This is a special and joyful time of the year and I wanted to share with you a few stories that encouraged my team this semester.
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| Vitaliy, Vitya and Dima |
One story is from the city Cherkassy. Our volunteer Vitya has been initiating witnessing to his friend Vitaliy online. Our staff Dima was helping him. After three meetings where they discussed Vitaliy’s worldview and a Christian approach to meaning of life he decided to give his life to Christ and Vitya invited him to join his local church and keep growing in his faith.
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| Mariya and Ira (left to right) |
Another story is from my recent «ministry favorite» city – Ostroh. I have been discipling Ira since September. She has several girls who she is discipling as well and this year she was praying to see them multiply and start investing in other students. This is a message that we got a month ago from Mariya, the girl who Ira is discipling: “Hi, friends! I want to share with you joyous news. I have a friend, Dasha, who was interested in Christianity for a long time. We had several conversations with her and what it means to completely surrender to God, but something was always preventing her from doing that. Today I was led to raise this topic again and do a study about repentance with her and she decided to repent and follow Christ! That makes my heart overflow with gratitude and I offered Dasha to disciple her and help her grow spiritually.” Stories like that encourage me so much to stay in this ministry. I long to see students reaching out to other students and help them grow. It’s not the task of pastors only or parents. This is how spiritual movements are built when students take spiritual ownership for their own generation.
Here are a few more pictures from my online ministry – Bible study in Ostroh, with girls that I mentor – Ira and Luba; and our monthly calls with volunteers from all over Ukraine.
Some numbers to praise God for:
This semester 55 students joined our volunteers-led ministries all around Ukraine. More than 250 students went through WHO AM I project and heard the Gospel and at least 25 students decided to follow Christ.
Praise God for all these spiritual conversations, decisions and growth among our staff and volunteers.
For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder, And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isiah 9:6
