The key verse for 2014 was Mt. 16:18: “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” We wanted to have a strong relationship with God like a rock through this verse so that our relationship with God couldn't be broken in any kind of circumstances and problems. And that our relationships with God would become a foundation for building the Dnepropetrovsk church. Last year, we decided on the direction to read the Word absolutely and pray every evening, Daily Bread, weekly testimony writing and Bible study. God changed us from men of circumstances into men of faith though the regular reading of His Word.
Since the beginning of 2014 we regularly had breakfast, prayer and studied our Daily Bread in the university. Although it is prohibited for strangers to come inside, God led us to freely come in and meet students, introduce ourselves and give them one brief word. After that we went to work. This gave us a sense of mission. We've seen that “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” That was the instrument of God to fire up the missionary spirit inside us. But we lived 30km away from the city of Dnepropetrovsk, where we had moved during financial problems in 2013. That's the reason why we couldn't make SWS near the university and invite students to visit our home.
In mid-June there was a Ukrainian conference “Jesus, the Good Shepherd” in Odessa. We took the direction to be good shepherds and a blessing for all the nations. At that time the Ukrainian situation became worse and worse, the war was beginning to mobilize people together with the economic crisis, and currency devolving. Through all these things the Ukrainian people started to change: becoming united, hearty and humble. We found that it is the prime time to preach the gospel and serve. God called us to be a blessing for Ukraine and Dnepropetrovsk at this time. This is why we decided to sell the house in the suburbs, break free from it and rent a small apartment for living and another as a church near the university. That was our major prayer topic. But at that time I lost my job because Samsung stopped shipping goods to Ukraine. Shs Sarah had a job and we experienced bad financial difficulties. At the same time rent prices went up twice due to increased demand because of the refugees. But we kept the Word that God has called us to be a blessing. By faith God has led us to a house located not far from the university, less than two minutes, without any realty charges. There are two floors in this house, and the 2nd floor has a separate entrance, and also there is a room for SWS. All this we got for the same amount of money as we prayed when we wanted to rent a flat and a Bible house. This house is old and needs to be fixed. Now we are praying to finish repairs on the ground floor where we'll have a church and a hall for SWS.
From the very beginning we started to serve students in the university. But God brought us students in another interesting way. Shs. Sarah is coming very late after her work and she meets students by telling them that this is too late and she is afraid to walk alone on a dark street. In this way God brought us brothers Sasha, Pavel and sister Marina.
Also we started a SWS for kids (our son Stephan and his 3 friends); we pray for them to learn to love and to see God in their lives.
Prayer Topics and 2015 Direction
In 2015 God give us direction through 2Tim.4:2. Through this verse we've decided to love the word of God because it's the power of God for us and salvation for Dnepropetrovsk students.
- We pray for 1 new brother and 1 new sister to study the Bible faithfully and to the end.
- We pray that God may raise me as a good shepherd and messenger/for the abundant power of the Holy Spirit and understanding of God's heart, plan and vision for His church.
- We pray for church repairs.
- We pray for a new job for Sh. Abraham that will be compatible with ministry and profitable enough to pay rent and serve God's ministry in Dnepropetrovsk.
