 In spite of the milder winter weather, temperatures dip below freezing at night and the homeless flock to the state-run homeless center for shelter and medical care. Last week Sasha, who faithfully cleans and bandages the wounds of the homeless, sent us these photos with a note that he is out of bandages and medicines. Would you be willing to donate the cost of few cups of Starbucks coffee each month so that Sasha can buy the needed supplies?
In the photo, you can see thousands upon thousands of Muslims gathering for worship. There are four mosques in Moscow and the city has become the largest Muslim center in Europe.  The majority of these people come to Moscow as migrants, hoping to find work to support their families back home. Living in Moscow is expensive and migrants take low-paying jobs and cram into small apartments, making it necessary to sleep in shifts. They are looked down on, persecuted, robbed, and beaten. The deeper you look into their situations, the worse it gets. Women are forced into prostitution and laborers work in poorly maintained factories where they end up dying in burning buildings. Agape has provided compassionate medical care to the migrant Kyrgyz people group in and around Moscow for many years. In December 2019, our Agape staff and friends of Agape had a wonderful meeting with migrant Kyrgyz Christians, as well as some nonbelievers. Can you imagine what it felt like for them to be surrounded by loving arms and welcoming smiles instead of the hostile, unsafe environment in which they live?  A Kyrgyz medical doctor who works at our clinic has been strategically involved in providing medical and spiritual care to these migrants. Agape invested in Dr. Z.'s development as a Family Practice doctor for more than 3 years. Thank you to those who gave so we could send her to get more medical training. Now she is fully equipped to “make disciples” through her profession as a family practice doctor (Matthew 28:19-20).
In an interview, Dr. Z. said, “In my culture, it is a special tradition to sit around a table to drink tea together. When unbelievers come, they are not against talking about God and praying. Lot of them start to believe in God. “I stand on the position that faith and prayer contribute to recovery. In my practice, I experience the power of prayer many times and always see positive results in the patient.” Hearts are softened when they experience God’s love and many turn to Christ.  Signs of Revival in Siberia!
Incarceration is a dead-end road. Prisons in Russia are not like those in the U.S. Instead of rehabilitation, inmates are victims of violence. The atrocities that happen in Russian prisons is hell on earth. Without a relationship with Jesus Christ, inmates have no future and are lost for eternity. Last Fall, Agape sent 230 pairs of eyeglasses, New Testaments, and gospel bracelets to a pastor who has a heart for prisoners in Siberia. A former prisoner himself, he regularly visits 17 prisons which is around 15,000 people. He holds Bible studies, provides personal counselling, and group meetings in the prisons system. In our October E-Flash we asked you to pray for him. Thank you for your prayers! During two prison visits last month, he fit eyeglasses and shared the Gospel with the prisoners and 134 inmates gave their lives to Christ! Now they can read their Bibles with their new eyeglasses! Instead of spiritual darkness, they are beginning to live in the light.  We rented a bus in Moscow and decided to invite the homeless and migrants to our party. GREAT IDEA! We filled the bus and the house! Many new people, both believers and non-believers, came to the farm for the first time and learned about the birth of Jesus from an Asian pastor. Some decided to “be involved” with Agape Russia and signed up to receive the Russian language E-Flash
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