Part 2 of a Siberian ministry trip report from Mikhail Zarovnyaev
At the beginning of the year, Mikhail and his wife,
January 30 – We received a request from the church to visit Marfa Olesova in the village of Syrdakh in the Ust’-Aldan district. We had already been to her home a month ago as we learned about her request for help (she has stage 4 lung cancer). At that time, we told her about God, sang hymns, and prayed. We also gave gifts to the children from the church, as well as the financial support collected by the church. She has eight children who listened very attentively. We gave them a New Testament in the Yakut language and a hymnbook.
But then, as we prayed for and planned a trip to Mokhsogollokh to participate in a baptism service, Ecclesiastes 7:2 came to my mind: “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting.” So instead, we decided to go to Syrdakh next, and the whole congregation prayed for Marfa’s repentance.
We started on our trip early in the morning on the route and arrived to the hospital in Syrdakh at lunchtime. They received us and showed us in to the ward where Marfa was staying. She was glad to see us. She was very weak, however she listened very well and even sang with us. We shared with her about Christ who rose from the dead and how to repent from her sins. Her daughter said that after we visited them in their home earlier, they started praying and reading the Bible together … and that their mother was repenting of her sins every day. We prayed to Jesus Christ about repentance together with Marfa. She prayed, and then I prayed for her. We rejoiced in the Lord.
After Marfa fell asleep, Ooruydana stayed in the ward to speak with Nastya, Marfa’s daughter. While they met, I went to other wards to tell other patients about God and to give out calendars and books. In one of the wards there were two men. One of them accepted a copy of the New Testament in Yakut and said he would read it.
I was also able to give out calendars to the hospital staff. A doctor asked me to come to her room and asked: “How do I get to heaven?” I was surprised and gladly started sharing with her about God and Jesus Christ. She listened very attentively and was encouraged by our conversation. She said that her grandmother was a believer and that she taught her to always do good to people and live a godly life. She gladly took a copy of the New Testament in Yakut and said, “I will read it. I do have a Bible in Russian but I could not understand it. I will gather all of my relatives, the young ones and will call you. Tell us about the salvation of soul. I want all of my relatives to be saved.” She invited us to another village in the Ust’-Aldan district.
When the man who I had earlier given a New Testament to came in, the doctor said, “Tell him!” To which I said, “I already did. I prayed for his surgery and the salvation of his soul.” Before we left we also prayed with Nastya, Marfa’s daughter. She eagerly repented of her sins in prayer.
Ooruydana used to work in this village, so as she went out of the hospital we went around the village and visited her colleagues in their homes. We told them about God. Then they took us to Borogontsy, and we stayed there overnight. As we came to Borogontsy, our relatives told us about an elderly woman who wanted to hear about God in the Yakut language. After supper, we went to see her. She received us very respectfully and listened to what we had to say about God, sin, and salvation. We sang songs of praise to God, and she sang along with us.
We are glad that we were able to make this trip and that Jesus was working through us. God is faithful in blessing those who listen to His Word and fulfill it. Amen! We thank the Lord for the salvation of souls! And we thank God for using us in His ministry!