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.