How are you doing? We have just wrapped up our second annual “All Saints” youth conference. And it was a huge success! Thank you for your prayers!
Our conference is usually held during the first or second week of November which coincides with the holidays in Russia that commemorate the defeat of the polish invasion in the 17th century. Because of its proximity to the All Saints’ Day we decided to name our conference after it. Proximity of the conference to the Reformation Day gave us a framework of our themes for the next five years. Every year we take one of the solas of the Reformation and examine it in depth. So last year we looked at “faith” and this year “grace” became the main topic of the conference.
I got to share on the opening night about our need for grace and had a seminar on “Science and Faith” the following day. It was a lot of fun to debunk a lot of the myths about the relationship between science and faith during that seminar. One of the attendees at the seminar is wrapping up her Master of Science in Physics from a premier Russian University (Moscow Institute of Physics and Engineering, which is a top 10 university in Russia). She is thinking about pursuing her Ph.D in physics after this. Thus it was great to see her at the seminar and help her to see how her faith actually helps her in her scientific endeavors.
On the closing night this past Sunday we had a praise and worship night which drew a significantly larger crowd than just those who signed up for the conference. We deliberately open that night to everyone including seekers who are just exploring faith. That Sunday at church I met a young woman, her name is Anastassia. It was her second time in church, and she came because her former colleague invited her. After church Anastassia joined the praise and worship night at our conference. She is brand new to Christian faith and is yet to put her trust in Christ. Her friend, who brought her to church shared that “everything is so new to her, she is trying to grasp the idea of worship and of the Lord’s supper but most importantly of the whole idea of a relationship with God.” Lord willing Anastassia will visit our small group next week and we will have a chance for a deeper discussion of her questions.
Once again thank you for your prayers! The Lord has heard them and answered them!
Yours in praying and hastening the day of revival in Moscow and Russia,
Constantin and Alexandra
P.S. Alright it's time for a very important question – did you put up your Christmas tree? Or not yet? When do you usually do it? Russian stores are not hindered by celebrating Thanksgiving and thus began putting up Christmas decorations about a week ago. I am continuing to partner with YouVersion app in writing Bible reading plans in Russian. This year our Advent series of sermons will be dedicated to the Second Coming of Christ and it is called "The Return of Christmas." The first two parts of the series are done and uploaded on YouVersion just in time for them to release these reading plans on December 1. But here is an interesting twist about this partnership that truly shows how Christ can heal any seemingly unrepairable relationship. The coordinator for YouVersion Eurasia is a Ukrainian who was drafted into Ukrainian army at the begining of this conflict. That did not sour our relationship. As a matter of fact it made it stronger because it gave us a chance to pray for one another in the midst of unforeseen difficulties and challenges we encountered.
THREE THINGS TO PRAY FOR:
Please join us in praying for God:
- To bring peace to Ukraine and Russia. Moreover, ask God to use this conflict by bringing reconciliation and revival to both countries.
- To bless our upcoming Advent and Chrsitmas season. I have 2 more parts of Advent readings to finish and upload to YouVersion. Not to mention that Advent and Christmas are our busiest seasons. Ask God to send us a lot of new people that would put their trust in Jesus during this time.
- To bring those new people who came to church for the first time this fall into a loving relationship with Jesus. We have a lot of brand new people that have come to church for the very first time this fall. Most of them became regular attendees since then. The story of Anastassia above illustrates the stories of these folks. Please pray that they would put their trust in Jesus and would start growing in a loving relationship with Him.
