Around the World: Mission work in Peru, a Christian gathering in Russia and more quick takes
Around the World is our monthly rundown of news briefs, links and quotes from Churches of Christ all over the globe. Got an idea for this column? Email Erik Tryggestad at [email protected].
Featured photo (above): A mission team leads singing in Huaral, Peru.
PERU
HUARAL — You’re never too old to obey the Gospel.
A recent campaign in this city of about 100,000 people, 45 miles north of Lima, resulted in 27 baptisms — including “Mrs. Felicita,” an 87-year-old woman, said Simeon Vasquez, who works with the Bible School of the Americas in Panama. Missionary John Farber of Valdosta, Ga.-based Latin America Missions coordinated the campaign.
“There is a lot of work left (and) excellent contacts,” Vasquez said. “We hope they continue to be attended to and we will persist in praying for the work in Peru and here in Huaral.” Specifically, Vasquez asked for prayers for Yens Nima, who ministers for a Church of Christ in Huaral.
A mission team leads singing in Huaral, Peru.
LIMA — This fast-paced South American metropolis of 11.5 million people can place plenty of stress on young couples and their marriages. That’s why missionaries Jonathan and Bani Cooper hosted a marriage seminar recently. About 40 people attended, including members of the Salamanca Church of Christ, where the Coopers serve.
Several participants “have renewed their relationships with each other and with God,” the Coopers reported. “Other guests of our members have also asked for private Bible studies.”
RUSSIA
MOSCOW — About 20 teens from Churches of Christ in St. Petersburg and Moscow gathered at a campsite near the Russian capital for “four days away from the city and internet — just time with each other and with God,” according to In Christ, a newsletter for Russian congregations. The event, called Upward Movement, “focused on essential topics like relationships with parents, friends, the opposite sex and growing in faith,” the newsletter reported. The teens studied their Bibles, prayed in small groups, played games and built friendships.
“We were offline for four days, which only deepened the conversations and helped us blend into the forest around us,” said one participant, Sonya Sushkova. “These four days felt fuller than most months.”
“We were offline for four days, which only deepened the conversations and helped us blend into the forest around us. These four days felt fuller than most months.”
TANZANIA
ARUSHA — “These humble people have had a huge impact on the Lord’s church all over the world,” missionary Noel Stafford said of Jerry and Paula Bates. The couple works with Winona, Miss.-based World Evangelism and visited the Andrew Connally School of Preaching, where Noel taught a two-week Bible course and Paula participated in benevolence visits with Tanzanian Christian women.
UKRAINE
DROHOBYCH — Amid the wail of air-raid sirens, a new Church of Christ was born in this war-torn nation recently as 17 worshipers gathered in Drohobych. The small town in western Ukraine, about 45 miles southwest of Lviv, was home to about 75,000 people before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Now Drohobych hosts more than 16,000 refugees from eastern Ukraine.
A new church takes the Lord’s Supper in Drohobych, Ukraine.
“We sincerely want to thank everyone who was involved in establishing this new congregation — for your prayers, support, service and financial help,” said Stas Kuropiatnykov, minister for the Lviv Church of Christ. “Without you, this day might not have happened. Though the future is uncertain, “we look forward with faith,” Kuropiatnykov said, “knowing that God is leading his church.”
ZAMBIA
LUSAKA — “Today salvation has come in Shimabala,” said evangelist Bright Kamunika, referencing Jesus’ words to Zacchaeus in Matthew 19. The Hillside Church of Christ, a young church in the Shimabala community of Zambia’s capital, hosted a Gospel Chariot campaign recently. Participants studied discipleship methods and worshiped alongside members of the Kafue and Chilanga congregations.
A sign invites Zambians to a Gospel Chariot campaign.
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