“Ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence…”
Isaiah 62:6
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ!
Greetings to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ! This year, the annual Missions Conference took place on January 18 – 19, 2019 in the city of Tula, Russia. Approximately a thousand believers gathered from all over the former Soviet Union, as well as from other countries. The Lord allowed me and my wife, Nadezhda, to attend this blessed gathering and to address the servants of God with the words of encouragement and blessing. It is not easy to convey the feelings and thoughts that overwhelmed us! As we looked upon the missionaries, God’s words echoed in our hearts: “Ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence…”
Some missionaries who shared their reports from the pulpit were young missionaries; others, were experienced, gray-haired laborers who shared words of encouragement with the young. The first were full of energy and with new ideas for the ministry; the latter had a wealth of experience and wisdom in the missionary work.
The vast geography represented in the missionaries’ reports is impressive! It includes the republics of Central Asia, Russia’s North; the cities and villages of Russia’s Far East, and Central and Eastern Europe. There were reports of ongoing revival among the Gypsy communities in Western Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, God’s work among the Nenets people in Russia’s Far North, and the special revival among the deaf people in many cities in Russia and across the former Soviet republics. Overall, God granted success in all locations where missionaries proclaim the Gospel: people are turning to Christ and join the church through holy baptism.
During the post-Soviet period, over 450 missionary families have relocated to various parts of the former Soviet Union to preach the Gospel. This is a very extensive undertaking to reach the lost with the Gospel!
Of course, these laborers need our prayers and financial support. As God’s people, we should uphold the hands of those who are on the front lines of God’s work!
“Ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence…” – these are not merely words! They are a call for us to do everything in our power, in giving and prayer, to uphold the hands of the laborers.
In Christ,
Rev. Vladimir A. Okhotin
REM’s Founder and President
2019-1-en
