Victor with His Four Children

Victor's four children visited him in the hospital on New Years Eve. His wife, Nadia was working.

From left to right are Irina, Timor, Olya, Sergey, and Victor.

Good News in the New Year from Olya Ignatenkova about her father, Victor

Some good news about my dad's health. He feels better and the recovering is going quicker than it is normally. Thank God. There are some pictures. at one of them you can see a huge progress! at another one is the New Year's Eve. All the children came to dad in the evening of the 31st of December. Unfortunately, mother was working.
Praying about you,
Olya

Construction Nearing Completion at Smolensk Conference Center

From the ashes, two beautiful buildings making up the Smolensk Conference Center has emerged. This has been made possible not only from the vision and tireless work of the Smolensk Church, but because White Memorial friends have been generous and faithful in their financial support. We are told that at least 85% of the funds have come from White Memorial. We can be very thankful that WMPC has helped gift our Russian friends with their own "Montreat"!

Here is a list of supplies that are still needed to complete the building - some have an estimated financial cost attached:

Radiators 46 @ $200 a piece
Doors 30 @ $175 a door (includes frames and hardware)
Tile $8.00 a square meter
Wallboard 150 sheets @ $8 a sheet
Railings $400 (for both buildings)
Metal frames for window & stair (no estimate provided)
Light fixtures 35 @ $25
Toilets 11 @ $150 (includes installation
Showers (no estimate provided)
Dormer Windows $12,000
Plumbing piping (no estimate provided)
Windowsills $8 per meter (exterior)
Windowsills 50 @ $50(interior)

Pray for Victor Ignatenkov

On November 18, Victor Ignatenkov was doing some finishing work on the eaves of the main conference building at the site of their original youth camp when the scaffolding gave way. He fell two stories to the concrete walk below. Two vertebrae were broken. His treatment is to lie flat in the hospital for two months at which time the doctors believe he can be moved home for further bed rest. He is not paralyzed. If the vertebrae mend properly, he should be able to return to his former physical functioning.

White Memorial friends have already contributed to Victor's medical care. Victor expresses great appreciation for his friendships with the people of WMPC. Victor worked tirelessly on the building project since their camp was destroyed by fire two years ago. He is chief architect, general contractor, laborer, and fund raiser for the two beautiful buildings that make up the conference center. Those of us from WMPC who have traveled to Smolensk have a great deal of love and respect for Victor. We have seen firsthand Victor's visionary and faithful ministry.

Please keep this dear man in your prayers.

Pray for the Television Ministry

Television studio "Istochnik" has been operating in Smolensk for 10 years. Four young men create a half hour weekly program mostly from a small room in the balcony of the church. The TV program has about 500,000 viewers. In addition to the segment especially created for children, the program includes information about the church ministries and other news from the Protestant Christian community. Some people seek church membership after being introduced to the church community through television. In addition to the weekly program, the studio is called upon to shoot Christian concerts, conferences, Christian films, social programs, puppet shows, and much more. Istochnik is the only Baptist TV studio in all of Russia.

Please pray for the TV ministry. New and better equipment is needed to make their work even more professional. Please pray also for Sergey Sergeev (pictured far right), studio director who wears many hats in the church - that of Deacon, Regional Youth Leader, Choir Singer, and Preacher. Sergey is married with three wonderful children.

Pray for the Camp Building Project

About 10 years ago the Central Baptist Church of Smolensk bought a camp building on the outskirts of Smolensk. The church conducted 3 to 4 sessions of camp each year serving at least 1,000 people during those years of operation. Christian believers came as well as many people without faith. Children, youth, old people all made their way to camp to enjoy respite from the burden of Smolensk living. The camp was a favorite destination for these faithful servants of God.
In the fall of 2008 an unknown intruder came to the camp and set fire to the main building. The destruction of the building was a great shock for the children and adults of the church. There were a lot of tears shed in the church community. But perseverance, faith, and shear will power won out, and the church began the rebuilding project. The wooden building was replaced by two brick ones - the main building which is designed as a retreat center, and a caretaker house. Both are 2 story buildings. In Olya's words, "The rebuilding of the camp is very difficult, long, and expensive project. Please pray for us."

Pray for Victor Ignatenkov, Senior Pastor of the Central Baptist Church of Smolensk

Along with his duties as Senior Pastor of the Smolensk Church, Victor made the architectural drawings for the camp buildings; he is the chief general contractor for the project as well as a laborer in all phases of building. He spends entire days at the camp in his determination to see the project completed. Olya, his daughter, asks us to pray that God will help him by giving Victor the strength, passion, and wisdom he needs to lead his people in this project.