Our Cherkasy IP-team has an occasion for joy. Three people have been born again.
   From April 25 to 30 we held our evangelism hike in the Crimea. The participants consisted of 4 believers and 8 unbelievers. This hike was a new kind of project for us. When on the first day of the hike an unbelieving young lady, Yuiya Sobolevskaya, a dentist from a local clinic, was unpacking her sleeping bag with Terra Incognita (new, unknown land) on it, I thought that it sounded just like our new Crimean project. We had a memorable time together filled with songs, fellowship, prayer, discussion of the Word and simple friendly conversations. There was a lot of music as a part of the hike. We brought a special songbook along which had 3 parts in it: Christian songs, Ukrainian songs and secular songs about important things. We sang the whole time—on the train, while resting, in the mountains. Also, every day we had Bible discussions which included every person on the hike team.

   The Lord touched our hearts in a special way during this hike.


   What did the Lord do during this hike?

   Volodya Plotskih: Christian songs really helped us understand each other as we worshiped God. On our last evening, everyone picked out a favorite song and shared their life story. A young, still unbelieving lady, picked out the song “I understand through tears and pain” and was getting ready to share. After we finished singing the song, she was so overwhelmed by the Lord speaking to her through it, that she was all in tears and unable to talk.

   Before meals we always prayed and thanked God. A young lady asked after we finished our meal why we never pray after we eat. Then, she prayed and thanked the Lord for food and for our wonderful hike. This was the first time we heard her pray.

   It was obvious that the Lord touched Yaroslav Kabay in a special way during this hike. He had a lot of questions which he boldly asked and eagerly listened to the answers. On our last evening together while we were having fellowship and singing songs by the fire, he started crying and was not ashamed of his tears.

   Natasha Kurilo (intends to be baptized this summer): The Crimean hike was a spiritual milestone for me. The busyness of city life at times gets so overwhelming that I am not able to keep up with Bible study, friends and simply don’t have time to sit down in the evening and analyze whether I lived today in a way pleasing to the Lord. In the Crimea, while I was admiring the beauty of His creation with every fiber of my being. I felt like a child surrounded by His splendor and might on every side. I knew that His strength keeps me. At that moment I felt like crying and falling down n my knees before the Lord as my Father. This is what the Crimean hike enabled me to understand.

   Everybody came home encouraged after the Crimean hike. On the train ride home, we sang Christian songs openly, not shyly like we did on the way there.

   A week after the Crimean hike Yaroslav asked to share at the worship service. He started out talking in a very humble way. He talked about being burdened by his unrighteous lifestyle and his desire to pray, confess his sins, and accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. First Yaroslav prayed, and then everybody in the congregation. Everybody rejoiced. We sang and greeted Yaroslav, but because the service was not over yet, we continued to sing and pray. Then, to our surprise, Irina Beletskaya, also all in tears, announced her decision to accept Jesus Christ into her heart. We prayed together and our joy knew no end. This was the best Sunday in the last half year. We were all so happy but for some reason Sergey, Irina’s husband, did not seem to approve of her decision. The church prayed for Sergey and Irina Beletskiye during the following week.

   A week later, at the beginning of the worship service, Sergey, in an unusual for men manner, began to share very openly the story of his life and repentance. All of us prayed for Sergey with much joy. He shared how he had spent the whole week thinking about his life which led to his repentance prayer. He wrote a poem and a song which he shared with us at the service.

   Irina Beletskaya and Yaroslav Kabay both attended the English school (intermediate and advanced level respectively). All 3, Sergey, Yaroslav and Irina, participated in the Crimean hike.