October 2023 Winter Welfare Appeal, UK, USA
Our news items this week feature the ongoing work we do every Winter to assist with Winter heating issues especially in Eastern Europe. We do invite your prayerful and financial support of this work. We are up against runaway inflation, huge energy prices due to the war in Ukraine and the overall economic difficulties in Eastern Europe as a result of this. Please donate throughout our usual channels as you can.
LATVIA
This week we did a lot of pastoral and Winter welfare work throughout Latvia, meeting with many faithful brothers and sisters in difficult circumstances. Temperature hovered around freezing although no snow. It's a wonderful experience to be with those baptized over the last 30 years and to see fruit that remains. We have no greater joy than to know that our children walk in truth, as John puts it. As usual we held a combined breaking of bread and meal for those in Riga. Again, it was a joy to meet with brother Vladimir, still the faithful shepherd despite total blindness. This time he came on the bus alone, and it was just a great experience to meet him at the bus stop. Straight away our conversation was on the things of the Lord's work and nothing else despite his many other issues at this time. What a wonderful moment it was to hug such a true brother once again:
Sister Larissa also is now quite blind but still came- here she is talking with Vladimir, the blind leading the blind towards the Kingdom:
There was the usual news of those who have fallen asleep in the Lord, and we gave assistance in the usual battles with poverty and ill health- not least Covid again. People really are doing it tough:
And then there was the purchase and distribution of firewood, including a brother and sister whose house literally has no front door and was just freezing inside. The boys got well into the work of buying, loading and delivering, see the video at
https://youtu.be/FO_C6ZVubpA
There are going to be ongoing Winter welfare needs here, please support our appeal if you can. We broke bread and visited with many in isolation. There was a lovely breaking of bread with our beloved sister Irma who first saw our advertisement in the legendary Soviet newspaper Pravda in 1990, and who has been faithful to the Lord over 30 years... and in her time translated many of Duncan's books into both Russian and Latvian. What a joy to be together again. We had scarcely started having coffee together when she asked if we could break bread, which we did with joy... for it is the Lord's work which has brought about this wonderful fellowship between persons which we experience:
UKRAINE
We sent funds to help sister Nana and brother Alexei get their place a bit more robust and insulated against the Winter. It's a former derelict summer house they were allowed to live in after fleeing the Russian occupied areas. They're so grateful and delighted that the useless fireplace has been rebuilt, a really good job done; the chimney now draws properly, rather than filling the room with smoke, and she has somewhere to cook as well as a source of heat that is independent of electricity. Which is often down. They're just so grateful and happy and sent these photos; you can compare them with the file photo of how it was when we were doing a breaking of bread with them when we visited them, soon after they moved in there.
We're in touch with many brothers and sisters throughout Ukraine and there will very likely be the need to provide more Winter welfare as the Winter goes on. With all the focus on Israel at the moment, don't forget the absolute misery of the situation in Ukraine doesn't let up, and it is all the more acute in the freezing Winter.
In other news from Ukraine, we're delighted to report the good progress in the UK of sisters Irina and Nastya. We evacuated them from Ukraine to UK by car after sister Nastya's husband was killed at the front, leaving her with two young children to raise. They attend Hookwood ecclesia every week online and have shown initiative in opening a beauty salon in Ashford, Kent. Their industry got the attention of the local press in an article titled "Mum who fled war opens beauty shop". Do have a look, we're very proud of them:
https://www.kentonline.co.uk/ashford/news/mum-who-fled-war-opens-beauty-shop-opposite-empty-wilko-295751/?fbclid=IwAR0U_6y2R6HBUXfuJCIkzXiGKA-DzPAuhFRhT0Ay9RwAlBsi1syNBuvTpZc
UK, USA
In other news, we're delighted to report the self-baptism of RUDELLE in North America and also that of ELIZA in the UK.
Meetings in Coydon have continued this week. And we see evidence of real spiritual progress in some baptized. After his baptism, ex-army brother Sean really tried to stop drinking and he has done so well and proudly sent us the certificate of detox he got, which we shared on our "Church in a pub" WhatsApp group. Sean wrote:
"I feel so different now in so many ways thoughts and how I look at the world I'm committed to this now, I want the real change in my life and I would not of had the chance without meeting people like you if I can ever help out one day with anything you have my word I will do whatever needs doing thank you, you opened my eyes to what I can do In this world again, that means so much to me, I lost myself confidence and never for I could get it back now but I know I can now know thank you mate x respect x"
This is all the progress of the Lord's work in a human heart, but it's been an honour to be part of it and the channel for it.
PRAYER POINTS
- For those recently baptized
- For our efforts to provide Winter welfare this Winter
- For those recently baptized who are successfully overcoming addiction issues, that they keep on keeping on
- For the hard situations in Ukraine and Israel
With love from your brothers and sisters of Carelinks