Hi John,

 

Here are some thoughts on my Russian experience.

 

My week in Chita is was a good experience. I had wonderful fellowship with the brothers there (as much as possible with linguistic limitations), and I think the homiletics class was in some way beneficial to those who attended. Best to let them determine that, I suppose!

 

My travel experience went very well. Somehow going from Moscow to Chita, Harriet found a non-stop flight! I arrived Sunday morning about 8:30 AM. Sergei picked me up, took me to his home for breakfast, and then off to church. The non-stop even had an open seat next to me. Coming back, we did have the layover at Novosibirsk, where you just have to pay close attention to things. Transfer people needed to pick up a laminated red transit ticket and show it to get back on the plane an hour later. In getting back on, if you have the red ticket, you go to the head of the line. Then right back to your previous seat.

 

School started on Monday. The students took a little time to get up to the tasks assigned. It seems more effective to tell them what to do, and gently crack the whip a little rather than ask for volunteers. It also helps them to keep before them a devotional focus of their work in an academic setting. Six or seven class periods in a day wearies most of them (me, too!) We focused on a time of worship each day, and kept up reminders of their responsibilities to one another, and their own learning as something done before the Lord.

 

Each student gave two evangelistic sermons (one from Acts and one from a passage of their choice). They decided who their audience was for their message. There was quite a variety of experience and style among the students, which made listening to over forty sermons fascinating for me. Some of the men are stand-outs, while some others showed improvement even during our short time together. The course work called for the men to critique each other, which they sometimes did in a rather spirited manner. Such variety! But always we called each other to account for being faithful to the text we were preaching. The first two days were the most difficult. No one wanted to do the critique. Only a few were willing to preach at first. I decided to give a little speech applying the Golden Rule to sermon criticism — "What kind of critique would you want to receive? What sort of effort would you want someone critiquing you to put in?" Pastor Andrei had decided we needed to be firmer with the students at about the same time. Just tell them they are doing the critiques, he said, don’t ask for volunteers. So we used his suggestion and my talk together, and after that things went quite well.

 

Lodging was excellent. I was supposed to stay with Alexey and Lena. He is a police official and a part of the ministry team. I had witnessed his ordination in 2005. They had a sick child, so I stayed at Lena’s parent’s apartment, which was furnished but not currently used. It was very nice and warm, though it was -25 outside!. Alexey and Lena had me over the night before I left Chita, and we had a fun time of fellowship together. Lena studied English in college, and Alexey is trying to pick up what he can from her. Wonderful people.

 

Another note for future teachers: the idea of giving the students a little something from the states had me in a quandary as I wanted something they could use but would not add that much weight to my luggage. I decided on my favorite utensil — a medium point four-color Bic pen which I am never without. They really seemed to enjoy this simple gift.

 

Olya, the translator, is a very sweet person, and she clearly had the hardest job of anyone there. She translated over forty sermons in a few days time in addition to my instructions, student questions, critiques, back and forth arguments and everything else that needed doing. Then she worked at the church office when we were done (book-keeping), or worked at directing the church’s Christmas play, which she wrote. Quite a gal!

 

My experience was very positive, despite the challenges and concerns I had early on. In every way I felt appreciated and taken care of. Best of all, I am excited about these men ministering in their areas. The are proclaiming the Gospel. I believe, and I told them so, that God will do great things for the Gospel through them, and call many people to Himself. The five or so young men from the Baratia region were very committed to reaching across cultural lines as well to Russia’s Asian minorities. May the Lord bless them and raise up through their ministries many more like them.