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. 
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​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.