Praises – Rejoice with us!
As you We had requested prayer that Vitaly Yurchenko and Vitaly Bilyak be permitted to exit Ukraine to speak in supporting churches. Praise God, both received that permission, and those meetings yielded generous offerings for the ministry. Thank you for prayers!
Across the nation of Belarus, there are many small Baptist churches with only a handful of members. For those believers, feelings of being unconnected and isolated are not unusual. In March, funds from BIEM enabled a conference for pastors of such churches. They came together, got acquainted, fellowshipped, listened to God’s Word together, and made new connections. Already these men see the need for such gatherings no less than once per year.
Our newest missionaries, the Koops in Ternopil, Ukraine, shared this news: “After seven active months of various kinds of ministry, we reaped our first fruit. Olga repented at the Bible study group today. She came to us through an invitation to our Bible Day and has been with us ever since. Today she accepted Jesus into her heart and declared she wants to be baptized! We are witnessing that God works with people even during war! Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for our ministry. Blessings to you.”
Although the earthquakes in Turkey have caused much destruction and misery, we praise God that BIEM has missionaries not far away who could go and distribute humanitarian aid in the name of Jesus Christ!
Prayer – Pray with us!
In Central Asia, please pray for ministers code-named River, Arthur, and Philip. They are gathering 40+ youth for a 3-day conference. Pray the secret police do not find them or interrupt them. Of course, pray for some more to come to faith in Christ. The persecuted church there is growing rapidly!
Please pray for our Afghani church plant. They have been extremely active in sharing their faith. The Taliban knows they exist and are going house to house, trying to find and crush them. They request prayers for wisdom to find a safe place to meet on Sundays to worship the Lord. Three brothers who were captured some time ago are still missing. Meanwhile, God continues to save souls!
With the advent of spring, our churches in Eastern Europe begin to think about summer camps. Although the war in Ukraine complicates planning in that nation, the souls of children still need the Gospel. Please pray for church leaders as they make decisions concerning each camp. Please pray, too, for finances. (If you would like to help, please designate your gift “Summer Camps.”)
Many of you have met Eugene Buyko, BIEM’s director in Ukraine. Please pray for God’s comfort for all the Buyko family at this time—his 50-year-old brother Andrei died from a ruptured aorta.
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