Where To Start
Nizhnevartovsk Siberia, Russia (ACN)
Pastor Vasily, Andrei his assistant, Zhenya the children's minister, Igor Zhenya's husband, Anya my interpreter and friend, and I discussed the plans to bring teams to Nizhnevartovsk and decided it would be best to bring two teams, one in December 2007 and one in May of 2008. So God is blessing.
During the discussions it was revealed to me that there is no children's ministry industry here. This sparked a very specific idea which, for business reasons I cannot discuss in a public place, but it is very exciting.
Zhenya wants us to train her and her volunteer workers, which means I need an experienced VBS director here in December. Maybe Kelly will come, but if not maybe someone else from CMC or maybe Blackshear place.
We traveled to Novosibirsk last Wednesday by puddle jumper. It was a small jet assisted prop plane. On take off the wind was rather brisk and while still on the ground and traveling at ever increasing speed we were moving from one side of the runway to the other. To say the least it was a little scary. The flight was uneventful. We landed in Novosibirsk and proceeded to Joey Womble's home. He and his wife Michelle were very gracious and fed us Borscht. It was wonderful.
After an hour of discussions Joey took Anya to an apartment that is being used as an office and returned to get me and take me to another office across town so that "Anya would be safe" in Stephanie's own words. So Joey and I head for the metro and get halfway across town when Michelle calls him on my phone, since he did not have his, to let him know he forgot the linens. Joey and I get off at the next metro station and he heads to the house leaving me in the metro station sitting on a bench with my luggage. Rule number 1 never go anywhere without an interpreter. Oh well, what are rules made for.
Joey returns and we proceed onward towards this apartment that is being used to show films to the lost as a means of witnessing to them. That apartment and Anya's cost me a total of $25 for two nights. God has been blessing us so much I cannot fathom the depths of His blessings and love. At this I do ask the question, "Why me?" I am just some poor country boy from Georgia and yet the blessings keep coming.
In Anya's words, the apartments were adequate. On Thursday Joey came over to the apartment with his friend Leslie, whose office it is and we spoke about the possibilities of working with them in the future. There are no concrete plans, but they are interested. Later in the day we went to speak with Andy Lienenger who is with the IMB. How we got his name is also a blessing from God and quite fortuitous (look it up Jessie :) ).
I don't know how Stephanie managed to find his name but apparently she did by a blessing from God. She made contact with him and let him know we were coming. As it turns out Joey also made an appointment with him for us. So he was tag teamed by both Stephanie and Joey.
We met and discussed possibilities of working together. One of Andy's co-workers, Mike Campbell, is returning to the states for a few months and he will be living in Flowery Branch attending Blackshear Place. Imagine that! Andy suggested getting with Mike, his assistant, when I return to the US and we will discuss what to do next. God is truly blessing. Why do I say that? Because Mike's emphasis is children's ministry and our emphasis is children's ministry and Russia has no children's ministry resource industry.
On both Thursday and Friday Anya and I ate at New York Pizza. Eat your heart out honey. It was good. On Friday at 2:30 we spent a few minutes with the Womble family and then left for the airport.
Ok, so don't yell at me it was the taxi driver's fault. He was playing some very sad American music, the chorus of which was "And I feel like I am drowning in a river." I asked the driver if he understood the words. He said no, but he realized it was sad and asked me to translate for him. So I did. He then proceeded to tell about his life and troubles and well.....you know me. I then asked if He knew Jesus and began to witness to him. He enjoyed the conversation/debate and even Anya said I was not offensive, and that says a lot. I introduced myself and asked his name. His name is Sergei. Please pray for salvation for Sergei, the taxi driver in Novosibirsk.
We left Sergei behind and headed to the terminal. We went through security where we found a little shop. I had no interest in the shop but Anya wanted to go in so I waited outside. She was really hankering (translate that Anya :) ) to purchase some chocolate candy with Novosibirsk written on the box in big bold letters. She kept talking about it as if I needed to buy some for Stephanie and Kelly. She pointed them out to me from outside the store and practically forced me to go and buy them. So Stephanie and Kelly you have the last two blue boxes of Novosibirsk candy. When I returned to Anya I could tell something was wrong. Apparently she wanted me to purchase one blue box and one brown box, because she wanted one blue box for her hostess in Nizhnevartovsk. I am a hard man.
We returned to this puddle jumper, to go back to Nizhnevartovsk. On this plane you must take your luggage to the plane and lift it up to the baggage handler who is in the plane. That was yet another new experience for me. By the way it was only in the high 20's to low 30's. Not so cold.
The return flight was uneventful until we were nearing Nizhnevartovsk, when we saw the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. I photographed it and I will publish it as soon as I return to the states.
We have now been in Nizhnevartovsk since last night around 7:00pm. We have been fed at every meal here by the church and we are living in two separate apartments with Russian families. This has been the best trip I have ever taken, partly because of the lack of stress that a team brings with it and partly because I have gone native. I am eating everything Russian I can get my hands on. Salianka soup is to die for.
In all my life I have never been so well treated. The church does this for all of their guests. They have taught their staff to treat every guest like royalty. By the way the huge church building was built from a "hole in the ground" according to Anya, by the people of the church. They are self sufficient.
Today I went to a concert of classical music presented by the church. Dianna Sydakova is a famous operatic singer here in Russia and she happens to be a pastor's wife also. With her were a pianist, Larissa and a violinist, whose name I did not here. They played some fantastic musics and Dianna's voice is just fabulous. She even same a song in English from "Porgy and Bess".
Well I have caught you up to the moment of my typing. However there are plans for me to speak tomorrow on the "The Lost Generation". For 15 years Russia has had the freedom to worship as she wants, and so 4000 protestant churches have come from all of the efforts. But children's ministry has never been a priority and now they are making it so, but they fear they have lost a generation of children to the world. The pastor was willing to give me 15-20 minutes to speak, however I asked for five. We will see.
I know this may sound strange, but I feel at home hear in Nizhnevartovsk, well I guess I feel at home anywhere in Russia now, but it seems strange even to me. My understanding of Russian has improved greatly since I have returned only after a 3 month intermission. I have never felt so comfortable about what I am doing as I feel now. I miss Stephanie terribly and I cry each time I tell my story of how I came to be in Russia and how I of all people have come to have a ministry that emphasizes children, and yet it feels like home. I guess the Holy Spirit is comforting me and changing me.
Well that is all for now. Thank you all for being interested enough in the ministry to read my little blog. May God bless each reader and may He cause everyone that reads this blog to desire to come and serve in Russia with us. It is a wonderful land full of lost people who need to hear the Gospel, and full of believers who will love you like no one else.
Even so, Lord come quickly.
See you all soon. One week left.
Pastor Vasily, Andrei his assistant, Zhenya the children's minister, Igor Zhenya's husband, Anya my interpreter and friend, and I discussed the plans to bring teams to Nizhnevartovsk and decided it would be best to bring two teams, one in December 2007 and one in May of 2008. So God is blessing.
During the discussions it was revealed to me that there is no children's ministry industry here. This sparked a very specific idea which, for business reasons I cannot discuss in a public place, but it is very exciting.
Zhenya wants us to train her and her volunteer workers, which means I need an experienced VBS director here in December. Maybe Kelly will come, but if not maybe someone else from CMC or maybe Blackshear place.
We traveled to Novosibirsk last Wednesday by puddle jumper. It was a small jet assisted prop plane. On take off the wind was rather brisk and while still on the ground and traveling at ever increasing speed we were moving from one side of the runway to the other. To say the least it was a little scary. The flight was uneventful. We landed in Novosibirsk and proceeded to Joey Womble's home. He and his wife Michelle were very gracious and fed us Borscht. It was wonderful.
After an hour of discussions Joey took Anya to an apartment that is being used as an office and returned to get me and take me to another office across town so that "Anya would be safe" in Stephanie's own words. So Joey and I head for the metro and get halfway across town when Michelle calls him on my phone, since he did not have his, to let him know he forgot the linens. Joey and I get off at the next metro station and he heads to the house leaving me in the metro station sitting on a bench with my luggage. Rule number 1 never go anywhere without an interpreter. Oh well, what are rules made for.
Joey returns and we proceed onward towards this apartment that is being used to show films to the lost as a means of witnessing to them. That apartment and Anya's cost me a total of $25 for two nights. God has been blessing us so much I cannot fathom the depths of His blessings and love. At this I do ask the question, "Why me?" I am just some poor country boy from Georgia and yet the blessings keep coming.
In Anya's words, the apartments were adequate. On Thursday Joey came over to the apartment with his friend Leslie, whose office it is and we spoke about the possibilities of working with them in the future. There are no concrete plans, but they are interested. Later in the day we went to speak with Andy Lienenger who is with the IMB. How we got his name is also a blessing from God and quite fortuitous (look it up Jessie :) ).
I don't know how Stephanie managed to find his name but apparently she did by a blessing from God. She made contact with him and let him know we were coming. As it turns out Joey also made an appointment with him for us. So he was tag teamed by both Stephanie and Joey.
We met and discussed possibilities of working together. One of Andy's co-workers, Mike Campbell, is returning to the states for a few months and he will be living in Flowery Branch attending Blackshear Place. Imagine that! Andy suggested getting with Mike, his assistant, when I return to the US and we will discuss what to do next. God is truly blessing. Why do I say that? Because Mike's emphasis is children's ministry and our emphasis is children's ministry and Russia has no children's ministry resource industry.
On both Thursday and Friday Anya and I ate at New York Pizza. Eat your heart out honey. It was good. On Friday at 2:30 we spent a few minutes with the Womble family and then left for the airport.
Ok, so don't yell at me it was the taxi driver's fault. He was playing some very sad American music, the chorus of which was "And I feel like I am drowning in a river." I asked the driver if he understood the words. He said no, but he realized it was sad and asked me to translate for him. So I did. He then proceeded to tell about his life and troubles and well.....you know me. I then asked if He knew Jesus and began to witness to him. He enjoyed the conversation/debate and even Anya said I was not offensive, and that says a lot. I introduced myself and asked his name. His name is Sergei. Please pray for salvation for Sergei, the taxi driver in Novosibirsk.
We left Sergei behind and headed to the terminal. We went through security where we found a little shop. I had no interest in the shop but Anya wanted to go in so I waited outside. She was really hankering (translate that Anya :) ) to purchase some chocolate candy with Novosibirsk written on the box in big bold letters. She kept talking about it as if I needed to buy some for Stephanie and Kelly. She pointed them out to me from outside the store and practically forced me to go and buy them. So Stephanie and Kelly you have the last two blue boxes of Novosibirsk candy. When I returned to Anya I could tell something was wrong. Apparently she wanted me to purchase one blue box and one brown box, because she wanted one blue box for her hostess in Nizhnevartovsk. I am a hard man.
We returned to this puddle jumper, to go back to Nizhnevartovsk. On this plane you must take your luggage to the plane and lift it up to the baggage handler who is in the plane. That was yet another new experience for me. By the way it was only in the high 20's to low 30's. Not so cold.
The return flight was uneventful until we were nearing Nizhnevartovsk, when we saw the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. I photographed it and I will publish it as soon as I return to the states.
We have now been in Nizhnevartovsk since last night around 7:00pm. We have been fed at every meal here by the church and we are living in two separate apartments with Russian families. This has been the best trip I have ever taken, partly because of the lack of stress that a team brings with it and partly because I have gone native. I am eating everything Russian I can get my hands on. Salianka soup is to die for.
In all my life I have never been so well treated. The church does this for all of their guests. They have taught their staff to treat every guest like royalty. By the way the huge church building was built from a "hole in the ground" according to Anya, by the people of the church. They are self sufficient.
Today I went to a concert of classical music presented by the church. Dianna Sydakova is a famous operatic singer here in Russia and she happens to be a pastor's wife also. With her were a pianist, Larissa and a violinist, whose name I did not here. They played some fantastic musics and Dianna's voice is just fabulous. She even same a song in English from "Porgy and Bess".
Well I have caught you up to the moment of my typing. However there are plans for me to speak tomorrow on the "The Lost Generation". For 15 years Russia has had the freedom to worship as she wants, and so 4000 protestant churches have come from all of the efforts. But children's ministry has never been a priority and now they are making it so, but they fear they have lost a generation of children to the world. The pastor was willing to give me 15-20 minutes to speak, however I asked for five. We will see.
I know this may sound strange, but I feel at home hear in Nizhnevartovsk, well I guess I feel at home anywhere in Russia now, but it seems strange even to me. My understanding of Russian has improved greatly since I have returned only after a 3 month intermission. I have never felt so comfortable about what I am doing as I feel now. I miss Stephanie terribly and I cry each time I tell my story of how I came to be in Russia and how I of all people have come to have a ministry that emphasizes children, and yet it feels like home. I guess the Holy Spirit is comforting me and changing me.
Well that is all for now. Thank you all for being interested enough in the ministry to read my little blog. May God bless each reader and may He cause everyone that reads this blog to desire to come and serve in Russia with us. It is a wonderful land full of lost people who need to hear the Gospel, and full of believers who will love you like no one else.
Even so, Lord come quickly.
See you all soon. One week left.
4 Comments:
I cannot wait to try the chocolate!!!!:))
I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your adventures. I smile and laugh everytime I read them. I am so happy to hear how God has blessed this trip!!! We serve such an awesome God. To Him be all glory!!
I cannot wait to try the chocolate!!!! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your adventures. I have smiled and laughed so much as I have read them. I have also praised God for His goodness and provisions. We truly do serve an awesome God!!!
I cannot wait to try the chocolate!!!:))) I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your adventures. I have smiled and laughed everytime. I have also praised God for His provision and goodness. We truly do serve an awesome God!!!
I cannot wait to try the chocolate!!!:))) I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about your adventures. I have smiled and laughed each time I have read the latest update. I praise God that He has provided everything. We truly serve an awesome God.
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