I can’t help but look back with amazement at just how quickly 2020 has gone by.
The year 2020 started out full of hope. It’s ending with a crisis of hope. The headline in a recent Wall Street Journal echoes the cry of millions of hurting hearts: “Finding Hope When Everything Feels Hopeless.”
“Hopeless” is more than a headline. It’s the scary reality so many people are living in. And this is a moment like no other to bring the hope of Jesus to as many hurting hearts as we can!
Christmas Joy is Knowing You are Loved!
I love the way Romans 15:13 describes this hope: “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with CONFIDENT HOPE through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
We are getting ready for our Christmas Project Hope outreach to children and preparing for another New Year. Across the lands of post Soviet countries, December and January are the most important evangelistic times of the year.
No child should be forgotten at Christmas. As you read this, Russian Missions will be preparing our Christmas Hope Project to distribute holiday gifts to the needy children in Russia. Russian Missions focuses on unique ways to bless groups normally overlooked during the holidays. From hot meals to warm coats to Bibles, every gift meets a critical need for children and families living in difficult and sometimes desperate situations.
These gifts are delivered to the far comers of Russia by our caring missionaries who take every opportunity possible to share the Good News of the greatest gift of all time—the Lord Jesus Christ. Every year, thousands of men, women, boys and girls come to faith in Christ as they hear the message of eternal salvation through our ministry projects. As I think of all the suffering people in Russia, I am reminded of our Lord’s words: “In as much as you did it to one of the least of these…you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40).
What better way to express our love for Him this Christmas than to feed the hungry, care for the sick, and minister to the poor? For at least 700,000 orphans and 3 million street children in Russia, Christmas will be bleak without someone to care. A Christmas care package can make all the difference to a forgotten child such as Anya, who received a Russian Missions care package last year.
Dear Vitali, My name is Anya. I am a student at the boarding house/orphanage. I am 10 years old. I do not know whether my letter will reach you or not, but I decided to write you anyway because I do not have anyone else to write to. My mama gave me up because she drinks vodka and gets drunk every day. I have never had a papa. I want to say thank you for the doll and other toys which you gave to me at Christmas. I like them very much and I sleep with the doll. Every evening the other girls and I read the picture Bible. Now I believe that Jesus can help my mama, whom I love very much and am waiting to see. I want her to learn about Christ. Please come see us and bring my mama a Bible.
This is not a time to keep our hope to ourselves!
Thank you for being an agent of hope to lost hearts in this season when Hope came to a manger-to go to a cross. For us. And for them.
Pastor Vitali Yuchkovski
Give the gift of hope to an orphan today! Simply click Here to Help!
Russian Christmas is on January 7th!
Why is Christmas In Russia on January 7th ?
In accordance with the old Julian calendar, Russians celebrate Christmas on January 7. ‑ thirteen days after our western Christmas.In ancient times, many methods had been used to calculate the calendar according to either the lunar or solar cycles.
By Roman times, the calendar had become three months out of sync with the seasons, so in 46 BC, Julius Caesar commissioned the astronomer, Sosigenes to devise a more reliable method.
This, we know as the Julian calendar. However, this calendar was still 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the solar years, so that by the year 1580 the calendar had accrued 10 days.In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII corrected the difference between the sun and the calendar by proclamation he declared that October 5 was to be October 15.
The Gregorian calendar was born. However, Russia did not accept this new Gregorian calendar, which is used in almost all of the world today.
So, January 7th by the Gregorian calendar would be December 25th by the old Julian calendar and is why January 7 is Christmas Day for the Russian people.
Give the gift of hope to an orphan today! Simply click Here to Help!