| Summer Is a Special Time for Children's Ministry |
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Summertime feels like the shortest time of the year. It seems like only yesterday that we met through our last prayer letter. But that was back in the spring, right after Easter. Remember, we shared God's blessings through a seminar, a conference, and through Easter evangelism, during which around 1,500 children heard the Gospel. We also asked you to pray for the upcoming seminar for students in a Muslim country, as well as for our summertime ministry. We are very grateful to you, our dear praying friends, for your remembrance of us. God heard your prayers! We would like to boast in the Lord about the opportunities through which He allowed His Word to reach thousands more children this summer. Children's Day (June 1), we spent in the village clubhouse in Abazovka. We had planned an evangelism event for all the children of the village and their parents, but there was a heavy rain and we lost all hope of seeing anyone come. But - it was a miracle! Through the pouring rain came 20 children and 5 parents. It was a wonderful time and the attendees heard about the Good Shepherd, who is the most wonderful and dependable friend. And it was a very timely message for Children's Day. Our children need this message, especially in recent times when European gender policies and the children's rights movement pose a real threat to their well-being. We continue to pray for God's protection for our children! The light of Truth is penetrating deeper into the Islamic world. Our trip to a Muslim country at the beginning of June was one such small ray. Children there are open to the gospel (as they are everywhere), so it is important to use every opportunity to bring the good news into the world of Islam. This requires dedicated, brave, trained workers. There aren't many people like that, but there are a few. In this case God brought eight women to our seminar. They eagerly absorbed all the information and everything else that we could provide for them out of our many years of experience. Not everything is the same for them as it is for us. There are few countries where you can freely have Bible activities for children. Everything is subject to control and there is a lot of persecution of Christians. Let us give thanks to our Lord for the freedom we have to preach the Gospel in our country!The women did not want to risk taking the printed materials and training manuals we offered them. They held the teaching in their hearts and left with the desire to bring the Word of God to the children of their country. Let us pray for wisdom for them as they organize child evangelism ministries, for boldness in ministry, and for God's protection for their families. We pray for the salvation of children and their parents in Islamic countries. After returning from the trip, the very next day, I found myself in "camp" country. I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to participate in a camp for disabled children, where I was asked to help in teaching the lessons and to be a mentor in the older group. Recreation was organized for children with different types of disabilities. We had about 40 people each day. The relatives and friends of the children were surprised that anyone would take an interest in them, even though we sometimes had a very hard time. They had to be carried, lead, washed, carried to the toilet, and we had to be understanding of their behavior. Some of the children needed an adult to be with them all the time. But we were happy to serve them, and we rejoiced that our Lord was glorified through our service. Pray that what they heard and saw during the camp will help the children, and their parents and guardians, to take a fresh look at God, His Church and their relationship with Him.. The next blessing came in the form of the camp that was held near Chervony Shliakh, where for the last two years we have been leading a Bible group for the children of unbelieving families. The group is held in the home of Roman and Natalia Nechetalenko, who attend our church. We held the camp in the field next to their house. There were a lot of new children there and we invited them to a special Bible group meeting during the camp. Why was the meeting special? A third of the 20 children at the camp already attend church. In their Bible group the children pray for a missionary family in Tajikistan and collect money in order to help them. This year the children have collected 420 hryvnia ($52) and sent the money to the missionaries. It was a lot of fun when the children got a letter from Tajikistan and chocolates as a thank you! The parcel arrived just in time for camp. The children who are still not attending the Bible group saw this. We trust that after seeing this they will reflect on their lives: that they will start coming to Bible group and church will start praying for the missionaries ... Let us also pray the same thing of our Lord. Pray that we will have enough children to divide into two groups by age and that we will have not one, but two Bible groups in that area. The next blessing was another camp in the village of Mynovka, where we have been helping small local church for the last three years. I like the rural camps. Easy setup, simple needs, undemanding children ... But there is one thing that isn't easy - the same spiritual battle for souls as everywhere else. There were 50 children at the camp, even though there are no more than 10 in the church. We are happy that the Lord brought them to the church; we spent a week studying the Bible and praising the Lord with them. Let us thank Him and pray for the salvation of these children and their families. May they join the ranks of the local church. After that we had more evangelistic meetings at the stadium and near the church in New Sanzhary. There we had the help of a young and active local church that loves children and wants to learn to serve them. A great team has been established there. In October we are planning a training seminar for new children's ministry workers in New Sanzhary. Please pray for this seminar. Lydia and I want to be a blessing to them during training. And, of course, during the summer our team also worked in the children's TB clinic, in a rehab center, in four wards in a children's hospital and in a children's bone clinic. Thank God for the freedom in our country for sharing His Word with children. Because of this, thousands of children hear the gospel, but, unfortunately, there are even more who still haven't had the chance to hear. Let us remember this and pray about it! At the end of the summer we finally took a rest, and by that we mean: worked on other things. The entire time off was spent on finishing work in our home office. We thank all those who have prayed about this. The seven-year project is coming to an end. It has been a time of hard work and a test of our faith. Thanks to the Lord, who sent money for the remodeling. Praise God with us for the thousands of children who heard the gospel: Vladimir Golyuk Photos of our summer ministry are available here |
