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Sharing Christ in Eastern Europe

Bill and Denise Braun, Eastern Europe

God is faithful to give us opportunities to reach out. Visitation has become a ministry highlight as we get a chance to share with people, visit them in their apartments, and see a little more of their lives. Often the things we see deeply sadden us.

Many people live lives of quiet despair. They can barely afford to live each day, but worse, their lives are in such chaos they may not even want to live. Such was the case for Olga. A couple weeks ago, she wanted to commit suicide but then remembered a lady she knew who shared Christ with her seven years ago. She called that lady (who attends a local Baptist church) and talked to her. Together they came to church, and Olga has come several times since, often drunk. When I asked her  if we could visit her, she was delighted. We visited her last week, and Bill shared the gospel with her.

She understands that she is a sinner. She told me privately about her sinful life and that she cannot in her own strength walk away from it. She came to our small group (drunk) with her son and was very open and tearful about her need for a changed life.

We also visited our dentist friend, Kostya, and his wife, Ksenia. They recently had their first child and aren’t very open to spiritual things. Ksenia is religious but not saved. We had a good time with them, seeing their new blessing and deepening our friendship.

Another visit was to a friend we made because of the size of our family. This man, Sergei, was in a desperate spot in life and prayed that God would “show him the way.” He went out for a walk and saw us getting into our car with our kids at a store. He asked us if “all those kids” were ours, which led to an exchange of phone numbers. Bill has shared the gospel with him many times. When we went to his apartment yesterday evening, we got to know his family a little. He lives with his ex-wife (that often happens here) and his two daughters, who are very troubled, to say the least. He was also very open about his burdens and the fact that he is a sinner. We hope to have them over sometime in the near future.

Please pray for all the people that God has placed in our lives.  We know that God specializes in bringing the dead to life!