WINTER 2005
There are two passages from two of Paul’s letters that I taught this past year that have especially remained with me as we minister in Russia. The first is 1st Timothy 4:4: "For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving…" The second is Ephesians 5:4: "Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking [among you], which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.
The Lord especially wants us to always maintain an attitude of thanksgiving as we minister this precious gospel. And as I thought about it, I think I realize why. We should never become proud of what we do for the Lord. For it is the Lord Himself that really accomplishes everything through us. Rather we should always just be thankful. And think about it…it’s impossible to feel both proud and thankful at the same time. Try to do it. You cannot.
God has done so much wonderful and miraculous things in the past 3 1/2 years here at Tambov Calvary Chapel. Our only response can be one of deep thankfulness. Thankfulness for salvation, growth, and maturing in ourselves as well as so many Russians here. Thankfulness for being given the great privilege of serving Him here. Thankfulness for His abundant and faithful provision and protection. And also thankfulness to you all for your love, prayers, and support which help enable us to be here. What a life we have in Christ! And the best is yet to come when we finally see Him!
The church here continues to do well. We were hoping to have another baptism by the end of the year as we have several new believers in Christ, but it didn’t work out. Hopefully in the Spring when the ice melts on the river.
We continue to have regular "Christian clubs" or special outreach events. We had a going-away celebration for our dear Veronica as she left for Bible college in Moscow, a Thanksgiving celebration in November, and a big Christmas Eve celebration on December 24th. There were the usual dramas, music, preaching, food, and even fun games afterward. We desire to show people that believing in Christ is a reason to rejoice and have true hope.
A drama being performed on Christmas Eve, 2004
Our Christian rock band is slowly but surely coming together. We have electric, acoustic, and bass guitar players, a drummer, a keyboard player, and singers of course. In fact, our goal this year is to establish, Lord willing, another church in the large city of Voronezh, about 100 miles from Tambov. Over one million people live there, which is more than three times as many as live in Tambov. I want to use these talented and enthusiastic young people here to do outreaches there. It’s a big step of faith in many ways, but with the Lord, all things are possible. A married couple from our church moved to Voronezh in the Fall. They can help with the new work there. We really ask your prayers for this in the coming year.
The band performing on Christmas Eve, 2004
As I said, we like to keep these young people busy for the Lord. It strengthens their faith and keeps them from idleness, which leads to temptation. We have a regular ministry to a local orphanage. Anastasia, our children’s ministry director explains:
"Every Sunday after church, about 8 or so of us go to an orphanage just outside of Tambov. There are about 30 or so children that gather, ranging in ages 7 to 17. We perform Christian dramas, sing songs, teach Bible stories, and give them little gifts when we can. But mostly, we try to love them, talk with the them, and establish friendships. Many of them have been abused in the past and are somewhat hardened."
Church members and children at local orphanage, September 2004
As usual we like to share some testimonies of some of the believers here.
First there’s Lena:
"When my sister and I first came to church, we just came to meet people. We liked the people there because they were friendly and smiled a lot. We also liked the singing. Through the songs and sermons, we began to understand more and more about Jesus. After one and a half months, we were ready to follow Jesus. After that, I started to lose interest in my old friends. I told them about my new faith in Christ and how I started going to church. They thought it was so funny. They didn’t understand, so I didn’t see them too much anymore. My sister and I used to love to go to the disco every Saturday night. Now we lost interest in that too. Instead, I wanted to learn to play the guitar like I saw the worship leaders do. I ended up learning to play the drum first and started to play it during the worship. Next, I tried the keyboard and someone else took over the drum. Now I am playing the guitar on Wednesday and the keyboard on Sunday.
Since I started to follow Christ, He has changed me. At first, my emotions ruled me. I would get very offended and upset with people and not be able to control myself. Now God helps me to control my emotions. I read the whole Bible according to the One-Year Bible schedule in the year 2004. It made such a difference in my life every day that I am reading it again for the year 2005."
From Dennis:
"When I was little, my mother taught me to pray before I went to bed and to wear a cross like so many little boys here do. However, as I grew older, I totally rejected the existence of God. I never drank or took drugs, but two times, I seriously thought of killing myself. I came to Calvary Chapel for the first time in November 2002. Friendly people immediately came to me and introduced themselves. I was attracted to the preaching, the music, and the unusual atmosphere. Sometimes I thought the people were rather strange with their uplifted hands and their whispered prayers during the time of worship.
When my best friend left for the army. I had no friends. I could either find friends at college or at church. The college people seemed too busy with their own lives. I then began to see that the people at church were loving and warm and demanded nothing from me. Then I realized that these "strange" people were the kind of people I was looking for. It was then that the Holy Spirit really began to work on me.
Ray gave me a Bible and I began to read it. I was surprised at how many of life’s questions the Bible answered. I wanted to believe in Jesus but I was not sure how so I asked, "How do I believe?"
"You will seek me and you will find me when you search for me with all your heart", said Jeremiah 29:13.
"I am seeking. Now what?" I asked.
"Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength," answered Deuteronomy 6:5.
As I read the Bible, all my questions were being answered one by one. After a month of conflicting thoughts and little sleep, on my birthday, January 3rd, 2003, I repented and was born again! All of heaven rejoiced. That night I fell asleep immediately. Tell me, can a month of conflict and sleeplessness disappear in one minute without any apparent cause? Yes, it can and I tell you it happened to me!"
Dennis is a talented artist and draws a Christian comic strip for our quarterly church newspaper. Here's a sample from the Christmas edition:
Finally, we always like to show a recent picture of our children. They are growing up quickly.
Robert, age 1 Ray jr., age 5 Dara, age 7 Elizabeth, age 10
Yes, for all the Lord has done and given us, we can only express our deep thankfulness to Him. Thank you too for all you do in sharing in this ministry.
With much love in Christ,
Ray & Rebecca Curran 1/22/05
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Russian home address:
392000, Russia
Tambov
Proletarskaya St.,189
apt. 29
Raymond Curran
phone/fax: 0117-0752-71-90-83
e-mail: rcurran@mail.ru or rcurran@pub.tmb.ru
