Great is our LORD and greatly to be Praised! Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support that have enabled me to come and minister the LORD'S grace and truth here in Russia. The LORD has provided, guided and blessed our ministry here during the last few weeks. It is hard to believe that I have been here almost three weeks already, but I am greatly looking forward to coming home again. Only 1 week of ministry left.

During the past week I had the opportunity of sharing with about 25 mostly women and children, and a few youth, who were not yet believers but who were seekers. I shared a series on CHRIST, kind of a mini series of what I shared with our congregation this winter; and then I shared on the importance of a Christian family and the LORD'S teaching on marriage and the family. They were very thankful for the messages and teaching and as a result many expressed a desire to commit themselves to follow CHRIST and planned on attending the local congregations here, which are very small. The pastors are hoping to be able to begin a Sunday School and youth ministry as a result of the Bible Camp. This is the first time the people here have had this kind of Bible camp, and they are all hoping that we will hold one again next year. Please pray that when they return to their homes, and go back to their routines that they will remember the truths that they learned at camp and will continue to grow in the LORD'S grace and knowledge.

I will be preaching in a Pentecostal church here in Penza this Sunday morning, which is Saturday evening for you. There is an 11-hour time difference between here and Vernon. Our last Bible camp will be about 50 km from here this coming week. Penza is really a unique city of a few hundred thousand people, just 700 km southeast of Moscow. The city has adopted as its official symbol a picture of CHRIST, and the churches seem to have a greater evangelistic emphasis here, than I have noticed in other cities. I will be preaching from Isaiah 55 tomorrow and encouraging them to know the LORD and to be His servants and invite others here in Russia to repentance and faith.

Pastor Alexei has really prepared well for the camp. With the financial support I was able to send, because of your support and others, he has purchased 25  2–3 man tents, sleeping bags and mats, a huge tarp to put up as a meeting place, chairs and tables, sports equipment, a power generator, a gas stove for cooking, etc. There will be four people hauling all of the equipment up tomorrow and setting everything up so that when we arrive Monday afternoon, everything will be ready to go. I am excited to be able to share with 50 or so youth and young adults that are coming to this camp from Penza and surrounding communities. Again I will be preaching a series on CHRIST in the evenings and teaching on the Christian family in the mornings.

They will also have morning discussion times in small groups dealing with the Scriptural teachings that I share. I am praying that the LORD would speak His Word to the hearts and minds of these young people through me this week, that I would be a channel for His grace and truth to flow to them.

I praise the LORD that He is able to use someone as weak as I am to be able to minister to the people here in Russia in His Name. His grace is made perfect in our weakness, and the less we rely on ourselves and the more we rely on Him, the greater He is able to use us. I am a slow learner, but I am learning that the key to ministry is to rely upon Him and not on myself. Thank you again for your prayers! Please pray for the LORD'S SPIRIT to fill me to overflowing with His grace and truth as I minister to these young people at these very literal "tent meetings" in the wilderness this week.