Greetings again from Minsk, Belarus...

An update from Doug Brendel - to all who have supported or expressed an interest in our New Thing teaching ministry in the former Soviet Union...

 

Shocked, stunned, dazed...

 

On my final full day in Belarus, this past Sunday, I was scheduled to speak in two Minsk churches.

 

Gospel of Christ Church is perhaps the most "well off" church I've visited in all of Belarus. They were able to buy their own building some years ago, and it's quite nicely decorated. They also have a very progressive tech operation. Oh - one more thing: they have sent out missionaries to nations all around the globe, including the USA!

 

The large music/worship team is superb, with Nadya (at mic) on lead vocals. When I lauded the pastor on the music program after the service, he shrugged and smiled. "Most of our guys are in Kyrgyzstan on a missions trip," he said.

 

Pastor Valentin, who has seen all of our Russian-language video materials and has read several of our books, introduced me at length - and assured the congregation that my long hair was OK since Jesus had the same haircut.

 

After I spoke, the pastor issued an invitation for anyone to accept Christ. A man named Sasha came forward and knelt, according to the Belarusian tradition - and Pastor Valentin prayed with him.

 

Sasha wept bitter tears of repentance, then prayed publicly (again according to local custom), accepting Christ’s sacrifice on his behalf and making Jesus his personal King. It was a heart-rendingly beautiful moment.

 

After the service, many were eager to talk. Some wanted photos - which led to some clowning around on my part.

 

Valentina, 74, wanted to express her love and gratitude - but wasn't too happy to be photographed, and came after our videographer!

 

I was stunned by the enthusiasm for the New Thing ministry. Elena Filipovich (left), a member of the "coolest church in Belarus" an hour north of Minsk, took the 5 a.m. train from Borisov to Minsk to be in the service. Then a family told me they had heard me speak at Christian Choice Church a year ago, and when they heard I was back in town, made a point to attend. They also gave me a gift: since I live in the desert, they wanted me to have a Belarusian photo calendar. At least in this way, they said, I could have 3 months of winter.

 

This church of about 200 people took nearly 1,000 books and DVDs! The crush of people in the distribution area was so intense that one dad sent his little daughter to wriggle in and snag Untidy Christianity for him. She made it out alive and delivered the DVD to papa (at right).

 

In the evening we crossed town to New Nation Church, pastored by Viktor Katsenya, one of my favorite people in Belarus. I’ve been in this church a few times before (they were the first ever to ask me back), so it was like coming home. I spoke on "God Does Things Differently," from the story of Moses and the burning bush. As soon as I sat down, Viktor did something shocking: he borrowed a knit cap from a girl in the front row - it had a big tassel on top that he said looked like a burning bush - and he announced that they would pass the hat and take an offering for New Thing! "I know I didn't forewarn you of this, so you could plan," Viktor told them. "But I think we should help this ministry, so give whatever you can."

 

In this church - obviously a church of mostly poor people - people eagerly filled the hat with their rubles.

 

Choking back tears, I accepted their amazing offering: the equivalent of nearly $175, some of it in 20-ruble (less than a penny) notes. I explained that it was our policy always to put something in the offering plate at every church where I speak - but this was the first time in 7 years of ministry in Belarus that a church had turned the tables on me. The people laughed and applauded.

 

It was the last stop of the trip, and I was heartbroken that all I had left to bring the people was a single, final box of 50 Desperate Housewives of the Bible books. For the first time ever, I had to ask a church to limit themselves by taking only one or two per family. Viktor had to monitor the process.

 

After the service, as always: lots of fun conversations!

 

And then, another stunner. Last year in this church, I had talked with a woman who asked me to pray for her husband. Now she appeared with him - he has come to faith in Christ - and as it turns out, he is President Lukashenko's television spokesman! What can God be thinking???

 

And then - I guess there had to be one final surprise. The Shock Talk DVDs, which we left here last time, made a tremendous impression on the babushki (grandmas) of the church - they recognized that this form of teaching could make an impact on their grandchildren. So they got together, pooled their money, and paid their grandsons to download the software needed to pirate more copies! My interpreter Yuri was howling with delight at the thought of these little old ladies sitting around asking "Can I get your software key?" and talking about download speeds!

 

Finally - time to go. The basement of our flat on Karl Marx Street - once jammed with boxes of books and DVDs - is now almost totally empty. I led 9 ministry events in the space of 8 days - thanks to your generosity, we were able to give out thousands of messages of practical biblical teaching in video and print form. Yet the need of these people - the hunger of these people - is still overwhelming.

 

Thanks for making the journey with me!

 

Much love,

Doug Brendel

 

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Thanks again!