Here are a few excerpts from Angela Baker's newsletter:
The Big Small Group
September kicked off the return of our small groups. The first month of my small group has seen and average of 20 people each Friday night! We have put people on every square inch of anything that even resembled a seat– exercise benches and balls included! It is very exciting to see such explosive growth and we are now working towards a plan on how to best divide the one group into three! We are working to maintain the warm, caring and informal environment in each of ours small group to allow us to delve deeper into God’s word and further develop our
relationships with one another.
Wednesday Night Small Group
Our Wednesday night group, which consists primarily of non-believers has also seen a good amount of growth with 10-15 people averaging attendance. The group is currently studying Ecclesiastes, which always proves to stimulate very interactive discussion among Russians– particularly non-believers. One of the exciting things with the Wednesday night small group is the excitement and initiative the participants themselves are taking. It thrills us to get phone call and emails from participants who were eager for small group to start back up and who do “homework”- that is what some of the none believers have taken to calling our application portion of the study.
Life on the Edge Seminar
At the end of this month we are bringing a small group of American businessmen and pastors over to participate in our Business Seminar "Life on the Edge: 5 Steps Away from Abyss" The theme of the breakfast is to share how prioritizing according to God’s principles can enable even the busiest professional or executive to achieve overall balance in life and work. Our keynote speakers will be Bob Forseman, Deputy Chairman of Renaissance Capital Investment and Mike Mellace, President Mellace Family Brands, Inc.
I have been very busy making all of the arrangements for this trip and for the seminar. It has been full of new and challenging experiences for me. The night before I left I was at a travel agency buying 18 train tickets. I booked the venue for the seminar, communicating solely in Russian and on my own! I will handle basically all of the details for the group once they arrives and until they leave a week later. In addition to my regular duties, this has kept me very busy, but it a great experience and I am very excited to see how God will use the seminar to impact the lives of those who attend! We are planning for 100 people to attend and appreciate your
prayers.
Chili Cookoff- Miracle Moment
Krysha will hold it’s Annual Chili Cook-Off next month. The Chili Cook-Off serves as one of our Momentum Building events, which provide us with a great opportunity to invite and develop relationships with non-Christians. Last year, while I didn’t win first place for my chili, I had the privilege of getting to know a young Frenchman who had come with his girlfriend, who is a Christian. She was a bit nervous to invite him, as he was an unabashed atheist, who had no patience for her “religious” stuff. Through the time he spent at the Cook-off and the time he spent in particular with a amazing Christian couple– his perception of Christians and “religion” was changed. We are praying that even more people will attend this year and that God will
again use it to draw people to Him.
New Roommate and Apartment
I moved into a new apartment three days after returning to Moscow in August. My new roommate, Aida, and the apartment have both been a great blessing. Aida is a volunteer with
Krysha and a good friend of mine. We have both enjoyed being able to use our apartment and our love of cooking to have a hospitality ministry by having people over for dinner about once a week.
The Big Small Group
September kicked off the return of our small groups. The first month of my small group has seen and average of 20 people each Friday night! We have put people on every square inch of anything that even resembled a seat– exercise benches and balls included! It is very exciting to see such explosive growth and we are now working towards a plan on how to best divide the one group into three! We are working to maintain the warm, caring and informal environment in each of ours small group to allow us to delve deeper into God’s word and further develop our
relationships with one another.
Wednesday Night Small Group
Our Wednesday night group, which consists primarily of non-believers has also seen a good amount of growth with 10-15 people averaging attendance. The group is currently studying Ecclesiastes, which always proves to stimulate very interactive discussion among Russians– particularly non-believers. One of the exciting things with the Wednesday night small group is the excitement and initiative the participants themselves are taking. It thrills us to get phone call and emails from participants who were eager for small group to start back up and who do “homework”- that is what some of the none believers have taken to calling our application portion of the study.
Life on the Edge Seminar
At the end of this month we are bringing a small group of American businessmen and pastors over to participate in our Business Seminar "Life on the Edge: 5 Steps Away from Abyss" The theme of the breakfast is to share how prioritizing according to God’s principles can enable even the busiest professional or executive to achieve overall balance in life and work. Our keynote speakers will be Bob Forseman, Deputy Chairman of Renaissance Capital Investment and Mike Mellace, President Mellace Family Brands, Inc.
I have been very busy making all of the arrangements for this trip and for the seminar. It has been full of new and challenging experiences for me. The night before I left I was at a travel agency buying 18 train tickets. I booked the venue for the seminar, communicating solely in Russian and on my own! I will handle basically all of the details for the group once they arrives and until they leave a week later. In addition to my regular duties, this has kept me very busy, but it a great experience and I am very excited to see how God will use the seminar to impact the lives of those who attend! We are planning for 100 people to attend and appreciate your
prayers.
Chili Cookoff- Miracle Moment
Krysha will hold it’s Annual Chili Cook-Off next month. The Chili Cook-Off serves as one of our Momentum Building events, which provide us with a great opportunity to invite and develop relationships with non-Christians. Last year, while I didn’t win first place for my chili, I had the privilege of getting to know a young Frenchman who had come with his girlfriend, who is a Christian. She was a bit nervous to invite him, as he was an unabashed atheist, who had no patience for her “religious” stuff. Through the time he spent at the Cook-off and the time he spent in particular with a amazing Christian couple– his perception of Christians and “religion” was changed. We are praying that even more people will attend this year and that God will
again use it to draw people to Him.
New Roommate and Apartment
I moved into a new apartment three days after returning to Moscow in August. My new roommate, Aida, and the apartment have both been a great blessing. Aida is a volunteer with
Krysha and a good friend of mine. We have both enjoyed being able to use our apartment and our love of cooking to have a hospitality ministry by having people over for dinner about once a week.
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