Missionaries - Nick & Rose Leonovich
July 3, 2008
Preach the Word (2 Timothy 4:2a)
Dear Friends,
It is a little over two weeks since we came back from Ukraine.
We flew to Kiev, Ukraine, on Wednesday, May 21st, and arrived at the Kieve Borispol Airport on Thrursday, May 22nd. We were up at 8:00am and after breakfast; we visited the staff at SGA’s Regional Ministry Center.
In the late afternoon, our Ukrainian director, Sergei Gladishko, took us to the railway station, where we boarded an overnight train (a 16 hour trip) to Svalyava, a city in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine. On Saturday morning, Pastor Ivan Ivanovich Kondor met us and took us directly to Velikie Luchki, where we participated in a one-day conference. Nick and I were asked to speak twice during that day.
On Sunday, May 25th, the Baptist Church of Svalyava celebrated its 10th anniversary. I had the privilege of bringing a message from God’s Word. When the invitation was given for those who wanted to receive Christ, 12 people raised their hands, but only 5 of them came forward to pray. The custom there is to put a microphone in front of the person who is praying and repenting, so that the whole congregation can hear and rejoice.
On Tuesday, May 27th, there was a special ladies’ conference in the Svalyava church. Ladies from other churches were invited, and Rose had the joy of sharing God’s Word with all of them.
On Saturday, May 31st, Nick had the privilege of addressing 87 graduates of the Irpen Biblical Seminary. Nick also participated in the prayers of blessing for the newly appointed rector of the Seminary.
We had a wonderful three-hour visit with the staff of Trans World Radio (TWR) in their Kiev studio on June 2nd. TWR will be celebrating their 50th anniversary of Russian Gospel broadcasting on August 1st of this year. It was Nick who began the Russian language broadcasting for TWR to the Soviet Union in 1958. In light of this historic event, Nick and Rose were interviewed for over two hours, recording the history and development of the Russian broadcasts through TWR to the USSR. We were involved in broadcasting to the USSR and then to those republics even after the break-up of the Soviet Union, for 33 years. This interview will be used in future broadcasts around August 1.
Our next ministry was in the Cherkassy area in the village of Hutary, where there is a high security prison. On Saturday morning, June 7th Nick spoke at a conference of Christian ex-convicts in this village. These men came to trust the Lord while in prison. Nick encouraged them to forget the past and keep pressing forward, following the Lord.
While in Cherkassy, we were the guests of Pastor Vadim Kurat, who is the pastor of the church, The House of the Gospel. His wife Vilia, is involved in developing the AWANA program throughout Ukraine. On Sunday, June 8th, Nick preached in Pastor Kurat’s church, and two people responded publicly to the invitation to receive Christ as their Savior. That evening a special ladies’ conference was organized at the church, where Rose gave the main message.
That same Sunday evening, while Rose was speaking at The House of the Gospel, Nick preached at another large church, Grace Baptist Church.
During the three weeks in Ukraine, we were involved in speaking (preaching) 13 times and in 11 different churches.
Thank you for your prayers and your financial support, thus making these ministry trips possible. We thank God for this team effort between you and us. May the Lord abundantly bless and reward you.
Your missionaries,
Nick and Rose
