HIS NEWS
StreetCry Ministries
St. Petersburg, Russia
August, 2002

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:

"Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us, no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell about them, they would be too many to declare." (Psalms 40:5) We continually praise and thank Him for all that He has done and is doing here in St. Petersburg!

EVANGELISM

St. Petersburg has had an extremely rainy summer. But instead of canceling concerts, we have brought many of them indoors-to our cafe. We have been having three concerts per week-Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We have also been having The School of the Spirit, classes to help us understand how to operate in our spiritual giftings more effectively.

We sense a real change amongst many unbelievers at the concerts this year-greater hunger. In the previous years, when we have had concerts at the parks, on the streets, and by the subways, some people would stay and listen for just a few songs and go on their way. This summer, there are even more young people drawn to the concerts, staying for the testimonies and preaching. We can see a breakthrough in the atmosphere-some cry and some just stand in awe.

Several years ago, we incorporated drama into our street evangelism. However, last summer and the first part of this summer we did not have any dramas. The Lord inspired a new drama and in July and August, a new drama team was formed with both staff and students participating.

St. Petersburg's youth come alive at night and fill the streets and local hangouts until dawn. Teams of the Bible school students go out during the late hours of the night to witness. The teams have had many divine appointments and have met many young people and some have come to know the Lord.

We went to a camp outside of the city for 200 juvenile delinquents. We had an evangelism concert and sensed a real hunger among the teenagers. Several accepted the Lord that night, and many were interested in knowing more. Since then, several of the teenagers have come to our cafe and Sunday fellowship. Please pray for these young people.

NEW BELIEVERS

Sergei installs heating and air-conditioning units. He came to a concert in the park. He first came because he heard music, but was attracted and captivated not by the music but by the Holy Spirit. He received our evangelism newspaper, where there is an advertisement for our cafe. The very same night he came to the cafe across town. Sergei Abezin, who just recently finished his second year in Bible school, witnessed to him. Sergei (the installer) already knew about the Lord but did not know about repenting and being born again. The Lord anointed the conversation between the two men. Sergei Abezin told him it is not enough to know about God, there is more: to know Him personally. Sergei listened and repented that night! Now he is attending our services, and has starting reading his Bible. He says that he sees things that he has never seen before and that the Word of God has come alive to him.

One of the Bible school students, Vica, had a word of knowledge during our united prayer about people who never experienced love from their father. She felt that the Lord was giving a specific word for the evening concert for someone who had experienced pain and rejection because of an absent father. She later shared at the concert about people who have pain in their heart because of rejection or no father. "God is our heavenly Father and He will accept us and heal our pain," she said. She explained that the Lord had healed her from a similar pain. A girl in the audience, Alexandra, approached Vica later and said that she knew God had implanted this inside of Vica for her. She prayed and received the Lord!

Alexander is from the Murmansk region but came to St. Petersburg to study at a medical university. He came to a concert in the suburbs of the city and heard us sharing about the Lord. He was really touched by the Lord at the concert. A few weeks later, he came to our cafe and talked to Vitalek, a brother in our ministry. Alexander has scars on the left side of his face and neck. His skin is melted from electrical burns he received when he was nine years old. He told Vitalek that he has felt rejected for many years because of his appearance and that he thought that he would never be accepted as a normal person into society. Vitalek shared with Alexander about the love of God and hope in Jesus Christ. Vitalek also shared that he needed to repent of his sins and forgive the people who had hurt him. Alexander gave his life to the Lord that night in the cafe! Now, he regularly attends Bible classes for new believers and mid-week home groups.

Sergei is a graduate student from Omsk (southwest Siberia). He was the valedictorian of his university and considered the best student in his city (population appr. 2 million ). Like most educated men in Russia, he was an atheist. He was sent to St. Petersburg for an internship in his area of study. He came to a concert in the park and heard about the Lord. His heart had already been softened by some near-death experiences and unsuccessful suicide attempts his girlfriend made. He did not change his beliefs, but bought some cassettes of the band. One of the students invited him to our cafe. He immediately came and spoke with Vitalek, who felt that he was thirsty for more of the Lord. Vitalek witnessed to him about how he himself was from another city and came to St. Petersburg searching for peace. He had heard a concert in the park, but did not believe in God or think religion was for him. Later, he saw that the people had something real inside of them-real love and real peace. Sergei listened to Vitalek and said that he wanted God to change his life and he repented! He spent a week fellowshipping with other believers here at the ministry and we connected him with a church we know in his city. He was filled with the joy of the Lord! God really worked on his heart-he was an atheist and will continue to be in an environment where education and human intellect is highly esteemed. Please pray for this new believer.

Si-sue is from Tuvah Repubic (south-central Russia) and studies at a university for natural sciences. At this university, we have an active home Bible group, which we have written about in previous newsletters. She came and heard story after story from believers about how they found the Lord. One girl, Chi-chek, testified that she was a Buddhist and Jesus Christ delivered her from the bondages of that false religion. Si-sue claimed that she was a committed Buddhist and swore that she would always be so. But after listening to the testimonies, she realized that she was missing something inside of her. She wanted to receive Christ. The next Sunday, she came to our service; she told us she had repented and accepted Christ. We could see the change all over her face! She could not contain the joy inside of her heart!

Alexei was addicted to heroin for 12 years. He came to our concert in a park and Vica (being an ex-drug addict) could see that he had been using drugs that day. She witnessed to him and he said that no person would ever be able to help him, that only some supernatural power could deliver him from drugs. Vica shared that there is one God who exists and about His love for man. She also shared that she was addicted to heroin for 2.5 years and that there were others in our ministry who were addicted for even longer. At that moment, he watched the drama at the concert, which is about the bondages of sin and the only hope is in Jesus Christ. He told Vica that he wanted to be free like this man was in the drama after the man repented. They prayed together and he repented. Since giving his life to the Lord, he has told Vica that he no longer has any interest in his former friends, his old lifestyle, or drugs! Please pray for Alexei that he will grow in the Lord. We have invited him to come for an interview to be accepted in the drug rehabilitation center.

One of our leaders, Natasha, requested prayer last month for her younger brother, Alexei, who would be coming to visit from Murmansk, because he did not know the Lord. We prayed for him several times and after one week, he repented! He is only fifteen years old, but really enjoyed fellowshipping with the other believers and became involved in Bible studies and prayer. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, and went back to his mother two weeks later.

Andrei was a drug addict for several years. He had a vision one day while walking on the street. The Lord showed him that he had one of two destinies (but he did not comprehend that God showed this to him). The first would be a life of purity; the second would be a dirty life resulting in death. The same day, his grandfather gave him a tract for drug addicts. The next day, he came to our office because he simply wanted help with his addiction. He talked to Sasha, who just recently graduated from our Bible school, and regularly interviews drug addicts since he also was an addict for 3.5 years. He told his vision to Sasha, who had a greater understanding of visions. He shared about God's salvation and repentance, and he realized that the vision was from the Lord and he repented! Immediately afterwards, Sasha, Andrei, and the grandfather went to a Sons of Thunder evangelism concert. The Lord opened his mind and heart and he was able to understand the lyrics and they applied to him. Andrei has now gone to our sister rehabilitation center. Please to pray for this new brother.

HEALINGS

A team from America was ministering outside of St. Petersburg and came to our Sunday service. One of our students who just recently graduated, Masha, shared at the service about how healing is available. "If you have any ailments, please come to us after the service to pray for deliverance," Masha said. One American sister came forth because her feet were swollen and was unable to do all the walking that Russia requires. The sister who prayed with her, Natasha, received the words, "water imbalance" but did not know the meaning of it. She asked the America women and discovered that she had not drunk any water while in Russia. The American told us later that she was completely healed of her swollen feet and was thankful for the warning of the water imbalance.

One of our students, Yura, was sun tanning at a popular place-on top of a hill. When he was walking home, he noticed a group of about 10 people worshipping an idol they had brought to this hill. They were Neo-pagan idol worshippers (of old Russian religions). He witnessed that there is one true God and that they were worshipping a false god. One of the people hit him with a plank and rendered him unconscious. He had a broken jaw and nose. He has been recovering much more quickly than the doctors anticipated, and his jaw and nose are healing wonderfully. (2 Timothy 3:12)

Varia was already a believer when she came to St. Petersburg and started attending our fellowship. She is from Comchatka (near Alaska), and everyone, including her, in her family had tuberculosis. When she came to us, we prayed for her, and she was healed! She is now clinically free of tuberculosis. She will stay with us for one year.

PROPHECIES AND DREAM INTERPRETATIONS

Several sisters in our ministry have the gift of prophesy. At our evangelism concerts, we have integrated this into our evangelism. One of the girls who has the gift of dream interpretation said, "We are not great prophets, but, people have opened their hearts to us. When an unbeliever shares a dream, a wall has been torn down. It is a wonderful opportunity to tell him about the Lord."

OTHER NEWS

Laosha, the director of the rehab program, has been leading the students in remodeling the storage area into a kitchen for the ministry, as well as constructing a new entrance and vestibule. The work of making new walls, floors, electrical wiring, and painting lasts from morning until evening. The students not only learn about manual labor, but also following instructions, being responsible, being accountable, and working together in a team.

Two of the students who just graduated, Alsou Volleyevah and Roma Collachov were married this past month. We already shared Alsou's testimony in a previous newsletter-she is from Siberia and was a heroin addict, and was healed from HIV. Roma was also a drug addict and tried to be delivered through medical rehabilitation centers, but was never completely delivered. Three years ago, he repented and went to the Christian rehabilitation center. Later he came to our Bible school. He now plays drums in our worship band, and Alsou teaches at our Christian elementary school.

We have been blessed with several guests who came to help the ministry. Becky and Katie Ride, university students from Liverpool, UK, helped us with the summer evangelism and prayer. They both had servants' hearts; they cooked, cleaned, and worked along beside the students. Stephen Kennedy, a medical student from London, UK, also came and shared his testimony at the concerts and helped the men with the reconstruction of our building. Masha Mansour, who studies theology in an institute in Switzerland, came for an internship. She speaks several languages, including Russian, and was able to help with our newspaper, One Way Out, which is especially for youth who are unbelievers.

Three sisters from Kazan region came to St. Petersburg to get practical experience for their architecture degrees. These three, Rema, Natasha, and Lilia came to our meetings and really blessed us! They were very involved-praying, evangelizing and helping the girls to clean. We thank the Lord for our sisters from southern Russia!

Each month, we have a worship and intercession night which attracts people from many other cities. They want to intercede for those in need around the world. The last two months, God has brought emotional healing as we were united in prayer. God led us to pray for the young people in Israel. He also led us to intercede on behalf of the creative and intuitive people in the nation (artists, musicians, etc.) that they could worship God with their talents.

Thank you for your interest in our ministry. We appreciate your love and prayers!

In His love,

The StreetCry Ministry Team
compiled by Angelen Brookshire

All tax deductible support checks should be made payable to: StreetCry

StreetCry
PO Box 7971
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USA

StreetCry Ministries

DK Bolshevichka
Ulitsa Tushina 9
St. Petersburg, Russia
tel/fax: 7 (812) 440-6794
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