Ministry Newsletter

Dear Friends of the Mordecai Project:

I know this is not an easy time for any of us. Mental health professionals are talking about “pandemic stress” because so many people are struggling emotionally. Thank God we have a safe harbor in His presence. I don’t know how people survive without the Lord! Psalm 91:2 says: “I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!’” In this season of plague, political division, riots, fires and storms, He is our safe haven.

One thing that has helped me during this difficult season has been my connection to our overseas partners. They remind me constantly that my “American problems” are minimal compared to the struggles people face in the developing world. I am so grateful that The Mordecai Project has been able to help needy communities that are suffering in this pandemic. Below you can see a woman receiving a large shipment of rice and other foods to help her family in Kagoma, Uganda.

Last month we sent money to Pastor Paul Wandera so we could feed 50 families in that village. Paul and his wife lead Rivers of Living Waters Church in eastern Uganda. We are talking now about beginning an ongoing ministry to help women there, as well as a dormitory for girls so that they stay in school. Please pray with us about these projects.

Below you can a field of corn that will soon be ready for harvest in Kagoma. Your donations made it possible for us to buy the seeds for this crop. God is blessing the region with rain. Soon the ripe corn will be distributed to families in the village, and it will help feed many people who were starving because of the pandemic lockdown. The people of Kagoma are praising God for your generosity!

Our gifts to Pastor Elijah Wafula’s church in Moi’s Bridge, Kenya, continue to produce results. Below you can see another health seminar we sponsored for local girls who have been at risk of sexual assault and female genital mutilation. With our donations, the church has employed two teachers who are discipling and caring for the local girls.

Below you can see some of the girls who attend Pastor Elijah’s church school. Behind them is the dormitory that The Mordecai Project helped to build. The roof is on and soon it will be completed. After the pandemic is over I will be going to Kenya to celebrate the construction of the dorm and to do seminars for pastors in the area.

Our work is also building momentum in Pakistan. Below you can see we were able to distribute food to a group of needy women in Faisalibad. My ministry partners there, Susheel and Esther, hosted another day of discipleship for them. The women were not only blessed with provisions to feed their families for a month—they also received a full day of teaching from Esther about how to grow in their Christian faith.

Below is a photo of Esther (middle, with black head covering) and some of the women she is mentoring. We have been able to feed these women and their families since the pandemic began in March. Soon they will resume sewing tote bags and Bible covers, which we will be selling in the United States to support them. (We need $1,250 immediately to feed these families in the month of October.)

Our discipleship strategy in Pakistan also includes the men! Below you can see Susheel and his friend Asif as they mentor a group of men in the local area. Small group ministry like this is a new concept in this region of Pakistan, so men are just now learning to open their hearts and ask for spiritual support. It is not easy to be a Christian in Pakistan. Many believers suffer from persecution. But we are not letting this stop us. Your donations are helping us to break new ground and to take the gospel to this needy nation.

Meanwhile, back home I have begun to travel more domestically. In September I performed the wedding of a young man I have mentored, Roman Balaban. He married his sweetheart, Masha, in a beautiful outdoor ceremony in Philadelphia, and the whole wedding was translated into Russian! It also included a Ukrainian feast afterwards! One of my greatest joys is investing in young leaders like Roman and Masha.

While I was in Philadelphia I preached three Sunday services at Word of Life Church, a Russian-speaking congregation. I have mentored several guys at that church, so on Sunday evening I gathered a group of them for a cookout and discipleship session. Below you can see the guys who came for that special night.

One of the guys I have mentored in Philadelphia, Alex, has been married to his wife Marina for several years. They had not been able to have a baby, so I have been praying for them for a long time. Thankfully God did a miracle and they had a beautiful baby girl six months ago! During my recent visit I got to hold baby Noa and pray for her. I am so happy for this special couple. Alex has accompanied me on several trips, including two mission trips to Central Asia. He owns a successful kitchen remodeling business, and his company has given sacrificially to help The Mordecai Project. Thank you Alex and Marina!

You know that I love to invest my life in younger leaders, and I love to take them with me on ministry trips. The young man below, Igor Marach, is a youth pastor at a Slavic church in New Jersey. He accompanied me on my trip to Philadelphia. It is a joy to see Igor making many disciples, even though he is only 23.

Later in September I went to Pittsburgh for four days of ministry at New Brighton Christian Assembly. Below you can see me with Pastor Sam DeMarco, who has become a dear friend. At New Brighton I spoke at a pastor’s leadership seminar, a women’s conference, a special men’s event and two Sunday services. The Holy Spirit moved powerfully during those days, and there was a lot of personal prophetic ministry. It felt like the Holy Spirit dumped a bucket of encouragement on that church!

Accompanying me on the trip to Pittsburgh was Shannon McNeal (below), who is from Cleveland, Ohio. I have been investing in Shannon since I met him at his church seven years ago. Today he serves as the associate pastor of his church, and he has grown so much as a leader. He loved praying for people in all the meetings in New Brighton.

When I first began doing traveling ministry in the early 2000, I was invited to do a series of “Getting Free” conferences with the woman in the photo below, Bev Abt. She and her husband, Dave, lived in Boca Raton, Florida, at that time. Bev hosted me in conferences in Illinois, North Dakota, Utah and other locations, and we saw many women delivered from spiritual bondage and empowered for ministry. Bev and Dave later retired and moved back to Pittsburgh, where they were from—and Dave died a year ago. During my recent trip there I was able to visit Bev in her home, celebrate Dave’s legacy and laugh about all the memories of those Getting Free conferences.

Thank you for believing in this ministry, and for praying for us. Please ask the Lord to send special financial gifts so that we can complete our construction projects in Guatemala and Peru, and so that we can fund all the women’s empowerment centers in Africa, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. There is so much to do! I am asking the Lord for a miracle gift of $300,000.

Please also pray for protection and fresh anointing as I travel in October. Here is my schedule:

October 4 – Freedom Point Church, Carrolton, Georgia
October 8-11 – Sioux Falls First, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
October 17-18 – Arise Church, Deland, Florida
October 25 – City Light Church, LaGrange, Georgia

We love you so much, and we are praying that the Lord will hide you in His safe harbor during this turbulent time.

Lee and Deborah Grady

The Mordecai Project
P.O. Box 2781
LaGrange, GA 30241