New frontiers of the ministry...

   I began traveling to Russia in 1990 while it was still under Communist rule. I lead a group of 39, mostly College students, for a month in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Our task was to live in homes of mostly elite, solidly Communist families to give them a chance to meet young people from the West, because prior to that time the borders were essentially closed to foreigners!  
  We set up camps and put on  sports competitions and had small groups with Young Life type club meetings at night to talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ! But always under the watchful eyes of the KGB...
Prior to this time it was not only very difficult to get into Russia but 'religion' was strictly forbidden!  But the Holy Spirit was with us throughout the entire trip and almost everybody we lived with and competed against, met Jesus Christ! 
  Out of that experience a large movement started with young people there, the following year Communism collapsed! Shortly after that, Billy Graham came to Moscow and did a Crusade that drew so many people that the biggest stadium in the City was still too small!  Over 15,000 young people from all 15 of the former Soviet republics gave their lives to Jesus! Doug Burleigh took about 100 of those who had surrendered their whole lives and future to the Lord and started to disciple them and challenge them to go back into their Countries, in groups of 5, and live out the life of Jesus together!  They went without affiliation or pay, to live in community the kind of life Jesus lived- and it was miraculous!
  30 years later these disciples and those they discipled are all over Russia serving in every capacity possible- government, business, education, church leadership, humanitarian aid etc.
  One of my dearest friends from those earliest years is a woman named Yessa, who became president of a very large construction/ real estate holding company that was all over Russia!  She is a very gifted administrator and leader but her primary calling has never changed- she is a servant of Jesus. Everything I have ever done in Russia with the National Prayer Breakfast movement, YL, or the Churches has been touched by this dear woman's life!
  It is difficult at times trying to decide what to share on the blog because so much of the
communication involves friendships that have evolved over decades!  Please forgive me if some of these letters sound too complimentary, but my hope is that you would get a sense of the historical relationships as well as the situation. (Just to let you know, I decided to delete part of this letter which I felt was too  sensitive considering the current situation in Russia...)
  I am so grateful to those of you who have been faithful partners in this ministry to the nations for years now!  And God keeps expanding the territory He has given us to serve in! Our prayer is that everything is for His glory and and that by His Grace the 'fishes and loaves' stories that have been with us from the beginning will continue to the end!

Dear Jerry,
I hope this email finds you well.
We heard from Doug that you had a hip replacement and I pray for you to feel as new as possible :-)!  I pray for you daily and hope that God will allow you to travel without any limitations. 
We had a wonderful time with Doug in Armenia and Moscow. As you know he was brave enough and came to Russia. He had a great time with Moscow Vlad and many other old friends in Moscow.

When we were in Armenia I spent quite some time with Arman and Lilit. As you know they work with YL, but their hearts and visions are much bigger. They have a plan to raise a few more generations of YL leaders for next 7 years, but after that they would like to transfer their YL administrative responsibilities to the next generation of faithful people. Their dream is to concentrate on working with all kinds of people in need, not only teenagers. There are so many needs in Armenia and so many needy people especially now after the war there (wounded soldiers, widows, refugees from Karabakh who lost everything). At the same time Arman and Lilit  realise that their life time and energy are short, so they have a vision to start a training center in the near future.  For that Arman bought a piece of land not far from the camp, and now he is praying for the finances to build this center.
But more than finances they need some help in clarifying their vision. It made me think of your rich experience in such matters. I remember how important your visits were for Krasnodar and Moscow families and individuals. You have this unique talent from God to encourage people and to help them to discover their gifts and callings and find peace with God.
I know that you are very busy in another country, but I wonder if you would be willing to meet up with Arman and Lilit after New Year (they will come to the US for the YL Staff Conference) or maybe even consider traveling to Yerevan during one of your other trips. I'm sorry if I'm asking too much, but I can't think of anybody else who would be more instrumental in their situation than you

Looking forward to hearing from you, dear friend!
You are in my daily prayers! Greetings to Sue
Blessings,
Yessa