Prayer Letter: November 2018

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Thank you for another month of faithful prayers and support. We would not be here without you, and are very thankful for you all, and for the provision of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

We’ve been able to get out and talk to some people about the Lord and salvation. One older man was determined that no one could know for sure where they were going after death, even after hearing from the Bible that he could know for sure. He looked shaken after talking and wouldn’t stay, but left with a tract. Ukraine declared a day of Thanksgiving in October, and for the second year in a row invited evangelical speakers downtown. Although the music was largely modern and shallow, and the preaching more motivational and ‘uplifting,’ at least there was the message that Jesus Christ saves, and that salvation is independent from the state church and religion. In November, the main import from America is Black Friday, with everyone advertising the best deals. Unfortunately, there are few who will take the best deal of all, the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

This month we had a special service dedicated to the family, with a meal following. It was a blessing to fellowship with the saints and receive encouragement about the unit that is getting more rare- the complete Christian family. This year in Institute, we will cover that subject in the teaching and hope it will be an encouragement and strength to Ukrainian families.

We request your prayers for the situation in Ukraine, that the Lord’s will would be seen and that souls would be saved through this insecurity. Several Ukrainian navy ships were attacked and its sailors were captured by the Russian fleet. With Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, they effectively control ship traffic out of the Sea of Azov, in Eastern Ukraine, through a narrow bottleneck. For several years, there has been the threat of blockading Ukraine’s major ports in the east, including Berdyansk, through that bottleneck between Crimea and Russia. As a result of this capture of Ukrainian ships, the President and Parliament agreed to enact martial law in 10 provinces bordering Russia, Crimea, and the Russian-controlled area of Moldova. Russia has previously sent in troops to “protect” various areas with a majority Russian population where there are protests. Meanwhile, Russia says that Ukraine provoked Russian ships, and that the martial law is a political move to increase the president’s popularity before elections in March. Whatever the political motivation, Ukraine is continuing to distance itself from Russia, and everyone will use the instability for their own advantage. We are praying that there will continue to be opportunities to openly preach and witness and that souls will be saved.

In the next month, we are looking forward to having a missionary family from Ukraine who has been serving in Altai, Russia, for years. We will also be preparing for Institute and Revival in early January. Thank you for praying for us, for the saved here in Ukraine, and for the security situation in the country.

Until His return, David and Naomi Lohman