Did you know that five women of Salvation Church are expecting babies? Irina Kovalenko, as a mom with vast experience, spotted them all with her keen eye, and together with a team of assistants arranged for a memorable party for these future moms. This festive and very enjoyable event for expectant mothers was held in our church on October 20. Poetry, video clips, games and competitions are only a few of the activities that were arranged for the pregnant participants and their husbands.

Господь подарував нам тіло, за яке ми відповідальні. Навряд чи хтось глибоко ігнорує свою зовнішню оболонку, будучи нероздільно зв’язаним з нею. «Хіба ви не знаєте, що ваше тіло то храм Духа Святого, що живе Він у вас, якого від Бога ви маєте, і ви не свої? Бо дорого куплені ви. Отож прославляйте Бога в тілі своєму та в дусі своєму, що Божі вони!» 1 Кор.6:19-20

From October 11 to 13 and again from October 15 to 17 we held a seminar for Poltava region Christian couples in the village of Kopylov, at the hotel "Zelena Dubrava". A team of American ministry workers, five couples, shared an amazing seminar with us.

In one small town a pastor once asked during his sermon: "Do you think that God can bring 200 people to our church service???" The people in the congregation thought for a moment, but then, knowing that for God nothing is impossible, they answered unanimously: "Of course He can!" The pastor was expecting that response and asked his next question: "So why hasn't God done it? Do we pray for our loved ones, relatives, friends, acquaintances, neighbors and coworkers?" No one said anything. The pastor continued, "God can bring 200 people to this church right now, but he isn't doing it because we aren't able to help that many people."

On September 23 we held an evangelistic event in Zavorsklo, thanks to the presence of a team from an international association of Christian doctors. The villagers had the opportunity to see the optometrists free of charge for a thorough checkup. Individually selected reading glasses were given to everyone who needed them. Everyone who came felt the love and sincerity of the Christian doctors and knew that in this world anyone who wants to can do good, without any self-interest.

The end of September in our latitudes is the traditional time of harvest. For believers all around the world autumn is a special time of thanksgiving to God for the gifts of the earth. For that reason last week the congregation of Salvation Church brought the best fruit from their orchards and gardens to the Christian Ministry Center in order to celebrate thanksgiving time together.

 

September 15 was the end of summer vacation from Sunday School at Salvation Church, not only for children but now also for adults. As Vissarion Belinsky wrote: "All human progress, the achievements in the sciences and philosophy, are only meaningful in the context of greater penetration into the mysterious depths of the divine book - the Bible." And that is exactly what the members of Salvation Church intend to do in the new school year: deepen their understanding of the Bible.

"We have some news today - Sunday School has started " - that's what the students and teachers sang together, celebrating the opening of the new Sunday School year on September 15. After the summer holidays the start of Sunday School was a joyous occasion for those who attended last year, and a new experience for the beginners. This start of the school year was extraordinary: the children saw the heroes of the Bible as people like themselves, with many similar problems and concerns. Thanks to the examples of Noah, Joseph and other biblical characters the students saw how to deal with issues such as family relationships and obedience to God, among others. Using skits and games, the teachers showed that the Bible is a source of advice for all of life's difficulties.

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.

On September 12 during the evening prayer meeting, the congregation had the opportunity to talk with the pastor of a Baptist Church in Kazakhstan - Zaur (the country and name of the pastor have been changed for security reasons). During the meeting we heard his story about the difficult circumstances and challenges that the Christian communities face in an Islamic country. For Christians living in a free society it is always interesting to talk with someone who knows first hand about the harassment and persecution of believers in other countries. The interest was clearly demonstrated in the great number of questions we asked our guest. It was difficult to imagine that this calm, reasonable person had been the object of absurd accusations brought by the Kazakh authorities, and had suffered much physical abuse defending his constitutional right to freedom of religious belief.