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Dear brother in Christ Holden! Dear brothers and sisters, supporters and workers of HeartCry missionary Society!
I am grateful for your prayers and material help with which you support our life and work in Nizhnevartovsk.
I am thankful to God and to you that according to your prayers my
health and my daughter Katerina's health has improved so that we
could cut back on how often we take the medication.
We had an incredibly severe frost in the first half of winter even to
-60 F (-50 C) and that is why all the construction work was placed on
hold and almost all of the outreach work as well.
After the frost eased up we prayerfully undertook an exploratory trip
into one of the villages in the Nizhnevartovsk region. The name of the
village is Bylino and it is 15 miles away from Nizhnevartovsk on the
other side of Ob' river.
Occasionally on the way to that village there are patches
of growth otherwise it is mostly swamps. There are also different
pines and birch trees here and there.
The road to Bylino is open only in winter when the swamps are frozen
over, in the warmer time of year it can only be reached by boat or
helicopter. According to official records there are 50 residents in
the village, in reality there are only 42. It is mostly retired
people. There are also 15 children ages 2 to 15.
Just a few years back the main jobs provider for the village was a
farming coop "Nizhnevartovsky" that was situated right in the middle
of the settlement. Now the need for coop is no longer there and its
structures stand empty. People are leaving for the city to look for
work. Retirees though are no attracted by the city life with better
living conditions. They prefer to enjoy fresh air and the beauty of
nature. Unlike people in town, Bylino residents are friendly towards
each other living like one big family. According to the locals'
testimony, no one is stealing. Almost everybody there is engaged in
farming. They grow very good varieties of potatoes. Many keep animals
in their yards: cows, horses, pigs, geese, turkeys and chickens. Men also
go hunting and fishing. Unfortunately ever since town fishermen began
using special nets the amount of good fish near the Bylino banks
dramatically decreased. Due to the increasing amount of industrialization
in nearby taiga and swamps, wildlife population has also dwindled.
However, mushrooms and wild berries (like cranberries, blueberries,
cloudberries, cowberries, bilberries) are still bountiful.
Residents get their drinking water from the well but it can hardly be
called "drinking". As in the most of Siberia the water has red
brownish hue. This is due to very high concentration of ferric oxide.
It is suitable for drinking only after boiling and settling.
It is worth mentioning that Bylino has pretty good social
infrastructure compared to many other Siberian villages. For example,
they have a post office, a telephone, a convenience store and a
first-aid post.
In the center of all the social and cultural life of the settlement is
the club house. Club house director Tatyana Vasilyevna Kirilova is
responsible for organizing leisure activities for residents. They have
concerts, dances and tea parties. There are two families in Bylino who
belong to an ethnic minority - to one of the people groups of the
North - Hanty. There are also two other families who were bestowed
medals of honor for the achievements in the workplace. However there
is no church in the village where people could hear the word of God,
have fellowship, pray to the Lord together with other Christians,
receive sacraments.
When we were visiting this settlement locals were feeling a little
cautious towards us. We couldn't state that the main purpose of our
trip was evangelistic because it usually scares people away. They had
some bad encounters in the past with representatives of Jehova's
Witnesses and charismatic sects. After meetings with such false
teachers people don't want to hear anymore about the faith in God and
it is very hard to establish a dialog with them. We have to try other
methods and find new excuses to start the conversation with them, for
example, books donation to the local library, a concert, donations of
clothing for the poor. Sometimes we come with an excuse of
gathering material about their village for an interesting article.
This allows people to open up for conversations. This method worked
well in two other villages and we have even received further
invitations and the reason to visit them again if we need more
information about the settlements.
The temperature during our visit was -13 F (-25 C) and there were very
few people outside. We managed to leave two copies of the
New Testament and three small poster calendars with verses from the
Bible as gifts. We are getting ready in a month or so (after visiting some
other villages) to come to people of Bylino again with a goal of teaching locals in the faith if the Lord permits.
We are grateful that you continue to support us financially and with
your constant prayers, which make the work of the Lord in this place
possible.
With gratitude and love in Christ,
Brother Vladimir.
Nizhnevartovsk |
In this new year God is using me, guiding me, and encouraging me through His living word from the Bible and through prayer with fasting and doing His ministry. When I read His word and meditate upon it, His Holy Spirit speaks with me and shows me new new things. His word says, "The harvest is plentiful but workers are few, who will go for me?" When I read and meditate this word really spoke in my heart and I prayed to God and said, "Here I am. Use me more and more, Oh my Lord." And He is using me day by day. My spritual life also day by day is growing through His presence in my life. In this new year I am giving more time for my personal devotion to communicate with Him. He is blessing me more and more. This new year from the first day of January, I started to read the Bible from the Book of Genesis chapter one. Everyday I am reading one by one and God is teaching me new new things. I want to be closer to God.
This month I was most thankful to God to see hundreds and hundreds of adults and children come to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ who gave himself for the whole world to save us from our sins. This month is also the busiest time for me to travel to preach, which started the first Sunday until the last Sunday of the month. I also thank God to see the core group of young people from Shalom Phnom Penh traveling with me to help other churches in the provinces to set up the program that teaches about Jesus' birth through dramas and also help play music. They have traveled many many kilometers by motor bikes every week, which is very dangerous right now in Cambodia. But, we thank God for His protection to give all of them safety. 
This month God has given me new thoughts and new ideas for my life and ministry. His word teaches, "A new command I have given you: love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35). I need to love all people how Christ loves us so that through my life people will know Christ. Another Scripture says, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). So, this year I promise I will do my best and love people for His kingdom.
The months of December and January were a blessing to us. At the end of December, one husband and wife obeyed the Word of God in taking baptism as public obedience after accepting Christ as their Saviour. It is a fulfillment of our Lord's great commission in Matthew 28:19-20. Let me write a few words about them. The husband's name is Parasu Ram (named after a Hindu god) and the wife's name is Urmila. They are purely from a Hindu background and they had their own family goddess in their family's temple. They were strong Hindus. One day the wife was brought to a Sunday church meeting by one of our church members. Since that day I started to visit their family regularly and share the Gospel.