We were met by a wonderful team from the church in Novokuznetsk and brought directly to church for breakfast (amazing spread) and service. Totto were not in Kansas anymore! Our hotel was clean and accommodating but different. It was 90 degrees the day we arrived and the hotel does not have air conditioning. The windows open but they do not have screens so the mosquitoes also welcomed us.
What a blessing that the church sanctuary is air conditioned. The service was awesome. While we did not know the language and we knew the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our interpreters, Rustam and Olyia were marvelous, trying to keep us aware of every spoken word. They worked so very very hard to take care of our every need. They were such a blessing to us.
As soon as we began to praise and worship God with our Russian Brothers and Sisters the language did not matter and we felt no fatigue or jet lag....all we felt was the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit. We wept in His presence as though we understood every word. After service we went to lunch and so begins our intense week of ministry and great food.
Our first day we were brought to Zapseeb which is known as the district of drugs. Joined by our tow interpreters we split into tow groups and entered the slums. Broken down apartments worst than any "project that I have experienced in the states. The dirt ground and broken pavement was filled with trash and discarded syringes and needles, young children and adults wandered aimlessly, lost and high on drugs or alcohol. This place was dead and cold! Lord, how will we minister to them when we do not know the language...I prayed.
We greeted people with "hello" in Russian but many were cold to our greeting. However, then we came upon a couple of men in their 40's with some women who were sitting on a bench and drinking beer. We stopped to say hello and immediately became rock stars because we were from America. "We don't get many foreign visitors in Zabseeb" stated on man. Children and other adults began to gather. While Jen and Cathy were overwhelmed by excited young girls I focused on the men. Alexander, an addict who met the Lord and was in rehab for a while had fallen back. He wanted out of his life and was willing to listen to us. Another man came by and was a bit argumentative..."if God is so good, why do I struggle, why does God only help rich people?" Then another Alexander arrived stoned, skeptical but open to the word. He said "I drink to numb the pain of life. I'm a truck driver, but my truck has been broken so I have no work and my father is dying of cancer. God gave us an opening so we asked to pray for his Dad and his truck. As we began to pray this hardened addict began to cry...and cry. The others looked on in silence. The whole atmosphere changed. He accepted Jesus as his saviour, then another . We invited them to church and /or to enter the "Teen Challenge" program. One man that we prayed for challenged us "when I know that God has changed me, you will see me in church" I responded "see you in church....God has already changed you!"An hour had passed and so we went back to the church with a good report. The 3rd service in this church that holds 450 people was packed. Most of those at the service are from the Teen Challenge program and so they are healed, saved, born again men and women who were formally addicts or alcoholics. It was powerful worship. The Spirit was willing but the flesh was weak. We went to eat and off to bed after prayer. Our hotel room was small, hot, filled with mosquitoes smelly and our bodies were exhausted. By 8:00 we were all in bed even though it was full daylight outside. Praise the Lord for our time so far. We could never even dream of what was to come. "To Him who does exceedingly and abundantly above all we could hope or think" Alleluia!
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