Janet Bantseev
Eurasia
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Janet grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and come from a Russian Orthodox and Catholic background. At the age of 16, she heard the gospel and made a commitment to receive Christ as her Savior and to live for Him. Very soon after coming to the Lord, she felt a call to missions. The Lord gave her a burden for Russia, but she never dreamed she would go there because it was a closed country. In 1989, she went on a short-term missions trip to Eastern European countries with Operation Mobilization and decided to stay for the year because of the evangelistic opportunities. It was during this year that she met her husband, Ilya, and his family in Vienna, Austria as they were immigrating from Siberia to Canada. They couldn't speak each other's languages, but through a translator, she learned of Ilya's desire to return to his country and serve the Lord. During the six months that Ilya stayed at a refugee camp in Austria, Janet taught him and his family English so that they would be able to attend Bible School in North America. During this time, Ilya and Janet fell in love as they felt the same burden and desire to serve the Lord in Russia.
Two years later, they were married and moved to Canada to wait for Ilya to receive his Canadian citizenship. In 1991, Ilya became a Canadian citizen, and one month later, they moved back to his home city in Siberia to start a church. Today, they pastor a growing congregation of more than 1,000 people with evangelistic outreach programs throughout the region, including prison and hospital ministry, ministry to orphans, and the establishment of Teen Challenge Siberia. By the grace of God, they've been able to plant over 20 churches. Truly, God’s ways are higher than our ways! He gave Janet the desires of her heart, and He did it in a way far greater than she could ever have imagined! They praise God for all that He has done in Siberia and give Him all the glory! |