Why Do You Go To Russia?

“Why do you go to Russia?” I get asked this a lot. It is a good question, one I enjoy answering. The quick answer is “Because God told me to.” This is rarely enough of an answer to satisfy someone. Often their immediate response is “but… but.. how do you know that?” The “knowing” part of what God wants you to do can come to a person in several different ways. Sometimes it is like intuition, you just feel it. Sometimes it is a firmly established desire or certainty that is built over years of making faithful choices. It can even be a confidence that is built over years of putting ourselves in position to be used by God, then watching God go to work (via us). In my case it began back in the summer of 1989. On faith, I had decide to offer up my summer to God. I had been challenged by someone to give God a summer of your life, and watch what God can do. So I found myself traveling to Austria to work in a refugee ministry. That summer I met many Russians who were living in a camp, without their families, home or careers. I listened to them describe lives that were lived without hope. It is the countless life stories that I have heard over the years and how God continually uses me to bring truth, grace, forgiveness, and hope into them, that has fueled my desire to minister in Russia.

One such story comes from a conversation I had a few years back. I had met with an old friend to catch up on life etc.... After a while the conversation took an unexpected turn. My friend began to talk about how guilt has shaped him as a person. “I feel weighed down by guilt. Sometimes it feels as if all my life I have had this incredible burden that presses down on me.” When I asked how this effected his life he responded. “It makes me doubt myself in all kinds of situations. My culture, my parents, my in-laws, everyone seems to criticize me on a regular basis. I don’t know what to do about it. It is not just me by the way, many of my friends feel the same way. It feels as if guilt is a big chain weighing everyone down.” This man had been a Christian for well over 10 years, so I was surprised to hear this. I inquired about forgiveness from God and the freedom from guilt that Jesus brings into our lives, but he just looked at me dejectedly and said “forgiveness and freedom those are just words to me.” Based on this conversation I incorporated some teachings on guilt and freedom in Christ into one of my sermons the next week, repeating some of what my friend had said. Afterwards several other people come up to me and said that they could easily identify with those feelings ­ they feel the same way. One thing I have learned is that I can never assume just because someone goes to church, reads their Bible, and prays along side of me, that they have experienced the freedom that comes with knowing Jesus. My friend also happens to be a key leader in his church. One of the main ministries that I have in Russia (apart from preaching) is to help guide and mentor Christian leaders. Sitting with them, listening, encouraging, and counseling them is what I treasure most about the time that I am able to spend in Russia.

This September I am excited to have the opportunity to travel to Russia and reconnect with many of these leaders throughout the Urals region in Russia. I will be leaving around Sept 21st, returning about two weeks later. Please pray for this trip. I will need help, guidance, funding, strength, and wisdom from God’s community to help make this mission trip a success.

If you would like to support this mission, donations can be made through Alpine Lutheran Church 5001 Forest View Ave. Rockford IL. 61108 (Make checks to Alpine Lutheran Church). Designate your gifts for “Russia Mission.” Thank you so much for all your prayers, encouragement and support - Dan

Russia in Spring!

I just returned from a 2 week trip to Chelyabinsk, Russia. I am on the board of trustees for a group of churches, so we just concluded our board and advisory meetings. The trip itself was great for several reasons:

• I got to see many friends.
• The board consists of 5 Christians who each have over 20 years of Missions and Church ministry experience. We were able to provide advice, ideas, accountability, care and guidance to the church pastors and leaders.
• Everywhere I went, people went out of their way to encourage and comfort me as I struggle with my own ministry changes and life difficulties. I was ministered to more than I ministered while I was there.
• I got to worship in Russian!!!
• I preached and led a seminar in Russian. (God's miracles never stop amazing me.)
• Great conversations. One of the biggest traditions in Russia is sitting in someones kitchen, drinking tea and talking about life. I averaged about 5-6 cups of tea a day as I listened and shard about God's faithfulness in our life journeys.

Please pray for:

1. The Chelyabinsk Church of God who hope to open their new building this fall and begin a new church worship location. Pray that God will gather the resources (both monetary and people) in order to accomplish this.
2. The Living Word Church in Yekaterinburg, that they might hold steadfast to their mission as they encounter troubles and difficulties from people outside of the church.
3. For Lucy and I as we seek guidance from God. We are looking for jobs, new ministry, and a church to worship and serve in.
4. Our next planned trip to Russia in July of 2011. Pray that God will make this happen.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support.

Dan

An Unusual Sunday

If you've read much on the blog or heard us talk about Russia often then you know that flexibility is the name of the game here.  This past Sunday we got up and got ready for church only to get a phone call shortly before we were set to leave telling us the service had been cancelled.  Like many Protestant churches in Russia, Chelyabinsk Church of God rents a room to have their services in.  The floor of their normal meeting place had been painted that week and though they'd been assured it would dry in plenty of time for their Sunday service, low and behold Sunday morning the senior pastor arrived to set up for the service only to be told the floor wouldn't be dry until Wednesday and they couldn't meet there.  With no time to come up with an alternative location he started to call around and tell everyone the service was cancelled.

But shortly after we got that initial phone call our friend called back to say that they were going to meet anyway and find a place in the park to have the service!  So, Dan changed into slightly more comfortable clothes and we set off to see what would happen.  We met with a group of about 30-40 outside the usual meeting place and walked to a nearby park.  There we eventually convinced some ladies staffing a chess club (which was poorly attended that morning!) to let us meet under their tent.  While I prayed that Dan wouldn't be arrested for preaching on the street (a suspicious and perhaps illegal activity for a foreigner) we got on with the Sunday service, an hour or so late.  Pr. Sergei, the senior pastor, reminded us as we started the service that 25 years ago every Sunday morning started for Protestant believers with a phone call telling them which bus stop to gather at that week.  Then small groups of Christians would secretely slip away to a hidden place to have their weekly service.  What would have been unbelievable for them was such an open meeting in the middle of a public space!  It was a sober and joyful reminder of the freedom these Christian friends now have compared to the generation before them. 

In front of our impromptu meeting spot - the sign says "Chess Club", though it also serves as a reading room.  I believe it's run by the local library.

Senior Pastor Sergei Alexandervich and Alexei.

After church we went with a group of friends to a friend's dacha for picnic lunch and a long, relaxing afternoon under a pear tree.

Photos!

Since Dan and I married we've generally divided our time in Russia between two cities: Ekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk.  Both are in the southern Urals and have populations of over a million.  Since we're only here for 2 weeks this year that means a week in each city - not a lot of time at all!  We spent our first several days in Ekaterinburg and on Tuesday drove down to Chelyabinsk; our friend Edik made a round trip to pick us up so we wouldn't have to take the bus - something we're very grateful for as bus journeys can be hot and sweaty even without record heat & wildfires in the region!  Since then we've seen different friends here, all of them from the church formerly known as Heaven's Open Church (it's now merged with another evangelical church in the city, Chelyabinsk Church of God).  Here are a few pictures to tell the story of our last few days: 

Smoke hangs over the city of Ekaterinburg from the wildfires in the region.  

An Orthodox church near our friends house.

Some of you may remember our friend Alexei Shilin from his visit to the US last November.  He is the General Secretary of the Russian Christian student movement, which is really struggling right now with both vision and resources - they appreciate your prayers!  

(Also, if you're not on the prayer letter list for CCX Russia and would like to be, please let me know & I'll make sure you get added.)

Our friends Katya & Dennis just had their second child, Mark, 3 weeks ago.  We enjoyed visiting with them a couple of nights ago.  Dennis is a worship leader at the church and both are great lay leaders.  Katya has also started scrapbooking & cardmaking this year, so she and I had a great time comparing our creations!

Misha, Katya & Dennis's older son, and his new favorite toy - an old gas mask.  A new obsession for him is to scuba dive with an oxygen tank.  He's 5, but he knows what he wants ;)

Having lunch at McDonald's with our friend Slava.  Slava is an amateur independent film maker who films commercials and other shorts as a way of making money.  He's had a lot of sucess lately - he recently filmed a short piece for the governor of the region, for example.  His wife Masha is a photographer who does weddings and personal photo shoots.  He and Dan have a shared love of technology - here they're discussing iPhones :o)

Some of you will remember that last year we finalized the sale of our apartment in Ekaterinburg and purchased an apartment in Chelyabinsk.  The new apartment needed a lot of renovations!  Our friends Pr. Ilya, who is one of 3 pastors in the newly merged Chelyabinsk Church of God, and Anya & their two children, Grisha & Alica, live in the apartment and did all the work of renovating and decorating it this year.  It's nice to be here and see what they've done with the place :)  Here are some "after" photos:

Living room:

Bedroom:

Toilet "closet" (it's tiny!) & bathroom:

Kitchen:

Outside:

When Russians describe an apartment they talk about how many rooms it has - a 1-room apartment or a 3-room apartment, for example.  The kitchen and bathroom don't count as rooms (since every apartment presumably has those) - and other rooms often serve multiple purposes (e.g. living/dining/bedroom.)  Ours is a 2-room apartment, as you can maybe tell from the photos above. 

Thanks for following along on our blog & praying for our time here.  Continue to pray for rain - the effects of the drought, from wildfires to a record low harvest, are still big concerns here.  Pray for our weekend - Dan preaches on Sunday and we still have a number of friends we want to make sure we have time with, including Pr. Ilya & Anya who have been away at a couple's retreat camp for the last week.  Our goals, as always, are to encourage and be encouraged in our conversations with those who are seeking to faithfully follow Christ on this side of the world.  We feel passionately that our friendships with them can help both us, them and YOU to know God better and live more faithful lives.

With love,
Lucy

Great Conversations

One of the things I always look forward to when I (Dan) visit Russia is the chance to sit down and talk about life, issues of faith, God, and everything in between.  On Sunday after I church I got the chance to talk with Anton, a young student who is studying to be a pastor.  The conversation began with his question “How do I know what my calling from God is?”  He was struggling with the Idea of what made him so special?  Why should he think that God would want to use him, a person who had totally messed up his life so far, to build his kingdom?  Why not pick someone else who was more responsible, more talented, and more qualified? Although the answers are ones many of us have heard before – it’s because of God’s deep love for us and the potential of what we can be with his help- they are words that we all need to hear from time to time.  Many of us struggle with finding significance and value in our lives.  It is so easy to get wrapped up in our own agendas and forget the part about how much God loves us and wants to bring value into our lives.  Significance not from what we accomplish, but by what he does despite the weakness that we bring to the partnership.  It was great to say these words to Anton and to find encouragement and confidence for myself as we discussed the implications of these simple truths.

On Sunday I (Dan) was able to preach in the Living Word Church in Yekaterinburg. Thank you for all your prayers.  This is a church that I first visited way back in 1993.  I always love the opportunity to worship with them and am humbled by their faithfulness and openness.  I spoke on how we create barriers that prevent us from encountering God.

Today (Tuesday) we travelled to the city of Chelyabinsk.  It was amazing to see the dense smoke and fog that covered the landscape.  The next several days will be spent making appointments and visiting with friends.  Please pray for God’s continues blessing upon our conversations.  Tomorrow we will meet up with Alexi Shillin, the General Secretary of the Russian Student movement that I (Dan) used to work with.  Many of you might remember Alexi from his visit to America last fall.  We are excited to hear about what God has been doing among students here in Russia.

Take Care

Dan

A hot summer

It's Monday morning here in Ekaterinburg and Dan and I are taking stock of the weekend behind us and the week & a half ahead of us.

We are living with our friends Kostya & Luda while we're here in Ekaterinburg. Kostya owns a small Christian book store (that's housed in their church, though Christians from all over the region shop there since it's the only Christian bookstore around) and Luda stays home with their 2 small children, breeding and selling rabbits to earn some extra money for the family. Together with them we hosted a bbq get-together on Saturday for good friends from their church, Living Word Church. It was a great time to catch up on people's lives (and catch them up on ours).

One thing that has become clear in the short time we've been here is what a difficult year it has been for our friends here. Last winter was a very, very cold one and now, as some of you have heard, the summer is scorching hot. Russia is experiencing a terrible drought and fighting forest fires in several regions. While the worst fires are closer to Moscow (2 times zones to the west of us), yesterday and today a hazy smog and the smell of smoke have been hanging in the air here. One of our close friends, Masha, suffered a family tragedy a month ago when her childhood home burned to the ground (unrelated to the forest fires - the fire started in the neighbor's house). She is an architect without much work at the moment and so she has drawn up plans for a small house to be built in place of the home that burned. She is anxious to get it built before the winter so that her mother can have a safe, warm place to live. She will have to take out credit to pay for it and doesn't know where the money will come from to pay back the debt - she's trusting God will take care of them. Please pray for Masha and for many others who are affected by fires this summer.

The drought is also causing people to worry about the possibility of food shortages in the near future. Russia has recently banned exports of certain grains to guard against this but people are anticipating rising costs of food in an already expensive economy. A few friends here are buying up things like rice, flour and sugar in bulk to prepare for the winter ahead. Pray especially for those who don't have the resources to buy ahead and would be most hurt by food shortages - people like the couple who run the Family Rehabilitation Center we bought a refrigerator for last year. They feed dozens of street children on a small budget and any increase in cost would be difficult for their ministry.

Dan's sermon and our time with people at Living Word Church went well yesterday. Dan will write an update in the next day or two. We head south to the city of Chelyabinsk tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for reading and praying!

Lucy & Dan

We've arrived!

After a few delays and setbacks, Lucy and I have arrived safely in Russia. Immediately it feels like returning home; our brains have switched to Russian (I am always amazed how quickly I can begin to remember and understand what people are saying to me) and we have begun meeting up with old friends. This trip will be a shorter one than usual - only 14 days in Russia. I am sure it will feel rushed at the end, but for now Lucy and I are just enjoying the good feelings connected with having returned to our second home.

I (Dan) learned today that I will be preaching this Sunday in church. Please pray for the service, that God will inspire me and speak clearly through me, jet lag and language differences notwithstanding. Pray too for God's blessing on all the interactions we have with peple over the next two weeks. We want to make the most of our time here, especially investing in maintaining the strong friendships and ministry partnerships we have. Those are our two biggest requests at the moment.

Thank you once again to everyone who encouraged us to go and to all who remain faithful in supporting this ministry. We feel so privileged to get to be the "goers" and don't take for granted that you have made that possible by being "senders" - thank you!

God Bless

Dan & Lucy