I have so much to say, and not a lot of time, so I am going to write short parts of all kinds of things that are happening...
First things first...In my last post, I forgot some of the words that I use daily. Here you go.
nyet- no
dah- yes
fsO- that's all (this happens to be Laura Peden's favorite Russian word. :))
We met with the English teacher again on Friday. She has lots of questions. She has been in a hard season of her life, and pretty much wanted us to tell her what we thought she should do. We told her that we would pray about it. She kept asking if we had seen any tangible way ("signs" as she would say) that God is real and at work in our lives. We each got to give some specific examples of how Christ has worked in our lives, and that was really neat. She said that she agreed with most of the things in the Knowing God Personally booklet. There is so much to this story and there is no way to type it all out here, but know that the Lord is at work in her life. You can be praying for her. We are meeting with her again tomorrow, and this time we are taking our friend, Liz, who is on long-term staff here in Moscow, so that she can hopefully connect with her and encourage her after we leave.
Yesterday, my ministry team got the opportunity to work at a soup kitchen. This city has some of the richest people and some of the poorest people I have probably ever seen. This soup kitchen was for people who are on pension. They were all elderly, and they only get money from the government for their medicine. They have a pretty good system set up, and they serve lunch to people Monday-Friday, every week of the year. Working there was one of the most humbling things I have ever done. When we were done, I told my team that it just floored me that we/our parents/someone pays thousands and thousands of dollars every year for us to get an education, and these people can't afford to eat. That is mind boggling to me. I feel like my eyes were so opened to how blessed I really am. I didn't choose to be born in America, or to be born into a family who knows and loves Christ, or to be born into a family with a father who is financially wise and stable. But the Lord has blessed me with that, and it is ridiculous for me to sit back and take it all for granted. I have time, my health, and money to give to people who, like me, didn't choose their circumstance. We are called to love the least of these, and I want to do a better job of it.
After we were done at the soup kitchen, hrltkhsr;tlkhsrt;lmkn (that's Stephen Pittman's contribution to my blog...) we were all hungry and tired. We decided to go to the McDonald's just down the street from our hostel since it would be quick and cheap. We got there and it was packed. As Laura and I were looking for a place to sit, we realized there was not an empty table in the place. Here, it is common to just sit down at a table with someone you do not know. As strange and awkward as that is in America, it's pretty normal here. We decided to be "cultural learners" and sit down at a random table with a random guy. We asked him if he spoke English, and he told us no. Our friend Steven (different Steven than the one who just gave us his input above...) sat down with us shortly after. We were just talking (in English) amongst ourselves about nothing in particular, when the guy we were sitting at said, "Bible? Jesus? Martin Luther?" We were literally shocked. We were like, "Yes, all of those." But we couldn't communicate much more than that. I handed him a Knowing God Personally booklet that was in Russian, and we attempted to ask him if he agreed. He kept nodding his head and saying yes. Through some broken English and context clues, we figured out that he was telling us that he was Protestant, and that he wanted to invite us to his church on Saturday. That was about as far as we could get though, because of the language barrier. Then, out of nowhere, the people at the table next to us say, "Translator?" Come to find out, they all spoke English and Russian and were able to translate our conversation so that we could communicate. WOW! We were completely floored. We were shocked for several reasons: 1.) We just met a Christian in Russia...that's bizarre as it is. 2.) He brought up spiritual things with us...not a single person we've met here has done that. 3.) He doesn't speak our language. 4.) We think he's probably an evangelical Christian which is completely unheard of here. 5.) There were people next to us who offered to translate. The whole thing was just so crazy and exciting and encouraging. When we weren't even expecting it, the Lord just showed us His faithfulness and love for us. Laura put it a great way. She said, "It was like God said, 'Language barrier? That's no big deal to me!'" This may seem like a little thing, but it gave our whole team a ton of encouragement. We aren't going to be able to go to church with him because we already have some things planned during that time, but we are trying to connect him with someone who is on the long-term team here, who also speaks Russian.
Some facts that I have learned about ministry/Russia/people recently:
We went to a Russian ballet last night! It was Sleeping Beauty. I have never seen anything like it before, but it was really enjoyable. We got lost on the way, and we literally sprinted through the streets of Moscow for 20 minutes and made it at the last minute. Did I mention it had been/was pouring rain? I'll definitely remember it forever. Shane and Kim, everything about last night reminded me of you. :)
I got yelled at for not giving exact change today. She was more angry about it than anyone I've encountered so far. Funny, though.
Luxury cars are EVERYWHERE. BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, Porsches, Lexus, anything you can think of...A Porsche Cayenne is about as common here as a mini van is in the United States.
We are going to a Russian Circus on Friday night!
We are headed to St. Petersburg on a train on Sunday afternoon. There, we will debrief, see some things, and rest before we head home a next Wednesday. I'm looking forward to that time. I can't believe our time is almost up. I told my dad today that in some ways I feel like I just got here, and in some ways I feel like I've been here forever and need to go home. I'm just trying to soak up everything I can before I head back to America.
I love you all and I'm so thankful for you!!
First things first...In my last post, I forgot some of the words that I use daily. Here you go.
nyet- no
dah- yes
fsO- that's all (this happens to be Laura Peden's favorite Russian word. :))
We met with the English teacher again on Friday. She has lots of questions. She has been in a hard season of her life, and pretty much wanted us to tell her what we thought she should do. We told her that we would pray about it. She kept asking if we had seen any tangible way ("signs" as she would say) that God is real and at work in our lives. We each got to give some specific examples of how Christ has worked in our lives, and that was really neat. She said that she agreed with most of the things in the Knowing God Personally booklet. There is so much to this story and there is no way to type it all out here, but know that the Lord is at work in her life. You can be praying for her. We are meeting with her again tomorrow, and this time we are taking our friend, Liz, who is on long-term staff here in Moscow, so that she can hopefully connect with her and encourage her after we leave.
Yesterday, my ministry team got the opportunity to work at a soup kitchen. This city has some of the richest people and some of the poorest people I have probably ever seen. This soup kitchen was for people who are on pension. They were all elderly, and they only get money from the government for their medicine. They have a pretty good system set up, and they serve lunch to people Monday-Friday, every week of the year. Working there was one of the most humbling things I have ever done. When we were done, I told my team that it just floored me that we/our parents/someone pays thousands and thousands of dollars every year for us to get an education, and these people can't afford to eat. That is mind boggling to me. I feel like my eyes were so opened to how blessed I really am. I didn't choose to be born in America, or to be born into a family who knows and loves Christ, or to be born into a family with a father who is financially wise and stable. But the Lord has blessed me with that, and it is ridiculous for me to sit back and take it all for granted. I have time, my health, and money to give to people who, like me, didn't choose their circumstance. We are called to love the least of these, and I want to do a better job of it.
After we were done at the soup kitchen, hrltkhsr;tlkhsrt;lmkn (that's Stephen Pittman's contribution to my blog...) we were all hungry and tired. We decided to go to the McDonald's just down the street from our hostel since it would be quick and cheap. We got there and it was packed. As Laura and I were looking for a place to sit, we realized there was not an empty table in the place. Here, it is common to just sit down at a table with someone you do not know. As strange and awkward as that is in America, it's pretty normal here. We decided to be "cultural learners" and sit down at a random table with a random guy. We asked him if he spoke English, and he told us no. Our friend Steven (different Steven than the one who just gave us his input above...) sat down with us shortly after. We were just talking (in English) amongst ourselves about nothing in particular, when the guy we were sitting at said, "Bible? Jesus? Martin Luther?" We were literally shocked. We were like, "Yes, all of those." But we couldn't communicate much more than that. I handed him a Knowing God Personally booklet that was in Russian, and we attempted to ask him if he agreed. He kept nodding his head and saying yes. Through some broken English and context clues, we figured out that he was telling us that he was Protestant, and that he wanted to invite us to his church on Saturday. That was about as far as we could get though, because of the language barrier. Then, out of nowhere, the people at the table next to us say, "Translator?" Come to find out, they all spoke English and Russian and were able to translate our conversation so that we could communicate. WOW! We were completely floored. We were shocked for several reasons: 1.) We just met a Christian in Russia...that's bizarre as it is. 2.) He brought up spiritual things with us...not a single person we've met here has done that. 3.) He doesn't speak our language. 4.) We think he's probably an evangelical Christian which is completely unheard of here. 5.) There were people next to us who offered to translate. The whole thing was just so crazy and exciting and encouraging. When we weren't even expecting it, the Lord just showed us His faithfulness and love for us. Laura put it a great way. She said, "It was like God said, 'Language barrier? That's no big deal to me!'" This may seem like a little thing, but it gave our whole team a ton of encouragement. We aren't going to be able to go to church with him because we already have some things planned during that time, but we are trying to connect him with someone who is on the long-term team here, who also speaks Russian.
Some facts that I have learned about ministry/Russia/people recently:
- There are more Christians in Africa than there are people in America.
- Don't misunderstand my opinion on this. I definitely think there is a huge need in Africa, some places more than others. I know the continent is poverty stricken and something needs to be done. I actually would love to go and work and serve there someday. However, for me it really validates why I am in Russia telling the gospel to people. Since I've been here I have met people from Nigeria, Gunea, and Ghana. All of them are men and all of them have been associated with ministries here. I've met people from all over the world in my time here. It's encouraging to me to know that because Moscow is such a melting pot of people from the whole world, we have had the opportunity to share Jesus with people of every tribe, tongue, and nation. When I heard this fact, it appalled me. I hope that if you are sitting at a computer in Texas, New Mexico, or Oklahoma (which, knowing most of the people who read this, chances are, you are...) that this statistic encourages you to be an example and a carrier of the gospel to the people around you. I have been challenged by this statistic for when I get home. We don't have to go across the ocean to tell people about Jesus. Everyone everywhere needs to hear.
- For every pregnant woman in Moscow, there have been 3 abortions.
- I think that speaks for itself. It literally makes me want to throw up. I'm getting a baby from here someday, and I would love to talk with you about it more when I get home.
- For the average Russian, they have to hear the gospel 6 or 7 times before they come to a point of decision.
- I learned this at briefing. For me, it was a bit discouraging. I knew coming into this that last summer, the team of 40 only saw 2 people make decisions for Christ. However, through my time here and conversations here, I have realized that we aren't entitled to anything from God. Of course, we want to see the fruit of our labor, but just because we want it doesn't mean that God is going to give it to us. I have full confidence that someday, maybe not on this side of heaven, but someday, we will see the fruit of what we have done here. I know countless seeds have been planted, and it may not be our position to harvest them. I have really learned that God is doing bigger things than we see on the outside. I could go on and on about this, but if you want to hear, let's talk when I get home. :)
We went to a Russian ballet last night! It was Sleeping Beauty. I have never seen anything like it before, but it was really enjoyable. We got lost on the way, and we literally sprinted through the streets of Moscow for 20 minutes and made it at the last minute. Did I mention it had been/was pouring rain? I'll definitely remember it forever. Shane and Kim, everything about last night reminded me of you. :)
I got yelled at for not giving exact change today. She was more angry about it than anyone I've encountered so far. Funny, though.
Luxury cars are EVERYWHERE. BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, Porsches, Lexus, anything you can think of...A Porsche Cayenne is about as common here as a mini van is in the United States.
We are going to a Russian Circus on Friday night!
We are headed to St. Petersburg on a train on Sunday afternoon. There, we will debrief, see some things, and rest before we head home a next Wednesday. I'm looking forward to that time. I can't believe our time is almost up. I told my dad today that in some ways I feel like I just got here, and in some ways I feel like I've been here forever and need to go home. I'm just trying to soak up everything I can before I head back to America.
I love you all and I'm so thankful for you!!
-m.
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