SHELTOZERO (KARELIA, RUSSIA) - Continuing outreaches in Karelia, our One Year for Jesus team held an evangelistic program in the town of Sheltozero in Prionezhsky region. Sheltozero town is one of the oldest in Karelia. It is a national center of the Northern group of ethnic Vepsians, and is known as the settlement at Lake Onega since 1543.
Vepsians or Veps are Finnic people that speak Veps language, which belongs to the Finnic branch of the Uralic languages. Nowadays almost all Vepsians speak fluently in Russian. The young generation in general does not speak the language. In XI—XII centuries orthodox christianity spread among Veps, but their animist beliefs remained essential for a long time. There is no Bible translation in the Veps language.
In the morning, after a fervent prayer about upcoming ministry and praising the Lord with songs, brothers went to the local stadium to install and set up a tent and sound equipment. Then they went to the town, inviting people to the evening service and handing out tracts and leaflets with a prayer of repentance. In the evening we held our first worship service for local people. They listened Christian songs and testimonies, and in the end they came forward for a prayer of repentance.
Brothers also prayed individually for those needing deliverance and healing.
Evangelistic services in the town lasted for two days. On the third day brothers went to the nearest village Rybreka, located 12 km from Sheltozero. There, they also set up a tent, talked with local people on the streets, telling them about the good news of salvation, praying for the sick, distributing tracts and inviting them to the evening meeting.
In early September, the team of evangelists for three days held similar tent meetings in the old Karelian town of Pudozh. We thank all the brothers and sisters who participated in these outreaches, as well as those who prayed for us and helped financially.
Anatoly Koukoushkin
The team of the New Life Church, Petrozavodsk, Karelia
The Russian Church of Christians of Evangelical Faith
