Belarus Mission Day 06

Belarus Mission

Day 8

By Peter Ruck

Two of the leaders came back on Wednesday to tell us how it had helped many people and they brought a picture file for me, which they had taken during the meeting.

Olga, an English teacher, who had taken a delight in being my tour guide had prepared many notes and made things interesting. She showed me the Christian roots of Belarus and the way the people had sacrificed their lives for their country and the places we visited. Minsk was destroyed in the Second World War and became an icon for USSR as it was rebuilt.
In the evening we met with Assistant Senior Pastor Dmitri of Christ Jesus Church who shared with us about their ministry and how they are seen by many churches as a church that others wanted to work with. He informed us that there were around 20 churches in this alliance. He explained the issues that Belarusian ministers faced in their work. We prayed for this work in Belarus In this ministry everything is focused on reaching people. He is passionate to start a Christian school at the Church. I was able to share about the ministry at Peniel and was grateful for the prayers they extended to me and my church at home.

Tent Ministry meeting

Yauheni leads passionately a tent ministry and outreach at home and worldwide. It was good to sit around the table with his team and listen to the way they worked. It was a large group of people with a diverse age range. The eldest was an 81 year old man called Constantine. He was so enthusiastic when he gave a testimony of what happened when Yauheni was ministering. He was with a deaf and dumb boy, in Bulgaria, who spoke for the first time. The first word he uttered was “Jesus”. Constantine told me he was a prisoner of war in Germany and now he goes there with a tent ministry to evangelise. He tells the Germans, “I was a prisoner of war in your country and you locked me up, I have come to set you free through Jesus Christ”.

Another lady in her 60s works in the children’s outreach as a clown, it was a blessing to see this diverse group at work. At the weekend, they had planned an outreach at the church. Comprised of two events – one a children’s holiday club, the other a tea party for adults, but as they are not allowed to mention anything about God on posters or leaflets, I asked “how will people know what they’re being invited to?”

Pastor Artyom said we have to rely on our address: most people know who they were and where to find them because of their address. Yauheni asked me to speak to his group, I felt led to encourage them, in my message. It was good to see the unity and joy in this group who had a desire to reach the lost.