Russia - Kazan

Igor Sokolov

Russia - Kazan. We took this picture just before the Christmas celebration...

Undoubtedly, the most significant event this month for the church "Grace" in Kazan was the celebration of Christmas.

It was a great day, an offensive that we have been waiting for with excitement and trepidation, a day that should become a certain measure of God's blessing and the work done.

This was the first joint celebration of our young church. Nobody knew what to expect from such an event, but everyone believed that the Lord again prepared special gift for us.

At the celebration we had about 50 adults and children. Of these, 8 people who did not know the Lord, 4 of whom have visited our church for the first time.

Hallelujah! This is a victory! We were together for four hours. A special joy for all was the performance of children who were singing, telling poems and playing musical instruments.

All of this made the evening wonderfully solemn and glorious.

Also this month, the Lord blessed us to start a women's prayer service in the village of Yudin, where we have a small bible study group.

Now once a week Masha Yaroshuk spends time with the women of the village. They share with each other personal experiences, read the Word of God and pray for various needs: spiritual, social, personal.

These meetings are shaping the formation of the church. And we are glad that this ministry has developed and strengthened.

With Andrew Yaroshuk I had the opportunity to pray for a girl named Lyudmila, who was brought to us by her family. "Can you help her", they asked. Lyudmila screamed, and bared her teeth and physically attacked other people.

It was a horrible sight. At night they took her to four Orthodox churches, but they refused to help. And then they turned for help to us.

Also this month, the Lord blessed us to start a prayer service in the village of Yudin...

Together with Andrew we bent over the girl in prayer and stayed there for a long time. We prayed that the Lord might delivered her from the demon who tormented her. And finally, she calmed down.

We started talking to her, and she told us that the day before she turned for help to a folk healer, after which this hysteria started.

Truly wonderful is our Lord, who has power over all unclean spirits and also gave this power to His followers!

We sincerely thank all those who pray with us, and made us part of their lives. We have one common goal!

We are in the army of God, to bring deliverance to captives!!! We believe that we are all in one big team in fulfilling the Great Commission of Jesus Christ! Thank you! We love you!

Igor Sokolov - Church "Grace".

Russia - Kazan

Introducing our new missionary in Kazan - Igor Sokolov

Igor and Natasha Sokolov with daughter Julia in Kazan...

"I am 35 years old, of which 8 years I know the Lord! I grew up in a family that does not know God, so the idea of Him, was completely absent.

Only occasionally, when I was on vacation by my grandmother, I saw in her house a few icons.

However she never told me anything about them, I had only a sense of fear. Today I realize that it was not fear before God, but fear of the unknown, which has been shrouded in mystery.

The first serious thoughts about God began to visit me only in the Russian army. I began to notice how someone keeps me in different situations.

After serving in the army I got married and our son was born. However, instead of devoting time to the family and upbringing of my son, I was completely immersed in the life of sin.

Weapons, alcohol, use and sale of drugs, theft, prison cells, the occult - all this has become my everyday routine and soon my marriage broke up.

Igor speaks with a woman who's life is destroyed by alcohol!

My heart was filled with great sadness. I was looking for opportunities to return my wife and son, but I could not. I started drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, even more than I did before.

I was dieing morally going through brothels and committing crimes with my gang, and when life had lost all meaning for me, God found me. I asked Him to restore my marriage, but apparently, he had other plans.

I started reading the Bible. Once, while alone at home, I was thinking about myself and how I lived. God gave me to see clearly all of my actions.

I felt very scared. I was always scared of death, because I did not know what will come after it. But now I realized that if I do not change something in my life, I will end up in hell and I will be there forever.

This was a turning point in my life. I fell on my knees and said:

"Lord Jesus, I do not want to live like this! My life is empty. Please help me! Come into my life and change it!"

After praying I felt a wonderful lightness. Then I realized that the old life is over.

Step by step I discovered the Creator more and more. Every day He was freeing me from my bad habits and sins.

Profanity, cigarettes (I smoked 20 years, starting with first grade), drugs, lies, envy, anger, bitterness, alcohol - this is only a small fraction of that from which God delivered me.

Prostitution and drug addiction in the city. At the house a phone for making the order!

And most importantly, I realized that now I am not afraid of death because I have hope for eternal life with God.

I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior in 2001. A year later, God gave me a wonderful wife, Natasha, who was already a Christian.

Natasha and I we both wanted very much to serve the Lord. In 2003, we began to study at the Evangelical Christian University of Kuban, and in 2006 graduated with honors from it. In 2007, God gave us a wonderful daughter, Julia, which we love very much.

Time went by. In the winter of 2009 the Bishop of the republic of Tatarstan, told me that he and his fellow workers pray for the opening of 10 new churches in the city of Kazan.

He invited me to work for the Lord in the Muslim world. After praying, we have unanimously interpreted this invitation as a call from God.

And so, today our family is already in Kazan. We needed no more than 4-5 months in order to leave the warm and sunny Krasnodar, where we had a house, work, ministry and stability, and follow the call of God to come to Tatarstan to work for Him.

Our task is to organize a new Evangelical Church. Pray for us, we really need your help!"

Igor and Natasha moved to Kazan with a great desire to work for Christ.