Update of the Ministry. September-October 2010

Grace and peace of the Lord to all our dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus!

We want to give thanks to our almighty GOD for all the great things He has done  in our lives and lives of the people  we minister to.

In this letter  you will find out about:

• Bible studies for the fireworks students and the church members
• What is new in the  orphanages of Penza
• God  has  revealed His mercy through Olga’s surgery
• Plans for Christmas
• Amazing grace and answered prayers
• And a message from Scott Werntz, Director of Spoken For International Youth Outreach

BIBLE STUDIES FOR THE FIREWORKS STUDENTS AND CHURCH MEMBERS

 What a blessing to be able to study and teach the word of God!! Angelica and I always feel so privileged and honored to be used by Him in this very important task. This study year we have opened with a very fascinating topic; “ How to have assurance in our salvation”, based on  the first Epistle of  John. This book made all of us think deeply about our walk before the Lord. For some people it was an  awakening time of  re dedication to the lord! At this moment we are going through the book of Job,  a rich book for those who going though suffering and pain. The book of Job is about our Loving and Sovereign God, who knows everything about us and uses all circumstances for HIS glory. This study is very relevant for our youth who are going through so many hardships and difficulties being orphans. It gives so much hope and encouragement because the Lord will turn everything for good in HIS timing.

NEW THINGS HAPPENING IN THE PENZA ORPHANAGES

 We know that those who ever have been in the Penza orphanages always keep thinking and praying  about the kids to whom they have ministered to. Penza region has (3) orphanages remaining that are under the Educational department jurisdiction. Penza also has two orphanages with special needs that are run by the department of health and social help. The desire of our government is  to close down all the orphanages in Russia, which is completely impossible at this moment for many reasons. The main reason, I think, is that Russian orphanages are a huge system that have been inherited after Soviet Union with many problems of outdated methods of raising children. This system fights for it self existence and doesn’t want any thing to change. Never the less, there are some changes that we can see happening. One such change is that the orphanages are more and more open for Christians. We believe that this change will  help many kids and adults to find happiness through a relationship with the Lord!

There are some new kids in the orphanages that are longing for adoption.

Angelica and I along with youth of our church continue visiting the orphanages on a regular basis. We are always welcomed in the orphanages. Each time we visit, we  share truth of the Bible with the children and workers. The kids always send their greetings to those who have come before. They think that we all  live in the same neighborhood.

In October we hosted our dear friends Bill and Clara Harden from California. They are one of those couples that encouraged us to start the ministry to orphans back in  year of 2000. God used Bill and Clara in ways while they were here through sharing with the Bible study groups their testimonies and experience of their walk with  Jesus. We also had a chance to visit N. Lomov orphanage where kids shared their faith in the Lord with us. Once again we were amazed by the softness and kindness of the hearts of the kids that comes from knowing Jesus.

The fireworks youth one by one are getting apartments provided by the government. Please pray for Yulia, who will not receive an apartment because of a mix up over documents. Hopefully she will come to study to the States in the near future. God is doing an amazing work in this direction. We need your prayers and financial support to help Yulia.  

GOD HAS REVEALED HIS MERCY THROUGH OLGA’S SURGERY

Scott Werntz (leader of Spoken For ministry) has shared the story of Olga from Nizniy Lomov orphanage who had a very serious operation in Penza. She was born with severe cerebral palsy that caused her knee joints to be permanently bent and she has never been able to straighten her legs. She has never walked, but now she may soon take her first steps! Olya lived with her mother until she was twelve, when she went for a time of rest at a medical rehabilitation facility. During the two years that she was there, she lost touch with her mother and has not been able to find out where her mother is. She has now lived for two years at the Nizhni Lomov orphanage that we visit on our trips to Penza.

From Drop Box

In the beginning of October, Olya called our friend, Lena Gubanova, and told her that there was a possibility that she could have a very complicated surgery that could result in her being able to walk. The only hurdle was that she would be bed-ridden in the hospital for a month and the hospital requires someone to be with her 24x7 during that time to take care of her. She needed the caretaker(s) to feed her, wash her, etc. She asked Lena if she could help. That Sunday, I (Sergey) preached at the church on God’s great mercy then asked for ladies to volunteer to help Olya so she could have the surgery. Enough women volunteered that Olya was able to have the surgery!

            During the surgery earlier this week, the doctors cut her joints behind each knee and at her hips. She is on strong painkillers as she recovers, but she is still in a lot of pain. Lena Gubanova intervened on Olya’s behalf and acquired a private room for her instead of the typical ward with 4 – 5 other kids and their caretakers... it was a miracle that the doctors permitted this. The women of the church, including two Fireworks young ladies – Rita and Yulia, have been working in shifts to make sure that someone is there to take care of her around the clock. At first, the hospital staff thought the women coming and going were orphanage workers and she asked Yulia about it. Yulia informed her that they were all ladies from the church, opening the door for great opportunity to share the Gospel.

             Olya likes to write poetry and dreams of one day walking so she can have a job and not have to live out her adult days in an indigent care facility. Olya is doing well, her recovery goes fast, Praise the Lord! Never the less there is a long way  before she will walk.  Please continue pray for Olya. Last Monday she was taken back to the orphanage and after two weeks she will return to the hospital for intensive physical therapy. Pray for the good “soil” of her heart that the seeds of the Gospel would bear many fruit for the glory of God. Olay sent for greetings to all of you and thank you for your prayers. We will keep inform you about her condition.

PLANS FOR CHRISTMAS

It has become a tradition during Christmas,  that Christians of our region make gifts for the orphans. We are grateful to the Lord for revealing in Christian’s gifts of the Holy Spirit through this project. Pray that this year we would be able to bring gifts and share love of Jesus with every child in the orphanages.

AMAZING GRACE AND ANSWERED PRAYERS

Our family daily praises the Lord for His immeasurable mercy and unending grace that He graciously pours on us. As most of you know, for several years I (Sergey) have been  praying and trying to enroll in to the seminary in order to be more effective in the ministry and church. We are grateful to Jesus for His miraculous answer on this prayer and opening the doors for me and my family to be able to attend seminary. We are going to the United States this January to begin this journey. Angelica, David, Illusha and I will be moving to the DFW area with plans to attend seminary over the next couple of years. We have all been granted, “Green Card” status. This is a miracle and gift from God.

 We are not closing down the ministry. I repeat…we are not closing down the ministry. We have been working, along with Spoken For, in  preparing new leaders for the ministry in Penza who are passionate about the Lord and passionate about the children and teens in the orphanages.. God is taking care of every single detail!. None of the fireworks youth will be dropped off or forgotten. We are planning to continue taking groups to Penza orphanages.  We sincerely ask you to please continue supporting the ministry. God has a special plan for our family; we see His hand on this issue. Angelica and I ask you to pray for our hearts that the Lord would prepare us and make us even more dedicated to HIM . Please pray for wisdom in making decisions.

In our next update we are going to give you more details. Spoken For will also be conducting an information meeting in January.

We love Jesus and we want to serve Him every single day until He will take us home.

With love of Jesus - Sergey and Angelica Zelenov.

Gospel to the children, Penza Russia/fireworks ministry.

gospelttc@gmail.com

http://gospelttc.blogspot.com/

A MESSAGE FROM SCOTT WERNTZ, DIRECTOR OF SPOKEN FOR www.spokenfor.org

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

            It is with great excitement and joy that I write you this short message. I just returned from a camp in Arkansas known as SOTO, (Shepherd of the Ozarks), where 185 boys, girls and teens from Arkansas Baptist Group Homes, (orphanages), came for an amazing weekend with each other and the Lord. At the camp, we had six interns who are all originally from Penza, Russia help run the weekend camp. What a joy it was to see these young men and women who were once in the orphanages leading students to Christ. 30 children trusted in Christ over the weekend.

            Sergey and Angelica and their two boys are going to be such a blessing to our ministry over the next couple of years. While Sergey goes to seminary, he and Angelica will be partnering with Spoken For here in our local area with outreaches and Bible studies for the hundreds of Russian youth who have been adopted or are here for the Fireworks program. They will also help train people to go back to Russia to do ministry abroad.

            We will be sending more information out soon regarding this new move and we will have an information gathering in early January.

Blessings to all of you,

Scott Werntz

Spoken For International Youth Outreach