The O'Byrne Report, December 2014 (archive)

The O'Byrne Report, December 2014 (archive)

Prayer Requests:

·       We are grateful to all of you, and for your generous spirit to participate in the Lord’s work through us “to Russia and Beyond”!

·       We are grateful for our entry visas, which finally came through in October, for a safe return to Russia, for our visa extension in Russia, and for Karina’s new 3-yr. visitor’s visa.

·       Pray for wisdom for us in handling the increasingly tense political climate, while we renew visas and try to field questions from Russians who feel that Russia is being wronged by the US/EU sanctions.

·       Praise and Thanks to God for all He has done in 2014!

·       Pray for us as we continue to discern the timing of a move to the US to focus on leading and developing the Imago Christi spiritual formation ministry team (see September 2014 O’Byrne Report).

Light of the World:

The darkness is palpable this far north. The sun rises now at 10am, and sets at 3:50pm (less than 6 hrs. of daylight), and we still have a week to go till the shortest day (~5.5 hrs.). When it shines, the sun is so low, that it only shines down our street for a few hours before it “sets” behind the buildings by 2pm!

“For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” (2Cor 4:6). This Christmas season Paul’s words are particularly fitting. In light of all the darkness and uncertainty in our world, in Russia and in our own future steps, Christ is the Light of the World. The glory of God’s power and love that we experience in Christ gives us peace to face the future in the Spirit of faith, confidence and hope.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men, on whom His favor rests” (Lk 2:14).

God’s Purposes in our Visa Delay:

While dealing with our two-month visa delay (Sept- Oct) was extremely frustrating at every step of the process, God, as always, accomplished his purposes as a result:

The Lord allowed us to visit the girls and attend their fall concerts at WheatonCollege before returning to Russia. Karina is going through the very difficult transition to college life in America for someone who grew up between cultures, and we had many good conversations. Gillian is a junior and is facing some major life choices.

In light of a likely move to Denver, CO for the next season of our ministry, we were able to visit colleagues and schools in the area. On our return through Wheaton, we engaged in a discernment process with our whole family to review and pursue the next steps in God’s calling on us. As a missionary family we are “ready to leave the familiar and comfortable to follow God’s call cross-culturally wherever and whenever He leads.” One “ah-ha” moment came for our family, when I shared how my father-in-law read Matthew 19:29 over us as we left for Russia back in 1993. It struck Gillian that the “fields” Jesus mentioned “leaving for His sake and the Gospel” might even include leaving “overseas mission fields” to follow the next step in His calling.

In fact a future transition does NOT mean a change in the focus or nature of our ministry with Imago Christi within CRM, but the new leadership role DOES mean a change in the “home base” and scope of our ministry. Pray that we will be ready and willing to leave our “mission home” to follow the Lord, whenever He gives us the green light to go.

One Testimony:

“I like how you teach. It is hard teaching people. They do not want to learn something new, but they only want to hear what they know.” One of my former students at Saint Petersburg Christian University, who now ministers amongst tribes in Siberia, told me.

My answer: “Working with people is always harder than you think. This is the reality of teaching. First you have to give people the foundation and background for the convictions they already hold. Then you gain the right to teach them something new. Only when you have gained their trust, you have to earn the right to show them new perspectives and to broaden the horizons of their knowledge. I have learned this through years of experience and I still have to remind myself of this constantly.”

The student’s response: “Mr. O’Byrne in just a few sentences you have answered the question that I have been trying to formulate over the last few weeks. Pray that I can approach my teaching this way.”

Year End Review.

Each fall, CRM conducts an organization-wide survey that attempts to assess the impact of its missionary teams. The following numbers for 2014, cannot show the impact on the hearts of leaders, but does give a feel for the number of leaders and ministry situations that Imago Christi has had on through our Discovery retreats, personal coaching and mentoring. We hope it gives you a feel for how the Lord has used us this last year.

By God’s grace in 2014 our Imago Christi “spiritual formation ministry team” of 10 has:

• ·       Ministered personally to 117 ministry leaders and missionaries
• ·       Trained 638 people through our Discovery seminars and retreats
• ·       In 58 local churches
• ·       In 38 denominations and Christian organizations
• ·       In 12 mission agencies
• ·       In 13 different countries

In the language of CRM’s 2014 Annual Report:

Imago Christi “cultivates spiritual depth in ministry leaders” who minister among:  

the Poor, in the Church and pioneering New Ground,

so that God will be renowned and disciples made among the nations! 

THANK YOU for responding to the Lord’s call and partnering with us in ministry!