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Dear friends
In the last two months the Holy Spirit spoke to me about reaching the Muslims in Moscow. I discovered a startling fact: Moscow is the city with the largest Muslim population in Europe! Some sources put this figure at a possible 3 million!
Most of these people are from ex Soviet Union countries in Central Asia, like Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. These people usually come to Moscow for economical reasons, making money here and sending it home.
Some people say that up to 50% of Uzbekistan's men are working in Moscow. Men and women often leave their children with relatives to earn money in Moscow. They get the 'dirty' jobs, working an outrageous 7-day week for 12 or more hours a day. Typical salaries are in the region of $200 or $300 a month, which is about 10 times the amount they can expect to earn in their home country.
To rent a room in Moscow costs $200/month, which forces these poor people to mass-occupy one-room apartments. I recently visited one of these one-room apartments where 9 people were living. I was told by the lady-in-charge that they could easily accomodate 14 people in such apartments! I have heard reports of twice or three times that number of people living in one-room apartments.
Life in Moscow is close to hell on earth for these Southern people. They are far from home and ofen targeted by malicious extremists. This opens their hearts so much more for a word of encouragement, a true hand of love or a warm atmosphere of love and fellowship. God is bringing Muslims to Moscow, opening their hearts to the gospel: in the last few months we have seen quite a few of them come to the Lord!
Last week God blessed us with another milestone: we planted our first home church in one of these communal one-room apartments. It is an all-woman home church, with women from Central Asia, Armenia and Moldovia.
On my first visit there with Lyuba, I baptized Marina, who came to the Lord the previous Sunday. The next Sunday her sister Anya also gave her life to the Lord. Something has been released in the spirit realm!
Pray that houndreds and even thousands of home churches will multiply among the Muslims in Moscow. Praise the Lord of the harvest for His wisdom and His heavenly ways!
In Him
Hugo van Niekerk
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