Freedoms in Russia in danger

I haven't figured out how to feel about the level of seriousness to take all of this, but this message from a Russian pastor here is more than worthy of attention and prayer. You decide.

Considering the general situation, evangelical Christians will be a perfect target. And those, who have connection to the West and the so-called detestable American sympathizers - BEWARE. Please, pray for our wisdom and courage under the unravelling situation. We knew these things would come. They are coming a little faster than we expected. I am praying for the safety of our kids in this police state. We are rapidly traveling back to the notoriously known thirtees. The same flavor, really, though a slightly different color. More brownish than red. No drastic changes at a time. But the notorious frog boiled alive in the water slowly heated. That is a perfect analogy under the circumstances.

THE SECOND PIECE OF THE PUZZLE We have also just read on Russia on-line news that each Russian citizen will be assigned a personal e-mail address for direct connection with the government. They try to represent it as a step toward more freedom and better manifestation of true democracy - after all we will be able to contact the government without having to stand in line or trying to break through a bunch of unconquerable obstacles. However, taken in context and especially in light of the general development and the flow of events in this country, we can see that it is but another tool for people to rat on each other like they did under Stalin, and also a way for the government to exercise tighter control of who is who and what he or she is doing. Fun, huh?

In light of all this we felt and wrote on FB that we were even more sure that we wanted to homeschool our girls to prevent them from political brainwashing. How great that homeschooling is legal here these days. We have actually just bought a book with all the laws on the matter....OK. Here is the punchline. I did write these exact words on FB, when all of a sudden….

THE THIRD PIECE OF THE PUZZLE, which made the picture almost complete. I called one of my daughers' teachers concerning some homeschooling logistics, yet, this is what I got from her: the Russian government is making a 6 day school week compulsory with kids being kept in school up to 4 pm, and is already passing a new law in its second reading about homeschooling becoming completely illegal in Russia. Yes, they are planning to ban it competely. Please, pray. They tried to do it before, but a major resonance on the part of the people in Russia, and worldwide made them relent and recoil.

Whoever is involved in advancing homeschooling in this country, please, contact and help us get in touch with people, who have any say in this matter, if you know such folks, and if you could help us to connect with them preferable in St. Pete, please, help us do so ASAP. We need good lawyers and also Christian schools principles in Pete, which might accept our kids while allowing us to teach them at home and have them come there for testing once in a while, whenever required.

THE PUZZLE COMPLETE. Taking this news in context of a couple of pieces of the puzzle everything becomes clearer, at least for those, who can read signs of times. Where else can your kids be best braiwashed? Bingo! In the public school system that has ALL of its SOVIET values, however disguised, shoved down your children's throat with no say on the parents’ part concerning what they are taught on a day to day basis. The water is slowly getting hotter for the notorious frog to boil to death slowly, slowly, slowly, without making any life-changing and earth-shattering jumps OUT. Now my first thought was - we are outta here. No way I am staying in this country, after all, we still have our visas for Europe and the US. But then the second thought immediately was - NO, NEVER, WHAT A FOOLISH NOTION! God did not call you to leave, Andre. You gotta remain and be here with the people, who He called you to lead, encourage, support, pray for and with. You need to serve them and suffer with them if needed. Keep your eternal perspective. I do believe, that together we will be able to do something. WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT more than ever.
You may be thinking that, as an American, things are bad enough in the US, but things could change faster here than there. You pray for us, and we will for you. Deal?

Lyle: the video

One of my coaching students, also a student at the local Christian University, and also the wife of the pastor of the church we attend, made this video for her class on videography. I thought it was kinda cool as a study in what the Russians find noteworthy in describing a guy who came to live in their country.

У нас были две машины в Штатах, а здесь у нас нет машин вообще.
We had two cars in the States, but here I don't have even one.

Зато я могу километрами ходить каждый день и  к тому же это полезно.
But I walk up to several kilometers a day here, and that's good for me.

У нас был свой дом. Мы продали этот дом и практически все, что в нем находилось за один день.
We had our own home. We sold it in one day, and everything in it in just about a day.

Продали машины, дом. В Америке я получал за минуту 1,5 доллара, то есть 45 рублей, а здесь я ничего от вас не получаю,  кроме удовольствия!
In America I earned $1.5 a minute (that is 45 rubles), but here I get nothing from you but enjoyment in my work!

За 15 лет до нашего переезда в Россию, мы с женой знали уже, что Бог нас призывает в эту страну, но не понимали пока как, когда.
15 years before we moved here, my wife and I knew that God had called us to Russia, but we didn't understand how and when.

Прожив в России 2 года, я начал понимать, что борюсь здесь с определенным духом, я называю это духом сиротства.
After a couple of years living here, I started to understand that I was dealing with a certain spirit that I call an orphan spirit.

Сиротство – это не просто проблема определенных детей. Сиротство присутствует в любом народе, где есть проблемы в семье, где вообще не понимают ценность родительских отношений.
Orphanhood is not merely a problem of certain kids. It is a problem that any culture can have where there are dysfunctions in the family, where the value of parenting is not appreciated.

Часто меня спрашивают: «Откуда ты понял, что твое призвание ехать именно в Россию»?
People often ask me: How did you understand that your calling was to Russia?

 У меня был учитель в воскресной школе, он историк, он часто говорил, о том, как страдают люди в Советском Союзе.
 I had a Sunday school teacher who often talked about how people suffered in the Soviet Union for their faith.

 И что мы, в отличие от них не страдаем. Вот это и засело у меня в голове.
 And that we didn't suffer. That stuck in my head.

 Я вижу одно преимущество в русских людях, в том, что когда они понимают важность чего-то, они загораются этим и хотят изменяться и получать все больше навыков и знаний в данном вопросе.
 I see one advantage in Russians. That is that when they understand the importance of something, they burn with a desire to change and get the skills and knowledge they need for it.

 Они обучаемы. Здесь люди готовы глубоко вникать в суть вещей.
 They are teachable. They are ready to go to the very essence of something.

 Очень благодарен Богу за то, ч тоя твердо, без сомнений, верю, что я должен быть сдесь.
 I am tremendously grateful to God that I definitely, without doubt, know that I am supposed to be here.

 Конечно, не могу сказать, что здесь все обходится без проблем, но почему-то Бог благословляет.
 I can't say that we don't have problems here, but God seems to be blessing us.

Ministry video

One of our churches was planning a missions fair this month, and they asked for a video, so it gave us an excuse to try to put something together. Professional quality was compromised by the rush, but it starts to tell a story that may help some of you get more what we are up to here. Let me know what you think of it....

A testimonial video

This video is old, in that we made it in April of 2012 as an advertisement for our upcoming conference. However, now that I have gotten around to translating it into English and putting the captions in, it serves really well as a series of testimonies to the power of this ministry, as every one you see in this video went through our training last year. All but one are continuing to soak in what we are offering and deepening their ties to us as a community. These are really budding leaders!

Perspective

If you asked me a month ago what immediately comes to mind when I hear the word ‘Russia’, I would have given you the following adjectives: Mysterious, Difficult, Proud,  Impatient, Quiet, Controlled, Resolute, Hardened, Cold. 

My husband, Travis, and I have been to Russia 5 times, having spent a combined total of 2+ months in country.  From high above Moscow in a hotel room, I’ve gazed many times out the window at the Soviet-era high-rise apartment buildings, wondering who lives there, what the living conditions are like inside, and what the people do, day in, day out.  I’ve watched people from the window of my hotel room in Tver, who go to the corner to pump water from a common well, or who make their way to an outbuilding to shave the stubble from their face.  “Is there no bathroom in his home?” I wonder.  The old man across the street sells items he’s carved from wood in a shed he probably built next to his home.  Likewise, there are old ladies sitting on the crumbled sidewalks of a busy intersection selling the mushrooms they’ve picked in the woods, or the flowers and produce they’ve grown in their gardens.  What is their life like?  Do they have hope?  I go to my computer and Google ‘Living conditions of Russian people’.  

Travis and I have walked the streets among the people, and traveled by subway beneath Moscow.  The stark contrast between the opulent subway stations and the people who wait against the artfully composed marble walls, beneath chandeliers whose size and beauty would befit Versailles, seems cruel.  The people dress in dark colors: brown, blue, grey, and mostly black.  Although there are people everywhere, it is quiet.  The buses, packed full of people, are quiet.  The 9-hour airplane ride to and from Russia is quiet, until the plane lands safely on the ground.  The eruption of applause seems to say, “Thank God.  We arrived in one piece”.  The visage of the people speaks of unhappiness, hopelessness, and despair.  I wish I spoke Russian.  I want to talk to them.  I want to know if what I see is real. 

Or, do I just misunderstand them?

Stereotypes are lasting, until you gain understanding.  The Russian people are so different from any cultural people I’ve encountered.  Travis and I, at times, just want to get out of Russia as quickly as possible.  This last trip we took in September, we rode a train to St. Petersburg, with a suitcase full of items to give to the Thomas family.  We could put our awful week behind us for 2 or 3 days, and learn more about the people we’ve been curiously observing over the last several years. 

Lyle was there to meet us as soon as we departed the train.  Yuri was not far behind, and met us inside the beautiful Moscovsky station.  Yuri schlepped a giant suitcase for us across St. Petersburg to lighten our load.  We hurried, as Russians do, down below the streets into another gorgeous subway station.  We talk to Yuri and Lyle, breaking the silence of the subway car.  A block from the Thomas’ apartment, Lydia, Lyle’s daughter, runs to Yuri and hugs him.  The Thomas’ love Yuri, although sometimes he “runs away” when he feels unworthy, and they don’t see him for a period of time.  The Thomas’ seemingly have love for everyone.  They’re the ones who are waiting with open arms when Yuri, and those like him, are ready to come back.  And, everyone knows they can come back.

My husband, Travis, and I met so many people associated with the Thomas’ over a period of 3 days.  What is evident is that Russians are starving for healthy relationships and healing from multi-generational affliction.  Not the stuff you and I have nightmares about, but the stuff they’ve lived through.  Such as fending for yourself on the streets at age 6 to beg for food.  Or, knowing you should have been aborted because your mother had already aborted more than 20 children before you came along.  What about knowing the life you want is unable to be obtained because of corruption?  Or, wishing for a family to adopt you and never getting one?  How about being told that the reason no one wants you is because you’ve always been told your presence makes everyone fall ill, and believing the validity of those claims? 

What did Jesus do?  What did He command us to do?  Am I doing it?  Are you doing it?  The Thomas’ are living examples of God’s command to love the despised, the orphan, the poor, the widow, and on and on.  Their family looks no different than the average, busy American family.  They home school their children, they work (Diana teaches online courses to kids through the Potter's School), they cook, they clean.  But their home is also their ministry.  And since home is where the heart is, there the ministry of loving others takes place daily.

Russians are hurting, and it only took us three days to understand.  There are still more questions and mysteries that loom in my head, and that leaves open the door to hopefully many returns back to Russia; Perhaps not to adopt another child, but definitely to adopt a nation of people into our hearts. 

Raising Rustam

Rustam is one of those prodiges that every mentor would love. He has been an enthusiastic learner for most of our five years here, and his learning has not just been about knowledge, though Rustam is an avid student of the Bible, and studies it in the original languages, and he studies everything carefully to see if it is true, trustworthy and of God. More than that, he learns to grow, to apply in his life and marriage, and he learns to be able to bless others. He is a genuinely thankful student, and he remains thoroughly teachable, humble, and thirsty for more.


Rustam has grown in his personal life, his marriage (to Masha, at right), and in intimacy with the Father. He has grown in leadership, favor, and responsibility towards his commission. He has come great strides in knowing his calling and in finding the faith to pursue God's will for his life. To this end, he and I have been working and praying over how to help him transition out of his full-time employment into full-time ministry, and we think we have a plan, a plan that requires an amazingly modest $3000 over the next year to make it happen. Why so little?

First, incomes here are extremely modest by Western standards. 
Second, Rustam's leadership skills have grown so much that his teaching, mentoring, counseling, and coaching are now growing in demand. Much of his income is going to come from local sources as he builds his base of ministry in the community through the kinds of work that we are doing - work that also fits within our strategic plan for the coming years as a team.
Third, Rustam's income has been good enough that when he finishes his current project (he is an interpreter), he will have a little buffer to help transition him into ministry. 

What will he be doing? First, he is and will be leading training in counseling and coaching. For example, right now he is working with another member of our team to save a marriage under my supervision. Early results are very encouraging. He also helps me in providing those direct ministries to members of our team, students, and the public at large. He will be helping me as I reach out more to the church community and offer training on location for pastors and their leadership teams. Lastly, but not at all least, Rustam has a longstanding interest and experience in orphan ministry, and he is a part of our Orphans Reaching Orphans team, and a critical component at that. This kind of work, of course, does not pay, as most orphans have no income to give for his services, so this is the side of his job that will require ongoing support.

If you are only half as excited about this project and this young man of God as I am, then consider contributing monthly or towards our one-time start-up costs of $5000 to get him stabilized in ministry. The link for our Orphans Reaching Orphans donation, through my mission Church Resource Ministries, is here.

Honoring a father - my father

You've GOT to go! was all my wife had to say to the news that my brothers wanted to organize a surprise 80th birthday party for my daddy. In my typical fashion I started analyzing the options, the costs, the benefits and what I could dovetail on such a huge trip. I'd never left my family for so long (two weeks), and never gone so far away. Thank the Lord for journaling, where I can get straight to the heart of matters and hear what the Spirit is saying directly - bypassing all my "stuff." Here is what I recorded on Feb. 5th:

Your father is one of your biggest cheerleaders. He loves you deeply. He is proud of you. He gave you your foundation. Do you want to show him your thanks for all he has done for you? He was always ready to show you off, to promote you, to advance your cause, to get behind you. To be a dad who stood with his boy. I bless him for that, and you can bless him too. He was a bright light in the community, and many are grateful for the love and encouragement he gave them. He was a pillar in the community, for he was a man of integrity, of courage, and even of affection for those he led. He loved his students, and he gave himself for their success. He is a man who used what I gave him, and he advanced that, multiplied it, carried forward and outward, and many now love music solely because of him. You see the negative sides so easily, but you can learn to see the gift he was to the community. This is your chance to connect with that gift, and to connect with those who want to bless him, to those who want to also know the blessing he gave in fathering you and your brothers. You boys have much to be proud of, for you have been given many blessings. They are your gifts, and you can see better how to steward that legacy by being there.

What could I say to that? And it was everything described above and more. The highlight was a concert organized at the city auditorium where he was brought on the pretext of it being an awards ceremony for his brother-in-law. Three bands played, and of course I joined in with my brothers and old friends from all the years. Daddy was the local band director from 1959-82, an incredible legacy. When my brother Casey brought him on stage and handed the baton over on the last piece, I lost it completely. It was an incredible blessing to see so many people honoring him.

 It was hard not to be able to share it with my family, but they joined by skype, barely being able to stay awake (it was 1am by then) to see the moment when I appeared out of the audience to greet him.

Some historical pics of him are here.