South Africa Update

 

Moldova Update (Michael Paul & Tia McBride)

 

Our New Normal
February 2021 EDITION

February was our first month as your appointed Associate Missionaries to Moldova (or AMPers for short), and we still aren't in Moldova. However, we know that being in Ukraine is exactly where we need to be for this time. Our new normal is blooming where we are planted until God opens the door for us to get in to the nation of our appointment. 

The nation of Ukraine has a lot of exciting things happening and we couldn't be more elated to be a part. This month we went to the city of Odessa twice for Bible School and were involved in the Bible School Campus here in Kyiv as well. We had English Club, Michael preached, met with our contacts in our home, started formal Russian classes, celebrated Valentine's Day, hosted ZOOM meetings with our AIM Team for Moldova and so much more! We hope you enjoy the pictures and updates below as we share a little of what we have experienced this month in Ukraine!

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First, let's talk about Bible School! This month we did three weekends of Bible School. Kyiv is the city where we live, but Odessa is about 4-5 hours away. In Winter, it takes longer because you must be very careful due to the conditions of the roads. As you can see from the first picture, we get to spend a lot of quality time with other teachers! 

We travelled to Odessa twice this month to do Bible School. Students come for classes Friday night and all day Saturday. One student travels over 24 hours to come to Bible School!!! During this month, we taught about prayer walks, evangelism, how to teach a Bible Study, and how to work in teams. You can see from the last picture in this block the conditions they were prayer walking in. This was a mild day! 

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English Club is going great! In the first picture, you can see a "pre-English Club" happening with Pastoral Staff children. They came with their parents that night, so Tia did an impromptu lesson with them. They loved it! 

During our main session, we've had new guests, and more of the youth participate. This is great because several of our Bible School Students come and it's a great way for them to make connections. One young man started coming to a Bible Study by one of our students and has decided to get baptized in Jesus Name soon! There have also been several other connections made and strengthened. During COVID, it's been a great way to meet people! 

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Due to COVID, many things must take place in our home. We are grateful to have two of our Bible Students come over weekly. It gives us a chance to mentor them, and let them be hands on when we meet with our two contacts. 

We also are grateful for technology! Via ZOOM, we've been able to meet with a team that is ready to come help us in Moldova as soon as the borders open. We've been doing training with them and are so excited for what God is going to do in them and through them once they get here! 

Aside from meetings and training, we were also able to start Russian Language classes! We will keep you posted on our progress! 

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This accurately represents how Tia feels about the snow! During the past few weeks we lost our heat and hot water. It would come on for maybe one hour sections of time but then go out again. We are grateful to have it back!

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Prayer Requests:

1.) Restrictions continue to be extreme  in Moldova. Pray a door will open for us to get in!

2.) Pray for Muhammad and Abraham to continue to ask questions and seek after God. We believe God allowed our paths to cross for a reason and we want to be a light to them. 

3.) We found a language school and teacher! Pray for our minds to be sharp and open as we learn Russian!

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If you would like to become a partner with us as we AIM for the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI), there are various ways to give!

You will need our account number which is 435813.

You can call 636-229-7900 to make a donation over the phone.  

You can text "AMP24" to the number 71777 to give a one-time donation.

You can enroll online to become a PIM (Partner in Mission). The PIM can be set as an automatic withdraw or can be sent in physically each month. If you want to set it up as an automatic withdraw, make sure you make a note of that in the comments. Just click the button below to enroll!

You can mail a check to 36 Research Park Court Weldon Spring, Missouri 63304. It should be made out to Global Missions and memo'd to McBride AIM Account 435813.

Please note if you give money directly to us, we cannot issue you a tax-deductible receipt or give you Global Missions giving credit.

Click enroll as a PIM!

Spain Update

Testimony of a miracle 

Nate, a Chinese graduate student, attends a university outside of Barcelona. We met in my first Spanish-class and from time-to-time will meet and he will show me a new Chinese restaurant.  

Last fall Nate visited the church with a friend and fellow student. We stayed in touch, but the COVID mobility restrictions kept us from meeting.  

Then Sam received a text from Nate asking if Sam had seen his friend. She had been missing for two weeks, no one knew where she was, and she had not turned in her final exams. Sam has been praying for God to open a door with Nate, and in faith texted him, saying, “…we will pray and God will hear!” 

Twenty-three minutes later, Nate texted me back—they had found her after two weeks missing! Hallelujah! Nate’s reply was, “Oh Sam, I have to say, God heard, we found her.” Nate was in church that Sunday with another friend! He wanted to give thanks to “my God” for helping find his friend. We believe that very soon, Jesus will not just be “my God” but “his God”!  

A growing church 

Denys comes from Ukraine and has lived in Barcelona for five years by himself. He fled as a refugee shortly after the Russian invasion of Crimea. His family still lives there. 

He had come to several youth nights and we had a few Bible studies together explaining God’s beautiful plan of salvation. While he came from a Christian background, he rarely attended church. We encouraged him that it was time to take a step toward Jesus again.  

Our youth director preached a powerful message on repentance and water baptism in Jesus’ name. And when the opportunity to be baptized was presented, Denys raised his hand and stepped forward! It was the first time we saw a genuine look of joy on his face! Please continue to pray for Denys as continues his walk with Jesus.  

Others have been baptized in the last month, and the church is growing. Sam had the privilege of baptizing a mother and son pair, who were invited to church by a husband and wife, who themselves are new converts! God is saving families and the church is growing!  

Youth, family, and fun 

Our biweekly youth nights have provided a great opportunity for the youth to “gel” as a group and stay active in the work of the Lord.  

The youth nights provide a healthy outlet for socialization as well as physical place for fellowship. This is something that has been increasingly important (and difficult) during the ever-changing COVID measures. On several occasions teams of our youth have visited the new building location to help clean it in preparation of construction.  

Benaiah and Xander continue to enjoy every minute they get to spend with their English-speaking friends and fellow Missionary Kids. It is a joy to see them forming bonds and friendships with other children who love Jesus and who have had some of the same experiences as they have.   

Prayer requests 

• Continued revival and harvest in Spain.

• For guidance and direction as we begin to pray and fast over our next steps in the ministry of global missions. 

• That Benaiah and Xander would form positive friendships with their classmates and pick up the Spanish and Catalan languages quickly. 

• That the youth would adjust to and embrace the new ministries and new vision for 2021.