Women’s conference 2008

This year’s conference took place at the Christian center about 1,5 hours from Moscow on the 15^th trough 17^th of February. It is always a blessing to set aside all the worries, concerns, business and even thoughts to let the Lord to fill this time fully with Himself, to let Him work and soften your heart and speak gently His words. This year’s theme was the “Vessels of Honor” from Ephesians 2:10 and one of the ladies, Darlene, who came with an American team did an incredible performance and teaching on this subject, she illustrated the relationship between Creator and the creation, on the potters wheel. You can see a video of the part of this performance here.

Darlene's Work
As we were watching, the Lord spoke to many of us: just as the potter’s hands are always holding the clay, shaping and molding it according his design, adding water so the clay would not get too dry, but just enough so it would not get too damp and become useless. Just as he applies strength to push out the clay from the inside and to form it on the outside, but just enough so the vessel would not brake, and at the same time would yield to the patter’s plan. So the Lord works in our lives, holding us close in His hands and shaping us in to His Son’s image. It was a beautiful picture of our Father’s love.
This process of making a vessel and then letting it to wait and dry for some time, just to continue to work on it, reminded me of another teaching on the passage from 2 Timothy 2:20-21. It says: “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified (or set apart) and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.”
How to become a vessel of honor, a vessel made of gold or silver, if you are a vessel of wood and clay, is it something that is possible to change?
If you try to do something with wood and clay to make it gold and silver, you will fail, because there are no natural ways to change wood into gold or clay into silver, but it has to be Supernatural, something that only God can do and we can ask Him for it. The closer we are to Him, the more we can be like Him and to honor Him with our lives. It is His desire for us to become the vessels of honor and He will do it if our hearts desire to honor Him.
Besides the time of teaching, we had a very special time of prayer, fellowship and fun. First, about prayer – one of the churches from Moscow region prepared a special room for prayer time using prayer stations, where people could come in and pray about different things and needs. I really loved it, because it was time of quite and sweet fellowship with the Lord. You can see some pictures of the prayer stations and more on our picture site just click here.
The time of fellowship was also very special; we had a talent show and a time for making different crafts. It was fun, it was great and it was edifying. I will not write much about it, but let you see for yourselves.

Talent Show - horse race

Talent Show - song

Oh, one more thing, all of us Russian ladies received beautiful gifts from our American sisters. Well conference is already a huge gift for us, but as an addition, we got very nice, worm, pretty, sweet and girly gifts:-) - sleepers, which were a great blessing and very fitting for the pajamas we got at the last year’s conference.
So I would like to thank all of you who took time and prayed for this conference and also to thank the American team ladies, who blessed us so much by giving their love, their time and much, much more to come to Russia and to minister to their sisters here. Natasha

waiting for new visa

Greetings from California, as most of you may know I’m in California and Dale is in Minnesota waiting for our visas to return to Moscow. It has taken longer than we thought. It has proved to be a timely visit back for both Dale and myself. Please pray for the fellowship in Moscow, and for the up coming woman’s retreat. It is one event each year that is truly a blessing to Calvary Chapel’s in Russia and especially to our fellowship. Debbie Bryson, the wife of George Bryson is truly gifted in the area of woman’s ministry and she brings to Russia every year a large group of women from the states that minister so effectively to the women. Also they have planned several meetings with the ladies in the church. Please pray for Natasha as she coordinates these meetings, and also our Sunday services. Please keep her in your prayers. Please pray for the timely receiving of our visas to return to Moscow. God Bless you and all the Lord has called you to, dean

News about Artiom

In the previous prayer request, when I asked you to pray for Artiom, I also promised to keep you updated. So here it is – an update and a new prayer request. Last Friday couple of my friends and I went to visit Olga and Artiom at the cancer hospital. We did not get to see Artiom, because he had to stay in his room for infusions, but Olga met us downstairs and was very happy to see us. I told her that many people are praying for her son and her whole family. She is very thankful for that and it is a great encouragement for her. Olga told us that Artiom just finished his 4^th chemo and now he needs to go through some more tests and then doctors will decide if they can remove the tumor. The tumor is getting smaller (it is actually about 3 times smaller now, than it was in the beginning) and there is a good possibility that it can be removed.
Olga and Artiom were supposed to stay in the hospital for the next a few weeks, but today I found out from a friend that chicken pox epidemic started in the hospital and Artiom was also infected. So Olga and Artiom were released from the hospital and sent back to Smolensk. As I said, the tests and the surgery were supposed to be very soon. I know that for Olga to go home right now is an unpleasant surprise. Pray for the Lord’s peace for her.
Please, pray for this whole situation, for Artiom and Olga to get home safely and that the Lord would strengthen Artiom’s body and there would be no usual complications after the chemotherapy. They will be back in Moscow in 20 days for the tests and possibly the surgery as well, let’s pray for Artiom’s complete healing.
As my friend says: “His plans are not our plans and His thoughts are above all our thoughts.”
May the Lord bless you as you lifting this situation up to Him. Natasha

Thank you!

Dear friends and family, I just wanted to thank you for all of your prayers that you’ve lifted up before the Lord for Julia’s mom(link to previous request) and my dad(link to previous request). Both Julia’s mom and my dad had finished their journeys on this earth at the end of January. I know that your prayers made a very big difference in our parents’ lives and in ours as well. The Lord is faithfully taking us through this time and giving us His peace, grace, strength and comfort.
I had an opportunity to share at my dad’s funeral and it was a very special time. Since most of my dad’s friends and coworkers are nonbelievers, I was compelled to read from the Word. The Lord put on my heart Psalm 139, where David shares an amazing understanding of God’s love for him and a very intimate knowledge of him. I am finding great comfort in these verses and especially in 16: “Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.”
Again, thank you for being with us in your prayers during this time. Natasha

Hello everyone!!!

Hello everyone, well we have a New Year and one year closer to Jesus Christ returning for His church and the final book of the Bible being fulfilled. As a church we started our way through the Book of Revelation.

Please pray for our fellowship and for Natasha as I will be making an unexpected trip home to receive a new visa. The laws have changed and it requires me to return to the states to receive a visa at the Russian Embassy in the USA. I will be in California for 5 weeks as I wait for my invitation. I hope to receive a one year visa.

Sasha was moved ( see photo ) to a rehabilitation hospital so that his blood count can increase so they can precede with the operation on his spine to remove the affects of T.B. He is a great guy. I called him after we got him all settled at the hospital and I asked him about his room mate ( Dima) and he excitedly said he is a believer!! God is God and has His hand on Sasha. Please pray for them.

Sasha and Dima

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.