Thank's for Your Prayers

Anya had her inteview today at the U.S. Consulate. She had been really nervous and we have all be in constant prayer for her. The interview went very well and she was accepted for travel to the U.S., but we have to fill out a new application form that they have requested. I will work on that when I return to Ruston next week.

At right: Anya with Mark (son of John and Karen Bull - missionaries from Plano, TX), Susha, and Karina at Child in Danger Shelter.


During her year-long stay, Anya will be making mission trips to south Louisiana and the Yucatan, will be helping with VBS at Emmanuel, and will be doing volunteer work at the Daycare at Emmanuel, along with doing speaking engagements whenever asked. She will also be spending Christmas at Disney World with a missionary friend from Ohio and her family; and will travel with my family to Branson this summer. Lots of fun things to do and see!!

We are all so excited to have this opportunity to help her with her English language to better help her as a translator for mission teams in Russia, and we are looking forward to her being an important part of our families - church and home!


Thank you God for Your mighty power and blessings.

From Russia with Love!
Nancy

The Week in Review

Our week did not begin well as we were unable to minister at the Deaf Orphanage (O20) on Monday. A team of health inspectors was there and one of the nurses had apparently had a bad experience with some Americans who were Jehovah's Witnesses and they took cross necklaces from some of the children. She called us unhealthy Americans and said we could not be trusted. Svieta (the sign language translator) talked with the director and the inspectors, but could not convince them of their error. The director did agree however to let me present my official documents from MIR (the charity organization that sponsors our trips here in St.P) and she would review the matter. MIR put the package together and Svieta will deliver it on Tuesday. Please pray that I will be able to go to O20 on Friday, April 3.

One good thing that came out of Monday was that one of the former students, Zhenya, was visiting and he spent part of the morning with us. As we left the orphanage about 12:30, he walked out with us. We got to Marina's car and she suggested we go to a German restaurant near by to eat lunch, and we agreed. When we arrived at the restaurant and stepped out of the car, Zhenya was walking up the sidewalk. I asked Svieta to invite him to join us for lunch and he was thrilled. He is a sweet young man and a good friend of Losha (one of our boys at the Frunzenskaya apartment of Road of Life). He is pictured here with Zvieta.

Because we were not going to be allowed to go back to O20 on Tuesday, Anya called Child in Danger (CID) shelter and asked if we could come on Tue/Wed/Thur, adding a day to our ministry there. Masha, the assistant director was thrilled and said of course, please come. We arrived at 1:30 and began playing with the children around 2pm. We played games, did arts and crafts, did a "food" project with candies to make caterpillars, and then watched a movie together.

There are currently 15 children at CID and only two of them were kids that I had known from before. John and Karen Bull and their four children joined us for our day at CID. It was great fun as we met the new children and renewed friendships with the kids and counselors from previous trips.

On Wednesday we arrived at CID after lunch and went with 15 kids and 2 counselors to the circus. It was the "Birthday of the Clowns" and was wonderful! Only 2 of the children had ever been to a circus before and it was a big hit. I had brought glow-in-the-dark bracelets for each child and some candy for snack; and of course CID had sent apples for the kids to snack on during intermission. The only "low" point was the guy with the snacks, crocodiles, and other animals. I think Maxim, the CID counselor, thought I was going to crawl in his lap when one of the snakes started climbing up the ring wall. Luckily the crocs' mouths were taped shut and the one stalking the emu was unsuccessful in his "kill". As they say in Russia, "Oy!"

Unfortunately the circus ended at 5:30 - the middle of RUSH HOUR! When we entered the Nevsky Prospect metro line there must have been 10,000 people in there - ask Adam, I'm not exaggerating! We managed to stay together pretty well, until everyone got through and we realized we were missing Ura. Luckily he appeared at the front of the crowd after a few minutes and we were back on track. It was a jammed up, scary adventure for me, but it is their "normal" so they didn't seem to think anything of it.

Thursday was another adventure with the CID kids as we went to Ikea mall to go ice skating. It was not too terribly crowded and they had a great time. We had one little 5 year old, Karina, who was not allowed to skate, but Ikea has a children's play room and Anya took her there to play for an hour and she was very excited. We ate lunch at McDonald's (the doctor at CID had told me no sodas or cold water - I don't understand the water thing - I think they believe that cold water does something bad for you - man, are those of us who live in the South in trouble!) and the kids were thrilled with their happy meals. We then exited by the carousel and let the little ones ride. (Pictured here are Adam and Nastya - she is 16 and attends art school.)

Friday and Saturday were touring and shopping days for Adam and I, followed by Road of Life (ROL) family activities each night. Friday night we met at the Frunzenskaya Boys' apartment with the current residents and counselors of ROL. I did a devotion on The Folded Napkin, about how Jesus folded the cloth covering his face in the tomb, which by Jewish tradition meant that the "master is coming back." Part of the devotion included Adam doing some decorative napkin folding - and then of course the tests began - all of the boys at the apartment tried to fold the napkins as Adam had shown, and then raced each other. It was great fun.

After the napkin devotion, Adam and Dustin Clark (from Alabama, who had gone to StP with me a year ago and was back for a week-long visit) shared about their lives, their faith, their goals. Adam is a sophomore at Ouachita Baptist Univ. in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and his girlfriend attends Samford University in Alabama. Dustin graduated from the Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham last summer, is currently employed as a civilian with the US Army as an engineer, and his girlfriend also attends Samford U. Adam and Dustin both lived at the ROL apartment this week and were pleasantly surprised to find that their two girlfriends not only lived close to each other, but had had a class together. It's still a small world!!

This is the group picture taken on Friday night - we now have to split the meetings to get everyone into the same place. That's why I met Friday night with current residents/counselors, and Saturday night with graduates.

Saturday night we had a bowling outing with the graduates of ROL followed by dinner at the food court. It was a great time, and all but two of the grads who live in StP were able to attend - Nelly and Liza are still in the US. Each of the grads shared what they are doing and their hopes and goals for the future. It was wonderful seeing them all again. Marina Topol (director of ROL) and I are talking about putting together an email newsletter to let all of you know how the kids are doing and how you can pray for them.

I stayed at the Frunzenskaya Boys' apartment on Saturday night to accompany Adam to the airport on Sunday morning. FYI - Russia changed to daylight savings time last night - so Adam and I have "survived" two of those this year thank you very much! It was a pretty emotional time for Adam because he had grown so close to the two boys who live at the apartment, as well as Meisha, a ROL grad who had come to help translate during the week. I was really proud of him though - he managed to get out of the apartment and even hug me at the airport with no tears. I'll be interested to here if his flight home was still "tearless"!

I will post Adam's thoughts and memories with you when he gets back and hopefully readjusts to "normal" life at OBU - and takes a week or so to get over the jet lag!

I have one more week here in StP and look forward to going to CID on Tuesday afternoon, Dormitory 70 on Tuesday night, the Road of Hope Friday. Also, a new adventure for me - Marina's church has opened a shelter for street kids and she is taking me there on Thursday - at last, a place where I can talk openly about God and His Son without worrying about someone asking me to leave!!!

From Russia with Love,
Nancy

CHANGE

We all know that change is inevitable and change is a word thought of a lot here in St. Petersburg – change in economics (I got the highest rate of exchange for my dollar in 5 years at 33 rubles/$), change in the city skyline (I counted 14 new buildings around the airport, on the way into the city, and especially in Pushkin – a city south of St.P), and change in the people (even some of the “older” people looked different on the metro yesterday – people actually looked at each other and not the floor).

We picked Eddie and Cindy Williams and Cindy’s daughter Ashley up at the airport Sunday afternoon and took them to Pushkin to stay at the SOS Orphanage, and Cindy couldn’t believe how much everything had changed in the two years since she has been here. And even Eddie had a little trouble trying to figure out how to get to the orphanage because everything seemed different.

At the worship service at 21st Century Church yesterday I noticed other changes – one of the young women who works with street kids had a more conservative hair style; Dimitri (the associate pastor and wonderful musician) was absent and I was told that he only gets to attend his home church a couple of Sundays each month because he is so much in demand to preach and sing at other churches and conferences; and Adam Wheat (my fellow team member, son of our associate pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Ruston, and sophomore at Ouachita Baptist in Arkadelphia, AR) commented on what a change it was from church “back home.” He said that even though the service lasted for 3 hours, from 11 a.m. until a little after 2 p.m., no one seemed to mind and even hung around afterward to fellowship with other church members. His comment to me – “It was nice to see that these people didn’t bring all the ‘stuff’ with them to church that at home seems to make them so anxious to get out, get home, get to lunch. They just came to worship and enjoy their time with the Father.”

The main emphasis on the service was fire – Luke 3:16, “…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” And they sang a song I had not heard, “God Wants You to Burn.” Now that can sound really bad if taken out of context – God does NOT want you to burn in an eternal hell, but He DOES want you to burn with a passion to share His Word and His Son with everyone you see and know. The pastor talked about the many different people who attend their church – some with wild hair, iron studs in the ears and on their faces, and well, just “different.” He told the story of one young man who came to church with hair done in big pointed spikes sticking out all over his head; and the pastor said he just couldn’t help himself – he had to ask “How do you get your hair to do that!” and the young man replied – “I wet it, put gel in it, and go to the metro to wait for the next train to come along with its great, mighty wind. And ‘poof’ instant spikes!” The pastor said, “Oh, style by metro!” Then he laughed and said maybe some of the congregation should try that. Marina Topol, who was translating for us, asked Adam if we had a metro back home and he and I both chuckled as he said no; so she told him he would have to try it here before he returns home.

Yes, there has been much change in StP, but as much as some things change, many more stay the same. The Road of Life family members still love each other with all their hearts and welcome us into their homes with graciousness and warmth. Those same families make room in their homes for children in need – the Frunzynskaya home where Adam is staying now has two young men who are deaf living with them full time – Losha and Nakita – and one young man who visits on the weekend who is going blind – Sergey. These are the young men that no one wants to bother with – that many consider stupid and even frightening. But the Christian parents at this ROL home, Artur and Nina, just stretch their arms out wider and take in all who will come. Their family of five (Artur and Nine, their two children, and Nina’s mother) live with the two permanent residents (Losha and Nakita) and this week have welcomed two Americans into their home – our Adam and Dustin Clark from Alabama. And a ROL graduate of that home, Meisha, has also come to stay to help translate – not only Russian, but sign language as well. As Adam said on Sunday, “It is a little overwhelming.” But I know that as Adam gets into the swing of things, he’ll be hard-pressed to let go and return home – they are already laughing and having a great time finding the differences between American sign language and Russian sign language.

Keep us in your prayers as we begin our ministry at the Deaf Orphanage and at Child in Danger shelter this week. And remember that even though you are on the other side of the world, you are still in our hearts and minds as well.

From Russia with Love!
Nance (and Adam)

Final from Russia

Well, it's finally here - my last day in Russia - my birthday. This is a cool birthday - I was born in 1954 and I'm 54 today!

I spoke at a public school on Wednesday and the kids were great. One young lady said, "You are kidding about being old, right?" I said, "No, I'm about to celebrate my 54th birthday." She said, "No way! My mother is 40 and she looks lots older than you!" So the answer is - yes, coloring your hair helps, but the greatest key is your heart - you're only as old as you are at heart - of course that's scary, because at heart I'm 21 - and do I really want to go through all this again!?! Oh, another student asked what I liked most about Russia and I said, "The chocolate!" They all laughed, and then Wednesday afternoon, Natasha, the assistant counselor at Child in Danger, whose son was in the class at school, brought me a dog puppet that was stuffed full of all kinds of chocolates! Wow!

The kids at Dormitory 70 (photo at right: Me, Natasha and Luda standing; Tatiana, Anya, Nadia, Ilya, Masha, and Lucya seated) were great Thursday night, and Ilya sang a Spanish love song to me and Pam. He is so funny. We started my first night at the dorm with a kiss to the cheek. The second week, it was both cheeks; the third, three cheeks - are you getting the picture here? Last night we lost count, and the counselor started making loud smacking sounds, and the whole place was rolling in laughter (that's better than crying, right?).

Tatiana, the head counselor of the whole dorm, gave me a really cool birthday present, and Luda, one of the girls that is thinking of coming to live at the family home, gave me a silk screen water color that she painted in class. She is studying to be an artist, but is very shy about her work. She is really talented, and I pray that she will be a great success in whatever she does.

Valya, who has returned from her mission trip to Africa (see blog below), cut Masha's and Ilya's hair last night, so we were having "make-over" time as well as English lessons. And Nicola (pictured above), an American who has taught English at one of the universities here, brought Easter eggs for everyone and shared her testimony. After the testimony, which was really amazing, Tatiana said she could not believe that the young woman standing in front of us could have been an alcoholic and drug user during her teens and early twenties. Tatiana then said, "It is amazing what God can do in someone's life. You are a testimony to His great work." Wow!

Today will be a busy day as I move my luggage to Vera and Vova's for transport to the airport at 3:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. They are also planning a birthday bash there tonight; and I will have tea this afternoon at Natasha and Little Anya's new apartment. I got my suitcases packed last night, and yes, all you chocolate fans, one is full of candy - oh, and some really amazing teas I discovered this trip. So pray that no hungry, thirsty luggage inspectors check me out too closely!

God bless you, and keep me in your prayers. Also, Greg, Susan, and Jonathon Furr will be leaving Saturday morning about 10:30, and Patty Adams hopes to get a flight out on Saturday as well (she flies standby because her hubby is a pilot and she gets really cheap tickets, but has to fly standby, so we're never sure when she's coming or going - that didn't sound good!) so keep them lifted up as well.

From Russia with sadness,

Nancy

Saying “Goodbye” to Dormitory 35

I know it’s been a few days since I last wrote, and this event took place on Monday night, but it is hard for me to talk about (or write about) these experiences – I’m just too emotional right now. Part of it is that I’m physically and mentally tired (okay, I admit it, I’m exhausted!), and part of it is that, as we all know, it is hard to say “Goodbye.” It’s hard when you’ve only been on the mission field for one week, or two; but it’s especially difficult when you’ve been here for six weeks – I can’t imagine how those who have been here for a whole 9-month school term will do it! You spend so much time with the same people that they become like family; you travel to the same ministry sites each week and those kids become like family; your family just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and it gets harder and harder to tell them goodbye that last time.

Dormitory 35 is one of the most awful sites I have ever seen in St. Petersburg, and I’ve seen some pretty bad ones. These kids are not even on the “ladder” of anyone’s thoughts – forget the bottom rung, they’re not even standing close to the ladder itself! They have nothing. There are three young people to each room that has three single beds, two or three straight-back chairs, and one desk. Many of the kids are disabled, either physically or mentally, and no one cares whether they wake up in the morning, or whether they return home at night. More than half of them will simply, as Lucya says, “Be disappearing.” They just vanish, and no one looks for them. They just hold the bed open for a few months and then give it to someone else.

All Russian citizens have a room allocated to them – many are from family inheritances; i.e. the family has a set of rooms and one is designated for the child when he/she graduates from school. All of these kids at Dorm 35 have those rooms allocated to them, and people who like to take advantage of uneducated people drive up in their shiny black cars, hold out a bag of money and a piece of paper, and tell the kids, “Hey, just sign this paper and sell me your room; then you can have this bag of money!” Of course, the kids don’t count the money, they don’t seek legal counsel (they don’t even know what that is!), and suddenly they have lost their inheritance, and when they graduate from the dorm they have no place to go.
Little Losha (pictured here in his "new" clothes that were donated by a local church) is one of those people. He came to the family home over a year ago, but was so addicted to his cigarettes (and lying), and so enjoyed his independence, that Marina Topol, the director of Road of Life, had to send him back to the dorm. She and others had thought that once Losha got back to the dorm he would want to return to the security of the family home, but it didn’t work out that way. You see, orphans don’t look at the world like those of us who had the security of a family and home do. They see you, you take them in, they begin to trust you and love you and depend on you, and then when something goes wrong and you punish them, they see it as another abandonment, someone else throwing them away.

Losha will graduate this spring from the dorm and he has no place to go but to a social hotel. This is like a hostel and is where ex-convicts go to live when they get out of prison, where prostitutes live and do business, and where drugs are the norm. On Monday night, Lucya asked Losha would he please return to the family home and he said, “No. I want to live at the social hotel. It will be an adventure.” I think he’s scared – I know I would be – but he’s afraid to again put his trust in us. He sees his being returned to the dorm as our failure, and maybe it is.
Losha, Olga (pictured above with Lucya), and Natasha (pictured below) walked us to the metro from the dorm, because they wanted to be with me as long as they could since it was my last night with them. Losha had sat beside me all evening, tickling me, trying to make me laugh; hugging me at unexpected moments; just making a general nuisance of himself (and I loved every minute of it!). As I stood in the metro saying goodbye to these three precious young people, I grabbed Losha, hugged him, and then placed my hands on each of his cheeks and said, “I love you! We all love you! I will miss you. Do you understand that?” He said, “Yes.” I then told him, “Quit smoking those awful cigarettes because they are killing you in here (I pointed to his chest).” He smiled and nodded; and then I told him, “And beautiful Christian girls don’t like to kiss handsome men with bad cigarette breath!” He again smiled, nodded, and hugged me one last time.

My main rule is that I don’t cry in front of the kids. I want them to remember all of our time together as happy times. That’s why I carry tissues in my pocket the last week; why I cry on the escalator going down to the metro train; why I cry myself to sleep each night. It’s an emotional time, and it’s going to get harder each day. Tonight (Thursday night), I have to say goodbye to the kids at Dormitory 70 – another tough one! Then Friday night I have to be happy as we celebrate my 54th birthday and then cry myself into exhaustion on the plane Saturday as I return home.

Saying “Goodbye” here on earth is hard – isn’t it wonderful that we will never have to say “Goodbye” in heaven! Once we get “home” we’ll be there forever and ever, never having to shed a tear, or wave goodbye, or hug a child for perhaps the last time. Thank You, Father God for the blessings of this trip, and I will always be thankful for the precious lives your have let me be a part of.

From Russia with Love,
Nancy

Thanks, Karen

I just wanted to take a minute to thank Karen Bull for her faithfullness to read the blog and make comments. So often when you post or publish something like this, you are never sure if anyone is out there reading it! Karen has always made a comment or asked a question, so I know that she (if no one else) is reading along and enjoying my journey.

It's good to have faithful, Christian friends, and we can all look forward to her blog when she, her husband John, and their four children come to St. Petersburg to live as Road of Life counselors next September. TALK ABOUT A CHALLENGE! They will need your prayers for sure!

Nancy

Winding Down – 10-9-8-7-6...

It’s hard to believe my time in St. Petersburg is almost done. I have missed everyone back home, but it is going to be so hard to say “Goodbye” this week. So many special people have helped to make this trip a memorable one. Of course, I couldn’t have done any of God’s work without the help of two great translators – Lucya and Anya. I have known them both for over four years, and feel that they are two of my daughters. We talk to each other like mother/daughter, and share many thoughts with each other. I will truly miss them, and the light that they have been in my life these past weeks.

Anya has been offered an internship with the Childrens’ Ministry at Second Baptist Church in Humble, Texas, and we will have more information on that in the next few weeks. Pray that she will see God’s will for her life, as she seeks His guidance in this decision as to whether or not to live in the US for the summer. (Photo: Me, Liza, and Anya at Child in Danger)

Lucya (pictured with Roustik from Child in Danger) is beginning her own ministry, separate from Road of Life. It has been a hard decision to make, but circumstances that were ordained by God have made it easier for her to see His will in many things that have happened over the last few months. As she has spent many hours in Bible study and prayer, God has shown her His great plan for her. She will begin to do work searching for the children to become a part of the transition/family home ministries that are available here. She has so many wonderful contacts and God is opening so many doors that will allow her to see those young people who are in need, and hopefully have a home to place them in. She will be working closely with both Road of Life, based here in St. Petersburg, and also with Reflections of Hope, the ministry that sponsors Gary and Pam Austutz out of Ohio. It is her prayer that God will continue to place the desire in the hearts of Americans to help sponsor more of these homes, so that we can help to save many of the young people who are disappearing each year.

Meisha, who will graduate from ROL this May, shared in his testimony this past weekend how when he graduated from the orphanage and was offered a place at ROL, he declined, because he wanted to live in the dormitory with his friends. But over the next year, as he watched more and more of them simply disappear, never to be heard from again, he realized that suddenly he was alone more and more, and he sought out the safety and hope that was available through ROL. Please pray for the counselors, sponsors, and residents, as well as the transition and family home ministries, that God will continue to provide for more living quarters for them, and for more counselors to come to help teach them how to be productive, Christian men and women.

From Russia with Love,
Nancy