Odessa Mission
March 2006 Newsletter
Spring Forward! - Don't Fall Back!
I want to start off this month by briefly sharing a few things in the hopes that
they'll help paint a picture of the kind of spiritual battle we are all fighting
here at KRCC. In the past six months or so, Satan has attacked some of
the members of our congregation and caused them to battle depression, immoral
behavior, deceitfulness, betrayal, back-biting, and a decrease in the
interest of serving the one true Lord. Some of the new Christians just
couldn't cope with the pressures exerted by their own families and friends
and/or their conflict with previous Orthodox beliefs and so they elected to
leave KRCC. Others struggle daily with life's cruel blows and have slipped
back into their previous sinful habits. We have seen the exuberance of
some of the new Christians and prayed for them to have the courage and the
strength to combat Satan's arrows, only to see these potential leaders
crumble before the onslaught of earthly pleasures and disappointments.
One of the individuals that seemed to show a lot of courage and a desire
to follow the Lord has suffered more than his share of tragic moments
(e.g., he had an accident on his scooter, his wife left him, three beloved
companion cats have died) and now he has reverted back to his old sinful
ways. Another individual is a Pentecostal believer who calls our apartment
often just to encourage us with his prayers. However, he's also befriended
a couple of our members and keeps trying to convince them to leave KRCC and
go to his church. I could certainly go on and on but I won't. I just want
you to know that the devil is very active here and it's clear that he's
attacking with his entire arsenal. Please do pray for all of these
individuals and please keep praying for us too because we definitely need it!
Enough of the sad things so let's talk about the good things that are
happening here at KRCC.
One of the great joys we have at KRCC is our dedicated youth.
We can always count on our youth to be present and ready to study God's
Word whenever the church doors are open. Recently, we took a trip to a local
mall here in Odessa and here are the main core kids at KRCC: Andre, Nastya,
Elijah, Casha, Oleg (left to right).
I have recently begun studying Russian grammar in order to "clean up my language"
so to speak. The Russian language has many tricky nuances and I sometimes mean
one thing but my choice of words says something else. Larissa, who has attended
KRCC for a long time, taught Russian for 30 years and is doing a great job
bringing it all down to my level
Many of you have been praying for our English lessons so an update is in order.
We've actually changed the original schedule to accommodate some students and
even moved Wednesday lessons to Saturday but that is not working out too well.
Since I'm not an English teacher by trade, I asked for feedback and according
to our own people I'm doing a fairly decent job overall. However, the number
of students has decreased and few are attending regularly right now. I have
recently come to the conclusion that my approach is a bit too threatening for
unbelievers. I originally used the lessons as an evangelistic tool but that
approach seems to be backfiring. So, I've decided to tone down the spiritual
talk considerably at the English lessons and maybe use English and a translator
for part of Sunday's worship service.
In addition, I'm presently brainstorming with our leadership team for the
purpose of revamping the Sunday morning service so that it is generally
more seeker-sensitive. (Admittedly, what genuinely appeals to the Ukrainian
mind, especially that of an unbeliever, is still quite a mystery to me but
God is still in control.) Please be praying for us as we make the necessary
changes. If you happen to have any ideas or suggestions we would really
appreciate your input as well.
In closing, I would like to quote from a letter from one of our members who
is currently benefiting from the Alyosha Fund. Tatyana works and is a
full-time student at the university but she's barely making ends meet.
She writes:
"I just want to thank you so much for all your help. I just thank the Lord
for all of you! In our world there are so few people of your caliber and I
just praise God for you all. I pray for you every single day and I express
my gratitude to Him for you too. I promise to take my studies very seriously
and make all of you proud of the sacrifice you continue to make."
Blessings in Christ, John and Ira - Kind Road Christian Church