Our first Neighborhood Outreach

The Orthodox, and even the Protestants here, celebrate Easter on the Eastern calendar. So we've taken that up too, and it fell on April 27th this year.

Here was my cool idea for a game for my kids, that ended up drawing the other kids in our courtyard in as well:

I don't really go for the whole egg thing, since it's based in pagan fertility rituals, so I thought about hiding Bible verses instead. Lydia actually gave me the idea from the VBS they did during our staff conference in Hungary last year. I found verses that mentioned concrete objects that are found in our courtyard, such as:
"When you went out before your people, O God, when you marched through the wasteland..." "All the birds of the air settled on the fallen tree..." "Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him." and I loved this one: "Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe."

Next, I wrote the verses on the backs of a jigsaw puzzle and hid them, so that each find would lead to the next. Each verse had another question to answer that helped the kids fill in words into blanks, some of which were key letters that they had to unscramble to answer the question which emerged on the puzzle when it was assembled: "What does 1Cor. 15:14 assume?" The answer in the jumbled letters: "an empty tomb."

Of course you are thinking what Diana thought: this is way over the heads of these kids. Well, who cares? I had fun making it up.

Anyway, as I was hiding the pieces, the kids who were outside got excited when I explained, "I'm hiding these for my kids to find." At first I tried to keep them in the dark since I didn't know how to include them. They got so interested that I finally gave in and decided we'd just make it work somehow.

So when my kids came out to start, I gave the others a Russian Bible and crossed my fingers that it would work. All of a sudden I was teaching them names of books, how to use the table of contents and find books, what chapters and verses are, and how to find them too. Yes, we are talking about major biblical ignorance. But, hey, they thought it was great, and they showed tremendous patience with the process, even though the translation didn't always work right.

Lydia had already been developing some relationships with the kids, and so I was tickled to be able to have an avenue to get to know them too. So now Lydia and I are praying for more opportunities to get to know them and create ministry opportunities. Pray with us.

A Reunion with our First Son

Diana and I had the joy of hosting a young fellow in our home from Georgia - the country - back in 1994-95. We were living in married student housing on the campus of the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, where I was a student. David's father had been the minister of Justice in Georgia when he met my uncle at a World Jurist Conference. Before he died, he wrote my uncle a letter asking him to help take care of his boy.

David was a junior in high school when he came over, and we were all too eager to take him in, since we still had no children of our own. He quickly became a regular part of our family, and he was a part of all that we did for 3 semesters, including family trips, hikes in the woods, and church.

David tagged along with me when I was scoping out a church for us to attend, and I'll never forget his amazement when I singled out one that was clearly set apart from the rest. They all seemed the same to him, he willingly joined us and joined the youth group. Coming from a nominal Orthodox background, he was open to learn more, and between a good youth leader, lots of great discussions about faith, and the Holy Spirit, he gave his life to Jesus that first year.

Times were not always easy. He frustrated us with some of his juvenile ways, and we probably upset him by exposing him to our rocky early marriage, but it was a painful goodbye in the end. Without going into details for his sake, things fell apart for David not long after he left for college, and we hardly heard from him for the next 13 years.

He contacted us a few months ago, he later told me under compulsion from God, and we were back in relationship as though it almost had never stopped. We found out that he has had an incredible and even dangerous ride in the years in between. One of his job experiences that needs a movie script is detailed here.

Before we knew it, he was insisting that we come, on his dime, to visit him at his new residence in Dubai where he is helping lead a team to do no less that totally restructure the entire government of the country. It was hard for us to accept his very generous offer, but we decided we had to receive it from God's hand.

It was an incredible trip for the kids, which I will let Lydia tell you about (the kids and David got on famously), but most special for me was connecting with the man who held such a special place in my heart, and I hadn't even known it. We care about him like a son, and we worry about him like a son. I asked him at one point what he most remembered from his days with us, and he immediately answered, "that I got saved with you." Of course we had had no idea how much of what we had poured into David stuck, and we could ask for no more than this. My prayer is that we can continue this relationship and deepen that connection. David has already expressed interest in coaching - "but just not yet."

A side benefit of the trip was the way it confirmed in a surprising way what I had written about in last month's newsletter. I had said that we were starting to see more and more (and have others tell us) that God would powerfully use us in our own home as we opened it and our hearts to others. Now I can see that God had given me and Diana that ministry as long as 14 years ago before we even knew it. And that when we were hardly "experts" or mature believers.

I guess God doesn't need any of that to be able to use you.

Calling for Researchers

I put out this note recently to a local email group of mainly missionaries in St. Petersburg:

There are a lot of us who care about the orphans in and around St.
Petersburg. But it's becoming clear to me that the situation is
changing, and our data is quickly becoming out of date. At the
monthly prayer meeting for orphans last week, I asked about the need
for better information about the state of the kids in the city, and
there was strong agreement that there is a dearth of good info to
inform ministry and intercessory work and to evaluate progress. As a
result I decided to put out this email. What we need are a small
handful of individuals from various ministries and churches (including
Russians) willing to come to one meeting to discuss this matter. This
would be a short-term project (I'm guessing 4-6 months on the outside
with good cooperation) to produce a report (in English and Russian)
of professional quality that would include things such as:

• How many institutionalized orphans are in the city now, and what are the trends?
• What ministries, churches, and other organizations are serving them?
• How many street kids remain, and where are they? Who is serving them?
• Who is serving post-orphanage graduates?
• What do we know about adjudicated kids? Child trafficking? Sexual exploitation?
  
• What family support services are available?

We may want to expand somewhat from the above list. On the other
hand, qualitative questions such as best practices and relative needs,
and examining present and potential projects and forging cooperative
ministry (all of which are critical!) should be held off until this phase
is complete.

The purpose of an initial meeting would be to define the parameters
of the study and to assign responsibility to participants over
compiling certain categories of information. These people could, in
turn, be in charge of a small team of helpers, including anyone
(supporters?) abroad who could help with online or other research.
Some of you are not here now. That's OK. Let me know you can help and
how. I'm only asking for commitment to attend this initial meeting
because I am asking no one to commit to a process that is still
undefined. We will define that commitment at this first meeting.

Action items:

1. Write me back if you are willing to come to one meeting to give your input.
2. Let me know good and bad times for meeting.
3. Forward this email to others who might be interested.

I'm excited about the potential of getting our heads (and eventually
hearts) together on this critical issue so close to the heart of our
Lord.

If you are not here in the city, you can still help by doing research online. Just tell me what area interests you, and we can put you in that group (if we have more than one person in that area).

Israel's call - and ours

The following is from our mission's Lenten Devotional Series for this year that I wrote.

CRM Lent Devotional
Brought to you by CRM Empowering Leaders

Scripture Reading - Day 19

Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.” (Isaiah 49:1-3 NIV)

Meditation

What greater quest can there be than for purpose? Our God alone has designs of purpose for every person, family, city, and nation—even before birth, as this passage declares, resulting in a symphony of praise to “display his splendor.”

Christian and Jewish commentators all agree that this passage refers to the coming Messiah—one of scores of passages that speak of God’s foreknowledge in sending his Son to bring hope and redemption to Israel and beyond. Israel had long since been given a mission—a mandate, even—to be a blessing to the nations (Genesis 12:2-3). It is a theme repeated over and over again throughout scripture.

God is intensely interested in everyone’s purpose—everyone from every tongue, tribe, and ethnic group. Why does Isaiah call the distant islands and nations to hear about the Christ in verse 1? It is not merely for their salvation, but also for the restoration of their own sense of purpose as a people, as the rest of the chapter explains.

Like many of us who are products of a highly individualistic culture, I used to think of my purpose as being nothing more than the fulfillment of my personal dreams and desires. When I came to understand that my relationship with Christ demanded more than this, I started looking for purpose in the intersection of my gifts and passions, in answer to some need. There is another level, however. My purpose is two-fold. It is shaped in my relationships with those in the body of Christ whom God has put me alongside, and it is also shaped in my relationships with those who do not yet know God and who I am called to reach.

Purpose isn’t static. It is in motion like a constellation. Wherever God calls me, my purpose is to fulfill his sovereign desire for the redemption and restoration of the nations.

Questions for Reflection

How well-defined is your sense of purpose?
To what extent does your sense of purpose include those around you and God’s redemptive plans for them?
How would you help others expand their sense of purpose from being solely self-focused to other-focused?

Staff Bio

Lyle Thomas serves with his wife, Diana, and their three children in St. Petersburg, Russia, primarily ministering among and on behalf of orphans so these children can realize their God-given dreams and purposes.

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More thoughts on Family Ministry

Despite the fact that family/team ministry is where I want to go with our crew, I feel like I have barely scratched the surface of what this really means. Why is having a ministry as a family important?

First of all, I think it's a forgotten biblical value.

• God's mandate to Adam was for Eve and their kids (and theirs) too.
• God didn't save 8 unrelated righteous people from the flood. He intended for them to cooperate as a family in the re-population of the world.
  
• God seems to have been gracious to Lot, at least in part, because of his relationship with Abraham. He was certainly more gracious than He needed to be to Lot's family.
  
• The flip side of this principle, as these passages demonstrate, is that righteousness is best preserved in the context of family.
• Jacob/Israel's call was for his whole family.
  
• God's hand in the life of Joseph was for his brothers' sake. They all together had a family mandate.
• God gave the leadership of the departing Israelites not just to Moses, but his brother and sister as well.
• Aaron and his sons were the first priests.
• The promise was to David and his family.
  

There are a host of references to family in the New Testament - many of which talk about our relationship to the rest of the Body of Christ and as children of our heavenly Father. But how often do we stop to think about why the Holy Spirit chose this imagery? The figurative is always based on the literal and derives is meaning and principles from it.

Family is the basis of our belonging. It is designed to be the closest human model for how we relate to and serve others and God. Families carry curses, but they also carry blessings - and to many more generations than the curses. These blessings are not generic, either. They are specific kinds of blessings that replicate in successive generations the character traits and fruit that were modeled to us. How are those blessings, traits, and fruit most powerfully manifested? In the context of life purpose, call, and vocation!

Are not some of the greatest preachers those who come from a line of preachers? Are not some of the best tradesmen those who have learned and perfected their craft from their family heritage? Obviously these things can be passed on outside of the family, but my point is that we thrive best where we capitalize on the gifts that God has already given us, and many of these come from our family.

I'm not saying we have to have the same job as our dad. But look at the thrust, the momentum, the trajectory of what God is doing in your family in a spiritual sense as much as anything, and you will get some hints as to part of your purpose. Obviously purpose can come out of pain too. but if your ancestors were horse thieves, maybe that means they were operating out of broken gifts that should have been devoted to business building or something, and that core is what is really in your blood.

How do we distill it down? That's a big topic. The big picture is that we seek the fullness of our calling in the context of our personal gifts, family history, geographic call, and sphere of relationships. I expand on this idea some in a devotional I wrote for Lent here.

As for me and my family, I began seeking God for direction about 6 years ago, well before we were planning on coming here. God answered in a powerful way. I'm ashamed to say that it looks like that journal got packed away at my parents house. The essence had to do with being always prepared for adventure and given to hospitality as a central focus of our ministry. That much I do remember. But the point here is that at some point I want to revive that mission statement and begin to work with Diana to more intentionally map out some ways that we can build that preparedness into our parenting, homeschooling, and ministry experiences that we give the kids - all the time making the connections overt to them "in our coming and going."

Please give me some feedback on this one.

Small steps

I wrote my last post about our new ministry at the orphanage nearby just minutes before leaving for my first class teaching English there. I knew nothing of these children and wished I had hindsight right then and there. Well, now I have some hindsight and several stories under my belt.

Here's a recap:
week 1: Girls (12 - 14) with attitudes, but workable, I think.
week 2: Girls with attitudes get worse when rebel Andrei is added to the mix. This arrangement is smoothing out slowly.
week 3: I really do not want to go to 46, but don't want to be a quitter either. These kids already have had people quit on them. I pray. I go. . . and I come home smiling. At last some small breakthroughs in my relationships with the girls in particular. New boy Igor is sweet and receptive to homework help.
week 4: Another good lesson, and I feel hopeful.

Now for a snapshot of Masha, one of my "attitude girls".

Masha is 12 going on 30: angry, grumpy, and disrespectful. She peers out from under her hair at me each class and tests me by saying rude things and making it clear that "English is boring" and "I don't want to be here." Yet, she reported to the administrator that she liked the first class. My 2nd lesson did not entertain Masha as hoped, and she tried to make life difficult. Week 3 I knew it was "make or break" time. I brought place settings, candles, and napkins to practice vocabulary and prepositions (Put your fork in your cup. Put your cup on your plate.) This approach was more to Masha's liking, and the atmosphere of our relationship improved. Some notes to self: hold Masha's gaze, smile, speak firmly, smile, wink on occasion, laugh a lot, and she might just show her sly grin.

Week 4 was special. Not 15 minutes in our preposition game (Put the blocks in your cup. Put the green block under the cup. Put the white and blue block beside the cup.) Nadyezhda Mikhailovna, one of the administrators and a dear woman, entered the room with a prim looking lady (PLL), the English teacher at the orphanage school. We are introduced, but PLL does not bother to speak English to me, just Russian. Anyhow, the kids and I waited to continue our game while PLL complained and scolded Masha and Nadyezhda for Masha's poor performance in English. Imagine getting reamed by a teacher in front of your peers for several minutes? No doubt some of you have. Shame-based learning prevails in Russia, and Masha was today's prime target. I decided to stay after class to help Masha with her homework.

Masha slumped in her chair and sulked during the tirade. I caught her eye a few times and winked at her. She smiled. Aha! An ally! After class, Masha and I sit alone together, while Lydia plays BINGO with 9- year-old Farida. This time was golden. I encouraged. I taught. I patted her back. I smiled. I laughed. Masha responded! After all, I am her ally now and can not be scared off by her disrespect.

As I leaft 46, I spied Nadyezhda M. in an empty room. She explained that Masha and the PLL have a history of conflict. Gee, if I got reamed out in front of my peers by PLL I might start to "conflict" too!

I am so thankful I did not quit on week 2, and I eagerly await week 5.

Marina comes for dinner

I wrote in February about the extraordinary means that the Lord used to show me that He had His finger on this one young woman - of all the hundreds of beggars around the city - for us to establish a relationship with. That process has now evolved from fleeting moments and faith to reality.

My first planned meeting with Marina did not work out, and I tried to pass along a message to her through another contact. She never called. I decided to go back to look for her again at the Metro. This time (Feb. 27th), I waited on the platform almost a half hour before giving up. Then, literally as I was walking out, a train came, and she emerged.

How good it was to see her, but we were both reserved. Marina explained that she had received my message, but forgotten my phone number. When she complained that for her whole morning's work she had come up with only 100 rubles ($4), I offered to take her to eat (and invite Diana). She was very nervous about exiting the station, saying that she doubted they would let her back in. Apparently the workers are very capricious and don't always let folk in they suspect of being beggars. As I have found out from other sources, you usually need to pay off up to three gatekeepers: the lady that watches the turnstiles, the policeman that patrols the platform, and the mafia that controls the place.

We chatted, and she asked about Diana and the kids, though she didn't know any of our names yet. She explained that Mondays were here day off, suggesting that she could even be interested in coming over for dinner. I told her we would be delighted, gave her my number, and we parted.

She did not commit to when she would call, so we wondered if she was seriously interested (maybe afraid?), or when anything might happen again. Come Monday (March 3rd), while I was out running errands, she called, asking if today would work. I quickly confabbed with Diana who said, "sometimes you drop everything for a God moment. This is that moment."

Marina and a friend, Alaysia, met me at the station closest to our apartment. I'll never forget the look on her face as she spotted me from the train as it rolled into the station. She has always had a pleasant face and smile, but now, this girl, who has experience hardships and seen things that no one needs to see at age 19, beamed with delight and pointed to me like a little girl who spotted her dad come to pick her up.

We learned that Alaysia's family often help Marina and her brothers when they can, partly because they all come from Moldavia. According to Alaysia, they are the only ones who serve Marina in any way. It was not yet 5pm, but since Marina had only had tea since morning, we ate, though they found lasagna a bit strange for their tastes. After I asked the blessing, Marina said, "So you are believers? We are too." Alaysia further clarified, "You believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? My parents do too." She said they go to a Moldavian church that has Americans from Virgina come every summer to serve in some way. Hmm. Tuck that all away for later.

More on Marina's background. Her brothers, Ruslan (11), and Vasya (8) are clearly very dear to Marina. She hates not to be available to take them to and from school, and she keeps them home sometimes when it is cold. She feels that her job prospects are limited not only by the school day, but also by her handicap - a bad leg resulting the car accident that 5 years ago killed her father. Her mother is gone, but we don't know the details yet.

In order to help her, we wanted to know more about her situation. She rents their apartment from some acquaintances who took pity on them and are "giving it away" for a mere $330/month. She can earn $25-30 a day begging in the Metro. That leaves her to supply an extra $200-$300/month for rent, food, etc.

We took down other material needs, clothings sizes, explaining that we have relationships and resources so that it would not all have to be purchased retail. She said, "You know what I was hoping? That you could help me directly, without having to find others." I assured her that it went without saying that we wanted to give some direct help, but our personal resources were limited, and we were trying to think about the big picture. This made her feel better. I can only imagine, I said, how she must feel the need to focus on today's needs, but that we want to help her dream again. She replied, "I'm tired of life. I come home every day with my legs in deep pain from using them, and my arms and hands in pain from the crutches. (They are crude and unpadded.) I don't know how long I can keep this up." I tried to reassure her, "Marina, I know that God put you into our lives because He has big plans for you. Don't give up."

Our kids were shy at first, but Lydia later showed some of our family pictures and talked about them with Marina. I took advantage of their conversations to go cry on Diana's shoulder. She was the strong one today. How does this girl make it on so little? It is so hard to comprehend.

Diana and I were both overwhelmed at this point, not because we are tempted to play savior, but because it is all such uncharted territory for us. Hey, I have a Masters in Social Work. I've worked with the homeless. But how many social workers let work get this close to home? Where is the manual on trusting God for each step in a process of intervening in a life that needs so much on so many levels?

Next came the "border bully" (nay-sayer), in the form of our Russian tutor, Lyudmilla. She is one of our favorite people here and gives incalculable insights into the dark side of Russian society, but she was afraid for us. "My friend who works for the police department says all the beggars work for the mafia. That area where she lives has a bunch of Gypsies. Please don't ever go down there until you are totally sure about who they are. They could slip something into your drink, and when you wake up your passport will be gone."

I took a walk that night to talk it over with God. I never take walks anymore, since I walk all the time, but I needed to get out. Too much emotion for one day. What God showed me was that I just needed to stay the course. All this pain and potential pain, He said, was just the sign that we were doing the real work of ministry.

Thanks. I needed that.