Greetings!

Thank you for your prayers for the teaching time on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. I believe that the teaching went well, and that God was pleased. I didn’t see any great manifestations during the prayer time. As I was reflecting on this, I realized that while in the book of Acts some prophesied, some spoke in tongues, some had no immediate signs. Paul for example. He had his sight restored, but there was not a mention of the charismatic gifts….. yet. So, just as we receive Christ by faith, we receive His Spirit by faith too. I pray that as the students head for outreach they’ll find that as they open their mouths to share, He will fill it.

It’s been a wonderful reunion here in Kurganinsk, Russia. 18 years ago I brought a DTS outreach team from Krasnodar. It was the first outreach that I had been on with YWAM, and leading it I had more than a few doubts. We prayed hard! I think God honored our hearts at the time, and we saw His hand at work.

This week I met with the couple who hosted our team in ’93, Nadia and Sasha. They are still in ministry, and were excited to see me. They have a church in their home, kind of a Messianic Christian flavor, as Sasha has Jewish roots. We had three evenings of praise and worship plus some outing time to a near by monastery. Beautiful people, beautiful scenery.

I was able to meet with the Orthodox Priest on Monday for a couple hours. He has a school at the church with an English teacher who was willing to translate for us. We chatted for a bit, then he gave me a tour of the church building, and new school. When I asked if the literature distribution from 18 years ago bore fruit, he told me there are 125 students in the school, and his church is 15-20 times larger than when we were here last. Typically the Orthodox church persecutes the Baptist and Pentecostal “sects,” so I continue to pray that this priest would be the exception, and would embrace other denominations as fellow workers in the vineyard. He introduced me several times to groups of students as “my friend from America.” May the Lord continue to build this friendship.

I’ll take the bus to Krasnodar this afternoon, then fly out in the morning to Moscow, New York and Portland. It will be a long day…. elongated by chasing the sun. I think Carol is ready for me to be home. I know I’m ready to see her!

We’ll be flying to Arkansas next week for my Mom’s memorial service. So we are not ready to settle down quite yet. Please continue to pray for our safe travels. Andrei said that Aeroflot found my bag, so I’m looking forward to being reunited with some clean clothes later today! Praise His name!

Thank you for your prayers, and for your financial support. I haven’t seen December’s giving statement, but I think we are all paid for on this trip! God is good!

Grace to you!
Fred and Carol

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