Kazan

This last weekend I went to Kazan for a youth conference. Kazan is the capital of an independant Muslim republic within Russia. Unfortunatly I wasn't able to really see the city but I did meet some great people. 10 of us from Nizhniy Novgorod went. Our pastor (Victor), myself, the youth pastor, one man in his 20's and 6 teens.
We arrived late on Thursday night. Everyone, except for Victor and myself, settled in for the night. They youth were sleeping at the church while the pastors were all staying at the pastor's house. I had no idea I was going to be staying in someones home. We finally arived around midnight and everyone was already asleep. It was then I found out not only was I not expecting to sleep there, they were not expecting me either. They were very gracious and found a place for me to lay my head.
Friday morning started off with the opening ceremonies and a message on Hebrews 4:12. The theme was on chosing to follow God, letting Him take control of your life, and letting go of sins. All of the messages came from Hebrews 4:12-16. By Saturday night everyone seemed to be moved. When an alter call was made 6 of our 10 went up to pray with a pastor. One teen, Supxan, even prayed to recieve Christ. I so excited to see him step forward and make such a big decision.
Right after the evening service Victor, Supxan and myself headed back to NN while the rest stayed one more night. As we headed down the road Supxan told us how he thought about making the decision and decided he needed to. Just minutes after he prayed he said he felt a joy and peace he had never felt before. He said it was so easy to hang out with believers. The change in him was so evident.
Supxan has a very difficult life. Please pray for him. This summer his mother and two younger brothers left Supxan and his father. They went back to Azerbaidjan. Supxan and his father live in a small one room dormitory. His father makes very little money and works constantly. Supxan goes to school and then comes home to cook, clean and take care of his father. He misses his mother and brothers terribly. Please pray for God to reunite this family. His father, Aizer, became a Christian about a year ago. It was then that he admitted to an affair and another child. That is why his wife left him. Aizer has been living for the Lord but it hasn't been easy. Aizer and Supxan live in a village where there is no church. We rarely see them. We are working on getting Aizer a job and an apartment in the city for the improvment of their material and more importantly spiritual life.