Odessa Mission
February 2007 Newsletter
The Battle for Souls Continues
A couple of months ago, three kids from one of the families living adjacent to our new office began attending KRCC. We've mentioned them to you already, so Polina, Nadia, and Valeria should be familiar names at this point. Although the kids were pretty faithful with their attendance, their mother, Lyuba, had only visited during special programs like our New Year's pageant. Naturally, however, as we continued ministering to her children, more opportunities for fellowshipping with Lyuba were beginning to crop up. In fact, Lyuba even decided to come and listen to one of Oxonna's Bible lessons for the kids. Regrettably, Oxonna wound up saying something that didn't quite set well with Lyuba even though it was biblically accurate. So, immediately following the lesson, Lyuba took her kids and left. We later found out that she subsequently forbade them to return to our church or have any contact with us whatsoever.
Thankfully, Lyuba's 17-year old son, Valeria, isn't really in the habit of listening to his Mom. He usually does his own thing even though he lives under the same roof, which basically meant that he still planned to maintain close contact with us. Consequently, Valeria was able to disclose some very valuable details regarding why Mom reacted the way she did. After speaking with Oxonna, I was able to put the pieces together and come up with a plan of action.
The fact is that Lyuba had initially objected to Oxonna's point about God giving us money in order to survive. She even did so during the lesson. But, since it was Lyuba's first official Bible lesson at KRCC, Oxonna chose not to defend her position and run the risk of offending her. Valeria also told us that two women had recently begun visiting with Lyuba in their kitchen every few days for the purpose of studying the Scriptures. Oxonna and I automatically assumed that they were Jehovah's Witnesses but we couldn't be sure since Valeria didn't know. So, what did we do? Well, I gave Oxonna a list of passages regarding God's provisions and told her to go and discuss them with Lyuba after we had spent considerable time in prayer about the situation.
To our surprise, Lyuba welcomed Oxonna into her kitchen and agreed to read the Scriptures together. About ten minutes later, after having discussed three of the passages, Lyuba got a visit from two unexpected guests. You guessed it: two Jehovah's Witnesses just happened to have been in the neighborhood and decided to stop in for some tea. Needless to say, we greatly rejoice in that God not only opened Lyuba's heart to Oxonna's invitation but He also showed us what enemy we're fighting against here.
For a couple of years now, KRCC has owned a great video about the Jehovah's Witnesses. The problem is that we haven't really been able to get much use out of it. Fortunately, Lyuba was willing to view the video with us and that really seemed to open her eyes to a lot of things. Now, Lyuba is studying the Word with me twice during the week, which seems to be going well. She even came to her first church service at KRCC last Sunday, and is encouraging her children to get back involved with our congregation. And, praise God, that is happening! But, by the same token, Lyuba is also continuing her studies with the two Jehovah's Witnesses. So please keep Lyuba and her family in your prayers because we're right in the thick of the battle.
One promising tidbit that Lyuba recently shared was that she brought up a few of the points that I (John) had made concerning the Watchtower's doctrinal positions, during her latest study with the two women, and they were just stumped. So, hopefully God will use Lyuba to open the eyes of these two women also. Please be praying about that too. I even told Lyuba that I'd be glad to study with the two women as well, but we've yet to receive a response to that offer. While hopeful, I honestly doubt that they'll be willing to study with me because even their leaders at the local Kingdom Hall turned that same offer down when I approached them on their turf last winter. But, as you know, prayer tends to do some pretty AMAZING THINGS. So, there's always hope. Either way, though, we'll keep you posted on any developments.
Please Pray for Little Stefan
Stefan will be one year old on March 19th and he's GROWING fast. He already weighs over 11 kilograms and stands over 78 centimeters tall. Of course, although I'm a bit biased, I can still objectively say that he's one of the greatest kids on earth : Oh, you can laugh all you want, but it's still as true as the day is long! That's right! So, naturally, you'd want to know how he's doing these days. Well, unfortunately, he's presently in the hospital with a very serious virus. He's been there for about five days now and we're not sure how long he'll be there. Ira is obviously with him, which helps, but he still misses his Daddy more than any of us know. They're pumping him with antibiotics, they're flushed out his system, and . . . well, let's just say that he's been through the ringer. But Ira is just amazed at how well he's taking everything, which just reminds us of how great a guy he really is. We're proud of him and love him very much. And we're also very confident that, because of your prayers, it won't be long before he's back at home with his Daddy.
Many blessings and much love from all of us at KRCC!
:) John, Ira, and Stefan