Samuel and Fiorella Vega

Location: Huancayo, Peru.

Praying for South American Pastors

OUR HISTORY IN PERU:

About ten years ago several pastors were actively teaching in the Bible College and Seminary in Trujillo, Peru. I had the privilege of being able to participate in this process. It was then that I met three of the five present advisers we use to get national trained men into the BIEM pipeline. I was invited to become a board member of BIEM soon after this Peruvian teaching opportunity. This sparked the expansion of BIEM into the S.A. field. Prior to this, BIEM was busy in Eastern Europe.

After presenting the idea and getting board approval, the process was presented, revised, given to the advisors in the field (now five in Peru) and fashioned as a prototype for this area of the world. Several mandates were incorporated:

• There must be local approval of any candidate;
• The advisers would not have the ability to make the final choice of candidates, but would defer to the board;
• Candidates must be a graduate of a recognized school in the targeted country (hopefully, expanding from Peru to other SA countries);
• Funding would be for a two year block for a church starter who would continue to pastor the church and continued support for the church starter who felt gifted in this position (upon review and approval).

Accountability would be in three tiers:

• The missionaries and teachers on the ground in the target country;
• Trips to the field by BIEM board member(s); and
• By BIEM itself with financial accountability to all who contribute. We pray that the program in SA will prove to be accountable and accepted by all who come under the burden to accelerate the gospel in this very open field.

This is the real advantage of the program: a national pastor/church-starter can be fully underwritten for about 500 dollars per month. They know the language, the country, the diet, the laws, etc. There is no language school, cross-cultural adjustments, and, they minister where their homes and families are. This is a win, win, win situation.

OUR PRESENT SUCCESSES:

BIEM started with five candidates. Of that group, one man, Segundo Rodriguez, is in church starting and evangelism as well as a teacher of his own countrymen. He came to BIEM fully supported. The second man Joel Gamboa ministers in Trujillo in a drug-infested area of the city. He is a graduate of the seminary in Trujillo and was driving a taxi to feed his family. The third man is Luis Escobar. He is a graduate of the school in Trujillo and is starting a church in Tarapoto, a high jungle city of 68,000 souls in central Peru. The fourth man is David Toribio, ministering in the south-eastern city of Puerto Maldonado near the borders of both Brazil and Bolivia. Here, David wants to start a Baptist Church with a 10 believer core. The fifth man is Parcemon Jiminez. JP is pastoring in a Baptist church in Zarumilla, Peru. He is another graduate of the seminary in Trujillo and, like the other men comes highly recommended by his peers. Future goals include expanding the influence of his ministry into Ecuador, specifically, the city of Machala. We already have the next man in BIEM’s pipeline for support. His name is Ruben Quispe in the Cusco-Calca area of central Peru. Ruben wanted to be a Doctor before God called him into the ministry. He also trained in Trujillo and has taught in the Bible college in Urubamba (the second school that we consider men).

OUR PRESENT GOALS:

In August, BIEM will again have a presence in Peru. This will be a trip to gather more men for the future underwriting program. Also, there will be an onsite evaluation of three of the existing works. Time will be spent in Trujillo and Urubamba interviewing and gathering solid recommendations.

OUR FUTURE VISION:

As churches and individuals get a burden for SA, BIEM stands ready to provide an accountable avenue for church expansion using graduates who are native to their land. The cost benefits are obvious as are the cultural benefits. This endeavor compliments the work of other men and mission boards and is in cooperation with several other Baptist groups for the stated ends. The target is needy, the men are trained and recommended by both peers and missionaries, the cost is very reasonable, and the goal is achievable.

What can I do?

• Sign up for the Challenger Newsletter
• Sign up for the prayer list
• Tell a friend about BIEM
• Volunteer
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What we do

• BIEM's Strategy
• Projects
• Ministries and Outreaches

Who we are

• Get to know our missionaries
• How BIEM got its start
• Biem's Doctrinal Statement

What does BIEM do?

We have a unique and successful strategy of training nationals to pastor churches. We have ongoing church building projects, a servicemen's center for national military personnel and a variety of other strategic outreaches. We have national workers who run a substance abuse rehabilitation center and orphanages. We send a container of humanitarian aid to orphanages and the poor and needy in multiple countries in Eastern Europe.

How can I help?

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• Take an interest in learning how the Gospel is going “even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20)
• Sign up to receive our free “Challenger” newsletter, which shares current projects, victories, and prayer requests.
• Consider contributing financial support.
• Pray for us and tell your friends and family about what God is doing through BIEM.

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Who is BIEM?

Baptist International Evangelistic Ministries (BIEM) was founded in 1981 by Dr. Peter Slobodian, a Ukrainian born veteran missionary burdened to reach his own people behind the Iron Curtain in the Soviet Union. BIEM’s effective strategy places nationals in the forefront of the ministry, minimizing the American presence as much as possible.

Omar Munoz

Location: Suba, Bogota, Colombia.

I attended the church for six months, but I was not really saved. One day I was going to work and the Lord touched my heart, and I understood that I need Christ as my personal Savior. From that day, my life changed. I began to know God more and to grow spiritually, desiring always to please Him and to always be a good testimony. Having spent 37 years in the world, I now want to spend my life doing the Lord’s work, which is truly worthwhile.

Omar was baptized in November of 2001. Concerning evangelizing the lost, he states, “It is a constant burden, to preach the plan of salvation to others. Seeing the lack of churches and so many souls without Christ, I recognized the need to preach and to plant churches.”

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Summer Camp 2010 Reports

Testimonies from several Americans who participated in a BIEM missions trip to Ukraine

The trip to Ukraine this summer was life changing! God worked in so many ways, both big and small. I was reminded of God’s sovereignty, God’s grace, God’s power, and God’s omniscience. I was also challenged in the area of sacrifice for ministry. The Ukrainian people were so willing to give us all of their time and resources in order to enhance our ministry. It was such an impact to me personally. The trip was definitely worth every moment, and I would love to go back soon! Eric H.

[pullright]My view of missions will never be the same after my 23 days in Ukraine. [/pullright]My view of missions will never be the same after my 23 days in Ukraine. A few of the things that impacted me the most were: The genuine love the Ukrainians showed while we were there. I also heard stories about their persecution; I heard of churches that were destroyed, and their congregations met in the forest. I have heard many stories like this one, but after you have seen the churches, and met the people, you suddenly realize how real it was for these brothers and sisters in Christ that we have not just in Ukraine, but in the entire world!

I’ve been asked what part or aspect of Ukraine made the most impression on me. I could honestly say that I couldn’t pick just one. Their love, their sacrificial giving, their hospitality, their passion for the Bible and prayer. Going over to Ukraine, I know some Americans who have the mindset “We are going to change them.” But this is just the opposite of what should happen. You will never have the same experience if you do not let [insert country] change you. I know Ukraine has changed me, not just my view of missions. I have a professor in college who says, “Life is ministry, and ministry is global.” I understand this better now than when I left for Ukraine. My life is to bring glory to God, wherever in this world He will place me in ministry. John M.

The mission trip to Ukraine was definitely an eye-opener for me! It was an encouragement and a rebuke to see how the Christians in Ukraine serve God. When our team came to visit, they treated us better than I think we would have. They gave their best and beyond that. Also, their love for God is so evident in how they praise Him and worship. They didn’t just go to church out of “habit,” but they went because they wanted to praise God. This trip has taught me to reach out to people no matter who they are and where they are from. We need to keep in mind there are people who are dying every day without the Gospel, and it is our job to tell them. I am so thankful to have been able to go on this trip, and I thank God for everything He taught me. I pray and hope that it will always be in my heart and mind. Anya G.

Our Bible college team of 15 people enjoyed participating in the children’s camp ministries which were established and led by a fine group of dedicated Ukrainian believers. Their love and sacrifice made our ministry to the children fruitful and enriched our desire to serve Christ to the regions beyond. We all left a part of our hearts in Ukraine and long to return one day to serve with them again. Corey and Laurie P.

As a full-time missionary with BIEM, I had the privilege (and fun) participating in a number of children’s camps this past summer, first in Ukraine and then in Russia. Each year’s camps are always different, but each year’s camps are a blessing in their own ways.

In Rumyantsevo, Russia, I joined a team of adults who had prepared Bible lessons, games, and crafts for campers ages 8-12. The facility near Moscow was once a camp for Pioneers, similar to a communist version of scouting in the Soviet days. Now this site proclaims the Gospel through camps, retreats, and other special programs. I could talk about the obstacle courses, the games, or the intense heat (up to 100° in early August), but instead I’ll mention how every aspect of camp life focused on God and His Word. Of course, we had lessons and evening dress-up services with various preachers. But even the before-bed snack times included vivid lessons. For instance, during one small-group snack time the leaders talked about sin, about how people can look nice and attractive on the outside, but still carry the stain of sin on the inside. The object lesson was an apple that had black ink injected into it via syringe. The apple looked delicious, but when the leader cut it open… “Yuck!” The heart of the apple was dark and ugly, just like the sin God sees in people’s hearts. Quite a living lesson! Camps are a wonderful way to lift kids out of their daily routine and to get them away from other distractions and to spend all directing their attention to God and eternal truths. Like the national workers, I add my thanks to everyone in the West who understand the impact of such camps and give to provide the meals, craft materials, prizes, sporting equipment, snacks, and other expenses that combine to create a dynamic camp. These weeks are fatiguing, but being there and witnessing how God works in young lives is a huge reward. May He be praised! Rick Barry, Director of Church-Planting Ministries, BIEM

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Testimonies from National Leaders

Sea of Azov, Ukraine

From July 9 to 18 on the Azov Sea was held a Christian camp, which improved, spiritually and physically, the health of more than 60 children.

This year was the first time I went as a leader of Christian children’s camp. I was given the youngest group, ten children, ages from seven to nine years. I was familiar with many of the kids there at the station when parents handed them to me for boarding the train. This is a wonderful moment when someone gives you the hands of the most precious thing he has - his child.

On the train children began to gradually open up, revealing their characters. Immediately it was clear who had faithful parents, who had the most years of attending church, and who didn’t know anything about Jesus Christ. One very loud, uncontrollable child was a girl Nika (I’ve changed her name here for ethical reasons). While everything else subsided, she continued to laugh aloud and talk. We asked that she calm down, and that helped a little. The next morning, her mother telephoned and said that the girl may have problems.

With each passing day, I learned more and more about this girl. For her, the Christian environment and fellowship with the believers were a novelty. The first days were very difficult. She talked so loud, even screaming. Most of her actions are not controlled. She could laugh out loud for no reason and then a moment later cry and run away somewhere. At the same time she wanted simple human kindness. From one kind word, praise flourished. I am grateful to God that I came to camp. I know that the ten days spent among Christians have changed and will continue to change her heart. How great is the LORD; every day He worked wonders.

A few days later, I learned the story of this girl’s life. It turned out that when she was quite a little girl, her biological parents earned money off of her. She had to beg for money. What other difficulties she experienced in those years, nobody knows, but a deep traumatic imprint in the soul remained with her. Then a different family adopted her. They try everything to ensure her. But, for reasons known only to them, they don’t raise her at home, but delivered her to their parents to do that. To this day, the girl lives with her grandparents and sees the foster parents only see on weekends. She studies in an orphanage school.

Comparing all these details, it became clear why she behaves as she does. After learning this, I no longer saw her as a bad, spoiled child, but as a girl with a wounded heart who was in need of Jesus Christ.

At first, when we had our Bible lessons, while all the kids listened and participated Nika’s head was, at best, flying somewhere in the clouds. When we prayed before meals in the cafeteria, or in class, or before we swam in the sea, Nika just did not understand what we were doing.

Every night, before bed, we gathered the children in the room and read Bible stories. In the stories there were descriptions of different experiences of the kids who went through the same kinds of things as she did. On the third and fourth day of camp I began to notice Nika attentively listening to these stories. She sat in silence, and with wide open eyes listened carefully to every word, and then happily answered questions.

I will not forget, when in the dining room before sitting down at the table to eat, she asked permission to pray. For several days, Nika had watched how the other children from our group prayed, and used her own words to thank God for the food we had.

It’s not possible to change such children. But this is the age when you can still make adjustments in their psychological state, to act. In ten days we would not have been able to heal all her spiritual wounds; it was not in our power. But the fact that Jesus Christ came into her little heart was visible. At one of the final services attended by the entire camp to glorify the name of the Lord, the preacher posed a number of questions. Nika called out (she simply could not talk quietly) the answers to all of them.

We don’t know whether Nika will have another chance to be in a Christian camp, whether she will have a chance to fellowship more with Christians and hear God’s word. But I know one thing: the camp changed her life. She will always know that Jesus loves her, that He will forgive her sins when she addresses Him, and that God will never leave and will not forsake her.

These truths have been a revelation for her. She could not imagine that someone would be so fond of her that He gave his life for her. When we were riding home on the train, I told her that we are waiting for her in Sunday school. She said nothing. But once we stepped out of the train car and she saw her parents, with tears in her eyes she said, “Mom, Dad, let me go to Sunday school!”

Thank God for this camp, where children found salvation for their soul. For children from believing families, it was a wonderful vacation, with the sea, games, meetings, Bible lessons, socializing in a circle of friends and relatives. But for the unbelieving children it was something more. It was a time of salvation. Personally I am very glad that those who had not previously heard about Christ saw that his name could be known not only by adults but by other children just like them.

May God bless all those who helped organize the camp. To see children receive God into their hearts is a great joy.

Lubov I.

Trilisi, Fastov, and other villages

Summer…For some this word is synonymous with beach, the sea, and warm rays of the sun, but for other people it means something different. For them it is a huge opportunity to serve the Lord in the children’s summer camp ministry.

I want to help you, dear readers, to plunge into the atmosphere of a busy ministry with dear children, whom our group visited in villages like Krasnya Sloboda and Trilisi, as well as in Fastov. I was fortunate to work in a team gathered by the Lord. Over the whole year, each person was actively preparing for meetings with the children, attended sessions on medical training, which is very useful.

And the long-awaited moment arrived. Our team went to the first destination, Trilisi. That camp was held from June 7 to 13. As is customary, the team met with the camp kids who responded to the invitations and came to meet us. We were very happy to see them. The first acquaintance with them was a little hectic, but despite this the next day the children felt much freer to talk to us.

We did many things with them: singing, playing, doing crafts, but our main goal was to tell them about Him who loved them and gave His Son, Jesus Christ, to talk about the fact that He died for them on the cross. I know that our work was not in vain.

One evening we had an interesting event. I remember it was Wednesday. Three hours of the day we spent with the children [in a day camp], and then prepared for a service with teens. But no teens came, even though we invited them. Then, at 10 pm, we heard someone knock at the kitchen window. Near the window sat our dear sister Sasha Kustovskiy. She was frightened at first, but then we realized that it was a girl knocking on the window. We were surprised. She came with friends and asked for our permission to sit in the tent we had put up for the children’s Bible lesson. Of course, we did not want to lose this opportunity and not socialize with them. Our talk lasted for about an hour. We sang and talked about God and His Son, Jesus Christ. In the end, we prayed for them.

Next we went to Chervona Sloboda. Camp there was held from June 28 to July 2. And again, we were happy every day we held camp and met new people, got to know the hearts of children, who wanted to know who we are and why we had come there.

There are so many things that happen in each camp, but always in our memory are the children, whom you’ll remember forever. For example, I personally remember the girl who at first was very rude to me and would not listen. But by the end of camp God melted her heart, and by the end when we said good-byes, she was crying. It is so wonderful to see how Christ changes the hearts of children. It is all His work through the labor of His people. This camp is also very special to our team. I remember when we sang the farewell song. We had no tears, but we were not able to sing, and the children, too, looked on us with great regret over our coming departure. But the song was an encouragement for all of us that we would meet again, if not to meet here on earth, then in heaven. Also, after a long farewell, the girls gave us a large poster with a big heart, and around it were drawn little hearts, on which were written the names of the leaders.

Then there was another camp, in Fastov. It was held from July 5 to 9. With them, we also had a memorable day camp. On average, 30-35 children came every day. What’s special about this camp is the fact that the whole team was put to the test. For some reason this camp produced various injuries: someone’s hand got hurt, another’s leg, someone else’s heel...Everyone sacrificed a body part!

One girl (Alla), who served as the camp leader, shared an interesting testimony with me. On Thursday morning came a little girl, whose name was Ira. She was 6 years old, but she looked like 3, so thin and puny. This little girl came and said to her softly: “Oh, you’re eating. But I haven’t had anything to eat for 2 days. I’m so hungry.” Alla immediately took action and went to the kitchen to request something for that girl to eat. While Ira was eating, Alla began asking her about her parents: who they are and what they do. It turned out that her dad and mom drink. Only occasionally their grandmother comes to help wash. And when she told me how they are washed, it’s impossible to hear. They are washed in rain water that collects in a tub, which sits outside. Ira said: “The water is beginning to stink, so I can’t go there to bathe.” Among other things, Alla asked: “And when was the last time you washed your hair; do you remember?” Ira replied that it was so long that she no longer remembered.

That’s whose lives would be changed for the better. These are hearts, to which you want to give hope. We will pray for God to change her parents, so they will turn to God and begin to care for their children and love them. One girl, named Jan, who lives not far from the place where that camp was held, visited us and helped the team. She selflessly serves God. She is fruit from last year’s camps. Praise God for it!

To finish, it is difficult to come to a clear conclusion. Our work is a small drop in the bucket in missionary service. We hope that the seed, sown by us with love, will sprout. May it all be to the glory of Jesus Christ! Lydia G.

I am grateful to God for that I was given the opportunity to conduct Bible lessons [in a day camp] at an orphanage. These were my first steps in teaching children the Word of God. Prior to teaching these lessons, I felt that I could not manage. Praise the Lord that He was my support. The Lord taught me. The lessons that I led, they would seem very accessible and familiar, but the Lord helped me in a new way to experience and understand the truths that we discussed in class.

“Let the little children to come unto me and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:1). This is the Word of God. It’s a great opportunity to apply it to the children and their lives. Children want and love to listen to the message of Jesus. Children listen to Bible stories. They are happy to pray. I was very pleased that the children were waiting for the day of our classes. They told me that now they pray before bedtime. I was very pleased, because the children gradually learned the Word of God and wanted to convey that they have done things that are good in God’s eyes.

Most children at boarding school have parents that are deprived of parental rights. From such an early age, children grow up very angry and violent, just because they do not know or see parental care and love. In Ukraine there is a promotional video: A fathers sits under a tree and lights a cigarette. His small son, too, settles nearby, pretending to be smoking ... Here is a vivid example of how children follow in the footsteps of adults. A child should not go into eternity without Jesus, and we are to evangelize to those children who are deprived of care and love. They need to hear about Jesus, about salvation that He gives us. Irina B.

Litvinovka, Ukraine

Thank God and you for the wonderful opportunity to pursue ministry with children, including through holding a Christian Children’s Camp. We know that you pray for our ministry. We are also very grateful that we were able to conduct our camp for children in Litvinivka, which was held from June 21 to 25 for 22 children from families of non-believers.

May God reward you a hundredfold, and bless you and us in a joint ministry to God’s field “for we are labourers together with God.” We pray also for you and the ministry of the mission.

Receive a hearty greeting from the brothers and sisters of our church. We remember brothers Sam and Rick, who visited us, and we will be glad to see you again. May God richly bless you all! Pastor Alexander Kravchuk

Borova, Ukraine

We thank God that He has inclined your hearts to participate in organizing the camp from our church. God sent good weather, gave the finances, blessed the organizing of the camp, and most importantly, He sent lost children, some of whom attend church services and Sunday school. We felt your help; may God bless you. Sunday school teachers of Borova

Desna, Ukraine

This year we had a great blessing, and this blessing was that with God’s help children’s camps were held. It should be noted that for the kids camp was a great holiday.

We want to share an interesting response from people from when we were handing out invitations in the center of the town. We chose a place where normally a lot of people walk past. I went to the store to buy ice cream to distribute invitations with balloons and ice cream. The sales ladies began to get interested when they saw how much ice cream we wanted. I told them about the camp and invited their children. A few minutes after we came to the square, kids just swarmed us from every side, and wanted to know what will happen in this camp, which they had heard about from friends.

The next day we met with the children in the camp and had a blessed time with them. We think it was a time they will not forget.

Our team had one Christian woman helping who had never before participated in camps, and she shared her impressions. She liked the fact that the children were very orderly for class time and carefully listening to the Biblical truths that were shared each day. She was surprised that our team members were from different regions of Ukraine, and also that we had guest helpers from America, who also actively participated in the camp. And, despite the fact that many of us had never worked together, God made of us one good tool for the execution of His will.

On the first day, a young mother and her daughter appeared and asked what we were doing there. I explained to her that it’s our annual Christian camp for children. She asked what would happen in the program. I told her that we would have sports, games, songs, Bible lessons, and crafts. She was interested and asked me if her daughter could stay and try out the camp while she watched? I said yes, of course. And at the end of the day, I asked her impression of the camp. In response, she said she liked it and she had not ever been to similar events. She also asked whether something else would be held next year. It was good not only for her child to visit and hear about Christ, but also for her. She had the opportunity to hear about salvation through Christ’s sacrifice. And we hope that her presence will bear good fruit.

These are but a few of the blessed moments we wanted to tell you about, and we hope you would like to participate in next year’s camp. Thank you very much for your support in the ministry, and may God bless you. The Fomichovs

Goncharovsk, Ukraine

We greet you brothers and sisters in Christ! During the camp, we were able to talk with different children and to share Christ with them. The camp was a special time when God disposes children to hearing His Word. We pray that God will continue to incline the hearts of children to fellowship with Him and with us. And we very much hope that the children will go read the Word of God.

It was a great blessing and encouragement for me that, before going to camp, Artyom came to see me and we struck up a conversation about repentance and feelings, and I explained that repentance should not be based on feelings, but on the sacrifice of Christ. When we talked, he told me that realized that he had previously relied heavily on the senses, and now understands the role of feelings and the role of facts. I was very encouraged. We went out to the field, praying, singing to God and read the Bible and praised the Lord together. You know, brothers and sisters, for me it was very great excitement, since I had waited a long time for a chance to go and praise the Lord with one of the youth of Goncharovsk. My prayers to the Lord about Artyom are that God will continue to bless his desire to grow and glorify God.

I’d like to share another happy occasion with you. We were still in the camp and I talked with Artyom about how it would be good to go on Sunday to a service in Desna, and when we talked, some other guys also wanted to go with us. Pastor Igor invited us to stay in Desna for a picnic. This day was a special time and after the service I asked the kids their impressions of the church, and they said they really liked it.

Much thanks to you for your participation in the ministry in Goncharovsk. We are very encouraged by knowing that there are brothers and sisters who are concerned about the ministry. May God richly bless you! Sasha Petrenko

Chervona Sloboda, Ukraine

The children of Sloboda, like all children, want more attention. Do I need to be a teacher or tutor, to pay attention to them? No, but I need to have the willingness to give without expecting in return.

At the beginning of each camp, you can’t help asking yourself: “Is it worth it?” and “Who needs it?” The answers to these questions usually come in the camps. But more about that later. Meanwhile, there is much preparation and work.

The regime of the day was:

-09:00 AM - Breakfast; -10:00 AM - The beginning of camp; -11:00 AM - Worship; -11:30 AM - Skits; -12:00 AM - Bible lesson; - 12:30 PM - Sports games; - 02:00 PM - Snack; - 02:30 PM - Worship; - 03:00 PM - Prayer, then prizes, awards, etc. - 05:00 PM - Dinner; - 08.00 PM - Talk by the campfire.

It should be noted that this plan was for the children. But we, the leaders, got up very early... After all, we must wake up, remind ourselves that we came to work for the children. Not just entertain them, but to be entertaining and very active and at the same time talk about the salvation of their souls. Here, on this basis, our day began, as stated above.

We begin to answer our previous question: No, this is not in vain; the day passed, the children learned a lot about God. They became friends, became more tolerant of each other. Thank God for this opportunity to testify about Christ. And yet, we were so pleased to hear from the children words of gratitude and appreciation. Friends, our task is to teach children to believe in Jesus Christ as personal Savior. This will require not just one week in camp, but constant discussion and nurturing of children in their love and faith in Jesus Christ. For this, God calls not only the gifted and capable, but He calls on all who are able to give without asking in return!

Around the evening campfire were heard the sounds of the guitar; the outdoors heard Christian songs glorifying God. This attracted local youth. They are attracted by the fire and the young people at a fire. It’s a chance to develop new acquaintance: “Who are you? Why did you come? Is it simply to serve children for free?” Many people cannot understand how this could be. Good deeds are a rarity in our time. Young people begin to learn for themselves that you can live differently, that there are young people who serve God, lead a healthy lifestyle, create strong families, give birth to healthy children and care not only about their own, but also about other people’s children.

People passing by on the street end up listening involuntarily. Yes, these are songs they have not heard before. They are happy that there are such young people who do not consume alcohol, use drugs, who respect elders and have love for people and God. Maybe someone among the passers-by wishes in their heart that their children were similar to those young people, but they think if they go to a Baptist church, then what will the neighbors and relatives think? Thus, the fear of man drives them away from attending, from thoughts of eternity and of God. The camp ended, and the children asked when the next one will be. At the Sunday service the children put on a program that they rehearsed at the camp. They sang new songs, quoted memory verses from the Bible. “So will the team come next year?” “Will there be another camp?” “Maybe one more this year?” I am pleased with these questions, since they answer the questions I pose to myself before each children’s camp: “Is it worth it to do, and who needs it?”

We are very grateful to you, dear brothers and sisters, because you have helped us to hold this camp, which is so important for children. We thank you for your support and prayers. Vitaly Yurchenko

Otradnoye, Russia

Thank you for your faithful love gifts and prayers during this year toward children’s ministry. God has blessed us with tremendous opportunities to serve children from needy families and 36 orphans this summer. Seven hot sunny days in June will produce good memories in their little hearts. Our goal was to introduce children to the Great Book – The Bible. Some parents who visited us on the final day of the camp also received a Bible and heard the Gospel message. Two teenagers from Pavlovo orphanage (Vladimir 17, and Sergey 16) decided to profess Christ as their Savior in front of all the children.

This summer I had volunteers from two Baptist churches in Saint-Petersburg and even a professional mime Christian group. One day we went out on the streets of our town and sang Christian children’s songs. Many people stopped and listened to us and to my good surprise nobody reported to the police. I believe that God had His protecting hand over us by your prayers. We expect much fruit from this effort in the fall. The camp was held on the Church grounds.

May Our Father in Heaven bless each of you according to His riches. Galatians 6:9: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Oleg & Katherine Vladyko

Drogichin, Belarus

God’s peace to you, our dear members of the mission. I want to tell you how God is real in our day and does His work. I, as a pastor, was concerned in the early summer about summer camp for our children. I just prayed to God and said that we have no money for a camp. Yes, in the heart I had special contrition before God in this matter, as children and teachers were asking whether or not we would do something for the kids. So I thought, there’s no money nor enough teachers for a Christian camp. And you know, a miracle happened. I heard the news that you [BIEM] could help with funds. And I saw that God wanted us to conduct an evangelistic Christian camp. Of course, the kids were just delighted with the program, the food in the camp. There were also children from non-Christian homes. The program for teenagers was very rich: Each day, Bible lessons, preaching, worship, singing, poetry, playing musical instruments, and prayer. The younger group did not want to go home. They cried at parting. What was very important to me is that two neighbor children, Albert (13) and a girl Olga (10) years old, were in the camp. When they returned, they told their parents their impressions. The parents were thrilled that their kids liked it. And those parents told their friends about how we took their kids to Christian camp. It was a pleasure to hear all the neighbors speak well of us Christians, and our camp for children.

Thank God that the camp has not passed in vain. The children learned lots of songs, stories and Bible stories. Two girls repented from the same family; they are Katya and Olga. So, let those who donated for camps and prayed know that the camp was not in vain. As 1 Corinthians says, Paul planted, Apollos watered, and God gives the increase.

I am glad that God showed me that I have to kneel and pray more about everything. Thank God were in the camp of independent churches. May God bless abundantly.  God’s blessings of peace, happiness, knowing that your labor is not in vain before God. Pastor Nikolai Ryzhuk

Capathian Mountains, Ukraine

For me, camp was a great blessing. Each day began and ended with prayer. At first it was scary: the new kids, different personalities, different problems. However, getting to know them better, I realized that I had the best group. Of course, there were problems, but we solved them quickly.

Throughout the camp we had marvelous games, fun classes on music and drama, but the fun was at craft time. They loved to make different things with their own hands. Foremost in the camp were Bible lessons and programs. Great leaders are accessible and understandable talking about God. Through their words, God worked in children’s hearts, so that several children turned to Christ. To God be all the glory for this. The campers also looked forward to an evening of talking in groups. In this way they met new friends. The fellowship was very fun. We played games, laughed, talked and spent time together.

I am sincerely grateful to God that He gave me the chance to be in this camp and to have the responsibility of a leader. I am grateful to the sponsors of the camp, because if they had not helped, the camp could not have existed. Veronica S. Leader for younger group of girls (10-12)

Kids’ Impressions from Various Camps

In camp I liked: the Bible lessons, our leaders, the cooks. And various relay races. And most of all I liked water day. During the day, we poured water in the water relay. Also we played on a cable and a trampoline and jump roped. We did different crafts, painting, and got prizes. This camp taught us to believe in God, to praise Him, to pray to Him. They told different stories about the power of God and what is the real power of the Lord. I am very grateful to all those who led this camp, and our leaders and cooks, and camp director. Because they taught us to believe in God. I want to go again next year to camp. Vika H. This is a very cool camp! All the organizers are trying to help us to be comfortable and have fun. But most of all they cared about whether we accepted Jesus into our heart. I accepted Him 2.5 years ago, but sincerely rejoiced when other children asked Christ into their hearts. In this camp, everything was wonderful! Our cook prepared delicious breakfasts, lunches, snacks, dinners. The games are cool, great classes, the leaders –  you’re the best. I thank God and everybody, everybody, everybody who organized this very nice camp. Yaryk V. (14)

Dear organizers of the camp, I am very grateful for this wonderful camp. That I had the opportunity to get acquainted with the Lord, the relays, the familiarity with each other, with great leaders who have supported us throughout the camp, for the food, for the team spirit. I like everything that happens in camp. I like especially the water day. I hope that next year will also be interesting. I’m very grateful to you for what you are doing for all children. Vita N.

I attended summer camp in Fedorivka. I like the fact that the camp had a water day, a trampoline, Bible lessons, general camp games, painting, relay races, handcrafts. I liked how we are fed. Our leaders help us, take care of us, taught, nurtured in the fear of God. Dima P.

My name is Lera. I love camp. This year I was in two camps, one for children and one for adults, where we lived in tents. I really like to be in camp; there is fun for us. This year, when I was in camp, I decided I wanted to be baptized. Praise God for the fact that they took me to a tent camp. Lera S. (9)

This is a great time in my life. So it was good in the camp, all the people who were here—they are great. In the camp, everything changes, you just do not want to leave. I told all our friends in Desna how great it is in camp. I remember the evening we sang Christian songs around a campfire, listening to the sermon. Natasha S. (15)

My opinion of Christianity is changing. The camp is a very healthy atmosphere; we are all becoming more open, even kinder. It was hard to imagine that you can relax without alcohol. I’m not saying that I became a believer, but I like this. Sasha (17)

My impressions are only good! This camp is the best: The best leaders are here and everything is cool. No complaints. I liked the craft circle and genius Julia, skillful pens, sports, music. And our leaders are all super. Everything will stick in my memory. Alexander S. In the camp I liked everything: the food, which was prepared by our beloved chef, the games that the leaders prepared. The classes where we made products with our hands. We studied music, drama, made up new skits, which were then shown at the evening meetings, in sports we played great games. I thank God for camp! Max P.

For me, this camp was a great blessing. I really like it here. I liked the games, tennis, volleyball. The organizers tried very hard to make everything comfortable and interesting. The leaders were most concerned that we read the Bible, and Galina told us about Jesus Christ. I repented and received Him into my heart. I am very glad when other kids asked Jesus Christ into their hearts. I am very fond of snacks and breakfast, and very grateful for the delicious meals the cook made. I am very grateful to God for the leaders who held camp. Andrei S. (14)

I really have fun in this camp. There are fun games, interesting friends, and it’s really fun to talk with them and play. There are also people who support me in difficult times. My friends and I help each other. I like most sports and the all-camp games. Every morning we gather, and we everyone prays together. Then we go to brush our teeth, do exercises. I respect the leaders because they did their best for us. I thank God for the leaders, delicious food, games, for the classes. Svyatoslav P. (13)

I’m in this camp for only the second time. I really like it here and I learned more about God and opened my heart to Him. I found new friends here. My brightest impression is that I could open up to God. This week was very interesting. We went through different relay races. After dinner we played the general camp game. This week I really changed for the better. Next year I want to come here again. Maria H. (13)

I’m in this camp for only the first time. I really like it here. I met many interesting people. Also found a lot of cool friends. We played games, sang songs, acted out fun scenes. And most importantly is that I learned more about God, as He changes people for the better. Also, I like discussing in groups where we could learn more about each other. Overall, I spent good time in this camp. I had a cool group and super leader! Mariana H. (15)

Unfortunately, this is only the second time in my life I’ve been in a Christian camp. So, I really enjoyed it. Indeed, at first when I arrived, I thought that I would be bored here, but when I came, my opinion changed. I found many new friends, learned more about God and His works, and just had fun times with people who are really nice to me. I am very glad that I went to this camp. I hope that next year I will get to go again. Tatiana P. (14)

This week was special for me. I found many new friends with whom I like to spend time talking. This camp has been a very cool experience because I learned more about God. Also, I enjoyed communicating in groups, the games, generally everything. It was very fun. I was class leader who tried to do everything as best I could, and my whole team has been excellent. Alina S. (15)

God blessed me with this chance to go to camp and I took advantage of it. The Lord blessed every day. We prayed before each lesson, prayed as soon we got up, prayed before bedtime ... Our loving Heavenly Father saved us from sin and injuries. He opened our hearts, that we understand the essence of Truth and His Word. For many, the camp became a turning point in their lives. The camp went very fast. I really like it here. The camp was just great! Jaroslav D. (15)

Uzbek Bible Project

We praise God for the successful completion of printing New Testaments in the Uzbek language. Half of those have reached their target country, but details are still being worked out for delivering part of them to a different country, so this is both a cause for praise and prayer. Uzbek is spoken by over 18 million 16,539,000 in Uzbekistan, 873,000 in Tajikistan, 550,000 in Kyrgystan, 317,000 in Turkmenistan

Besides the need BIEM has for these Bibles in Central Asia there are also large populations in Moscow and Istanbul who come to work. BIEM partners and personnel conduct outreach to these Muslim Uzbeks with Alexander Holminov in Moscow and a missionary in Istanbul.

Since it was increasingly difficult to obtain any Uzbek Bibles, our only recourse to meet our needs was to have some printed. Through the efforts of Alexander Holminov we rejoice in being able to have 5,000 printed. 

From our July BIEM’s of Light

Medical Mission Trip 2010

BIEM coordinated a Christian medical team who came to conduct medical screening at many of the churches BIEM has helped plant. Many who came for medical treatment were unsaved people who had never been in those churches before. They received treatment, free medicines—and the Gospel, which is the cure for mankind’s greatest need. An optometrist examined eyes and fitted people with new glasses. Eyes lit up and people exclaimed, “Vow” (wow) when they could suddenly read a New Testament placed before them, or when they could make out details of distant objects. So, even though medical treatment will never be BIEM’s #1 priority, like Jesus we had this opportunity to show compassion on physical needs while also giving spiritual truth. The pastors were so thankful for this complement to their local church outreach in their communities.

Training Nationals

Thanks be to our Lord for His constant love and care toward us. Our Seminary continues to bring much fruit for our Lord and His Kingdom. Many students are very thankful for the opportunity they have to study and use what they learned in their everyday life. God always blesses every ministry done for His glory. Studying in the Seminary enables students to preach God’s word more effectively and broaden His Kingdom. Brothers from Georgia come especially to our Seminary to study. They do not have the school of this kind in Georgia and spend much money to buy tickets, to come and receive the knowledge that they need for their ministry. Following are a few words from Vladimyr Kryshko one of the students of Kiev Theological Seminary.

Vitaly Yurchenko Kiev Theological Seminary Rector

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy, has caused us to be born again to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The first time in my life I prayed to God was for repentance on the 19th of June 1997. After this day I started a new life with new friends, new works and new desires. One of my wishes was to study in Christian school or Seminary. My decision to study in the Seminary arose the interest of my coworkers for the second time. Many questions and opinions appeared. So I witness now about my longing and hope to be with God and serve Him each time before I leave to Kiev for studying.

In the educational process I receive a lot of materials, books, lectures, videos and sermons. On my return I share with brothers and sisters my impressions and studied topics. Many lectures, video seminars and sermons I copy for our church members and for my friends from different cities. Brothers often remind me to remember that they are waiting for new materials and books. I do my best to execute “orders” for different theological materials and questions on Christianity.

Students continue their fellowship even after the class sessions are over. We keep in contact, visit each other and pray for our needs. God gave me opportunities to visit home churches of some students in Khartsizsk, Kharkov and Kiev. We also spend time with our professors after classes.

I am very thankful to God for the opportunity to study in the Seminary that supports me greatly in my spiritual life and helps me in my ministry. Thanks to all who care for the existence of this Seminary. Please pray for us. May God bless you.

Vladimyr Kryshko

BIEM's Widow Ministry

In March, the Lord enabled BIEM to help a church to hold a special service for widows and widowers. About 150 of these senior citizens gathered at Temple of Salvation Baptist Church in Kiev. There they heard the Gospel, shared experiences, received gifts, and felt the love of God. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).

Container Shipment Sent

Once again volunteers helped load another 40 foot Container bound for Ukraine. This container had a few special items including a pulpit, and folding tables for Russia. Thank you to all who donated items! A big thank you to all the volunteers who helped box and load the container.

Summer Camp Reports 2009

Testimonies from some American participantsIn 2009, nine Americans joined BIEM’s Rick Barry on a ministry trip to work in children’s camps and orphanages. Following are excerpts of some of their impressions after the trip:

As always, my time spent leading and interpreting for one of the groups of American Christians ministering in children’s camps was a rich and blessed experience. None of them had been in Ukraine before, so everything was new to them: the signs, the language, the food, the culture… As I explained many details about life there, they asked many questions and learned a lot.

After a day of sightseeing and overcoming jetlag, we began our daily journeys to various camps. My fellow travelers quickly bonded with the Ukrainian camp leaders (smiles and laughter are universal language!), and in each place we forged a single group of believers working jointly to present the Gospel and fun, wholesome time to the children who attended the camps. Often we were able to spend only one day in a town before moving on to the next camp in the next town, but the couple of times that we were able to spend more than one day in an area just strengthened the bond of friendship and mutual respect.

The day that we traveled to a government-run orphanage, the director explained that it was a holiday and so relatives had come to take many of the kids away for the day. Only the worst-behaved or least-loved ones remained that day, she explained. Behavioral problems were obvious in some kids, but we played games with them, presented a Bible lesson with pictures, and had a fun craft time, which even older young teens participated in. I can’t say that anyone trusted Christ that day, but those kids heard the Gospel understood that our group had traveled a long, long way to spend that day with them!

Rick BarryDirector of Church Planting MinistriesBIEM

Going on a mission trip to the Ukraine is different than the USA. It was such a blessing to work at the camps. The children were just having fun playing games and serving God. They seem to catch on with the crafts well as the games. I enjoyed doing to crafts with them, and singing with them. They would just take one piece of candy, and they are happy. And the way the children would sing, and they were sometimes just so into what they were doing. It was a busy time, and it went fast. So nice to help others, with the Gospel of the Lord. Such a wonderful feeling to serve the Lord with others on the other side of the world.

It was also so neat to see how BIEM works with the Ukrainians helping them with their ministry, I did not realize how much BIEM does. I know now how hard missionary work is, and missionary work has a new meaning to me now. I’m so glad I got to be a part of this mission team to the Ukraine and I hope someday I can return there again!

Still growing in Christ, Terri S.

I was very glad I went to help with the camps. Being a senior citizen had me a bit worried, but being the oldest was not really a problem. At the end of the day I was ready to hit the sack before our younger team members, though. I loved the country of Ukraine. It is a beautiful place full of old-world charm, right next to a fast-paced, modern world. I saw the big contrast between the faces of the lost and the believers there. The Christians we met there showed me the body of Christ exists even if you can't speak the same language! I found that I could talk to the people I met if I only tried! If you try, they will take an interest in you and try to communicate, too.

BIEM is doing a wonderful work there reaching out to young people. The young couple I stayed with in Ternopil spoke enough English to share how they were saved and how the Lord saved their marriage as a result. They truly served the Lord in being our hosts for 3 nights.

I would encourage others to make this trip. I was so blessed by what I saw the Lord doing in the lives of the Christians there, their tenacity in working on the unfinished church buildings, their work with the orphanages, and their desire to serve the Lord made me realize how spoiled we are here in the U.S. BIEM is truly bringing hope to people who have had no hope, and seeing that has grown me in my Christian walk. Praise to the Lord!”

Inez P.

I am so thankful that God gave me the opportunity to go to Ukraine through BIEM and my local church (Calvary Baptist in Plainfield). My favorite part of being in Ukraine was working with the children at the various camps and orphanages. It was incredible to see how you can share God’s Word and the love of Jesus Christ with a child who doesn’t even speak the same language as you. I loved playing games, doing crafts, and participating in song times with the kids. They even taught us how to sing some songs in Russian! It was also great getting to minister alongside Ukrainian believers at each place that we went to. I continue to pray that God will use His Word to impact the lives of the Ukrainian people.

“Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.” – Psalm 96:3

Kristen C.

First of all, I thank God every day for the experience that I shared with my family and friends. Living in America, we take so much for granted. My prayers are that other teens or young adults get to see how the rest of the world lives, and how other standards of living are humbling compared to living in America.

I grew a fondness for the Ukrainian food, and since being back I’ve visited a small Russian market and continue to practice what little Russian I can speak. I surely thank God for having the Barrys and BIEM cross our paths. This has been a lifelong blessing, and I do pray quite often for the development of the churches started in the Ukraine, and for so many people (families) who put us up and fed us while we were there. I hope that my family is just one speck out many participating in the Great Commission. Our prayers and love go to the Ukrainian people and BIEM.

John S.

Testimonies from National Leaders

Drigochin, Belarus

Peace be to you, coworkers of the BIEM mission. By the Lord’s grace, we are alive and preserved. Praise God for it! I’d like to describe the Christian children’s camp that we held. By the grace of Jesus Christ, the camp went blessedly, although it was not long, just three days. We didn’t expect many children, but the first day we had 58 kids, and 62 came on the second day, with the same number on the third day. Half of them were from non-Christian homes where no one knows the Lord. And of course it was difficult when a child knows practically nothing about God or about Christ. But it was joyful for us that the Lord answered our prayers when we prayed about this camp. One couple in particular helped us to conduct the camp. They have dedicated themselves to the Lord for children’s ministry. They are from the city of Brest and their names are Vasily and Ludmila. In a marvelous way, they were able to make the Gospel understandable to children and also the story of Daniel.

The camp was held partly at the church building and partly out in nature: the Bible lessons were indoors, and the games were in the woods. God used this camp to show our church that He loves us very much. He has provided you [BIEM], in order that you could help us with nourishment; He gave marvelous weather even though on each day He sent some rain. And even at one end of the village there was rain, while at the same time there was no rain where the children were. He provided us with teachers. The women from our church took active roles in preparing and conducting the camp. God gave repentance to one little boy, Sasha, who expressed his desire to serve the Lord. We see the fruits of the suffering of Jesus, who came to seek and to save the perishing. Of course, all this was possible only because the Lord prompted the hearts of people toward sacrifice there in America where you are. Despite the crisis, there are people who sacrifice for the work of God.

May the Lord abundantly bless all those who helped us in this. We could not have held this alone. Praise God, that He has given wisdom to our representatives not to hinder us. May the Lord bless them and their families. We are thankful to all of you. God’s blessings to you.

Nikolai Ryzhuk

St. Petersburg, Russia

The goal of the camp was to reach new children from the city of Otradnoye and we accomplished it with God's help. There were 11 new children and most of them were interested and excited to come back to the church and day center in the fall. We had a good start this school year with 14 children in Sunday School. Arseniy and I have visited several of our supporters during the summer and told them about the camp and needs. One of our themes was creation and we went with children to the zoo in Saint-Petersburg and McDonald's afterwards.

Oleg & Katherina Vladyko

Litvinovka, Ukraine

From the bottom of our hearts we thank the Lord for your desire to help in Ukrainian ministry and that you remember us, and our church, and our children’s ministry. We are glad to receive more flannel graph pictures. Now we can use the flannel board more fully during our Sunday school and summer camps.

Praise the Lord for all His bountiful goods and mercy, which He is showing to our local church. With God’s help, we held camp from June 22 to 26, near the new church building. God generously blessed us with nice, warm weather. We had a good, friendly team of youth leaders (7 people). Each of them was responsible for his own part: two men led Bible lessons; two led camp games and sports; a guitar player with his helper taught songs, and one other man was responsible for craft time.

Pastor Alexander was responsible for the camp program, and his wife oversaw food preparation. In the five days of camp we had 32 kids. The children heard lessons on the Bible topic “Knowledge about Christ” divided into five sections: “I am the Good Shepherd”, “I am the Bread of Life”; “I am the way, the truth, and the life”; “I am the Light of this world”; “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”

Every day the kids memorized Bible verses. They were divided into two teams. While the first team had a Bible lesson, the second one learned Christian songs, and vice versa. Every day the kids created interesting and difficult handicrafts: bracelets, cards, napkins, boxes which they were able to take home and present to their parents. Of course, we had a lot of different games and races, which we held on the soccer field. We fed the kids twice a day: They ate sandwiches with sausage, cheese, cream, cookies, fruits and soda.

On the third day of camp we held a special evening service, where we presented the story about Noah and the Flood using posters, and we also talked about the salvation provided by Christ on the Cross, about His death for our sins, and about His resurrection. We showed them the depravity of sin and cleansing work of Christ’s blood through Calvary’s Cross. At the end we gave an altar call, and five kids opened their hearts to Jesus. Praise the Lord!

On the last day we invited church members and parents for the closing meeting. The kids and the leaders’ team participated by performing skits, singing songs, reciting Bible verses they had learned, and lastly they received prizes for their activity. Camp ended with a thanksgiving song: “Every day planes are flying out; every day trains are rolling out, but I am abiding with Jesus forever, forever, forever.”

We’re sure that camp left a good, bright spot in these kids’ hearts and souls. We believe the seed that was sown will bear fruit. May God abundantly bless you all, workers of BIEM, in your future service.

Pastor Alexander Kravchuk

Goncharovsk & Desna, Ukraine

Dear friends, summer has passed so quickly, and we held the last summer camp for kids from Goncharovsk and Desna. Camp always means an unforgettable time for both saved and unsaved young people. The camp was at the same location as we’ve held it before. It was in tents, and we had thirty-two people ages 14-21.

In camp we were separated from civilization, and that was a big plus, because nothing interfered with us in developing relationships with the young people. We have a rubber boat, and the boys also did some fishing. Last year we had before-lunch discussions on various Christian topics, but this year we decided not do that and to concentrate our energy on the evening service. So we were surprised that many kids asked us to have the discussions anyway, and so we did. In the evenings we had devotions, where we sang songs. It was a special thing to preach in the open air near the fire. It was really an extraordinary time. It passed so quickly, and we all felt sad because we had to go. We cooked food over the fire. The kids helped in all the work and in the kitchen also. I want to say more about what did we did in this camp, but I also want to tell you about how God touched the hearts of some kids and about the kinds of barriers that stood in their way to the Lord.

I had an interesting talk with one guy, Artom, at about two o’ clock in the morning. I was about to go bed, and Artom stopped me because he wanted to talk. It seemed like he was troubled by something. He asked if we could talk, and I said yes. We walked out of camp, and he began with some questions. He was interested in life with God and in ways that God would help his family. It’s interesting that this guy had always been interested in God and in the Bible, but his friends’ opinions were more important to him. He had been embarrassed and hid his interest in the Lord and in the Bible. But that night he wasn’t ashamed; he openly talked about questions he was interested in, even when his buddies joined us. He shared his impressions, and about what drove him toward spiritual things. He shared the story of his friend whose mother wore a cross on her neck and said that it would prevent that boy from becoming a believer like we are. And he said that he understood that everybody was urging him not to become a believer. I know that boy’s parents; they’ve asked me to talk to him many times. They think that our fellowship has a positive influence on him. Some horrible things took place in Artom’s life recently. He hung out with bad friends. He drank a lot and had even tried to commit suicide before camp. He locked himself in the bathroom at a party and cut his veins. His friends figured out what was happening and called for his father, who broke down the door and found his sons with cut veins. And many other strange things happened to him. I understood that he was caught in a spiritual war for his soul.

One girl from Chernigiv (her name is Olga) was in our camp. She was impressed by what she saw and heard about God in our camp and also in another summer camp, where she had been before. I invited her in order to give her a chance to grow and understand the Gospel. She prayed with great pleasure, and I remember one time I was late for a lunch and asked some kids if they had prayed. They said yes, so I asked one guy to pray with me, and Olga joined us. When I drove the kids home, I saw sadness on Olga’s face, and I thought maybe the time at camp had bothered her. But when I asked her what was wrong, she wept and said that she didn’t want to leave. She said that never in her life had she felt so good as here, and she wanted to go to church in Chernigiv.

Also, we have a lot of fruitful fellowships with various youth. It seems the atmosphere in camp disposed kids to talk about the Lord and gave us opportunities to share with them about His truth, which made us to rejoice. What could make a Christian happier than an opportunity to share Gospel with others?

Pray with us:

1. For Artom and his spiritual strengthening.

2. For Olga, that she will attend church.

3. For all the kids who attended camp and for their repentance.

Igor FomichovMissionary pastor

Borova village, Fastiv region, Ukraine

We are very thankful to BIEM for the financial support provided to hold a children’s camp in a picturesque place near the lake in the forest of Didivshchyna village, in Fastiv region.

We know your work, and we pray for you and in particular for the BIEM missionaries who minister in Muslim countries. May God richly bless all your workers and your ministry, and may the Kingdom of Christ be spread on the earth.

On behalf of Good News Independent Baptist Church, O. F. Vasylenko

Chervona Sloboda, Ukraine

Blessed be the Lord our God, who has given us victory in Jesus Christ!

In recent times the public school in Chervona Sloboda has been closed to our church. We had no opportunity to conduct a ministry among the school children. Any idea or project touching on spiritual education was rejected by the school’s principal. The situation seemed impossible to change, and the hostile attitude of the principal provoked negative emotions in our hearts. Sometimes we felt that perhaps we needed to fight that situation (for example, by writing a letter to the authorities), but God gave us wisdom to pray for this situation and for the principal. This year, a new principal has come to the school. We were glad, knowing that everything would change.

It so happened this year that the camp dates for the school and for our church were identical. In light of that situation, we proposed to conduct camp together, and the principal agreed. We started making preparations: we bought sports equipment, craft items, and different things for prizes. We were allowed to lead the whole program. This way, we had an opportunity to speak a lot about the Lord. There were moments when the teachers regarded us with distrust, but everything went well. The camp took place at the school yard, and it was a good testimony for parents and for teachers, who from time to time attended our lessons to check out what we are teaching.

The great event for the school and for camp was the Americans’ visit to assist with camp. The principal and teachers thoroughly enjoyed it. They had never talked to Americans face to face; they left the best impressions. The principal said that he never thought that Americans were such simple and friendly people. And most impressive was when I explained that many Americans spend their vacations at camps in Russia and Ukraine or in other countries. Instead of going to rest in Miami, they go to serve, and not only that, but many of them save their money and offer it for ministry. Young people work on weekends to collect money for a trip to Ukraine. The principal and teachers were shocked at what we said, and we thanked God for this opportunity to witness to them. The school liked the game “The Maze,” and we presented it to them to keep. We also donated to them 500 grivnas ($58) to make repairs on the school roof. The principal and all the teachers expressed their gratitude. They thanked us for caring about the spiritual education of kids, because nobody does that nowadays. Because of this camp, we established relationships with the school leaders, and we hope to continue working together.

We thank the Lord also that He turned our enemies into our friends. Thank you, brothers and sisters from the U.S., for your self-sacrificing spirit and for help in holding this camp. Thank you and God bless you.

Vitaly Yurchenko

Sea of Azov, Ukraine

On the coast of the Sea of Azov there was a camp in which children were praising their Creator and enjoyed an improvement in their physical health.

On the way home from the camp, I rode in a bus with a group of kids ages 8-10. Just as I got in, I heard someone say, “Let’s sing!” The other children immediately broke into song. The words of that song were these: “This is the time to come to the Lord. This is the time to find the Lord, because without him everything is vanity.” Watching the joy and zeal of their singing filled my heart with joy. In the ten days that those kids spent in camp on the Azov Sea coast, they became united into one team.

Only just after their arriving at the camp did a couple of kids become a little unsociable. But this was related to small children only. The teenagers never showed any sadness or homesickness. The sea, the Bible studies, the preparation for the evening service, the sport competitions all step by step united the kids into one friendly group. I want to stress that before camp the organizers had two main goals: health improvement and introducing the kids to God’s Word. We’ll stop on each of them. The buildings that we lived in were 50 to 100 meters from sea. The kids played different games on the sand. And the most important, they constantly breathed fresh sea air, whether at the beach or in camp. This is very important, because most of the kids from our group were are in the Chernobyl zone. At the Sea of Azov, the beach sand contains many healthy biological elements such as calcium, iodine, bromine, which have medical quality, and more than that we had good meals. Grain cereals every day are so important for vitality, along with soups, meat, vegetables and dairy products. We can surely say that the healthful meals and rest at the sea were excellent for all who were with us. Lungs were cleared, and the whole body received good benefits both inside and outside. Praise the Lord for such a good possibility to improve our health.

But besides physical benefits, the kids received spiritual nourishment as well. During the first half of each day, they attended Bible studies. Each group had six of them. All during camp we studied the book of Daniel. Every day we considered particular examples, and the children learned that in trusting their lives to God they need not be afraid, that He provides the only real sense of life.

One interesting fact of that camp is that the evening services were prepared by kids. Of course, the sermons were preached by ministers, but main responsibility was on the young people. The children sensed their importance and prepared with a strong zeal. They sang songs, prepared skits, memorized verses and read God’s Word. Some of them got nervous and made some mistakes, but that didn’t matter. Kids worshiped the Lord with smiles on their faces. The final days of camp were especially beautiful. Everyone knew each other. We felt as though all of us, in spite of our number being close to 100 people, were one big Christian friendly family, and we didn’t want to go home.

Praise the Lord, during this time the kids’ hearts opened to their Creator. It is very important to sow the seeds of God’s Word in children’s hearts from a very young age. The kids always prayed before meals, and every day they learned something new about God and sang glory to Him. For those kids who are from Christian homes this was quite normal, but some kids had never seen nor experienced such a life before. Perhaps this camp will change not only the children’s lives, but also the lives of their parents, who don’t know God. Praise be to the Father in Heaven for this camp, and thanks to all who helped to make it.

Lubov I.

Ternopil, Ukraine

Peace to all of you, God’s coworkers! Each opportunity to work with you is a great blessing.

Summer isn’t over yet, and some churches are just now preparing to start summer camp, but we have already gone through these blessed moments. On one hand, camp is an especially festive event in the life of a church, but on the other it brings many qualms and cares. For the kids, it’s always a time of joy with special moments of active fun; for us as organizers it brings concern about the success of leading and feelings of responsibility for the kids.

This year we had a chance to hold two camps with one week of break in between. We held day camp in Ternopil, and a week later we held a regular camp in the Carpathian Mountains. But these two camps were connected with each other. The same team of leaders conducted the camp. Most kids who were in the day camp went to the Carpathians. As I am speaking of these camps, it’s hard to say which one was more important or better or more effective. Both camps were important, good and effective – they just were different. Different goals were set before them.

Day camp took place from June 8 to 13. Before it, we had prayed about the opportunity of expanding the children’s ministry. It has turned out that recently the children’s ministry had become the same small group of kids. That is, we had the same kids; there were no new children, and that means no new contacts with adults (their parents). Also, we prayed that we would have an interesting camp and take the Gospel to these kids. During our preparation time we considered different questions: How best to contact new children? Which program to choose, to make basic truths from the Gospel easier to understand? Who will be the leader? Which schedule will be more effective? Where should we hold the meetings? When?

First of all, we gathered the team of leaders. It really was a team. Every time we gathered, I rejoiced in the young Christians who are take care of responsibilities and delegated the duties of organization among them. Each of them showed initiative. What was clear for me even before camp is that God has blessed us with good leaders. A group from Calvary Baptist Church in Plainfield, Indiana, gave us a big help for the vacation camp. They arrived two days before it. We had a chance to worship together. The day before camp, the whole group went out distributing invitations, and they handled the whole first day of camp. Two weeks earlier, another group from the USA also helped us in distributing invitations to this camp. In all, we handed out about 2000 invitations. Due to a bad experience we had in distributing invitations, we worried whether anyone would come.

On the first day we had about 30 kids, and by the end of camp we had 70 kids. The camp territory was the sports field in one of the central parks of Ternopil. One day it rained, and we gathered in the gymnasium of the nearest school. The last day we spent in the same place where we usually hold our children’s meetings and Sunday services; our desire was to show the kids the place where they could come for meetings.

Praise the Lord, the goal of this camp was reached: we met dozens of new kids and told them the Gospel. Several kids prayed the prayer of repentance on the last day. 15 kids went with us to the Carpathians, and some of them repented in that camp.

The camp in the Carpathians was from June 21 to 27. It was another opportunity we maximally used for witnessing to kids about God’s love to them. It was the first regular camp we led by ourselves. Earlier we combined our group with some other camp. I went to this camp as an organizer and director, but we have a good team of leaders who sacrificially served the kids; it was another blessing, because in this camp leaders served even better than in Ternopil.

The goals we set for this camp were to lead kids to repentance, to teach them to live with God using God’s word, to teach them to pray and to fellowship with other believers. The camp’s name was “Compass.” Speaking in kids’ language we said we were traveling to the city of a king. Every day we had Morning Prayer, Bible time, interesting time, and even the camp games were focused on teaching the kids in orienting to life, to reach the heavenly country.

Volodya and Ulyana were program coordinators and chief leaders. Last year they learned leadership in another camp. Earlier we sent some youth from our church to be leaders in children’s camps with children from our church; there they received experience. It was the first time in life that leaders in kids’ camp were Vika (older girls’ leader), Olya (younger girl’s leader), Andrew (younger boys’ leader), also Katya (student, leader of teenage girls) and Andrew (teenage boys’ leader). Also we have leaders responsible for sports, music and interesting time. In all, we had 45 kids in camp who were divided into five groups according to their ages. The youngest were nine years old; that was the smallest group. Most youth were teenagers. These were special kids from God; they had real-life questions. They seriously listened to sermons. Every evening we had a closing service. During one of those services 17 kids repented (mostly teenagers)! More than that, after this camp, about five kids began to attend our services. Before, they didn’t attend without a reason.

Praise the Lord, He showed us in this camp that we need to continue actively working with kids and especially with teenagers.

Give thanks to Lord with us for His blessings in leading these camps. Pray with us for the kids who repented.

Vitaly Bilyak

Bilogorodka, Ukraine

There was a camp on the church property in the village of Bilogorodka from June 29 until July 3. It was a wonderful time blessed by Lord. The goal of that camp was to evangelize with the Gospel. For five days, kids heard a series of classes on topic “Daniel, Strong in the Lord.” Every day they learned new truths about the Lord, played games, made crafts according to a class topic, praised Lord in songs. Also three times a day the kids had nice food cooked by our [Christian] sisters. During that time seventy kids ages 5 till 15 attended our camp. There were kids from that village and those who came to the country for vacation time. I remember one boy about nine years old who was taught by TV because his parents were always at work. He didn’t have any ideas about God. And when he heard classes he had such questions:

1. Does God have ESP?

2. Does He see me even through the roof?

3. I want to see the Lord, too.

It was a great joy talk to him about Jesus Christ and what He’d done for him. At the end of camp, the kids received presents for memory and were invited to Sunday school. We as a team thank the Lord for the time we spent with kids and pray that He will give fruit from the seeds that were sowed. We thank you a lot for help in this camp.

Anatoly Kosyanchuk

Kazan, Russia

From July 6 through 14, we held the “Good News” Christian camp. It was held on an uninhabited island [in the Volga River] near the village of Kriushi. We very joyfully gather in this location! We lived in tents. Our chefs cooked very tasty breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinners over the fire. We everyone had arrived on the island, the governor of the island, Philip Mikhailovich came. He established order in the camp. Everyone was divided into various groups according to age. Each group had to come up with a name and a logo for itself. Our groups named themselves, “Pearls,” “Lighthouses,” and “Young Captains.” The subtitle for our camp was “Island of Treasures,” since the theme of our camp was to find treasure in Jesus Christ, to find salvation, and also to understand that each of them was a treasure to God!

Each day had its own theme: “The Bible—the Best Guide,” “Satan—Your Enemy,” “Flee from Sin,” “Christ died for Sinner and Rose from the Dead,” “Salvation: the Gift of God,” “God Prepared a Home in Heaven for His Children.”  Each morning the children woke to the sound of our Christian orchestra, then washed and gathered for very interesting morning calisthenics, which were led by two young instructors. They invited sportsmen from various levels and directions! It was very interesting! A special platform was built, and those who led the gymnastics stood up there as they made announcements.

After the calisthenics, the whole camp gathered for the flag raising. At the flag raising, the governor of the camp greeted everyone and we sang our camp song, “The High Mast,” announced the theme and details of the day, and then everyone went to morning prayer groups. The cooks prepared delicious hot cereals for breakfast, then all the children went to clean up the territory—cleanliness in the camp is an honorable thing! J This year the praise in the camp was simply amazing! And the children simply would run to the meeting place. The songs were very interesting well suited to our weather, since it rained the first several days of our camp. The songs were about showers, storms, and the hurricane.

We had simply remarkable Bible lessons, which were presented by the “Schooner” team, consisting of a captain, boatswain, and sailor. Before the beginning of a lesson they acted out a skit having to do with the lesson, and the whole camp attentively watched these events! They found treasure and hid it on the island. Over the course of many days we searched for jewels and many times were convinced that the most precious thing of all is that each of us as individuals are special in God’s sight. “You are a treasure to God!” At the end of camp, they all found treasures—key rings and badges with Christian sayings and Bible verses in memory of this camp…

The days in camp were also unusual. For instance: “Opera Day”—before lunch each person in camp was supposed to sing any request or desire J; “Day of the Skuperdyaya” [can’t find a translation for this] – on this day the teachers were lamenting (lamenting about time, lamenting about their voices, and their attention; the fire keepers were lamenting for firewood; the cooks were lamenting for meals. Everyone had a big appetite and wanted to eat; so the children had to persuade chefs to cancel “Day of skuperdyaya” at least during lunch.

For “Patient Day” an announcement was made that an infection had entered the camp and that we would need to examine everyone there so they would contract it. For this we played the “Medical Exam” game. The result was simply shocking: every person in the camp was found terminally ill! The conclusion was that everyone had been infected by sin, and only the Lord Jesus Christ could cure them.

“The Day of Trust” – It was necessary to teach them to trust God and each other. At breakfast were supposed to feed each other with spoons—and that was fun to watch!

“Family Day” – We gave them an assignment: each group had to form a family, to give it a name, to divide up the role and to present their family at supper… We had families named Sailors, Smiths, Seagulls….

There was also craft time, at which all the kids divided up by areas of interest. The oldest teens walked along the island and created a wonderful little house in the top of a large, old tree, and the younger ones fashioned a miniature layout of the island everything on it. It turned out to be pretty interesting.

At the evening service each group prepared songs, verses, and a skit. Also in this camp we had an extremely unusual amount of Bible verses memorized. These verses became the focus of skits, riddles, puzzles… Quite thought-provoking! Each evening we had combined prayer. Sometimes we prayed the Lord’s Prayer together.

Praise God, in this camp about 25 people made salvations decisions. May God not allow anyone to forget the what they learned in this camp…

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND PARTICIPATION!!! Pastor Mikhail Trofimov

BIEM Sends Container to the Country of Georgia

Volunteers and friends of BIEM from all over the States came together and donated much needed items of humanitarian aid, literature, bicycles and medical supplies to Georgia.  BIEM Missionaries Charles & Nina Hoblitz have been ministering to the city of Gori and other neighboring cities around Tbilisi the capital. Please pray that God would use these supplies to reach those who need help physically and spiritually.