GREETINGS! The 2014 outreach season to international students was tremendous! A total of 128 students, representing 10 different countries, prayed to receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior. With each consecutive year, the spiritual harvest increases; more students are impacted by the Gospel; additional countries are being added to our on-line church; and a greater number of volunteers are joining our ministry team than ever before. With a numerical increase of students participating in the ministry, we kept a very hectic schedule this past summer, but all the work has paid off with eternal dividends. As we faithfully sowed seeds of God's love and the Good News, God's Spirit was faithfully wooing young people from around the world to see their need for a savior in Jesus Christ. This ministry success is not due to any one single individual. God has developed a ministry team that He is working through to touch the nations for Christ. We are so thankful for each individual who is involved, no matter where they might live, because everyone is contributing in a vital way whether it is through praying, using their gifts, donating their time or finances. Months before the students arrived people were committed to pray and send their support for this 2014 season. It was a great blessing to see the answered prayers through the receptivity of the students and know so many people were behind the scenes involved in this unique and expanding ministry. What has happened through this international outreach is going to have a global impact for God's kingdom. In the following pictures, we will share a few testimonies from this past year, as well as try to give you a taste of what it was like in a typical day while serving international students. Every day had its challenges, and every day lives were changed!
This is Alexei, Jr. and he is being baptized by Pastor Steve McDonald. (It was decided to use junior to distinguish the younger Alexei from the older Alexei.) Alexei, Jr. is from Siberia, Russia, where he is already practicing law in a small, isolated town. His visit to the USA was his first trip away from home. Even though he grew up without any knowledge of God, from the beginning of his arrival he was very open and asked lots of questions. When Alexei, Sr. shared the Gospel, he immediately prayed and accepted Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior. He began to attend church and did not miss one Sunday worship service the entire summer. One Sunday he said, I've been born again, and my life has been changed. Alexei, Jr. had been radically transformed, and it was evident. He approached Alexei, Sr. and asked to be baptized. As a future leader of his community, Alexei has returned to his town as a soldier of Jesus Christ,
a missionary on fire for God. Already he is showing signs of an evangelist, and in his first email inquired about the schedule of the online bible study. Alexei, Sr. continues to personally disciple this very special young man with a great future in Christ. This year we've had several local churches to reach out to the international students. These students are from China, Russia, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Turkmenistan and are attending a worship service at First Baptist Church in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.
Dr. Dale Ellenburg is preaching, and Alexei is translating in Russian. It is very important to get the message communicated clearly in the students' native languages. One reason internationals may reject Christ is because they simply don't understand the true meaning of the Gospel due to the language barrier. When the message of the Gospel is clear, it is very hard to reject the Good News. Each time the Gospel is presented to the students in English Alexei always translates because their English vocabulary is not advanced enough to comprehend unfamiliar biblical terminology. We want to thank First Baptist Church for providing the Student Center and the increased number of volunteers that served there every day this summer. We also want to thank Dr. Dale Ellenburg for coming faithfully every week to share the Gospel with the students.
This picture gives a glimpse of what heaven will be like when people from every nation will worship the Lord together. Alexei gave his testimony and explained that Jesus is real and responds to our prayers. He shared with them that Jesus desired to be their friend and that prayer is simply talking with Jesus. In this group of students there were Buddhists and Muslims. One Buddhist student from Thailand asked, Can I pray to Buddha and Jesus? Alexei shared with him the Scriptures in Isaiah that describe what an idol was. When he was able to see that Buddha was an idol, Alexei asked, Can the idol help you? He was given revelation of the truth, and the answer to his question. Alexei went on to explain that Allah is portrayed as an angry judge, whereas Jesus desires to be our eternal friend.
Food is a big thing for students. Not all of them like the same types of foods. For instance, Turkish students don't like pork, and many Thai students are vegetarians. Fortunately, most everyone eats and likes chicken. We've decided chicken must be the universal food. Here are two Russian girls and a boy from Macedonia enjoying some southern fried chicken.
Every Wednesday evening we take the international students to Calvary Baptist Church. These particular students are from a variety of countries: Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Macedonia. For most of them this was the first time they had ever been in a church. As the season progressed, a core group developed and began attending all the worship services. On the far left is a family from the Mariner's Church in Annapolis, Maryland, where we have a wonderful support base. Peter and Becky Lehardy and their baby son, Jacob, came to participate and help us in the ministry. We have the privilege of having other churches throughout the USA support this ministry. Perhaps your church would like to support the International Student Ministry or have a small group to participate directly with us as a short term mission project. We would love to have you join the network of churches that assist us in this global outreach.
Pastor Steve McDonald shared the Gospel each Wednesday evening with the students in attendance knowing that it might be the only opportunity some of the young people would have to hear the Good News. Some of the students live in small towns in remote places within Russia and China where the Gospel message is not readily available. Every time we present the Good News of Jesus Christ, many of them come to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
The students were loading the church van to return to Pigeon Forge. So often they have lots of questions after hearing the Gospel. The drive back to Pigeon Forge gave us an opportunity for prayer, bible study and discipleship. We want to thank Calvary Baptist Church for providing the bus, which is considered as the church-on-wheels. Notice on the right Masha and Sonya running to say good-bye to the students. The entire Kotchan family is an integral part of this ministry, and the girls give the students a chance to experience young siblings while away from their own families. Alexei and Pastor Steve McDonald are sitting together at a Wednesday evening meal at church. Bro. Steve has served Calvary Baptist Church for 27 years. In the background the students are enjoying a time of eating and sharing. We want to thank our home church not only for the church-on-wheels, but for the hospitality you show to the students year after year. Your love in action gives them the experience of Jesus in a very tangible way.
Here are the students after an evening worship service at Calvary Baptist Church. Alexei, Alexei Jr. and other students are seen with Faye McDonald, who radiates Jesus through her warm receptivity and kindness. Without fail, the students always feel God's love in every encounter with Faye. She and Bro. Steve come to Pigeon Forge to share the Gospel and to serve meals to the internationals. We are so grateful for their ministry and their friendship.
After Sunday worship services, we take the students to eat at a restaurant; spiritual food first, then the physical food. On the right side of the table is Marshall, a Chinese student that became a Christian last summer and was baptized at Calvary Baptist Church. He and some other Chinese students have been discipled through the on-line church services that Alexei has led every Saturday evening this past year. He returned to the USA this summer and was able to attend church and be further discipled during his part time stay at the Kotchan's home, which provided some great quality time for him and Alexei. Marshall translated for Alexei when speaking with the Chinese students. They spoke with one young man named Shawn for 3 hours about Jesus. In only one year, Marshall has developed into a reliable co-laborer in the ministry of the Gospel.
The student center is a place of safety and rest...a home away from home. It is a joy for all of us to interact like family. And as in any family, everyone pitches in to help with whatever the need might be. In this case, Reny from St. Petersburg, Russia, needs a haircut, and Alexei is attempting to give his best shot at creating a work of art with Reny's hair. Two students from Macedonia and Turkey are giving suggestions of how to execute this masterpiece. In serving international students, Alexei has had to learn how to be a nurse, a bus driver, a parent to
young adults and even a barber! Alexei Jr. is sleeping on the couch at the student center. The students work so hard, and many of them work two jobs. These young people typically come from wealthy families in their countries and are not accustomed to having to work so this is a new and very tiring experience for them. This is the only place where they can come to get a home made meal and be refreshed until its time to return to work.
Every week we take the students to different places within the Smoky Mountain National Park. On this day we took them on a hike to see Laurel Falls. Most of the students are evolutionists, and these outings to the national park are great opportunities to speak about God being the Creator and the Artist of all the beauty that they see in nature.
This is Katia. Her parents are from Vietnam but relocated to Russia. She speaks fluently four languages: Vietnamese, Russian, English and German. Katia was an idol worshiper, but she began to wonder about the claims of Jesus and asked for a Bible. She began studying the Word of God and she prayed to receive Jesus into her life, although she was not baptized because she still had lots of questions. She is a very special lady, and her life was dramatically impacted by the love of Christ and the message of the Gospel.
We are excited that more churches are getting involved with the international students. The Church of Restoration hosted the international students three times this past summer, and it was not only a great experience for the students but for their church as well. Pastor Tim Dunahoo said it was the first time that many of their members had ever interacted with international students. The church members enjoyed serving and meeting the students and look forward to the possibility of hosting many more events in the future.
Here is Alexei and Tim Dunahoo, pastor of The Church of Restoration, sharing the Gospel in the conference room at Cove Creek RV Resort, where the church meets for worship and bible study.
One advantage of sponsoring an event at the RV Resort is that it offered the students an opportunity to swim in the pool, use the game room and enjoy the beauty of the surrounding mountains. This was a great turnout of international students. Ralph Grable (in the blue Hawaiian shirt), one of the managers of the resort, was thrilled to host the international students and is already looking forward to doing it again in 2015. Alexei and Tanya with students from Russia and Kazakhstan. Alexei and Tanya are wearing traditional hats from Kazakhstan. All the students have now returned home. The on-line church started up this past week with the Chinese and Russian students. Please pray for the ministry, the students and the Kotchan family. We want to thank you for making this outreach to international students possible. Everyone has a role that is needed to fulfill what God has commissioned us to do. Without your help, we cannot achieve the goal of making disciples of all nations. We continue to have increasing success year after year, and we give glory to God for all that has been accomplished. He was the One who changed lives; each of us was a vessel for His Spirit to flow through at the right place and right time. If you would like to join our ministry team, please let us know how you would like to participate. Share this exciting outreach with your friends, too. A video of testimonies from the students will be released in a week or so. We'll send out another email to let you know when it will be available. You can also go to our Facebook page and click the LIKE button to receive current prayer requests, testimonies and other ministry related information. The link for our
Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/groups/589303101132968/ Alexei and Tanya and Nations4Christ Ministry Team www.nations4christ.org P.S. If you are new to Nations 4 Christ, we want to extend an invitation to join with us through your prayers and financial support. You may send a financial tax-deductible gift to: Calvary Baptist Church c/o Nations 4 Christ 163 N. Jefferson Circle Oak Ridge, TN 37830 Or if you live outside the United States please, use PayPal on our web page