Buryachok, 2014 4th Quarter Updates

Dear brothers and sisters,

The warmest greetings to you in the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

I am writing you to thank for your support of our family and ministry in the year 2014. Every time when I receive the support from you I feel support and encouragement. It is a great blessing for us. We wish you God’s blessing and His protection!

My special gratitude to you for your prayers for the health of my wife. It was a difficult year where God taught us to trust Him in all trials. Now we can see it as a big blessing. When I started writing you this letter I was thinking about past years of my ministry in this church. During this time a couple families moved to different villages to start their own ministries. Young and active sisters, who finished Sunday schools, also moved and are serving in many other places. Despite this we again have young families in our church who have flaming hearts for serving God and we have a wonderful team of leaders. Three of our brothers started studying in Bible college to be preachers-missionaries.

Two of our sisters prepare preventive lectures in secondary schools. They talk about the harm of drugs, alcohol and sexual relationships before marriage. During last months they have had 33 classes and do have a desire to develop this ministry in future. Administrations of schools are welcoming them as far as they see a great need in this kind of prevention.

The last month we had an opportunity to hold a Christmas Program with presents in two local schools and two kindergartens. Children did not know anything about Jesus Christ and Christmas itself. They just associated the celebration with Saint Nikolas who puts presents under their pillows and Santa who comes to their Christmas trees (photo 1).

Unfortunately, our church team of ministers is becoming smaller. Because of economic crisis and war, young families from our church have to look for a job abroad. Our sister in Christ, Okasana, who performs puppet theatre ministry, has also left. Also, brother Daniel who preached in our church and two more people are planning to go to Italy and Poland. Pray for other people to come and help in our ministries. But the most important, pray for peace in our land.

In any case, we are continuing to serve God. During the last year my wife was in a hospital a couple times. Being there, she noticed the difference in attitudes to people from families and orphans. We were touched by those orphan kids and together with brother and sisters from our church we are visiting them and preparing some packages. I added the picture where you can see ill orphan children who were not taken to the families for vacation so they were put in infection department of a state hospital. When we come to visit them they are very happy. They tell us how they were waiting and that they have read booklets we had given them. When we enter their ward they are screaming to everybody that their friends came to visit (photo 2).

If we see a need, we help children, who attend our Day Center. We buy clothes and shoes for them in second-hand stores (photo 3). On the photo is a boy Alexander – he attended our youth meeting and we noticed that despite the cold weather he was wearing the torn shoes and a cold jacket. In addition, he was constantly coughing. We talked to him and found out that he lived with his father, who drinks alcohol and practically has no money for living. We have started taking care of him. But the enemy never sleeps and this boy’s father forbade him to attend church. His father threated to kill him. Therefore Alexander is in great need of our prayers.

May the peace and love always fill your lives! May the Lord protect all of you!

With love and respect,

Ruslan Buryachok