Stories of Healing and Hope in Eurasia

She had never heard her father address her by name. But one day, she heard the Lord speak it in prayer.

Albina grew up in a mixed Muslim Orthodox family. She once received a New Testament from the “Brothers of Gideon.” Reading the Scriptures, she called out to God, and in prayer, she encountered Jesus. While praying, she sensed the Lord call her by name and show her that He could wash her sins away.

Today, she ministers to women experiencing traumatic situations, like persecution for their faith, loss of loved ones, domestic violence, and rape. Her ministry takes place in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Russia. Albina dreams of a day when churches are equipped to “accept such people and be a place of healing.” She and her team have worked with churches to open shelters and provide various

She is just one of thirteen Christian leaders from across Eurasia who gathered at the end of April for an LFM mentor gathering.

avenues for the rehabilitation of people in need, including opening centers for widows and
mothers of the deceased from the war. Albina also writes books based on stories of biblical
women for the purpose of introducing Eurasian women to a relationship with Christ.

She is just one of thirteen Christian leaders from across Eurasia who gathered at the end of April for an LFM mentor training experience. With participants who spoke Russian and English, this was the first dual language training in English and Russian LFM has ever offered.

A whole new realm of mentoring Sergei Bagretsov, a pastor in the Moscow region of Russia, also participated. He shared, “The Lord opened a whole new realm of mentoring to me at the LFM mentoring retreat near Almaty, Kazakhstan. The active listening and silent prayer practices and receiving from my peer fellow-ministers who spoke into my life in a gentle and humble manner became the highlights of the experience.”

One seminary professor who participated reflected, “We shared our lives, thoughts, problems, plans and dreams with those who are also ministers, so they knew, they understood, and we were on the same page. I grasped every word I heard then and still keep thinking how God talked to me through them. I really felt God’s presence and heard Him telling me, ‘Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you’ (1 Peter 5:7 NLT).”

Meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan, these ministry leaders came from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Crimea. Alexey Gorbachev, seminary dean from Moscow, Russia, Lausanne leader, and trained LFM mentor was the key organizer along with LFM board member Anne Grizzle.

Jeanie’s Evangelists

LFM shares a passion to equip female ministry leaders worldwide. Elke Werner and Anne Grizzle are assembling a three-year cohort for women evangelists from six continents. The total cost for three years is $50,000. With one generous gift of $30,000 from a friend of LFM, we are praying for another gift of $20,000 to complete the need.

God entrusted the Gospel to numerous women in the New Testament – and He continues calling women to the work of evangelism. Will you consider investing in this exciting ministry?

Anne represented LFM at the Fourth Lausanne Congress last fall in Incheon, South Korea. There, she and Mark Slaughter led a gathering of mentors connected to LFM. Alexey and his wife, Tonya, participated in that group and told Anne they had a vision to offer training to their Lausanne Eurasian leaders.

Anne jumped on the opportunity and said, “Let’s try it! This is a great opportunity.” Years ago, Anne and Leighton put together the basis of LFM’s mentor training, and Anne has participated in global mentoring experiences with Lausanne in Asia and Mexico.

A Beautiful Diversity

Participants included seminary deans, leaders of Christian networks, senior pastors, and other Christian ministers and entrepreneurs. Anne shares, “The caliber of people who came was remarkable. A beautiful diversity and unity in Christ were experienced with six women and eleven men, with an age range from thirty to seventy, and denominational diversity from Baptist to Pentecostal to Evangelical Free. Many had never heard or learned of  mentoring, but all left with a new appreciation of listening, companioning, and mentoring in the humble and empowering spirit of Leighton Ford Ministries.”

Ministry leaders around the world are often isolated and lonely, many times one step away from wanting to quit. The need for deep relationships where they feel connected, supported, and strengthened is great. Through your praying and giving, you help provide an arm around the shoulder for global leaders.

Alim*, a young, energetic pastor, realized at the gathering that he had been going so fast and hard that he had little time for his own relationship with the Lord. Through the sharing and prayer time he realized how close he was to burning out. He expressed to the group his commitment to embracing a rhythm of sabbath and returning to the practice of solitude with God for his long-term health and fruitfulness. Alim shared, “I am planning to go back with a renewed commitment to these practices — not only for myself but creating times for building deeper, prayerful relationships with my young staff.”

Mentoring Mentors

LFM is committed to building a global network of Kingdom-minded mentors who invest in other pastors, evangelists, and ministry leaders. Participants from the Eurasia gathering left with plans to implement mentoring with practical next steps:

• Sergei will lead a just-launched “Mentor Masters” class at Alexey’s seminary. After this training he hopes to begin a mentor group for pastors who will mentor others.
• Karina plans to gather four mature pastors’ wives into a peer mentor group that could, in turn, provide small group leadership and mentoring for others through multiplication.
• One pastor will try using listening prayer with his church team when they gather for retreat to create a deeper personal community, while another may use it with his board of directors.
• Several of the male participants are planning follow-up via Zoom meetings to stay connected and continue offering support to each other as well as plan how to start their own groups.
• The women who attended found such a deeply needed level of connection that they plan to continue meeting online. They are even daring to try for time away together again next year

LFM recently earned a 2025 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar, a nonprofit that provides the most comprehensive data and insights about financial management by nonprofits.

This award is an assessment of an organization’s transparency in managing and reporting financial information. The Candid Platinum Seal is GuideStar’s top-level award out of four that indicate financial integrity. LFM has submitted our financial information each of the last four years to GuideStar and we have earned the Platinum Level every year!

Anne says, “The fruit from this is likely to reverberate very widely through Eurasia for years and generations to come.”

Our mission at LFM remains to be a catalyst for mentoring a new generation of healthy leaders who sustain thriving ministries for the sake of the Gospel. We nurture soul friendships, providing safe times, safe places, and safe people for ministry leaders.

You continue touching lives all over the globe through your faithful praying and giving. Thank you for investing in Kingdom leaders.

Gratefully,
Kevin Ford

* Names have been changed for privacy

Will you consider investing in the lives of kingdom leaders?

Praying daily for this ministry and the lives it reaches.

• Sharing $100/month to help support our ongoing mentoring groups around the world.
• Investing $2,000 to train and equip a leader for one of these mentoring communities.
• Giving $5,000 to cover the first year of a new community.
• Donating $8,000 for Anne and Homero’s Eurasian mentoring training.
• Providing $15,000 for the three-year launch of a new community
• Offering $30,000 to cover the costs of a three-year church cohort for church planters, small churches, and churches in communities of color.

Check out LFM’s new giving pages, where you can watch video
testimonies of God’s work around the world.