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God threw open the door for the preaching of the gospel in Russia when communism fell. After 70 years of suffering, small groups of Christians are seeing answers to their prayers.

The new believers also include more than 300 native Yakut (Sakha) people. Their homeland in the vast northern Republic of Yakutia represents the second largest group of native people in Russia numbering more than 400,000.

The first Christian publication in the Yakut language was the illustrated “Life of Jesus” in 1994. InterAct Ministries, an American mission partnered with a Russian mission, Gospel to the East, to sponsor 50,000 copies.

Alexei tediously wrote the Yakut translation by hand in preparation for printing. He was assisted by a pretty Yakut girl, Kidana. They fell in love while working on this project. Today he’s the pastor of their local church.

The emerging Yakut church is being established. There are four predominately Yakut churches in the Republic of Yakutia. Other Yakut believers are also in Russian churches.

A Yakut teen, Stas, saw a Christian TV program and requested a free Bible. Now he is serving his people as an itinerant missionary pastor. A Yakut couple, Valeri and Zoya, accepted the Lord in a Russiantown. No one else in their village accepted the Lord for a whole year, but today he pastors their local church, reaching out to neighboring villages. In another Yakut village, a former bread store has been converted into a church giving out the Bread of Life. More than 100 attend the annual Yakut Conference hosted by this church.

A gospel tract, “Heaven, how to get there” has been translated into Yakut. One man was convicted at a home Bible study and asked, “Can I pray in my own language?” Then he prayed the sinner’s prayer from this tract. Yakut leaders also host weekly home Bible studies and fellowships.

God delights to hear us pray for people groups such as the Yakut. Recently a retired missionary visited a supporting church. A prayer warrior in her 90s asked, “Tell me more about the Yakut people. My prayer group has been praying for them for years.”

We traveled by vehicle for more than 24 hours to visit a distant Yakut church. I silently prayed for more workers whenever we passed a village along the road. One of our Yakut believers witnessed to two Yakut hitchhikers. Each one responded, “That’s the very first time I’ve ever heard about Jesus Christ.” How thankful we are for some literature in their language.

Singing gospel songs in Yakut has greatly encouraged the Christians. It’s also an excellent way to introduce the gospel to unbelievers such as in public concerts. One Yakut man responded according to his communist training, “I don’t see God or even believe in God, but where did you get those songs that touch my soul?”

It is important to witness and think like Yakut people think. One Yakut pastor told us, “Yakut people worship nature, but the Yakut word for ‘nature’ means ‘something that almighty God created.'” God has preserved basic words in their language showing that their ancestors believed in God.

One of the Yakut churches prayed for a neighboring village and offered people a copy of the Jesus film in Yakut. A couple in their 40s cried when they saw Jesus being crucified. Both of them received the Lord and are now attending church.

Four Yakut young people are attending the Yakutsk Bible School, which started in the fall of 2001 so they can better minister to their own people.

The majority of the Yakut people prefer to use their own language. Lord willing, we anticipate more culturally relevant, original Christian literature and songs in Yakut. The Yakut hymnal with more than 110 songs should be completed soon. Christian media including children’s stories, Scripture calendars, cassettes, radio and TV programs are being prepared. The Institute for Bible Translation plans to complete the New Testament by the end of 2002.

The emerging Yakut church is bringing glory to God, even though it is different from the dominant Russian church. There is a movement toward making Russian Orthodoxy the only religious group in the Republic of Yakutia. We thank God for reopening the door for the gospel in Russia and also among the Yakut people in God’s northern harvest field.

David Henry serves in Yakutia with InterAct Ministries, Boring, Oregon.

April 5, 2002