Russia Missions


Reflections of Hope is a missionary sending organization led by Gary and Pam Amstutz. Their primary focus is reaching the forgotten orphans of the Russian Federation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. By developing relationships in the orphanages and parterning with various Russian ministries, they are able to reach children through a transitional home program, giving them the hope that can only be found in Jesus.

The role of Reflections of Hope is constantly expanding. They establish homes in multiple regions of Russia and Siberia, and we have a heart to enable the Russian people to reach their own children. They  work with orphaned children and young adults-sharing the love and precious Gospel of Jesus Christ with every tribe, tongue, people and nation.


If you would like more information about Reflections of Hope, check out their website!

 

 

 

Changed Lives...

Reflections of Hope Newsletter

Reaching the Lost...One Life at a Time JULY 2010

 

In This Issue

July Schedule

Summer Prayer

Fall Plans

Our Lord's Passion

Join With Us

 

Quick Links

ROH Website

 

NEW ROH Video

 

Katrina Yoder Blog

(She is a part of ROH and is currently raising support)

Donate Now Online

 

Google Earth

New Horizons for Children

 

Dear Karen,

July greetings to all of our friends and partners! Pam and I safely returned to America at the beginning of June and have been very active. We have had the honor of speaking in new churches and meeting new friends, and we have also had the opportunity of reconnecting with long-time partners and supporters. God is good and He continues to open new doors for us in various places. Pam and I would sincerely like to thank each and every one of you who have partnered with us in prayers and giving...thank you!! The Lord has GREAT things in store for the children and people that we minister to. We see the Lord changing our girls in miraculous ways but we have barely begun...the best is yet to come!! Thank you for standing with us and enabling us to reach the lost. the poor, and the forgotten with the love of Jesus Christ...thank you for allowing us to be your hands in Russia!!

 

 

 

 

Become a member of the Reflections of Hope fan page...see you there!!!

 

 

July Schedule

If you would like to hear our vision for the precious children of Russia first hand, we would like to invite you to come to one of the churches listed below. The Lord is on the move in Chita and He has invited us along for the ride...and what a ride it is! Jump on board and partner with us.

-July 4, Canton Temple of Praise, Canton, Ohio, 10am

 

-July 11am, Bethlehem Baptist Church, Hazel Green, Alabama, 8am, 9:15am, and 10:45am

 

-July 11pm, The Tabernacle, Gadsden, Alabama, 6pm

 

-July 18, Parkway Life Church, Naples, Florida, 10am

 

-July 25, Brentwood Church of the Nazarene, Franklin, Tennessee, 10:30am

 

-August 1, Christian & Missionary Alliance Church, Orrville, Ohio, 10:30am

 

Although much of our summer is already scheduled, if you, your group, or your church would like us to share our heart and vision for the children of Russia, please let us know. We will be returning to Russia at the end of August...time is flying by but we would love to connect with you. You, our partners, continue to spread our ministry through word of mouth...thank you!!

 

Summer Prayer

Thank you for your constant, consistent, and effective prayers for us, our ministry, and our girls...your prayers are truly moving mountains of opposition and changing the lives of many as we reach out with the love of our Lord. As Pam and I are in the States raising support and awareness for Reflections of Hope, our home in Chita continues to operate. Please keep our entire Chita team in your constant prayers. We have already had some significant difficulties there and are trusting for the Lord's help and wisdom to work through them all.

Vica, who has been a very intimate part of our home since January, has disappeared. She has had a problem with drinking and stealing in the past, and we understand that she stole some of the girls' things and then left. She has not been working and has not been seen since she disappeared. Please pray for Vica. Also, last month we introduced Marina to you, who began to live in our home during May. Her friends and her school had been saying many bad things about why Americans would come to Chita, mainly to steal from her. When Pam and I left our apartment in Chita to go to the airport, she was the only one of our girls who cried. But in the last couple of weeks, Marina has also moved out of our home. These girls have a very, very special place in our hearts...please continue to pray for their well being and spiritual hunger. But even though we have lost these two young ladies for now, we will be pursuing them upon our return to Chita in August. On a positive note, there is another young lady living in our home for the summer, and her name is Lena. We don't know her very well yet but please pray for her as well as our other girls; Zhenya, Tooyana, and Ayoona.

Communication with our team in Chita is very challenging while we are in the States. Lucya, who is currently in St. Petersburg, has been a tremendous help to us in this. Natalya, the retired teacher who has taken over our Chita home for the summer, is struggling. Our church is becoming more and more involved in the home and will be helping to find an additional person to support the home for the summer. Our prayers are that our church's involvement will solve the issues, but we have even discussed the possibility of Pam returning to Chita early. Some of the other ladies who had hoped to help in the home for the summer, have not been able to help as much as they had hoped due to their busy schedules. Please pray for our continued wisdom in this situation. This is the Lord's ministry and these are His children...and He continually shows us that He loves them far more than we are able to love them. Thank you for your prayers!!

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."   -James 1:2-4

 

Fall Plans

When we return to Chita at the end of August, we expect to be very busy immediately. Here are some of our short term plans:

-It is always a wonderful experience to reconnect with all of our Russian children after not seeing them for a few months, both the girls in our home and the children in the orphanage. But we have a few young ladies that we will be pursuing in a special way: Vica - we will be looking for her right away, and when we find her, we would like to place her into one of our church's rehab centers immediately, if she will allow it. Marina - we will try to reconnect and rebuild a trust with her. Natasha - we introduced her to you in May's newsletter and we will be pursuing her to live in our home. Luba - we also introduced her to you briefly in May's newsletter. Luba has just graduated the orphanage and will be moving to the dorm, and we will continue to pursue her to live with us.

 

-We would like to immediately hire a counselor to work with us, someone that Pam can very closely work with and train to minister to these children. We are praying about one lady in particular named Katya, but the Lord needs to confirm this in her heart.

 

-Lord willing, we will be able to immediately purchase a used van. This van will allow us to freely minister in the village orphanages in which we already have open doors, and will also allow us to search out other potential open doors in the surrounding villages. We are looking at a used cargo-style van with relatively low mileage, and we believe the cost will be in the $11-13,000 price range. Please consider helping us to purchase this vehicle.

 

-We will be preparing for and assisting two new missionaries to settle into Chita in the fall, Katrina from Ohio and Victor from India. Katrina will be studying Russian at the university with me, Gary, and will be working with the same target children that we work with. Victor will also be studying with us, and he has the heart of an evangelist and will be very active in and around Chita. Our team is growing and we truly believe that Chita will never be the same.

 

-Our vision during the next two years is to have a large home outside of the city. This will allow us to not only take in girls but also boys, and some of the boys in the orphanage that we have connected with will be graduating in two years. We would like a very large home that we can take in 20...50...100 children...and maybe even more. Right now we have a three bedroom apartment, and on the weekends we can have as many as twelve people there...close quarters but nothing that the girls are not used to. We would like to either build a home or remodel an existing building...and when I say remodel, I mean installing running water and toilets. Pam's prayer is that we do not have to use an outhouse in -40 degree weather!! This fall, we will begin to look for potential properties and explore how much this facility will cost.

 

-Thank you for partnering with us and being a HUGE part of our future together!!

 

Our Lord's Passion

The passion of our Lord is to reach the forgotten, the hurting, and the dying with the love and hope of Jesus Christ. In the Russian Federation, there are approximately seven hundred thousand orphans and another estimated four million street children. This need can really be overwhelming. In the Chita region alone, there are approximately 54 orphanages, and our ministry is currently only able to reach TWO of those orphanages every week. We have many opportunities to expand into more orphanages, but we do not have the resources or the people to reach them on a consistent basis yet. Pray and join with us. Join with us in prayer, in giving, in coming to Russia and working alongside of us, or investing in a home outside of the city that will allow us to reach more children. We need your help. The fruit is RIPE and we see kids that are dying just beyond our reach. Please join our team and help us to reach another generation with the love of our Lord. Your partnership makes the manifestation of our vision to reach the children of Russia possible. Thank you!!!

"Google Earth" coordinates for our Chita, Russia home:

52.07728N,    113.48329E

 

Your partnership makes the manifestation of our vision to reach the children of Russia possible. Thank you for being a part of our TEAM and continuing to spread the Word. Thank you.  Пока  и  спасибо !

Until ALL Have Heard HIS Name,

Gary & Pam Amstutz
Reflections of Hope

(Your hands in Russia)

"Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!"

Reflections of Hope       P.O. Box 592       Dalton, OH  44618       330-857-0113