CEE Story From The Mission Field
Storehouses of Hail
December 26, 2001
"Have you entered the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of the hail, which I reserve for times of trouble?" Job 38:22-23
God is growing His church. As IMB missionaries look for opportunities to begin Bible studies and plant new churches, they are constantly amazed at how God has been at work before them, laying the groundwork and opening the doors, sometimes years before missionaries show up on the scene. In Siberia, He did this through a young lady named Ira.
Ira is a Buryat, a people group of Eastern Russia that is virtually unreached with the gospel of Christ. Several years ago, Ira left her home village to attend nursing school. She had plans to return and marry and continue on in the ways of her people, but God had other plans. While at school, Ira learned of Christ, and became a believer. When she returned home to tell her people about her new life, they shunned her. The worst rejection came from her own family and the man she was betrothed to marry. He refused to marry her if she did not leave the teachings of Christ. She would not, could not--and was left alone in her new-found faith.
She remained in the village, the only believer in Christ, and remained faithful, though discouraged. Then one day, God swung open the door that the Buryat people had tried to shut when Ira came home testifying of the power of Christ. He sent a hailstorm to the village. All the crops on all the farms were destroyed. All except those belonging to Ira. She was the only one with food, the only one who could give hope for survival--both physical and spiritual. The IMB missionaries, looking for opportunities to reach the Buryat people, saw the hand of God at work and joined Him. They bought Ira's cabbage harvest and distributed food to each of the villagers in the name of Christ. Along with the food, the villagers also gladly received a Bible or Bible portion proclaiming the Good News of Christ. The seed has been planted--hope has been given.
Ira, still unsure of the mysterious ways of God, believed that God was punishing the Buryat people through the hail storm for their rejection of Him and their evil ways, but the IMB workers explained that in God's mercy and love for the people of Ira's village, He had orchestrated the events to demonstrate His power and provision for the Buryat people--even His provision through her. When Ira saw how God was at work, she joined the missionaries and is now part of the Buryat Team, working to plant a church in her village.
Pray for the Buryat Team, for Ira and for the people of this village to recognize the mercy that God has shown them and turn to Him. Praise God that He is the one that owns the storehouses of hail.
View the photo essay of "Storehouses of Hail."