We are very grateful to God for the privilege of receiving a four-member team of missionaries to Moscow Russia which consisted of Brother Chijioke and Sister Iffy from Nigeria, and Brother Martin and Sister Kristina from the Czech Republic.
Brother Martin and Sister Kristina were the first to arrive Moscow at about 12:30 pm Moscow time, and Brother Efeturi was on hand to receive them at the Sheremyetevo Airport in Moscow. They waited for Brother Chijioke and Sister Iffy who arrived in Moscow at about 2:30 pm. From the airport, they headed into Moscow city where they hoped to stay at Intercontinental hotel; surprisingly, the hotel was fully booked. At this point, they were joined by Brother Donatus and together they searched around for some other lodging options with little success. At about 5:30 pm, the Spirit led them to a hotel with available rooms where they settled in.
At 6:00 pm, the Brethren (Brother Chijioke, Sister Iffy; Brother Martin and Sister Kristina) left for a fellowship meeting that lasted from 7 till around 9 pm. At the meeting place, Sister Vanessa, the host, prepared a meal which they all ate together; after which Brother Chjioke and Brother Martin shared the word with the brethren who were present (they were about 7 of them).
After the sharing, Sister Vanessa showed the brethren pictures of their mission work. And the brethren were thankful for the great way God was using them to bring healing to the hurting of Moscow Russia.
From the meeting, they headed to the hotel where they rested for the night.
Saturday 29 August, 2015
After breakfast at the hotel, the Brethren were joined by Brother Efe, Brother Donatus, and Brother Precious and at about 12 noon they departed for the Students for Christ (SFC) meeting venue, where they were to meet with the students in Moscow. Brother Daniel from SFC was there to pick them up.
The meeting started around 1:30 pm, and about a dozen students was present to learn of the mind of Christ concerning them, Brother Martin and Brother Chijioke shared the word of God.
Brother Martin encouraged us to get our vision for life from Christ (1 John 2:14). According to him, “We need to be walking as ambassadors of God, as God wants us to be like him and do like him. For that to happen, we must grow.”
Brother Ike, one of the students present, asked a question on how a young man can discover his purpose, and Brother Martin said the secret is to “make up your mind to do God’s will and have God teach you to obey His will.”
After Brother Martin’s session which lasted about 40 minutes, Brother Chijioke reminded us that we are priests with God with amazing treasures within (2 Cor. 4:7). He reminded all present that God’s mathematics puts our soul at par with the whole world, and still the whole world does not measure up. He encouraged us to develop our soul and make it a watered garden so that God can dwell in it.
The meeting ended at about 4 pm, and from there we (Brother Chijioke and Sister Iffy; Brother Martin and Sister Kristina; Brothers Ike, Efe, Donatus, Precious and Brother David) headed for for dinner.
Along the way to the metro, Brother Chijioke took questions from Brother Ike on several aspects, including wisdom for life, marriage, and leadership. Brother Chijioke, bless God, answered all the questions that were asked him. He explained that Wisdom is that grace from God that directs the soul, and that the foundation of wisdom is the fear of God.
On wisdom for leadership, Brother Chijioke explained that one-man ministry ended with Moses, and that brethren in leadership must practice mutual submission.
When asked about 3 keys he would suggest for marriage, he gave the following:
- You must marry someone that loves God more than you. On the basis of that the Love of God can grow.
- Vision. What is the person’s outlook on life? Is God primary in the person’s life?
- Compatibility, of the same kind. There are people God has made for you. Beauty is secondary. “The woman that fears the Lord she shall be praised.”
At the dinner location, we were ushered to the African Restaurant, Avenue, where we had an early dinner and some fellowship. After dinner, we all left for the Red Square in Moscow so as to appreciate the city of Moscow.
After seeing the Red Square, the brethren headed back to the hotel to rest their head for the night. But before doing so, they invited us to join them for a time of breakfast and fellowship at their lodge on Sunday morning.
Sunday 30 August, 2015
After breakfast, we had a time of fellowship in Brother Chijioke’s hotel room which lasted till 11 AM. Brother Martin shared on the concept of Christ, laying special emphasis on the importance of Baptism into Christ – immersing yourself into Christ and allowing him to take control of your life.
He used the Tabernacle of Moses to illustrate the steps into being immersed in Christ, encouraging us all to not stop yielding ourselves to God, until we have fully been immersed into Christ.
The meeting ended with a time of prayers, after which Brother Efe assisted the visiting missions Team – Brother Chijioke and Sister Iffy; and Brother Martin and Sister Kristina – to the airport so they could meet up with their flights.
It was really a blessed time in Moscow and we thank God for sending the Team to encourage us in Moscow.
Brother Ike on behalf of the Moscow brethren
We bless God for the great privilege He granted us to undergo this mission to the glory of His name. The team consisted of Brother Iyke & Sis. Caroline John-Chieme from London, Brother Martin Hloska from Prague and Brother Chijioke & Sister Iffy Nwauche from Nigeria.
The first batch of the team which consisted of Brother Chijioke/Sister Iffy Nwauche who came into Prague on the 7th of April from UK after the Luton Conference and Brother Martin Hloska arrived on Thursday 9th April after a long drive from Prague. We were received warmly by Brother Nandor, a Baptist Pastor, another brother who is an elder in the Baptist church and his daughter who served as an interpreter since the other ones could not speak English. We checked into the already booked Csipke hotel in Kiskunhalas and all had dinner together. Conversation was very pleasant and the Pastor expressed his desire to have Brother Chijioke minister in his church but regretted he will be absent since they already had an arrangement to take the youths in the church for a programme outside the town.
Friday, 10th April
After breakfast we (Brothers Martin, Chijioke and Sister Ify) had some time of prayers together and were picked up at 4 pm by Brother Peter Mohlar (Nandor’s son) for the meeting at Sister Magda’s house. The brethren were already singing while waiting for our arrival. We were warmly received by Sister Magda, Brother Elud and his family (wife and two daughters), and some other few brethren. After exchanging pleasantries, Brother Chijioke shared on the importance of writing the vision plainly (Habakkuk 2: 1-3) and the need to hold unto the vision for though it tarries it must surely come. The testimony of his return to Kiskunhalas after 19 years of waiting for the fulfillment of what God had shown him about returning to the place, after 19 years of his earlier visit with Brother Hubert is a proof that what God had spoken will surely come to pass. He emphasised on the need for us to know that we are the temple of God and therefore we must get this temple ready for the Lord to make His dwelling, explaining this from the teaching on the Tabernacle. Brother and Sister Iyke came in later during the meeting with Brother Nandor who picked them from the airport. Sister Magda explained that she had been praying for the return visit of Brothers Chijioke and Hubert after their first visit and was very happy that God had granted the request. Brother Nandor asked a question on the renewing of the mind. The fellowship ended with prayers for Sister Magda. After the fellowship we had dinner at Brother Nandor’s house where sister Melinda treated us with a very rich Hungarian Cuisine. We retired to our hotel around 9.30 pm.
Saturday, 11th April
We were picked up from the hotel by 1 pm for another wonderful lunch at Brother Nandor’s house. Brother Peter picked Brother Ibitamuno Caleb, a young Nigerian brother studying Medicine in Hungary, who joined us for the lunch and after which we all went to the hotel for a brief time of rest before the meeting. During fellowship at Sister Magda’s house, Sister Caroline shared a vision of something like a snow ball which was going up the hill and was collecting the brethren while going on along. We were made to understand that the ball was the word of God which had the power to raise the mind and take us up to the Mountain Zion. Brother Chijioke built upon what he started on yesterday. He taught on the 4 cardinal points of the Apostolic vision with emphasis on the New temple, Zion the City of God (Ps 132:13, 48:1-2, Heb. 12:22-24).
Sunday, 12th April
This was the day of the meeting at the Baptist Church. We were picked up by Nandor and his wife by 9.20 am for the service at 9.30 am. The daughter of the elder in the church had to sit with us so as to interpret for us in the course of the service. We were introduced by the elder and later Brother Chijioke was called to the pulpit to share what he had. He started from 2nd Corinth 3:13-18, stating that there is veil over the face so we approach God with a covering and this is why there is need for a personal revelation of Jesus. Also he spoke about the fact that we are the temple and resurrection is a person and that eternity is a person. This evoked some reactions in the audience; even the interpreter herself was surprised to hear that. He also spoke about the fact that God’s plan is for our total salvation (spirit, soul and body). It was really a good experience being in the Baptist Church; surely God will have us go to different places to spread this word of the kingdom.
Evening meeting was as usual in Sister Magda’s house. Brother Iyke shared from Acts 26:1-8, the apostolic word is that God can change our soul, can make us overcomers and will raise us from the dead. After it Brother Martin shared on training of children. This was particularly important because Brother Elud’s wife had asked a question about how to teach and bring up her children in the way of God. He talked about the chain of authority that flows from God down to the children. The final part of the meeting was an interactive session with questions and answers where Brother Chijioke dealt with some areas that were not very clear from the previous sessions emphasising on the power of the word of God to change our souls. It is noteworthy that all through the meetings, Brother Peter translated all the messages and this he did with great delight. We thank God for this faithful servant of His and pray that God will strengthen him the more in this ministry. We were also very glad to meet with his new baby as well as his wife, his sister and her husband.
A notable testimony in this trip was the coming of Brother Zoltan to the evening meeting; this was a very pleasant surprise to every one of us. Brothers Martin and Chijioke had earlier contacted him and he visited at the hotel and had a long chat with brother Chijioke who encouraged him to attend the meeting. Seeing him walk in during the meeting was indeed an answered prayer and a great encouragement that surely God is beginning to revive things in this little town and we believe that He will restore the years that Caterpillar have eaten. We believe that God will have us pray for this little group and make many more visits to encourage and strengthen them. We left Hungary on Monday afternoon, the three of us (Brothers Martin, Chijioke and Sister Ify) drove back to Czech while Brother Iyke and his wife were taken to Budapest by Brother Nandor to catch their flight back to London. We bless God for the privilege to be able to work as His co-labourers in the vineyard. It is indeed a great honour and humbling experience. We were greatly challenged by Brother Martin’s resilience in the trip, the long journey to and from Hungary without an iota of complaint. May the good Lord bless this humble servant of the His. Amen.
Sister Iffy Chijioke-Nwauche on behalf of Team Hungary Brothers Martin, Iyke, Chijioke and
Sister Caroline