Monday, January 29, 2007
Jesus is my Superhero
We're alive and well...for the most part...in England, just east of Wales. AJ has been a little sick lately, and I've been struggling a bit with an occasional cough. We had a crazy bit of time in the Moscow area for those who have been wondering what all happened...
We were 3 hours late getting to Moscow because of a snowstorm... and so we arrived, it was the same reason that our contact who came, 3 hours late, broke to us the news that we had no vehicle anymore... the one we had asked to be there took off to make more money. That's life.... sigh... so we were there in the airport for about 4.5 hours before we left... and we had to pay him 4000 rub. to take us halfway across town... (that's 150 american)... and then when we arrived to pick up our freight, they REcharged the same price we had paid to ship it... it was a 'holding fee'...sigh... then we were dropped off in a dark winter alley with three big german shepherds that were spying us out...The door of the building was frozen, so we couldn't get in... it was midnight...the buildings all around were abandoned... and we to simply hope this other driver would show up so we could pay him 3000 rub....But it worked out and we arrived at the airport...
We were told that at most at the airport in Moscow that it might cost us 1500 American... When we got into line we found out that they had upped the price of overweight luggage (anything over 20kg per person) and that meant if we were to leave with anything it would cost us 6000 american.
Needless to say, we didn't do that. God worked it out so that an offical from the airport came to talk with us when the way was shut. We combined what money we had (because we couldn't take any more money out on the team card that day...due to other issues...) So we delved into our debit funds and came up with enough...2000. But we're here now and safe.
God definately has been watching over the team... all the details. The little ones and the ones of huge proportions. He truly is everything we need.
But wow... I was almost a nervous wreck for a while... I was all trippy for a while... God was so good. In our desperation he got us through... We had no other way we could have come here with our equipment... but God worked it all out...wow...It was like watching a mountain disappear...crazy...!!!!
Praise God... and thank you all so much for your prayers... we had only had 2 hours of sleep in 2.5 days ... but God helped us hang in there... Hopefully I'll be fully recovered soon. :)
We did our first English program today. Two of them for children in a school. It was a lot fun. heh... I'm really looking forward to the rest of the time we're here... it's just too bad that I'm still so tired... I hope all the sleep I can get will last longer in the long run and be worth it in the end.
There is always something going on and so it's too bad that I've not been able to update things here so much.
Keep praying that God will be at work here... I'm eager to see what He wants to do here. Take care!
¬Brother J
We were 3 hours late getting to Moscow because of a snowstorm... and so we arrived, it was the same reason that our contact who came, 3 hours late, broke to us the news that we had no vehicle anymore... the one we had asked to be there took off to make more money. That's life.... sigh... so we were there in the airport for about 4.5 hours before we left... and we had to pay him 4000 rub. to take us halfway across town... (that's 150 american)... and then when we arrived to pick up our freight, they REcharged the same price we had paid to ship it... it was a 'holding fee'...sigh... then we were dropped off in a dark winter alley with three big german shepherds that were spying us out...The door of the building was frozen, so we couldn't get in... it was midnight...the buildings all around were abandoned... and we to simply hope this other driver would show up so we could pay him 3000 rub....But it worked out and we arrived at the airport...
We were told that at most at the airport in Moscow that it might cost us 1500 American... When we got into line we found out that they had upped the price of overweight luggage (anything over 20kg per person) and that meant if we were to leave with anything it would cost us 6000 american.
Needless to say, we didn't do that. God worked it out so that an offical from the airport came to talk with us when the way was shut. We combined what money we had (because we couldn't take any more money out on the team card that day...due to other issues...) So we delved into our debit funds and came up with enough...2000. But we're here now and safe.
God definately has been watching over the team... all the details. The little ones and the ones of huge proportions. He truly is everything we need.
But wow... I was almost a nervous wreck for a while... I was all trippy for a while... God was so good. In our desperation he got us through... We had no other way we could have come here with our equipment... but God worked it all out...wow...It was like watching a mountain disappear...crazy...!!!!
Praise God... and thank you all so much for your prayers... we had only had 2 hours of sleep in 2.5 days ... but God helped us hang in there... Hopefully I'll be fully recovered soon. :)
We did our first English program today. Two of them for children in a school. It was a lot fun. heh... I'm really looking forward to the rest of the time we're here... it's just too bad that I'm still so tired... I hope all the sleep I can get will last longer in the long run and be worth it in the end.
There is always something going on and so it's too bad that I've not been able to update things here so much.
Keep praying that God will be at work here... I'm eager to see what He wants to do here. Take care!
¬Brother J
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Friday, January 19, 2007
A Contrasted life...
January 20, 2007
Well, we’re still alive and kicking over here in UlanUde. It’s been very interesting being here. We recently came back from a two day trip to some villages nearby. We had a couple programs, one at an orphanage and one at a ‘house of culture’ in a village of 2000 people. There we saw a strange contrast…those who had a future and a hope… and those who didn’t.
John, right when we arrived at the orphanage to set up began to speak with a little boy who was smiling away…He rolled up his pant leg to show John that his leg had been scarred. ‘My mother did this to me.’ He said. ‘And when my father got home he killed my mother for it. Now my father is in prison… But he was RIGHT for doing that, wasn’t he?’ John didn’t really have a response to that…
On the other hand, you have completely different responses to the same kind of thing. We stayed with a grandmother (bAHbushka) in the village for two nights. It was a nice size for a home there. It overlooked a beautiful little valley that had a fresh spring, and large trees and hills. Oh, it was beautiful. Her husband had built that house, but he was only able to live in it for 6 years. A day came where he went hunting with some other men. Her husband told them where it was safe to shoot, and where it wasn’t. One of the men ignored his warning and when he came to find the animal he had shot, to his horror, it was her husband. He was 38 at the time. It’s strange. When people were telling her to press charges and to make him pay for what this man had done, she refused. She told them, that putting him in prison to pay for the mistake would hurt his family that much more… And he needs to be there to care for them.
When one of her sons was 28, he shot himself.
Her life has been full of hardships and grief and pain… Yet she found strength to go on. She found her strength in Jesus…though she may not have completely understood it at the time.
You see, her father, when she was growing up, was a Christian. But they didn’t have a bible or anything. But he was a God fearing man, and he taught his family the Lord’s prayer and other simple little ditties. She had to put her hope in God… He was all she had for sure.
But she is very very thankful for everything she has. She doesn’t have much… but to her, she is very well off. God has blessed her with a home, he has given her comfort. She has grandchildren now… And she is more than glad to know that Jesus is her Saviour.
For all these people here in Russia. It is so very hard. Life is rough. And especially in this area that is very Buddhist, it’s just part of your accumulated sins from previous lives…You have to pay your debt.
It’s frustrating… Jesus is here…right in front of them when they need him, but so many walk the other way. However…there are a few who see the light. And once they are set in their decision to follow him, nothing…not even death has any power over them anymore. People full of Christ truly are full of his power to accomplish whatever God has set out for them. I want to be like that…I want to have that much of Jesus.
Well, we’re still alive and kicking over here in UlanUde. It’s been very interesting being here. We recently came back from a two day trip to some villages nearby. We had a couple programs, one at an orphanage and one at a ‘house of culture’ in a village of 2000 people. There we saw a strange contrast…those who had a future and a hope… and those who didn’t.
John, right when we arrived at the orphanage to set up began to speak with a little boy who was smiling away…He rolled up his pant leg to show John that his leg had been scarred. ‘My mother did this to me.’ He said. ‘And when my father got home he killed my mother for it. Now my father is in prison… But he was RIGHT for doing that, wasn’t he?’ John didn’t really have a response to that…
On the other hand, you have completely different responses to the same kind of thing. We stayed with a grandmother (bAHbushka) in the village for two nights. It was a nice size for a home there. It overlooked a beautiful little valley that had a fresh spring, and large trees and hills. Oh, it was beautiful. Her husband had built that house, but he was only able to live in it for 6 years. A day came where he went hunting with some other men. Her husband told them where it was safe to shoot, and where it wasn’t. One of the men ignored his warning and when he came to find the animal he had shot, to his horror, it was her husband. He was 38 at the time. It’s strange. When people were telling her to press charges and to make him pay for what this man had done, she refused. She told them, that putting him in prison to pay for the mistake would hurt his family that much more… And he needs to be there to care for them.
When one of her sons was 28, he shot himself.
Her life has been full of hardships and grief and pain… Yet she found strength to go on. She found her strength in Jesus…though she may not have completely understood it at the time.
You see, her father, when she was growing up, was a Christian. But they didn’t have a bible or anything. But he was a God fearing man, and he taught his family the Lord’s prayer and other simple little ditties. She had to put her hope in God… He was all she had for sure.
But she is very very thankful for everything she has. She doesn’t have much… but to her, she is very well off. God has blessed her with a home, he has given her comfort. She has grandchildren now… And she is more than glad to know that Jesus is her Saviour.
For all these people here in Russia. It is so very hard. Life is rough. And especially in this area that is very Buddhist, it’s just part of your accumulated sins from previous lives…You have to pay your debt.
It’s frustrating… Jesus is here…right in front of them when they need him, but so many walk the other way. However…there are a few who see the light. And once they are set in their decision to follow him, nothing…not even death has any power over them anymore. People full of Christ truly are full of his power to accomplish whatever God has set out for them. I want to be like that…I want to have that much of Jesus.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Wowzers Trousers
Well, look at that! Here we are, over halfway through January and into our last little bit here in Russia. It's amazing that the time has gone by so fast. It's too bad, and then again, it's great to know that it's less time to see everyone back home again.
We just had a big outreach program tonight... over 300 came out and I suppose it was the biggest crowd we've had so far. It was really encouraging... But more so, I was glad we were able to share the gospel with them. Here it usually is a long time before a Buryat becomes a Christian simply because the whole worldview of the Bible is very different from the worldview that people here have grown up with and it takes time for them to learn to believe only one or the other. Most may think you can be both a Buddhist and a Christian... it's different. As it is, friendship, love and trust go a long way... but everything takes time.
Thank you all for your prayers.
It's been exciting here... lol, and cold. Yesterday we were out at a village that it was cold enough in the hall we were in that when I was singing, whifts of fog would brush along my glasses' lenses. That was interesting. lol.
Alas... this is Siberia... and now that we're further south, it's sunnier and colder. Weird.
Have a great day everyone!
Take care!
We just had a big outreach program tonight... over 300 came out and I suppose it was the biggest crowd we've had so far. It was really encouraging... But more so, I was glad we were able to share the gospel with them. Here it usually is a long time before a Buryat becomes a Christian simply because the whole worldview of the Bible is very different from the worldview that people here have grown up with and it takes time for them to learn to believe only one or the other. Most may think you can be both a Buddhist and a Christian... it's different. As it is, friendship, love and trust go a long way... but everything takes time.
Thank you all for your prayers.
It's been exciting here... lol, and cold. Yesterday we were out at a village that it was cold enough in the hall we were in that when I was singing, whifts of fog would brush along my glasses' lenses. That was interesting. lol.
Alas... this is Siberia... and now that we're further south, it's sunnier and colder. Weird.
Have a great day everyone!
Take care!
Monday, January 08, 2007
New Land
Monday, January 8, 2007
It’s a bit of a shock to the system today… we have a day off… A day where the only thing really that we’re supposed to be doing is having some orientation from the head missionary here in Ulan Ude, John Wicker. They met us on the train when we arrived a couple days ago. John, Sharron, his wife and his children, Heather-Ann, Matthew and Heidi. Another couple in this area is Leif and Jamie Gustafson. They have been getting us to where we need to be and filling us in on the quirks of this area. Here the population is half Buryat.(boor-ee-at) They remind me so much of the Native People of Canada. Lol, and some even laugh exactly the same! They have fun games and jokes, love to walk and to hike. It’s really great being here. Yesterday we did a program for the local church here. It’s very small, but we sure filled it!
We did a full program set up in an area about 8’x6’… wow… that was a squeeze. That morning I was very sick… blah… But as the day went on I felt a lot better. After the service I met another Sasha who played guitar and Bryce went on to teach him some new chords. This was when we met Elizabeth . She’s a SEND missionary from Germany . She’s doing our registration stuff today if she can. Apparently she’s a master at getting out of problems. John said that she can get off with a warning from police if they catch her going the wrong way down a one way street, and run into a police car when she doesn’t have her license… she says, ‘I’m sorry, I’ll never do it again…’ and they let her off…(I doubt that ever really happened…but I do hear that most things that she gets off with, John always gets in trouble for…but that’s how the law works here sometimes)
Last night after the church meeting, we went to a service in the home of Shannon . She’s the equivalent of Olga if she had been born in the US . But now that I’ve met her…she reminds me a little more of someone else… hmm… Anyways, she was very excited to have us there and so we did little bits of program material and I helped play background guitar for their Christmas songs in Russian… That was fun. ^_^ Apparently we’ll see more of those youth in the next little while. Almost all of them were Buryat. Come to think of it, even the lady who comes in here to cook for lunch and supper is Buryat.
It’s different here. There’s more Chinese influence here. In fact, there’s even a Chinese restaurant on the end of our block… that was surprising.
I’m still very uncertain of what we will all be doing here in the next little while despite our schedule. What I mean is, it’s a little different trying to think of what to expect here. Elsewhere we’ve been in Russia , people have not been very ‘spiritual’…but here, it seems there’s a lot influence from Buddhism and other religions. Pray that God would break down the strongholds and that these people who are truly searching… the ones who are tired of life will hear about the Creator. Jesus.
We’ll see what happens.
Thank you to everyone who is praying…we had a problem free time getting here and God has kept us safe.
We played a couple games last night that were a lot of fun… electricity (you have two lines of people who hold hands behind their backs… on one end is a bottle… on the other a guy with a coin. When he flips the coin and it was heads, the person standing there watching would squeeze the hand of the person next to them… eventually the hand squeezing gets to the end and the person at the very end grabs the bottle. If they get it, then the team rotates one member to the other side. To win, you have to get back to where you started….) That was fun… other was this hand tapping game where you sit in a circle and have you hand on the knees of the people on you left and right. When someone taps their hand, you have to keep tapping and go around the circle. The trick is that if you double tap, then the direction changes… and if you flinch to move your hand, then that hand is out. Eventually you get down to two people… I actually won that game with both my hands still good… that plain shocked me… lol. While I was there I figured out a way to say something is really great….’Superr Ochin Herrisho’…which means (Very, Very Well) As far as Russian goes… it’s being very redundant… like if you were to ask someone if they would like butter for buttering your buttered toast…same kind of deal… Anyways, it’s truly a treat to add some Crazy Canadian to the Russians here who for many of them haven’t felt free in nearly ever. It really is something else to see them laugh. It’s fresh…and it’s new to many of them… I think it’s because it’s fueled by a deeper joy…
I love you all! Thank you for your prayers!
Keep your focus on Jesus!
Grace and Peace
~James
It’s a bit of a shock to the system today… we have a day off… A day where the only thing really that we’re supposed to be doing is having some orientation from the head missionary here in Ulan Ude, John Wicker. They met us on the train when we arrived a couple days ago. John, Sharron, his wife and his children, Heather-Ann, Matthew and Heidi. Another couple in this area is Leif and Jamie Gustafson. They have been getting us to where we need to be and filling us in on the quirks of this area. Here the population is half Buryat.(boor-ee-at) They remind me so much of the Native People of Canada. Lol, and some even laugh exactly the same! They have fun games and jokes, love to walk and to hike. It’s really great being here. Yesterday we did a program for the local church here. It’s very small, but we sure filled it!
We did a full program set up in an area about 8’x6’… wow… that was a squeeze. That morning I was very sick… blah… But as the day went on I felt a lot better. After the service I met another Sasha who played guitar and Bryce went on to teach him some new chords. This was when we met Elizabeth . She’s a SEND missionary from Germany . She’s doing our registration stuff today if she can. Apparently she’s a master at getting out of problems. John said that she can get off with a warning from police if they catch her going the wrong way down a one way street, and run into a police car when she doesn’t have her license… she says, ‘I’m sorry, I’ll never do it again…’ and they let her off…(I doubt that ever really happened…but I do hear that most things that she gets off with, John always gets in trouble for…but that’s how the law works here sometimes)
Last night after the church meeting, we went to a service in the home of Shannon . She’s the equivalent of Olga if she had been born in the US . But now that I’ve met her…she reminds me a little more of someone else… hmm… Anyways, she was very excited to have us there and so we did little bits of program material and I helped play background guitar for their Christmas songs in Russian… That was fun. ^_^ Apparently we’ll see more of those youth in the next little while. Almost all of them were Buryat. Come to think of it, even the lady who comes in here to cook for lunch and supper is Buryat.
It’s different here. There’s more Chinese influence here. In fact, there’s even a Chinese restaurant on the end of our block… that was surprising.
I’m still very uncertain of what we will all be doing here in the next little while despite our schedule. What I mean is, it’s a little different trying to think of what to expect here. Elsewhere we’ve been in Russia , people have not been very ‘spiritual’…but here, it seems there’s a lot influence from Buddhism and other religions. Pray that God would break down the strongholds and that these people who are truly searching… the ones who are tired of life will hear about the Creator. Jesus.
We’ll see what happens.
Thank you to everyone who is praying…we had a problem free time getting here and God has kept us safe.
We played a couple games last night that were a lot of fun… electricity (you have two lines of people who hold hands behind their backs… on one end is a bottle… on the other a guy with a coin. When he flips the coin and it was heads, the person standing there watching would squeeze the hand of the person next to them… eventually the hand squeezing gets to the end and the person at the very end grabs the bottle. If they get it, then the team rotates one member to the other side. To win, you have to get back to where you started….) That was fun… other was this hand tapping game where you sit in a circle and have you hand on the knees of the people on you left and right. When someone taps their hand, you have to keep tapping and go around the circle. The trick is that if you double tap, then the direction changes… and if you flinch to move your hand, then that hand is out. Eventually you get down to two people… I actually won that game with both my hands still good… that plain shocked me… lol. While I was there I figured out a way to say something is really great….’Superr Ochin Herrisho’…which means (Very, Very Well) As far as Russian goes… it’s being very redundant… like if you were to ask someone if they would like butter for buttering your buttered toast…same kind of deal… Anyways, it’s truly a treat to add some Crazy Canadian to the Russians here who for many of them haven’t felt free in nearly ever. It really is something else to see them laugh. It’s fresh…and it’s new to many of them… I think it’s because it’s fueled by a deeper joy…
I love you all! Thank you for your prayers!
Keep your focus on Jesus!
Grace and Peace
~James
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
January 1, 2007
Snovem Godem! Happy New Year! We were up until 5am this morning bringing in the new year with the Church here in Lesisebirsk. We wouldn’t have survived at all except that we were able to have a nap yesterday afternoon for a few hours. That and I slept for 2.5 hours in the van. Apparently Janelle and I were conversing in our sleep. And she was having a very strange dream about me drawing a beard on her face.
The team is all starting to recover from all the stress of travel lately. It was a good time here despite some of the difficult times. We’re starting already to mentally prepare ourselves for going to Ulan Ude. Bruce, who has been with us the whole time will be staying in Krasnoyarsk. We’ll on the train for near 27 hours. To think of traveling still fills my heart with a little dread. There’ll be 6 of us and a whole lot of equipment. *sigh*
Oh, and for everyone who has been praying for our health, my wrist is still a ‘thorn in the side’ sometimes. It is getting better, but it’s slow recovering. It’s not hindering my work here in the slightest… but it is annoying. ^_^ Coralie who had been feeling a little ill the last while is doing much better. Otherwise, we’re all doing very well!
It’s hard trying to sum up all the things you’ve seen and heard and experienced all in short blog entries. There is a good deal of overload that occurs when you’re trying to take in all of Russia at once!
Last night for New Years we arrived and visited for a while until they started a drama. It was a cross between the story of the little match girl who was having a hard time selling matches, Father Frost (Santa Claus at New Years) and the Christmas story. Very strange and abstract. As such it was very enjoyable as I often enjoy things a little out of the ordinary sometimes. Right in the middle of the drama, they broke things up and got us to all go and eat. I remember eating a lot of orange slices and trying some raw red fish. As far as fish goes, it was pretty good fish! Unfortunately, I still have a very difficult time appreciating the flavor of fish…therefore I didn’t a whole lot of it. Never the less, it was a great meal. This was followed by people handing out sparklers… Those metal sticks that you might see on birthday cakes sometimes? We all had one of those and we went from person to person, sparkler to sparkler lighting the room up here and there until the countdown was over. Then we went as a big crowd outside and started to shoot off fireworks. We saw some going off to our left, and some off to our right, and our folks were sending them right overhead. It was quite extraordinary to watch…to think we were watching fireworks all over town, in Russia. In the snow. Weird.
We did some music and drama in pieces for the rest of the ‘morning’ after that until about 4. We were able to go to bed by about 5:30. Now it is morning, and you’re all caught up for this moment. I wish I had time to tell you about all the other strange things that happened.
I will leave one with you…When we returned from that big trip, us guys went and slept for a few hours. When we woke up, no longer than 5 min later, a couple ladies came into our flat and started to tell us things in Russian. They thought they had the wrong flat… they were looking for Igor…We told them that he was out and then they started talking in Russian again. They didn’t understand much of anything we told them and vice versa…Even though we used gestures… I don’t they were the gesture type. What one of them did say was that she lived in that flat, and then she turned and said, ‘Go!’… I started to grab my bags and move them out of my room into the living room. Soon she understood that she had said that incorrectly. She came back and with a chuckle said, ‘I go.’… that made more sense. I had figured they came there to see Igor and to change or get something for New Years. Later that night, I found out that I was right. She had left some of her things there and had come to get them. Never the less, us guys were so confused for a morning. There is nothing stranger than waking up and finding a couple ladies walk into your apartment who try to tell you things that you don’t understand… or then again… being a couple ladies and walking into a flat you are familiar with and finding 4 guys who can’t speak staying there. Truly life is strange sometimes. But it’s the strangeness that lets us enjoy the things that are a little more normal… *_^
Go with God! Spogum!
December 30, 2006
Today was one of those stupid awesome days. Or awesome stupid days…. Whatever you want to call it. We had a rough start with the team… it was a long trip to a small town Yenesisk… It reminded me of Northern Saskatchewan as far as the people went… but it was a lot like the Yukon from 29 years ago. Crazy.
We did a program at an orphanage and we gave everything we had, and wow… it wasn’t pretty… That really discouraged me… But today went well over all. God is working… But as a reminder for myself, PRAY FOR VAELERA!!! He gets discouraged over the lack of fruit…spiritual fruit… But wow… it was great to hear both his and Alexi’s testimonies… that was all we needed for God to snap us out of our tired frustration.
Don’t worry… We’re still giving all we have… God will be all we need.
December 29, 2006
We’re heading to a ferry right now. We got to Lessisabirsk safely despite the crazy roads and we were able to push another guy out of the snow… that was fun! The time here with Pastor Roma, Igor and Leanna has been great. All us guys stayed with Igor and his roomy in a rented flat. But even though we’d be getting back at 10 or later, he’d run over to the ladies’ drug rehab center and grab Leanna who was from Moscow. She understood a bit of English, and what she did know, she knew very well. Apparently she hadn’t had to use her English in 6 years so she had forgotten some words. We had a great time talking with them and we’ll see them again on New Years.
The spiritual battles here again have been fierce. Pastor Roma, for our first program had asked a army guy… I don’t remember his rank, but I know he’s in charge of a large amount of the military training in the area. Anyways, it was his responsibility to let people know about our first program, and only 15 showed up in a auditorium in City Hall made for 200. God still worked though, because now Pastor Roma has a chance to lead this army guy to Christ. Pray that that will go well.
In the afternoon we headed out to do a program in the school. Unfortunately, the psychologist of the school caught wind of our program and went into a fury about how we shouldn’t be allowed to be there. She called for the school security to come keep an eye on us, and so there was this big guy watching us. We never had a clue at the time, but he had a hard time with us because we walked on in, 4 of us bigger guys. I for instance walked up to this guy who was supposed to be looking real big and tough to watch for anything fishy was eying me so I walked up to him and gave him a big ‘Zrast-vutye!’ (hello) to wish he was caught a bit off guard and replied with a weak hello of his own. Anyways, when we started bringing in stuff that psychologist met us on the stairs and wouldn’t let us pass and we were sure we were going to be kicked out. But then someone else came to our rescue. Another teacher I think, and then the way was open. So we went in and did our program and then had a second one. It went really well. But meanwhile there was a lot going on. The lady throwing this fit went to her office and began to write out a letter of complaint to give to the city Judge. When Roma asked what she was doing she told him and then added, ‘When he gets this letter you’ll never be allowed in here again to spread your religious propaganda!’ He told her, ‘You don’t even know if we are. Come see for yourself. Then you can write your letter.’ So, for the second program, she sat at the back and began to write her letter of complaint. Our program was anything but preachy, and I’m sure she had a hard time finding things we were doing wrong. In any case, afterwards, she left in a huff and went to argue with the other teachers and James L.
The short of it was that God gave James L. the right words to say that completely destroyed the arguments that she had. She had complained that our program had no knowledge in it. But James argued that there were many things they could get out of it… despite that she wouldn’t let us speak freely about God. We were teaching that love is powerful and we should by love, and with love for each other. When we live for ourself, we ruin our lives. Sometimes we need help from others. She argued that we should have talked more about the trees that Canada has…James argued that there was time for questions, and they didn’t want to know about the trees. They wanted to know about why we had come all the way to this town, way out in the middle of nowhere. We wanted to teach them things that could help their life long after we had left.
Anyways, in the middle of this, the teachers showed up and were wondering why she was trying to ruin this great program that was put on… and then the kids came out and asked her why she was trying to stop the program that they had enjoyed. So she said, well, then I’ll do a seminar about how to get a man for you girls. Then they cut her off and said, ‘We don’t care about that… how come you think your programs are so much better. You have to try and ruin ours?!’ Anyways, soon she couldn’t take it and went off to finish writing her letter.
It was then that the vice-principal came out. She had been watching our whole program. She was very blunt. ‘So what if you taught about turning to God when nothing else works…if our psychologist tries to send that letter, I’ll fire her. I really liked your program.’
God rules!
That was a taste of what God is doing. Pray that God continues to have his way!
December 26, 2006
Well, we’re heading for Lesosebirsk…I’m not sure if that’s how you’d spell it, but it’s about 5 hours north of Krasnoyarsk. I don’t know what to expect up there except that I’m sure it’ll still cold. That’s life here…and we just hit a big pothole…This van we borrowed from Chad is taking quite a beating. Hence, ‘Sorry Chad’ has become one of our primary sayings here on the road. *BANG* ‘Sorry Chad’…You get the idea.
Well, we’ll see what the north brings… that and New Years. Apparently, they stay up all night… and all next morning
Snovem Godem! Happy New Year! We were up until 5am this morning bringing in the new year with the Church here in Lesisebirsk. We wouldn’t have survived at all except that we were able to have a nap yesterday afternoon for a few hours. That and I slept for 2.5 hours in the van. Apparently Janelle and I were conversing in our sleep. And she was having a very strange dream about me drawing a beard on her face.
The team is all starting to recover from all the stress of travel lately. It was a good time here despite some of the difficult times. We’re starting already to mentally prepare ourselves for going to Ulan Ude. Bruce, who has been with us the whole time will be staying in Krasnoyarsk. We’ll on the train for near 27 hours. To think of traveling still fills my heart with a little dread. There’ll be 6 of us and a whole lot of equipment. *sigh*
Oh, and for everyone who has been praying for our health, my wrist is still a ‘thorn in the side’ sometimes. It is getting better, but it’s slow recovering. It’s not hindering my work here in the slightest… but it is annoying. ^_^ Coralie who had been feeling a little ill the last while is doing much better. Otherwise, we’re all doing very well!
It’s hard trying to sum up all the things you’ve seen and heard and experienced all in short blog entries. There is a good deal of overload that occurs when you’re trying to take in all of Russia at once!
Last night for New Years we arrived and visited for a while until they started a drama. It was a cross between the story of the little match girl who was having a hard time selling matches, Father Frost (Santa Claus at New Years) and the Christmas story. Very strange and abstract. As such it was very enjoyable as I often enjoy things a little out of the ordinary sometimes. Right in the middle of the drama, they broke things up and got us to all go and eat. I remember eating a lot of orange slices and trying some raw red fish. As far as fish goes, it was pretty good fish! Unfortunately, I still have a very difficult time appreciating the flavor of fish…therefore I didn’t a whole lot of it. Never the less, it was a great meal. This was followed by people handing out sparklers… Those metal sticks that you might see on birthday cakes sometimes? We all had one of those and we went from person to person, sparkler to sparkler lighting the room up here and there until the countdown was over. Then we went as a big crowd outside and started to shoot off fireworks. We saw some going off to our left, and some off to our right, and our folks were sending them right overhead. It was quite extraordinary to watch…to think we were watching fireworks all over town, in Russia. In the snow. Weird.
We did some music and drama in pieces for the rest of the ‘morning’ after that until about 4. We were able to go to bed by about 5:30. Now it is morning, and you’re all caught up for this moment. I wish I had time to tell you about all the other strange things that happened.
I will leave one with you…When we returned from that big trip, us guys went and slept for a few hours. When we woke up, no longer than 5 min later, a couple ladies came into our flat and started to tell us things in Russian. They thought they had the wrong flat… they were looking for Igor…We told them that he was out and then they started talking in Russian again. They didn’t understand much of anything we told them and vice versa…Even though we used gestures… I don’t they were the gesture type. What one of them did say was that she lived in that flat, and then she turned and said, ‘Go!’… I started to grab my bags and move them out of my room into the living room. Soon she understood that she had said that incorrectly. She came back and with a chuckle said, ‘I go.’… that made more sense. I had figured they came there to see Igor and to change or get something for New Years. Later that night, I found out that I was right. She had left some of her things there and had come to get them. Never the less, us guys were so confused for a morning. There is nothing stranger than waking up and finding a couple ladies walk into your apartment who try to tell you things that you don’t understand… or then again… being a couple ladies and walking into a flat you are familiar with and finding 4 guys who can’t speak staying there. Truly life is strange sometimes. But it’s the strangeness that lets us enjoy the things that are a little more normal… *_^
Go with God! Spogum!
December 30, 2006
Today was one of those stupid awesome days. Or awesome stupid days…. Whatever you want to call it. We had a rough start with the team… it was a long trip to a small town Yenesisk… It reminded me of Northern Saskatchewan as far as the people went… but it was a lot like the Yukon from 29 years ago. Crazy.
We did a program at an orphanage and we gave everything we had, and wow… it wasn’t pretty… That really discouraged me… But today went well over all. God is working… But as a reminder for myself, PRAY FOR VAELERA!!! He gets discouraged over the lack of fruit…spiritual fruit… But wow… it was great to hear both his and Alexi’s testimonies… that was all we needed for God to snap us out of our tired frustration.
Don’t worry… We’re still giving all we have… God will be all we need.
December 29, 2006
We’re heading to a ferry right now. We got to Lessisabirsk safely despite the crazy roads and we were able to push another guy out of the snow… that was fun! The time here with Pastor Roma, Igor and Leanna has been great. All us guys stayed with Igor and his roomy in a rented flat. But even though we’d be getting back at 10 or later, he’d run over to the ladies’ drug rehab center and grab Leanna who was from Moscow. She understood a bit of English, and what she did know, she knew very well. Apparently she hadn’t had to use her English in 6 years so she had forgotten some words. We had a great time talking with them and we’ll see them again on New Years.
The spiritual battles here again have been fierce. Pastor Roma, for our first program had asked a army guy… I don’t remember his rank, but I know he’s in charge of a large amount of the military training in the area. Anyways, it was his responsibility to let people know about our first program, and only 15 showed up in a auditorium in City Hall made for 200. God still worked though, because now Pastor Roma has a chance to lead this army guy to Christ. Pray that that will go well.
In the afternoon we headed out to do a program in the school. Unfortunately, the psychologist of the school caught wind of our program and went into a fury about how we shouldn’t be allowed to be there. She called for the school security to come keep an eye on us, and so there was this big guy watching us. We never had a clue at the time, but he had a hard time with us because we walked on in, 4 of us bigger guys. I for instance walked up to this guy who was supposed to be looking real big and tough to watch for anything fishy was eying me so I walked up to him and gave him a big ‘Zrast-vutye!’ (hello) to wish he was caught a bit off guard and replied with a weak hello of his own. Anyways, when we started bringing in stuff that psychologist met us on the stairs and wouldn’t let us pass and we were sure we were going to be kicked out. But then someone else came to our rescue. Another teacher I think, and then the way was open. So we went in and did our program and then had a second one. It went really well. But meanwhile there was a lot going on. The lady throwing this fit went to her office and began to write out a letter of complaint to give to the city Judge. When Roma asked what she was doing she told him and then added, ‘When he gets this letter you’ll never be allowed in here again to spread your religious propaganda!’ He told her, ‘You don’t even know if we are. Come see for yourself. Then you can write your letter.’ So, for the second program, she sat at the back and began to write her letter of complaint. Our program was anything but preachy, and I’m sure she had a hard time finding things we were doing wrong. In any case, afterwards, she left in a huff and went to argue with the other teachers and James L.
The short of it was that God gave James L. the right words to say that completely destroyed the arguments that she had. She had complained that our program had no knowledge in it. But James argued that there were many things they could get out of it… despite that she wouldn’t let us speak freely about God. We were teaching that love is powerful and we should by love, and with love for each other. When we live for ourself, we ruin our lives. Sometimes we need help from others. She argued that we should have talked more about the trees that Canada has…James argued that there was time for questions, and they didn’t want to know about the trees. They wanted to know about why we had come all the way to this town, way out in the middle of nowhere. We wanted to teach them things that could help their life long after we had left.
Anyways, in the middle of this, the teachers showed up and were wondering why she was trying to ruin this great program that was put on… and then the kids came out and asked her why she was trying to stop the program that they had enjoyed. So she said, well, then I’ll do a seminar about how to get a man for you girls. Then they cut her off and said, ‘We don’t care about that… how come you think your programs are so much better. You have to try and ruin ours?!’ Anyways, soon she couldn’t take it and went off to finish writing her letter.
It was then that the vice-principal came out. She had been watching our whole program. She was very blunt. ‘So what if you taught about turning to God when nothing else works…if our psychologist tries to send that letter, I’ll fire her. I really liked your program.’
God rules!
That was a taste of what God is doing. Pray that God continues to have his way!
December 26, 2006
Well, we’re heading for Lesosebirsk…I’m not sure if that’s how you’d spell it, but it’s about 5 hours north of Krasnoyarsk. I don’t know what to expect up there except that I’m sure it’ll still cold. That’s life here…and we just hit a big pothole…This van we borrowed from Chad is taking quite a beating. Hence, ‘Sorry Chad’ has become one of our primary sayings here on the road. *BANG* ‘Sorry Chad’…You get the idea.
Well, we’ll see what the north brings… that and New Years. Apparently, they stay up all night… and all next morning
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