At the end of April, two pastors from Grace Family Church, Vasiliy Khripunov, who is the associate director of the PCSBA’s Missions Ministry, and Andrey Kobzar went on an extended trip to Uzbekistan, Poland, and Spain.
The goal of a visiting Uzbekistan was to help in preparation for the Christian children’s camps among gypsies. There are a lot of Gypsies, or as they are also called in Central Asia, Lyuli, in Uzbekistan. According to historical records, they have lived there since the 17th century, but have never assimilated with the local peoples, speak a dialect very similar to Tajik, and maintain a nomadic lifestyle. Although there are wealthy people among them, for the most part, they are very poor and illiterate people. It is unclear whether anyone tried to bring them the Gospel before, but at the beginning of the 2000s, the Lord prompted one sister, an Uzbek by nationality, to tell the Good News to several gypsies, and begin to work with them. A few years later, two gypsy women were baptized, followed by a few men, but there was never a church there. Since gypsies wander from place to place, and because sister Gulya, who worked with gypsy women at that time, fell ill with cancer, and the Lord called her into eternity.
Recently God stirred the heart of one brother to devote himself to the service of this unreached people. In order to support his ministry, it was decided that with the help of the American Slavic churches of PCSBA, it will be possible to have children's summer camps in Tashkent, Jizzakh, and Bukhara. This will be a very difficult task. It will take a lot of prayer, resources, and the sacrificial involvement of many Christians, but with God's help it can be accomplished.
Vasily and Andrey were also accompanied by brother Konstantin from Russia, a professional tour guide. He was responsible for organizing a small exhibition of paintings with Christian themes in the central square of Tashkent. While telling people about their authors he shared the biblical story connected to each painting. Hundreds of people listened attentively to his stories, and two women expressed a desire to visit the local church.
While in Poland, two more brothers from Ukraine joined our pastors, including a pastor from Kyiv, Viktor Sikorsky, who recently visited Sacramento. The team met with Joseph Sheremet, a pastor who moved from Sacramento to Poland for a mission. In the church where he serves, they held a small seminar and took part in street evangelism. They had an interesting meeting there. The former athlete-boxer, having believed, began to preach the Gospel on the streets of Poland. After talking with him, the brothers asked him to use his speakers, and they were able to sing and preach together and distribute Gospel tracts in Ukrainian, Polish and English.
The time in Spain was very busy. The brothers visited eight cities, participated in ministries, conducted seminars, and taught Christians about street evangelism. Meetings in churches lasted three hours or more, and people did not want to leave. The testimony of Pastor Victor Sikorsky, a former counterfeiter whose life was completely transformed by his encounter with the Lord, captured the attention of all listeners wherever he shared his testimony.
Finally, after meeting with missionaries supported by the PCSBA: Alik Shipuk, Roman Zelensky, Dmitry Murkin and Viktor Kovba, and listening to their testimonies about their ministry, their needs, and plans for future ministry, the pastors returned home. Enriched by their experience and full of ideas through their ministry in sharing the Gospel in Europe, they are inspired to continue the work.
For more details about the trip, listen to an interview with V. Khripunov on May 7-9 on the Association’s website.
Olga Avetisova
