CEE Story From The Mission Field
The True Healer
October 8, 2004
Superstition and idol worship still play a large role in the lives of thousands of Russians. This summer the Tikhvin Virgin, a Russian icon that had been in the United States for years, was returned to its home amidst great fanfare and celebration. This icon is believed to be the source of many miracles and brought with it hopes of healing a nation.
According to the St. Petersburg Times, thousands of men, women, and children dressed in festive clothes stood along the route of the procession that took the icon from the railway station to the monastery. Some elderly women knelt and wept with joy near the entrance of the monastery when the icon procession was welcomed inside. Emma Dmitriyenko, a 67-year-old Belarussian, traveled all the way from her home in Belarus to Tikhvin, Russia, just to see the icon.
Tikhvin residents look to the icon for everything from physical healing to help in child-rearing and protection from environmental hazards. One resident, Lidiya Brankova, put it this way, "Our hearts are filled with this.”
This is the situation facing IMB missionaries living in the cities of Russia—hearts filled with false hopes instead of the true hope of Jesus Christ. According to strategy coordinator Buck Burch, most people in St. Petersburg adhere to Russian Orthodoxy and icon worship and do not know that God desires a direct, personal relationship with them.
"This is why we MUST start new healthy churches in St. Petersburg!” he said.
One such healthy church is on Vasiliev’s Island. In the face of icon worship and false hopes, God is showing Himself to be the only true healer. In fact, the congregation has just witnessed the second miraculous healing in their midst in the past 2 years.
A few months ago, doctors diagnosed church member Nina with life-threatening cancer. The congregation spent a month in prayer and some in a time of fasting, asking God to heal her. Last month’s report was that the doctors can now find no sign of the cancerous mass anywhere in her body.
The true healer is also bringing true hope to many in Russia through salvation. "Many, many people are coming to Christ,” said Buck. “One particularly precious event this month was a new Bible study group started out in the summer houses by one of our church members.”
Ludmila is a woman who was mentored by an IMB team member. She went to her summerhouse this past summer to relax from the city hustle and bustle, to plant a garden and to pick strawberries; but she didn't put her faith on hold. She began to witness to her summer neighbors and started a Bible study where a couple of nights each week she led them in looking at the life of Christ.
Her neighbors prayed to receive Christ, started sharing their testimonies with other neighbors, and the group started growing. Their regular times of prayer and fellowship came to be called their "summer church". As these ladies returned to the city this fall, each is planning to start other Bible study groups that will result in new churches throughout the city. Please pray for Ludmila as she boldly shares Christ in the strawberry patches of St. Petersburg!
Getting involved in what God is doing in Russia is easy. If you are interested in volunteering, partnering or praying, please contact Buck at bucbur@everyheart.net.