Finally in Ufa…

Well, it has been an interesting couple of days.  We experienced no problems getting all of our luggage on to Lufthansa Airlines in San Francisco, and, all things considered, had a good flight both to Frankfort and then to Moscow.  We had no problems at all coming through customs.  In fact, it was the smoothest that I can remember it.

Yesterday we went for a short 12 hour stroll around Moscow. It was cold and seemed to get colder as it grew later in the day.  We visited Red Square where we saw Lenin’s Tomb, the world famous St. Basil’s Russian Orthodox church and the changing of the guards by the eternal flame.  There we are all leaping for joy in front of  the church – “Its good to know that I have such an influence on the team!”  We had also hoped to visit the newly built Russian Orthodox Church, but Russia had just elected a new leader for their Russian Orthodox Church and special meetings of the Russian Orthodox leaders were taking place.  The church was guarded all around by soldiers.

After all of those places we went to the Russian WWII memorial museum.  Honestly, it was a very somber experience.  So many died defending their country from the the invading Germans who had just about taken Moscow.  The stories and the pictures, the uniforms and the vehicles used all helped paint a picture of the commonality of war.  Fathers leaving their young children and their wives to protect their country from an advancing army…It reminded me, at least, of how similar we really are – people who desperate to survive needing a Savior.

We all enjoyed riding the “Metro” underground system, and especially appreciated all the unique architecture.

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.

Please pray that the Youth Conference will go well.  That it would be well attended and that Chris and I will be faithful to equip them through the Word.

We know that you are praying for us.

I will send another update tomorrow…

Good night!!!

Budding in October – Part 3

Saturday Night

Steve and I are waiting for Sergei Loshak to take us to Sterlitamak for dinner and an overnight stay. I am sitting by the window seeing the Bashkortostan White House and Ufa city lights. The hotel room we use is comfortable enough. It’s chilly outside at about 39 degrees Fahrenheit. I am going over in my mind the events that had taken place since my last report.

Teaching Cults and World Religions has been more than I expected. We were able to cover everything in the Antioch Initiative Notes and all the content of the three power point presentations I purchased from Rose Publishing. The pictures, symbols, and information helped to overcome the language barrier/translation difficulties. I was able to give them a chart made by Rose Publishing listing the main teachings of the Cults and World Religions. They were translated into Russian. These were well received. They wanted to know how to get more. There is a website they can explore to find the answer. Oops. Sergei has come. We are off for Sterlitamak for dinner and rest. It probably will be a late dinner.

Monday Afternoon

Yes, it was a late dinner but very good. Olya always cooks a good meal even though we were later than planned. We had a good rest to face a busy Sunday.

Our first stop Sunday, was to take pictures of their building inside and out. There was no heating in the building, so the service was moved to a member’s lovely log home. We were able to fit the congregation inside their front room. Some of the men transported the song sheets and the benches to this site. Sergei preached on prayer. I had wrestled with this idea but God had laid on my heart the sermon from II Corinthians 8:9 concerning Christ’s poverty. These two sermons fit very well with their situation. Even though this church is struggling with a building project, their hearts are filled with joy. They are concerned with the progress of the building in Uchali, their church plant. Can you imagine, a church plant with a church plant? That’s the case here.

Then, we went to lunch at a sister’s house. It was great food even the sardine sandwich. Next, Sergei had to show us a new mosque in Ishambai. It was obligatory. Then, I got a much needed nap. This virus was winning the battle in my body on Sunday morning, but by Sunday night it was gone. I preached in the Church of the Transfiguration at the Sterlitamak Rehab Center and Steve gave his testimony. Alexei gave me free reign on the sermon length. The congregation was very attentive even the unsaved ones. I spoke on II Cor. 5:21, Christ our Substitute. That was lot of fun. They fed us porridge, bread, and potatoes. All was grown or produced by them. Then we got back to the Office around 11 p.m.

I left out some events. I met with Pastor Zhuck on Wednesday. I will share the results of that meeting in my final report. Thursday night I spoke to the pastors and missionaries in their Brothers Meeting with my concerns, health of the coalition churches, our commitment to the partnership, and news of Jim’s situation. I will share more in my final report. Ivan translated for me. This was partly by Emiliya’s request. She has been criticized for being in Brother’s Meetings as a translator. They said it wasn’t a place for a woman. Ivan did a great job. He was confident enough to do it. God worked through both of us.

The trip to Uchali on Friday afternoon was spectacular. Nadir is a fast but careful driver, a lot like me. The road is not real smooth but we made great time over the Ural Mountains in about 4 ½ hours. The rain storm turned into snow in the higher elevations. It didn’t really stick much but was beautiful.

We went to the church before it got too dark. I have a lot of pictures trying to show the different improvements done by the brothers after the Napa team left. God has done so much there. When I first saw the garage, it was a bare field with no improvements. As they started the foundation, Nadir reports that the city brought asphalt and paved the road up to their driveway. Praise the Lord for making this happen. Nadir did not ask for it.

I spent the night with Nadir and Lena’s lovely family. Daniel, Dina, and Ruveem are great kids. They are disciplined by loving parents but are still kids. They are full of activity. I had a great time with them. Then, we traveled back to Ufa and stopped for shash leek. That is pork shish kabob. It was great.

Well, I must close. I trust this will help you know what has happened on the trip. I will send the final report when I return. Remember our meeting in Rio Vista, October 28^th at 10 a.m. See you there.

Bud Haskell

Budding in October – Part 3

I have finished the teaching and covered everything that was in the manual and what was on the three power point presentations. The brothers received the material very well. I allowed the Bible School to participate due to the cirriculum, but do not believe this should be allowed everytime.

I handed them the Comparison of Religions Chart by Rose Publishing translated in the Russian language. They were very happy about this gift. It is a tool they can use.

In a few minutes I am off to Uchali and Ishambai to report what is taking place in those churches. I will return on Tuesday night at LAX. Thanks for praying. FYI: The Coalition Newsletter will be published after I return.

It is wonderful to serve God in the uttermost part of the earth. On day we will stand in heaven with these brothers as written in Rev. 5. I praise God for the opportunity.

At our next meeting in Rio Vista, Tuesday, October 28th at 10 am we will discuss the items Pastor Zhuck and I discussed. Please have your churches pray for his health. He will be going to the hospital the week after next to have a procedure on his eye.

Bud Haskell,

N. Calif. Coalition Coordinator

Budding in October – Part 2

Written During a Break

More brothers have come and gone during our sessions today, but there is a faithful group that is always here. Some brothers missed yesterday for very good reasons. They are here now. They are faithful ones too.

The sessions are going very well. Just before lunch Marina gave Emiliya a break. It is wonderful to have two good translators. Marina had been spending all morning translating the Power point presentation on Islam that I had purchased from Rose Publishing.

While we were presenting the central teachings of Mormonism, I had to ask the three young ladies in class to leave. I was asked why Joseph Smith believed in polygamy. I tried to answer this question but had trouble being careful with my words. So, Ivan translated for me. He was great. I relaxed and had a very intense time discussing this outwardly moral man who allowed his sexual passions free reign.

Pastor Zhuck stayed home all morning resting. I am hoping to talk with him later about our Coalition desires. He really wanted to be part of the sessions, but his health is not permitting this.

Tuesday Evening after dinner

I am sitting in the room while the brothers have a meeting. Emiliya is translating one of the power point presentations that I bought from Rose Publishing. I have verbal permission to do so.

We had another successful day. We are covering a lot more material than I thought we would. That’s good. I preached an expository sermon to break up the monotony of the text as we discussed in our last Coalition Meeting. I think it was important to model our kind of preaching. I asked them to take notes and be able to answer questions after the sermon. I asked them to pick out the main elements of an expository message.

They did a great job as a group. I am finding that many have bought into this style. Praise the Lord or Sla-va bo-ga especially the Bible School students.

I hope to be able to talk to Piotr tomorrow night. We have a lot to discuss. Pray that he will feel well enough to do so.

Marina is a delight to work with. We have to great and effective translators. While one translates for me during the training session, the other translates those special power point presentations.

I must close for night. I am getting very sleepy to the point of dozing off during my typing of this report. That’s not good. I must look over my notes for tomorrow. Good night. I hope to give another report tomorrow.

Budding in October…Part 1

Steve Unzueta and I landed in Moscow on Friday afternoon and were driven to the Warsaw Hotel. We took a short nap and were met by Jake Schwarz (forgive my spelling Jake). We took the Metro to center of the city. We saw a lot of places that Steve desired to see even Red Square and the changing of the guard outside the Kremlin.

Steve minored in History and has enjoyed studying WWII. He knows a lot about what took place during the German advance on Moscow and the subsequent battles in which the Russians pushed the Germans out of their country. He thoroughly enjoyed seeing everything.

Finally, we were tired and dragged ourselves back to the Warsaw and had dinner at the Diner down the street. Then, we fell into bed and slept twelve hours.

After a shower and a large breakfast Jake and Olya took us to the Arbat. There are great souvenir shops there, street performers, and wonderful food.

Then we visited the best part of the sightseeing. We toured the Victory Park dedicated to honor Russia’s victory over the Germans. It is an awesome sight just to walk to the main building. It was a gorgeous Indian Summer day. At least a hundred wedding parties were everywhere taking pictures after their ceremony before the reception. This is a Russian tradition to take your wedding pictures at one of the many memorial parks.

The main building contains artifacts, artwork, a rotunda honored special heros, and tableaus of specific battles. Steve kept saying he could spend days there. I am not sure about days, but I would love to go back again. It was an eye opening experience.

That afternoon we went to the airport to fly to Ufa Saturday night. We fell into bed at the Office/hotel after 1 a.m.

Steve had a rough night and stayed in bed all day, but I went Pastor Zhuck’s church. What a wonderful reception I received. Due to Pastor Piotr’s partial loss of eyesight his son Benjamin shares the ministry with his father. In fact Benjamin pastors his own small church as well. Victor Slobodyan and I preached. He did a great job at expository preaching. I was pleased. Then Benjamin and Piotr led in Communion. This was my first time sharing with them. I enjoyed it very much. Both sermons were directed by the Holy Spirit to link with Communion. It is a privilege to be used by God in this way.

After lunch at the church and returning to the Office/Hotel for a much needed hour nap. I was driven to Benjamin’s church. We had communion there too. One of Pastor Piotr’s younger sons preached for the first time before me. That was great to hear. Then, I preached also before celebrating the Lord’s Table.

Then, I was treated for dinner at Benjamin and his new bride, Natasha’s apartment. We had a great time looking at wedding pictures. They explained to me their wedding traditions. Natasha is studying to be a cook and does a great job at home. Benjamin is going to have to exercise to deal with her wonderful cooking. I shared with them that I have been praying for Benjamin’s wife for five years. That was awesome for me to finally meet this young woman, Benjamin’s helpmeet.

Today, I begin teaching. I am looking forward to this opportunity. Due to the content of the material, Piotr has invited their Bible School students to be part of the class. They need to learn about apologetics and the cults too.

Now, I am at our lunch break writing again. Some of the brothers coming from a distance were late, but we started without them. Others have not come yet. Piotr insisted that they all come. We shall see. Victor Gribkov will come on Wednesday. His mother passed away, and he is dealing with the paperwork.

We had a great first session. It was much longer than normal without a break. They were actively listening to me. Marina is part of the Bible School and is an interpreter too. She sits in front of Emiliya and aids in the translation. She will translate for me later. I am glad that more people are learning to translate. Mark Slobodyan does well too. I saw him yesterday at Pastor Zhuck’s church

Thank you for your prayers. The antibiotics are working, but Valentin wants the brothers to pray for me anyway. My voice is raspy and lower than normal. God is sustaining me. I will write more later.

Signing off…

Bud Haskell

Georgia Crisis – An Important Letter from Bob Provost – SGA

Greetings in the matchless name of our glorious Lord, Savior and King, who is absolutely sovereign over the nations! And, in these perilous times, how wonderfully comforting it is to know this!

Your prayers and offerings for the ministries to the thousands of suffering war refugees are deeply appreciated. We are assisting church-based relief efforts in three regions of southern Russia — North Ossetia, Rostov, and Kabardino-Balkaria — and more regions with refugees are being considered.

A pastor in North Ossetia who has been ministering to refugee families had this to say:

“The very first thing that our eyes beheld was the sense of general confusion. We had the feeling that the people didn’t even understand what was happening to them. People didn’t understand why grenades had exploded. Why their homes had been destroyed. When we questioned them, they said that nothing like this was to have ever happened. There was a sense of alarm. There had been certain subtle hints at pending events, but never had they imagined such a large-scale event as this. They had never anticipated such a thing. Of course, this has greatly affected the children. Many of the children were afraid to sleep. The adults are afraid for the welfare of their children. The moral, physical, psychological trauma is overwhelming. Do you understand? It’s overwhelming.

An 80-year-old farmer heard that the refugees had nothing. He went to a place where refugees were being housed. He had a small farm. Do you understand? The old man was 80 years old! He came and said, “Dear people, you, who have suffered. I have nothing, only a few lambs, but I want you to have them.”

A pastor in Kabardino-Balkaria reports:

“Many of the refugees are in a state of a shock. Some of them were never bombed before. Some of those people still cannot realize that what happened to them is not a bad dream.”

A pastor in Rostov reports:

“The refugees have shelter and food but they need much more. They fled with only that clothing that was on them. They could take nothing more. We are planning to have a special offering in our churches next Sunday to help the refugees.”

The pastors are asking for funds to help them provide clothing, hygiene items, and other necessities. And they are asking for Bibles, New Testaments, and other Christian literature for adults, youth, and children. Having received word of generous offerings collected in a number of churches, we have already advanced funds to the Russian churches who are ministering to the refugees, along with shipments of Bibles, New Testaments, and other Christian literature are also on the way. Please extend our heart-felt appreciation to your church family for their prayers and for their material help for the refugees.

In His love and service,

Bob Provost
President, Slavic Gospel Association

Update from Emilia

Update on Piotr Zhuk:

He was in the hospital and they realized the loss of sight was because of his high blood pressure causing a rupture somewhere in his eye. He could have died. He can only use one eye accurately and the other one is undergoing a series of laser treatments to remove blood that was in his eye from the rupture and they are treating his blood pressure with medicine. They are hoping and praying for the renewal of sight, as now he only sees silhouettes. Continue to pray for him.

Update on the Summer Camp:

1. The camp was permitted by the administration.

2. This year the camp was blessed by the Lord. There was so much more order. The team worked so well. And the kids were great and mostly more obedient. I feel so blessed by the camp. There is so much order and amazing for Russia. The territory became better and more convenient. We painted the houses. There are much less bugs and mosquitoes.

3. The girls worked so well and faithfully. Melinda worked with small boys and she is very tired, but she showed such an example and diligence in working with small boys and in learning Russian. Jamie was an excellent worker, also an example for our leaders. They sacrificed their health, energy and gave us lots of encouragement and smiles. They also taught the Bible lessons, and set an example for our leaders and did totally fine even without rich language skills. We were blessed by the girls! The kids just loved them and the crafts!

Blessings!

Emiliya

RUSSIA CONSTRUCTION TEAM

“‘HERE AM I, SEND ME!”

The Lord has raised up a group of men from Grace Church of Napa Valley to travel to Uchalia, Russia from August 15-31, 2008 to build a House of Prayer for their church planter, Nadir Davelkiltin (on right in picture – That’s Jake on the left). He, along with his wife, Lena, and their three adopted children, are presently living in a small apartment, but when the building is complete they will use it both as a home and also as the location of their church worship services. (This is a normal practice in Bashkortostan as it is very difficult to get permission to rent or buy a building to be used as a church) This church is the only gospel light in the city of Uchalia, a city of about 46,000 people of which over 80% are Muslims. Pray for Nadir as he proclaims the Gospel.

The construction team consists of the following seven men: Neil Adams, Carl Abernethy, Aaron Fernandez, Gary Glenn, Jim Olson, Tim Whitlock and Mark Windecker, Pray for each one of these men, who are willing to be expended for the sake of the Gospel. Pray that God watches over their families and lives as they prepare to go, for expediency in getting the necessary visas, for God’s complete financial provision for the trip – airlines tickets have skyrocketed due to the sharp rise in the price of fuel. Also, pray that God would use this trip to encourage the lives of our Russian brothers and sisters, for safety and for God’s continued sovereign control of all the details of planning a trip of this magnitude.

If you would like to partner with the construction team from Grace Church in Napa through prayer or financially, please let them know (www.gracenapa.org). As always, we will do our best to keep you up to date on the progress of the trip right here at our coalition blog.

In Memory of Bob Achilles

In Memory of Bob Achilles

A Man of Influence

By Bud Haskell

N. Calif. Coalition Coordinator

Another heavenly promotion occurred Monday night, May 12, 2008. Pastor Bob Achilles went home to be with our Lord. He is experiencing that truth Paul wrote about in 2 Corinthians 5:8 “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” (NKJV) Bob’s deep relationship with our heavenly Father has gone to the next level.

God’s timing is impeccable. I was reminded of this while driving to our Coalition Meeting in Hollister the next day. Jim Achilles gave me the news and asked to be excused from the meeting to be with his family. During the rest of the trip, I reflected upon Pastor Bob’s godly influence in my life. Many examples of his passion for Russian believers kept replaying in my mind.

Many Strategic Bible Institutes were sponsored by Trinity Bible Church. Most of the original pastors and/or churches of the Northern California Church Coalition were part of this ministry. Pastor Bob convinced the pastors and churches that training missionary pastors in Russia was a worthwhile endeavor. His strong passion was always apparent as he talked about going to the former Soviet Union to teach the Bible. His love for our Russian brothers was very strong. Bob often talked about “the bug” that you might catch while you were there to teach. He called it the Russian Virus. Now many of us have that same passion he exhibited for the Russian people. So, I lovingly say it’s Bob Achilles’ fault that I am driven for this ministry. It is wonderful to be part of something that fulfills Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (NKJV) Russia or the CIS is literally on the other side of the earth. For most Californians it is the end of the world, and the last place we would visit. Yet, I now have had the opportunity to teach and preach there. I thank the Lord for Bob Achilles’ challenge to get involved in Russian ministry.

Bob Achilles is listed as the Coalition Representative in the Northern California Coalition Guidelines, but I have a different title for him. For all practical purposes Bob Achilles is the founding father of our Coalition. Not only did he influence the original pastors and churches, but he was there at the beginning. SGA sponsored the initial meeting to present the new strategy and old biblical concept of the Antioch Initiative. Slavic Gospel Association invited quite a few men to Tulsa, Oklahoma in November 2003. (Bob and I had been included in this number.) They had met with the Russian Baptist Union and together formulated this new plan. On the first night Dr. Bob Provost presented the concept and asked the attendees to prayerfully consider developing a coalition of like-minded churches to partner with one of two regions: Orel and Ufa.

Bob and I had a rough night sleeping. Our accommodations did not cause our insomnia. The Holy Spirit kept challenging us about the possibilities for a Northern California Coalition. The next morning we met at Tulsa Bible Church for breakfast. We rushed up to one another and said we had to talk right now! Breakfast could wait. I let my elder go first. Bob urgently said that we had to gather a coalition of churches together to work with Ufa, but he couldn’t be the leader. He desired that I lead. In turn I said that God had impressed upon my heart to lead, I couldn’t do it without his help. I praise the Lord for Bob’s encouragement, passion, and work in the Northern California Coalition.

Bob Achilles has taught several times for the Coalition in Ufa. He was the driving force behind the Coalition video that has urged many pastors to become involved in the Antioch Initiative by developing other coalitions in North America. Most of all I appreciate his prayer support. He would email me about our latest developments in the Coalition. Bob is still a great encouragement to me.

So, when I share with others about the opportunities to teach and the needs of the Russian people, I think of Bob. If they will go, I know they will catch the Russian virus. It’s that bug that many North American believers catch when they leave their comfortable homes to minister for our Lord in other countries. We all need the passion Bob Achilles had for lost souls. He was always looking for opportunities to share the Gospel. Thank you Lord for allowing Bob Achilles to influence my life for You.

Last Night in Russia…

Tonight is my last night in Russia—for a while anyway. So to celebrate this week’s ministry, Peter invited us to his place for the banya. “Banya” is the Russian word for “Hell”, or “sauna”. Or both. The point of it all is to get the inside of a small room so intolerably, steamily hot that your body sweats out all manner of impurities harboring themselves in your skin—you know: dirt, old lotion gone bad, soap scum, and the breath of life. Out it comes, all of it, provoked by the heat and by the beating of your body with branches from a eucalyptus tree.

Peter took the three of us (me, Scott, and Henry) into the banya all at once. Scott and Henry had never done the banya thing in Russia, so this was a certain right of passage. They had little idea what to expect. Scott has been to Finland before, so he was vaguely aware.

So Peter gets this thing as hot as blazes and then starts beating Henry with the branches, hitting himself on occasion to show that his behavior was truly normal. Henry was bright red, probably more from the embarrassment than from the heat. Scott was cowering back in the corner where Peter couldn’t reach, so every now and then he’d throw the branches back to Scott and expect him to lash himself.

My lungs were burning, my nose hairs were scorched, and my sweat was dripping down my face—but I managed to avoid most of the violence taking place against Henry. Then Peter motions to the two of us—me and Scott. “Get out!” Fine! We leave, and close the door on Henry’s whimpering. Inside we hear the smacksmacksmack of the branches. Aha! Peter kicked us out ‘cause he couldn’t get enough clubhead speed. We were taking up too much room. Now he was working on Henry full bore, driving every last ounce of Calvinism from his body. We stood outside hooting and hollering—“Man, Henry, what did you preach in Peter’s church yesterday? You must have really made him mad!”

It was all fun and games until the door opened, Henry came staggering out, and Peter pointed to Scott. “Your turn,” his finger said as it motioned for Scott to get in. Again, whackwhackwhack, so loud you could hear it outside the inner sanctum of the banya.

I was thinking Peter was just being polite to the newcomers, but no, as soon as Scott was done, he was motioning for me to receive my part of the torture. I climb in and Peter throws more water on the heater and the steam makes it hotter than I have ever experienced yet, and that’s saying a lot, and he begins the beating. Outside, Scott and Henry are yucking it up. I won’t give you the details of their accusations, but let’s just say they thought my time in hell was fitting punishment for dragging them into a music store earlier in downtown Ufa and making them wait while I tried out a seven string guitar. They thought I was playing Rock music in the store and that’s why Peter was whipping out the evil impurities. Amateurs. I was playing Rhythm and Blues.

I feel great now, ready to sleep in peace and hop on the plane to come home. For many reasons, this has been my best trip to Russia. I love these brothers, and pray we can continue to minister to their needs.