It's been a week already. The Summer Project complete with 32 students from OU and Texas Tech, 8 staff and 3 kids have invaded Moscow with more energy than a Russian Circus. It's been exciting. When they first got here we briefed them for a few on days on culture, safety, language and methods for sharing our faith and building the local movement. Then we let them loose and sent them to the campuses of Moscow.
Four days a week they are on campus for several hours just meeting students and talking about life with them. I've been so impressed with their initiative and eagerness. The conversations haven't been the smoothest and awkward is a word used often to describe their interactions but that's totally ok. We've all got to start somewhere. What really excites me is seeing one student step out and share with another the hope they have in Christ and allowing God to do the rest. We've been careful not to spiritually hi-jack the conversation yet still be bold and make the most of the opportunities God has given us.
One group of Russian students we talked to really broke my heart because their comments were the norm for the typical Muscovite student. They wanted to go to Heaven, but they didn't know how to get there. They didn't want to be Orthodox because they didn't like the vibe of the church, rather they wanted to be Catholic or Protestant because then they could have a relationship with God. But then when we asked them if they would like to know how to have a relationship with God and how to go to Heaven they said that they weren't interested right now. This was something for them to consider when they are older, when they have a family. I cannot tell you how heartbreaking this was for me. They are lost and know it but don't care.
We left them with our contact information and an invitation to come play with us at a nearby park a few days later. We'll see what becomes of it. In the meantime we continue to pray for open hearts and for God to work in ways we never imagined. We pray that our labor would not be in vain and we pray that God would use us to be the City of God in the Lofty City.
Thank you for praying with us for these things!
We'll post more on the project in a few days.
1 comment:
Even in the depth of lostness they feel... each man or woman you exchanged word with went home unable to erase the memory of such a challenging converstaion. We can ignore memories, but they cannot be erased. Each seed that fell in the parable of the sower took ROOT, and so His word will not fall to the ground void. Love you guys. Emma
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