Prayer Letter: February 2018

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Thank you for continuing to pray for us this past month. The Lord has been good to us and the people here. There is much going on in the country and world to get our minds off the Lord Jesus Christ, but we’re thankful for a faithful group of people who desire to know Him. We’ve been able to get out tracts regularly, and are continuing to send out books and King James Bibles in Russian. Although Ukraine has embraced its own language and independence more and more, the Russian language still maintains its place among the older generation and a large part of the population as the lingua franca. We’re thankful that the Lord has used the freedom in Ukraine to get the word of God into more restrictive Russian-speaking countries such as Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan.

We’ve been working lately to get some of our familiar congregational hymns available in Russian. A faithful translator takes on the work of interpreting from English, and we attempt to get the sheet music and words available for our church people. Over the years, many English and American hymns have been translated into Russian, but there are still many that have not yet been translated. It’s been a blessing to hear our people sing out with these new hymns.

Please remember our group in the city of Berdyansk (pop. 161,000), in southwest Ukraine. Pray for Raya, an elderly lady, and her daughter Sveta, and her children Valentin and Vika. They are praying for salvation of souls in their city, including their own family members. Sveta’s husband, Vanya, is not saved, but has heard the Gospel on several occasions. He works in legal reasoning, but cannot reason the legality of salvation, how God provided salvation through Jesus Christ. Pray that he would come under conviction and see his need for salvation. Sveta and Raya would appreciate your prayers for their health and Christian walk.

We’ve had a week of cold weather from Siberia which has affected much of Europe, with temperatures going into the negatives. The back window of our car shattered, possibly from the drastic temperature change, or from a hit somewhere along the road. In any case, please pray for us in that expense, which will cost several hundred dollars to replace.

Please pray for us in the upcoming month. As the weather warms, we’ll be praying about a place to go out for evangelism. In addition to our usual efforts in the city, there are a number of smaller suburban towns that we’d like to witness in. These are places that are easily accessible and close to the church. Pray for wisdom and fruit and health to accomplish the Lord’s will.

Thank you for your prayers, friendship, and fellowship.

Until His return,

David and Naomi Lohman