Prayer Letter: September 2018

Dear Praying Friends and Family, Thank you again for praying for us this month, and for praying for the work in Ukraine. There is a great deal of work still to be done here. We’re praying for more laborers for the field. If you know of anyone burdened for this area of the world, or are dealing with Russian-speaking people in your area, let us know. Our desire is for the people of the former Soviet Union to be saved in Jesus Christ and to grow in grace and knowledge. We would be happy to help out any new prospective missionaries in any way we can.

We started out this month in a tent meeting in the town of Zhytomir, about an hour and a half west of Kyiv. Along with some Ukrainian brothers, we helped with a weeklong meeting. The days were activities and lessons for children, and the evenings consisted of a church service for all ages. We were able to talk to many people around the area. The tent was ideally located in the middle of a large apartment complex, with a big school and recreational fields nearby. This allowed us to talk to many people as they were walking to and from work, and enjoying leisure time in the evening. We saw at least 15 people that made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, including a young married couple with children, and the brothers that live there intend to follow up with the new converts. Overall, the Lord blessed us with safety and fellowship, and we’re thankful for the labor that we were able to partake in.

We were able to get a new tract translated into Russian and printed, the testimony of Bro. David Spurgeon, who was saved after a life of leadership in an outlaw biker gang. The Lord worked in the timing of this tract, as Ukraine is only recently seeing a lot of biker activity, both recreational and criminal. While in Zhytomir, we actually stayed with a former biker who was saved attending a “biker” church, and he used Bro. Spurgeon’s tract to witness to an unsaved visitor. I’ve been able to draw people in to conversation already to speak about the Gospel, as they are interested in the testimony of this former biker, now evangelist. We will include this tract with the other tracts that we pass out and send out to believers and those who order King James Russian Bibles.

In the upcoming month, we will continue to work on visitation and witnessing on the streets, putting up articles and books on the new church website, and work on the Ukrainian translation of the King James Bible. Toward the end of October, we will have our annual Thanksgiving service, which will allow us to invite people from the neighborhood to a church service and meal. We are praying for visitors and for salvation of souls in our region.

Finally, we are happy to announce that Naomi and I are expecting a baby boy, due in early February! Naomi and the baby are both healthy, so we are praying for continued health and strength for the two of them. We are planning to stay in the country for the birth and to continue in the work here as we get adjusted before coming back to America on furlough. We appreciate your prayers for both Naomi and our little baby boy.

Thank you for remembering us and the people of Ukraine and for strength for the nationals called to serve. We appreciate you all, and are praying for you.

Until His return, David and Naomi Lohman