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March 2007 |
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Is God at Work in Ufa, Russia? By Ray Burks
It was sometime in 2004 that I discovered IMB worker Chris Carr’s web page, hope4ufa.com, and was intrigued by the work being done in Ufa. Having previously ministered in Russia upon three prior occasions, my heart was in tune to God for an opportunity to return. Through correspondence with Chris and ultimately a stateside face to face meeting, I sensed a strong leading of God to pursue leading a team to work with Chris in Ufa.
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 In
an equally divine encounter, God brought Bob Hartman of Nashville
into my life. Bob had worked with Chris in bringing teams to Russia to
conduct English as a Second Language workshops. From Bob, I linked up with
Ray and Judy Leininger of Bolivar,
Missouri who had developed the curriculum for the ESL workshops.
Ray and Judy gave training to our team leaders for the ESL workshop and
then our team spent approximately 10 weeks in preparation for the work. |
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At the end of the week it was our plan to share openly and unashamedly the reason for the joy and hope that each of us possessed. We distributed our written personal testimonies of faith in Christ Jesus with each of our classes. Some were gladly accepted while a few were rejected. But it was evident that God was at work in the hearts and lives of some of the participants. Of the nearly 200 total participants, 106 indicated they were willing to continue their English language training, some even willing to learn through an Evangelical Bible Study. God was at work in the lives of some as they indicated they now believe in the existence of God. God was also at work in the edification of the few believers that were among the workshop participants. |
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The continuing work of prayer, follow-up, and more “seed planting” remains for Ufa. Our friend, Chris Carr extends an invitation for us to return and witness further examples of how God is at work in Ufa. James 1:17 reminds us of the origin of this tremendous blessing: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” Collectively, eleven Americans say wholeheartedly “Thank you, Heavenly Father!” |
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Ray Burks is pastor of Lakeview Baptist Church in Selmer, Tennessee. He led a team of 11 from Selmer to work with IMB Strategy Coordinator Chris Carr in Ufa, Russia. Team members were Robby and Gloria Brush, Rusty Petty, Doris Hawkins, April Carroll, Derek Bodiford, Matt Burks, Brent Colley, Lisa Forsythe, and Clint Overton. |
If
that question would have been posed to me in April of 2006, I would have
given a standard answer that was void of any personal experience.
“Certainly God is at work everywhere,” I might have said. However, in
April of 2006, I would have only been able to take the word of someone
else as proof. Now, twelve months and twelve thousand miles later, I know
that God is at work in Ufa, Russia from personal experience. Being a part
of a team of 11 believers from Selmer, Tennessee, I was blessed to witness first
hand how God is at work in Ufa, Russia. 
Each
American team member discovered that the Russian participants were open
and friendly and committed to learning the English language. At every
skill level we saw people give their complete attention to each American
teacher. The participants made the journey through the melting snow and
over muddy streets and sidewalks. Some traveled for more than an hour on
public transportation to spend 2-3 hours in conversational English
training. As a mission team, we saw the hand of God in assembling this
group of participants. We bonded with our new Russian friends. Laughter
and joy would characterize the mood of each session as our American team
modeled grace before our friends. 
It
is quite evident that God is at work in Ufa, Russia! Through a simple tool
that most Americans have been using all their lives, conversational
English, we had an audience of over 200 that eagerly listened to our every
word. They heard the most wonderful news that their ears could hear: Jesus
is Lord! They saw the lives of eleven Americans that stood as witnessed to
the transforming grace of our Lord. They even became our friends who
bestowed gifts upon us for our time with them. Yes, God is at work in Ufa,
Russia.