Mid-Winter Baptism in Ukraine

Mid-Winter Baptism in Ukraine
The winter of 2012 has been exceptionally frigid in Ukraine and in other parts of Eastern Europe. In Nikiolaev, the banana belt of Ukraine, temperatures have plunged to eleven degrees below zero. Snow has piled up in places, and rivers have frozen solid. Hundreds of people in Ukraine have died of hypothermia. Yet, Natasha Budynka, a WEI student, braved the elements on February 13 to be immersed in a bathtub in David and Galina Binkley’s apartment.

Here is the story.

In 2009, David and Galina were visiting in Odessa, a city just west of Nikolaev. They saw a McDonald’s Restaurant near the train station, so they stepped inside to get a bite to eat. The room was crowded, and they sat down next to a professional looking young woman. When she overheard them speaking in English, she smiled. They introduced themselves and learned her name was Natasha Budynka and that she worked in Odessa as an accountant. However, she spent her vacations in Nikolaev with her parents.

Ever since that providential meeting in Odessa, Natasha has been worshiping with the Church of Christ in Nikolaev whenever she has been in town. She has also been studying the Bible with David and Galina privately. During her winter vacation this year, she has studied the WEI Bible and English courses and is currently studying The New Birth in the WEI Advanced Bible Course.

 

Last Wednesday, February 8, Natasha braved the frigid weather and came to the church office to study with David and Galina. David says, “Before we even opened up to check her work in The New Birth book, she began our conversation by asking when she could be baptized. . . . So, I told her, ‘Today.’ But she wants us to do this on Monday. Today or tomorrow, we hope to find a place where we can baptize our friends. We always have our bathtub in case we don’t find a sauna available or a swimming pool. Now our prayer is that Satan will not hinder her.”

On Valentine’s Day, David wrote, “Fresh snowfall greeted us yesterday morning as we began to make preparations for our day with Natasha Budynka. In the morning, we met with her for a long period of Bible study and almost completed the study of the Advanced Bible Course, The New Birth. We have been amazed at how much she has grown spiritually since we first met her in 2009 when she was mostly interested in being our friend and improving her English.

“After the study, we left the office and went to our apartment. We had been waiting for a call from our neighbor letting us know when the water was turned back on in our building. As soon as she called, we headed home quickly. The fresh snowfall was a reminder of how the saving power of Jesus’ blood makes us white as snow.

“We didn’t have much water pressure, so we had another good Bible study while we waited for our tub to fill up. Galina was boiling water in our hot water pot and on the stove. This was the 5^th baptism here in our bathtub. Many of you have been praying for Natasha who has attended worship with us off and on almost since the church first started meeting in our present location. Rejoice with us over this new birth, and please keep our new sister in your prayers.”

Jack frost nipped at Natasha’s toes, but the love of God warmed her heart and led her to victory in Jesus. We rejoice with her and the Binkleys and with the angels in heaven.

WEI provides teaching materials for the Binkleys and other missionaries and national preachers—free of charge. We are experiencing a serious financial shortfall, and we are seeking more churches and individuals who will have fellowship with us in sharing the good news about Christ in every nation.

For more information, please contact me by e-mail at weiady@aol.com. To make a contribution to WEI, log on to our web site at www.weiady.org and give through PayPal.

GREAT OPPORTUNITY IN SOUTH SUDAN

In November 2003, I had the privilege of preaching for a congregation of Sudanese refugees in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I was deeply moved by their stories, and I felt called to help them share the good news about Christ as soon as the civil war ended. The civil war has ended, and South Sudan is now the world’s newest nation. Ken Bolden, Minister of the Church of Christ in Sheridan, Arkansas, has written an article that set my heart on fire. I would like to share that article with you here.

"I traveled to Juba, the new capitol city of South Sudan, in October of last year. During a week of research and fact-finding I learned the following:

"1) The Nation is Building - Juba was completely devastated in 2005. On Saturday July 9, 2011, millions of southern Sudanese celebrated the birth of the world’s newest country and Africa’s 54th sovereign state. Today, construction is going on everywhere in the capitol with electricity, running water, paved roads, and communications not yet available, but all a part of their ongoing plan for
development.

"2) There are Resources - one day South Sudan may be an economic power. There is the Nile River for water and electricity, abundant oil, cattle, plenty of fertile land, water available to irrigate, a moderate climate. It is a beautiful country that looks a lot like Texas. Most of all, the human potential is immense, with millions of tribal people who have never heard the Gospel, but are willing to listen! Also, thousands of Sudanese are coming and going between South Sudan and the United States, in an attempt to help develop their families and their homeland.

"3) There is Freedom: For nearly 50 years, southern rebels have fought two civil wars with the northern Islamic government, seeking greater autonomy and recognition, while the North continually tried to enforce Islam and Sharia Law on the southern tribes.

"One of the first decisions made by the new nation was to adopt English as its new national language. Since Arabic had been the national language, this can be viewed as both a spit in the eye of Islam, and a desire to be identified with rest of the modern world. The general public is "pro-Christian" with a desire to learn both English and the Bible! The Ministry of Education would love for qualified workers to come and work with their department and train school teachers to teach English in the hundreds of little schools popping up all over the country… and one could use Christian/ Bible related curriculum to do so.

"4) Communications are Available in the Capitol City. While the postal system is not yet working, it soon will be! Cell phones are in use and they have international capacity. Internet cafes are available, and most hotels have free wifi access. FM radio stations are popping up all over the city.

"I have suggested that WBS, WEI, and World Radio cooperate over the next few years with an emphasis on Juba. We have national Christians in the city who are ready and willing to speak on the Radio, follow-up on contacts, take materials to the schools, and orchestrate American workers to come in and start teaching. If congregations were established all over the city during the next few years, and if workers in those churches were trained, once the roads were made passable, those workers could begin traveling to the rural areas and begin training school teachers, holding seminars, and distributing course material.

"I believe South Sudan has the greatest potential for churches of Christ to grow and become an important factor in the growth and development of a nation on earth!"

WEI is perfectly suited for such an opportunity as this. As God used WEI to save thousands of souls and plant dozens of churches in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union after the fall of communism, he can use WEI to save thousands of souls and plant dozens of congregations in South Sudan. Well-trained and dedicated Sudanese preachers are already at work in South Sudan, and they are eager to follow up on all WEI students who are baptized while we are there. The time is right to organize short-term mission campaigns in Juba to reap the harvest that God has provided. If you would like to be a part of this historic event, please send me an e-mail at weiady@aol.com

"I can hear the Savior calling."
---Dick Ady
　This is especially true in view of the fact that there are hundreds of South Sudanese refugees who have come to America, become educated and financially independent, who want American churches to work with them in taking the Gospel back to their home country. This is an opportunity that we must not let pass by.