Peter & Mary Mucher Missionaries to Ukraine

TAKING THE GOSPEL TO UKRAINE AND THE RUSSIAN-SPEAKING

PEOPLE IN AMERICA

Vlad’s ordination (right) and ordination council (above)

BEACON WORLD MISSIONS, INC. Volume 9 Issue 4 Fourth Quarter 2007

September 11, 2007, Vladimir Kruchinin was ordained

to the Gospel ministry at the Winkler Road Baptist Church in Fort Myers, Florida, amazing all who heard him with the depth of his faith and his spiritual maturity and poise. There were 16 Pastors who formed his ordination counsel, and the vote was unanimous.

Vlad’s View

First of all, I would like to give my thanks to Beacon World Missions for giving me such great opportunity to come to USA.

In Ukraine it is difficult to have a true opinion about different countries, especially if you have had no chance to visit. In such situation always double opinion is present.

When I first arrived at an American airport, I understood I had no idea what America is about. I was amazed with amicability of people, with their smiling faces and asking me over again and again “How are you doing?”. I recognized the freedom people have here. We used to live under communism regime and pressure, and something of that was inherited to all areas of our lives (even to the churches). Therefore I expected to see very liberal and free Christians and churches in the US. I don’t say we have no such churches back in Ukraine but I thought all of them would be like that here.

And again I want to give thanks to Bro. Peter Mucher (Beacon World Missions) for not just inviting me to USA and changing my imaginations, opinions and stereotypes but preparing a program full with different meetings, conferences and fellowships to help me to build the right view.

I will never forget my visit to Colony Baptist Church

with Pastor Hefner and the privilege I had to first share my testimony in America. I attended my first pastors conference and on September 11, 2007 I was ordained to the work of the Gospel ministry. It is still difficult to comprehend what God is doing in my life. I never even dreamed about coming to USA when I first got saved in Ukrainian military and of course, I never even thought of being ordained.

But again God says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” Is. 55:8

It is difficult to understand what God has done for me and in me for the last month since I came to US. He really stirs my heart and encourages me to be more faithful in my

personal life and at the same time to be more concerned about the lives of other people. Through the messages I have been privileged to listen to in the different meetings, He introduced me to new commitments. I would like to

ask every one of you to pray with me that God would help me to fulfill them.

With all I have experienced in US I will go back to Ukraine to minister to my nation with a new desire in my heart, thoughts in my mind, and strength in my weak flesh to ‘Reach and Teach’ our people. These words struck me in my heart. The words have given me as an encouragement and an advice by Dr. Wallace after my ordination - “Reach and Teach”.

Pray with me that I will fulfill this blessed goal.

Vlad in military

Vlad preaching

Dramatic Testimony of Vladimir Kruchinin He was born on June 10, 1974 in Vinnitsa, Ukraine, a

charming small city about 3 hours drive south-west of the capital city of Kiev. Vladimir’s world was one of repression and spiritual darkness in a land that had been enslaved by another more powerful nation for almost six decades. European nations were still grimacing from the numbing effects of Marxist-Leninist communism. The world was however quickly changing. The countries around him were still in turmoil and Ukraine remained under the cold clutches of the Soviet Union’s hammer and sickle.

The 1980’s brought unprecedented political reform in Europe. In November of 1989, the Berlin Wall was opened. God had brought down the iron curtain! With the arrival of the 1990’s, a new moral light was breaking across Eastern Europe. Young Vladimir, now an adolescent, was searching for something more powerful than himself, something more powerful than the Soviet Union and the faceless society around him. As he would soon realize, the Spirit of God was moving in the hearts and minds of men all over the world, even in Ukraine. God knew all about this young man with a searching heart!

As a child Vladimir had only known the Catholic religion with its Latin homilies, robed priests and traditional religious protocol. This made little impact in his life. He knew there must be something more. In 1992, by government law, he was placed at the age of eighteen in the Soviet army. He immediately fell prey to the brutal soldiers over him. They beat him severely upon his arrival. Ironically however, it was during his military service that he would first learn of biblical Christianity and the saving power of Jesus Christ. God to “Vlad” was indiscernible, unknowable deity who lived somewhere “out there”. But he yearned to know him!

He began to realize that God was much more than just a bright light in some far away galaxy; He was a personal God, a loving God who was deeply interested in the life of every human being on the planet earth. Vlad felt the hands of the Lord reaching out for him. Finding no answers to his theological questions in his present circumstances, he turned to this grandmother who believed in the God of the Bible. She would become his guide to truth and to Jesus Christ. But how would he get to her? He was a soldier surrounded by a godless military machine, and it was still highly illegal to become a Christian in the Soviet army!

As his search for truth continued he was granted, rather

miraculously, a number of “passes” by his superiors and was allowed to go home where he learned more from his grandmother about the historic Christian faith! God was revealing more of Himself to Vlad with each passing day. The scriptures were becoming alive to him. Suddenly he

could go on no longer in blindness and unbelief! Finally, one night in his army barracks, Vlad became convinced that the scriptures were indeed true, and that Jesus Christ was not only real but that He was the way, the truth and the life. Under the shadows of night, he fell down between two army bunks and from his heart of hearts cried out to God, confessing his sin and his rebellion against God and asking him to take complete control of his life.

From that moment on Vlad was a new man, a new creature in Christ Jesus! Facing imprisonment for his faith he was again miraculously “Pardoned” from incarceration and to his amazement was soon discharged from the Soviet army. This was another

divine miracle on his behalf. He was not free to serve Jesus Christ! He took advantage of this supernatural deliverance from the Lord. He followed Christ in believer’s baptism and confessed Him as Lord and Saviour of his life. He began to study the scriptures more aggressively and meet regularly with other believers.

His new faith began to flourish. He earned a Master’s degree from the national University in the Ostrog Rouno

region of Ukraine. There he also studied theology. Vlad is one of only fourteen people in Ukraine with a legitimate theology degree from a reputable university!

Having met Peter Mucher in 1997, he became familiar with Beacon World Missions, and began fulltime in 2004 as its senior translator, field representative, director of the children’s ministries, and overseer of BWM in Ukraine. He began to share his faith from the pulpits of Ukraine. He was becoming God’s mighty preacher of righteousness!

His favorite verse is Acts 9:20, “And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.”

God began to bless his life with abundance. Vlad was married in August of 1995. He has a beautiful wife named Maya and two wonderful children, Carina and Eli.

He is eager to return to Ukraine and begin building the lives of Ukrainian Christians in the faith once for all delivered to the saints. Pray for the ministry of this bold young Ukrainian preacher and his family. Pray he will literally shake Ukraine for Christ. Pray also for Beacon World Missions and its impact in Ukraine.

Above: Children playing a spider web game Above left: Listening to the Bible story Below: Paul Yukhymets with some of the campers

Above: Bible study time

Above: Relay race! Right: Lesson time

NEWS FROM THE FIELD . . . We greet you with the love of our Lord Jesus Christ!

The Lord gives strength to continue the youth and missionary ministry. Assisting youth leaders helps me with organizing the work for youth club and unbeliever teens in schools. This summer we had 6th regional camp. There were 90 young people. It’s more then we had in last 5 years. Nine young people professed to be saved. That was a good answer of many prayers. We are already planning a children’s camp for next summer. The Word of God is still blessing the preaching in Pyatygorka village. Even though we have not a big number of people added, we are not stopping to plant the seed of truth and believe it will bring fruit in its time. People in the village watching the lives of our Christians show their interest and respect. The local government invited us to attend the Independent day celebration, and we had a great opportunity to preach Christ. There were important and influential people present in the village: mayor, club director, deputies, school director and teachers. This event was marked in local newspaper, but the joy is in the fact these people had an opportunity to hear about Gods grace and salvation. Almost every month we have evangelization meetings.

We have baptized eight people, and two more are preparing to be baptized.

Sergey & Helen Overlynski

Great Summer Camps!Out in Ruzhin village Paul Yukhymets and

Sergey Overlynski had youth camps together with a total of 90 children. Nine of these children were saved. Paul had a children’s camp with 80 kids, and 45 came forward for salvation. In another village, Rostovitsa, Paul organized a camp with 60 attending. There were 47 saved at that camp. What a wonderful report having 101 professions of faith in Christ. Praise the Lord!!

Also, we had a week of youth camp in Zhytomyr with 45 children, and shared the camp with Silent Word Ministries who had about 40 deaf children attend. Vlad Kruchinin helped with this week of camp. Many of these children were campers who had come before.

“Brethren, pray for us.” I Thessalonians 5:25

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• Traveling safety for upcoming meetings • Paul Yukhymets meetings Nov/Dec • Funds for printing and shipping “The

Beacon” • Victor’s church building project • Funds for a vehicle for Victor Morozuyk

Beacon World Missions PO Box 97 Trenton, GA 30752-0097

Beacon World Missions is a non-profit Christian ministry of independent Baptist tradition which does evangelism, church planting, leadership training, literature distribution, child sponsorship, medical assistance, self-help for the

disabled, and orphanage renovation in the country of Ukraine.

POSTMASTER: Please deliver by 10/24/07

Praise the Lord for ANSWERED prayer! • Government election • Great interest for The Beacon in USA • Travel safety this year • Great meetings with Vlad in Sept/Oct

CHRISTMAS IS COMING AGAIN

Once again we are preparing for Christmastime with our Orphanage children. For many years we have had Christmas parties with the orphanages we minister to each week, and sometimes go other orphanages where we cannot reach every week. The children definitely anticipate this special time, and we

Contact Us

Office Address PO Box 97

Trenton, GA 30752 706-657-8200

Website: www.beaconworldmissions.com pmucher@beaconworldmissions.com mmucher@beaconworldmissions.com

Field Address

Box 70 Zhytomyr, Ukraine 10012

011-38-0412-412-917

Sending Church Piney Grove Baptist Church

PO Box 737 864 Piney Road

Trenton, GA 30752 706-657-6362

cannot do it without your help. $2,500 is needed to buy candy this year. Thank you for helping in the past years and please help again.