Jill's space

Sunday, March 22 7 pm

Grace Evangelical Free Church

2415 Lake Park Dr.

Longmont, Colorado

to be updated shortly.

 

My two primary ministries are my Russian-language radio broadcasts for 1/2 hr a week, as well as the church Ark of Salvation in Klimovsk, a southern suburb of Moscow. Since our church meets in the evening, we are free Sunday mornings to visit other churches, play and share, distribute CD's, see what else is going on in the ministry world in Moscow.  We also are frequently invited to other towns to minister, so we have been travelling recently.  I work with Sergey Achkasov, a pastor who studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory.  Meanwhile, we have 3 separate producers who have become interested in organizing concerts for us, so we may add professional concerts to our activities soon.... Our passion is for prophetic minstry--stepping aside completely to let God do the ministering and speaking and playing, and just stand back in awe as He touches and heals in ways beyond imagination. If you need an answer or a touch from God, please email jill.conklin@gmail.com.

            In October 2008, Sergey and I attended a Foursquare conference in Sochi, a resort town on the Black Sea near the border with Georgia (not where the fighting was).  Sochi has a very unique climate, with the Black Sea on one side, and beautiful mountains on the other, very similar to California. This gives the city 2 tourist seasons:  swimming in the summer, and skiing in the winter.  Along the coast, the weather generally stays pretty temperate, although it can snow in the winter.  While we were there, it was already turning chilly and rained 2 or 3 of the 7 days we were there.   The Black Sea itself has a very unique ecosystem, as the water is salty, but not as salty as the ocean.  In October, the water is quite chilly.  Naturally, there are a few cultural differences from the rest of Russia.  As we were driving into town, I noticed a lady sweeping the sidewalk with something that looked like a mop.  In the rest of Russia, they use bundles of birch twigs tied together.  When we got closer, I realized it was a bundle of palm fronds tied together!

 

Sochi was one of the most popular resort destinations during the Soviet Union, and is the choice vacation spot for President Putin today.  However, the city is quickly changing, partially due to the fact that it will host the Olympics in 2014. There are lots of advertisements of real estate for sale, and there are even billboards in Moscow advertising investments in Sochi (a majority of the people who have money to invest live in Moscow).  Buildings are being razed and rebuilt at breakneck speed, and I have heard estimations that property rates will skyrocket so much that in a few years the locals will no longer be able to afford the homes they have lived in for years.  There are cranes and buildings under construction everywhere, but as Russians and especially Sochians love lights, even the cranes are beautifully lit up at night. 

 

            As more and more people are able to obtain cars, traffic jams are becoming more and more of a nuisance.  A group of conference attendees were placed in a hotel a distance away from where the conference took place—about an hour by foot, an hour by car, or about 10 min. by car without traffic. 

 

            We took part in the Conference from Wed-Sat, taking part in worship and assisting with translating. (The hotel is partly visible through the trees in the center of the beach picture below.)  It was good to get to know some of the pastors that work under Foursquare’s covering, to get to know other Foursquare missionaries, and to hear what each is involved in.  We had good fellowship time with them, as well as with Jeff and Debbie Roper (Foursquare Missions Director for Europe) (See second to last picture--the couple in sunglasses. The other three people are old friends of mine from Krasnodar).  Sergey even met a few old friends among those attending!  On Sunday, we attended and took part in worship of the church of Slava and Sveta Naniyants, the national director for Foursquare Russia (see last picture below, the couple on the left.  The other couple, from Holland, spoke at last year's conference.)  On Monday, we sat in on the classes for a leadership training institute that would go on the whole next week, and on Tuesday we flew back to Moscow. 

              

We had a wonderful time in the US this summer, with a wide variety of ministry and other activities.  We ministered in various churches in many different states, primarily Russian-speaking, but also some English-speaking.  We had meetings with Foursquare leaders (the denomination of my home church) about how we can work together more seriously both in Russia and the US.  In addition, we were able to attend some conferences and seminars for spiritual growth, as well as spend some time in nature, connecting with God through His creation.

Our trip started off in Colorado, where we connected with my home church and ministered in various Russian- and English-speaking services.  Sergey also had a wonderful meeting with his spiritual father Earl Poysti, a radio evangelist who preached for many years through the iron curtain.  Sergey listened to his broadcasts on a short-wave radio from age 9, when he had no opportunity to go to church or receive spiritual teaching.  He would retell everything he heard on the radio to his friends and neighbors.

 

 

From there we went to the West Coast, where we had meetings with Foursquare personnel at the headquarters of Foursquare Missions International in Los Angeles, CA, as well as with the director of Foursquare Missions for Europe and Russia, Jeff Roper, in Seattle, WA. Meanwhile, we were able to minister in many Russian-speaking churches along the West Coast, attend some conferences, and see some beautiful scenic places.