my heart.
Nurzy shared her testimony with us. I had no idea that she is just a baby Christian; she received Jesus a little over two months ago. She told us that back in Kyrgyzstan she worked with missionaries translating for them and this was going on over the period of last 5-6 years. People sometimes would ask her if she believes what she translates and being from a Muslim family this question would leave her bewildered often times. Earlier this year she came to visit her Christian friends in Switzerland and one time when the family was praying together, Nurzy had a strong desire to join with them as if she heard a voice inside telling her “I want you to pray too”. So, she prayed and it seemed very natural and beautiful experience for her. Then Nurzy begun to ask God to reveal her the way He wants her to go, she wanted Him to show if it is going to be Islam or Christianity. What a prayer!!! On the way back to Austria, at the airport, she saw a group of Christians praying (talking about Christian witness!!!!) and she took this as the Lord’s answer. She begun to attend CC Vienna regularly, and decided that she needs to be baptized. Please pray for Nurzy if you would. She is a baby believer and she has to face the challenge of a Christian in a Muslim family. At the time when we met, she had not yet told her family that she received Jesus, but maybe she already done this by now.

Serbian church.
I had no idea that Austria has a fairly large Serbian population. So after attending American-Austrian-Multicultural Calvary, Djudji asked me if I want to visit Serbian church. I hesitated at first, but then decided to go. Serbian language has much in common with Russian, so most of the time I could understand what the Pastor was saying; besides it is always easier to understand when the Bible is taught. This church is very young, it started in March as a home group, but now they rent a meeting place at one of many Evangelical churches in Vienna. It is a small baby church, but it has a wonderful family like atmosphere. Pastor Dragan shared his testimony and it is so amazing how the Lord can take people from their comfort zone to bring them to Himself. As I can recall when Dragan was in his early 20s, he left his country to go to Western Europe to look for different life and to find a job, after trying for sometime he ended up in Austria. One day as he was walking on a street, he heard people singing Serbian worship, I believe, it got his attention and soon he begun to attend church and grow in the Lord. Then the Lord put on his heart to reach out for Serbian community in Vienna and now he became a pastor.
So, this trip for me was unlike any other trip and I am very thankful to the Lord for everything He did during this time and for His many blessings. I am yet to see His answer to be unfolded before my eyes, but that will be another story:-)

I hope you got to the end of this entry. I know it was long, but as I said in the very beginning, my hope is that the Lord will speak to your hearts and bless you with an encouragement. God bless you all! Natasha

Another prayer request.

I have another prayer request. At the last Jewish fellowship meeting, I met a lady who was invited by Mira and who is not born again. We were going through the book of Jonah and almost every time Mira would ask a question Raisa (lady’s name) would have either a good answer or a comment. She seemed to know the Bible very well. However, after the Bible Study she began to share her testimony and her point of view. She said that at the most difficult time of her life she was looking for answers and because she is a Jew, she went to a synagogue. Listening to people praying, and crying in her heart out to God, she asked Him to help her in her trouble. Then she opened the Torah and the first thing she saw there, was a commandment for women to bring a sacrifice after childbirth. She begun to ask rabbis to help her to fulfill this commandment, but nobody could help her with it. Meanwhile she begun to read the Bible, recognizing that Jesus is playing an important part in history of Israel, but she believes that people – all those who believe in God, have to go back to the Mosaic system of worship and restore the tabernacle.
Raisa sent me several pages of her contemplations on this subject and she wants to know what I think. We begun a conversation while at Mira’s home, but did not finish it for the lack of time. I am not sure if Raisa really wants to know the truth or she is just truing to convert others in to her way of thinking. From the letter she addressed to me personally I begun to think the second. But the Lord knows and He put on my heart to take time and answer, I just really need His wisdom for that. Please pray for the answer I’ll write and for Raisa’s heart to be softened and to receive the truth and the freedom from the bondage of sin she’s been carrying all these years. Thank you! Natasha

Marriage is God's idea!!!

Alex and Lilya were married on Saturday. It is truly a match made in heaven, God brought them together from two different parts of the world so they could become one flesh. They both are active in the work of planting churches in Russia, and Lilya just received her certificate to practice law in Russia. Congratulations!!!! Alex and Lilya.

Man of Steel, man of God

This is my friend Sasha. He has been coming to the church for about 5 years. Sasha would come and sit in the back and then leave as soon as the service was over. But over the years he has really blossomed and has been a real blessing to our church and the Bible College, which is close to where he lives. Sasha is a school teacher and is very creative with his hands. Next to his school where he teaches is his machine shop. His shop is absolutely amazing and being a former heavy metal hobbyists, I was very excited to see what he has done. Please pray for Sasha for his family that they would come to know Jesus.

40th day

Today I was invited to attend the 40^th day. It is a tradition of the Orthodox church after the 40^th day of the death of a loved one. Olga who is a strong Christian and her mother who is not a believer (yet) invited me to come and enjoy a meal, and to honor papa's death. It was a great opportunity to talk to Mama about death from the perspective of the Bible. Nina (mama) had invited her close friends Alexei and Ryea. And as I began to share scriptures from the Bible Ryea became so interested as if she had never heard the scriptures regarding Jesus. Unfortunately for mama they seemed to overwhelm her and she turned to the vodka for comfort. But Olga spent some more time with Ryea in the kitchen and she repented and turned to Christ. It was so exciting for me to see Olga share the Lord with her. The door is open to continue to meet with Nina, pray that she would find her comfort in the true and living God. (on the photo left to right: Reya, mama, Olechka and her husband Sergey,and Alexei)

You never know

You never know who will drop in on you here in Moscow, even on the 26 floor be always ready in season, as my friend did his work out my window, he was able to listen to Pastor Chuck's teaching in the Gospel of John in Russian.

Jewish fellowship

Just an update on the Jewish service, we started teaching though the Book of John and it has been a great personal blessing for me. Max and Mira who work with Jews for Jesus in Moscow have done an excellent job in reaching the Jewish community for Christ.

It looks like I will be in California on September 3 to October 18, and hope to meet up with some of you in that time.

Search for a permanent place

Regarding our search for a permanent place to meet for the church, I believe for now will take a break from our intense searching, and try to settle in a place we are currently renting at the All Russian Society for the Bind. It is a convenient location but lacks storage as most of our stuff has been in storage for more than a year. We have requested putting a storage place in the hall so we can at least return to the hospitality of coffee, tea and cookies for after service.

We also as have an opportunity to be provided with a prefab building through an organization in America that has a ministry of providing church buildings. All we would have to do is purchase the land. I don’t have to tell you that in the Moscow area the price of property is unspeakable. If we were to move further out of the city the price comes down. For you that have a heart to pray for the ministry here, this may be a possible option, and it certainly would be the best situation for us.

Hello everyone

Hello everyone, yes I have been a bit uninformative over the last couple of months but life in our huge city is moving on. Usually it is quiet for the church during the month of August, everyone trying to squeeze the last bit of summer. Many people enjoy having a dacha, which is a small little summer house on their own private ground where they can grow a garden. The dacha season is a part of Muscovite culture, and it does not take long living in the city to understand that a trip to the dacha can cover a multitude of frustration. Many grow tomatoes and cucumbers so come fall the canning season begins where cucumbers becomes солёный огурцы salty cucumbers, much like dill pickles just a bit more salty, and boy are they good to have in a soup. Today after I taught on the book of Philippians as Paul spoke about being concerned with others, Luba and Lyda came up and asked if they could come and prepare food for me and the guys that live with me. (That others centered message always works) And boy do they know how to fix vittles (пиша) Olivie salad (I call it Russian potato salad on steroids) it includes believe it or not potatoes, peas, those home canned salty cucumbers, chicken if you please, or smoked sausage, enough mayo to instigate a parcel hardening of the arteries, and a safe pinch of salt. They also simultaneously were making she soup, no they don’t have a he soup. She soup (Щи суп) Щ-s и-e с s- у-o п-p you be speaking Russian in no time. But she soup is made of cabbage, tomatoes, green herbs, fat, and is it great with a big spoon of sour cream (сметана) They prepared us enough food to last the average family about 5 days, but we will probably decimate it in 2-3 days.

I had a great time with the parents of my former business partner, Bob and Diane Campana, they are quite the travelers and so they made a must stop here in Moscow.