Russia - Omsk

Christmas production "Bethlehem Star"

In 2010, the Central church in Omsk was especially blessed by the Lord. For a long time before Christmas, the church began to pray for the children's ministry.

The church was constantly appealing to God in every prayer service to bless the Christmas celebration.

It was planned to become a big event. A Prayer Vigil was started, where one unit (2 hours), the members prayed for the upcoming Christmas program.

In charge of the entire event was brother Anatoly Nikonov - who is responsible for the kid's Sunday school in the church.

After the Christmas celebration meetings everyone shared their experience: "I thought that everything will be fine, but did not expect it to become such a success", Anatoly said.

The first day of the play was the 8th of January, there were 200 children and around 200 adults. The program "Bethlehem Star" was so interesting that even the parents were delighted.

Even the unbelievers were filled with joy and gratitude for such special treat. They were literally amazed about the program.

Their eyes and ears were completely fixed on what was happening around. The joy on the faces of people attending the two hour service, was a sign of satisfaction.

All the children received Christmas gifts. Glory to God this year we had wonderful gifts.

We were completely overwhelmed with the outcome and success of the Christmas celebration.

Everyone rejoiced and praised God. The unbelievers went home with something to think about. Why did Jesus come? What is my relationship with the King of kings?

The 9th of January children were brought from two orphanages. The buses were escorted by the police.

There were about 400-500 children and 300 adults. The play was a huge success. Everyone rejoiced and praised God.

One of the parents whose kid did not receive a Christmas gift said to their friends, who tried to comfort them: "The whole presentation was more than a gift to us."

All team members from the church were tired but happy to see the Lords blessing upon their hard work.

We sincerely thank our brothers and sisters and friends who contributed to such a wonderful holiday.

Sincerely
Alexander Kulpin - Omsk

Russia - Omsk

Rehabilitation Centers

Dear brothers and sisters! All those who participated in the project "a chain saw" for the Rehabilitation centers "The Road Home" that works with dependent people in the Omsk region.

With your gift, we were able to purchase a semiprofessional chain saw for $1000. This was a significant contribution to the economic life of the "Road Home" centers.

In one village, where one of the centers is located, the administration approached the missionary with the proposal to buy a piece of forest at a reduced price. We were allowed to cut the trees and make firewood for the cold winter months.

Just at that time we were able to purchased the saw, with which the trees had been felled and sawn up for firewood.

We have now enough firewood for two rehabilitation centers.

Having a tool like this saw in the centers - is a blessing in the work.

Thank God and all who prayerfully and financially participated in this project.
May God bless you! We pray for you and our hearts are filled with gratitude for your help!

Alexander Rosenov
Manager of the rehabilitation centers of the Omsk Region...

Russia - Omsk

Christmas celebration in Omsk

The Central Church of Evangelical Christian Baptists of the city of Omsk - is preparing for the project "Christmas Hope".

We are in the Christmas season, and would like to continue the good tradition, which exists in our church for many years - conducting Christmas programs for children and their parents.

Christmas - a wonderful holiday that unites all people on Earth. This is a day of universal love, kindness, mercy. This is the most favorite holiday of all Russian kids.

On this day, every child is expecting to be loved, get family warmth, joy and a present.

Their hearts are full of hope. But not all children have the opportunity to spend this evening in the family circle.

It is very important to give the little hearts a wonderful Christmas. This task we have set before ourselves.

Our desire is to hold a benefits play at the church - called "Christmas Hope".

This is conducted for children from orphanages and children from socially disadvantaged families of Omsk.

The purpose of the project - is to give children the joy and hope, tell them the good news of God's love, as well as their parents.

To attract the greatest number of children we plan to distribute invitations to the adjacent neighborhoods of the church building.

In addition, we want to continue and deepen our friendship with those who respond to the invitation.

After each presentation we invite the kids to the weekly meetings at the church's Sunday school. Each Christmas present will have a church card with names of Sunday school teachers and times of worship and gatherings in the Sunday school.

For those who wish to study the Bible at home, we have a ministry of a "mailbox" where Bible lessons are sent to the child through the mail.

Every year we try to reach children who suffer insults, suffer from lack of love, attention, parental affection, are sick and infirm.

Regardless of what time we live in - hard or easy, abundant or more modest, in a crisis or depression, hope for us Christians - has always been the imperishable value of Jesus coming into the world to save us.

Therefore, we named our project "Christmas Hope" in order to give children a future and ignite hope.

"Christmas Hope" - a joyful celebration for kids and their parents, during which the children not only receive a gift, it also presents an opportunity to participate in a fun festive program.

The project is designed for children from socially disadvantaged groups: children from large families, children from poor families, disabled children, children's homes and orphanages.

As in past times, we intend to extend invitations to the Christmas Play through the social services of the city, as well as in the orphanages through the administration.

"Christmas Hope" has been planned for three days, in the premises of the central church of the city of Omsk. At each presentation we intend to invite up to three hundred children.

For all three day we plan to invite 900 kids. The main part of the Program consists of a theatrical presentation, which will tell the biblical story of the birth of Jesus Christ.

At the same time we plan festive children's programs with games and songs.

In the final part, all children receive Christmas gifts in the form of sweets and gifts (Christian Children's book, "The Greatest Gift" or S. Vodanyuk "There is Hope").

Russia - Omsk (Siberia)

Our new ministry

Omsk - is the city which started its calculus with the establishment of prison grounds for exiled convicts in 1716.

Since then it has been almost three centuries, but, as in the old days there were criminals and those who guarded them, and today nothing has changed.

On the territory of Omsk and the Omsk region are 12 correctional labor colonies of different security levels, 8 of them are located directly on the territory of the city itself.

In 1993, the local Baptist churches together with the "Bible Mission" began the ministry in prisons and colonies.

One of the colonies, which was visited by the missionary Vyacheslav Polatovsky, is a therapeutic correctional camp, with a strict regime of detention.

This facility is located 40 km from the city of Omsk. In Soviet times the prisoners called this "zone", "Union health resort for addicts", the short nick name was "deuce".

Addicts from all over the former Soviet Union, were brought to the camp. In this colony are serving sentences people who committed crimes in narcotic intoxication, but also admitted drug addicts who have a strong dependence on this "potions".

Ages of inmates are between 18 and 50 years old. Several times the administration of the colony has allowed us to conduct a baptismal ceremony in the camp.

She was bleeding from the nose and had headache.

Right on the parade ground in front of the whole "colony" the believers made a covenant with God, bowing their knees before the almighty. Doctors noted some damage to the auditory nerve and warned Luda that, unfortunately, this would be an irreversible process, and eventually the child would come to a complete loss of hearing.

Rehabilitation centers "The Way Home"

In 1998, the question arose: how can we help people who have decided to escape from a life of crime and drug addiction through faith in God, temporarily be isolated from contact with drug addicts.

At that time, there were not only people released from prison, but also drug addicts who did not yet have a criminal background.

They heard about how faith in Christ has changed the fate of many hardened criminals in the colonies.

Besides, some brothers had already approached the release date after which they talked openly in the criminal environment of the city about the wonderful works of God, as well as testifying to them with their everyday life. Thus the church was filled with bandits, thieves, harlots, drug addicts.

This led us to start a rehabilitation center! The first center was organized privately in 1998.

One former convict after his release had sold an apartment in St. Petersburg and bought a private house in the village Pobochino - Omsk region.

Together with his wife, they began to take in drug edicts, who appealed for help to the church.

This experience has yielded positive results. The "Bible Mission" supporting this family, considered the project to help dependent people, and so, in conjunction with the Association of Baptist churches of the Omsk region, this work began.

Ministry today

From 1998 - 2009 we launched 6 centers for addicts "The Way Home": five of them in the country, and one in the city of Omsk.

During this time, more than 1500 people went through the rehabilitation - counseling centers.

One of the main condition for opening a center in a given area was and is the presence of the church that helps people to get involved in the ministry of the church, and to remain in communion with the people of God.

It has also a positive effect on the fact that when after the rehabilitation, people come back to the city, they feel the need to be in the assembly of believers.

The program in the centers is very simple. Daily Bible reading, fellowship, prayer life.

Every resident of the center becomes a student of the Bible Correspondence School at the mission base in Omsk.

This helps them to systematically study the Word of God, grow spiritually, and to acquire basic biblical education.

A blessing in the service centers is the occupational therapy or in simple words - physical labor. The edicts learn to work with their hands and respect the work of other people, see opportunities, where each can benefit the common cause.

Farms that exist in some centers, provide food for the remaining centers. Also, everyone is actively involved in the village life, helping the elderly villagers in various types of agricultural labor.

At a given time the 6 centers have around 80 people. Just in one year from September 2008 to September 2009, 323 people went through rehabilitation of which 47 repented and were baptized by becoming members of local churches.

The Rehabilitated are divided into three categories:

Spiritual Work with co - dependents

Once a week, almost every Baptist church (10 local churches) is holding spiritually - consultative meetings with the parents of dependent people.

Every Monday at the First Baptist Church we hold prayer meetings for mothers: "Parents Against Drugs".

People share their stories of grief, pain but also victory in Jesus. Those who have already accepted Christ, tell us about how through faith in Jesus Christ, they are not left alone with their grief and fate that has touched their family.

Twice a year, we hold evangelistic crusades, both for addicts, and for parents. Lately it has become practice to hold an "open day" in the centers.

At this time the parents and family of the rehabilitants come to visit them. This is a celebration of thanksgiving to God. We invite the villagers and the village administration to see the work of God in their midst.