God has been doing some amazing things!!
1. Baby Will: As many of you know, in August I returned to Oregon to help Rayma through the last part of her pregnancy. After being in Russia for 2 months without my family, it was so refreshing to be reunited. Our time was just as you might imagine it. Some days were filled with rest and relaxation, while other days we were busy meeting with friends and preparing for the new Baby. Eventually, William ("Will") Joshua Barnhart was born at 1:06 P.M., September 2, 2007; he weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 21 in long. Rayma did a fantastic job and had a quick recovery. Our friends and family were all such a delight to us and we thank you for so much love and genuine support. You guys are the best!
2. Organizing the Outreach: 11 days after Will was born I returned to Russia. It was a difficult thing to have to do, but we are confident it was God's will. Upon my return we quickly scrambled to pull together all the details for the concerts. God blessed us with an amazing facility in which to hold concerts. It was the same price as last year's yet it was in a very famous hall in the center of town. When we first spoke to the hall manager about using it for rock concerts, she immediately said "No" and tried to send us somewhere else but instead of leaving Barb (a Russian gal in the church) and I sat down. Somehow the woman completely changed her opinion and at the end of the conversation tried hard to find a way for us to have the concerts there. It was miraculous! We all had a sense that God was preparing us as a church for something amazing. We were right.
3. A Supernatural Outreach: I can say with all honesty that I have never in all my life been a part of an evangelistic outreach that was this powerful and effective. We passed out over 10,000 flyers and people were somehow supernaturally attracted to the team. The musicians did an amazing job and the testimonies were perfect. God provided sunny skies at a time when it should have been snowing. The weather alone shocked the locals. The team was so unified. Our times of worship and devotion were sincere and powerful. On one of the days plans didn't work out, so we sent some musicians to the park instead. A good number of people followed the Americans back to the concert hall. I was shocked. Every night when John or Mike or Peter got up to share their testimonies, the crowd was absolutely silent. In the past after a concert, about 50% of the crowd leaves right away. But each night almost all of the 250 people sat back down and quietly listened to the gospel presentation. On the last night the Americans were ready with gospels of John, invitations to the church, invitations to the follow-up seminars, the plan of salvation, and more. Most importantly the Americans made lunch appointments and meetings for the next week.
4. Fruitful Follow-up: The concerts ended on Sunday. For the next two days we had planned a special follow-up event. John Marr gave a two-part power point presentation on the inspiration of scripture. We had cookies and tea prepared for any that showed up. On Monday 65 people came but on Tuesday 75 people came. Both nights the Russians were confronted by the most powerful evidence that the Bible is the word of God. John covered geography, science, history, prophecy, textual manuscripts, the Crucifixion and especially the Resurrection. We all watched with sheer excitement as our friends who came to the concerts were now hearing undeniable truth about God's word. On the third night (Wednesday) we planned a special mid-week church service. I shared about some of the foundations of the faith. There were 85 people in the room that night! This is exceptional follow-up for an outreach our size. I had many of the key people in the church stand up and we pointed out as many others as we could. After this time of introductions we encouraged the new people to say goodbye to the Americans but to say hello to the Russians that were in the church. The next day the Americans left for Moscow. That Sunday we presented a slide show of photos from the concerts, and 50 people showed up. We expected this to die down but it hasn't. On Monday we had a special men's meeting that 15 guys showed up to, and on the same night we had a ladies' fellowship which 33 women attended (14 of the 33 were not Christians). Sarah and Lisa have been so busy with follow up meetings that they often leave the house at 12 and don't return until 9 at night. They average 2-3 meetings a day. The harvest is ripe and the laborers are few. The church is also doing so much to disciple and reach out to these new people. Barb, Svyeta, Veronica, Peter and many others have found themselves busy with meetings. Several in the church have told me they will be having weekly meetings with two or three wanting to do their part in discipleship. We were as prepared as we could be for this outreach and still it feels like the boat is filled with fish almost about to sink. We have continued to meet in the small hall where we had the seminars unable to move someplace smaller yet.
I chose two young men to meet with Igor and Andre. Andre and I have just started playing basketball together with Max's workmates. He loves it. Last night before I said goodnight he asked me, "Is there Church tomorrow?" I could tell by the tone in his voice that he was excited. Igor and I see each other every other day. I will be starting a Bible study with him in a few weeks. A couple days ago he came over to our house with cookies and snacks. He burst in with such excitement. Once the tea was poured he said, "I want to tell you why I'm here. My father had heart surgery it didn't look like it would go well. I got down and prayed for the first time and GOD ANSWERED MY PRAYER!! My father is doing great! Why would God listen to me?" But He did, and my father is alive!" Praise God!
Let me just list some other names. The twins Roma and Ruslan have come to every service we have. Anya and Olga came with Sarah, Lisa, and me to Igor's house and are doing really well. In a letter they declared, "The Americans brought us truth." Olyesa the Muslim girl is still coming and told Sarah, "I want to keep in fellowship with you." We had the two Lenas over to our house for tea and cookies it was a great time. Barb has been meeting with Natasha, who's husband beats her and can only see her child once a month. Liza said that since she has given her heart to God she has been delivered from alcohol. Aleyona said that she prayed for the first time this week. We don't have time to talk about Luba, Uliana, Ksusha, Olga and Dasha nor does this list include several other believers who rededicated their lives or have been hurt and decided to give church another try.
In all my life I have never seen God work like this. No one gets the credit. It's not a fancy idea or program. God is just doing awesome things. Please pray it continues. While I was back in America several of you mentioned that you have been praying for us every day. Thank you! I hope this report blesses you and shows all of us who are committed to this ministry that our labor is not in vain.
I hate to end on a negative note but there is a threat to the ministry. Not only in Perm but nation wide! I think it's more than worthy of another paragraph.
5. A threat to the Ministry: In yesterday's newspaper the St. Petersburg times published an extensive article on the new restrictions to foreigners living in Russia. We can no longer get one year visas that allow us to remain in Russia the whole year. As of October 4th the new law states that we can stay in Russia for 90 days and then must leave and cannot return for another 91 days. There are no conditions and no exceptions. I received a phone call at 9 in the morning from the international director of YWAM for Russia and he confirmed this. I called our Moscow office and they confirmed it as well. Unlike other laws in the past, this law does not look like it will be reversed. They have already printed new visa forms. Businesses and religious workers all over Russia will be affected and very likely hindered by this new change. To make it worse they may be adding an amendment to this law that restricts us from getting a visa from any Russian embassy except an embassy in our country of origin. We are presently trying to find loop holes and or other options. There is a temporary residency permit that we are all looking into, but we don't know how difficult it is to get. There is a lot of confusion right now, but we hope things will make more sense in a couple of weeks.
You can all imagine how difficult if not impossible it would be to pastor a church in a country when we have to leave for three months every three months. In addition to this, you can also imagine how expensive it would be for us to travel back to America twice a year. This is an obvious threat to the ministry not only in Perm but all over Russia. We all know how things are politically between Russia and the US right now. This stuff isn't just news it's affecting real people and real ministries.
Please pray for us in every aspect of this situation. Pray that God protects the abundant work and harvest we have just experienced in Perm. Pray that God will change the laws in our favor. Pray for wisdom that church organizations would know how best to process these changes. Pray for native leaders to be raised up. Finally, pray that God would continue to advance the gospel in Calvary Chapel Perm Russia. He will take care of us all. He will build His church even still we invite you to join us in prayer.
Your Missionaries,
David, Rayma, Elias and Will
1. Baby Will: As many of you know, in August I returned to Oregon to help Rayma through the last part of her pregnancy. After being in Russia for 2 months without my family, it was so refreshing to be reunited. Our time was just as you might imagine it. Some days were filled with rest and relaxation, while other days we were busy meeting with friends and preparing for the new Baby. Eventually, William ("Will") Joshua Barnhart was born at 1:06 P.M., September 2, 2007; he weighed 8 lbs 2 oz and was 21 in long. Rayma did a fantastic job and had a quick recovery. Our friends and family were all such a delight to us and we thank you for so much love and genuine support. You guys are the best!
2. Organizing the Outreach: 11 days after Will was born I returned to Russia. It was a difficult thing to have to do, but we are confident it was God's will. Upon my return we quickly scrambled to pull together all the details for the concerts. God blessed us with an amazing facility in which to hold concerts. It was the same price as last year's yet it was in a very famous hall in the center of town. When we first spoke to the hall manager about using it for rock concerts, she immediately said "No" and tried to send us somewhere else but instead of leaving Barb (a Russian gal in the church) and I sat down. Somehow the woman completely changed her opinion and at the end of the conversation tried hard to find a way for us to have the concerts there. It was miraculous! We all had a sense that God was preparing us as a church for something amazing. We were right.
3. A Supernatural Outreach: I can say with all honesty that I have never in all my life been a part of an evangelistic outreach that was this powerful and effective. We passed out over 10,000 flyers and people were somehow supernaturally attracted to the team. The musicians did an amazing job and the testimonies were perfect. God provided sunny skies at a time when it should have been snowing. The weather alone shocked the locals. The team was so unified. Our times of worship and devotion were sincere and powerful. On one of the days plans didn't work out, so we sent some musicians to the park instead. A good number of people followed the Americans back to the concert hall. I was shocked. Every night when John or Mike or Peter got up to share their testimonies, the crowd was absolutely silent. In the past after a concert, about 50% of the crowd leaves right away. But each night almost all of the 250 people sat back down and quietly listened to the gospel presentation. On the last night the Americans were ready with gospels of John, invitations to the church, invitations to the follow-up seminars, the plan of salvation, and more. Most importantly the Americans made lunch appointments and meetings for the next week.
4. Fruitful Follow-up: The concerts ended on Sunday. For the next two days we had planned a special follow-up event. John Marr gave a two-part power point presentation on the inspiration of scripture. We had cookies and tea prepared for any that showed up. On Monday 65 people came but on Tuesday 75 people came. Both nights the Russians were confronted by the most powerful evidence that the Bible is the word of God. John covered geography, science, history, prophecy, textual manuscripts, the Crucifixion and especially the Resurrection. We all watched with sheer excitement as our friends who came to the concerts were now hearing undeniable truth about God's word. On the third night (Wednesday) we planned a special mid-week church service. I shared about some of the foundations of the faith. There were 85 people in the room that night! This is exceptional follow-up for an outreach our size. I had many of the key people in the church stand up and we pointed out as many others as we could. After this time of introductions we encouraged the new people to say goodbye to the Americans but to say hello to the Russians that were in the church. The next day the Americans left for Moscow. That Sunday we presented a slide show of photos from the concerts, and 50 people showed up. We expected this to die down but it hasn't. On Monday we had a special men's meeting that 15 guys showed up to, and on the same night we had a ladies' fellowship which 33 women attended (14 of the 33 were not Christians). Sarah and Lisa have been so busy with follow up meetings that they often leave the house at 12 and don't return until 9 at night. They average 2-3 meetings a day. The harvest is ripe and the laborers are few. The church is also doing so much to disciple and reach out to these new people. Barb, Svyeta, Veronica, Peter and many others have found themselves busy with meetings. Several in the church have told me they will be having weekly meetings with two or three wanting to do their part in discipleship. We were as prepared as we could be for this outreach and still it feels like the boat is filled with fish almost about to sink. We have continued to meet in the small hall where we had the seminars unable to move someplace smaller yet.
I chose two young men to meet with Igor and Andre. Andre and I have just started playing basketball together with Max's workmates. He loves it. Last night before I said goodnight he asked me, "Is there Church tomorrow?" I could tell by the tone in his voice that he was excited. Igor and I see each other every other day. I will be starting a Bible study with him in a few weeks. A couple days ago he came over to our house with cookies and snacks. He burst in with such excitement. Once the tea was poured he said, "I want to tell you why I'm here. My father had heart surgery it didn't look like it would go well. I got down and prayed for the first time and GOD ANSWERED MY PRAYER!! My father is doing great! Why would God listen to me?" But He did, and my father is alive!" Praise God!
Let me just list some other names. The twins Roma and Ruslan have come to every service we have. Anya and Olga came with Sarah, Lisa, and me to Igor's house and are doing really well. In a letter they declared, "The Americans brought us truth." Olyesa the Muslim girl is still coming and told Sarah, "I want to keep in fellowship with you." We had the two Lenas over to our house for tea and cookies it was a great time. Barb has been meeting with Natasha, who's husband beats her and can only see her child once a month. Liza said that since she has given her heart to God she has been delivered from alcohol. Aleyona said that she prayed for the first time this week. We don't have time to talk about Luba, Uliana, Ksusha, Olga and Dasha nor does this list include several other believers who rededicated their lives or have been hurt and decided to give church another try.
In all my life I have never seen God work like this. No one gets the credit. It's not a fancy idea or program. God is just doing awesome things. Please pray it continues. While I was back in America several of you mentioned that you have been praying for us every day. Thank you! I hope this report blesses you and shows all of us who are committed to this ministry that our labor is not in vain.
I hate to end on a negative note but there is a threat to the ministry. Not only in Perm but nation wide! I think it's more than worthy of another paragraph.
5. A threat to the Ministry: In yesterday's newspaper the St. Petersburg times published an extensive article on the new restrictions to foreigners living in Russia. We can no longer get one year visas that allow us to remain in Russia the whole year. As of October 4th the new law states that we can stay in Russia for 90 days and then must leave and cannot return for another 91 days. There are no conditions and no exceptions. I received a phone call at 9 in the morning from the international director of YWAM for Russia and he confirmed this. I called our Moscow office and they confirmed it as well. Unlike other laws in the past, this law does not look like it will be reversed. They have already printed new visa forms. Businesses and religious workers all over Russia will be affected and very likely hindered by this new change. To make it worse they may be adding an amendment to this law that restricts us from getting a visa from any Russian embassy except an embassy in our country of origin. We are presently trying to find loop holes and or other options. There is a temporary residency permit that we are all looking into, but we don't know how difficult it is to get. There is a lot of confusion right now, but we hope things will make more sense in a couple of weeks.
You can all imagine how difficult if not impossible it would be to pastor a church in a country when we have to leave for three months every three months. In addition to this, you can also imagine how expensive it would be for us to travel back to America twice a year. This is an obvious threat to the ministry not only in Perm but all over Russia. We all know how things are politically between Russia and the US right now. This stuff isn't just news it's affecting real people and real ministries.
Please pray for us in every aspect of this situation. Pray that God protects the abundant work and harvest we have just experienced in Perm. Pray that God will change the laws in our favor. Pray for wisdom that church organizations would know how best to process these changes. Pray for native leaders to be raised up. Finally, pray that God would continue to advance the gospel in Calvary Chapel Perm Russia. He will take care of us all. He will build His church even still we invite you to join us in prayer.
Your Missionaries,
David, Rayma, Elias and Will
posted by Mark Armstrong | 12:55 PM
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