Zoom Session at the Center for Women’s Education in Krasnodar

“Trust in Him at all times O people! Pour out your heart before him; God is our refuge.” Ps. 61: 9

Let's start from the very beginning and how we sought the will of God in this matter. The session was scheduled for April 11-12, 2020, but for obvious Covid-19 reasons we could not hold it. Everyone, both students and teachers, were disappointed. When zoom video conferencing features appeared, the sisters suggested an online session. Firstly, the teachers met on zoom to discuss details of the session; After praying, we decided to find out how many students would be able to participate in the session using zoom. We wrote a letter to the sisters of the group asking who has the ability, and a little more than half of the students responded positively. Some sisters could not, and a few were uncomfortable or against holding an online session.

With all this information, we decided to hold a session with those willing sisters in zoom, and to meet with other sisters later after the quarantine was over. We asked each of them to prepare a presentation on the topic from the “Life in Christ” course that we are currently taking, or to share how studying this book influenced them and what changed in their life.

The zoom session had a very warm atmosphere. The sisters talked about their experiences in this difficult time, about how God, through the study of this course, revealed new truths to them, and they shared God's blessings and how He answered their prayers.

Oksana Yakubovskaya shared the topic: "How to properly manage the resources granted to us by God." She gave an example of how, during the limitations of the coronavirus epidemic, she planned her budget so that she had money left and she was able to help her relatives.

Irina Panova shared her thoughts on the topic: "Suffering." She talked about the fact that when she was still an unbeliever, her son died. And when Irina passed through this difficulty, God revealed to her His point of view of her experienced grief.

Vika Sayfutdinova said that her wedding coincided with the beginning of quarantine. At some point, they thought that the wedding would not take place, as the cafe refused to rent them the space to hold the reception. The Lord miraculously arranged the hearts of the pastors, and they allowed a wedding and banquet reception on the premises of the church.

Oksana Kirilova testified to answered prayer. She has two children and did not have housing, so they had to live with their parents in a small apartment. When Oksana entered training, she constantly wrote down prayer requests for the Lord to provide housing for her family. During that time, she received the keys to a new apartment. Oksana warmly thanked the Lord for the answer to her prayer.

Lilia Markova shared how she was a volunteer during quarantine with other brothers and sisters. They went around to lonely elderly people and distributed gifts along with groceries; with each package, they handed out the Bible or the Gospel. Older people especially thanked them for the gospel.

Then, when it became known that the quarantine restrictions in Krasnodar would be lifted on June 21, we asked the pastor of the “Ark Church” to allow a session on June 26-27, to which he agreed.

The day came when we all met in the church. Everyone was overwhelmed with emotions and joy from this meeting. Many sisters could not attend services in their churches for two months and were therefore especially inspired by the opportunity for personal fellowship.

The theme of the session was “Small Group Leadership Training”. Previously, this material was not included in the All-Russian program for training women. The Baptist Conference in September 2019 included express training on the topics: “Ability to ask questions” and “Leading a discussion in a group”, but nothing more. So the teachers of our center decided that the chosen topic would be very relevant today.

Inga Semenova taught on the ability to ask questions correctly for good discussions. Natalia Trifonova, in her training, emphasized how to properly build a strategy for conducting a discussion, and a lot of time was devoted to practical exercises on these topics.

During the session, many prayers were offered for those sisters who could not physically attend the session. The participants thanked God for the fact that during this difficult time they could meet together, see each other's faces and plan the next session. We felt the value of sisterhood. We also unanimously prayed for future sessions, that there would be no obstacles due to the coronavirus, and that the Lord would help us hold our next session on September 11-12, 2020.

Dear sisters! We sincerely thank everyone for their prayers and support!

Wishing blessings from the Lord,

Anna Shik