anniversary: August 6th

birthdays: Mark - April 19th, Wanda - March 24th, Jordan - May 8th, Luke - November 29th

Stumbo@online.ru

011-7-812-579-3821 / 011-7-812-910-1665

Our city of labor is St. Petersburg, Russia, with a population of six millions souls. The primary language spoken is Russian. The main faith in Russia is Russian Orthodox. During Communism the majority of the people were atheist. When the communist government fell, there was a great void in the national identity of the people. The Russian Orthodox Church quickly began to fill this role, but is still unable to fulfill the longing in the souls of their people. Now it has become popular in Russia to be called "Orthodox." Though roughly 80% of the population claims this religious faith, many rarely attend services or participate in the various celebrations of the church. It is primarily a faith of convenience and not of conviction.

The living standards in St. Petersburg are still somewhat low. There has been a change over the years, seeing the middle class grow somewhat; yet, the majority of the population is still in poverty. It is not uncommon to find individuals in the congregation that have nothing in their homes to eat. Incomes vary but the majority of those paid receive around $100-$200/month. This is only enough to survive.

The church is located in St. Petersburg in the center of the city. Attendance continues to grow and they are presently looking for a new place to worship. We are currently renting an auditorium until the Lord provides a permanent location to worship. There are many opportunities to reach out to this Slavic nation.

The name of the Bible College in Russia is, "International University of Biblical Studies" Russian Division. The Bible College was founded in 1998 and works in cooperation with the Parkersburg Bible College in Parkersburg, West Virginia. There are three different programs utilized in effort to meet the needs of the students. There is a Semester Course for students who live in the city and an intensified course for students who live in various regions of Russia and the Ukraine. In the future they plan to have a correspondence program that will enable them to educate students in their homes regardless of where they live. Tremendous results have evolved due to the Bible College courses.

Brother and Sister Stumbo felt a burden to work for the Lord in foreign lands while attending Apostolic Bible College in Memphis, Tennessee. It was there they were exposed to missionaries all over the world and received a great love for lost souls in other countries that needed to hear the gospel.

After they graduated from Bible College, they were married, and began to seek the will of God for their lives. They moved to Medora, Indiana, and served under the pastorship of Brother M. L. Walls and were blessed by his ministry. The 12 years in Medora and the three years at Bible College proved to be a valuable time of training and preparation for the work of the Lord that lay ahead.

After 12 years of waiting and praying for the Lord's will to be done, doors began to open for them to go to Russia. In 1996 the Stumbo family was approved and sent by Brother L. P. Upton and the National Foreign Missions Board to go to this country and fulfill their burden.

Brother Stumbo moved to St. Petersburg in September 1996, to begin language training. He also began to look for a place that he and his famly could live. In February 1997, Sister Stumbo and the rest of the family moved to St. Petersburg. Through prayer, fasting and various outreach programs, contacts were made and a home group was started. Though fruit was slow to come, the Lord was faithful and blessed the work with souls being saved by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Now the Stumbo family is pastoring a work in the city and directing the Bible College. Their vision is not only limited to their present location, but expands to other Apostolic churches in the nation of Russia and the Ukraine. The Stumbo family wishes to serve these churches in any way possible, to help them to be established in Apostolic truth and power.

The other family members who are involved in the Russian missions work are: Sister Wanda Stumbo, Jordan Stumbo, and Luke Stumbo.