Dear Friends and Partners:
Happy New Year to you and your family from The Bridge team and our partners around the world! We appreciate all of you who take an interest in the Bridge’s ministry and encourage others with the testimonies of the wonderful things God is doing in the nations through His people! An especial warm THANKS to those of you who sacrificially keep giving of your finances and faithfully praying for the missionaries we serve! Your 2022 official Tax Receipt and Annual Bridge Report have been sent to you via postal mail or by email. May you all experience the abundance of the promise in Proverbs 11:23-25: “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.”
2022 IN REVIEW— A SUMMARY
BOSNIA/HERZEGOVINA – Robert and Sandrina Jurjevich:
During the year The Lighthouse continued its pro-life ministry by advertising pregnancy classes for local women. Sandrina and her assistant received many opportunities to be in touch with pregnant women. Each woman who contacted the Lighthouse, received personal follow-up and for some, it resulted in a decision to keep their babies. The church distributes Bibles and during the month of March (for example), around 80 Bibles/New Testaments were requested from their Facebook ad. Many more Bibles were sent out during the year. Robert and Sandrina were involved with a number of special meetings throughout Europe, including setting up worship meetings in Sarajevo with Michael Turner. Robert, a requested speaker at a number of events, was instrumental in planning the Balkan Call Conference in Istanbul in October. After the church Summer Camp in August, Robert and Sandrina flew to the US to see their children and apply for Sandrina’s Social Security. During the Christmas season, the church arranged the distribution of 400 Operation Christmas Child packages as well as continuing the distribution of Bibles & New Testaments. The big project for 2023 is translating Andrew Brunson’s book, into Serbian and Croatian.
REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA – Steve and Sophia Schmalz:
Steve and Sophia continue to faithfully visit the local airport to provide Ingels (New Testaments) in their own Farsi language and other literature primarily to Iranians arriving into Tbilisi. They carry Ingels in several languages in order to distribute appropriately. During the year they came across several people who had become believers in Christ as a result of their ministry over the years. In the spring, they took a furlough in the US to sign up for Social Security and visit many of their supporters and prayer partners. They were able to visit the Ulrichs, as well as prayer team members, the Rays and the Negveskys. At the end of June, they returned to their home in Tbilisi. They report: “Last year, by God’s grace we were able to distribute over 9300 Ingels among travelers on 614 flights.” At the end of the year, Steve re-organized some rooms in their home to store 40,000 Ingels in Farsi in 2023. This year they are tentatively planning a European outreach, as well.
IRAN/TURKEY – Sargon and Nadezhda Daniali Chamaki:
The year began with the arrest of Sargon’s assistant in Iran, Masud, charged for Christian activities. Sargon spent much time assisting the appeal for Masud’s release. Masud was imprisoned for several months before being deported to Armenia. Now Sargon and Masud have begun a new ministry in the capital city of Armenia. During this time, Sargon began a new video series (interview style) giving answers to frequently asked questions by Middle
Eastern Muslims about the Christian faith. It was posted on YouTube in several languages. In addition, he filmed videos for new converts in Iraq and these videos were copied to USB drives and were sent into Afghanistan. He has also been leading conferences for Life International. These include leading times of prayer in Farsi, which is very encouraging to Farsi speakers. He has 437 followers from Iran on his YouTube channel and 1,300 followers on Instagram. Near the end of 2022, Sargon and Nadia moved from Istanbul to Ankara for a more strategic ministry location. Living in Ankara is closer to Armenia & Iran.
KAZAKHSTAN – Yermek and Kamazhai Balykbekov:
Yermek and his family live in Karaganda, but serve in leadership to home groups all over Kazakhstan. They are prayerfully intending to move to Almaty. However, the year began with protests and riots in that city. All the home churches in Almaty were safe from the protests. Yermek subsequently made several trips to Almaty and several Kazakhs accepted the Lord. In Karaganda, Yermek began to delegate leadership responsibility to Olzhas, his assistant, who will eventually take over leading the team in Karaganda. Yermek is recording video lessons on growing in Christ and Christian marriage. The courses will not be free, but he just needs to charge enough to cover costs. In October, all the home churches were invited to Karaganda for the third anniversary celebration of the ministry. During 2022 Yermek was able to build relationships with three additional home groups. He provided many reports of new believers, water baptisms and healing miracles.
KENYA – Paul and Marcia Cowley:
The Disciple Support Ministries now have two training locations in Kenya and two in Tanzania. Although Paul and his family live in Florida, he travels to Kenya three to four times a year to oversee the ministry, which is fully run by graduates who have been trained and discipled by Paul. Over the many years of the Bible School, about 6000 people have attended and many have graduated.
KYRGYZSTAN – Rustam and Zamira Kazakbaev:
During the year, Rustam and Zamira continued their seminary studies. In 2022 they completed the second full year of training, the half way mark to getting appropriate ministry credentials. When not studying, they visit gypsies and other villages of the poor, distributing food and clothing, while sharing the Gospel. When permitted, they conduct Bible studies for the children and pray for the sick. During the summer months Rustam works and teaches at Christian children’s Summer Camps. Working with the Child Evangelism Ministry and other churches, he taught over 500 children. Rustam and Zamira shared many amazing testimonies from both his teaching and her on-line min
istry. They even conducted an “on-line water baptism” for a new Christian wanting to be baptized. During the Christmas season the family traveled to Uzbekistan and ministered to three churches.
SOUTH SUDAN – Matthew and Regina Deng Dut:
Matthew has a group of three churches he oversees in Juba. He conducted a number of evangelistic outreaches in other cities and regions, as well. In the beginning months of last year there was an increase of Covid in South Sudan, during which two of his leaders died. Some time later, Matthew was invited to visit S. Korea, but during his travels Matthew and his team contracted Malaria and had to abort the journey. All recovered. He continues to reach out to the city of Juba with evangelistic meetings. In addition, he works with his home tribal land, evangelizing, training new believers and planting crops that feed several thousand people from his large Dinka tribe with a surplus to sell. They are now planting their own seed rather than buying them from abroad. The harvest on his tribal land is so plentiful that they now employ over twenty people to plant and harvest. Matthew’s mother started a restaurant. The Bridge helped in this business venture.
BHUTAN, INDIA, NEPAL and TIBET—Dawa S. Bhutia:
Dawa keeps on training, discipling and raising up church planters and Christian leaders via his ministry, Himalayan Good News Networking Ministry, in spite of much pushback from the Indian government. The authorities are oppressing ethnic minority groups who adhere to belief systems other than Hinduism, which is being promoted as the only legitimate religion in India. That also includes the Christian faith. This has affected Dawa and his ministry, as well. In spite of the persecution, he and his team continue through their Himalayan Bible Institute to raise up and disciple pioneer evangelists, train leaders, and then send them out as church planters into some of the cities, as well as villages in the more remote Himalayan mountains within Bhutan, India, Nepal, and Tibet.
KALMYKIA—Sarang Badyev:
Sarang spent most of 2022 in Mongolia, visiting and sharing the Gospel with the many Kalmykian nomadic communities there. Back home in Russia Kalmykia is experiencing an economic crisis due to the Ukrainian/Russian war. To avoid being drafted into the war by the Russian military and to seek for work, many of the young men and families in Sarang’s church have fled to neighboring countries.
UKRAINE—Relief Aid:
In addition to several other projects financed by The Bridge, we assisted with Relief Aid to the suffering people in war-torn Ukraine with $15,000.00 which was sent via three partnering ministries in Poland, Australia and Moldova, and administered by Christian leaders in the warzones of Poland.