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YHWH Is Good, and His lovingkindness is eternal! (2 Chronicles 5:13) I'm so, so amazed at the goodness of our Great God! I thank Him for the blessing of having been able to spend the holidays with my family and friends in the States, and I'm reminded of something Bradley (Pastor of Calvary Chapel Jerusalem) had told me before – when we serve The Lord in mission work, He'll provide in ways that will amaze us. What can I say? Brad was right, because God Is Faithful. May this be an encouragement to all of you reading this: if you are thinking about stepping out for Him and feel that He's calling you, trust Him! I'm amazed to be sitting on 'this side' as I write this, meaning that I am one blessed to be able to fully testify that God will provide for you. When I went to Bsln at the end of August, I had no idea that The Lord would bless me with the gift of being able to spend Christmas and New Year's with my family and friends in the U.S., but that's precisely the gift He gave! Praise be to God, The One Able to do way more than all we ask or can even think! And thanks to many of you that prayed and worked hard and gave to help bring me back to the U.S. for the great time of rest and joy. After spending a night in Moscow with Pastor Kevin Macken and his family, I arrived back in Bsln on Wednesday, Jan. 4th, and was met at the airport by my friend, Batik, and his father. They took me to their house, and true to Ossetian culture, Batik's mom made a meal – we talked for awhile, and then Sasha took me to our Wed. night fellowship. I rested on Thursday (not wanting to overwork myself and get sick again, especially after traveling and dealing with the time change), and also visited my friend Karina and her family and ate there. I went to a fellowship meeting at Batik's home that night, but was saddened as the night ended with a Benny Hinn video being put on – I opted to leave early. Please pray for God's help in this area... many believers here think highly of Benny, Kenneth Copeland, etc. - but I think it's mostly a case of ignorance... I don't know that people here truly know very much about such false teachers. Pray that our Lord will help me to share the truth in love; I believe many people could be helped if they simply knew more about what some of those teachers have said. Please also ask God to show me how to share with the saints of the huge open door that still remains here. At this point, I don't know that The Lord is calling me to continue serving here full time after this season of service ends (in about the middle of May), but I hope to put something together so the local believers themselves will continue reaching out... I fear that so many of the churches may be wrapped up in their own world and/or contending with one another, all the while missing the multitude of lost and hopeless people all around. But then again, isn't that our problem as a church, world-wide? On Friday the 6th, I went to visit a family that lost a husband/father in the school massacre; the mother and two little girls were still in Moscow, but I was able to talk with the grandmother (the mom's mom) for a short time. She told me that the girls still miss their father (we need to remember that what happened brings lifelong sorrows), and that one of the little girls (Diana) will be having another operation – perhaps in May. There are still people who need operations because of what they went through over a year ago. The Lord enabled me to share with the grandmother that God Is Faithful, and He saw everything that happened here – He will judge justly. The people of Bsln need to know that, because many here have been so hurt as they believe the government failed in their attempts to stop the terrorists, and are also covering up those who may be guilty within their own ranks. Our God Is both 100% Merciful, and 100% Just, and there is nothing that escapes from His sight. After returning to my apartment, there was a knock at the door - it was Mairbek, the 9-year-old boy that lives downstairs (he saw his mother killed in front of him during last year's terrorist attack). Mairbek was very happy to see me, praise God! I gave him 2 small 'I love Pittsburgh' coin pouches for him and his younger brother, and showed him some photos I'd brought back with me. It was amazing... there was a photo of 4 kids that survived the Beslan massacre, when they were in Jerusalem for medical examinations; Bradley, his wife Mariana, a volunteer named Andrea, and myself were blessed to go to the Jerusalem Zoo with them at that time. Mairbek saw the photo, saying that one of the boys was our neighbor! (More info below.) Mairbek also tried to again play some on the guitar, and then asked me to play. I later showed him the paper I had put together in Pittsburgh, with the photos of people that had died, representing the families we're touching. I was surprised how non-chalantly Mairbek seemed to look at the sheet, reading his mother's name and birth year out loud. He also saw Erik's photo (my landlord's younger brother who was killed in the school massacre by a Russian sniper), and said, 'My brother (cousin).' We went down to Mairbek’s apartment, and I visited with some of his family there. Another neighbor came over, also seeing the photo of the 4 Beslan kids, and then called over to their family so I could visit them - glory to YHWH! The neighbor and I went over and visited with their family; Ruslan, one of the boys that had been in Jerusalem, and his sister Madina survived the massacre. Ruslan was shot in his right elbow by a sniper as he fled the school last year, and he still can't straighten his arm. He has a protrusion about the size of a golf ball on the outer right-side of his elbow, and he says he has pain if he tries to carry something heavy. They went to see numerous doctors, but got too many conflicting opinions... many said 'maybe' surgery was needed, and didn't give a clear answer... some said surgery was necessary, and others said it wasn't. Ruslan also had shrapnel in his side, but it was removed and he has no problems now from it. He told me that he lost a lot of friends in the massacre. God blessed me to visit with him, his older brother and sister (and her friend), and his mother and father; their family is very warm, friendly, and hospitable. We spent a good amount of time together, talking, eating, and watching TV. I told the dad that it was a miracle that his kids survived, and he said, 'I/we thank God... He helped them.' I also later told Ruslan directly that he was a miracle. …just some glances into life and ministry here in Bsln. Thanks again for all your prayers and support – may your hearts rejoice as you read of your share in the work here. Glory and honor and thanks and praise be to Yah, our God! The LORD Is Faithful, jason jalazone7@yahoo.com
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