It is Finished

It always seems that the time for my flight to St. Petersburg will never arrive, and then suddenly it does, and I get here, and before I can turn around good it’s over. I was so excited to get to spend two weeks this trip and thought that I would have lots of time to enjoy everything and everyone. But of course, that was not the case.

The second week was full of evening Bible studies and visits with friends, and it seems to speed by quicker than I could ever catch up. But what a blessing to get to sit down to a relaxing meal, or attend a birthday party, or go shopping (on the coldest, windiest day!) and have tea.

Monday and Tuesday afternoons were spent at Orphanage 14, and though it seems that this will complete our work at this orphanage, we pray God’s blessings for them. We have made some dear friends and I got to spend time with two of the kids that were in my group from previous trips – Tolya and Anya. I was especially pleased to see Anya and get to visit with her for a few minutes. She also sang a solo at the performance they did for us on Tuesday afternoon. What a beautiful, young, Christian woman – I know God has big plans for her. My prayer is that she will be able to reside at one of the transitional homes, and would love to see her placed at Road of Life.

On Thursday night I visited Dormitory 70 and had a chance to do a Christmas arts and craft project with eight of those girls. They had a great time and practiced their English during the project. We then had tea and two other residents came by. This dormitory is full of graduate orphans ranging in ages from 17-23 – there are 500 residents there – and the only Christian ministry that is meeting with these kids is Road of Life. They are using English as a second language lessons to get their foot in the door and the counselors are very receptive; the director even had her assistant come and take our picture last night, and she plans to visit all three of the ROL homes in the next few weeks. Please pray that God will open doors for us to reach more of these kids – I truly felt my heart beat faster at the possibilities for ministry here.

Marina Topol (director of ROL) and Vera (house mom for ROL) have been visiting the deaf orphanage here in St. Petersburg and are planning a birthday party for one of the children. Marina says that these children are desperate for someone to love them, and she and Vera love the time they spend there. Please pray that God will send Christians with a heart for deaf ministry to help them.

Speaking of deaf ministry – Lotia is one of the boys at the Frunzenskaya family home and he is totally deaf. Dave Handley, one of our team members for this trip, did some research on-line and found a Christian mime organization that is excited about sending materials for Lotia to get involved in a mime group here in St. Petersburg. Pray that he will get involved with this ministry and use his talents for God – and a special thanks to Dave for taking the time to research this for him.

Well, the partiers are arriving and it’s time to get ready to say goodbye. There will be no sleep at this house tonight, and our van pulls out at 4AM for the airport, so no sleep. Pray for our journey home and lots of sleep time once we arrive!

Das vee danya (goodbye) and see bogum (go with God).

Nancy

Leave it to Zhenia

It is a typical day at Orphanage 14 – everyone is late getting there, we’re trying to make sure we have everything we need for the afternoon before leaving the resource room, and finally we decide to begin, even though we don’t feel prepared. Reyisa (the head counselor at O14) takes us downstairs to the large assembly room and twelve children between the ages of 9-12 begin showing up one or two at a time. We introduce ourselves to each one as he/she arrives, and then starts the frustration. We are a small group in a large room, so everyone begins running and chasing each other, knocking each other down; and when we finally get them back together, they begin to hide behind the curtains at both the front and back of the room while we are trying to do an activity. We try to gather them together for a craft project and it is impossible. We are three Russian adults and three American adults, and we have lost total control!

Finally Dasha (SAC’s administrative assistant), goes to get Reyisa who tells her there is a counselor present. Dasha informs her that no, there is no one with us except the kids. So Reyisa comes down and gets the psychologist, who tells me that these children are not right in the head and they are not able to learn or do crafts; that we must do one small activity only and then just play games with them. The psychologist then informs me that we can only have the children for one hour because they must do homework. I respectfully thank her for the information and assure Reyisa that we will be through by 4:30 p.m. and will plan to only be with the children on Tuesday from 3:30-4:30.

As I turn back to the activity we were doing before being interrupted, I notice that they are all almost finished making their angel photo holders (It is a craft project and they have all done a beautiful job of it – don’t tell me they can’t do it. If you give them slow, clear instructions – of course they can do it.) So I ask the group, “Why do you think Nancy brought an angel photo holder?” They all shout, “Because it is Christmas season!” I reply, “Yes, but why do we think of an angel at Christmas? Can anyone tell me the story of Christmas and why the angel was important?” There is silence for a moment, and then Zhenia raises his hand and then, through Rouslan, one of the translators, begins to share: “Jesus was born in a barn. The angel told the shepherds. The shepherds came and worshiped him. But that is not the end of the story. He grew to be a man. He was a kind man. He healed people and taught people how to be good people. And then they killed him. But that is not the end of the story. He did not stay dead. He came from the grave and lives today.”

I asked him, “Zhenia, do you believe that story, all of it?” And he looked up at me and said, “Yes. God tells us and it is true.” I gave him a hug and thanked him for sharing the story, and then the counselor came to get the children. Rouslan looked at me and said, “You see! You think no one is listening, but even if only one hears, it makes it all for the best. I remember as a child I sat through Bible stories and played and did not pay attention; but as an adult, those stories come back to me and I remember, and God reminds me what is right.”

So despite the frustration and the powerless feeling of being shutdown at every turn by the administration at Orphanage 14, I know that God is still in control. He will get His word out, no matter what they try to do to stop it. And though I know that we will face the same problems today, and even though they have cut out time from two hours to one, we will go – if for no one else but Zhenia! Thank you, Lord, for the Zhenia’s and Rouslan’s of the world!

Bibles for ROL

After our SAC mission trip in the spring of 2007, Susan Furr and I began to dream of a way to coordinate Bible study with the residents and graduates of Road of Life Family Homes (ROL) from back home in the U.S. After much praying and searching, God opened the doors for Susan’s mom’s church to help with this project by purchasing the John McArthur study Bibles that have been translated into Russian. Finding the source was easy, and the ladies came through with the money – then began the journey of the Bibles as we attempted to get them to St. Petersburg.

Problem No. 1 – each Bible weighs 3 lbs. each, so there was no way we could carry them over, and shipping was way out of our price range. So with further searching, Susan found a printer in Russia and a way to order the Bibles in St. Petersburg and have them shipped directly to a bookstore in the city. Sounds easy, right – well, we’re dealing with Russia, so NO!

Problem No. 2 – transferring the funds from the U.S. to Russia and then into the right hands to pay for the Bibles. Enter Dawn Ministries and Becky’s team – they ordered the Bibles, convinced the bookstore that there was really no need for a deposit, and asked to have them by November 17.

Problem No. 3 – now the funds were in Russia, the Bibles were in St. Petersburg at the bookstore, so who gets the money, makes the payment, and to whom do they make the receipt!!! As they say in Russia, “Oy!” After several calls between Becky at Dawn Ministries, some guy named Max, me, and Marina Topol, director of ROL, the payment was made, the receipt filled out (I guess it’s correct – it’s written in Russian, so how would I know?), and now all we had to do was pick them up.

Problem No. 4 – 22 Bibles weighing 3 lbs. (that’s 66 pounds for those of you who can’t work those big problems without your fingers and toes) each being transported by HAND from the bookstore to the ROL apartment at the Frunzenskaya metro stop. So off go Meisha (I’d say he’s about 5’6” and weighs 150 lbs.) and Big Locya (deaf 20 year old, 6’, 285 lbs.) who haul them back, making two trips to get them all to ROL.

Do you see why I love these kids! They haul 66 pounds of Bibles and then ask is there anything else they can do. They don’t complain or whine about it – the job is presented, and they do it. Oh, and speaking of carrying – they won’t even let me carry my own bag when I’m here – “Nancy, no, you must let me carry, it is too much!” I hear this all the time – these kids truly have the hearts of servants – all they want to do is help in any way they can – and I thought I was the one doing the ministering.

On Monday night, November 26, I began the small group Bible studies in which I gave out the Bibles and then showed them how to use them in their own personal study time. What a wonderful gift, and we are all going to read the Bible through together beginning January 1, 2008. There is a calendar in each Bible and when Susan Furr and I return to St. Petersburg in the spring, we will all be in the same place, studying the same part of the Bible. I hope Susan doesn’t make our homework assignments too hard!

God bless the ladies of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Jasper, Texas for their generosity in providing this wonderful gift to all the kids at Road of Life Family Home!

“Nancy the Navigator"

There is really no way to describe traffic and drivers in St. Petersburg, except to say miles of cars inching forward during rush hour and mass confusion. The traffic lights show a yellow caution light both prior to the light turning from green to red, and also prior to the light turning from red back to green. The first (green/yellow/red) caution light means – accelerator to the floor, can my car really do 0-60 in 1.5 seconds, and try to get through before the light turns red. While the second (red/yellow/green) caution light means – I get to start through the intersection on yellow, why should I wait for the green light, even through there are people in the crosswalk and cars still there who are checking out their warp drive to try to get through! In other words, mass confusion – oh, and my description cannot even show you what it really is like!

St. Petersburg was built on a swamp and was originally designed to be a city of canals. There are 77 bridges in the city and the side streets are narrow (kind of like New Orleans). It is a city whose mass transit system is outstanding – their subways (they call it the metro), trolleys, and busses move about 5 million people a day all around the city. The bad news is that as “western” prosperity has come to non-communist Russia, so has the “car in every garage” mentality, so a city that has lived by its mass transit, now is in constant grid lock with roads filled with cars. Oh, and did I mention that most of the streets don’t have lane lines? If the two lanes going your direction are full and you are in a hurry, just create a third lane from the on-coming traffic side – of course, it’s Russia, it’s okay, everyone understands!

I tell you all of the above to set the stage for the great adventure that we enjoyed on Tuesday evening. Marina Topoltsova (40+ year old director of ROL) came to Fuydor on Tuesday afternoon and planned to take us in her car (she’s had her driver’s license for 2 years now) to our evening meeting with the kids from The Harbor. As we get into the car, I in the front with Marina, and Dave, Dustin, and Lucya (assistant director of ROL and my Russian daughter) in the back, Marina asked me where we are going. Of course I think she is joking, but no! So she calls a friend to get the address and directions to the apartment (don’t they know you can Google these things and get directions before leaving home! Maybe that doesn’t work in St. Petersburg). She then informs me that I will be her navigator to help her find the place! “We are here, and we are going there,” she says as her finger moves across pages 2 and 3 of the 40-page map book of St. Petersburg, then she flips over to pages 28-29 so that I can see a more detailed map of our final destination area, although she says “We will really be here (pointing to 2 inches below the bottom of the page into thin air) when it is time to turn, but we will end up here, and the apartment is here.” All the time she is pointing, pointing, pointing, and smiling at me with encouragement. Oh, did I mention the map is in Russian – ah, now you get the feeling of panic that was beginning to set in!!! But I have to hand it to my two male team members – they never said a word – of course the fact that their eyes were closed and I could hear murmurs of prayers coming from the back seat might have been a clue as to why they were so quiet!

So being the wise woman that I am, I handed the map to Lucya who takes the map, has a short conversation in Russian with Marina, and off we go. Of course, we don’t get far before we hit the traffic jam. But we decided to use this time to allow Marina to get to know my team mates a little better. But then we came to a traffic circle and during the confusion of Lucya saying, “No, you need to go there!” and pointing to turn left when we were over to the right, but no problem, Marina puts on her flashers and begins cutting through traffic! After a few blocks Marina informs us that she thinks she is going the wrong direction, and Lucya agrees, handing me the map. Now Marina gets serious and pulls out a fold-out map that is written in English (“Thank you, Lord!”) and again shows me where we started and where she thinks we are now. Of course it doesn’t help much because there are very few street signs in St. Petersburg - only the important ones are marked.

Some day when you have some time I will give you the fine details, but to make a long story short, we turned around, headed in the right direction, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Of course by this time it is 7PM, and I’m desperately needing a bathroom - and everyone is hungry. Now, anyone who knows me knows that I don’t eat at McDonalds except for breakfast, so you will understand how desperate I was when I tell you that I suggested we eat at McD’s so I could get to a bathroom! Anyway, we ate dinner and then were back on the road.

After a few blocks, we dropped off Lucya so she could walk the short distance home, and I began seriously looking for the next street when we would be turning (you know, the one that was 2 inches below the bottom of the page!). Unfortunately when the time came to turn left onto this street there was a no left turn sign and as Marina slowed to try to decide what to do, all horns began to blow, so she had no choice but to go straight. Even more unfortunate, going straight took us over a railroad bridge and out of the city! (Positive thought here – Dustin looks around and for the first time speaks from the back seat – “Hey, this looks familiar. I think this is the way we went to the camp I worked at two summers ago.” Not so positive thought – summer camps are usually located 20-30 miles outside the city!)

Now we are on a four-lane highway with forest all around and a barrier between us and the oncoming traffic (Nancy, “How far is it to Moscow, and do we have enough gas?”). Of course, being the always positive American, I say, “Don’t worry, we will just look for a cross over and turn around.” Not so positively, that cross over came 20 kilometers (that’s 12.5 miles to us non-metric folks) down the road. Of course, all this time the people from the Harbor are calling because we are over an hour late and I’m trying to talk on the phone to them while searching for the elusive crossover!

Okay, long-story-short, we turned around, made the correct turn, found the correct building number (after Marina talked to three different people to help point to it), correct apartment number, and arrived at the Harbor! All in only 3 hours 45 minutes – I could have driven almost to Dallas in that time!!!! But arrive we did, and we spent the next hour visiting with the girls and boys from the Harbor. We were all disappointed that the time was short, but it was a good time spent together and affirmed for Marina and I that we want to try to plan times when the Harbor kids and the ROL kids can get together and enjoy some good old Christian fellowship.

And it was an especially wonderful time for me, because three of my kids that I had known since April 2004 from Orphanage 14 were at the Harbor – Santa Sasha, Denis, and Yana – and I got to pet Sasha’s rat, whose name is Squeaker – although I can’t even pronounce the Russian word for that.

Although the evening was frustrating and full of anxiety, it was also amusing and full of fun. You never know what adventure lies ahead and through it all I had the confidence to know that whatever may happen, I don’t have to worry, because the real navigator in our lives is God, and He knows all of the maps and will guide us through. And praise His name – he even reads Russian!


Nancy Durrett
SAC Team Leader
Russia, Nov. 2007

We've Arrived!

What a wonderful week we have had! From the moment we walked into the airport and were greeted by six bright, smiling faces, we have been walking on air! Marina Topoltsova, director of Road of Life (ROL) Family Homes, and four of the girls from ROL, along with SAC’s St., Petersburg Program Director, Dasha, were there to meet us, and presented me with flowers and my favorite bar of chocolate candy! Oh and we were greeted with a winter wonderland of snow and ice. We ain’t in Ruston anymore!. Then it was off to deliver resource materials to Fuydor Children’s Shelter, followed by dropping off Dave and Dustin at their apartment, and finally me at my ROL home for the next two weeks.

Just to give you the highlights for the week – we ministered to 9 teenagers and 12 younger children at Fuydor Shelter for street kids Monday through Wednesday all day. We had 32 present at our large group meeting with ROL on Monday night. On Tuesday we met with 8 girls and 8 boys from the Harbor Transitional Homes. On Wednesday we went bowling with 9 guys from the Boys’ Harbor and 6 guys from Boys’ ROL Home. Thursday was busy as we held a traditional Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday night for 29 kids!

The only disappointment for the week – there were no children at Orphanage 14 when we arrived on Friday. Buckner, a ministry agency from the U.S., had come that day and taken all the children on an excursion – without prior scheduling with the administrators, who happened to be in a meeting all day and did not get back to the orphanage until 2pm. Rayisa, the children’s director, was very upset and apologized, but there was nothing to do. So my team (2 translators from Logos Church, 2 girls from ROL, SAC’s Dasha, and my 3-member team) left and went to a coffee shop before going home for the evening.

We are never assured of anything in life, and when on a mission trip the key word is always “flexibility,” but God always blesses us, even in our disappointments. Though we didn’t have time with the kids at Orphanage 14 on Friday, we look forward to the time we can spend with them on Monday and Tuesday of next week. So pray for us! We will be at Orphan Hospital #15 on Monday and Tuesday mornings next week, followed by Orphanage #14 in the afternoons. We will also be doing small group meetings with the ROL family throughout the week.

Love to all!
Nancy