- Grace Tuls

 A New Bible School at a Former Siberian Prison Camp

This trip was one of our most exciting, challenging, and rewarding trips ever. Jack had been praying for the Yakut people and felt led to go visit them and some of their villages. The Russians had settlements nearby, namely a prison camp which had housed political prisoners and Christians. We had heard that thousand of these bones had formed the foundation of the streets. A Russian pastor friend of ours from Sacramento accompanied us for translation purposes. He had arranged for us to speak at a church in a northern city where the people were very hungry. We ministered and many were filled with the Spirit and healed.

Our destination though was much further north, above the Arctic Circle which could be reached only by air. Our faith was stretched as we loaded our own luggage, boarded an old airplane and saw the bald tires. Hours later, we reached our final destination and the tires held strong!

We had been given a phone number of a mutual friend of a friend of our Russian pastor. After we unloaded our luggage, including a lot of donated sweaters and coats, and phoned the number there was no answer. The village was quite desolate but fortunately one man had a van and he consented to take us to the address of this friend. Surprise! There was no such address. He then offered to take us to the only guest house in town. When we arrived at the guest house, we saw a huge padlock on the door. We said: “Lord, what are You going to do now?’ Shortly, a young woman came running out of a nearby house and offered to open the door and give us a room. Praise God, it was clean, although the floor was partly sunken in as a result of permafrost and the beds also were uneven but had many blankets. There was no hot water for bathing and the community toilet was flushed by a pail of water. However, there was electricity and we were offered a hot cup of tea!

After explaining our reason for coming, bringing Bible study materials, she said there was a small church which met in the Club House which she pointed out down the street. The next day, after eating our instant oatmeal, crackers and trail mix, we walked around the small village sensing the spirits of hopelessness and death. Some houses were partially burned, unpainted and the yards were full of scrap metal, etc. which might be useful later. Some families though had greenhouses filled with vegetables and flowers! The unpaved streets were muddy since it was July but the club house was locked.

The following day we were able to meet the leader of the church at the club house. He was a young man whose wife had left him, yet he had a young son with him. We tried to encourage him but felt he didn’t know Jesus and wasn’t interested. However, he was kind to us and called one of the women from his fellowship who invited us for “tea” the next day. When we met the woman the next day and went into her apartment, we expected a cup of tea and a cookie and here the table was covered with various dishes of hot food! This was our first real meal in three days! There were no restaurants in town.

There were several of her friends there. When they heard we were planning to open a Bible school, they asked us to teach them which we did every day (and had a hot meal besides!). During one early teaching session, a new man walked in the door, sat down, had a cup of tea and said: “I’m lost and need to get saved!” When we gave him instructions, five more friends responded and they said the sinner’s prayer. Then eight people wanted to receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit! The church leader walked out at one point before the invitation.

We also climbed the hill above the city and did spiritual warfare. The Yakut shaman festival was coming in the next week noting the arrival of the summer solstice. These people worship the sun and during the festival, the shaman drinks alcohol, dances and calls for the spirits. Several young girls are involved in this festival. We felt led to tread on their festival grounds and call down the Holy Spirit to expose this stronghold. We prayed God would send rain. It sprinkled a little bit, but He had other plans! During the festival, the sun did not shine and the earth became dusty. Then a wind came and blew the dust everywhere. The people couldn’t even eat their picnic lunches because of the dust covering their food! They said it was the worst festival they had ever had!

We returned to our new friends the following year and found the Lord had another wonderful surprise waiting for us. The Lord had called another wonderful couple unknown to us, from the country of Belarus, 3,000 miles away to help teach at the new Bible school and start a new church. Eventually, they were able to legally start the church, baptize members and continue the teaching. Since then we have graduated all the original students and returned twice more. They are our dear friends now. Barbecued reindeer meat is delicious! Jack can speak a little Russian, although we still need an interpreter. One year we returned in October and saw the beautiful little building they had refurbished for a church. One of our women graduates of the Bible school was elected as mayor! New life has sprung up from the bones of the martyrs! - Grace Tuls

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Argentina Miracle

            The Lord showed Jack a certain area in Argentina where the way was prepared for Bible schools. Matt Triggs stepped out in faith with Jack although neither of them spoke enough Spanish to explain their mission and they had no contacts.

            After finding a reasonable hotel and scouting the city for a few days, they felt the need to find a place where their laundry could be done. Matt ventured out and found a laundry just a few paces from the hotel and next door to a church. Jack and Matt then ventured to speak to someone who was counseling at the church. In broken Spanish they were able to communicate their mission to begin a Bible school. This counselor knew a pastor from another church who would meet with them.

            The night before the meeting, this pastor’s wife had a dream. In her dream she was frustrated because the church people were not taking the Good News to the hill people. God assured her that the next day he would send two angels who would help her realize the burden of her heart. Jack and Matt met her husband (who knew about the dream) the next day!

            The first question he asked was: “Are you angels?”

            Their reply was: “No, but we have a plan to reach the people in the remote areas.”

            The pastor got so excited that he contacted many other pastors and invited them to come and meet with Jack and Matt and hear the plan. Fifteen pastors assembled within a few days and were enthusiastic about the Bible school proposal and choosing a name for the schools.

            Jack and Matt returned to America, amazed and thankful for how the Lord had arranged the meetings.

            Within a few months, Jack and I returned with many more Spanish books for the curriculum. We had a meeting with many of the pastors and taught them for a short while. We visited a few of their individual churches in the countryside. The Lord confirmed His Word in healing many.

            On one Sunday, Jack’s message went over the radio. A woman heard the message, parked her car at the church and came bursting in, crying and ready to receive Jesus! Many others responded to the invitation!

            It is three years later now and there are 44 graduates who need diplomas! Jack and I feel led to return, proposed a date and heard via email that they are very, very, very happy because the proposed date will be their church’s 21st anniversary!  

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