Our fall project this year was called War of the Worlds. And can there be a war without battles, hardships and losses? Even though we brought more students with us to the project than any other campus ministry, we probably were also the first in the number of students who wanted to go but were not able to. At the very last moment many students had problems with classes, parents, friends, etc.. But the most interesting thing was that our enemy began to use new tactics. Whereas before he only gave bad thoughts and feelings to our staff and student leaders, this time he tried to interfere with our ministry through the physical world. Let me tell you about it from the beginning. It started when we were very busy preparing for the project. One evening, I was working on different things for the project and was able to be on campus only at 9:30 p.m.  I visited several guys and by 11 p.m. I was near a dorm where my disciple Vadim lived. I whistled under his window and he came out with his roommate. The name of his roommate is also Vadim. I had told him before that he could not go on our project because he didn't want to follow our rules. He wanted to live in one room with a girl who was also going on the project. That night, I told him again that he could not go with us and he tried to start a fight with me, saying that he would not let me go home until I allowed him to go on the project. I was standing with my back to the dorm, facing Vadim, and I said, "I will not fight with you because my convictions do not allow me to." Then he said, "Alright, I will beat you!" I was tired, cold and hungry, but I stood there talking to him for a whole hour. I saw that his reaction was not adequate. He looked like a person with mental problems. I tried to calm him down saying that I would call the police and looking for a solution that could satisfy him. I could not lie to him and say that he could go on the project and I could not fight with him. I prayed that the Lord would give me ideas for dealing with that situation in a Christian way. And God gave me an idea Vadim was saying all the time that living in one room was the initiative of his girlfriend and I said that we would not allow her to go on the project if she didn't want to follow our rules. Vadim relaxed and a bit after 12 we said goodbye to each other peacefully. But I found out afterwards that Vadim hardly new that girl. They met at the first evangelistic meeting of our Safari Club and Vadim lied about her. (He has lied about other things too. For example, he may say that he is an invalid to get a free ride on a bus, or walk through a turnstile behind someone's back. He also lied that his father was a policemen of high rank.) The next day, he called me and said that he agreed with all our rules and promised to be disciplined at the project. He tried to persuade me to allow him to go on our project again. I can not even describe how it feels when you talk to him. I would say he sounds like a possessed person. But I knew for sure that we could not take him with us and I told him that about ten times. I went to Odessa ahead of everyone else, but they called me from the train station in Kiev and said that Vadim wanted to go on the project and insisted that I had said he could go. When his lies didn't work, he just jumped on the train, hanging outside of it When conductors noticed him, they pulled the emergency break and the train slowed down. Vadim jumped off, but as soon as the train began to pick up speed again he climbed back on. He did that several times until he was taken off the train by policemen at the first station. They took him back to his dorm but didn't press charges against him because he claimed that his relatives worked for the police. Unfortunately, his obsession with doing bad things to our ministry didn't stop at that. The next day, he showed up in Odessa. I was very busy and our usher group said they would I went to Odessa ahead of everyone else, but they called me from the train station in Kiev and said that Vadim wanted to go on the project and insisted that I had said he could go. |
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When his lies didn't work, he just jumped on the train, hanging outside of it When conductors noticed him, they pulled the emergency break and the train slowed down. Vadim jumped off, but as soon as the train began to pick up speed again he climbed back on. He did that several times until he was taken off the train by policemen at the first station. They took him back to his dorm but didn't press charges against him because he claimed that his relatives worked for the police. Unfortunately, his obsession with doing bad things to our ministry didn't stop at that. The next day, he showed up in Odessa. I was very busy and our usher group said they would talk to him. Without saying a word, Vadim hit one guy on the nose with his head, ready to fight. Our guys tied him and he clutched the finger of another guy with his teeth. But when he realized he could break his teeth, he began to cry, asking them to let him go. Police arrived, but Vadim managed to escape. We signed an official charge against him and when he came back he was taken to a police station. Policemen talked to him seriously and his initial lies, aggression and threats to call his "relatives" were replaced with crying and asking to call his mother. talk to him. Without saying a word, Vadim hit one guy on the nose with his head, ready to fight. Our guys tied him and he clutched the finger of another guy with his teeth. But when he realized he could break his teeth, he began to cry, asking them to let him go. Police arrived, but Vadim managed to escape. We signed an official charge against him and when he came back he was taken to a police station. Policemen talked to him seriously and his initial lies, aggression and threats to call his "relatives" were replaced with crying and asking to call his mother. We thank God who helped our guys to restrain themselves: they did not hit Vadim even once when he attacked them. The policemen didn't believe his lies about us and processed our charge against him. Please pray that God would give us wisdom to know what to do next. Right now, Vadim is in his home town of Rovno. We have no idea what to expect from him when he comes back. He is a revengeful and stubborn young man, and nothing can stop him apart from God. Vadim is one of those people who are spiritually possessed. There is another man in our ministry through whom Satan is trying to work. During the three days of our project he was able to offend almost all our girls, saying things that hurt them a lot. He also tells lies about me to other students, trying to turn them against me. By the way, he was the only one who admired Vadim's obsessed behavior. This young man's name is Kolia and I am going to talk to him seriously in the next several days.  I especially need your prayer support because both of these guys live in the dorm where the Lord has produced the greatest fruit through my ministry. Also, yesterday during the meeting of our small group for new Christians someone stole a cell phone of one of the girls. This phone was very expensive (about $400) and the girl noticed that it was missing right when she was going to pray to receive Christ. As you can see, my dear ministry partners, there is a lot to pray about. We are going through a real war of the worlds!!! But let us take courage and continue to work for He is coming soon!!! I thank the Lord because I am not alone in this spiritual war. Thank you so much for investing your prayers and finances in this ministry. May the Lord bless you abundantly.  With prayer for you, Andrey |
