Belarus Mission Day 03

Belarus Mission

Day 3

By Peter Ruck

Yauheni had arranged for me to speak at his church on Sunday morning, 60 miles outside the city. I was to follow him as the main speaker.

I had prepared some material which thankfully I had downloaded from my laptop. As God had really spoken to me at the airport, that He is a God of second chances, so I adapted my notes to incorporate what God had put in my heart.

I began to speak with confidence, I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit within. I referred to Psalms 23 and Luke 15v1-9 and then shared my testimony how in life we are sometimes in a valley, and that we don’t always stay in that situation. Explaining that this is applicable to non-believers and believers He is a God of second chances, I told them that I had needed second chances. I could see this had the people’s attention. I then shared two more scriptures 2 Corinthians 4v6-7. Then I challenged them to ‘only believe’ – explaining that God was waiting for them to turn to Him when their backs were against a wall.

I explained that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. We can all have a new life through Jesus today. I passed the microphone to Pastor Leanid Yarmolik who made the appeal to his church. People came forward, some were saved, others repented, they needed a “second chance” to rededicate themselves to Christ, because they had been living wrongly. As I prayed, the Holy Spirit ministered with a power I had not seen before, I was on fire inside when I shared and prayed.

I spent an amazing night praying and meditating with God, hardly sleeping, with such peace and a heart to serve.

Pastor Leanid took Yauheni and me to see the work he was doing, building a rehabilitation centre for alcoholics, and also to house the homeless. You could really see the love of Christ in this down-to-earth pastor. He then took us to see the new building his church had been praying for: a former army building that was up for auction.

In the evening they wanted me to go with them to share with a group of Pastors that Yauheni was overseeing. We went back to Minsk to buy some clothes, and were grateful for the meal I had on the way home.

Yauheni and Yulia are so caring and loving; when Yauheni and I didn’t understand each other we smiled and laughed. We have such kindred spirits. I know this is God’s purpose and each day I can see God’s hand at work. Yauheni is an encouragement and an inspiration in how he serves God with humility and faith. They have such lovely smiles you can see joy emanating from them.