The Weight of "Good Bye"

We have been back in the US for a few weeks now. The dust is settling and we are finally getting some time to think about all the transition that we have just gone through (and are presently in) . One thought ever-present in my mind the last few weeks in Moscow was how hard it was for me to say the words "good bye".

When I would see someone for what I knew to be the last time I would get to that awkward moment when I had to part with them and say something to seal the final parting. Sometimes it was with an acquaintance, sometimes it was with a dear friend. I would smile, fumble my words, stutter a bit and force myself to look them squarely in the eye and dare to say those two words. Good. Bye.

Except, I couldn't do it. 

The English phrase expresses such sad finality. It feels as if I am saying to them "I will never see you again, I hope that as your life goes bye that it is good." I would look friend and acquaintance in the eye and say to myself "say it, say it!" Then I would stall and the child-like monosyllabic "bye-bye" would tumble out in its place.

I'm not 5 years old. I can say good-bye. Except I couldn't.

That's when I began to realize the profundity of the Russian parting "До Свидания" (Do Svidaniya). It literally means until appointment - or more loosely "Until next time". 

Despite all the pessimism and fatalism of the Russian soul, embedded in their language is the hope that no matter what, no matter whom, we will see each other again. 

This made parting in Russia easier. I could say Do Svidaniya and mean it. I could honestly say I hope to see you again. With some it was harder, with others it was a mere formality. But with all it felt appropriate and optimistic in a time which for me was quite difficult. 

Looking back now it was very kind of the Lord to give me that insight; to let me see on my way out that there exists much more hope in Russia than I can sometimes see. 

Therefore, to all of my Russian friends and acquaintances I give a hearty and hopeful Do Svidaniya. Until I See You Again! Thank You!

  

The Great(er) Story

How do you reach people who don't think the Bible is relevant to their life? How do you encourage someone to read the Bible who has no interest in it? Do what Paul did. When he was in Greece he observed how they behaved, whom they quoted and what they valued. Here in Russia we've noticed that Russians love a good story. The famed author Nikolai Gogol once said that a Russian cannot resist a good story.

With that in mind - and by the request of a few students - we put together a 6 week Bible discussion wherein we would look at some form of media (art, music, TV, literature) and then look at the biblical inspiration for that story. As I looked for stories to relate to the Bible I was encouraged by how much Russians know and love culture. Further it is not just their own culture they know, but a wide breadth of culture from the East to the West. The Humanities major in me rejoiced at this task as I finally was able to put my education to work!

For those interested this is first of the four studies I put together. Feel free to use them or tweak them or add to them. 

Adam & Eve and Homer & Marge 

I took the approach of wanting to point our students to the various covenants God made with the Israelites and how each of those covenants were a foreshadowing of what God had planned all along: the New Covenant Jesus mediated between man and God. I then looked around for cultural references to those covenants and came up with a few discussion questions. Then we would look at the biblical passage that inspired that media and discuss it further. 

The first week we watched an episode from the Simpsons. In this episode the family is at church and they all begin to fall asleep and have different biblically themed dreams. The first one is my favorite: Marge dreams that she and Homer are Adam and Eve and that Ned is God. (If you want to watch it it is season 10 episode 18.) In this vignette Marge/Eve is smart and caring and careful to not disobey God. Homer/Adam is goofy and careless and just keeps asking for more from God. Homer/Adam devours the forbidden fruit without a second thought and then blames Marge/Eve. Marge/Eve gets kicked out and Homer/Adam tries to sneak her back in, but he gets caught in the process (and God's unicorn, Gary, dies trying to help them). In anger God kicks them out into the wasteland. There are a lot of funny moments in it and I recommend watching it if you can find it.  

Obviously it does not stick very closely to the text, but our students didn't know that. We asked them what they thought of this episode and the responses were varied. Some liked it, some were confused, many of them thought that this really is what happened. Here are the questions I had for us to discuss:

Simpsons Questions

What was the Garden of Eden like? Describe it.

Why did God (Ned) forbid them from eating the fruit?

What was the relationship between God and “Adam and Eve” like?

What did the snake do? Did he force them to take it or suggest it?

Who ate the fruit first? Who was to blame for that action?

What is God like? What are Adam and Eve like? Describe their character?

Then we read Genesis 1:26 - 31; 2:4 - 3:23 and discussed these questions:

Bible Questions

How did God create man? (2:7) Is that significant?

What does it mean to be created in the image of God? (1:27)

Why was Eve created? What was her purpose? (2:18)

What was Adam and Eve’s relationship like before they sinned? (2:25)

What was their relationship with God like?

What was Adam’s relationship with the created world like? (2:15, 2:19-20)

There were two trees in the Garden of Eden, what were they called? (Life, Knowledge of Good and Evil)

Which one did God forbid Adam from eating? why? (2:17)

Could Adam have eaten the other one?

After they ate from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil what would happen if they then ate from the tree of Life? (live forever apart from God - in their sin)

Why wouldn’t God want them to live forever in their sin?

Was it merciful or cruel to banish them from Eden?

What role did the Serpent play in all of this? (3:1-5)

How did the serpent undermine God’s authority? Was he lying?

Why did Eve eat the fruit? Where was Adam? Whose fault was it? (3:6-7)

What did they do wrong? (they did not trust God)

What were the consequences for

a) the serpent (3:14-15)

b) Eve (3:16)

c) Adam (3:17-19)

How did this affect the relationships between

a) people and God (3:8-13)

b) Man and Woman (3:7; 3:12; 3:16)

c) people and the earth? (compare 2:15 to 3:17-19)

Do you see these consequences today in this world?

(I got most of these questions from http://30minutebiblestudies.com/Study_Adam_and_Eve.html )

Discussing these questions was really insightful for me because I thought everyone knew basically what the Adam and Eve story was. In truth, most of them didn't. Two issues I pressed pretty hard during this discussion were that 1) the sin they committed was not believing God - a sin to be repeated by God's people throughout the Bible. 2) God had to kill an animal - sacrifice something - to clothe Adam and Even when they left. I then re-read the part about the serpent bruising the heel of Eve's offspring and the offspring crushing the head of the serpent. Then I showed them the opening scene from the Passion of the Christ and explained that Christians believe this is the first prophecy regarding Jesus in the Bible. 

I finished the studying by making the point that every story in the Bible points in some way to the cross. The cross was the ultimate plan of God and each story is another plot twist on the way. Next week we talked about Abraham and Isaac and looked at Rembrandt. I'll post that discussion soon. 

If you have any comments or questions or ways to add to the study please add them in the comments below.

Praying Like My Son Walks

For the past several months I've been reading through John Calvin's the Institutes of Christian Religion. It's been a surprisingly great read. I thought it would be...I dunno...too Calvanistic for me. What I mean by that is that most of the time people who call themselves Calvinists have very firm lines drawn about a few specific points on theology, predestination being the predominant one. It can dominate conversations, Bible studies and even friendships. Now, I happen to agree with a lot of those theological points, but the vibe some Calvinists give off in writings or conversations can be a hard one focused too much on the tree and missing the entire forest. To my pleasant surprise Calvin was not too Calvinistic for me.

In fact, the entire book is a worshipful one that leaves me at the end of nearly every chapter more aware of God's greatness, goodness and worthiness. Not once have I seen the T.U.L.I.P acronym, instead I've seen sound logic, pleas for holiness and the constant reminder to lift my eyes to the Lord.

As I was reading the most recent chapter a metaphor appeared in my mind that I wanted to write down. This section was on prayer and how far too often people in the 1500s would approach prayer glibly and  without focus. That gave me some comfort actually. It's not just our distracted generation that can't maintain a simple line of thought when it comes to prayer, other generations, 500 years ago wrestled with the same thing. Calvin urges the Believer to prepare his/her heart and mind for prayer in order to be focused and reverent when praying. He adds: "we must understand that the only ones who prepare themselves for prayer adequately are those who are so impressed with God's majesty that they can be free from all earthly worries and affections." (Part XI, chapter 20:5) Whoa, that was convicting and enticing. I want desperately to be free from earthly worries and affections and, no, I don't usually prepare myself for prayer. It is often hasty, distracted and a motion I feel I must get through before I can move on to something more interesting.

The next part was when the metaphor came to me. He talks about relying on the Holy Spirit to help us concentrate and pray for the things that really matter. This reminded me of when I volunteered with the middle school youth group. At the end of each meeting our small groups would take prayer requests then pray for each other. One guy would always have us pray for the Blackhawks because they weren't playing hockey well that season. We'd ask what else we could pray for, but that was all we ever got. Sometimes I wonder if the things I pray for today are similar to asking God to bless the Blackhawks so that they could play better so that I could feel better about myself because I am aligned with them.

It appears I got distracted, how did that happen? Moving on... Calvin's exhortation to us to rely on the Spirit in prayer encouraged me. "Because it is hard to reach the high standard God requires, we need help. As the eye of our mind should be fixed on God, so our heart's affection should follow. But both fail in this and go in the wrong direction. To help us in our weakness, God gives us the guidance of his Spirit in our prayers, to show us what is right and control our desires, because 'the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.' (Rom. 8:26)" (Part XI, chap. 20:5)

This is when I thought of  my son, Charles. Just last week he took his first stumbling, independent steps. Two at a time then a lunge forward to my outstretched arms. Then three steps, a giggle and a lunge to his mom. We often walk with him around the house holding on to his outstretched arms while he runs everywhere he can.

This is similar to how the Spirit helps us pray. We can barely walk on our own, but by holding on to the Spirit we can pray with more direction, more concentration and pray for the things that matter most (even if the Cubs could use some deliverance one of these years).

This encouraged me to intentionally ask the Spirit to help me as I prepare my heart and mind to pray; to use that image of my son walking with my help as a metaphor for how God is helping me to talk with him.

What about you? What helps you to pray and what does leaning on the Lord look like for you as you pray?

A New Semester

A New Semester

Our team gathered this morning for a first and a last.

It was the first real staff meeting of the semester. It was also the last time our team, in its current format, will meet this year. Dan and Rachel are heading back to the U.S. for a few months as they wait for the birth of their next child, affectionately and temporarily named "Blueberry". They get back in mid-May, but Kim leaves for furlough in early May. So, as crazy as this sounds, this is the last time all of us will be around for a staff meeting this year.

Despite the nostalgia of "one last time together" we were able to hammer out some plans for the semester and I'm really excited about them. Whether you are a student involved in our English clubs or one of the several people who pray for us, or just some stranger that stumbled upon this blog I'm excited to share the plans we have for the Spring Semester.

English Clubs

We're going to continue with our English Clubs. It was a hit last semester and we want to grow in depth and breadth this semester. We brainstormed some topics to touch on and came up with some really exciting ideas. We hope to talk about things like authentic masculinity; romantic relationships and marriage; developing a career; what is right, wrong and just different; justice and maybe more. We also hope to bring in some guest speakers and recruit a few students to take up the mantle of leadership this semester. Like I said, we're excited to see it grow.

Dan talking about the Christmas story during our latest English Club

Civic Assistance

Personally, my favorite thing we did last semester was partner with a local non-profit called Civic Assistance http://www.refugee.ru/ and http://kids.refugee.ru/ (it's all in Russian, but google has a widget that can translate for you). We wanted to connect the students we were working with at the English club to the refugee children who receive tutoring from the volunteers at Civic Assistance. We hosted two different events, one focused on nutrition and healthy-food choices, the other on self-esteem and who we are as individuals. The third event was a New Year's Party that was pretty hectic and crazy, but still fun. One of the big goals in every event we did is that we don't want to patronize the kids, we want to empower them.

One of our students dressed as "Ded Moroz" at the New Year's party

This is derived from the very way that Jesus served us. He didn't pity us and just give a handout then walk away. No, he got his hands dirty and entered into relationships with people, giving of himself rather than giving spare change. Sure, material things are needed sometimes, but that doesn't affect a life in the long-run, only relationships provide the avenue for life-change. That's what we're hoping for. We want to empower, not entertain; restore dignity, not enable. I think the kids we worked with were responding to that. At least I hope so. It's still in its infancy stage, it's a trial run, so we'll see how we develop it this semester. I'm also really excited about seeing where God takes us in this relationship this semester.

Projects

We are also hosting a couple special projects this spring and summer. A group of students from the University of Utah are coming in March and a larger group from all over the US are coming for a month in June. These always take a lot of work on our part in set-up, visa applications, housing, etc. But, they are a lot of fun once they get going. The students bring a fresh perspective and refreshing energy with them that is always well-received. We're currently thinking of ways to best use their talents and time when they come. It should be great.

The Coats family during a Christmas party

Personally

We've lived in Moscow for three years and have hardly taken advantage of the theatrical offerings the city holds. It is one of my hopes for the semester that I make time to go see the play "Uncle Vanya" by Chekov. I've read it in English and liked it, but it seems like it's a classic play that I need to see. So that's on the list. I'd also like to take in a ballet showing this spring if we can afford it and maybe even a hockey game.
Of course, we both want to deepen our relationships with our friends here and the students we work with. That's a major focus for the semester: investing in people, building relationships, loving others like God loves us.

On a final note

As alluded to in our latest newsletter, we know that change is coming for us. Over the last several years I (Dave) have gravitated more towards mercy ministries and administrative roles. I've found that I can exercise more of my spiritual gifts (mercy, administration, teaching) and strengths (arranging, significance, activator) when serving in those capacities. What that change is exactly (in terms of a new role) we're not sure and where that might take us in the long-run we don't really know yet. We are open to whatever the Lord might have for us and are praying about it. We want to invite you into this and pray through this with us. We do know that our "calling" hasn't changed. That calling is to love God and love people by living intentionally and building God's Kingdom using all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. That's not changing. We are asking God what changes He might want to bring our way this new year. We'll see where we go from here.

Thanks for reading and thanks for praying!

  

Hope

Like many people I'm shocked and terrified by the recent shooting in Newtown, CT. As a new father events like this make the world seem like a more unpredictable, scarier place than it was a week ago. While riding on the metro the morning after the news broke and contemplating the various bombings that have happened here in Moscow both in the metro and in the airport I began to pray about the myriad of feelings swirling through me. Fear, disgust, hopelessness, anger, confusion all swam around me. As I prayed these words came to mind.

I do not hope in gun laws
I do not hope in the protection of a weapon
I do not hope in princes who fail
I do not hope in the wickedness of the human heart
I do not hope in anything this world offers

I hope in the innocent one who suffered cruelly for the wickedness of man
I hope in the one who did not trust the words of men, for he knew what was in their hearts
I hope in the one who conquered death and its sting
I hope in the one who promises to turn evil into good, ashes into beauty

How will he do it? I do not know
When will he do it? I do not know

This I do know, wait on the Lord, be strong, let your heart take courage
Wait on the Lord

How to Disarm a Drunk

In my nearly five years of living in Russia I have only once wondered if I was about to get punched in the face. That was during my first year and a drunk student took exception to the fact that I was talking  about Jesus. By the end of that encounter he professed to by my most faithful friend and would do anything to take care of me. Oh the wonders of malted beverages mixed with 19-year-old braggards!

This past Tuesday I wondered for a few seconds if I was really going to get it this time.

Our whole team was on a crowded bus - strollers, babies and all. A couple of us were talking in English chatting about our day and trying to stay out of the way of other passengers. That is when a nearby middle-aged man with his shirt needlessly unbuttoned revealing an unimpressive stature leaned over to me and asked in Russian if I was English. No, I said, I'm an American.

"Oh, you American Boy, yes?!" he said loudly in slurred English. I smiled wryly and affirmed him. That's when his face turned sour and I could smell the bitter stench of alcohol in his breath as he said in Russian, "I hate America, I (probably a curse word) will kill the lot of you," then he made a gun shape with his fingers and pointed them at me and said, "I'll shoot your president myself."

Realizing he had probably 30 pounds on me and that I was armed with only a stroller (Charlie was sitting with Jess 15 feet away) and a beginner's class of Tae-Kwon-Do which I failed at the age of 8 my immediate thought was "how do I diffuse this situation?" He looked menacingly at me again and asked if I understood. I replied solemnly and began to turn away. That's when I thought the punch was coming and began to wonder what to do next.

He then went on to exclaim how great Russia was and how amazing the people are. That's when my good friend Dan disarmed the tense situation like an expert on the bomb squad. With a big grin and in clear, accented Russian he leaned across me and into the guy's earshot and said, "Yes, and they are so friendly too."

I should stop here and clarify that this guy is an absolute exception to the rule of how Muscovites are in public and how they treat foreigners. In all my years of living in Russia and interacting with Russians they are almost always without exception some of the friendliest, most devoted and wonderful friends anyone could imagine. Moscow is like New York or Chicago, there's a lot of people, you're crowded and everyone's in a hurry, being polite on a bus isn't a big value. However, being a loving and devoted friend is a HUGE value, it just takes getting past the stranger phase onto the the acquaintance then friend stage to discover this. I've bumped into, stood next to or stepped on probably thousands of Russians and not once has this happened before. This guy was just drunk and wanted to prove how cool he was to the people around him. Anyways, I digress.

After Dan's interlocution the drunk smiled broadly and agreed going on to extol the friendliness of the people of Russia then profusely offered his help with anything we needed. He got off at the next stop and whilst lumbering toward the door offered to shake our hands, again insisting on being available to help whenever we needed it.

I turned to Dan and said, "That's never happened to me here." Dan's response..."I hear it all the time 'Oh I hate America, blah, blah, blah.'...I just smile and say 'Yes, you're right, we're all evil.' then they laugh and we start talking."

How do you disarm a drunk? I never got that far in Tae-Kwon-Do so I'm not sure, but for now I'll just rely on a smile and a sense of humor. 

So I know it's been a long time since we've posted on our blog. It's been even longer since we've posted with any frequency (6 months?). Here's to hope springing eternally and ambitious summer plans.

For those of you who know us and use this blog as a means of keeping up with us (aside from our monthly newsletters) you might know that a few things have happened in the last six months or so.

1. We took our first furlough, which sounds to me like a French or Olde-English way of saying "a sabbatical from the mission field". Usually you get one month for every year. If a child is due you get enough time as you need to safely return to your home country, push-em-out-shove-em-out-way-out! (as Bill Cosby would say), get the official travel and birth papers you need and return to the field. Usually 3 - 4 months. These two factors combined with the dead ministry season that is December in Russia and my brother's college graduation meant that we were allowed to leave a little early and spent 5 months in the U.S.

Jess 6 months prego AND Recruiting Students to join us, wow!

If that seems like a long time to you it seemed the same to us. Yet, we knew that we had a lot of fundraising to do, some churches we wanted to visit, and a lot of recruiting to do for the Summer Project and for future Stinters and Staff. We also had some much needed rest to take and we had a precious one on the way. Looking back our time was filled with really important things. We weren't as busy as we usually are while we're on the field, but our time was well spent and encouraging for us and hopefully those that we got to spend time with.

Furlough was good, but I'm glad we're back in Russia, back to work and back to helping to reaching the people here so they can go and reach others.

2. The other thing that happened, and this might be a surprise, is that we had a child! Charles Fyodor Coats was born to us on March 20th, 2012. For more than just practical ministry reasons it was a great thing we came back to the U.S. when we did. When the doctor checked Jessica a month before Charles was due she said "this baby could come any minute, I mean he could be here by the end of the day." That was mid-April, he wasn't due till March 20th! Jess's labor was short (3 and a half hours) but we like to say that she was in stage 1 labor for a month before that.

Before Charles (Charlie to us) was born I was fearful about being a father. I would ask myself, "how do I do this? I don't even know how to change a diaper without hurting someone! Will I know how to play with him?" All kinds of thoughts like that ran through my head. Then, when he was born, it was the most natural thing in the world to hold him, to coo with him, to feel rapture and joy at a simple smile he might flash at me.

that smile gets me every time

Jess and Charlie playing at a wedding in Moscow

Being a dad is easily the greatest role I've ever held in my life and I'm so happy we didn't wait any longer to have kids.

Charlie's first day, Dad is melting

3. We also spent some really good time with our families in Texas and in Colorado. One of the drawbacks of being on the mission field, even with facebook, skype and all the rest, is that you miss those subtle interactions, those inside jokes and the familiarity that you grow to appreciate about your family as you get older. It was great for us to spend extended, quality time with many members of our family and have lots of great laughs along the way.

Charles Blake, Charlie's namesake

We also came back to Russia for our third year on the field. It's hard to believe that we've been here for only 3 years, it seems like a lot longer to me. Maybe that's because our Russian friends are so good at making us feel like we've known them for years, or maybe a Russian winter is so long it actually counts as two, or maybe something else. I'm not sure.

Being back in Russia with a newborn isn't as scary as I imagined either. The metro is a kinder, softer place when you have a defenseless child and a large stroller. The old ladies downstairs who harass us out of their xenophobia are now de facto grandmothers who ask why we let our newborn go outside naked (by naked they mean with pants, shirt, socks, shoes but NO hat). It's the same old place but with a gentler twist.

I know this doesn't replace 6 months worth of blogging or ministry updates or insights to Russian culture or even a good conversation over a cup of coffee, but this is the latest with us. We'll try to blog more this summer (among other grandiose summer plans) and we'd love to hear what's new with you too.

'Till then!

-Dave and Jess

Spending a Day with the Lord

One of my favorite perks of working with Cru is that once a month our staff are encouraged to take a day to really connect with the Lord and “do business” with him. This day can look different depending on what our needs are at the time or how we sense the Lord is leading us. Usually I’ll find a corner in a coffee shop and journal, pray and read Isaiah or one of Paul’s letters. There’s something about those books of the Bible that really remind me of how grand the Lord is and it puts everything back into perspective for me.

I’ve not been as disciplined in taking these “Days with the Lord” as I would have liked this past year. So I decided that this time I would really focus on it and make sure to clear time to really enjoy the Lord and create space for him to work.

So I went to McDonalds.

That might not seem like the most ideal place to go to meet with the Living God, but McDonald’ses(?) are ubiquitous here in Moscow and you can usually find an affordable cup of coffee ($2 compared to the $8 at Starbucks) and a place to sit unperturbedly for a while. I found a table on the second floor with a view and sat down with my journal and Bible. That’s when the homely cleaning lady decided it was too peaceful and quiet for 10 am on a Monday and she cranked up the Ke$ha on the overhead speakers. I tried to make my mp3 player overpower the obnoxious monosyllabic squeals on the radio by having Charlie Parker and his soothing saxophonic rhythms soothe away the musical pain. But alas, it was all in vain. Admitting defeat I packed up my things and headed into the welcomed chill of the Moscow Morning.

Realizing that I was at Tretyakovksaya metro station and that the Tretyakov Art Gallery was just around the corner I thought that this would be a wonderful way to spend my day with the Lord. Some jazz music, some fine art, a journal and a Bible; I would finally be able to use my education in the humanities! So I quickly turned right, crossed the street and in step with Charlie Parker’s drummer I headed toward the museum. That’s when I got to the front gate and realized it was a Monday…in Russia…and Europe…where museums are closed on Mondays. Bummer. Now it was time to come up with plan C.

I perused my iPod and noticed that I had some sermons that I hadn’t yet listened to. I found one that caught my eye and began listening and walking.

Downtown Moscow is a great city for walking. There are hidden parks tucked away in between busy four-lane roads and bridges with great views as well as plenty of benches to sit and rest on. After wandering and listening to the sermon I decided to walk along the river and take in the view. I began listening to Chris Tomlin’s “Arriving” and sang along.

Suddenly I was behind the “New Tretyakov Gallery” and noticed that there was a massive art sale lining the river. Art dealers from all over the world and Russia had come to sell their work for a week and today was the last day. It being 11 am and a Monday I was one of the only people there. With Chris Tomlin leading me in worship I found myself taking in paintings of landscapes, portraits, abstracts and still-lifes. It wasn’t a world-class art gallery, but it was still beautiful.

As Chris Tomlin belted out “Indescribable” I noticed a landscape painting of a forest with a winding path. The leaves were green and yellow, the light soft and warm and the path leading somewhere unseen off to the right. I looked closer and saw that not all, but many individual blades of grass were illuminated by the rays of light streaming through the leaves of the birch trees. A verse from a David Crowder song came to mind and I sang quietly “every ocean, every sea, every river, every stream, every mountain, every tree, every blade of grass will siiiiing…make a joyful noise to the Lord all the Earth.” All at once I was wrapped up in what felt like a hug from God. A smile, broad and toothy, spread across my face as I closed my eyes and savored the moment.

“You are one of those blades of grass, and I am illuminating you.”

That was all I could hear though it was inaudible. The moment lasted for a second or two and then it was gone. That was ok with me, it’s been a long time since I’ve sensed God’s nearness and adoration in such a powerful way and I was grateful for the moment.

As I continued on through the art collections I noticed paintings of Moscow that looked sort of like Moscow but something was off. I would look at a scene of the river or of a famous street brightly colored, clean and ideal, then I would turn around and see Moscow as it really was. It was busy, grey, and drab, almost like a zombie: not dead, but not fully alive either. I turned back to the brightly colored, idyllic paintings and wondered why there was such a contrast between what was painted and what really was. Why would someone take something that is real and repaint it in a way that wasn’t real, but was better?

It struck me that that is what much of what art, literature and music is. It’s an expression of what should be rather than what it is. It’s a retelling of something that is better than what we can currently see, hear, taste, smell or feel. I have no idea what the worldview of the artist was who painted that Moscow street scene, but what his art was inadvertently saying when contrasted to the current reality is that something can be more beautiful than it currently is. This made me wonder why it is nearly universal that we as humans know that things can, and often should be better than they are. Is it because we’re naturally gifted at seeing what’s wrong with things? Or is it because we were born for a place where things really are better?

As C.S. Lewis said “These things [beauty, nostalgia] are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of the worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.”

The idyllic images displayed haphazardly on the embankment that afternoon were a reminder to me that God has asked us to tell his story with the talents he has given us. For the artists, whether they knew it or not, they were telling the story of the once perfect and one-day-to-be-redeemed world. The musician creates harmony out of chaos; the writer retells a story that is at once his own and begotten from another time; the painter expresses an understanding of beauty beyond herself.

The ideal great city, struggling to be expressed in that Moscow street scene, will exist on the other side of Heaven. In the meantime he has us here in the not-so-ideal, the fallen city in order to tell others and remind each other about the one who will redeem it and his (and our) incredible story.

That day spent with the Lord was a valuable reminder to me of the truth that God is active in all kinds of ways and that his attributes and character can be known, felt, understood and retold even if the teller does not personally know him. Solomon said that God has written eternity on the hearts of men and Paul echoed that by saying that what can be known about God is plain to all people, because God has shown it to them. When we read literature, or look at art or enjoy music or even watch a story told in a sitcom or through a documentary are we doing so simply hedonistically - for our own pleasure - or is something in our soul crying out to connect with the Great Artist and his great story?

The first 48 hours

Those of you that pray for us must have been praying a bit harder lately. This has been a week of ups, downs and surprises to say the least. Our U.S. summer project arrived for a month last Wednesday. There are approximately 15 students and staff who have come to join us in seeking to bless the city of Moscow, especially the students who are so influential in this country. We started their first day off with a morning briefing where we told them about getting around safely, how to guard their bags and purses and to keep their passports safe. Losing a passport in Moscow can be a huge headache as we would later discover. After that we took them on a staff scavenger hunt around the city.

The staff were hidden at different historical spots around the city and their job was to find us, do a task at the site and then they would be given a clue to go find the next person. It all went really well, the weather was great and they learned how to navigate the city on their own and they pushed through jetlag. We ended the scavenger hunt at a cafeteria-style restaurant near the center of the city. Our staff helped the students by translating the menu and negotiating portions with the restaurant staff. Those big Texas boys need to eat a lot!

After dinner we all headed home and that’s when the madness started. In the span of thirty minutes our director, Chris, got two phone calls that turned his night into a long one. At about 9:30 the students arrived back at their hostel and suddenly one student realized that her wallet, her passport and the photocopy of her passport and visa were all missing. She had lost them. In a panic she rushed back to the restaurant only to find what she feared most. Nothing. She was without any money or any ID in a foreign country notorious for their corrupt police and labyrinthine bureaucratic visa process. What was she going to do? Call us.

At the same time another couple from our project arrived back at the apartment they are renting for the duration of their stay. When they left that morning they could not get the key out of the door which secures the hallway for their apartment and the other three apartments on their floor. Thinking that if they could not get the key then no one could they took the key off the key ring and went on their way. When they got home that night guess what they found? No key. What were they going to do? Call us.

By call us I mean call Chris who is cool as a cucumber most of the time (except for when OU football is losing). So what did Chris do? At 10 that night he went back downtown, met up with the girl and another guy from the project and found a local police officer and told him about the situation and that they needed a “spravka”: the equivalent of a hall pass for foreigners without their passports. The police officer took them to another officer who took them to a third officer who in turn took them to a fourth and final officer who said he knew who to call but it was too late and they would have to come back tomorrow. Meanwhile our friends at the apartment were trying to figure out how to get into their apartment and where their key went. Chris and his wife have a Russian friend staying at their place so he had her talk to the concierge of the building that our poor friends lived in. After a lot of explanation, pointing and grunting they finally were able to get a neighbor to open the door and let them into the shared hallway. Chris’s long night ended around 2 a.m. and he had to be up and ready to go the next morning to get that wonderful hall pass.

The next morning I was making eggs and drinking my morning coffee and going over the devotional I was supposed to give that morning to the project when Chris called. He told me about the comedy of errors that occurred the night before and said he was going to be “making friends” at the police station all day tomorrow and wouldn’t be around to help with briefing and asked if I could help figure out the key dilemma. Flexibility is the name of the game when you live here so we both laughed at the unusual situation and got ready for the day.

According to Chris he had an ever more bizarre experience at the police station that morning. The way he described it the police station seemed like something out of one of the esteemed “Police Academy” movies: lots of guys in uniform, none of them really doing much except for making fun of each other and a lot of mayhem. They told him he needed to talk to this one certain person to get the spravka and the stamp. Nothing is official in Russia unless there is a stamp on it. That includes receipts for minutia like headphones or printer cartridges. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, the guy Chris needed to talk to wasn’t going to be around until later that afternoon.

So what about the girl who lost her passport and wallet? How was she doing? If it were me I would probably be a nervous mess. After her panic subsided that first night she was calmed by Chris’s confidence that everything would be ok and she was ready to join us that next morning. We were impressed with her composed demeanor and ability to roll with the punches after the dust settled. She decided to lay low for the next day while we got the spravka figured out.

We were also really impressed by the project. They rallied around her, prayed together and asked God to use this for good. In an unexpected way God used this situation to knit the team closer together, right away. It is amazing to watch God take a bad situation, bring us closer to him through it then turn it into good later. That’s just what God does. He’s the restorer of all things.

So what happens with the spravka and the key? Chris went back to the police station later that day, after more searching, more calling and more persistence Chris found the guy he needed to talk to. He wasn’t wearing a uniform. Rather he was wearing a too tight black t-shirt, a gold chain and had a shaved head. He was pretty gruff and didn’t seem too excited about helping Chris. He asked how Chris got his name, how he found his office, where the girl was and how hard this would be. After much persistence the gruff, reluctant officer finally started typing up the spravka. When he went to print it the printer was out of ink and paper! Of course it was. He turned to Chris and asked “How am I supposed to print something without any ink or paper? Do you have paper problems in America?” With a wry smile Chris commiserated with him. Officer McGruff, as we’ll call him, took both the paper and the ink cartridge out of one nearby printer, put it in his and with a loud slam the spravka was on its way to being born. I can imagine that Chris tasted something akin to victory in that moment. After this he went upstairs, then downstairs, in one office, out the other, found one grumpy guy who took him to another cheerful guy who finally took him to a solemn, crabby lady who, like an ancient oracle in a knight’s tale, possessed none other than the stamp itself. She reluctantly stamped the spravka and with that Chris found his victory. The girl got her spravka and a couple days later she was in the embassy applying for a new passport. It’s all going to work out.

What about the key? I joined up with our friends later that day, we talked to the concierge and asked her to talk to the neighbors as they came through for help and call me if she found anything. Sure enough one of the neighbors had found the key the day before and knocked on the door several times to no avail. When we got there that night we bumped into all the neighbors at the same time. In a flurry of English, Russian, laughing, pointing and grunting we got everything figured out and made a few new friends.

This all happened in the first 48 hours that they were in the country. We are very curious about what the next four weeks hold. If these first two days show us anything we can probably expect that bizarre things are going to happen, the project is going to respond with humor and prayer, we’re going to have our hands full and God is going to have a great time restoring, redeeming and repairing not only our situations but also our lives.

In a couple of days I’ll post another story about what is happening on our campuses and the cool things God is doing there. Thanks for praying for us and we’ll keep you posted.

International City of Moscow

Last spring, I met our neighbors that live directly above us.  I knew that they had been blessed with a new baby from the constant crying that had recently started (they now have 3 daughters).  We met in the elevator and “Sarah” as I will call her said hello to me in English!  Startled by the sound of hearing English I blurted out – you speak English! 

Sarah and I got to know each other during a couple of evening strolls during the summer.  Sarah is the wife of an attorney working in a middle-eastern country’s embassy.  She shared with me yesterday that it is usually +40 Celsius in her country during the summer and yesterday it was -20 Celsius here in Moscow.  The cold is almost intolerable for her family.  We now visit indoors!

Sarah’s friendship has been a pleasant surprise and blessing to me.  She has been teaching me about her country and their Muslim faith.  During Ramadan, we would hear all of the calls for prayer blaring from their radio.  I teach her about Russia and the culture here as she does not speak Russian and her husband speaks very little.  We both shop at a local Indian market for our spices and lentils and she has promised to teach me to cook some delicious curry meals!

I pray for their family often and look forward to more opportunities to share not only life but about Eternal Life with her. 

The City of God and The City of Man

One of my favorite things about being on staff with Campus Crusade is that occasionally I am asked to speak before groups about a variety of topics. I’ve given Russian history lessons to visiting missionaries, I’ve spoken to college students about what it means to go to the world with the Gospel. Often when I am visiting our family in San Angelo, TX a local church will ask me to speak that weekend. It is always a privilege and honor for me to do it. This is a message I have delivered a couple of times to groups in Moscow and in Texas and want to share with you all. I really enjoy the topic and would love your comments on how to improve it or just your thoughts on the City of God in general

Disclaimer – almost everything I write in this is from a variety of Tim Keller sermons which I acquired from his church’s website www.redeemer.com. I also reference the book “Taking Our Cities for God” by John Dawson.

The City of God and the City of Man

The 18^th century Russian author Nikolai Gogol once said - A Russian can not resist a good story.

I love a good story. I love to hear stories, I love to read stories, watch stories. I love to tell stories. Aren’t there some movies you watch over and over again because they are that good? We just watched “The Chronicles of Narnia” recently and I we would definitely watch it again. There is something about the deeper meaning of a story that resonates with our souls and stays with us.

I believe that almost every movie you watch, every song you sing, or book you read is a retelling of the greater story. That story is the one we retell and proclaim each week in church and every day as we go out into the world. I also believe that we are characters in the Great Story that God is telling. It’s the story that began in the Garden and will end in the City, the New Jerusalem. Let me read to you the epilogue of our story.

Rev 21: “And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as the bride adorned for her husband. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away…then came one of the angels saying “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the lamb. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.”

It’s a city where the streets are paved with gold clear as glass, the gates are made out of solid pearl and there’s no need for streetlamps because God’s very presence, his glory gives it light.

Talk about a hero winning the girl in the end. That is a good story! That is our story. All throughout the Bible we see that God is writing a story of two cities and he is calling us to be characters in both of them.

Check out Isaiah 25:6- 26:6

We’re going to unpack this in a minute but first let’s talk about the city – God loves the city. From smaller cities like San Angelo to big cities like Moscow he loves them and has a plan for them.

What is so great about the city? I don’t just mean big cities, I mean the City in general.

Tim Keller, a pastor in New York City and a great writer says this: “cities have always provided a greater number and diversity of human connections more like you and unlike you than anywhere else. There are more people like you in the city than anywhere else and there are more people unlike you than anywhere else.” Because of this the city is a bastion for creativity and innovation. The city is also a safe haven for minorities and those that live counter-cultural lifestyles. It’s a place where the weak can find safety and support.

It is a general rule of human history that cities set the course of the culture. In fact the early church went almost exclusively to cities. They did this because they knew that the city set the course for the culture. If the dominant theme of the culture was self-focus or pride, or rebellious independence the only way to change that theme would be to change the epicenter of it, the city. Change doesn’t happen from the outside in, rather the inside out. You have to go into the city - move into it - in order to change it. That’s what we are finding in Moscow.

Obviously we live in Russia. To reach Russia you must reach Moscow. In Russia there are roughly 140 million people, a whopping 73% of them live in a city. In Moscow alone there are 12 million people. Why - because Moscow is the financial, political, industrial, economic, educational, religious, cultural and transportation center of Russia. As Moscow goes so goes the rest of Russia. And as Russia goes so goes most of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Moscow, for better or worse, is one of the most influential cities in the world. And we are asking to God to use his people to influence the influential with the power of the Gospel. Our team is specifically focused on reaching the future leaders of Russia, the students of Moscow.

Author and Pastor John Dawson has some fascinating things to say about the City in his book “Taking Our Cities for God”. He points out the obvious fact that all cities have a history and all cities are where they are for some purpose. He goes on to say that often the reason for a city’s founding is later reflected in the spiritual atmosphere or general mood of the city. It is the duty of the Christians in those cities to reclaim their city for God. For example, Omaha, NE was founded as a place to equip pioneers as they headed west. Today the pastors of Omaha have banded together and pray fervently that they would be able to send people out from Omaha, equipped to reach the country and the world for Christ.

Or look at Moscow for another example. Ask anybody in Moscow why they are there and I would bet that 9 out of 10 would tell you they are there to either make more money or get a better life. Which is really interesting to me because that is why people came to Moscow in the first place hundreds of years ago. Why is Moscow where it is? The Moscow River runs through the city and it is actually the headwaters of the Volga river which 800 years ago was like a major interstate highway. There are also hills in the city, which make for good military positions.

Moscow was founded sometime around 1150. The city experienced rapid growth and prosperity. People began to come to Moscow from all over the land of Rus because it was a city of refuge and prosperity. People would flee to the Kremlin to escape the invading hordes and bandits that came from the East. Moscow was a place where people came to find a better life and that is still true today. We pray that God would use Moscow to show Russians and the world what Godly refuge and Godly, humble, prosperity looks like.

What about your city? Why is your city where it is? What major events have happened there that have added to its legacy and how can you as the Christians in your city reclaim it for Christ? What is special about your city that uniquely reflects God’s character? When you find the answer to that question then pray for your city - that it may bless the people in it.

Let’s go back to Isaiah 25.

Here we see two cities. One is called the lofty city and the other is the strong city. And boy does God have some plans for the lofty city. He’s going to trample it down into a pile of dung, lay it low, humble it. But why? Because the lofty city is a city focused on man. It is the City of Man. Keller describes the lofty city as a human social order based on pride, self-salvation and power, not on God. Verse 11 describes the lofty city as a man trying to proudly swim out of a dung heap, trying to save himself by his own efforts. The high walls he built to keep his power safe are now dust.

Every city has character traits of the lofty city. It’s a place where people come to build their own mini-kingdoms, where they come to define who they are and create a safe life for themselves using whatever they can. God never asks us to live a safe life. In fact he promises that if we follow him life will be dangerous but good. The lofty city is characterized by self-creation, self-justification, self-salvation and self-definition. It is a social order of exhaustion and oppression because just as a donkey is led on by a carrot dangled from a stick so will those in the lofty city be led on by their clamoring after success.

But then there’s the strong city, the city that is set on the mountain, the city on a hill. This is the City of God. Check out vs 1-4. God is their salvation. Instead of power, there is peace. This word peace is the Hebrew word Shalom. It doesn’t mean just the cessation of hostility, but rather a flourishing wholeness; a fullness of peace; life the way it was meant to be. Perfect Peace. In 25:6-9 we see that it’s a city of joy. There is feasting with fine, aged wine and rich food. Here there is no exhaustion like in the lofty city, there’s no relying on self for salvation, there is no pride. Rather it’s a city of joy, God-salvation and peace.

So how do these two relate to each other? Usually when we read a passage like this we assume that the lofty city is the world we live in now, and the strong city is the one to come. It sure sounds a lot like the New Jerusalem doesn’t it? But notice verse 1, We HAVE a strong city. It’s already here. How?

Jesus and Jeremiah explain this. Matthew 5, in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus tells the disciples “you are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden.” You are the city on the hill. Or as Augustine described it, you are the City of God. You are the alternate city within the lofty city. You are helping to create an alternate society that looks totally different from the social construct the rest of the world sees. Inside this city work is not exhausting or something to complain about. Work is a joyful thing that gives glory to God. In this city we don’t try to justify our existence, Jesus justifies our existence.

This is what God, through the prophet Jeremiah, charged the exiles with when they were in Babylon. Jer 29:4-7:

“Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, to all exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare (SHALOM) you will find your welfare (SHALOM).”

Get involved in reaching the city, seek it’s shalom. As you do that don’t forget that your identity and purpose comes from the Lord. Move all the way in to your city. I don’t mean just geographically. But, experience it, soak it up, be a local and seek to prosper the city, to make it better, to give it lasting peace, the peace of Christ. Seek the welfare, the peace, the prosperity, the Shalom of your city, for in its peace you will find your peace. Don’t make your main goal that of prospering the church or believers. Don’t make yourself the main goal. If you are in your church or your city to get or to gain something for yourself you’re doing it wrong. Make the City of God, the strong city, your goal. In seeking the shalom of the city you will find your shalom.

How do we do this? Verse 3 has the clue “you keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” You think you want people to know Jesus? You have no idea - I have no idea - how badly God wants people to know Jesus. It wasn’t our idea to reach Moscow, it is not the idea of a bunch of pastors to reach your city, it is God’s idea and he loves your city more than anybody ever could. He is telling us in his word to trust him for your city as we build the strong city within it. He is telling us to pray to him for the Shalom of the city and to be the light of the world, the city on a hill in this city.

As we wrap up this story I want to point out the climax if you haven’t seen it already. 25:7-9.

Who does that sound like? Is that Aslan, the hero of the Narnia stories? No that’s Jesus, the hero of our story. God swallows up death forever by sending his son. He didn’t commute from the suburbs, he moved all the way in, he sought the peace of the city, then died for it, rose again and with that he swallowed up death forever. Now we get to rejoice and be glad because of it.

The end of our story, the final scene of all humanity is a massive, jubilant, incredible party in the city. That’s a party I want to invite as many people as possible to.

another use for a water bottle and other things I’ve learned in getting a Russian Visa

The last post talked about what a headache it’s been in getting our visas and work permits this past year. This post is about the more adventurous task of extending a visa into a work permit. It involves x-rays, a portly and rude doctor and an empty water bottle. I hope you enjoy it.

To get a work permit we must enter on a temporary three month visa then we extend it to a work permit. In order to do that you must go through a series of medical tests to prove that you are healthy enough to not be a medical risk to the people of Russia. You have never even seen red tape until you have entered the labyrinth that is the Russian health system. Thankfully, one of our colleagues braved this path for us a month earlier and gave us detailed directions on what to do.

What do you think comes first in getting a document saying you are healthy and legally allowed to work in Russia? Would you go to the doctor’s office? Would you go to the migration services? Where do you go? The bank. Yes, you go to the bank and pay them $50 in order to get a receipt that says you can start the procedure. Because...y’know...that makes sense.

Ok, now all we need to do is go to the doctor’s office that specializes in this medical document thing, right? They test stuff like your blood and your lungs and make sure you’re not crazy, all that stuff. It’s all in one conveniently located building, right? Oh wait, we live in Russia...wrong.

Dan and Chris, my teammates and friends (without whom I would not have made it this far) and I go to an obscure, barely marked building at 4 pm to give blood and get the paperwork started. What’s that? Come back tomorrow? It’s 4:10 and the office closes at 4. Awesome.

We go the next day at 10 and wait in line for thirty minutes to give the nice ladies our passports, bank receipts and everything else. These ladies were really nice to us and even joked around with us which was a nice little change of pace. They took blood and jokingly said it would cost us 15 rubles ($0.50). They said come back in four days from 10-4 for the results and paperwork. We came at 10 and it was actually ready. What do you think comes next? Well the next step is conveniently only open from 8-11 and it’s an hour’s walk away. Not next door, not on the same street, it’s an hour from here to there and closes in 30 minutes. Again...awesome.

So we skip to step three which is nearer and closes at 2. We walk around and look for building 10-A on a certain street. We find building 10 and look for an entrance. The builders apparently built it backwards because the main entrance was on the other side. We go in and find out it is building 10 not 10-A, a grade school not a medical building. We guess that building 10-A is that short, dilapidated building hidden behind decaying concrete walls with an unmanned guardrail a chimpanzee could operate. We bushwhack our way into the building and find more surprisingly pleasantly composed workers. They take our information and ask us to sit until the psychologists are ready. Psychologists?! What? Evidently this is the narcotics and psychology branch that signs for us. They make sure we’re not on drugs nor crazy. That’s comforting.

These ladies are really nice. They too joke with me and are very pleasant with me. It seems like they understand the hassle this can be and take pity on us, or maybe they are trying to lure me into a false sense of comfort to force a confession out of me. It turns out they weren’t and after a few questions sign my paper and send me on my way. All in all a pleasant experience.

The next step - step two, the 8 am one - will have to wait till tomorrow.

7:45 AM, we gather outside my door and walk towards the medical building for our last step. We know that we’ll need to give a urine sample and that this being Russia they probably don’t have any sanitary containers for us to use at the doctor’s office. (For those of you who have lived here you understand that sentence, for those of you who haven’t, as my friend says ‘don’t try to understand it, just give it a hug’). We see a sign for a 24 hour pharmacy and walk up to it. What’s that scribbled in black ink and taped to the door? Closed. Awesome. Time is running out and I have to leave for class soon so we take our chances and hope they have an option for us at the office.

We finally find the correct medical building, it’s located at the “Center for Finding Tuberculosis in Your Lungs” or some equally bizarrely named building. This is the logical place to have one’s work permit medical tests done, right?

So we go in and up to the doctor’s office. This next step is one where it is very useful to know the difference between the perfective and imperfective aspect of a verb. Imperfective means it is either a process or right now. Like the word “invite” I invite you in, or I am inviting you in sounds like “Pre-gla-shy-u” the Perfective is a one time event or result that either has happened or will happen. I will invite you sounds like “Pre-gla-shoe”. Hear the difference? Well we didn’t. We thought she said “I invite you in” and in we went. She was getting dressed. We were in trouble. “Pre-gla-SHOE” she yelled in near-naked furry as she shook her clothes at us. In embarrassment and shame we scurried out and tried to stifle our giggles. A minute later she muttered “pre-gla-shy-u” and we entered as penitent as Indiana Jones searching for the Grail. 

One by one she takes our documents and tells us where to go. First go downstairs to give blood (again) then to the lab to give urine. We chose not to ask about the latter for fear that her already discontented mood would send her into a firestorm of hitherto unheard Russian profanities and pontifications on the despairing state of the education of today’s lazy and stupid youth which would include us. Fortunately for us the kind lady taking our blood had the answer to our quandary. “Where do we get a sanitary container for the urine sample?”, we asked. “At a drink kiosk”, she replied. For those of you who have read this far just to find out what the other use for a water bottle is read no further and take a guess. 

That’s right, she told us to go buy a bottle of water, drink it then use it for the...um...next step. So we did.

After buying the bottles and drinking them we searched for a suitable bathroom where we could give the sample. We found the lab that analyzes the samples but no one was there. I saw a woman through the window and asked as best I could in my broken Russian “This place for to urine?” Her reply? “This is a window.” Thanks, I knew that. After finally finding a suitable place we came back to give our samples and again no one was there. It was now 9:05 and the sign said something about closing at 9:00. Great, we’ll have to come back and do this all again tomorrow? That’s when another very sweet nurse came through the door and said “Well done boys, give me your samples and your analysis papers.” With bare hands she unscrewed our homemade sanitary bottles and placed them in a flimsy metal box reminiscent of the toolbox you might have made out of spare sheet metal as a child. She then repeated “well done boys, you can go now.” and we walked out like proud schoolchildren having just memorized how to spell “sincerely”. Again, another very nice lady having pity on us.

From here we went back to the lady who reminded us of the importance of verb aspects and got the instructions for the last step. She had flipped through my passport and saw that I lived for a couple of years in southern Russian. Upon seeing this she asked why I spoke Russian so poorly and why I was such a bad student. I didn’t know the Russian equivalent for an equally insulting statement so instead I simply said “I’m still studying, thank you for the reminder that I need to study more.” And with that we finished the last step. 

The old Russian proverb states that the future belongs to those who know how to wait. I have a lot to learn about patience, about putting others first and about my character. The bright spot in all of this has been the surfacing of character flaws deep inside me that I can mask by humor or accomplishments. I’ve also met some very sweet, kind and hardworking Russians along the way accompanied by a few not so pleasant characters who suck people’s joy rather than give it. I hope that at the very least this saga has given you some laughter or some gratitude at the small mercies God gives us on the way of sanctification. Thanks for sticking with us and praying for us, it’s helping. 

Oh and by the way we got the work permits this week! That’s a reason to celebrate!

The Visa Saga

If you have read our newsletters over the past year you will notice a common thread weaving through them all. There is one thing we ask for your prayers every month and there is no end in sight to those requests. It is the Visa and the continual quest to live legitimately in Russia. As a Christian Ministry we want to do everything the right, legal and honest way, and we have, which is why it is taking us forever to get anywhere.

For those of you who are interested here is the story of how we almost have our work permits.

In May of 2009 we as a ministry submitted the proper documents to get new work visas for the international staff who work in Moscow. We had done this many times before and were not expecting any problems. May passed, then June, then July, finally our staff had to leave the country because their visas were expiring and we did not know when they would be re-issued. Eventually we found out that our visas were delayed because there was an investigation into our organization. That was a surprise to us because we had done nothing wrong. We were not worried about the investigation because we knew we were innocent but we also knew that this would slow things down considerably.

They finally told our organization that everything was in order but they decided to reset the visa issuing from June to January so it would be inline with the majority of work visas issued to other non-profits. Therefore from August to January we would need to find another option. We decided to start using 3 month temporary religious visas that would have to be renewed as soon as the previous visa ended. This meant our team would have to get a second, temporary passport valid for two years with which to get the temporary visas. With this we could keep one with us and mail the other to the United States for visa processing. The only problem is Russia will not allow someone to mail a passport in or out, only a few Eastern European countries will allow that, so our team would have to be creative in its timing with which passport they sent where and when. Jessica and I knew we were arriving in late October or early November so we thought that we would only have to do this once in order to get our long term visa and avoid the whole two passport mess. Unfortunately, we were proved wrong.

January rolled around and our organization found out at the last minute that one piece of paper for the visas was supposed to have a stamp on it but it was not there. In place of the stamp we were given verbal approval but not written approval. Apparently that was good enough for the low-level official who is supposed to give the stamps but not good enough for the fastidious fellows at the visa issuing office. By the way I am grateful for their fastidiousness, it is a big step in fighting corruption and I applaud it. This stamp would require a minimum of one month to acquire, unfortunately the first 10 days of that month were holidays. In Russia every day from January 1st to the 10th is a holiday, that meant it would be one month and ten days for us. That meant that our visas would expire and we would need to get yet another 3 month temporary visa. (below is a picture of the market in downtown Budapest)

Jessica and I found out about this a few days too late and as a result we ended up hanging out in Budapest for 3 weeks while we waited for our Letter of Invitation (LOI) to receive a visa, then mailed that LOI along with our passports and applications to the Russian Embassy in Washington DC then waited for them to process it and send it back. But of course there was a massive snowstorm in DC delaying FedEx by three days meaning we had to wait another week in Budapest. Either the Lord was trying to teach us a lesson in patience and reliance upon him or someone or something really did not want us in Russia. We finally got our second 3 month temporary visa in mid February and headed back to Moscow. (Dave finally getting our visas fresh from the FedEx truck)

We waited and waited for news on our permanent visas/work permits but never heard a thing. In the meantime we all got our college diplomas “apostilled” (which is a fancy word for “notarization good enough for any country to recognize”) and translated, then we submitted those to the gentleman whom we hired to get our visas. After getting these (in March) he said “Oh great, now I can go submit these to get your visas.” He never told us he was waiting for these, he just waited and never told us. My mother always said if you can’t say something nice about someone don’t say anything at all. So we are moving on with the story.

We waited some more and eventually time drew near enough that we had to start the process of getting yet another 3 month temporary visa just in case our permanent ones did not arrive in time. I mean really, why should we have expected them to? Let’s be honest.

Through a friend and former colleague we found out that in one morning you could get a new visa for free in Cyprus if you had all the proper paperwork (LOI, passport, pictures, application, HIV/AIDs Test, etc). With this good news Jess and I headed to Cyprus in May with only days to spare on our old temporary visas. We were in Cyprus for three days and sure enough it took one morning and was free, plus we got to hang out at the beach for a day and see a new country! Not bad, but still expensive and not what we wish we were doing with our time. Below is a picture of St Lazarus's Cathedral in Cyprus. Supposedly he was buried there.

Finally we got word that our permanent LOIs (Letters of Invitation) were ready and we could pick them up at the hired “gentleman”’s office. This was good news because it meant we could carefully prepare our applications and send them off in order to get our permanent visas with plenty of time. We went to the office on the day they said they would be ready and sure enough...they weren’t. They said come back next week. We came back the next week and half of the LOIs had either incorrect names, birthplaces or dates. They had to be corrected so we gave them back and told them to correct the mistakes. They said come back in a few days. I did and sure enough...they weren’t ready. A week later and sure enough...not ready. Now our comfortable window of time was becoming more and more uncomfortable. It was coming down to the wire. With only a couple days to spare we got all the right documents and FedEx-ed them to America for processing.

Our permanent passports and visas arrived at the door of a friend the day before they left America to visit us in Russia. It was by the skin of our teeth that they made it. But that seems to be the norm for visas.

Honestly, this last visa trip wasn’t so bad. All we had to do was cross the border and come back. So we found the cheapest flight and hotel offer we could and went with it. Things worked out perfectly for us and we were able to fly Budapest in time to celebrate Jess’s 30th birthday and then fly back on our new visa. It took three days and was incredibly relaxing and stress free. It still was not the ideal situation and not what we came to Russia to do, but one thing we are learning about living in Russia is to make the best of what’s around. So we did.

For more on turning a work visa into a work permit read the next story in the Visa Saga, it will be up soon.

Thank you for your prayers and support in us as we serve here in Russia. We did not come here to go on visa trips or deal with applications and red tape but we will do what we have to in order to share the Gospel. Compared to what the apostles went through our ordeal is a walk in the park. Thanks for holding us up through your prayers and encouragement, we would not have made it this far without you.