Good News from Perm!
Hello everyone I hope that you are all doing well. As most of you know, Rayma and Elias returned to the States almost two months ago while I remained here in Perm, Russia. It has been a long and difficult two months, but the Lord has been glorified and I would like to let you all know what I've been doing out here during that time. Of course, much of my time has been filled with studying and teaching the Word along with a great deal of counseling and an incredible amount of preparation for the upcoming outreach in October. I am so excited for this coming outreach and could send an update on this subject alone, however there are several things many of you have not heard about yet, and I wanted to share these with you as well. Please enjoy.
Boat Trip: Once I returned from Kiev, Ukraine I rested for about a week, then 20 of us set out for the Russian wilderness on our first Church boat trip. We drove 7 hours by bus, assembled our boats and headed down river. I can tell you that Russian camping is nothing like American camping! I got more wilderness than I ever wanted. The weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. The water was pure and refreshing and so was the fellowship. However my favorite parts were studying the Word of God next to the campfire. We talked about God's glory! It was awesome to speak of God's glorious character in the middle of His magnificent creation. The river rushing past, the birds and the gorgeous sky were so helpful to enhance our appreciation for God's greatness. When the trip was over we could all sense how much stronger our friendships had become. There was something so powerful about the time; it definitely served to strengthen our church.
Prison Ministry: Every other Monday we have a men's fellowship that meets. About 10-15 guys show up to eat, encourage each other and talk about how the Word of God applies to our lives as men. I have asked Max and Peter to lead this ministry and they are doing a wonderful job. A prison ministry in town is building a house for recovering inmates and our group of men were given an opportunity to help with the building project. In the rain and mud they worked like true Christian soldiers. We were able to meet several from the ministry who had been in prison for longer than I've been alive, as well as several that were recovering inmates. I'm so proud of our men for their servant hearts.
Week of Prayer: The Lord put it on my heart for us to set aside one week and dedicate it completely to prayer. For one week every message was dedicated to prayer. At the end of the week on Saturday we planned a church picnic to celebrate. The time began on Monday. We walked the city in pairs asking people on the street for prayer requests. We prayed for the homeless, drunk people out partying and anyone else that we saw as we walked. Our two main prayers were "God save our city" and, "God break our hearts for the lost," On Wednesday we had another time of prayer and studied the passages in the Bible where men, "called upon the name of the Lord." On Saturday I talked about how Jesus encouraged His disciples to, "pray and not give up" and we had a wonderful picnic. Finally, on Sunday night we met once again and looked at the passage where Jesus said, "My Father's house is a house of prayer." At the end of the service I gave the church an opportunity to rededicate their lives to God. Although I didn't ask for any hands to be raised, I know of several that took advantage of this opportunity. Praise God!
Service changed from Saturday to Sunday: I remember when George Bryson (the president of CCCPM) called me late one night. We talked about the upcoming outreach in October then out of nowhere he said, "Dave, I want to encourage you to move your church meeting time from Saturday to Sunday." I thought and prayed about it and finally said, "God, if you want us to move please just make it so we have to move." A week later I got a phone call. It was the day before we were going to start our week of prayer. The pastor of the church we are meeting in told me they have 6-7 weddings over the next 3 months and will need to use the building on Saturdays. Could we please consider moving our church meetings to Sunday at 5:00 pm? I thought, "Well that's not a traditional time, but it seems to be the Lord." We are very excited about this new change and several more people have been able to come to our service because we meet on Sunday. God is so good.
Baptism in the River: Just a day ago on Saturday the 28th we had our second baptism service since I've been here in Perm. We baptized 5 people at a spot where two huge rivers come together. It was a powerful time! The wind was blowing hard, the water was rough, and it even began to rain! Because of the weather we had to shout everything we said. So I shouted my short explanation of Baptism as lightning flashed in the background. Each person that was baptized shouted his or her commitment to God and love for Jesus Christ. The people who were baptized were all different ages from 16-45. The last guy we baptized came to Christ several months ago his name is Dennis. Our entire church has been praying and hoping he would come to Christ and now not only did he come but wanted to be baptized! After we baptized him the rain and lightning stopped the clouds eventually parted and the sun came out! We pulled out a bunch of food and had a picnic on the grass in the Sun. It was a day I will never forget!
One more week: I have one more week in Perm as of today. I will teach two more times and head out for Moscow on the 4th of August. I will be in Oregon on the 6th. Rayma's due date is 21 days later. Please keep us in prayer as I travel and as our second son will soon come into the world.
We love you all so much and are so thankful for your prayers and support. You are our partners in ministry and we praise God for each one of you.
May God richly bless your lives!
In Christ,
David Barnhart
Pastor Calvary Chapel Perm, Russia
Hello everyone I hope that you are all doing well. As most of you know, Rayma and Elias returned to the States almost two months ago while I remained here in Perm, Russia. It has been a long and difficult two months, but the Lord has been glorified and I would like to let you all know what I've been doing out here during that time. Of course, much of my time has been filled with studying and teaching the Word along with a great deal of counseling and an incredible amount of preparation for the upcoming outreach in October. I am so excited for this coming outreach and could send an update on this subject alone, however there are several things many of you have not heard about yet, and I wanted to share these with you as well. Please enjoy.
Boat Trip: Once I returned from Kiev, Ukraine I rested for about a week, then 20 of us set out for the Russian wilderness on our first Church boat trip. We drove 7 hours by bus, assembled our boats and headed down river. I can tell you that Russian camping is nothing like American camping! I got more wilderness than I ever wanted. The weather was beautiful and we had a wonderful time. The water was pure and refreshing and so was the fellowship. However my favorite parts were studying the Word of God next to the campfire. We talked about God's glory! It was awesome to speak of God's glorious character in the middle of His magnificent creation. The river rushing past, the birds and the gorgeous sky were so helpful to enhance our appreciation for God's greatness. When the trip was over we could all sense how much stronger our friendships had become. There was something so powerful about the time; it definitely served to strengthen our church.
Prison Ministry: Every other Monday we have a men's fellowship that meets. About 10-15 guys show up to eat, encourage each other and talk about how the Word of God applies to our lives as men. I have asked Max and Peter to lead this ministry and they are doing a wonderful job. A prison ministry in town is building a house for recovering inmates and our group of men were given an opportunity to help with the building project. In the rain and mud they worked like true Christian soldiers. We were able to meet several from the ministry who had been in prison for longer than I've been alive, as well as several that were recovering inmates. I'm so proud of our men for their servant hearts.
Week of Prayer: The Lord put it on my heart for us to set aside one week and dedicate it completely to prayer. For one week every message was dedicated to prayer. At the end of the week on Saturday we planned a church picnic to celebrate. The time began on Monday. We walked the city in pairs asking people on the street for prayer requests. We prayed for the homeless, drunk people out partying and anyone else that we saw as we walked. Our two main prayers were "God save our city" and, "God break our hearts for the lost," On Wednesday we had another time of prayer and studied the passages in the Bible where men, "called upon the name of the Lord." On Saturday I talked about how Jesus encouraged His disciples to, "pray and not give up" and we had a wonderful picnic. Finally, on Sunday night we met once again and looked at the passage where Jesus said, "My Father's house is a house of prayer." At the end of the service I gave the church an opportunity to rededicate their lives to God. Although I didn't ask for any hands to be raised, I know of several that took advantage of this opportunity. Praise God!
Service changed from Saturday to Sunday: I remember when George Bryson (the president of CCCPM) called me late one night. We talked about the upcoming outreach in October then out of nowhere he said, "Dave, I want to encourage you to move your church meeting time from Saturday to Sunday." I thought and prayed about it and finally said, "God, if you want us to move please just make it so we have to move." A week later I got a phone call. It was the day before we were going to start our week of prayer. The pastor of the church we are meeting in told me they have 6-7 weddings over the next 3 months and will need to use the building on Saturdays. Could we please consider moving our church meetings to Sunday at 5:00 pm? I thought, "Well that's not a traditional time, but it seems to be the Lord." We are very excited about this new change and several more people have been able to come to our service because we meet on Sunday. God is so good.
Baptism in the River: Just a day ago on Saturday the 28th we had our second baptism service since I've been here in Perm. We baptized 5 people at a spot where two huge rivers come together. It was a powerful time! The wind was blowing hard, the water was rough, and it even began to rain! Because of the weather we had to shout everything we said. So I shouted my short explanation of Baptism as lightning flashed in the background. Each person that was baptized shouted his or her commitment to God and love for Jesus Christ. The people who were baptized were all different ages from 16-45. The last guy we baptized came to Christ several months ago his name is Dennis. Our entire church has been praying and hoping he would come to Christ and now not only did he come but wanted to be baptized! After we baptized him the rain and lightning stopped the clouds eventually parted and the sun came out! We pulled out a bunch of food and had a picnic on the grass in the Sun. It was a day I will never forget!
One more week: I have one more week in Perm as of today. I will teach two more times and head out for Moscow on the 4th of August. I will be in Oregon on the 6th. Rayma's due date is 21 days later. Please keep us in prayer as I travel and as our second son will soon come into the world.
We love you all so much and are so thankful for your prayers and support. You are our partners in ministry and we praise God for each one of you.
May God richly bless your lives!
In Christ,
David Barnhart
Pastor Calvary Chapel Perm, Russia
posted by Mark Armstrong | 1:41 PM
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