Hello dear brothers and sisters in Christ, 

God is continuing to do a good work here in Tambov, Russia. We recently got back from a four-day conference in Moscow in which I think about 20 Calvary Chapels in Russia attended. God began to do miracles right from the beginning. One young woman, Veronica was forbidden to go to the conference by her mother because of a recent bad report card from her high school.  We all prayed for her and that her mother would change her mind. Finally the day before the conference, we all prayed again and some people went over to Veronica’s house to talk with her mother. Her mother remained unmoved. Finally, later that night, her mother just said out of the clear blue, “Go ahead and go.” Veronica said her mother never changes her mind once she makes a decision. So Veronica could go and we all rejoiced together, especially Veronica who had been in continual prayer about the situation..

Another 15 year old girl called Galya who used to be forbidden to come to church also wanted to go to the conference. Her mother finally allowed it too, but Galya had no ticket. At the last minute, when a man from our church scheduled to go didn't show up at the train station, Galya took his place and hopped on the train with only the clothes on her back, but very happy. 

At the beginning of the trip, we all jammed into a train compartment, (there was 17 of us) to play the guitar and pray and thank God for enabling us to go to the conference. 

We arrived at a large Moscow hotel the next morning and the four days of Bible teaching and fellowship began. The Bible lessons consisted of practical themes such as the six secrets of joy taken from the book of Philippians and how to let God guide your life. Different Calvary Chapels of Russia took turns leading worship before every Bible study. 

We ate our meals together every day with our church and then it was off to more worship and Bible studies. The unity and love between all the churches was wonderful. Some of our church members hardly slept. Since there was no free time during the day, they spent the midnight hours talking, praying, and playing their guitars with the other Calvary Chapel churches of Russia whom they had bonded with. 

During the trip, Sergei lost his passport. We prayed. Two days went by and then one morning someone produced the passport and asked if it was someone’s from our church. Where could it have lain for two days? God knew! 

On the last day of the conference, all 450 people took communion together and felt the wonderful feeling of unity that comes when believers from all over gather together in one accord. The conference was a wonderful encouragement to those from our church. It made them feel like part of a greater movement. It made them feel braver to share their faith with unbelievers, thinking of all those churches behind them in spirit. 

Once home again, we decided we would make an assignment to practice three things we learned at the conference that next week and witness to at least one person then share our experience at the home Bible study. 

At the next home Bible study, we found that many had applied what they learned at the  conference and had witnessed to someone including nearly talking the ears off their roommates and parents! One woman was able to change her attitude about her work and begin enjoying working there. All were greatly encouraged in their faith. A month later, they still talk about truths they learned at the conference. Free books were also given out at the conference on prayer and Christian living and our people eagerly devoured them. 

A little later, a young woman named Olga, brought her two roommates to church who had heard her talk non-stop about Jesus. The friends left right after the service, but Olga was not  discouraged. She said, beaming, “Everyone else has brought someone to church and finally now I have too.” That’s how excited our people are about witnessing to their friends. 

Just last Sunday, we had a celebration for Men’s Day, a Russian holiday. The women prepared a burrito lunch, which all the men loved. Then they entertained the men with poems, pantomimes, and games. Then they served tea with homemade cakes. We all had a lot of fun. We try to take advantage of every holiday to keep our people busy doing fun, wholesome activities. 

We are all excited about a new idea of starting a Christian cafe here where youth could come to on a Friday or Saturday night as an alternative to discos and drinking. We would have live Christian music, Christian skits, testimonies of believers, food, and fellowship.  We forgot where the idea came from, but the church members are really excited about it and all want to participate.   We have several  enthusiastic young believers who are just finishing cooking school and know how to prepare food and calculate the costs. We also have a few professional men of the law and economics in our church who want to use their expertise in this venture.  We are presently looking for an appropriate place to rent or buy.  So far, it's been difficult. Please pray for this. 

We also need to complete our church's legal registration here. We thought we had it done after many months of bureaucratic wrangling, but a new unexpected problem came up and now it will take longer. Please pray that we will be registered soon so that we can have a legal leg to stand on here in order to do many kinds of activities. 

Finally, on a personal note, on New Year's Day, I (Rebecca) lost the baby I was expecting after one and a half months of pregnancy. The problem was later discovered to be a hormone imbalance that is now being corrected by a special drug.  But God used the grief over the lost baby to cause me to love my own children more. I can’t explain it, but ever since the miscarriage, I have been much more attentive and loving to my children. This was an answer to another prayer, I had. Now I’ll be a better mother for the next baby. “All things work out for good to those who love the Lord, to those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28. 

Please don’t forget to pray about our registration and a building for a Christian cafe. 

Thanks so much as always for your support. We love you, 

Rebecca Curran
2/28/02 

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Russian home address: 
92000, Russia
Tambov
Proletarskaya St.,189
apt. 29
Ray Curran 

phone/fax: 0117-0752-71-90-83 

e-mail: rcurran@pub.tmb.ru  or  rcurran@mail.ru

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