Bringing Help and the Gospel to the People in Eastern Europe.

April / May 2013

Seeking and saving that which is lost

YeSterdAY“An armed guard is provided for

you because of road villains.” This is what I was told on my first visit to Russia’s Siberia, also known as the “Wild East.” It was the early 1990’s just after the Soviet Union opened up. Mission Possible launched a church planting project in this ter-ritory characterized by deportation and war industry.

For two years we supported a local team that started 45 churches. Our goal was that the churches would be-come self-supporting during this ti-me. They did, and those churches la-ter established dozens of sister chur-ches.

The city of Asbest is located on

the edge of an enormous open mi-ne. In addition to asbestos, precio-us metals and gemstones are produ-ced. On my first visit a man is shab-by clothes and boots knocked on my hotel room door. He was peddling a big emerald and gold he’d collected from roadside rubble!

The church was established in the midst of the poverty, disease, and al-coholism associated with the deadly mine and its workers.

todAY Yekaterinburg with its modern

malls and downtown is much diffe-rent than in former days. Asbest has not significantly changed, however.

The mine continues to operate,

but so does the large healthy church which has established itself in the ci-ty. Mission Possible’s rehabilitation center for mothers and children has contributed to its growth. Last year thirty-five women accepted Christ!

WhAt About toMorroW? Our current ministry centers in

our target countries operate on the same principles as the churches that were founded twenty years ago. They use local people, encourage self-suffi-ciency and growth, and reach out to surrounding communities. This has been the mode of operation in the past, and it remains key for our mi-nistry today.

Ministry in Russia yesterday, today, and tomorrow

“Want to buy an emerald? What about a bag of gold?”

Ignat IvanovPresident

The largest part of funds goesto the target countries

Mission Possible’s work is structured in such a way that the largest part of your donations goes directly to the people to whom we are reaching. The couple of wor-kers we have here in the West work from home offices.

In our target countries we only use local workers. They know the language, the cul-ture, and the needs and are therefore very efficient in their work.

Our ministry teams also raise support locally. For example, the mothers in our Asbest rehabilitation center make sand-wiches and desserts to sell every week af-ter church services. This is just one of ma-ny methods for funding the work.

We are in Eastern Europeto do the same task for which we came more

than twenty years ago:Seeking and saving

that which is lost.

Outreach methods chan-ge as situations change.

The goal remainsthe same.

85%TO THE FIELD

Olga had been using drugs for fif-teen years, and for the past year-and-a-half “Crocodile” was her drug of choice because she couldn’t afford anything more expensive. Apathetic and slowly dying, she was brought to our center by her mother who could no longer watch her waste away.

Olga began using drugs when she was fourteen after her parents’ divor-ce. She needed a way to cope. On-ce she realized she was pregnant she reduced her drug use, but as soon as daughter Christina was born she be-came completely dependent on Cro-codile.

the child SufferedOne time Olga left one-year-old

Christina home alone while she went out to get her day’s dose of drug and

returned to find the little girl cross-eyed on the floor with a huge brui-se on her head. Olga took her to the hospital but was told that treatment should have been given sooner be-cause permanent damage had been done. In years to come a surgery might be possible, but for now half of Christina’s eyesight was gone, and it could continue to deteriorate.

horrendouS WithdrAWAlAfter Olga came to our cen-

ter, she suffered horribly for several weeks from drug withdrawal, inclu-ding bursts of aggression and intole-rable headaches. Our workers sat by her through it all, encouraging her and praying for her. Once withdra-wals were over, Olga accepted Jesus as her Savior.

An incredible chAngeEvery time Olga’s mother visits,

she witnesses improvement in her daughter’s appearance and behavior. Even the color of her eyes has chan-ged. Olga now smiles, interacts with the other women, and takes notice of the activity around her. While on Crocodile, Olga was unable to speak clearly, but now she is able to com-municate again.

Olga has also become committed to her daughter’s wellbeing and prays that the child’s eyesight will be res-tored. Olga herself has many health issues due to drug abuse and needs healing. But this is why we are here, to support her in this.

Repairing the damage from the Crocodile drug

On the left is the old center. On the right is the ad-ditional building which is being renovated.

The additional building has a playroom and gym for the children, as well as other needed facilities.

There are currently fifteen mothers and about twenty children at the center.

ASBESTOleg Nikiforov

Drugs have had a permanent effect on Olga and her young daughter Christina. However, the future now looks brighter for them.

CROCODILEIn the past we’ve cared for mainly alcoholic mothers, but in the last couple of years we’ve had more and more drug-addicted mothers come to us. Desomorphin, dub-bed “Crocodile”, is one of the most devastating drugs. It can be ma-de at home with common ingre-dients and causes permanent da-mage within a couple months and a certain death if used at length.

Rehabilitation center for mothers and children: The hard-working team of ladies received a new building!

hoW everYthing begAnAlapaevsk center’s history began

when I went through rehabilitation at the Asbest center and then beca-me a worker there. In 2010, my hus-band, two daughters, and I moved to Alapaevsk. “Lord what can I do he-re?” I prayed. Soon Mission Possible opened a similar center in Alapaevsk and I became its leader.

The center started in a small rented apartment that could house three mothers and their children. It was difficult for us to operate in such tight quarters, so the church provi-ded a little house for us, which was very old, but it was an improvement.

We spent two-and-a-half years in that little place. We had prayed for a larger building, and at the end of 2012 we received the answer to our prayers! We are grateful to God and to you for making it possible.

Now we are able to house more people. A lot of work is ahead of us, but we aren’t afraid. We want to lead many more families to faith in Christ and to the fellowship of the Church.

A lot of reSultS in A Short tiMe

Our team consists of myself and four other women. Last year seven

of the eighteen mothers who stayed at our center accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. Since the center ori-ginally opened, twelve women have become Christians.

chAnged liveS And heAlingSWe have witnessed many wonder-

ful life changes, but the Lord has also given physical healing to some we’ve prayed for. One of our workers was unable to have a child, but she beca-me pregnant. Another worker’s child suffered from hydrocephalus, but we prayed and no medical intervention was needed.

AlYonA found A neW kind of life

Alyona (see picture on next page) is our newest resident. Because of al-coholism she ended up on the street. She slept in basements and in stair-ways and washed herself in puddles. Her two daughters went to live with their grandmother.

It was a typical cold winter and Alyona didn’t have money for food. She began attending a soup kitchen at a church and was encouraged to go to rehabilitation. We had room for her in our new house.

Alyona quickly understood that

there was a new kind of life for her. She became a Christian and her en-tire life and way of thinking changed. She began to pray that she could have her daughters with her again.

Alyona’s mother, of course, was thrilled to hear of Alyona’s change. She hadn’t heard from her in two yea-rs! She and one of the girls are co-ming soon to visit.

Alyona wants to grow in faith and become a loving, nurturing mother. We are doing all we can to help her realize these hopes.

ALAPAEVSKNatalya Zubakina

Mothers at rehabilitation

Alyona

The new house

our Mission:

To equip the local Christians in Eastern Eu-rope to more effectively reach suffering and searching people and to bring them • the gospel message• biblical teaching, and • physical and social help.

We want to see

• suffering children, youth and fami-lies receive physical aid and come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

• God using Mission Possible to grow the local church in knowledge and number.

• people finding their calling to God’s service through our minis

• tries

Mission PossiblePO Box 248Mt. Prospect, IL 60056-2573

NON PROFIT ORG

U.S. POSTAGEPAID

Mt. Prospect, ILPermit #65

Mission Possible Foundation, PO Box 248, Mt. Prospect, IL 600561.800.729.2425 / mpusa@mp.org / www.mp.org

Thank you for joining us in seeking and saving

that which is lost.

Target countries: Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Albania