Dear friends,
We need to start with an apology for those who are not part of Bookham Baptist Church (our home church). They have been receiving regular prayer requests, but it has been a long time since we have written a letter for wider circulation, we will try to make up for it in the coming year. If you would like to be put on the mailing list for weekly (more or less) prayer updates by e-mail please let me know at davew@inbox.ru .
After five years of living and ministering in Novosibirsk we have answered the call to move to “Krasnoyarsk”, which is a little (in Russian terms) East of Novosibirsk.
Of course, after five years in Novosibirsk it was hard to leave many friends and brothers and sisters in Christ, but we see it as God’s timing. The students who were involved at the beginning of our time in Novosibirsk have now graduated. Sasha and Larisa who were new staff when we arrived there, are now ready to take over the direction of the team and the need to expand the ministry so that students all over Russia can hear the Gospel remains as strong as ever.
Why Krasnoyarsk?
Over the last few years we have made several friends in Krasnoyarsk. There is a large growing Baptist church here, which is reaching out in many areas, but has no student ministry. Some of the graduates of the church’s Bible Institute have felt called to student ministry, but have not known where to start. Krasnoyarsk also has a fairly well defined student area of town with several large institutions of higher education, which makes it practical to reach more than just one university. The central Baptist Church also wants to start a church in the student area of town, which is something we would love to be involved with. Please pray for someone who could give all of his time to leading the church plant.
Family
About two years ago I applied for residence status in Russia and was refused. In January I decided to try again. When I went to submit the necessary documents they refused to accept them, saying that it was a waste of their time since my application could not possibly be accepted. I insisted that they process the documents anyway. After five months of waiting I found out that against all the odds, I had been granted resident status. This means that I can live in Russia until 2005 without needing a visa. Some of the officials in the passport office even found it hard to believe, maybe they should read Psalm 115v3, “Our God is in heaven; He does whatever pleases Him”!
Anita and Emily are growing up fast. In June Anita was three years old, Emily was two in October. Anita is fluent in Russian, but speaks rather less English, Emily is forming her first sentences, but so far only in Russian. They have taken the move well enjoying their new surroundings. For the moment we are renting a flat, but we are looking for one to buy, so we will move again before too long, probably in the Christmas holiday.
Our new team consists of five full time members. A couple from Krasnoyarsk, Kostya and Yana Kurmantsov, Kostya is a graduate of Krasnoyarsk State University, as well as of the local Bible Institute. Yana trained as a paramedic. Yulia is from Saratov (on the Volga river) where she worked for her church before joining our staff. We also invited one of our graduates from Novosibirsk to come with us, to help get the ministry going. Galiya is not officially on staff yet she will be working with us on a part time basis.
First steps in ministry
When I visited Krasnoyarsk at the end of last year it was difficult to even get into the dormitories where the students live. This year security has slackened off and most nights it is no problem at all to get inside. The students have been receptive and open, I have never been offered so many cups of tea. You could pray particularly for Natasha who came to Christ recently and for Andrey, Dima and several girls who have been seriously challenged by the Gospel, that they would come to faith.
Even before we moved to Krasnoyarsk God was preparing the ground. Two students from Krasnoyarsk Sasha and Sergey came to faith through one of our staff in Irkutsk where they were visiting a friend. When they came home they got in touch with me and we have been meeting to study the basics of the faith. Sasha particularly has been very good at inviting his friends to our activities, several of them are now regulars at our meetings.
We have started a video club, which meets on a Friday afternoon. We show Hollywood films, which contain Christian ideas and invite people to stay and discuss them afterwards. Our most popular film so far was “The Matrix”, which drew more than 80 students (we had to carry all the desks out of the auditorium!) about 25 stayed for the discussion, but many more left their address and expressed a desire to meet again.
We have also started an English club, which gives us the opportunity to meet students and talk about Christian themes, it also builds our credibility in the eyes of the university.
In the third week of November we are planning two evangelistic concerts. We have invited the pastor of a nearby church who writes and sings his own songs to come and play. Our other big event this semester will be a weekend retreat at the beginning of December. We see this as an opportunity for those with whom we have been in contact with for some time, who have heard the Gospel, to come to a point of decision. Our main theme will be, “Transformation”, we want to focus on how God changes us when we receive Christ. We plan to invite another local pastor who came to Christ when he was in prison for the third time! We also plan to invite a former drug addict who came to Christ through our church’s drug rehabilitation centre. We would value your prayer support for these events.
Thank you for your faithfulness in praying and giving, your involvement is a vital part of our ministry,
With Love,
Dave and Luda, Anita and Emily.
N.B. Our address has changed, we will still get anything you send to our old address, but it will take a lot longer to reach us. Our new e-mail address is
davew@inbox.ru , our web page can now be found at www.whitman.da.ru .Our New Address: David Whitman, Do vostrebovaniya, Krasnoyarsk 660001, Russia.
New phone number: +7 (3912) 46-20-86.