RUSSIA
Warming the Cold: February 2008 Update on Russia
FTN team members: Pertti and Anja Makela, Jorma and Helli Juusela, Jussi Kiviranta, Kauhava and Paivi Sarjasto.
Translator: Irina Laara,
Local village Christians: Sveta, Valentina and Aleg.
Additional images in photo gallery
Recently Feeding The Nations team members in Russia visited 80 homes throughout several small villages around Kakisalmi and Priozersk, bringing desperately needed food and encouragement to a place where alcohol costs less than milk and is used as a way to escape misery and forget about hunger. These villages suffer from absolute poverty, extreme cold and dark depression. They had all but been forgotten.
For a couple of years now, FTN team members Jorma and Helli Juusela have worked in these villages, offering meetings to share the gospel, but no one would attend them. This time FTN team members Pertti and Anja Makela, along with local Christians, Sveta, Valentina, Aleg and their interpreter Irina Larra, joined them and together the team visited individual homes, bringing food supplied by FTN. Everything changed. Before the team was not warmly received, but now the people met them with open hearts. Before people would just laugh at them because they were Christians. Now they listened and many have received Jesus into their hearts. The team plans to visit these homes regularly with food and encouragement for their faith. 
On one of the visits, the FTN team met an orthodox woman who had been praying for food. She took care of her grandson because his parents were alcoholics. They had not eaten for a whole week, but had prayed, "God give us some food so that we'll make it until I get my pension." When the 5-year-old boy saw the bags of food he cried out, "We can eat today!"
In another place the team met three young teenagers whose parents had died. A young girl was on her way out when they arrived, but she decided to stay. All of them listened when the team told them about Jesus, and they were very touched and promised to come to the meeting.
Every time the team visited homes, what they saw shocked them. The stench in some of
the houses was unbearable. They were reminded of the man who was left alone and wounded. The Samaritan came and helped him, took care of his wounds and helped him to get a new life.
One local pastor said, "I understand that this is not just giving out food, but much more…. You come with the presence of God." In many cases, places that originally did not welcome the team have now invited them to come again.
God is doing amazing things in Russia and we are blessed to be a part of it. Please continue to pray for those who are touching the lives of a people lost in depression and desolation. May they feel the love of Christ and be forever changed.
2006 YEAR IN REVIEW
UPDATE: FTN blessed Moscow and Viipuri with $34,450 in food and supplies for street children/adults and the Betel Center.
APRIL 2006
Additional images in photo gallery
Come Before Winter...
"It was hard for our team to imagine how families with children could survive the cold 
winters of Russia living in basements with no heating at all."
In the Karelia area of Russia, near the border of Finland, families live in dire poverty. One of their biggest problems is alcoholism. After hearing stories of the fate of these poor people, the FTN Finland team traveled to the city of Lesogorsk.
Food, winter clothes, and presents were distributed to the children of an orphanage in Lesogorsk. The joy was undescribable when they opened the presents. FTN bought meat, canned foods, fish, and fruit, warm winter jackets and clothes, a personal gift for each child, and sports equipment for the orphanage. The Gospel was shared with both the adults and the children. FTN Finland is planning to travel back to Russia to provide food to these poor families.