A Personal Reflection

Transcription

1 CANADA ISight Slavic Gospel Associatio Servig Churches Reachig Russia Jauary 2014 A Persoal Reflectio By Ruth Deyeka Erdel As we observe SGA s 80th year miistry to Russia ad other atios Slavic backgroud, I ca t help but lovigly recall my father, Peter Naumovich Deyeka. He bured with a passio to reach Russia-speakig people with the Gospel wherever he foud them! Ad that led to SGA s birth o that Jauary day so log ago i Missioaries were first set to Russia-speakig Aleuts i Alaska, ad the to Cuba where Russias were also livig. Whe I grew up, I joied my father o the missio field, first i Europe ad the i South America, where I participated i Russialaguage Gospel Peter Naumovich radio programs. Deyeka The stage for this was set years prior i November 1940, whe I was 13. My father was ivited to South America, where he miistered to thousads Slavic immigrats i Argetia, Uruguay ad Paraguay. I Ecuador, he preached what is believed is the first Russialaguage sermo over the radio via HCJB s SGA fouder Peter Deyeka (frot) ad our shortwave radio miistry team. powerful shortwave sigal. It was the begiig decades Russia Christia programmig. Over the decades, Russiaspeakig people i 87 coutries were reached with the story Jesus! My father s visio icluded Bible-traiig ceters for Russia speakers aroud the world, ad he bega the first oes i Caada ad Argetia. Hudreds graduates became pastors, missioaries, ad Christia workers. SGA helped aswer the plea for God s Word by pritig thousads upo thousads Russia

2 Bibles, New Testamets, childre s Bibles, ad may other soud Christia books. There is so much more I could tell! My father wet to be with the Lord before freedom came to Russia ad her eighborig coutries. But the Lord used Peter Deyeka s tireless labors to prepare the way aticipatig the day that he By Dr. Bob Provost Presidet This moth we are celebratig 80 years proclaimig the Gospel our Lord Jesus Christ. Our hearts are filled with praise ad thaksgivig for all God has accomplished through His people across Russia ad her eighborig coutries. We are also deeply thakful to you, our parters i miistry, for your steadfast faithfuless i prayer ad givig. You have helped make it all possible. Whe Peter Deyeka ad the foudig board met i Chicago ad bega the Russia Gospel Associatio later reamed SGA 80 Years! believed would come. I rejoice that my father s visio ad his life s work cotiues. Praise God that for 80 years, Slavic Gospel Associatio has bee takig the light the Gospel to Russia people aroud the world. Yet may more eed to hear His love, ad much work remais to be doe. As my father would say, Much Prayer, Much Power! Praise ad Thaksgivig to God for Eight Decades Miistry Dr. Robert W. Provost SGA Presidet A youg Peter Deyeka i SGA s early days. their hearts were full eager aticipatio. They kew that millios Russiaspeakig people were i desperate eed hearig the Good News Jesus Christ. Their hearts were determied to aswer to the biblical call ad challege... How the will they call o Him i whom they have ot believed? How will they believe i Him whom they have ot heard? Ad how will they hear without a preacher (Romas 10:14)? Ad aswer it they did! I 1934, atheistic Soviet commuism A Soviet border gate a symbol the Iro Curtai. was i full sway. Churches were beig forcibly closed ad God s people were beig martyred. But today, i 2014, Peter ad his team would rejoice to hear the thakful reports from the faithful missioary pastors you help sposor as they report the fruit their miistries. Pastor Sergei Volokiti i Russia s Kaluga regio is a great example a faithful servat havig powerful impact with your help. He wrote to tell how God used a tragic fire for the sake the Gospel... Last summer, a electrical fire broke out i the ight, seriously damagig our church ad adjacet home. My wife Raisa ad I awoke ad got out just i time. The fireme said, A few secods more, ad you would have bee dead. It meas God is o your side! All the eighbors saw the fire, ad listeed to us tell them about God. They said we were i trouble, but I said, No! Tragedy is whe a perso turs away from God. Tragedy is whe we say farewell to a usaved relative. The fire is a temporary problem. It is possible to overcome everythig with God! We were shocked at how people bega to help us immediately. Our eighbor Igor (a Armeia ma) tried to help put the fire out, ad a woma who had visited our church amed Tatyaa put us up i her home for the ight. Rebuildig after the fire. Today, there is much work to do yet i restorig the church, but we are revivig! Please pray for us! I ca imagie Peter Deyeka rejoicig with us today i hearig from a faithful missioary pastor i Kazakhsta, where growig Muslim ad govermetal persecutio the church caot stop the Gospel... Kazakhsta is the largest the Cetral Asia CIS atios. We are so grateful for your prayers ad fiacial support. Now we re tryig to build relatioships i a eighborig village. We became acquaited with a very eedy family with seve childre. They listeed joyfully as we told them the Lord. Their relatives are also watchig our fellowship closely. Two ew families have begu comig to our worship services, ad oe woma repeted! May our Heavely Father bless you ad geerously provide your every eed! We kow from God s Word that each repetig soul brigs much joy i heave (Luke 15:7). Peter Deyeka ad SGA s first board are ow with the Lord, but I praise ad thak God that 80 years after it all bega, this little missio is still doig exactly what it was fouded to do to rush the Gospel to Russia-speakig people everywhere. Ad with His help, together with you, we will cotiue proclaimig the Gospel util our Lord returs.

3 Alexei Bikov, Russia: Pray for SGA-Sposored Missioary Pastors! Durig the holidays, we orgaized evagelism aroud the city Christmas tree i our tow. We put up a pulpit ad a table with literature, caledars,u.s.cds, Bibles, ad Chukchi childre s literature. The people were comig up to us ad askig questios, sayig they ever heard such music. We distributed all that we had, adprovideiya evagelized for ARCTIC OCEAN Wragel Islad five hours! The followig are excerpts from reports we ve received over the past year from the faithful missioary pastors you help support across Russia ad her eighborig N O R T H AT L A N T I C coutries. Chose from various locatios, these reports are a glimpse their tireless, OCEAN Svalbard day-by-day labors to wi their people to Christ. (NORWAY) Departig, they bega goig throughout the villages, U.K. Vasily Furta, Ukraie: North Norwegia preachig the Gospel NORWAY Oslo Amsterdam NETH.... (Luke 9:6). Fraz Josef Lad Barets SWEDEN New Siberia Islads Severaya Zemlya Pastor Mikhail Pimoeko, Ukraie: ma ora ch Pe b' O AZERBAIJAN Baku Caspia Nukus Aral Semey Lake Balkhash a ary ud Am We are grateful to you for your prayers ad costat support. We UZBEKISTAN Baghdad TURKMENISTAN had Easter celebratios i the orphaage, Tehra where the childre Ashgabat listeed IRAQ Bishkek Tashket to the story the death, burial, ad resurrectio the Lord Jesus KYRGYZSTAN Christ. We also visited small daughter churches i the villages IRAN KUWAIT Dushabe Kayutio ad Korsuy. Thak God, the work is advacig ad people TAJIKISTAN Kuwait SAUDI are repetig! Persia ARABIA AFGHANISTAN Gulf PAK. OCEAN Georgi Vasilya ad Mikhail Moshkov, Russia: We ve doe Christmas puppet shows ad held Bible Okhotsk lessos for 25 childre from ubelievig families Yakutsk parets), ad made visits to the (alog with their Okhotsk Vilyuysk y u drug rehab ceter i Ryabichi. Oe our brothers ly Okha Vi a Sakhali e a L shared his testimoy, the Ald Islad Alda Lesk A m we couseled. We had 28 ur Neryugri evagelistic fellowships Sovetskaya Berezovyy Gava ad visits to villages! Tyda a y Alexader Nagiryak, Ukraie: KAZAKHSTAN Aqtau Yereva SYRIA Bamaul Astaa PA C I F I C Le ise Tbilisi ARMENIA Abaka NORTH Tiksi Ye Do Pavlodar Koly Copehage Gulf Bothia We met GERMANY FINLAND Stockholm Berli 18-year-old Eight years ago, Adrei atteded our summer camp. He was a Helsiki Baltic costat Kolya while disciplie problem. After camp, we heard othig about him Talli POLAND Dikso Prague Riga we were for aest.log time, but the Lord had a special pla. A few moths ago, he CZ. REP. LAT. sigig i the ad his girlfried, Lea, atted Bible study to LITH. repeted! Now Adrei Nar'yaLake Vilius Mar SLOV. Warsaw Oega park, ad he prepare for baptism! BELARUS Norilsk Koosha Vorkuta Misk Pechora stopped out HUNG. Salekhard Vasily Furta Igarka Kotlas Novyy iterest i UKRAINE Uregoy ROMANIA R U S S I A Nadym Kiev our music. The spiritual cotetmoldova Kirov our sogs attracted him. He Bucharest Chisiau asked a lot questios about the Surgut Izhevsk Dipro Kaza Nizhevartovsk Lord ad the church. He comes to Yekateriburg Saratov O Tobolsk services ad participates i the b' ara Volga Ag Irty Lesosibirsk Black music though his parets forbid sh Oral Bratsk him to come. Please pray for him Akara Kask to repet ad trust Christ, ad for Atyrau Novokuzetsk God to use Him for His glory! TURKEY GEORGIA Aadyr U.S. Laptev Kara Novaya Zemlya Pevek East Siberia Berig Ust'Ilimsk Never Ust'-Kut Urgal Am ur Nizheagarsk Lake Baikal UlaUde Yeisey Kuril Islads Japa Borzya Kyzyl CHINA MONGOLIA JAPAN N. KOREA Commowealth Idepedet (Name Missioary Pastor Withheld for Security) States (CIS) Tajikista (Cetral Asia) Iteratioal Boudary Railroad Natioal Capital We have bee holdig camps for ubelievers. We held a sprig evagelistic effort ad Rivers SGA Miistry Locatios Road visited families, ursig homes ad the disabled. They sed their greetigs ad thak you 750 Kilometers for your spiritual ad fiacial support. I thak you ad pray for you! CHINA Miles Tokyo

4 Sesible Stewardship More tha Orphas Editor s Note: While SGA-sposored Orphas Rebor teams largely focus o childre housed i orphaages ad childre s homes, they also reach out to childre from eedy or dysfuctioal families who te ed up o the street. As Lea Liskia reports from Krasoyarsk, Russia, i may ways, these childre are orphas i all but ame. Vika is 15 ad lives with her Mom ad two brothers. Oe them is disabled. All them live i a tiy 180 square foot apartmet, ad that is why Vika speds much her time o the street. She has spet every summer outside, ad was glad to be able to go to our summer camp. Next to Vika i the photo are Rusla, age 10 ad his 7-year old sister childre from a differet family. Their mother Vika (right) Rusla ad his sister (left) is raisig them aloe, ad we paid for them to be able to come to the camp. The childre eeded medical help. Two days before we were to leave for camp, their mother said they could ot get medical cards so the childre could ot go. I was upset sice their situatio at home is usatisfactory. I wet to visit them. The childre were home aloe playig outside. Rusla always hags the keys to their apartmet o a rope aroud his eck. I decided to take them to the cliic ad get them a medical card. We wet ito the house, where I washed them, foud some clea clothig, got their medical isurace ad quickly wet to the cliic. O the way, I prayed that God would help me get their medical cards. The doctor examied them, ad the agreed to give them the cards! I was so happy. Now these childre could hear the Word God for 10 days ad have a chace to rest. Ad praise God, whe their mother foud out that they had their medical cards, she was thakful ad allowed them to go! There are two more childre Timur ad Alia. This past sprig, they lost Timur ad Alia with their home ad were their mother. temporarily stayig with relatives. I am helpig them with clothig ad food, ad I hope that the authorities will provide them some sort housig. They were also at our camp. I thak God for these opportuities. I hope ad pray that the seeds God s love sow i their hearts will brig forth fruit. We will keep visitig these kids, talkig with their parets, ad tryig to help them. Thak you, dear frieds, for your help ad kid hearts. You are our co-workers i God s Siberia harvest field! From time to time, SGA receives questios about why we eclose otes about plaed givig, wills ad estates i some our mailigs. We re thakful for the questios, as it gives us a opportuity to share a opportuity! Through the years, may SGA s faithful miistry parters have geerously chose to iclude our missio i their wills ad estate plas. I so doig, they express their heartfelt desire to see a portio their resources be used for the progress the Gospel ad service Christ after they have goe to be with Him i glory. Other cocered, iterested parters call or write us to ask for iformatio o how to best go about leavig such a legacy. Our desire is to help provide them with the iformatio How You Ca Help that they request, ad more to make others aware that resources are available to protect their estates by miimizig taxes, providig for families ad retiremet, ad to help them icrease their charitable gifts as they desire. SGA has made special arragemets for you to look ito such matters with the help a idepedet group called PhilathroCorp, a atioally kow Christia charitable plaig firm that works exclusively i the areas estate ad gift plaig. There is o cost or obligatio to you for this service. To lear more, visit our website Or, you ca call PhilathroCorp at to visit o the phoe with oe their Estate Specialists. Whe miistries such as SGA reach major milestoes such as a 80th aiversary, it is always good to pause ad reflect o God s gracious provisio. More tha that, it provides yet aother opportuity to realize what has bee accomplished across Russia ad her eighborig coutries for His glory, ad for the sake the Gospel. Ad through it all, our faithful parters have steadfastly walked by our side i miistry. Much prayer, much power! Your prayers ad support help accomplish so much providig Russia-laguage Bibles ad Christia literature, Bible traiig, compassio miistry, sposorship summer camps ad other childre s miistries, ad support hardworkig missioary pastors dedicated to proclaimig the Gospel. Please prayerfully cosider how you ca help advace the Gospel i the CIS.

5 Caadia Coectio Every good tree bears good fruit (Matt. 7:17). I very few places is the above Scripture more true tha i Nizhy Novgorod, Russia. Seve years ago, shortly after Vasily Kozorezov became the Regioal Pastor there, a coalitio several Atlatic Caada churches formed a Atioch Iitiative (AI) partership with the Baptist churches i the Nizhy Novgorod regio. Twice a year for seve years, pastors from the Atlatic Caada churches faithfully taught the Nizhy Novgorod Pastors ad church leaders a series Bible college-level courses. Whe the Caadia pastors taught, they also saw miistry eeds ad opportuities with the result that the Caadia AI coalitio partered with Rehab Ceter, Summer Camp ad Orphas Rebor miistries. Local pastors are also beig supported. With more traied pastors, ew churches are beig plated i Nizhy Novgorod, ad there are may ew believers. Oe them is from a Muslim backgroud. Aziz (ot his real ame) came to Russia from a Cetral Asia Republic to fid work. Those who promised to help, tricked Aziz, leavig him i a difficult situatio. Whe Aziz visited a barber shop where a Christia sister works, she told him about the Lord ad ivited him to church. Evetually, Aziz became very iterested ad came to church. Whe Pastor Vasily met with him, Aziz talked ad he shared his problems. Aziz had grow up i a Muslim family ad had ever heard by Alla Vicet about Christ before. He had tried to be diliget ad obediet i fulfillig all the demads ad rituals his religio. But whe he came to church ad heard about Christ, somethig happeed i his heart. Aziz did ot uderstad much, but he realized Whom he was lookig for ad eeded very much, the Lord Jesus. Sice the, he has ever missed a sigle service. Aziz leared about Christ ad bega to read the Gospels. I time, Aziz repeted his sis, tured to Christ ad was baptized. Aziz is ow married to a Christia sister ad sigs i a me s church choir. Last March was a special milestoe for the Atlatic Caada AI partership. The fial course had bee taught, but over the years, the teachig times had resulted i uforgettable fellowship, joy ad blessigs from the Lord. Pastor Vasily is especially grateful for the devotedess the Caadia pastors who left their families ad churches to serve ad teach pastors i Nizhy Novgorod, givig them a greater kowledge the Word God. The Lord graciously brought this partership together ad for that we praise Him. Although the formal traiig process is fiished, the AI partership is ot. Pastors ad miistries i Nizhy Novgorod cotiue to be supported ad Lord willig some the Caadia pastors will be ivolved i a aual Nizhy Novgorod pastors coferece. CANADA ISight is published to report religious ews about Russia, the rest the CIS ad the miistries : Slavic Gospel Associatio Caada 55 Flemig Drive, Suite 26 Cambridge, ON N1T 2A9 ifo@sgacaada.ca Phoe: Fax: To start, cacel or chage the mailig address o your subscriptio to ISight, please sed your ame, your old address, ad your ew address to the address listed above. Please allow six to eight weeks for the fulfillmet your request. Iteratioal Offices Loves Park, USA Noble Park, Australia Eastboure, Eglad North Shore, New Zealad Caadia Board Directors Dr. Stephe Code, Chairma Iva Barber, Vice Chairma Carol Dea Jeffries, Treasurer Dr. Alla W. Vicet, Director Joh C. Goetze Walter Gida Arold Hero Michael Nichols Rod Wilkiso Dr. Robert W. Provost SGA is a member : Evagelical Coucil for Fiacial Accoutability