The Latest News

May 1, 2012
Urgent Need for Summer Missions

We are about $12,000 short for Camp Hope.  We need about 60 people to send one boy to camp for $200.  If you can help, please mail your tax-deductible contribution to the address at the right of this page or click on the PayPal icon and make a donation online.  We thank you for your generous support of the least of these.

Spring Outreaches 2012

As we left the Ministry Center on March 4^th it was snowing pretty hard and we had 900 kilometers to drive. After about 15 kilometers our tires were spinning trying to get over the railroad crossing. What would lie ahead? After about another 10 minuets the roads started to clear and we had good road conditions all the way to Simferopol!!!! Praise the LORD!  This was the first of several miracles.

The apartment we normally stay at in Simferopol was not going to be available. Rufshan and Sasha were about to have their baby. Where would we stay??? Vitalik started to call many people to see if anyone had a place for us to stay. A missionary in Belogorsk Region talked to a Pastor in Simferopol, whom we had never met, he in turn talked to a member of his church, whom we had never met, and she offered us her home for a week. Gulnara was a wonderful host!!! Another miracle:  We attended her church and met her pastor. He has a huge heart for children and also a prison ministry.

Rufshan & Sasha's baby girl	Our Hostess in Simferopol--Gulnara

The ministry at the girl’s Internot was wonderful. We were able to have programs there four nights. The church we invited to work with the girls' Internot is having bible studies on Thursday nights at the Internot. God laid on my heart that even more needed to be done. We met with a wonderful family (husband and wife along with their son and wife) that have built a church about 15 kilometers east of Simferopol. After sharing my heart with them they agreed to visit the Internot and pray to see if this was what God wanted them to do. They have committed to visit the girl’s Internot each Monday for fellowship and bible study. It is my hope that this will turn into a home church within the Internot - another miracle.

Girls' Internot Simferopol

In Simferopol we also met for the first time another pastor that wants to work with us reaching kids in this area. He in turn introduced us to a foster family who have been helping children for over 20 years and now have 11 foster children. They are leaders of a foster family association in Crimea and want us to help them lead these other families to Jesus. We plan work with them this summer.

Vitalik: “We (TLOT team) just have finished the week of ministry in the Belogorsk Region with numerous Muslim population of Tatars. It was a wonderful time! The team worked together great. But most of all the blessings of God and his favor were just incredible! We feel that we have the authority to come to kindergartens and schools where Tatar and Ukrainian kids are and tell them about God, his love and the need for repentance. We pray with the kids at the end. All of that in schools is not allowed by the law. We were breaking the law! (Hallelujah!!!) Praise God for his miracles!!! And I thank God for your prayers and support, they worked!” Rich: we also visited several of the missionaries and home churches. Wonderful times of fellowship and praise.

Belogorsk Schools
	Missionaries and Home Churches

In Kerch we spent three evenings at the Boy’s Internot singing songs and GREAT times talking with the boys. We were able to play games with the younger boys. Had meeting with Director of Boy’s Internot to plan this summer’s camp at Camp Hope. It will be the first “ALL BOY’S” camp. This is going to be a wonderful opportunity to mentor these boys. On Wednesday we had a program at the Kerch Mental Internot. The kids LOVED it!!!! Songs, puppets, skits and prayer; Also had wonderful times with our ministry partners here in Kerch.

God bless,

Rich

Kerch Boys' Internots
	Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. Psalm 98:1

Fall Mission Trip

"Taste and see that the Lord is good” Psalm 34: 8

November 29, 2011

THE KERCH TEAM
OKSUSHA-LENA-VITALIK-NASTIA-LENA

As we continued our fall trip we left Belogorsk and headed to Kerch. You may recall from my earlier report that the girls from Kerch were now in Simferopol and only boys are now at Kerch internot. We were not sure what we would find at the Internot. We were pleasantly surprised at how well the boys are doing. We saw many of the boys that we have ministered to over the past 7 to 8 years plus many boys that had previously been in Simferopol. We were able to spend high quality time with the boys for three nights. PTL!!

We also were able to have a great program at the Kerch Mental Internot. The kids liked the program so much that at the end of the program they started to ask for more songs that the team had sung at previous visits. It is so great that the kids remembered so many songs that were about Jesus. We believe that these songs continue to minister to them for years!!!! Good news is the team sang more songs!!!

We were also able to have wonderful fellowship with Pastor Frolov and Pastor Homenko. They are both strong Christian leaders in the Kerch community.

November 21, 2011

Fall 2011 Outreaches - Simferopol

Praise God for He is Lord of lords and King of kings!!!!

This has been an amazing trip so far.

We had a good time visiting coworkers in the Lord in Sevastopol and ministering to a young girl who is about to have a baby. She needs our prayers.

SIMFEROPOL:
The girls that had been in the Kerch Internot (orphanage) were transferred to the city of Simferopol the start of the school year. The Internot in Kerch had been coed. The government made it an all boys internot so the girls were moved to Simferopol. This has been a hard change for the girls. We will see the boys for the first time tonight, Monday. Will let you know about them later.
 

PRAISES AND PRAY NEEDS:

• PRAISE REPORT. New home for the Kerch girls at the Simferopol Internot. When we met the staff for the first time we were OVERWHELMED!!!! The director, assistant director and the director’s secretary are ALL believers. PTL! After the first meeting with the assistant director, she said she had been praying for someone to help lead and teach the girls about Jesus. We have never seen anything like this in 14 years. Big MIRACLE!!!

PRAYER NEEDS:

• In general their number one need is Jesus. They know about Jesus but not all of them know him personally.

• Learn from Jesus how to live their lives in the proper attitude towards friends and teachers. It seems that they behave good when the team (us) are with them but as soon as they turn around they act like usual: deceiving, abusing and being aggressive.

• We have one teacher from a local church going to the orphanage to see if the efforts of teaching younger girls will bring forth some fruit. We would like your prayers for her and her helpers. To be able to have a class and a Bible study is also a big miracle.

• More Christian teachers in this orphanage. The Director is open for that.

• The physical needs of the girls are pretty much covered. The facility looks very good, at least better then other that we have seen.

• We heard that girls sell some of the clothing that is given to them in order to have money for other things, like cigarettes and alcohol. This is not a healthy situation.

• Pray for Christian families will have a desire to adopt. It can help many of them in their lives.
   

Belogorsk

As some of you know we felt lead this summer to change our plans for November ministry in Belogorsk Region. In the past we would have programs in about 20 Tatar villages, however, for November our ministry would focus on planting home groups in two villages that would grow into village churches.
	Home Group Leaders, Ignot & Julia
	God blessed us with His favor. There is an opportunity for home groups in 5 villages!! Three of the home group leaders will need to go through the 8 week discipleship classes. They are very excited about sharing the GOOD NEWS.
Missionaries Kostia & Leona and part of their family
Two of the villages have married couples who are ready to start home groups using the discipleship materials.
	Pastor Yuri & Natasha
	Please pray that God will bless these home groups, that the Gospel would be presented clearly, and in a way that can be easily repeated by others.
Pastor Vonya & his wife Rima & family
Also pray for the leaders, Pastor Yuri and his wife Natasha, Pastor Vonya, and missionaries Kostia and his wife Leona, that will be discipling the home-group leaders. Pray that God multiply His churches!!!!!
	Home Group Leaders, Sveta & daughter, Alena (Maxim, husband not pictured)
Home Group Leaders, Sasha and wife Vika

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Message from Rich: Praise report!!!!! It was absolutely amazing. As you know, I was very concerned about Immigration not being able to get into the country yesterday. They never asked us a question at Immigration. They stamped our passports and we walked straight through. This was the first miracle. I don’t know if we shared our concerns about Customs. Not only do we have our normal bags full of stuff, but we had my computer plus 2 new computers, the 2 Blackberry’s that Lucy had given us, our camera and a new camera for Marina. We got our bags and I was watching that Customs was pulling people out of the green line to screen their bags. I told Sherrel that we would walk through the green line with confidence, that the Lord was protecting us. We walked straight through customs into the arms of Phillip and Vitalik with huge hugs. They and their church had also been praying that all would go well. What seemed like huge mountains the Lord made into straight paths. That was miracle #2.