Several congregations in North
America were instrumental in raising funds. Seven different short-term
mission teams came to work. Among these teams were church groups,
an InterVarsity team, and several families. It was a special summer
for us, as the Lord answered our prayers and provided in many
different and unexpected ways.
We were able to start the fall term on time and the Russian Ministry
of Education granted us a five-year license to operate. That was
a great blessing as it is the maximum period allowed before the
license must be renewed.
Three challenges occupy our minds. (1) We want to continue to
meet the needs of a hurting population of children, many of whom
exist at the margins of society with very few safety nets, let
alone opportunities, available to them. It continues to be our
goal to minister to them, invest in them, and share the good news
of Christ with them. (2) We need to finish paying for the first
phase of renovation that allowed us to start school last Fall
and to finish and pay for the second phase, which brings the school
into conformity with all existing city codes. (3) We need to add
more tuition-paying pupils to our student population and we need
to find sponsors for those students with no means or parents to
pay their tuition.
Our student population is from two very different economic groups.
One group, which is small but growing, comes from a relatively
prosperous (and relatively new) segment of Russian society. These
children display a confidence in the material world we have not
seen before. They seem to have little concept of a need for Christ.
Our teaching staff (all Christians) knows that these children
need Christ and represent a great ministry opportunity.
The second group of children comes from the poorer segment of
Russian society. All of our students from Christian families are
in this group. A number these children have no parents involved
in their lives. From a young age many of these children have been
told, through word and deed, that they are of little or no value.
This could not be further from the truth, and it is our daily
mission to show them otherwise and to attempt to show them Christ’s
transformational love.
Please pray for these children and pray for the teachers and
the staff who minister to them. We suspect that as long as we
continue to take in these kinds of children (and we will as long
as we are allowed to operate), we will struggle financially.
Prayer requests
- Pray for our children and their families. Pray that they would
be open to Christ in their lives. Pray for their protection
and healing.
- Pray for our teaching staff. Pray for their wisdom, faith,
endurance, and health.
- Pray for our enrollment. We face a critical time beginning
in March through the end of the school term when we will have
a good opportunity to increase the student body (and, therefore,
increase the number of students who can pay tuition).
- Pray for our scholarship assistance program, that God will
bring forward individuals and organizations willing to sponsor
the tuition of children without financial means.
- Pray for me, Lyuda, and our senior leadership at the school.
We are facing new challenges: developing the future leadership
of the school, improving organization of the school, and raising
funds to cover the expenses of moving into the building and
renovating it. Pray for our wisdom and obedience to God that
we would be able to rise to these challenges.
- Pray for the future of the school. It is true that the very
survival of the school is on the line, but pray with us for
more than survival. Pray that this school’s ministry would
thrive and that through it the glory of God would be seen in
St. Petersburg.
Christ’s blessings to you,
Garth and Lyuda Moller
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
188 |
