​This patient is homeless. Temporarily, he is sleeping in the basement of a rehab building. Agape medical staff are treating his wounds and will do follow up care.

For most of us, life as we knew it last year has most certainly changed. Face to face meetings have changed to Zoom calls. School from kindergarten to college has changed. Everything from grocery store runs to commercial airline travel has changed. Yet, some things never change. People still need Jesus and medical care. Agape is in a unique position to continue sharing God’s love through compassionate medical care to an ever changing, ever uncertain world. Please continue to uplift the Agape Clinic as we adapt to new rules and regulations and for our Telemedical program that reaches patients in the remote parts of eastern Siberia. Despite setbacks, we are continuing to share the Good News about Jesus! 
 
Praises: 
Our Live & Learn program at the Agape Farm now has a core group 6 Russians who all speak some English. This group will help plan 3-day (and occasionally 10-day) Live & Learn programs. Dr. Bill and Pat are overseeing this Live & Learn project and already the Russians came forward with an idea for our first 3-day seminar to be held in mid-September for pregnant orphans and single moms with babies and young children.  
 
Please pray… 
 
Medical Center Agape: 

• For Agape staff as they provide consultations through our online medical ministry. 
• Ask God to provide financial partners the homeless ministry in Moscow.
• Uplift the financial stability of our Moscow clinic and the whole Agape ministry during this time of uncertainty and pandemic vulnerability.

 
Agape Leadership and Staff: 

• For healing of our receptionist's 18-year-old nephew Ilya from hip osteomyelitis. He has had difficulty getting adequate medical treatment.
• For the Lord's protection for all Agape people in Russia, in the US, Canada, Europe and other countries and for the protection of their loved ones during the continued COVID19 pandemic.

 
Agape Farm:

• Uplift the young moms attending our Live & Learn seminar, that they come to understand God’s plan for families. Some unmarried partners or husbands may also attend. Please pray for Larissa, the leader of this program, and for unity within our core group – this is a learning experience for all of us.
• Please pray for Russian laborers who will “be involved” in future “Live & Learn” programs, and also for donors who will support the project financially. 

 
Requests from our Supporters and Colleagues in Ministry

• For the discipleship program at Freedom Fellowship Church in Hillsboro, Ohio: to multiply, by God’s leading, Christ-like disciples who will train other faithful, growing Christians with the goal of always training the next generation of disciples.  
• Please uplift Edward G., a head Bishop over a Christian denomination in Russia. In a pending court case, the Bishop is being accused of violating the new missionary law. This is very serious. If the prosecutor wins this case, the next step will be to accuse the church of extremism. The believers in Russia are fasting and praying for God's favor and protection.

News Flash!  Good news! We just learned that yesterday the judge ruled in favor of Pastor Edward G. Praise God! The case is closed. Please pray that the doors will remain open for sharing the Gospel in Russia, and that multitudes of people would receive Christ as their Savior. Thank you!
 
Thank you for joining us in praying for these needs.
 
Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.”
--Jeremiah 29:12 

Pray without ceasing ... for our community clinics for Africans!

Weekly Prayer Needs:

• For LABORERS, especially Russians, to come alongside Agape as volunteers at this community clinic.
• That medical staff have protection and wisdom in working with this population.
• That those women caught in prostitution find a safe way out.
• For the opportunity to address the spiritual needs of the people who come to this clinic.

Other Prayer Concerns:

• That people who believe God has called them to serve with Agape's ministry will have the courage to take a next step. Faith works "if" you act on it.
• The Agape Farm: for reliable workers and for equipment to stay in good working-order during the harvest season; for bountiful hay and fresh produce harvests this summer and fall.
• For good weather during our Family Day - Hallelulia Festival and other outdoor events.

​Challenges:
African migrants are another vulnerable population brought to Russia or they come as students hoping for a less expensive education. They also suffer perse­cution, beatings, deplorable living conditions, and have no access to the Russian health care system or social services. Single women get caught in prostitution or end up on the streets pregnant. Our Agape staff serve at a "free" clinic for Africans and address their medical needs and help them find needed resources such as safe housing. 

                   Distributing Health Kits and food to Migrants at MCA

Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Please rest assured that our Russia Agape missionaries and staff are praying for you, our supporters and prayer partners, during these difficult times. It is during trials that we realize just how firm a foundation our Almighty God is! Medical Center Agape is still open and treating patients daily with compassionate medical care. We appreciate every prayer lifted up on our behalf as we press on sharing the Love of God at every single opportunity given.
Praises

• For God’s gift of life. Pat M (Agape staff) celebrated her 80th birthday last week.
• For the good health of our medical staff during this critical coronavirus period, especially for Dr. Dimitry, Nadia and Sergey's son, who is serving at a state clinic where risk of catching the virus is high.

PRAYER MATTERS: Please pray…
Agape Staff

• Intercede for all medical staff in Moscow who are still working at the Medical Center Agape with sick people every day; pray also for their patients.
• For Pat M., ask for God’s peace and love to fill her soul. Her daughter died recently after a long battle with multiple health issues. Also ask for wisdom and peace for her surviving two daughters during this difficult time.
• Pray for the Lord’s protection for all Agape ministry staff and their families. Ask God to provide many opportunities to share the love of Jesus during this time.

Moscow Outreach

• Uplift the thousands of migrants struggling in Moscow. Pray for the pastor and Agape staff that are working to meet the many needs of these struggling people during this pandemic. Ask the Lord for the protection of this ministry, the pastor, and his family.
• Intercede for the homeless of Moscow. As reported in the recent E-Flash: “Our medical aid to the homeless at the state-run shelter is functioning 1 day per week and the African Community Clinic has been discontinued for the duration of the isolation as mandated by authorities.”

Agape Farm

• Currently the roads are being monitored in Moscow and in rural areas to make people stay home. Please pray for the safety of all children, their families and others who are isolated at the Farm but still need to go out for groceries.  

Live & Learn Program

• Please pray for Olessya, our resident orphan. Dr. Bill is teaching her to drive.  She is doing well but needs encouragement and more self-esteem.

Those vulnerable to the Coronavirus

• Pray that this pandemic will encourage many people to think about their relationship with God and draw closer to Him; pray unbelievers will cry out to God with repentant hearts.
• Pray for our supporters and their loved ones, that they remain in good health and that they find ways to share God’s love with others.
• Pray for one of our U.S. colleagues who partners with us in Medical Education projects. She lost two siblings to the coronavirus. Pray also for her other family members.

Thank you for your prayers and continued financial support. Your monthly gifts will help to sustain us during this critical time. 
​

​Moscow’s indefinite coronavirus lockdown has left the city’s vulnerable homeless population with an impossible choice — find shelter or risk paying steep fines, while facing the danger of becoming infected with a potentially deadly disease.  

In many European countries, where the coronavirus has hit hard, spaces including hotels, office buildings and gymnasiums have been converted into isolation shelters for the homeless. No such measures have been taken in Russia, where anti-homeless stigma is strong — and with parks, shopping centers and train stations closed and volunteers staying home, Moscow’s homeless have few options for finding shelter and basic necessities.

“The homeless have no way to self-isolate,” Daria Baybakova, the head of the Moscow branch of the Nochlezhka NGO, which operates a network of shelters in St. Petersburg and the capital, told The Moscow Times. 

Official statistics for Russia’s homeless population are patchy, with data from the most recent census in 2010 placing the number of people living on the streets nationwide at 65,000. Nochlezhka — or “Overnight Stay” — says the number is closer to 1 million, with the number of homeless in Moscow alone at about 80,000.

That number has only increased since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, Baybakova said, and there are far too few places in shelters to accommodate them all.

The spread of Islam is rampant in Russia.  Tens of thousands gather to worship in the center of Moscow which is now the largest Muslim city in Europe. 
 
Russia has 4 million migrants, many living in Moscow. The country's migration policy includes plans to attract up to 10 million migrants to offset the country's declining population. They flood into Russia through scams and the promise of well-paying jobs, hoping to support their families back home. They often live in crowded conditions, twenty people in a two-bedroom apartment which means they have to sleep in shifts. Often, they have no official documents needed to receive health care or social services. Many end up homeless and die on the streets.
 
Weekly Prayer Needs:
 

• For funds to hold "free" clinics for Moscow's Central Asian, mostly Muslin, population. This could potentially result in a huge harvest for God's kingdom.
• For ministry partners to bring financial stability to our existing community services that reach the destitute with the love of God. The Central Asian population is one of the most vulnerable. They are often subject to prejudice, scams, beatings, and live in deplorable conditions.
• For funds to purchase needed medicines, health kits, and eyeglasses for this community clinic.
• For protection and wisdom for our Agape staff who work with this population.