|
Jesus
welcomed the people, taught them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who
needed it. Luke
9:11 |
|
|
Glorious Answers To
Prayer! |
News from Roger and
Chris with Ellel East
June 2007 |
|
|
|
 Dear Reader,
Now
that we are back from Ukraine and Russia (and recovering nicely from "Russia-lag"**), we want to
share with you a wonderful fact: OUR GOD IS FAITHFUL!Every expense of
the conferences in Ukraine and Russia was met in full -
by donations, by conference offerings, and by the fact that both conferences
were "standing-room only" as people who were thirsty for God flocked in to
register. Even our difficult bus journey to Russia ended up as a blessing; by
arriving in Rostov at 3 a.m., we saved a whole night's hotel costs for the team.
And at both conferences, God came in
power!
Rejoicing in
Kremenchug, Ukraine.
** "Russia-lag". A state of
spiritual, mental and physical exhaustion brought on by spending time travelling
and working in Russia rather than sitting comfortably at
home!
Read on for amazing
accounts of God's
goodness...
|
|
|
We
Survived "The Water Walk"
Yes,
You Really Can Do It!
Not much more than a
week before our latest marathon trip to Ukraine and
Russia for conferences and a ministry school, total estimated cost about £9,000, we had virtually
nothing - hence the appeal in our last newsletter! Then
the gifts started to come in: £150, £500, £800, £1,000 - still not
enough. We re-did the sums: the airfares were already
paid out of our own pockets. And IF (big "IF") both the conferences were a
sell-out, IF both produced substantial offerings (from poor countries), and IF
the ministry school in Volgograd were well-attended, we would have just
enough to pay all the immediate bills and maybe have a
little towards the air-fares.
So
we headed off to Budapest airport. Not for the first
time, we were walking uncomfortably on water, knowing only that we had a
faithful God who was calling us to keep our eyes on Him. And what happened?
Crowds lining up to
register for the conference in Kremenchug,
Ukraine
Both conferences,
in Ukraine and Russia, were a sell-out - over 600 people
at each. Standing room only. Both conferences produced very substantial
free-will offerings, after we had told the people to give NOTHING if that was
what God was telling them. The ministry school had nearly 80 students and also
produced a substantial free-will offering.
If we
had not had enough to pay our bills, we would probably have been arrested. In
Russia. But God provided for all our needs! I'll say it
again: OUR GOD IS
FAITHFUL!
Read
on to find out how God came in power in Ukraine and
Russia...
|
|
"Healing
and Destiny" in Kremenchug, Ukraine
An Amazing
Atmosphere
It was hot - very hot! - but not
even the fierce heat could detract from the joy of the Lord as the Kremenchug
conference opened. There was an intense atmosphere of expectation as people
streamed into the huge Soviet-era culture-hall, now nicely renovated. (We were
here ten years ago, and things had changed.) From the opening bars of the
worship, we all knew that something great was about to happen!
The Ellel team
arrives at the hall - early morning and already close to 90
degrees!
50-strong Ukrainian and guest
ministry team prays in unity each day before
conference.
Lively teaching!
...and getting hotter!
Half
the people there had not been to an Ellel event before. God came in power. There
was healing in spirit, in soul and in body. Many were freed from the things that
had bound them. Praise
God!
|
|
|
A
Bus Ride To Remember - Or Maybe To Forget
"National Express" Was Never Like
This!
It all started out so
well. At 7 a.m. we boarded our Ukrainian hired bus to
make the 12-hour trip to Rostov-on-Don, Russia. We even had air-conditioning!
We
settled down for the journey. Some people needed more leg-room than
others.
By
late afternoon we were in Donetsk in eastern
Ukraine.
We
noticed a freshly-painted portrait of Lenin on the Donetsk sign.
Hmmm...
By
late evening we were at the Russian border, and the "fun" really started. We had
a wait of well over three hours while our inexperienced Ukrainian drivers were
interrogated and "fined" (i.e. robbed) $500 by the Russian border guards. Their
wallet was taken and simply emptied onto the table. The reason for the fine? "We
can't find the engine block number on your
bus."
Twenty
minutes after we finally got away, the bus was again stopped at a check-point
and another "fine" (this time only $400) was imposed, i.e. stolen. (The Russian
border guards had phoned ahead to warn that a foreign bus was coming.) The
reason this time? "You haven't got a map showing local roadworks. All buses have
to have one."
Bless
them anyway! They live in fear. Being in a lucrative job, they have to make
regular payments to mafia bosses themselves. Welcome to
Russia!
|
|
A
Conference To Remember
It Was All Worth
It!
Rejoicing in Rostov-on-Don,
Russia
In Rostov-on-Don,
Russia, once again the power of God broke
through. In the packed
hall, lives were changed and God's healing came for spirit, soul and body. The
searing temperatures were forgotten as people praised God for the many miracles.
This was a significant spiritual event, and we are thankful to have been part of
it. It was worth all the struggles.
Once
again, God was
glorified!
|
|
|
A
Week Of Teaching In Volgograd - A City With A Terrible History
 In Britain we had
bombs, but it was nothing like what happened in the city then called Stalingrad.
The worst killer was not the bombs and shells, but water. The mighty river Volga
was so polluted by dead bodies that the water became poisonous, and thousands
died from drinking it. Then many more tens of thousands died of thirst, not able
to find anything safe to drink. And in the huge city itself, only one building
was left standing by the end of the war.
Stalingrad's only surviving
building
 "The Motherland"
war memorial in Volgograd - the biggest statue in
Russia.
The
outdoor war museum in Volgograd
As we taught the
six-day ministry school "Answering Christ's Call" in this tragic
city, we were aware of a
spiritual blanket of sadness covering the people. Our teaching is lively, but
they didn't laugh. But gradually, God broke through. By the end of the week,
over seventy people including local pastors and leaders not only had the basics
of effective prayer ministry, but they had also received significant healing for
themselves. Praise
God!
|
|
Where
Have All The Pictures Gone?!
Some of you have commented that
our photographs have an annoying habit of disappearing and being replaced by a
short caption instead. Here's the reason:-
We
use an internet-based newsletter service. This means that the pictures only
appear while you are actually on-line. This is no problem for broad-band users,
but what about those who are using costly dial-up
services?
The
answer is either to print out the newsletter straight away (also costly), or
else (much cheaper and easier) to save the whole newsletter as a file into your
documents.** Then you can re-read it as often as you like, complete with
photographs. Problem
solved!
** This is how you
can save the newsletter:
1.
Select the entire newsletter by pressing Ctrl+A. This highlights
everything.
2.
Copy it all by pressing Ctrl+C.
3.
Open a new text document in MS Word, Open Office, or whatever you
use.
4.
Paste the newsletter into the document by pressing
Ctrl+V.
5.
Save it by pressing Ctrl+S.
6.
Read it at your leisure, complete with
photos!
|
|
We finally made it
home from Volgograd, via
Moscow and Munich to Budapest. The first leg was
in an ancient TU134, still with a bomb-aimer's window in the nose. I managed to
photograph a similar one (illegally) while we were
taxi-ing.
Now we are catching
up with gardening and office work. This week we ministered in prayer to a
Christian TV station director from Romania, and next week we will do the same
for a British missionary also from Romania.
And the next week?
Six days teaching and ministry in Estonia! Watch this space for more praise
reports...
With love
and blessings from Roger and Chris
P.S.
Please click on the "Forward email" link below and send this letter on to a
friend. The more people we have praying for us, the
better!
|
|
|
|
Printer-friendly version
International Home
About
Diary
Donations
Short Courses
Schools
Healing
Job Vacancies
Audio Downloads
Video Downloads
Brochures
Search
Ellel 365
Choose a Region
Language:
