Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. — Romans 12:14-15
Dear Pastors and Other Partners in the Gospel,
Greetings in the glorious name of Christ Jesus our Lord!
Our precious brothers and sisters in the Russian Republic of North Ossetia spent seventy years blessing those who were persecuting them. We prayed for them and the Lord kept them true to Him unto death. Thank you for praying for our 244 Christian brothers and sisters who are members of the Baptist Church in Beslan. Thank you for weeping with these dear people who have so very much to weep about. And thank you for your support of the ministries that are underway to comfort the grieving and, Lord willing, see many of the hurting non-believers repent of their sin and trust in Him for their salvation.
On September 3rd the terrorists struck Beslan School No. 1 and inflicted evil beyond comprehension upon 1,200 hostages including innocent children, parents, teachers and school administrators and staff. The official number who perished numbered 338, but only 207 bodies were identifiable, including 105 children. 340 injured victims remain hospitalized in regional North Ossetian hospitals, in Rostov-on-Don, and in Moscow.
Among the hostages taken were 33 children who attend Sunday School at the Beslan Baptist Church located just down the street from the besieged school. Along with them was one of the Sunday School teachers, 36 year old, Dzera Sidakova, who perished in the fire-storm that ensued. Eight of these precious Sunday School children perished with their teacher, seven of the children are still missing and presumed among the unidentifiable bodies, six of the children are injured and three of them severely. This leaves twelve children who somehow in the Lord's providence managed to survive the explosions, fires, bullets, dehydration, and unimaginable trauma.
According to their condition, I have listed all their names and ages below. Pastors and Sunday teachers, you may want to publish these names in your bulletins or even assign them to similar-aged Sunday classes for prayer.
Arsoeva, Sofia - 14 years old
Badoev, Totpaz - 7 years old
Sidakov, Zaur - 9 years old
Totieva, Larisa - 14 years old
Totieva, Alina - 10 years old
Totiev, Boris - 8 years old
Totieva, Dzera - 14 years old
Bitsiev, Zaur - 8 years old
Bolotaeva, Elvira - 13 years old
Valigazova, Stela - 12 years old
Guldaeva, Alesya - 12 years old
Dzhioev Artur - 8 years old
Dzahova, Sabina - 12 years old
Totieva, Luba - 12 years old
Totieva, Anna - 8 years old
Guldaeva, Alina - 11 years old
Dashiev, Albert - 13 years old
Totiev, Azamat - 12 years old
Hadikova, Zalina - 14 years old
Hadikov, Chermen - 12 years old
Kadzieva, Larisa - 14 years old
Betiev, Soslan - 13 years old
Valigazov, Georg - 10 years old
Dzhioeva, Katya - 8 years old
Dzhioev Marick - 7 years old
Dzagoeva, Tamara - 14 years old
Dzagoev, Vanno - 10 years old
Dzaragasova, Agunda - 9 years old
Dzaragasov, Kazik - 16 years old
Kubalova, Diana - 14 years old
Aylarov, David - 8 years old
Komaev, Ahshar - 14 years old
Totieva, Madina - 13 years old
Pastor/church planter Sergei Totiev and his wife, Bella, are sponsored by the Kodiak Bible Chapel in Kodiak, Alaska. They lost their 8 year old daughter, Anna, their 12 year old son, Azamat, lost one eye and both eardrums were burst. Their other child is still missing. Sergei's brother, Teimuraz is also a pastor. He and his wife, Raya, have lost four of their five children. Only 13 year old Madina is counted among the survivors.
The Beslan Church members have begun visiting the homes of the families who lost children. Their goal is to visit every home in Beslan that was affected by the crisis. They are expressing their love, sharing the Gospel, and praying for each family. They are also giving each family a Bible or New Testament, and children's Bibles, as appropriate, as well as a modest present to each grieving family. Funds that we advanced initially are helping them get this started but will soon run out. Those who wish to contribute to the Beslan School Victim Assistance Fund may do so on-line.
On Monday we will begin translation of Dr. John MacArthur's excellent book written for grieving parents, "Safe in the Arms of God." At the Beslan Church on Saturday, September 25, a youth conference will be lead by SGA-sponsored Eugene Bakhmutsky, the UECB leader of youth ministry for all of Russia. His goal is to help the young people deal with the tragedy and equip them to minister to others. A leadership training conference has been scheduled for October 21-23 for the purpose of training some 300 pastors, deacons and Sunday School teachers from the eleven UECB churches in the Republic of North Ossetia. They will be taught how to use God's Word to be effective counselors of those who are grieving the loss of loved ones. Please pray for funds for the books, and for both conferences.
Plans are also underway to schedule assembly sessions in all the public schools of North Ossetia, beginning with the eight remaining schools in Beslan. The goal is to seize the opportunity to minister to all the children in all the schools and give them all a New Testament and a children's Bible, both in the Ossetian language. The Ossetian New Testament costs $5.00 each and we expect the children's Bibles to cost the same. 20,000 copies of each are needed. Please also add this to your prayer list.
As you can see, much is already underway. Our brothers and sisters there, many of them are grieving the loss of their own children, are busy seizing the tremendous opportunities for ministry that accompany a catastrophic event.
Please be in much prayer as I have requested throughout this update. Thank you in advance for your prayers and support.
In His love and service,
Bob Provost