Nikiforovka

Good Morning!

We just returned from the small town of Nikiforovka (also called Dmitrievka) where church planter Alexei Silkin is the leader of a missionary team and a small church. We visited there last year and had a good Immanuel's Child event with about 25 kids.

Today there were 67 kids, all but a few NOT from church families. That tells us that the repeated exposure of events like this is extremely valuable in breaking down barriers. Every time something like this happens people are forced to realize that Christians are not the ogres that the Orthodox priests paint them to be. When you see the pictures from Megan you'll see that these kids really move the Cute Meter. For most this was the first exposure to the true gospel. As I preached about the birth of Christ I focused specifically on the kids and prayed every moment for the parents who were hearing the message. There were probably 30 adults present, so please pray they respond to God's word applied by His Spirit.

By the way, in our first two Immanuel's Child events we have seen stars from Heritage Bible Church. Bedlam hasn't allowed us to capture very many in pictures, but it's quite a rush to see the star delivered to a child and know the person/church from which it came. The point is that all you do to make this ministry possible really does matter. Our coalition came up with over 700 stars this year, and Anatoly told me on the way back today that they will give out over 1000 gifts in all. The Russian churches understand how valuable the opportunity is, so they too sacrifice to make it as large as possble.

We'll have a couple hours to rest after lunch, then the Christmas Eve service here at the central church in Tambov. There will be many unbelievers present, and after the service they will disttibute Christmas gifts and children's Bibles to about 100 kids. Tomorrow (actual Christmas Day here) we will do the outreaches at Anatoly's church and another location. Saturday is the first time the Christians will have been allowed back into the big orphanage since the new director took over. Please pray this opens the door for ongoing ministry to be restored there.

The illustrated blogs are coming soon, when Megan gets the photos from today's event downloaded. She sort of left her backpack (with camera) in the car she rode in, so there's a slight delay. I know why she was distracted. She persuaded the driver to stop off at the open air market where she bought a big bag of what I call "Chocolate Gut Bombs," likely one of the strongest reasons she returned to Tambov this year. One of the few things that can distract Megan from photography is chocolate.

Hope you enjoy seeing your ministry in Russia vicariously through us!

Jim