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Cornerstone Communications
Bulgaria
May 25, 2008

Newsletter Contents

1. Greetings
2. Out Takes
3. VIDEO
4. Teaching for May…. Hotline to Heaven
5. Text from the Video (for those who’d rather read)
6. Closing

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Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from Soifa, Bulgaria! I just arrived here about 4 days ago from Croatia where we had a successful performance. It’s hard to believe that I was in Russia just one week ago. It’s been a hectic time, but the Lord gave us victory in both countries. Bulgaria is just beautiful, and we’re busy preparing for our June production.

VIDEO MESSAGE

Out Takes

Sometimes you just can’t fit everything into the video report. However, please know that there are two television interviews from Russia, as well as the promotional clip of the show are available at YouTube.com/cornerstonearts.

Last year, 2 of my actors: Volodya and Oksana, from Kirov, Russia, played the roles of Boris and Helena Sirovski, but this year they’re playing the actual role of husband and wife! They met on the stage, fell in love and got married! Through my productions these many years, this is the 14th couple to get married because they met on stage! Congratulations!

Pastor Edward in Perm has been speaking about how powerful last year’s show in Perm was. Still today, many are watching the DVD and are being saved and delivered from drugs. He has invited us back this year, but there's no time. Perhaps next year.

MAY TEACHING

Hotline to Heaven

Recently, I was working with a friend to water his lawn. We noticed that although we had turned the water faucet on to water the lawn, almost nothing was coming out. We eventually found the problem. There was a collection of grass, twigs and dirt inside the hose. After we cleared it out, the water flowed freely.

This is true in our spiritual lives, too. Over the years, we allow the cares of this world to stop up our line to God. No, not the big sins. Those are easy to get rid of, because they so obviously are not a part of our life as Christians. Rather, it’s the little things in my life, like speaking harshly to others, complaining, gossiping, getting mad in traffic, etc. It’s these little things that seem so insignificant, that I’m not even aware that I do them, or worse, feel the need to repent from them, and to turn away from them.

1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. He wants us to bring to Him all of our cares: our worries, our doubts, our little sins that so easily beset us. When we confess those sins, God does two wonderful things. First of all, He forgives us, and second, He purges our minds from the memory of those sins!

Why is this important? For several reasons: it frees us from the guilt of all the times when we’ve “fallen short of the glory of God”. It frees us from allowing the enemy to accuse us of those past sins. Also, the culmination of many of those unforgiven sins harbor doubt in our intimate relation with the Lord, and finally, those unforgiven sins can cause fear in us, which the enemy uses to make us ineffective for the Lord’s work.

We can become new creations! We have been given the mind of Christ, and when we allow the Lord to unclog our hotline, we then open ourselves up to all that the Lord has desired to do in us! 1 Corinthians 2:16 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

Finally, what is the best way to get rid of those old memories? By meditating on the promises of God, His Word. Each time we choose to go to His Word and to fill our minds with His promises, we are pushing out the old man, our sinful character, and replacing it with what God said we are, new creatures.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away and all things have become new.” Focus your memory on Him, and not on your past. When the enemy tries to accuse you by bringing up the “old” you, recall instead all the wonderful things you’ve learned about your “new” you in God’s Word! Certainly, you will have a clear hotline to heaven!

VIDEO TEXT

From Croatia, I flew to Moscow, Russia, and then took a train over to Kirov, about 16 hours northeast of Moscow. I arrived and we got right to work with auditions as we prepared “The Hiding Place”. Altogether, there were 5 churches involved with this production, and they were well organized.

I arrived in time to celebrate Easter… again! Orthodox Easter falls later in the spring than Catholic Easter, which we in the west observe. I had a chance to preach to different sized congregations, and also to pray for people after the service. What a blessing to be able to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection all over again!

Rehearsals were in full gear, and we worked hard, preparing all the scenes. The actors were excited about the show, so they were committed to doing everything to make this show a success.

I was interviewed by two different television stations, radio and newspapers regarding the show. You can see the interviews by visiting YouTube.com/cornerstonearts.

We had found out that the Orthodox church was also hard at work… to stop us! We had a few battles with them, and even had to speak to the theatre to keep them from cancelling our production due to pressure from the Orthodox church. In the end, God prevailed.

We worked on the sets, preparing to build a 4 story home on the stage! We built the sets, and Ken and Marjorie Bell, my costumers, came from the U.S. with all of the costumes for the actors.

It was the day of the show, and the sets were near finished, and the actors were busy getting ready for the show. We were prayed up, but had so much to think about.

I gave some last minute notes, and prayed with my actors, then we dedicated the production to the Lord. The show went so well. The audience was spell bound by the performance, but more importantly, the message on forgiveness that prevails over this show.

At the end, I had a chance to speak to the crowds and to challenge them. Can you believe that we had over 200 get saved on Opening Night? Yes, with over 100 the second night, and over 200 the final night. Over 500 souls came to Christ last week!

I’m so grateful to a wonderful team, Andrei and Sveta Brezgin, Pastor Vitaliy Redkin, and especially to Pastor Ludmilla Brezgina for her work to support this production.

With the show over, I took a train to Moscow, then flew on to Prague, then to Croatia.

I arrived in Croatia, and I was met by my good friend Vlado Hoblaj on Monday, and our Opening Night was scheduled for Tuesday night. I was excited, because I knew that the sets were finished, and we’d have rehearsal on Monday night at the theatre, right?

Not this time! They didn’t have the set ready! So, we had our final dress, but with no sets and no costumes! On Tuesday, the day of the show, we were at the theatre all day. Getting ready. Here are the pictures beginning with 11 a.m., then starting to mount at 12 p.m. showing the set slowly coming together at 1 p.m., working right past lunch at 2 p.m., starting to decorate at 3 pm. Would we be ready, I wondered at 4 p.m. and by 5 p.m. we were tired, but getting close. Finally at 6 p.m. the set was ready for the 7 p.m. Opening!

I shoo-ed the actors to get ready. We prayed and opened the show. We had so many people once again receive the Lord, and pray the sinners prayer, and to meet with counselors that we had ready to minister to the people.

On Wednesday night, the show was also successful, with many coming to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Praise the Lord!

We had a cast party to celebrate and I said goodbye to everyone, then I flew on to Budapest, Hungary on Thursday morning, then on to Sofia, Bulgaria to meet the workers. We went immediately into auditions for our June production.

Bog Da Blagoslavi I Ti!

That’s Bulgarian for “God bless you”! I praise the Lord for giving us such a fruitful month! I pray that here in Bulgaria, we’ll see just as many people come to Jesus in the month of June as in May. I pray that the Lord will work through you, too, to bring many into the saving knowledge of God’s Son, and our friend, brother and Savior, Jesus. God bless you.

For the Kingdom,
Richard Montez