Glory to Christ, my beloved brother!

IMMERSIONS. On Sunday 18.04.2010 I had a meeting with Eugene Kwasnikov – the 1-st elder of the Brotherhood of Lord’s Friends, whom I had ordained in April 1999. For three years I have not been in contact with him, I even suspected, he was not alive. But he appeared and informed me, he had actively been working in prison camps and prisons in the North Caucasus, in Volga region, and even in Siberia (in Krasnoyarsk Territory, which one had been about 20 years ago visited by the ARM President Joe Garman). During three last years bro Kwasnikov immersed 15 prisoners and ordained 3 new elders of our Brotherhood.

PRISONS. Bro Kwasnikov came to me, as he said, “to pray together before his death”, because the medical doctors had informed him, he would soon die of the cancer. We prayed together; we read the 23rd Psalm (“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” – Ps. 23:4); for a long time he was in a silent praying meditation, having my hands put on his head. He left me, being deeply pacified and blessing Jesus, blessing our Brotherhood and DOM ARM.

This month our ministers visited 5 prisons; once visited the psychiatric hospital of the prison type. I had also the meeting with 3 public inspectors, entrusted by the Russia Public Chamber to control the situation with the human rights in prisons.

MOSLEMS. On Friday 09.04.2010 pastor Dr. G. Leiser (Karlsruhe, Baden, Germany), accompanied by me and by bro V. Sterchow, visited the “khutba” (sermon) in the Moslem congregation of the Kurmanch-sheikh Hassan-hadji Gurji-oglu (village Kabardinskaya of the Apsheronsk district of the Krasnodar Territory). The sheikh preached on Jesus in Quran. After the khutba we had the “sokhbet” (the friends dinner with the spiritual talk) in the house of the sheikh. Pastor Leiser brought to Hassan-hadji the new copies of the New Testament and Psalms in the Kurdish language (“Incil u Zebur”), donated by the Karlsruhe Kurds community, speaking the Kurmanch (Curmanji) dialect of the Kurdish language. The sheikh’s brother Mamed read aloud the 149-th Psalm in Kurdish (“Pesne Xudan bidin!”), and I read the same text in Russian (“Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song”, etc.). All the participants were deeply impressed. We finished the meeting with the mutual prayer.

MISSION  TRIPS. The DOM ARM took part in the organization of the new Apostolic visit of pastor Leiser to the Western Caucasus. During the visit (01.04.2010 – 20.04.2010) he covered more, than 2 000 km (the cars and the drivers were presented by local brethren) and visited the Evangelical congregations and the groups of Kurds, Adygs and Circassians in Krasnodar, Novorossiysk (Black sea coast), Armavir, Kabardinskaya (all – Krasnodar Territory), in Stavropol, Pyatigorsk, Kislovodsk (all – Stavropol Teritory), in Cherkessk and Ust-Jighuta (the Karachai-Cherkessk Republic). Gerhard Leiser is 81 now, but the Lord Almighty uses him, as the powerful Spiritual tool to advance the Kingdom of Jesus!

MEDITATIONS. The Moscow Patriarchate idolatrists like very much the obscure tradition to have the painted boiled eggs to eat during Easter. This year they produced all over Russia about 5 million of the special small icons to be stuck on the eggs to “introduce the orthodoxy”. Thus, when the people tried to eat such a boiled egg with the icon, it was necessary to cut or to tear the picture. Therefore, the icon-worshippers organized the destroying of 5 millions of icons during the Easter of 04.04.2010. It was the greatest iconoclastic action in all the Russia history! The idolatrists curse and persecute the iconoclasts. But “the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee” (Deut., 30:7).

DIVINE  ACTION. The Russian authorities have launched a new big campaign to persecute the non-orthodox believers. They, e.g., began to prohibit some books (with the special court rulings it is not let keep those books, store and sell them, read and spread them, etc.). On 08.12.2009 the Supreme Court of Russia issued the ruling to prohibit the book “Life – how has it appeared? By evolution or by creation?” (edited by “Watch tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania” in 1992, in Rus.). The book is the Jehovists one. But, in any case, it is the first book on creationism, prohibited in modern Russia. The ban of this book produced a very interesting result: very many people (especially University students) began to be interested in creationism! And our youth “NIKA” – ministry gathered a big group of students (about 50 participants) to have a seminar on creationism.

On 21.04.2010 I led such a seminar; I commented verse by verse the 1-st chapter of the “Genesis”, showing, that the Bible had no contradiction with the modern science. I also answered numerous questions. Thus, the action of the Russian Government woke the interest in the creationism and in my personal scientific results. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose” (Rom., 8:28). This is the Divine Action, indeed! The Lord is at hand! (Phil., 4:5) – Maranatha! (1 Cor., 16:22).

7. YOUTH  MINISTRY. In Russia they have the idolatric ethnic tradition “to feed the dead”, i.e. to eat and to drink vodka on the graves on the so called “Radonitsa” or “the Parents Day” on Monday or on Tuesday in a week after the Easter. This year it was on 12.04.2010 and 13.04.2010. On these days our youth ministry members visited two big grave-yards in Krasnodar and one in Slavyansk-on Kuban (70 km W–N–W from Krasnodar). The young Christians spread about 2 000 leaflets about Jesus and resurrection. The text was written by our daughter Nike. All the leaflets were taken with eager interest – in calling itself “the orthodox country” Russia the population, in fact, is involved into the idolatry and into the cult of the familiar spirits. The people here do not know Christ! But they want to know Him. We are the crusaders in the land of the wicked. Pray for us, brethren!

PUBLIC  RELATIONS. The Governor of the Krasnodar Territory A.N. Tkachyov is interested very much in the improvement of the image of his Territory (and of Russia in general) abroad, e.g. among the members of the Christian Democratic Union party of Germany. Thus, I had informed him about the future visit of G. Leiser, and the Governor Tkachyov, when he published his congratulations with the Easter (the Governor newspaper “Kuban News” – in. Rus. “Kubanskie Novosty” – 03.04.2010, Num. 54 – 4642, p. 1) mentioned not only the orthodoxes, but also “the religious organizations of the other Christian confessions”. It has been done for the first time in history!  Then, on 13.04.2010, as if by chance, the meeting of pastor Leiser was organized with A. Buldin (the deputy chief of the Krasnodar Territory Governor Administration Directorate for the political parties, public and religious organizations and for the control of the migration processes) and V. Prilepskiy (the chief of the public organizations department of the above mentioned Directorate). Thus, the DOM ARM Spiritual activity has evidently begun to influence the society of the Krasnodar Territory.

REPRESSIONS. The unknown persons threatened with the phone call to explode the bomb in sport palace “Olymp” on 04.04.2010, where the Krasnodar Pentecostals were to organize a big service with about 10 000 participants. Thus, the police prohibited to have the service and ordered to evacuate all the believers.

SUPPORT. We received the March ARM support through Max Goins “We-Go” system OK. We received also the letters, e-mails, phone calls of support from Rod Farthing (USA), E.P. Alyoshin (Germany), E. Novosyolov (Switzerland), A. Hamzin (Crimea, Ukraine).

In Jesus our hope!

Dr. Nicholas E. Alyoshin