The Pastor's Blog

Final Report On Ukraine And Siberia Trip

Elder Herb Hatfield, Pastor — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 15:10:54 GMT

My evangelism trip to Ukraine and then to Siberia with Elder Jeff Harris, ended, after a few flight delays, wit a safe return to Memphis at 9 pm on Friday, Aug.5. It is always a matter of joy and thanksgiving to the Lord to be blessed to return home and find
everyone safe and well.

As I have shared with you before, my trip began on July 21, with me going first to Kiev, Ukraine to visit with the saints there. While I was but a few days in Ukraine, it was a very precious time. The church in Chernigov had it first conference with invited pastors.
The conference on Saturday was a great time of fellowship a good preaching. The church enjoyed the conference so well they are planning another conference this coming October. I have been invited, but will not be able to attend this time.

Then Elder Harris and I met in Moscow on July 26 and then we flew on to Irkutsk on Tuesday night. On Wednesday night, we conducted our first meeting with the Markovo Primitive Baptist Church, where Elder Vladimir is the pastor. On Thursday we headed north to visit the churches in Sayansk, Nizhneudinsk, and Angarsk. In all those churches it was a great blessing to be able to minister the Word of God to the precious saints there. We returned late Sunday night to Markovo to the flat where we stayed.

Monday morning we began our two day seminar at the Markovo Primitive Baptist House of Prayer. I began the first session teaching from the first chapter of the Book of Titus on “The Faith of God‘s Elect“. Elder Harris followed, beginning his study in the Book of Galatians, under the heading, “The Gospel.” Each day of the seminar was divided into morning and afternoon sessions.

On Tuesday morning, I began with a session on “Hyper-Calvinism.” This was at the request of the Russian brethren, who had received copies of a book entitled SPURGEON VERSES HYPER-CALVINISM by Iain H. Murray which was in Russian. This book tries to discredit Gill and accuse him of being a “hyper-Calvinist.” This was causing much concern among the brethren because we had made it known that we considered Gill to be a very safe and sound theologian and commentator of the sacred scriptures. I first discussed what “hyper-Calvinism” is alleged to be and showed how that neither Gill nor Primitive Baptists in America with whom we fellowship, endorsed such
false teachings. I read excerpts from the book by George Ella entitled JOHN GILL AND THE CAUSE OF GOD AND TRUTH, to support my statements. Elder Harris followed by adding his remarks on the subject and then continued his study in the Book of Galatians. There were several questions afterwards which showed the concern the brethren had over this subject of “hyper-Calvinism.” The conference ended on Tuesday evening with a good time of Christian fellowship.

On Wednesday, about fifteen people made the two and a half hour trip to Lake Baikal, for the baptism of three believers. This has proven to be a highlight in our trips since baptism is so important to these saints and because the Lake is so beautiful. Following the baptism service, we enjoyed a Russian picnic. Lake Baikal is the home of over 56 different species of fish, but the most famous and most tasty is the omul. In addition to fresh watermelon and tomatoes, we enjoyed charcoal baked omul fish and Russian hotdogs. The food and fellowship were great. Afterwards we returned to Markovo for our final services there. Elder Harris brought a great message on “Deep
Water Faith.”

My time in Ukraine and then in Siberia were very special to me. It is always such a joy to visit with the dear saints in those countries. They are so much appreciative of our visits among them and always asking us to tell the churches here in American how much they appreciate our visits. Do remember the dear saints in these countries in prayer. Their needs are many and they have such a low income that life is very difficult for them. It is always hard to leave them knowing their struggles and the added problems the cold winter will bring. Do remember them in pray to our Heavenly Father.

Lord willing, the Aberdeen Primitive Baptist Church will try to send another container of humanitarian aid and clothing to the Chernigov church this Fall. Pray for this effort. I will share more information about this effort later.

God bless,
Bro. Herb

First Report from Ukraine

Elder Herb Hatfield, Pastor — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 02:40:56 GMT

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As you may know, I learned that my travel connections were all changed when I arrived at Memphis airport because the plane was late leaving. This put my schedule behind all the way to Kiev. I arrived around 11 pm, which was seven hours later than my originally scheduled time. After retrieving my luggage (which, I thank the Lord, made it through the switch from Continental to Delta), and waiting to go through Customs, I got a room at the hotel that is near the airport. After a shower, I finally got in bed around 1am. The a/c was not working, but I was so tired, I quickly fell asleep and, thankfully, slept very well. I was up at 5:30 and found a taxi just outside the hotel door that brought me to Chernigov.

I arrived a little past 9am and was met by Pastor Alex. We went to the train and bus stations where we picked up Pastor Edward from Priluky and his friend and then Pastor Nickolai Khmelnitskiy from Zaporozhye. We then went to the church's new meeting place where we met Pastpr Sergy Maksimov and two men from his church. I spoke of their new meeting place; this came as the results of us getting to know the workers of the organization that helps handicapped people here in Chernigov. The Lord blessed us to be able to send a container of humanitarian aid to them. We thank the Lord for this blessing in allowing the church to meet here for a small charge. This enables them to have meetings whenever they desire and to stay a long as they need, and to have heat in the winter months.

So, today, Saturday, we were able to have a service that began at 1pm and continued on to 3pm. This gave us time for singing and for three preachers to speak. Pastor Sergey spoke on God's electing grace, I spoke from Rev.18:4-5, pointing out that God calls on His people to be a separated people, to be always coming out from the world and fleeing unto Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. I believe that all 30 of the church members were present and several visitors. It was a very blessed service. After the service, we enjoyed a very fine dinner prepared by the ladies of the church. It was a good time of Baptist fellowship.

Tomorrow we will have two services, one in the morning and one in the evening and the ladies will provide us with another good meal, we trust. I will be speaking in both services, so pray for me and the interpreter that we both might be enabled by the Holy Spirit of God. On Tuesday, I will leave for Siberia, Lord willing. Continue to pray for us.

Love,
Herb

Pray for My Upcoming Ukraine and Russia Trip

Elder Herb Hatfield, Pastor — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 02:40:58 GMT

“Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I
should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;” Eph. 3:8

The Apostle Paul had a great open door to preach the “unsearchable riches of Christ.” Yet, he also understood that it was “given” to him by God.

While most Christians today would argue the point with the Apostle, he esteemed himself to be the “least of all saints.” So it is with me, as I prepare to make another trip to Ukraine and Russia.

I consider myself to be “the least of all saints,” yet it has pleased the Lord to set before us a great open door. I desire your prayers “that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak” (Eph.6:19-20).

Lord willing, we will take leave from Memphis, TN this coming Thursday to begin our trip. As I have reported, I will go first to Chernigov, Ukraine. I will conduct a two day teaching/preaching seminar among the saints there. Four native pastors from other churches have made plans to be at the seminar.

These are men who say they believe the Baptist London Confession of Faith of 1689. Pray that I may be blessed of the Lord to teach and encourage these dear pastors and saints.

Pray for Pastor Alexander, pastor of the church at Chernigov, who will be my interpreter. He has been having some serious health problems and only last week injured his leg and is unable to stand or walk very much. Pray that the Lord will be pleased to give him healing.

On July 26, I will fly on to Moscow to meet up with Elder Harris and we will continue on to Irkutsk, Lord willing. We are looking forward to a great time of fellowship with the saints and pastors in the four churches there.

I want to thank those of you who have already helped us with the finances of this trip. Our plane ticket and visa have cost us almost $3000. This is a very large sum for our small congregation and I thank the Lord for the other churches that have helped. In addition to the tickets and visa, I have been able to purchase some Russian-English Parallel Bibles for the pastors in Ukraine and Russia. These are a great help, because we have learned that the Russian Bibles are not in the same order and translation as our KJV Bibles. This causes some confusion and difficulty when we are discussing doctrinal issues. So the Parallel Bibles are a very valuable aid to the teaching of sound doctrine. I have also obtained several tracts and 1689 Baptist Confessions of Faith that are printed in the Russian language. These also will be a great help to us.

I again earnestly request your prayers for us to our Heavenly Father. We desire to be faithful ministers of the Gospel to those whom we go to minister. Pray the Holy Spirit of God will enable Elder Harris and me to preach with the power of God upon us. Also, pray that the Lord will be pleased to keep us well during our travels. Our time abroad is short and we desire to make full use of every hour. Pray that the Lord will give us strength for the task that lies before us and if He be pleased, to return us home safely on August 5th.

God bless each one of you,
Bro. Herb

Ukraine and Siberia Trip Planned

Elder Herb Hatfield, Pastor — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 13:04:22 GMT

Lord willing, on July 21st, I will board a plane in Memphis, TN and fly to Kiev, Ukraine. Then I will travel by taxi to Chernigov, where I plan to visit Bro. Alex and the church there. They have been blessed of the Lord to have a new meeting place so we can have more services this year. We plan to have our very first conference on Saturday July 23rd and Sunday 24th. Please pray that the Lord will bless these services to be a means of encouragement to them. Also, some other ministers have been invited to attend. Pray that the Lord will give them hearing ears to hear the truths we hope to set forth.

On July 26, I plan to fly to Moscow where I hope to meet up with Elder Jeff Harris and travel together to Irkutsk, Siberia. There we will be ministering among the Baptist churches where we have been ministering since 2006. We are most anxious to meet with the four Primitive Baptist Churches and their pastors that Bro. David Pyles and I ordained last year. Pray for these meetings that the Lord will use us as a means of encouraging His saints and the pastors, and for the conversion of His elect. Elder Harris and I will be in Siberia until August 4th, when, Lord willing, we will return home.

On our return from the trip last year from Ukraine and Siberia, I shared with you two special projects that I asked you to join with us in praying about. They were:

1. Property and church building in Chernigov, Ukraine. The church was renting an auditorium and could only have it for two hours on Sunday, so the congregation had only limited time for fellowship, and the rent was a hardship on them to pay. Now, the Lord has graciously provided another temporary meeting place for them with more freedom. This building has an auditorium that has heat in it and will allow them to meet even in cold weather. They can also meet more often, and we hope to be able to have our first conference on Saturday while I am there. So, thankfully some of the problems have been eliminated for now, however, this is a temporary arrangement and the owners can terminate it at any time. Please continue to make this issue a matter of prayer.

2. The second project was a church building in Angarsk, Siberia. The congregation is meeting in a very old house with a bad foundation that is literally caving in. They need to tear it down and build a new meeting place. This has not changed. The dear saints are very poor and many are elderly. We have looked at several options, but there does not appear to be any other option except to rebuild. While they do have property, this will be a very expensive project and the congregation simply can not afford to do it on their own. Please make this issue a matter of prayer.

When we travel in these countries, it is our sole purpose to exalt our precious Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We seek to do this first of all by preaching the true Gospel of Christ and then secondly by sharing our love for Christ with them. It is a great joy to watch the faces of the congregation as the interpreter translates our messages, and to see them break forth in a smile and nod their heads in approval to what we have just preached. This is such a blessing and joy. I wish it was possible for all of you to share in this blessed experience. It certainly makes us more and more anxious for the time when all of God’s saints from all over the world will be together around the throne of God, rejoicing and praising our Saviour.

These travels are getting more and more expensive, both the flying and the travel in cars abroad. We try not to be a burden to the saints among whom we minister, so we pay for all the expenses. This requires a large sum of money. I ask that you make this need a matter of prayer and if you would like to assist with the financial burden of this trip, you may send a check to our church, marked “For Russia”. Any funds that we have left over from our expenses are given to churches with whom we fellowship.

Thanks to the gracious giving of several of you, we have been able to assist some of those who have suffered damages during the tornadoes that struck our county this Spring. As I have already shared with you, our church was able to purchase personal care items which we gave to the local fire department to be given out to individuals. We also helped to feed volunteers that were working in Smithville, MS. Then, by the grace of God, we were able to help a dear saint who lost her house and all her belongings. We gave her $1000 and then purchased a stacked washer and dryer for her small trailer. She has sent us a very gracious card expressing her great thanksgiving to the Lord and deep appreciation to all those who have helped her during this great loss.

I trust the Lord will burden your hearts to pray for us that the Lord will be pleased to given us an effectual open door among those to whom we go to minister.

God bless,
Bro. Herb

The Pastor's Blog

Recommended Reading

Final Report On Ukraine And Siberia Trip

First Report from Ukraine

Pray for My Upcoming Ukraine and Russia Trip

Ukraine and Siberia Trip Planned