CIS Prayer: Update

[CarlaSun@aol.com]

Dear Prayer Partners,

It's been quite some time since we've written an update.   We've had some difficulties with our mailing list and our messages have not been getting through.   We apologize and want to bring you up to date on some of the things happening on the Field.

It's been an incredible summer.   So many good things have happened throughout the Field.   We began the summer with a Field Youth Conference in Kyiv, Ukraine.   140 young people from across the Field gathered together to praise the Lord and to grow in their spiritual lives.   They went away inspired to go home and help bring more young people to the Lord.   This was evident in different teen camps that were then held in the summer.   In Central Asia they had 100 young people attend their teen camp.   There was a special emphasis on presenting the Gospel.   They purposely limited the camp to 50 regular teens from the district, so that 50 new young people could come and experience the presence of the Lord and hear the Gospel presented.   The Youth group from St. Petersburg committed themselves to the same type of project.   The number of places at the Russia North teen camp were limited and the regular teens from the church wer
 e willingly giving up their places so that new young people could go and hear the Gospel.   How exciting!   Many young people committed their lives to the Lord during the summer months.

The Field sent out our first-ever Youth in Mission Team.   Young people from Moscow, Viazma, and Volgograd, Russia and Kyiv, Ukraine traveled to Gumri, Armenia to hold a Vacation Bible School in this town where we have just opened a new Church.   Linda Russell from the Field Office led this team.   She had prepared supplies for 70 children.   Karen, the director of our work in Armenia told her that there may actually be nearly 100 children.   The final count was 150, when they had to close the doors to the school where the VBS was being held.   The group of children was so large that they had to have 2 VBS sessions a day, one in the morning, one in the afternoon.   On the final day the parents were invited to attend and a total of nearly 300 people arrived.   They heard the children perform what they had learned during the week.   Karen was then able to preach to this crowd of people, sharing with them the Gospel.   What an ex
 citing time it was.   The Field Youth In Mission team came home inspired at what they and the Lord were able to accomplish together.

The summer Bible College classes went very well.   Seventy students attended classes, either near Moscow or in Kazakstan.   Chuck taught the "Doctrine of Holiness" class near Moscow.   He had 42 students in his class.   It was the prayer of all those on the Field that this would be a time when the Holy Spirit would be very present and real for the students.   The Lord answered our prayers.   On the final day of class all the students gathered in the classroom -- laying hands on one another and praying for one another.   It was a blessed time.   We had 6 students from another Seminary in Ryazan attending our classes.   They said they'd never experienced anything like this.   One of them asked if he could go home and bring his wife back for class the next week because he wanted her to experience the presence of the Lord in this way.   She came with him the next week and told us how he had come home and wept telling her of t
 he experience of the class.   God is using the extension courses in a mighty way.   Please pray for us as we plan for the continued expansion of the extension program.   We have two new locations already asking if they can become extension sites.

This summer has also been filled with Work and Witness teams who have been a blessing all across the Field.   We thank each and every team for coming and for working so hard and making a difference over here!

You may have read lately about the heavy smog/smoke covering Moscow.   It's been so bad on some days that we can barely see the building next door.   They have even had to shut down the airports and the carbon monoxide levels are now 4 times higher than the allowable level.   I share this with you because I want to share my thanks for how God works.   This summer it was very hot in Moscow and one Work and Witness team -- while sweating through their time here, decided to leave us with an air conditioner.   Now, I have to be honest that we never thought about having an air conditioner.   Usually it's not hot here for very long and we felt rather guilty having this nice new air conditioner.   Well, the beauty of it is, it's not just an airconditioner, it's an air purifier as well with a special filter in it.   Moscow hasn't had this kind of smoke from forest fires for 30 years.   We are blessed because in the midst of all this bad ai
 r, the Lord provided us, this year, with an air purifier.   It's running around the clock.   We are so grateful because our daughter Christy has developed some asthma just this year.   I just want to thank the Lord -- for His care for us, through faithful people like you!!!   

I have just shared with you some of the events from the summer.   There are so many more and we thank God for them all.   We do have some prayer requests for upcoming events.   Please join with us in prayer for:

1)   Clarence Rose, our Work and Witness coordinator in Ukraine.   He has worked so hard this summer and was recently sick with pneumonia.   They have about 4 weeks to go with Work and Witness teams.   The projects are coming along well but please, keep Clarence in your prayers.

2)   Our upcoming Pastor's Retreat for the CIS Field.   We should have about 80 Pastor's and their spouses at our retreat at the end of this month.   It will be held Sept. 27-October 1.   Dr. William Greathouse will be our special speaker.   Please pray for him as well.

3)   Dr. William Greathouse as he will be teaching "Doctrine of Holiness" in Ukraine in the next two weeks.   Unfortunately not many of our students from Ukraine were able to come to the summer class and so, the class is coming to them.   There is much excitement about this class and even a local Bible College in Kyiv will be sending their students.   We are anticipating up to 50 students in the class.   Please pray for this event!

4)   We will be having a leadership meeting on the day of September 27.   This is for leaders which Chuck calls his "Transition Team."   This is a team of leaders looking at how it is best to transition from missionary to local leadership.   We are always trying to work ourselves out of a job :)   Please pray for this great team of leaders.

5)   We will conclude the Pastor's retreat with an Educational Consultation and Literature Committee Meeting.   These are both very significant and important meetings.   Please keep these in your prayers.

6)   Moscow First Church will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of their church and the registration of the Church in Russia on October 6.   Please be in prayer for this exciting event.

Thank you for your patience in reading this update.   We appreciate you all so very, very much.

Blessings,

Chuck & Carla Sunberg for the CIS Field Team