New Web Site

To read our newsletters, receive daily prayer requests, view pictures, take virtual prayer walks, learn about partnership missions in Kamchatka, and other information concerning Kamchatka please check out our web site at www.kamchatkaforchrist.com

Thanks for holding the rope!
The Roberts,
Marty, Suzanne, Lee and Emma Grace

May Prayer Calendar

Please join us in daily, specific prayer for the peoples of Kamchatka throughout the month of May.

The Month of Prayer for Kamchatka
May 2010



2 New Churches
Currently, there are 2 Baptist churches and 1 new church plant in Petropavlovsk (PK). We’d love to see the number double annually. Please pray that new churches with an intense love for God and a vision for seeing Kamchatka come to Christ will be planted in each of the 31 districts in the city.

3 North Horizon
Pray for this small group to:
*develop into a church

*leadership to rise

*start a new group this year

4 The Fields
Less that ½ of 1% of the population of PK have a genuine relation-ship with Jesus. Please pray that this will change and many will come to know him.
Jesus said “Look!! The fields are white for harvest!”

5 Emmanuel
Emmanuel is the key church plant in PK which is serving as the model for more churches. Ask the Lord to allow the roots of this church to grow deep in Him resulting in much fruit that lasts!

6 Good News
Good News is the oldest Baptist church in Kam-chatka celebrating over 40 years. Pray that they will catch a vision that goes beyond themselves and participate in reaching the peoples of Kamchatka for Christ.

7 AZS
There are several new believers in the AZS district. Please pray that a BS group will form that will lead to a new church in this district this year!

8 Goodwill
Currently, all avenues of long term residence have been adamantly denied revealing a staunch resistance to our presence. Pray for people of goodwill to be placed in the government positions that have influence over our lives in Kamchatka.


9 Natives of Kamchatka
Please pray for the salvation of the Natives of Kamchatka—the Eveni, the Koryak, and the Chukchi. Please pray for the gospel to spread to villages inaccessible by road and isolated by distances.

10 Mil’kovo
The church in Mil’kovo is with-out a pastor but has 6 faithful ladies who continue to meet regularly. Pray that the Lord will raise up leadership. Pray for strength and encouragement for the women there.

11 Esso
Pray for the new church plant (the Way to the Source church) in Esso that they will grow spiritually and multiply.

12 Village K
Pray for the church in Village K that they will thrive and grow spiritually in the midst of the harsh climate and isolation.

13 “A” Village without a church
*95% native
*Animistic/
Shamanistic
Pray for:
*dreams & visions among the people
*the North American Native mission team ministering to this village in August that they will reap a great Harvest!

14 Villages S, Sh, L, Al, R
Pray for wisdom and vision for these villages with no churches and with no laborers working for the sake of Christ.

15 Camps
Please pray for the summer youth and adult camps and other projects engaging in evangelistic activities. Pray that villages will be open and responsive.


16 Sasha & Tanya
Pray for Sasha as he leads Emmanuel church, trains Russian leaders, and supply preaches—all in addition to working full-time. Pray for Sasha and Tanya that God will give them full health and wisdom in ministry and family.

17 Future Leaders
Please pray for these future church leaders in Kamchatka:
*Yuri
*Misha
-*Igor
*Dennis
*Sasha
*Sergei

18 Putnams
Pray for the Putnam family that they will experience His grace as they lead in church planting and leadership training in the city. Pray for strength as they renew visas every 90 days.

19 Roberts
The Roberts finish their first term on the field in October. Pray that God will give them a fruitful first summer in Esso and that they will finish well.

20 Valodya and Nadezheda
As Valodya seeks to lead the Good News church, please pray for an increasing love for God in his heart, a clear under-standing of the Word, and the ability to com-municate the Word clearly to the church.

21 Zhenya and Sveta
Please for this couple as they lead Way to the Source Church in Esso. May God grant wisdom, strength and perseverance as they:
*raise 3 kids
*he works 2 jobs
*desire to plant
churches across
Kamchatka.

22 WANTED
Wanted: Volunteers and Full-Time laborers

Ask the Lord to send laborers into the fields of Kamchatka to help with:
*evangelism
*logistic coord.
*church planting
*church camps
*construction
*leadership training


23 Volunteer Teams
The first of 2010 volunteer teams will arrive this week. Teams will come and depart throughout the year. Please pray for quick adjustment to the time and culture. Please pray for safety and a spiritual harvest as they travel around the city and villages engaging in evangelism and Bible distribution.

24 Appointments
We are looking for open hearts and open homes. Please pray for divine appoint-ments with people who are ready to be saved and willing to open their apartments and homes in the city and villages to study the Bible.

25 Translators
Please pray that the translators that will be helping our teams will accurately communicate the gospel and will be faithful in serving in this role.

26 Weather
Ask the Lord to provide nice sunny days that will bring lots of people outside while the volunteer teams are here.

27 No Trouble
Ask the Lord to shield and protect the volunteer teams from any trouble from local opposition.

28The Multitudes
Please pray that God will save the multitudes! Please pray that churches will be planted across Kamchatka and many strong followers of Christ will emerge!

29 The Continued Vision
Please pray for:
*volunteers to spread the vision of world missions
*a prompt and precise follow-up to newly found contacts
*A thriving, multiplying church in every district in the city and every village in Kamchatka!

Thanks for holding the rope!

February & March 2010

Matthew 9: 37-38 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.

Here is another great way you can help send laborers into His harvest in Kamchatka.

Joel Strahan, former pastor of Ingram Baptist Church and now singer, songwriter, missionary has written 10 songs that are being released this month. While in the states I obtained a copy of the CD from Joel and it is an awesome CD. Listening to the CD will challenge you through song and worship to “GO”, pray for God “To Stir These Waters” and for the Church to “Arise.” If you like contemporary style Christian Music you will be very pleased with this CD. Now, here is the great part. All the proceeds from this new album will be used to send teams to Kamchatka. Here is some information from Joel about the CD:

Hey Guys,
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am ordering a batch of CD's that will be here in two weeks. If you would like a CD, please go to the following link to reserve your copy. This will help me know how many we need initially. Remember, the profits from the CD sales are used to send short-term mission teams to Kamchatka, Russia. The first team leaves on July 8. If you reserve a copy through this website, you will get your CD for $12 (12% discount). http://www.thenowweekly.com/reserve-a-cd.html
The following link will give you a short overview of the songs on the CD if you haven't already heard them: http://presskit.weebly.com
Thanks,
Joel

Family: WOW….I am writing a newsletter that covers February and March. In February we traveled to the states for visa renewal and some vacation time. It was great to see our family and friends despite having the H1N1 virus, better known as swine flu. I guess the Lord knew I (Marty) needed some rest and the only way I would slow down was to put me to bed. Lee also had a smaller case of the virus and Suzanne was sick on the return trip and is just now reaching full recovery. Thanks for praying for our health.

We were very excited to be able to speak in 11 different locations about what God is doing in Kamchatka. A very special thanks to all the churches who hosted us, to all the people who came to our aid, offering vehicles, gifts, attending birthday parties and joining us as new prayer partners for Kamchatka. We are truly blessed to have faithful “Rope Holders” like you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
We returned to Kamchatka almost running…in fact we had to run through every airport and missed a flight on the trip to the USA and also on the return trip due to weather and late planes. We are very thankful to be back in Esso and as soon as we returned we had ministry opportunities awaiting us.

Ministry Opportunities: Once we landed in PK and spent one night there with the Putnam’s we made the drive to the village and got our registration processed the next day. We arrived in the village on Monday and Saturday made a 150 mile drive to the village of Milkovo to join Team PK and Emmanuel Church in an evangelism project. While in Milkovo Mesha, the young man being baptized that many of you saw on the slide show while we were in the states, led his first person to the Lord on the streets of Milkovo. Praise the Lord! ONE + WON = MULTIPLICATION.

Here are a few stats from the Milkovo project.
Total
Total People Engaged 69
Received Bible – for the first time. 32
Heard Full Gospel Presentation 31
Accepted Christ 3
Blow Offs – would not listen. 16

We joined the Church in Milkovo for Sunday services and had a great time of worship. After the service many of the church members went back out on the streets with us to experience street evangelism first hand. By the close of the evening Sasha had gone back to the church and trained many of the people in evangelism. Pray for this church as they seek a pastor. Pray also they will continue to reach out to the people in Milkovo with the Gospel Message.

We left Milkovo on Sunday evening and made the drive back to the village. Early Monday morning we began to prepare for the Spring Camp in Esso. The teens from Village “A” arrived in Esso on Monday evening. One of our prayer requests has been for God to open a door of ministry to us in Village “A.” There is currently no church in that village. Seven of the native teens in that village contacted Zhenya and wanted to have camp in Esso during spring break. We went to work to make it happen. The Putnam family made the drive to the village to help us with this camp. There were seven great youth who came and attended the camp. We built relationships with them throughout the week and on Thursday night four of them gave their lives to Christ. Praise the Lord! How great is our God! We took the teen’s home on Saturday and they called us on Sunday still excited about camp. We are seeking a place and time to start meeting with them soon. Pray for the new believers as they return to their village to face many obstacles that could hinder their faith. Pray for open doors as we attempt to pursue opportunities in that village.

I, Marty, am writing this newsletter late Sunday night March 28, 2010. On Monday the 29th I will leave the village again and drive to PK to catch a flight to Vladivostok on Tuesday. I will be in Vladivostok for a week attending a team strategy leader training meeting. We will have one day focused on ministry to engage people on the streets of Vladivostok. Pray for open hearts to hear the Gospel, an effective meeting, safe travel, and for my family while I am away.

Language: As some of the “old timers” use to say, “We just keep plugging along.” Suzanne and Marty study with a tutor 3 hours a day, 3 times a week. Our tutor has also started staying late and helping Lee and Emma for an additional 30 minutes each day. While in the states, we purchased several new Russian workbooks that we believe will strengthen our language abilities. Pray for us as we continue to study language.

School: Once we returned to Esso Lee and Emma buckled down once again and even studied on Saturday and Sunday before camp so that they could be servants. Lee did an awesome job leading music, playing the guitar and sharing time day and night with the campers. Emma also served helping with scrapbooking, cooking, cleaning and just being the smiling, laughing, servant hearted child that she is.

Lee’s favorite subject is guitar and geography. Emma has a love for science and history. She loves turning our kitchen into a science lab. Pray for them as they study. Suzanne has the remainder of the year scheduled and the kids are anxious to finish school so that they can be fully involved with the mission teams that will be coming to Kamchatka this summer.

Prayer Request:
If you are not receiving our Thursday prayer updates please let your prayer representatives at your church know this and he or she can forward them to you.
-Pray for {Путь к Источникy (Poot k Ee-stoch-ne-koo) - The Way to the Source Baptist Church} a church plant happening in the village of Esso.
- Pray for the TSL meeting in Vladivostok and the day of ministry there.
-Pray for the new believers in Village “A” and for an open door in that village.
-Pray for Zhenya and his family as God continues to use him in Esso and the surrounding villages.
-Pray for Alexander (Sasha) and his family as God continues to use him in Petropavlovsk.
- Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they continue their walk with the Lord.
- Pray that we will be faithful to serve the Lord on a daily basis in the midst of __________ (just fill in the blanks).
- Pray for laborers. (We invite you to join us physically in the work – for more information about bringing a mission team to Kamchatka…..just ask!)
- Pray for the summer mission teams coming to Kamchatka this year. The teams are already processing paper work and spiritually preparing for their trip.

Thank you for holding the rope!!! We would love to hear from you!

Jan. 2010

Please take a moment and visit this web site http://www.stirmyheart.com and click on the link Get ready to VOTE FOR "ARISE" in Tate Music Group's Artist of the Year contest!

"Arise" is the first song on Joel's new CD which will be released soon.
Joel Strahan, former pastor of Ingram Baptist Church and now singer, songwriter, missionary has written several new songs and will be releasing a new CD in Feb. The link will allow you to listen to the song “Arise” and view some video footage from Esso and Northern Kamchatka. Please take time to pass this link on to others. Joel’s desire is for this to help make others aware of the needs in Kamchatka and for the Lord to use it as a tool to open many doors. Thanks for your vote Feb. 1-5, 2010.

Psalm 61:8 So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Matthew 9: 37-38 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.

How you can become “HANDS ON” in Kamchatka? Just ask and we will begin to plan your trip.

Family: We had a great first month of 2010. We experienced very cold temperatures and snow this month. We were also able to meet and spend time with some new friends in Esso. Please continue to pray for further contacts to be made during the long winter months. Please pray that we would be wise to every opportunity that is given us.

Family time this month was spent in local activities around the village. We swam in the public hot springs many times, did some snowboarding and cross country skiing. Lee and I also took part in some men’s volleyball at the local school. Volleyball is a very serious sport in the village and they are good at it.

The family also spent some time planning our trip to the USA. Below is our schedule for our time in the states. We hope to see many of you while we are there and we are very excited about getting to see our families again. Please pray for us as we travel and speak at several different locations while in the states. We will also be meeting with a couple of the mission teams for 2010.

February – March
• Feb 11, travel to USA for visa renewal and vacation
• Feb 14 am – Preaching at Light House Baptist (New Albany, MS)
• Feb 14 pm – visiting our home church – Wheeler Baptist
• Feb 21am & pm – preaching and mission team meeting at Malesus Baptist Church (Jackson, TN)
• Feb 28 – Woodland Baptist Church (Pontotoc, MS)
• March 7 – (Journey) Church plant in Olive Branch, MS and mission team meeting.
• March 9 – preaching at Food Pantry, (Baldwyn, MS)
• March 11 - Back to Far East Russia

How long does it take to travel from Esso to Mississippi? First 8 to 10 hour drive from Esso to PK. Overnight in PK, fly from PK to Moscow (9 hours in air), overnight in Moscow, fly from Moscow to Stockholm (2 hours in air), Stockholm to Chicago (10 hours in air), Chicago to Memphis (2 hours in air) and then a 2 hour drive to MS (total 76 hrs with all transfers and layovers). Pray for us as we travel in just a few days.

Ministry Opportunities: Thank you for continuing to pray for the new church plant in the village, Путь к Источникy (Poot k Ee-stoch-ne-koo) - The Way to the Source Church. The Church grew spiritually this month. The nationals wanted to start meeting on Thursday nights in the village for prayer. It was very exciting this month to watch God work in the hearts of the few believers in Esso as they prayed for one another and for their lost friends and family. Many prayers were also lifted up for you. The believers here are very excited that people around the world are praying with them. For that reason we started emailing the Thursday night prayer requests to our prayer representatives at each church. If you would like to get these requests and have not been just ask the prayer representative at your church and he or she can forward them to you. Please keep holding the rope for us and with us.

We were able to travel to a village north of Esso this month and hold service there. The small village “K” has a handful of believers who meet weekly. There are about 10 women, 3 grandchildren, and one man who regularly meet. They were very excited to have us come and fellowship with them. Zhenya and his family traveled with us. Zhenya and I (Marty) preached while Suzanne, Emma, Lee and Sveta sang. After the service we shared a meal with them and then drove back to Esso. Please pray for village “K” as we learn how we can be a partner and help mate to them.

We were also excited to have several English, Russian speaking Germans in our home this month. Most of them are college age students and are currently in Esso on an exchange program working with the nature park. Pray that this bridge will become stronger, that they will fully understand and believe the Gospel, and that it will open up other doors to minister to the natives of Kamchatka.

Language: As some of the “old timers” use to say, “We just keep plugging along.” Suzanne and Marty study with a tutor 3 hours a day, 3 times a week. Our tutor has also started staying late and helping Lee and Emma for an additional 30 minutes each day.

School: Lee and Emma have been doubling up on some subjects this month in order to be ahead once we travel to the states. They will have school while we are in the states but have worked ahead enough to only take about half of their books to the USA. Pray that they stay focused the next couple of weeks and are able to work ahead as planned.

Prayer Request:
If you are not receiving our Thursday prayer updates please let your prayer representatives at your church know this and he or she can forward them to you.-Pray for {Путь к Источникy (Poot k Ee-stoch-ne-koo) - The Way to the Source Baptist Church} a church plant happening in the village of Esso.
-Pray for Alexander (Sasha) and his family as God continues to use him in Petropavlovsk.
- Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they continue their walk with the Lord.
- Pray that we will be faithful to serve the Lord on a daily basis in the midst of __________ (just fill in the blanks).
- Pray for laborers. (We invite you to join us physically in the work – for more information about bringing a mission team to Kamchatka…..just ask!)
- Please take time each day and pray for the new law that is being pushed through Russian congress. Pray for the speed and spreading of the Gospel. (You can read more about this law on our blog at http://robertsinrussia.blogspot.com)

Thank you for holding the rope!!! We would love to hear from you!

December

Wow! As the old saying goes, “time sure flies when you are having fun.” It’s almost hard to believe that 2009 has gone and 2010 has arrived. Just a couple of years ago when leaving the USA for Russia we looked forward to 2010 because that would be the year we would return to the states to start our state side assignment. Although our stateside assignment does not begin until the last day of October 2010 it will be upon us very soon. We have already calendared many speaking opportunities from Nov. 2010 – April 2011, if would like for us to come and share with your church about missions in Kamchatka please contact us soon due to limited dates.

While taking some time to reflect on 2009 and think about 2010 I was reminded of the words Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Philippi. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 3: 13-14).

Throughout 2009 the Roberts family has faced some difficulties and celebrated some triumphs while serving in Far East Russia. We thank you for holding the rope for us throughout the year. We praise the Lord for every high and low as we learned and are still learning every step of the way. Please remain faithful to pray for us throughout 2010 as we attempt to press on for His honor and glory!

Below is just a snapshot of 2010 before we leave on stateside assignment in October. Please pray that we finish our first term in Russia well.
January
• Lee returns to Kamchatka from youth camp in Germany.
• 2nd week preaching and singing in Kazarevsk, a village 150 KM North of Esso.
• End of January – First of February – Joint mission project in Milkovo with Team PK. (220 KM south of Esso).
• Ministering in Esso and other northern villages.

February - March
• Feb 11, travel to USA for visa renewal and vacation
• Feb 14 – Preaching at Light House Baptist (New Albany, MS)
• Feb 21 – preaching and mission team meeting at Malesus Baptist Church (Jackson, TN)
• Feb 28 – Woodland Baptist Church (Pontotoc, MS)
• March 7 – Church plant in Olive Branch, MS and mission team meeting.
• March 9 – preaching at Food Pantry, (Baldwyn, MS)
• March 11 - Back to Far East Russia

April
• Ministering in Esso and other Northern villages

May
• Kids complete home school for the year
• Prepare for summer mission teams
• Ministering in Esso and other Northern villages
• 1st mission team arrives last of May

June
• 1st week mission teams
• Second week leave Russia for visa renewal and Annual General Meeting
• Last week – return to Russia – prepare for next mission team arrival

July
• 1st week – mission team arrives
• 3rd week – youth camp and float trip in Esso

August
• Mission team from Canada arrives.
• Ministering in Esso and Northern villages.
• Follow up
• Kids start home school

September
• Ministering in Esso and Northern villages
• Follow-up
• Leave Russia for visa renewal

October
• Ministering in Esso and Northern Villages
• Preparing to leave for state side assignment
• Head to the states.
• We will post our states side speaking calendar at a later date which will define the remainder of 2010 and a large portion of 2011.

Family: Our family enjoyed another very white Christmas. We were blessed to be able to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ with 12 Russian guests. Suzanne baked up some yummy favorites and everyone wanted her recipes. We all ate too much and laughed a lot, especially when the Russian men took over the BB pistols and started a target shooting tournament in the house.

We brought the New Year in while in Petropavlovsk waiting for Lee to return from Germany. Lee was able to travel to Germany and attend MKR (Youth Camp) for missionary teen agers. He came back home refreshed and excited. We are very grateful for all the people who volunteered their time and gave funds to make this possible for our teens.

Both the kids and the grownups enjoyed a break from home school and language school.
Marty and Lee had the opportunity this month to take in a day of ice fishing. It was a new experience for them. They enjoyed it very much after they thawed out. While ice fishing they witnessed a volcano explode. You can see pictures of this on our face book page. It was a cool demonstration on just how powerful this land is and how much more powerful is the Creator.

Ministry Opportunities: This month we celebrated the opening of the new church plant in the village, Путь к Источникy (Poot k Ee-stoch-ne-koo) - The Way to the Source Church. We celebrated Christmas during our first service with singing, 2 messages, a Christmas play, and dinner after the service. We were very excited to have 31 in attendance for the opening of the new church. Praise the Lord! Please pray that the church will grow and flourish in Christ.

We were able to host Russians in our home on different occasions throughout the month of December.

During our time in Petropavlovsk we were able to attend a worship service at Good News Baptist Church. We also met with a few people in the city at different times to encourage and pray with them.

We praise the Lord for the opportunities to share the simple Gospel message with others. Please continue to pray for open doors and open hearts.

Language: We were able to take a couple of days off from formal language class. Although we use the Russian language daily a break from class work is always refreshing. Sometimes the language flows easily for us and other days it feels like we are in a survival situation. Suzanne and I take 9 hours of language a week. 3 hours a day, 3 times a week. We have come a long way in 2 years but still have a long way to go in the language learning process. Please continue to pray for our language ability.

School: Lee and Emma were both excited for Christmas Vacation from school. Both did very well the first semester and will start the second semester January 6, 2010. Please pray that they will finish well in their studies.

Prayer Request:
Please take time each day and pray for the new law that is being pushed through Russian congress. Pray for the speed and spreading of the Gospel. (You can read more about this law on our blog at http://robertsinrussia.blogspot.com)
-Pray for {Путь к Источникy (Poot k Ee-stoch-ne-koo) - The Way to the Source Baptist Church} a church plant happening in the village of Esso.
-Pray for Edict and Eger. They have both heard the Gospel many times. Pray for their salvation
-Pray for Sergei and his family of 4. (A new family visiting our fellowship in Esso.)
- Pray for the many visa struggles throughout Russia.
-Pray for Zhenya and his family, our Russian partner in the village. Zhenya is now working 2 jobs plus working in the church.
-Pray for Alexander (Sasha) and his family as God continues to use him in Petropavlovsk.
- Pray for the new believers in Kamchatka as they continue their walk with the Lord.
- Pray that we will be faithful to serve the Lord on a daily basis in the midst of __________ (just fill in the blanks).
- Pray for laborers. (We invite you to join us physically in the work – for more information about bringing a mission team to Kamchatka…..just ask!)
Thank you for holding the rope!!! We would love to hear from you!