Hope Center in Shelekhov, Siberia, Russia

It was five years ago, in a frosty February night in 2019. The believers of the Church of Shelekhov in Siberia are startled out of their sleep. Their Prayer House, which they had only completed a few years ago, was on fire. Pastor Litvinov and many members of the church are immediately there and the fire department is alerted - but the fire quickly engulfed the entire building. Their House of Prayer burns down before the eyes of the stunned worshippers. That night, there was only one question on the minds of the worshippers: WHY?

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The following morning, the believers gather in front of the pile of ashes, from which smoke is still rising. They have come because they are seeking refuge in God. They humbly enter into fellowship and into the presence of the Lord. And suddenly the agonizing why becomes a prayer: What for, Lord? What do you want to do with us and how do you want to use us? Still in tears, but with hearts that accept the will of the Lord, the believers pray: Show us your will!

Their willingness to continue serving in obedience leads the believers of Shelekhov through the fire. They understand that God not only wants to use them in Shelekhov, but also in other places.

Today, five years later, the Shelekhov congregation is serving in four other villages, in the Kachug district further north and in Mongolia, over 800 km away. God has confessed their obedience through many blessings. In another district of Shelekhov, He gave them a plot of land on which a new house of prayer has been built. The believers built it with devotion, while continuing to serve with the same dedication.

But there is one need that has not left the church of Shelekhov in peace in all these years, and which they have brought before the Lord again and again: the work among the children of their church, but above all among the children of their town and the villages in which the church serves today, the children of so many families who do not know God and who are broken by alcohol and poverty.

"The fire destroyed everything back then," says Pastor Litvinov. "Nevertheless, we haven't stopped any of our ministries. But we can see that our work with children suffered the most. Our summers are short in Siberia. We carry out numerous activities with them on our property. But as soon as it gets colder, we simply need a building to work with children. Before the fire, we had 70 children of all ages. Afterwards and after the years of pandemic, many of them stopped coming. Children need fellowship. They need a place where we can gather and serve them. This ministry is so important and it is right to start from scratch."

The church has therefore started to build a Hope Center for children's ministry on the site of the new house of prayer. But after all these events, the congregation's resources are exhausted.

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Please help now!

Your support creates a basis for ministry among children in Shelekhov and in the villages of Buryatia, even in Mongolia!
Thank you for sharing in the ministry of the Shelekhov church with your prayers and help, and for spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth!‍