A Thursday In Ufa – Jim Achilles

Here’s what ministry in Ufa is like on a busy day – and many days are like this.

4:00 AM – I wake up in advance of my alarm (which was set to go off at 4:30). I stay in bed for a half hour praying and thinking about the class schedule for the coming day. Then I get up and begin compiling and reviewing notes. The syllabus we are using is fairly basic and many of the men have already been trained. So I try to provide additional material that reinforces the syllabus and helps with their training and preaching.

8:00 AM – Breakfast with the brothers. Sometimes we have dinner leftovers, but always served with bread and homegrown honey.

8:30 AM – Devotions with the brothers. Sometimes the translator is late and we have to sit and listen in Russian while one of the pastors preaches a little message to the men.

9:00 AM – Teaching starts.

It’s like these guys are union students: 45 on and 15 off. They are way serious about getting their breaks. One guy is assigned to be the break monitor. He has a little bell that he rings when the break starts and ends. He is never late, at least to start the break!

1:30 PM – Lunch. Big meal. Soup, meat, potatoes, tea, or that purply thick stuff that tastes like grape Pepto Bismol. Haven’t yet learned to like that one yet. So far, they haven’t served the beef fat.

3:00 PM – Class resumes and will go until dinner at 6:30.

5:00 PM – I leave class early today and Scott teaches in my absence. I go with Victor and our translator Emelia to Birsk. Birsk is to Ufa what Hollister is to San Francisco, only the roads aren’t quite as smooth.

6:45 PM – We arrive at Pastor Victor’s house and his wife serves us a form of pillmainee for dinner. I have no idea how to spell or properly pronounce pillmainee. But I like it better than liver.

7:20 PM – The service begins at the church. We have driven to the church in a mini van owned by Victor filled with 10 people.

7:30 PM – I sing a song for the church.

Maybe 25 people are present in this small house that has been converted into a meeting hall. They are a joyful bunch. I want to sing something they will be able to understand a bit so I choose a song that has a familiar word and some cool chords to play: “Alleluia! Alleluia! For the Lord God Almighty reigns!” Alleluia is the same in any language. Henry is with me and he sings a song too. Henry is country. He embodies it perfectly. He sings a simple song and they like it. I don’t think they appreciate the twang like an American would.

7:40 PM – Victor stands and says, “Now Jim (sometimes sounds like “Dzhzheemah” with the emphasis on the “EE”) will preach for us from Revelation 6. Jim, you have until 9:00. Tell us everything you know about this chapter, because we don’t quite understand it.”

OK, I came at Victor’s invitation to a Bible study thinking I would participate and contribute. I didn’t think I was preaching. I knew it was a slight possibility, but I really thought 10 of us would sit in a circle and I could ad input while Victor “facilitated.” That’s how we do Wednesday nights in the States. But Victor wants me to preach on something I have not immediately prepared for a total time of 80 minutes.

I am shocked more for the congregation – to sit there and listen to me labor through a translator for that long while sitting on those wooden benches?

I begin and 80 minutes just roars past like nothing. I stop at 60 and turn to Victor and say, are you sure you want me to go till 9:00? And he nods, and not from sleep deprivation. God seems to be at work by His Spirit as my mind is recalling so many details about Revelation 6 and its context in the rest of the book and how it encourages a suffering people. I go for the full 80 minutes. Emelia is hanging in there. She and I really click now. I know how many words in a phrase she can turn around quickly, and if I speak clearly, I can speak quickly and we have a rapid fire pace with only a few trip-ups in the middle of the message.

9:02 PM – I am spent. Victor stands up and asks, does anyone have any questions for Pastor Jim. I shoot Victor. No, I answer one question. It’s a simple one and the lady who asked seems satisfied with my answer.

9:15 PM – We go back to Victor’s house and have tea and cookies. I do a few little magic tricks for Victor’s kids.

10:20 PM – We get back in the van and drive back to Ufa. I can’t stay awake. I am too tired. I can’t sleep. The roads are too violent. I smack my head against the window at least once because I nodded off during one of the Dukes of Hazzard moves Victor employs in the process of flying over a hole in the pavement.

12:20 AM – I’m finally back in the room. Scott is sound asleep. He hasn’t been feeling great. Too much caffeine has affected him. I get to sleep almost immediately because we have class the next day. Fortunately we didn’t get as far yesterday as we wanted, so my notes are ready to go. I can sleep in to 6:30.

God has been good sustaining us and encouraging us. This has been my best trip here.