Tuesday was a great day of ministry as the team broke up into two teams to serve the Lord on different fronts. It all started out badly as there was some miscommunication about breakfast…we were told that it would be at 9:00 a.m. but it was actually at 8:00 a.m. and we all missed it, so Rod began his teaching unfed. Thankfully, Marat, one of the brothers, left the building to get the basics of a typical Russian breakfast: Bread, cheese and sausage (like a salami and/or bologna). The team ate heartily with some tea of course, and Rod managed to grab a couple of pieces during one of the breaks.
After lunch some of the team left with Valantine to visit some Babushkas that are shut in. They were able to be an encouragement to them. Later in the afternoon the team left for the street kids ministry with Natalia Slobodyan, which meets at the Good News Church pastored by Piotr Zhuk. Many of these kids will end up in prison as they have no skills, education or ability to work, so they steal and eventually are arrested. Valantine who works in the prison ministry is saddened to see so many of them end up there and prays that somehow they can help teach and train these children as well as share God’s love and some food. It is always amazing to me how much these brothers and sisters love those that are hurting and in need.
Rod’s class ended up to be somewhat pleasantly controversial as we discussed many things related to preaching and subjects that are difficult to preach on. Here are some of the topics we discussed:
Church Discipline – they were encouraged that at our church we were willing to be obedient to Matthew 18:15-17 and we discussed the attitudes necessary in the process (they tend to be harsh) and what it means to “deliver someone unto Satan for the destruction of their flesh.”
Calling something sin that is not clearly identified as sin in the Bible – Drinking alcohol, which they would say is a sin, yet they use alcoholic wine for their communion (that was an interesting discussion), Smoking, Dancing, the use of drugs, etc. It was a healthy discussion and they all understood that these are “wisdom issues” and for us to draw a line in the sand, although making life simple, is not being faithful to what God’s Word teaches.
Unity – we talked about the need to unite in love even when there are some doctrinal differences in our churches. Sadly, there is a growing divide on Calvinistic and Arminian lines which is causing great conflict in the church. It was great to hear the men talk through this with the differences all being represented in the room. We talked about the need to allow freedom for each other to do ministry as God had called them and to work hard at not being divided or emotionally driven when they disagree.
In the evening Rod had the opportunity to visit a leaders Bible Study with Surgei Interesov who is the pastor of the First Baptist Church and where Emilia, our interpreter, attends. This church is made up of many former drug addicts, especially ones who have gone through the Rehab center. Many of the me are sick and have HIV, yet they are so hungry to be God’s church and are getting ready to embark on a study through the book of Ephesians because they want to learn what it means to be God’s church and to do church God’s way… They peppered me with questions for two hours and it was great fellowship around the table and with candies and tea.
Please pray for us. Today will be a long day. The team will travel to Sterlatimak, a two hour bumpy drive, to spend many hours with those at the Rehab Center and then will visit at Surgei Loshak’s church in the evening, returning home very late at night.
Rod will be teaching and immediately following dinner will be hosting a seminar on the Basics of Biblical Counseling.
So, it will be a full day. Rod is still struggling with a fever (which usually creeps up in the evening and causes pain in his legs). Please pray for endurance and for God to be glorified.
God bless…
Rod taught from 11:00 to 6:30 with a break for lunch in between. Realize, however, that our Russian friends love their tea and biscuits, so every hour or so they take a break to refill their mugs and stack up on cookies. The class is going well, with about 25 men in attendance and more to be coming today (Tuesday). Rod is teaching on “Preaching on Difficult Issues” and there is an eagerness for the discussion on these issues.
Both Kenny and his mother, Renee, were asked to work with the street kids tonight. Only two could go as they were going to go find the children in different hiding places so taking the whole group would have been very difficult. When I see Ken & Renee I’ll get an update and share their experience with you.
Thursday – The Team will be serving with the street kids again and Rod will continue to teach from 9:30 to 6:30, however, this will be his last day of teaching as the men will need to return to their homes so that they can watch the children as their wives come for the ladies conference which begins on Friday.
Saturday – The ladies conference will continue until about 5:00 p.m. after which the team will all head out to the rehab center in Sterlatimak again for an evening service. They will all stay at Sergei Loshak’s home and serve in the Sterlatimak region the next day, being divided up into two teams.
Chris’ group visited two churches. In the morning they went to Grace Church, a new church that is beginning in a home and where one of the street kids ministries takes place during the week under the leadership of Marina. They enjoyed the small fellowship. Chris preached and Renee shared a testimony. In the evening they attended the Light of the Gospel church, a favorite of everyone who comes to Ufa, whose pastor is Surgei (I know, there are a lot of Surgie’s) and the youth pastor is Arturo. Christ preached again and Steven shared a testimony. The group was extremely encouraged by the ministry and the relationship renewed and established.
After the day of services we all rendezvoud at our translator, Emilia’s, home where her mother – “Mamma Usmanova” as Rod calls her – put out an incredible 5 course meal. We fellowshipped and we laughed…and we laughed until it hurt…then after a “LUL” we took some serious time to share what God was teaching us. We are amazed at the graciousness, the friendliness and the seriousnees of these believers. We are making immediate friends who are now our brothers and sisters in the faith. We recognized that they are hard workers and not concerned with materialism like we are. It was a great time for growth.
After lunch Nail, a national pastor, spoke on the issue of obedience. Now, you think that Rod preaches long – sheeesh!! Then, immediately after he spoke, we had three songs and Stephen & Kenny along with the help of Svetlana and Indira (Emily’s sister who helps with interpreting) shared a skit on the struggles we go through trying to be cool and fitting into the world when we don’t need to. Then Rod, immediately finished out the conference speaking on Psalm 37:4, which is actually Psalm 37:5 in the Russian Bibles as they give a verse to the title of each psalm.
Now, the interesting thing is how long these young people sat without breaks. We American are not used to the endurance that they had and during Nail’s sermon were dropping like flies, bobbling heads and yawning like lazy lions on the prarie. We were doing all we could do to stay awake, but lunchwas hearty, the sermon was long and residual tiredness was sitting in. Fortunately, none of us made any major scene — we came close, though.
In the evening some of the team went out for a walk with the interpreters, but Rod, Gini and Renee stayed back to rest. Rod is still struggling with a fever, so please pray for him. Gini and Renee are already being swarmed by the ladies of the churches and are answering lots of questions. I think that their Women’s Conference will be outstanding and will be a great encouragement to the churches here.
Well, this morning as I met with Piotr Zhuk and Emily, Piotr shared with me that there has been some difficult setbacks in the ministry here. He shared of division within the church body and that he will be meeting with some key pastors who have all had a part to play to seek restoration. That was a big bomb to take, but we gathered together as a team, prayed for the church here and committed our time to the Lord. There is no coincidence that we are here and only want to be used by Him to help minister and heal where we can.
Marat, the Youth Director wasn’t too confident that many youth would attend the conference beginning this evening. He chose to use the classroom here at the office to host the meeting, expecting at most 20 people…well, the good news is that we had to leave the classroom and move over the Central Church (aka the International House of Prayer – or IHOP) where a total of 70 young people gathered. It was amazing and there was an eager buzz among the people. Now, you should understand that when I say “Young People” I am using that term in a Russian way. They use it to describe people from that ages of 12 to about 30.
ere taking place. The church was guarded all around by soldiers.
So, it has been two nights in Moscow and now we have finally arrived in Ufa. We were charged in the neighborhood o f $500 for the weight of the bags. The domestic flights in Russia only allow you to bring on 40 lbs and we each had two suitcases of about 50 lbs each… So, we were expecting it. Tonight we are resting and tomorrow we will spend time preparing for the weekends activities: Purchase of Guitars, Preparing Lessons, practicing skits, etc.
