On May 2 Assistant Pastor Viktor Korotkov and the Leader of Plastun church Viktor Pels left for South Korea to have a 3-week course at the Pastors’ Training Seminary regularly hold by Korean brothers for Russian pastors and ministers. Besides very intensive theological study program they are going to have an insight into this nation’s life and culture and church activities. We believe they will have a good time with other Russian pastors and teachers from South Korea and the United States and get good spiritual food and refreshment that will be of great benefit for both churches as they share what they will receive on coming back to Plastun and Vladivostok.

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We are happy to report about another water baptismal service that the church had on April 29. Brother Peter and sisters Tatiana, Vera, Eleonora and Nataly were baptized in water. All of them had received Jesus and can testify of the good work God has started in them.

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Knocking at the window woke me up in the middle of the night. Shaking off the remnants of my slumber I looked at the clock. It was 3 a.m. "Who on earth could it be?" I thought. I came up to the window and saw a guy in his mid-twenties begging to let him in. There was peace in my heart, so I did not hesitate to open the door to my unexpected visitor. As he entered the house, he told me that his name was Arthur and he lived at his friend’s in an apartment block nearby (the local ghetto, in fact). He was obviously frightened, and his face was pale with fear. As our conversation unfolded, I found out that he had been drinking with his friends, and they started arguing and then fighting. Arthur got very scared of what was happening and ran away.

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We should never forget what Jesus went through to purchase our freedom from sin. The price was high. But without his shedding His blood we would not have forgiveness. Without His suffering we would not have joy. And if we do not want to depreciate the value of His sacrifice in our hearts it is a good thing for us to recall His suffering and His cross.

This sacrifice is not easy to be reminded of. It was hard. It was bloody. It was above everything a human could stand. Even to think of His suffering is too painful. That is why the first part of our church Easter celebration was not very light-hearted.

But what would the death of Christ be without His resurrection?!! The other essential part of the Gospel is that He not only died for our sins but rose again. And God was faithful to remind us of that too. At the end of the service there was a real outpouring of the Holy Spirit that brought such freedom that people danced and sang and even did the improvised round dance around the meeting place to Jewish tunes that set hearts on fire. I wish you could be there with us!

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Sunday April 9 was a special occasion for Pastor Vyatcheslav "Slava" and Lyudmila Piskunov, who celebrated their 14th Anniversary. This wonderful Christian family has been faithful ministers for many years. They have two daughters, Anya and Aelya. The congregation’s congratulations took the Piskunovs by surprise, for they did not expect anything of this kind. But a greater surprise was the sermon on the Unity in Marriage and Receiving your Spouse as a Gift from your Creator, delivered by the guest speaker Fred burckbuchler. Fred himself was taken by surprise when told about the anniversary before the service, for he had no idea about it when he had chosen this topic about 3 weeks before, when he was first asked to preach in our church. This obviously was a divine appointment (-: In the end the congregation greeted the Piskunovs and prayed a special prayer of blessing over the coulpe kneeling on the floor. This was a both exciting and deeply moving moment. The celebration continued after the service in a nearby cafe.

The third Million Leaders Mandate Conference was held in Vladivostok on April 7-8. This program launched by the EQUIP ministry lead by Dr.John K. Maxwell, a well known Christian author and expert in leadership training and development, is aimed at training 1,000,000 Christian leaders worldwide by helping them to improve leadership skills and build a Chrislike character and style of leadership. (You can read more at www.iequip.org). In Russia, MLM is hosted by 7 cities. Vladivostok conference was attended by about 300 pastors and leaders from about 100 churches and denominations from all Russia’s Far East.

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After the Sunday service in church we try to spend time together somehow instead of starting off in different dirrections. Certainly, all of us have something to do at home, like chores to be done, dinner to be cooked, clothes to be washed and homework due on Monday. Yet God wants us to learn how to be a church family, and as we just spend some time together on weekend it seems to help in this area.

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March 2 to 5 God granted us another opportunity to visit our brothers and sisters in the church of Plastun. Victor Korotkov, assistant pastor, gives his first-hand account on the journey.

I took the morning bus to Plastun planning to reach the destination at 10 p.m. I preferred it to the option of taking the next bus at 3.30 p.m arriving at Plastun at 6 a.m. The idea of jogging in the bus all night did not  appeal to me very much.

So, on March 2 at 7.30 a.m. sharp, the South-Korean Grandbird headed the north to Plastun. With the almost 15 hours’ journey ahead of me, I had an excellent opportunity to meditate on the great things of God. (read more…)

Anna Rowsell (27) has been a missionary in Vladivostok since September 11, 2005. Before that she had been a pastor of Zion Pentecostal Chursh in Musgrave Harbor, Newfoundland, Canada. Her parents, grandparents and little bother still reside in Leading Tickles, Newfoundland, her hometown. She grew up in a Christian home in this small fishing community neigbouring the Home of the Giant Squid (where this Guinness Book curio was found ashore)!

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January 28, after an almost 1 year long break, we had an ESL class for the church members again. ESL classes used to be taught by Luke Mardock, but since he moved back to the States after his career assignment at the American Embassy in Vladivostok was completed, the church kind of missed the fun of perfecting English skills of the church members and the effective tool for attracting new people through a learning experience within a Christian group. Since January 2006 weekly ESL classes will be resumed by Anna Rowsell, a Canadian missionary temporarily residing in Vladivostok. The remodeled church house in Baidukova Street aquired by the church in 2005 provides a perfect setting for group studies. With the proximity of several schools and colleges and a large residential area to this place, we hope to attract many young people by advertising the opportunity of improving their English free of charge through learning from a native speaker. There is a great demand for English classes in Russia at the moment, especially with the young generation.

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One of the important aspects of the church vision is equipping and developing leaders. The need in qualified leaders for naturally emerging home groups and ministries is now almost crucial. That is why we decided to launch a systematic leadership training program this year, on the basis of "Million Leader’s Mandate" by Dr. John K. Maxwell www.iequip.com. We plan to have monthly seminars for the existing and potential church leaders.

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Sergei Zorin, our brother, has just come back from his tirp to South Korea. “2 months ago I was praying and asking God about refreshment and renewal of my spirit, and I heard from Нim I should go to South Korea. It seemed impossible at that moment. But a few weeks later, I found out about one church forming a group of believers to go there for a Christian convention. Somehow God provided the money, and I was able to go. I was deeply impressed with this nation. God’s blessing is upon them. Every little village has a church. I attended Sunday services at 2 great churches of 100,000 and 500,000 members where they run 8 services per day, and I saw thousands and thousands heads bowed before the Lord. 25% of their 47 mln population is Christian. Russia has 5 times as many people, and I believe that there gonna be millions of Christians too. If it happened in South Korea, it can happen in Russia. Let us be faithful to pray for revival daily!”, Sergei shared at the Sunday meeting.