Odessa Mission
December 2005 Newsletter
Shisleeva Rozhdestvo E
Snovum Godum!
(Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!)
Kind Road Christian Church wants to take this opportunity to wish all of our faithful supporters a happy holiday season! You have been so faithful with your funds, prayers, care packages, and overall support of this ministry. Some of you even came over to visit us this past year which, in itself speaks volumes. We really want you to know how grateful we are for everything you've done and continue to do in the city of Odessa . The fact is that because of you, this town will never be the same again. May God bless you in 2006 EVEN MORE than you've blessed all of us over here and may you always remember how truly thankful we are for your great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. One main reason why we're so thankful for your faith is because it's an example that challenges and inspires us to keep pressing on for His sake.
The year of 2005 has definitely been a year of ups and downs. In fact, sometimes it almost seems as though the downs have outweighed the ups, especially when we consider our current lack of numerical growth. Frankly speaking, our attendance has probably decreased a tad during the past year, which is obviously a discouraging thing for all of us. However, KRCC continues to successfully follow your lead by standing tall in spite of our struggles. Satan is not going to win this battle! That's a promise! Moreover, KRCC continues to optimistically plan for an extensive, influential, and bright future in Odessa and throughout the surrounding region. Someone once noted that a tiny pebble has the capability of changing the direction of an entire stream, and together with your help, we plan to establish a church that will keep doing that here until He returns.
Since 2006 is nearly upon us, I have decided to touch on a few of this past year's events just to remind you of the good things you're doing in this part of the world. In January, my book A Dumb American in a Strange Country was published here and 5000 copies were printed. Approximately 1000 copies have already been sold and another 150 have been given away. In February's newsletter, I mentioned my goal of developing an English course for advanced students. Fortunately, that goal was realized in mid-November, although it's still unclear as to how effective the program will turn out to be. We are attracting new people but getting them to return is difficult probably due mostly to the religious nature of our program, which includes homework assignments based on audio-taped sermons from various American preachers. In April's newsletter, we spoke about the Easter program that our kids performed at a special school for the handicapped. Clearly, those kinds of programs are becoming tradition here a KRCC. At the moment, Ira is mobilizing our children for the upcoming Christmas pageant. This time it will be at our venue and it's scheduled on three different days: December 25th, December 27th, and January 6th (the Orthodox Christmas is on January 7th). In May, we celebrated our first birthday as a church and happily did so in our new facility. We had been searching for a venue for months and God finally provided. We also had 14 people officially place their membership at KRCC. Topping everything off, we had six baptisms in May, including our first four in the Gypsy village. July was another great month due to the team from Olivet Christian Church. They did a superb job with our VBS, attracting kids from all over the city to our new location. Several seminars were also conducted, as well as an unforgettable visit to the cancer ward. We're very confident that God truly worked wonders in and through all of them and that He's continuing to do so.
Certainly, one other thing worth mentioning here is something we all prayed long and hard for: Ira got her ten year green card! Although that may not sound like a blessing in ministerial terms, it is a big answer to prayer nonetheless, and no matter how we view that blessing, it's just another example reminding us of what Paul wrote in Philippians 2:13: "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." God surely answered that prayer for a purpose, though the nature of that specific purpose may still be a mystery to us. One thing is for sure though, and that is the fact that His present purpose for all of us is crystal clear: KRCC must be established as a strong congregation that loves God by loving people and meets their needs with His truth, His glory, His power, our testimonies, and our service. And thanks to you, it's happening!
Happy Holidays, John and Ira
Kind Road Christian Church