Newsletter

Greetings to you, dear Brothers and Sisters,

Praise be to God in the middle of these difficult times to commit the acts of charity to the orphans and widows. In September of 2021 the Lord opened the doors – I was able to travel to Russia to “make the widows heart sing” (Job 29:13). We ministered to 32 widows with small children at our conferences and visitations.

Together with a local church pastor, we visited widows in the city of Belgorod (500 miles from Moscow). One of them was called Anya. She shared that her husband got COVID and in October of 2020 passed away. Anya was left with three children and was 5 months pregnant with the fourth one. She told us that she “has not passed this way before” (Jos 3:4), but trusting the Lord, she is trusting to overcome the difficulties of her life. Anya was very glad to receive, from the United States, the spiritual encouragement that she needed so much and the material assistance – to buy for her family what was needed for the winter season in her everyday life. With the help of God we will try to live in the Lord: “God is merciful and knows what, to whom and when is to happen. Praise God for the people whe found my famiy and helped us”!

In the city of Belgorod we also visited the widow by the name of Olga with six children. Her husband died several years ago. She especially needed the material support that was given to her and was happily surprised by it.

We visited the city of Kursk (350 miles from Moscow) where we with the local ministers served a number of widows with spiritual and material support. The husband of Yulia died of a heart attack three years ago leaving her with a four year old son. “I met Pastor Aleksey over the phone when he called me from the United States, asked me about my life and now he visited our city with the ministry of material support from brothers and sisters from America. I have to tell you the truth – we needed it very much to prepare for the winter and it was a true answer to my prayers”.

We also held a Conference for Orphans and Widows with small and under age children in Moscow. It was attended by widows from Smolensk, Oryol and other cities in the 150-200 miles radius from Moscow (we covered their travel expenses). It was a time of fellowship and seminars on “The Promises of God to Widows and Orphans” and “Life of the Widow in the Lord”. Widows had many questions about their life: what the Bible says on the various issues of their life. We helped them to find the answers and comforted them from the Scripture that is related to their life and is spoken to them and to their children.

At the Conference, the widows also shared from their own experiences. Lena shared that her husband passed away in May of 2021 from a stroke. She was left with seven children – five little girls and two older kids. Lena told that she was very glad to be at this fellowship with her two daughters and was comforted by other widows who walked the same path of the widow. “They inspired me and supported me very timely and it was extremely important for my spiritual life. I am very grateful to the brothers and sisters for this fellowship and for the material support. You cannot imagine how happy I am to be able to buy clothes for my children!”

Nadezhda, a widow from Smolensk, also give her testimony. She became a widow with three children (2, 5 and 11) two years ago. She shared about her many questions that she found answers to at the conference and how thankful she is for the material support: “Eventually, I will be able to buy a bed – we have been sleeping on a mattress all this time – and clothes for my kids and myself”.

One of the widows approached us after the conference dinner saying: “Today was the first time in the last year that I was able to eat as much cheese as I wanted to”. We were very touched by her words.

Dear brothers and sisters in the United States! The widows and orphans that attended the conference and were visited in their homes expressed their deep and wholehearted gratitude for the assistance that was provided by you “For in You the orphan finds mercy.” (Hos 14:3).

These testimonies can be seen on YouTube: “Widows Russia September 2021”