Mikey's Report

Glowing Heart Russia,

When I think about this trip I am filled with awe and wonder at how and why God chose me to be an ambassador of his light and to bring a new dawn into a country which has endured such a long and dreary night. Two quotes, which work in conjunction with one another, come to mind when I think about Glowing Heart’s trip to Russia. The first is Psalm 136:4 which says, “Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. His faithful love endures forever.” And the other thing is a quote from C.S. Lewis’ book in The Great Divorce, “That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, ‘No future bliss can make up for it,’ not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.”

The reason these two quotes and the trip to Russia go hand-in-hand is because I vividly remember seeing God’s redemption through openly praying to God in Lenin Square, handing out invitations to a worship service in the middle of the city in broad daylight, and leading worship from a very stage which used to proclaim that belief in God is foolish. God has truly blessed Glowing Heart with an incredible opportunity to shed light where darkness has been so rampant for so long. As I look back over the things that I have read about communist Russia and have seen how far God has taken that country I know that I have been truly blessed to be a part of something that big. I remember reading about severe persecution towards Christians in that part of the world and now the Gospel is being openly proclaimed throughout Russia. God is redeeming the sufferings of his faithful followers of the past and he is now allowing his faithful followers to reap what has been sowed.

Though Glowing Heart wasn’t there long I am confident that God will give an abundant amount of increase to what has taken place. Why? It is because my God is a God, who like Lewis says, can make “agony into a glory,” because his faithful love endures forever, and because my God is not bound by time. Christ was on earth for only three years and he changed the world, God can also do the same through Glowing heart who was only in Russia for a little over a week. Glowing Heart had the amazing opportunity to lead a camp for Russian youth, help plant a church, and just be a light in the darkness. I believe that we have all done all that we could and now it is up to our faithful God, who is able to do above all we can ask or imagine, to give the increase. God is so good, praise be unto him, for his faithful love endures forever.

Michael Saucedo