“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17, ESV Bringing Hope and Transformation to Eurasia through God’s Word

JUNE 2016

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 1 Thanks to the generous, faithful contributions of supporters like you, Mission Eurasia has consistently been able to fulfill our commitment to equip Next Generation Christian leaders in Eurasia to share the Word of God in their own nations and communities. Through culturally relevant Christian literature and Scripture pieces in national languages, the gospel message is being shared in compelling and unexpected ways with hurting men, women, and children who desperately need the hope of the good news.

We know that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). As Next Generation Christians faithfully proclaim the “word of Christ” to their nations, hearts and minds are being opened to hear the Word and believe through faith. We hope that as you read this report, your faith will be strengthened by the testimonies of lives changed through the reading of God’s Word. Thank you for your support of Mission Eurasia—which is providing life- changing Scripture resources for millions of God’s children in Eurasia and beyond!

Spiritual Crisis in Eurasia

In the midst of the ongoing conflict in , the spiritual Unreached people groups in ’s , Mongolia, the vacuum in Eurasia, and escalating religious persecution in the Northern Caucasus, and other regions of Eurasia need access to region, God’s Word is needed now more than ever. In fact, many God’s truth through Scripture versions in languages and formats people living in Eurasia have never heard the gospel, and many that they can understand. Not only have many of these unreached others are desperately searching for the hope offered only in people never heard the gospel, but they are dominated by forces Christ. hostile to Christianity, including atheism, paganism, superstition, and radical Islam. The war in eastern Ukraine has now displaced more than 2 million people from their homes. About 800,000 of these Furthermore, many believers throughout Eurasia, particularly in refugees or internally displaced people (IDPs) remain in Ukraine, Central Asia, Russia’s Northern Caucasus, and eastern Ukraine, where they are struggling to find work. Since jobs are scarce, most are suffering for their faith and desperately need copies of God’s refugees are unable to obtain food, clothing, and other necessary Word for guidance and comfort. In eastern Ukraine, hundreds goods for their families. Many people also remain trapped in the of pastors are suffering abduction, torture, property confiscation, war zone. In all, 3.1 million people in Ukraine have been affected and even murder at the hands of pro-Russian separatists. Many by the war and are in need not only of humanitarian assistance, pastors are advocating for religious freedom and reconciliation in but of spiritual and emotional support through the Word of God these regions, and they need scriptural resources and training to in order to find hope and peace in the midst of despair. help them do this effectively.

In addition to those suffering in Ukraine, many people living In the words of Dr. Michael Cherenkov, Executive throughout Eurasia need the hope that only the Word of God Director for Mission Eurasia Field Ministries: can provide. These include children in orphanages, at-risk youth “Today, Eurasia is gripped by hatred toward the West and struggling with addiction, homeless people, and those confined to western Christianity. Persecution against evangelical Christians is prisons and hospitals. It is in these dark places and circumstances intensifying. The most effective form of ministry is not preaching in that God’s Word shines the brightest. churches, but rather personally witnessing to others and distributing Scripture in appropriate and understandable forms.”

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 2 Impact of Scripture Distribution

The need is great— and growing.

But in the midst of such great challenges, God is faithfully opening hearts and minds to hear His Word and come to saving faith. Through your support of Mission Eurasia, we are bringing God’s Word to those who need it most and equipping the Next Generation of Christian leaders to share the gospel in their own communities.

In partnership with Mission Eurasia Field Ministries as well as our School Without Walls (SWW) students and local national churches, we have distributed more than 1.8 million Scripture pieces in 13 different countries in Eurasia and Israel since October 2015. Because we estimate that each Scripture piece is shared with 3–5 people, we believe that 5–9 million people have been impacted by God’s Word during this time.

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 3 Scriptures Distributed in 2015–16

101 Favorite Bible Stories David—was designed to reflect the local culture. Our SWW In partnership with Christian Aid Ministries, we designed this students in Israel distributed these pieces through various ministry book especially for at-risk children in Belarus, Georgia, and initiatives to Russian-speaking immigrants in their nation. Kyrgyzstan. We distributed copies of this strategic Scripture piece during our Gift of Hope Christmas program in these nations, as Evangelistic Calendars well as through outreach efforts in local hospitals, orphanages, and In partnership with Pioneer Bible Translators, we designed these schools. special calendars to help the nomadic and Nenets people of Russia’s Far North learn about the gospel in a way that is culturally Bibles for Ukraine appropriate and relevant. Each day on the calendar includes a In partnership with Samaritan’s Purse, we created two Bible different Scripture passage to encourage the incorporation of God’s versions, one in the and one in the Ukrainian Word into daily life. We distributed these unique pieces during our language. These Bibles were specially designed to be culturally various outreach efforts to the Khanty and Nenets people in appropriate and relevant to the people of Ukraine. We brought . these strategic pieces to IDPs, people trapped in the war zone in eastern Ukraine, and Ukrainian soldiers serving on the front Finding the Light in the Darkness of Night lines of the conflict. We also distributed them during our religious This book—written by one of our national staff, Viktor freedom and reconciliation seminars for local pastors in Central Kuzmenko—includes stories of how children can find hope in Asia, Russia, and Ukraine. Christ, even in the midst of difficult circumstances. We included copies of this special book in many of our Gifts of Hope for children Bible Storybooks in need and young people affected by the ongoing conflict in These specially designed Bible storybooks help children learn Ukraine. about the gospel in a way that they can easily understand. They also include many attractive, colorful pictures and illustrations. We Gospel of Luke distributed these Bible storybooks to children in need throughout Because the Gospel of Luke is the most popular gospel among Eurasia through our Gift of Hope Christmas outreach so that they the Ukrainian people, we designed a special version in both the could experience the true joy of the season. Russian and Ukrainian languages in partnership with ShareWord Global (formerly The Gideons International in Canada). We also Discover Messiah designed a Ukrainian-themed cover so that they would be received This special New Testament version was designed specifically more openly. We brought copies of the Gospel of Luke to refugees, for Russian-speaking immigrants in Israel, many of whom are people in the war zone, soldiers, and many other suffering people struggling to adapt to their new environment. It includes several in Ukraine. We also distributed these pieces to refugees who fled to personal testimonies, and the cover—which includes a Star of Russia following the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

Through all of these efforts, Mission Eurasia is committed to bringing holistic help and support to hurting people in Ukraine so that they can experience renewed hope and, ultimately, place their trust in Christ for eternal salvation.

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 4 Scriptures Distributed in 2015–16

The Greatest Stories of Hope Noah’s Ark Magazine We designed this Scripture piece specifically for at-risk children by This strategic magazine is designed to provide children with including important stories from Jesus’ life that would introduce entertaining stories and activities, while also introducing them to them to the gospel in an age-appropriate way. We brought copies of Christ and the gospel. We distribute eight monthly issues of Noah’s The Greatest Stories of Hope to hurting children in many different Ark magazine every year. During the past year, we included them in countries through “I Care,” summer Bible camps, and Gift of Hope. our Gifts of Hope for children during the Christmas season, and we also distributed them during summer Bible camps. Hope Magazine In partnership with OneHope, we created this strategic Scripture The Path to Victory piece to provide encouragement for the hurting people of Ukraine, In partnership with OneHope, we developed this special sports as well as impoverished children and youth in the nations of magazine to appeal to young athletes. It includes Scripture passages Belarus and Moldova. The Psalms and personal testimonies and personal testimonies from professional athletes to help young included in this piece, as well as its overall design, were all selected people learn about the true victory offered only through Christ to share how God brings hope and healing to those who are in the gospel. Our Next Generation Christian leaders distributed suffering. We distributed copies ofHope magazine to refugees, copies of this magazine during a youth sports event in Tbilisi, families in the war zone, and soldiers in Ukraine. We also brought Georgia in July 2015. them to many at-risk children in Belarus and Moldova through our summer Bible camps and outreach efforts in local hospitals, The Jesus Storybook Bible orphanages, and schools. This colorfully illustrated children’s Bible is written in Ukrainian and presents the stories of the Old and New Testament in a creative New Testaments and understandable way. Printed in partnership with In Lumine, In partnership with Christian Aid Ministries and ShareWord this new publication was primarily distributed to hurting refugee Global, we designed New Testaments especially for young people children in Ukraine through our “I Care” program. to allow them to easily understand the gospel and grow deeper in their personal relationships with God. Its modern translation Gospel of John is also very appealing to today’s youth throughout Eurasia. We We designed this compact traditional version of the Gospel of John delivered these New Testaments to young people affected by the in partnership with the Pocket Testament League to share the conflict in Ukraine, those who attended our summer Bible camps, hope of Christ with Russian-speaking people throughout Eurasia. and those whom we served through our outreach efforts at local We distributed copies of the Gospel of John to unreached people hospitals, orphanages, and schools. We also provided this valuable through our various ministry initiatives. tool for local pastors in Central Asia, Russia, and Ukraine who are promoting religious freedom and reconciliation.

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 5 Scriptures for Refugees and Other Hurting People in Ukraine In partnership with our network of 500 partner churches and our School Without Walls students and volunteers, we distributed a total of 382,000 Scripture pieces through our “I Care” Refugee Assistance Program and other ministry initiatives last year in order to share the hope of the gospel with suffering refugees and other people trapped in the war zone in eastern Ukraine. These Scripture pieces included:

Bibles in the Russian language: 20,000 copies Bibles in the Ukrainian language: 10,000 copies Bible Storybooks: 2,000 copies Finding the Light in the Darkness of Night: 5,000 copies Gospel of Luke in the Russian language: 11,000 copies Gospel of Luke in the Ukrainian language: 4,000 copies The Greatest Stories of Hope for children: 10,000 copies Hope Magazine: 200,000 copies New Testaments in the Russian language: 50,000 copies New Testaments in the Ukrainian language: 50,000 copies The Jesus Storybook Bible: 20,000 copies Total: 382,000 copies

These Scriptures were included in our family food packs that were distributed to refugee families and other people in need living in the Avdeyevka, Kharkov, Kremenchug, Slavyansk, and Zaporozhye regions of eastern Ukraine, as well as in the Kiev and Lviv regions in western Ukraine, among many others. We also distributed 4,596 Bibles at 36 refugee camps, as well as many other Scripture pieces during our general distribution efforts in villages on the frontline. Our young leaders also hand-delivered copies of Scripture to the homes of elderly and disabled persons in the war zone who are house-bound.

Several special Scripture pieces were also developed for refugee children, including The Greatest Stories of Hope, Finding the Light in the Darkness of Night, and The Jesus Storybook Bible, all of which present the gospel in a way that is easy for children to understand. We distributed these Scriptures to children in Ukraine through our summer Bible camps and Gift of Hope Christmas outreach, including children in orphanages and schools located right in the war zone of Ukraine. Last year alone, we were able to share God’s Word with 1,300 children in need at 14 different summer Bible camps that were designed specifically for children affected by the war. We also brought children’s Bibles and other age-appropriate Christian literature to another 42,000 hurting children during our 2014 and 2015 Gift of Hope Christmas outreach efforts in the nation.

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 6 Bread of Life Bakery Project

Our Bread of Life Bakery Project, a new component of our “I Care” program, provides a remarkable opportunity for sharing Scripture with those in need. Through the Bread of Life Bakery, which we launched in the front line city of Maryinka at the end of March 2016, we are distributing loaves of bread and Scripture—food for body and soul—to thousands of people in need.

The following stories illustrate how the Scriptures you have generously helped provide are bringing encouragement, comfort, and hope to individuals and families affected by the war in Ukraine.

Raisa from Donbas electricity. I don’t know how to thank you enough for giving me “I am 78 years old, and I live by myself in the war zone. My God’s Word, and for all of your help during this difficult time. You husband and I used to live together, but the war changed supported me when I needed food and warmth for my body and everything. Now I am partially deaf, but my husband isn’t able to my soul. I always look forward to your visits. Thank you for your help me because he was injured during one of the bombings. He warm hearts, which God moved to help me!” now lives with his relatives in a different city, and he is in need of constant care. I wouldn’t have been able to take care of him Vera from the front lines on my own . . . It is very difficult to live alone in the midst of so “Two years ago, my husband suddenly fell ill and died. I was left much devastation, especially when I don’t know what will happen all alone . . . My heart was filled with sorrow, and I was gripped by tomorrow, and I just hope to see my husband again. loneliness . . . When it seemed like things couldn’t get any worse, the war started. I had nowhere to go, and I was so afraid to die. “I cry sometimes when I think about how it feels like only yesterday I shook after every gunshot, knowing that at any minute my life that my husband and I got married, and now we may live out the could end. This is how I spent an entire year. But then I realized rest of our lives separately. But, I know that God saved him during that fear isn’t the worst thing. The worst thing is to live in fear while that bombing. People from your organization gave me a Bible, also being hungry. But today is a good day—probably the best day which offers true life that can’t be crushed by my troubles. They since the start of the war! Today, believers visited me and brought also gave me food and clothing, which keeps me warm in my cold, me food! Now I don’t need to worry about going hungry! Today is empty house. also a good day because I learned about God. After praying and reading the Hope magazine with text from the Bible, I can already “Now I can go to God when I read my Bible. I usually read it in feel that fear is leaving me. Thank you, dear ones! I believe that the evening, but I have to use a flashlight because I don’t have God sent you to our small forgotten, hungry village!”

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 7 Delivering God’s Word to Children in Need

Millions of children throughout Eurasia are trapped in poverty, hopelessness, and conflict. Many of these children live in areas hostile to Christianity or dominated by paganism, superstition, and radical Islam. That’s why, with your support, we are distributing Scripture pieces to thousands of vulnerable, hurting young lives through our “I Care” program, summer Bible camps, Gift of Hope Christmas outreach, and evangelistic efforts at local hospitals, orphanages, sporting events, and schools. Summer Bible Camps

Last year, our SWW students and other Next Generation leaders organized and led 98 camps for 10,339 children and youth in 13 countries of Eurasia. During these camps, a total of 58,800 Scripture pieces were distributed, including Hope magazine, The Greatest Stories of Hope, and special versions of the New Testament. Many of these children were from Muslim- dominated regions, and many others had never heard the gospel before. But, because of your generosity, their hearts have been touched by God’s Word.

Sasha from Ukraine Sasha is 10 years old, and last year she attended her first summer Bible camp in Pastor Andrei Luka, one of our Rivne, Ukraine. Because of the ongoing ministry partners from Holy Trinity conflict in the nation, Sasha and her Church in Moldova, shares how parents were forced to flee their home in God works in the hearts of children Mariupol. through His Word during summer Bible camps: “I had never heard that God is the “The gospel is the foundation on which we only true God. My father told me that base our ministry efforts with children. there are many different gods. I never Our society and ministry strategies often knew about God’s Son Jesus Christ,” change, but the truth of the gospel never Sasha shared at the beginning of camp. fails to transform children’s lives! Each year Throughout the week, she spent a lot of in our summer Bible camps, we see how time talking with the camp counselors the Lord touches children’s hearts through about God; and one day, she decided to His Word. A lot of them are introduced accept Christ! She was thrilled to receive to an entirely different way of looking at a Bible, which she shared with her father. the world when they read the Scriptures “We never had a Bible in our home,” we provide. Most of them have never even Sasha told us. The next day, she asked heard about God’s love, and during our for another Bible to give to her mother! brief time with them at camp, we can see We also gave Sasha her very own Bible how God is touching their hearts. These storybook so she can continue growing in moments are unforgettable, and they are her personal relationship with God. the reason why we want to serve.”

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 8 Gift of Hope Christmas Outreach

During the Christmas season, Mission Eurasia’s SWW students partner with national local churches to distribute thousands of Gifts of Hope to children in need throughout Eurasia. Each Gift of Hope contains toys, sweets—and most importantly, a children’s Bible or other Christian literature. During our Gift of Hope outreach efforts in 2015 and 2016, SWW students and other volunteers distributed a total of 148,650 Gifts of Hope, all containing specially designed Scripture pieces, to children in need in Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and war-torn Ukraine. These special Scriptures included Bible storybooks, The Greatest Stories of Hope, Finding the Light in the Darkness of Night, and Noah’s Ark magazine, which all point children to the greatest gift of all:Jesus Christ. Christina, one of the children who received a Bible storybook, shares how her heart was impacted by Jesus: Along with summer Bible camps and Gift of Hope, our SWW Christina is an energetic fourth grader who attended students and other Next Generation volunteers are also bringing a Christmas puppet show put on by SWW students Scripture pieces directly to hurting children in local hospitals, in Avdeyevka, Ukraine. She loves to run and draw, and she orphanages, and schools in several countries in the FSU/ enthusiastically participated in the day’s program. “We shouldn’t Eurasia. Last year, we hand-delivered 191,310 Scripture pieces be greedy and do bad things,” was Christina’s conclusion after to children’s hospitals, orphanages, and schools in Belarus, the program, where she played games, received a Gift of Hope, Moldova, Russia, and Ukraine! These Scripture pieces, which heard the Christmas story, and received a Bible storybook. “We include Hope magazine, New Testaments, and The Story of Jesus, should love everyone like Jesus did. We should share what we are now helping hurting children, orphans, and students find have and help others.” hope and joy, even in the midst of tragic circumstances.

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 9 Reaching the Unreached with God’s Word

Mission Eurasia is committed to bringing God’s Word to people who have never heard the gospel in some of the most difficult and remote places in Eurasia. These include unreached people groups in Russia’s Far North, Mongolia, and Russia’s Northern Caucasus who are in bondage to paganism, atheism, and superstition.

That’s why our Next Generation leaders delivered 4,500 evangelistic calendars to the Khanty and the Nenets, two people groups living in Arctic Siberia. Both of these people groups have very little access to the outside world, which means that they had never even heard of Jesus before we visited them. In order to ensure that our evangelistic calendars were as effective as possible, we printed them in the groups’ native languages. Now, these calendars are bringing the Good News to those who have been living in darkness for so long.

Along with these Scripture distribution efforts, we also hosted several summer and winter Bible camps, as well as Gift of Hope events, in remote villages in Russia’s Northern Caucasus, Siberia, and Mongolia last year. During these events, 25,000 children received copies of God’s Word, opening the door to faith in Jesus. Many of these children also shared these Scriptures with their families, enabling the gospel to take root and expand throughout the most remote regions of Eurasia. P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 10 Promoting Religious Freedom and Reconciliation with God’s Word

As religious persecution continues to increase sharply across Central Asia, Ukraine, and other areas of Eurasia, Mission Eurasia recognizes the importance of providing scriptural resources for local pastors so that they can effectively shepherd their flocks in the face of great opposition.

and New Testaments, which pastors are now using to inform In addition, scriptural resources are their advocacy efforts with their local civil and governmental needed to promote reconciliation leaders. They are also sharing these resources with other pastors to between Russian and Ukrainian encourage even more religious freedom efforts in their nations. In addition to religious freedom seminars, we hosted two churches, which have been divided by reconciliation seminars in Ukraine last year to encourage pastors the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. from Russian churches and Ukrainian churches to seek forgiveness, find common ground, and pursue peace-making, despite the Because of your generous support, Mission Eurasia was able to host political tension between their nations. During these seminars, several religious freedom and reconciliation events in 2015–16, during 51 total pastors (one from Kazakhstan, 17 from Russia, and 33 which local pastors received helpful training and scriptural resources. from Ukraine) received copies of God’s Word, including Bibles and New Testaments, in order to serve as agents of reconciliation In 2015, we hosted four religious freedom seminars for 110 pastors in their own communities. Many of these pastors are now giving from Central Asia who are advocating on behalf of Christians reconciliation presentations in their own churches, as well as other suffering for their faith throughout the region. During these prominent locations, which are encouraging even more pastors, seminars, we distributed copies of God’s Word, including Bibles Christian leaders, and civil leaders to pursue reconciliation.

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 11 Equipping Next Generation Leaders with God’s Word

Because God’s Word has the power to change lives, Mission Eurasia equips School Without Walls students and other Next Generation Christian leaders with thousands of specially designed Scripture pieces each year so that they can reach out effectively to specific groups within their own communities.

For example, in 2015, these young leaders distributed 200,000 copies of The Path to Victory, a biblically based sports magazine for young people that we developed in partnership with OneHope, during a youth festival in Tbilisi, Georgia. Also, SWW students distributed 5,000 copies of a specially designed Discover Messiah New Testament to reach the Russian-speaking Jewish people in Israel who have little understanding of their spiritual heritage or the gospel.

Georgiy, summer Bible camp leader “I shared copies of the New Testament with the children at camp, and together we learned so many new things about God. It reignited my passion for growing in my faith. For the first time, I truly realized that I could overcome any struggle that I face! My God is indestructible, which gives me the courage to face my fears and concerns through His mighty power, and His Word has given me this confidence. Thank you to everyone who was involved in the publication of the New Testaments! It is wonderful to have the Word in our own language.”

Igor Mordvinov, the coordinator of the Missionary Department of the Baptist Union in Moldova, shares how young people in his country are being impacted by the New Testaments that we provided: “Thank you so much for the New Testaments! The simple, modern design is very appealing, and hundreds of young people received them with great enthusiasm and curiosity. Many of them were pleasantly These Next Generation leaders are touching surprised to find that the gospel is very relevant and applicable to their lives. When we distributed the New Testaments at a youth camp, one lives in their communities by delivering copies young man said that he didn’t need any church literature, but after he of Scripture that you helped us provide: saw the design, he asked me if he could have one. These are excellent tools for us to use in reaching the next generation in our country.” Aleksey from Ukraine “Through the ‘I Care’ program, we have distributed Bibles to many different people, including refugees, soldiers, and widows. We share God’s Word with them because . . . many of them are feeling drawn to God and the Bible. It’s a huge blessing for them to have the opportunity to read Scripture!

“I want to share with you about one particular woman I met. Recently, we went to the village of Stepanovka in the Khmelnytsky region, where we brought food to a widow whose husband, a Ukrainian soldier, had been killed in combat. In the midst of her suffering, this woman began praying to God. She shared that she wasn’t sure what she was missing, but she knew that God was trying to tell her something. She knew that she needed the Bible, but she didn’t believe that the local priest would understand the grief in her soul. When I gave her one of our Bibles, she almost burst into tears of joy, saying that she had been waiting for just such a gift!”

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 12 Sharing God’s Word with Young Christian Professionals

Young Christian professionals in Eurasia today are the first generation since the fall of the to have the opportunity to use their workplaces for sharing the gospel. That’s why Mission Eurasia is committed to providing them with training and copies of God’s Word through our Next Generation Professional Leaders Initiative (NGPLI). Last year, 2,189 young professionals attended our NGPLI forums and conferences throughout Eurasia and received 6,300 scriptural resources during these special events. Now, young Christian professionals are using these strategic materials to shine the light of Christ in their workplaces and beyond. We hope you are encouraged by this testimony from a young professional who received life-changing scriptural resources:

Angelina, a makeup artist from Belarus Angelina’s first real experience with distributing the gospel took place last Christmas Eve, when she distributed 50 copies of the Gospel of John to her former co-workers at the sewing shop where she used to work. She even passed out personalized postcards with each copy. “I was afraid that they wouldn’t like it, but then I remembered that I am called to be the light of the world,” she shared.

“I want to become a professional makeup artist. I know that I can share the gospel with my future employees and customers. In fact, one of my former coworkers to whom I gave a copy of the Gospel of John recently asked if I would do her makeup. I couldn’t believe it, but when I got to her house, I saw the Gospel of John on her table! We started talking about God, and I could tell that she was close to repentance. I hope that, with God’s help, I can help lead her to Christ.” Overall Impact of Scripture Distribution As a result of the distribution of more than 1.8 million Scriptures throughout Eurasia from October 2015–March 2016, we estimate that between

5-9 million people have been reached for the gospel.

Thank you for your prayers and support, which have made this possible!

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 13 Words of Thanks from Christian Leaders in Eurasia

“We thank Mission Eurasia for providing the Christian literature that we used for evangelism! Thank you for this bread of life, which satisfies the spiritual hunger of the Russian people! We are especially grateful for the special Scripture pieces that allowed us to reach out to many different groups in our society, as well as the Bibles, which helped us encourage discipleship and raise up a new generation of disciples for Jesus. May God bless you in your work to publish and print Christian literature for the expanding of God’s Kingdom in Russia!” - Ivan Krapivin, pastor of a local Baptist church and the head of New Life (CRU) in Siberia and the

“Thank you so much for your crucial help to spread the gospel in our country! Our church is actively using theGospel of John in our evangelistic projects in Moscow. The design is very appealing to young people, and it provides opportunities for us to talk with them. The section at the beginning called ‘Answers to Important Life Questions’ was a great addition to this book! Many of the young people flip through this section as soon as they receive the book, which prompts them to start asking questions. It also en- courages them to read the book itself to find the answers to their questions. We also often visit other cities, and many of the young people from the local churches ask us for their own copies of the Gospel of John. This shows us that there is a great desire and need for evangelism in these cities. Thank you to everyone who is helping us to proclaim God’s glory in our country!” - Vladimir Gromov, minister of a local Russian Bible church in Moscow

“The residents of eastern Ukraine, especially those who live on the frontlines, are weary of the shelling and ruin that take place on a daily basis. They are looking everywhere for words of comfort and answers to their questions. Thank you, Mission Eurasia, for giving these people the chance to find answers and words of comfort from the pages of the Bibles that you provided for us.” Sergey Kosyak, Christians of the Evangelical Faith/Pentecostals in Maryinka, leader of volunteer movement

“As an Orthodox priest, I am so glad that Mission Eurasia publishes so many copies of Scripture and Christian literature for vari- ous segments of society that we have been able to use in our church and ministry. We are especially grateful for providing copies of the Bible in Russian and Ukrainian. Scripture will bring hope and change to our country.” Father Andrei Klyushev, Ukrainian Orthodox Church

“While providing multi-faceted help to people in the war-torn areas of our country, we proclaim that this help comes in the name of Jesus Christ. We do not manipulate or create pressure on people caught in the tragedy of war. Of course, we expected that peo- ple would turn to God during this tragedy, but we never expected that their hunger for God and His Word would be so intense. So we need as many Bibles as we can get in order to give them to everyone who wants one. Without the Bibles from Mission Eurasia, this would not be possible.” Sergey Panasovich, pastor and missionary in the war-torn region of Ukraine Conclusion We are deeply grateful for the vital role you played in bringing hope to the struggling people of Eurasia through God’s Word. Your prayers and generous support have enabled Mission Eurasia to provide more than 1.8 million copies of Scripture to diverse ethnic groups and audiences in their own languages, im- pacting a total of 5–9 million people throughout Eurasia. Thank you again for your partnership in ministry that is helping to change lives for eternity.

P.O. BOX 496, WHEATON, IL 60187 | PH: 630.462.1739 | MISSIONEURASIA.ORG 14