July 23, 2002
Today was the breakthrough day for me. In the morning I read 1 Peter 2:13-25, which discusses submission to authorities- that they might be won over by good conduct. Well, in the spite of my silent protests of what has been happening over here, for I perceive that there is
perhaps more selfish focus on ourselves during this trip than should be (that we are here
for some benefit of our own and not simply to serve) I resolve to lead by example and count myself nothing, that I might see others blessed in Christ. When I was asked to help- I would, and would go the extra mile. When I had negative
thoughts about a site, or people, I made an extra effort to dive into
ministry and encourage them all the more, through God's power. God's
Word applied in my life through the Spirit made the day- and saved the
day. It started off rough- the bus was in an accident and did not
arrive, though a replacement came an hour late. From there we went to
a hospital, which was very receptive and happy to see us. My group
ministered to approximately 10 women and 3 men. The women were so glad
to see us, and very interested in us as well as the Gospel. My team
would show our pictures from home, detailing our families, where we
are from, and then spend time passing out the Gospel Bead Bracelets
and telling them the message of salvation. The meetings were a little
rushed, as we only had slightly more than 15 minutes per group, but we
were able to minister to and personally visit more Russians this way.
The men were the last group we visited, and while they responded well,
they were not quite as receptive as the women. After the hospital
visit we ate lunch and took off for a baby house, where young orphans
were being kept. The orphans were about a year
to three years old and were SO cute! My favorite was a precious
little one named Eliza (Elizabeth). After the little ones were
done taking naps they would all go over to a room and sit on a little
plastic pail to do their business. I immediately picked one up
who had just woken and played with him, holding him for a while, until
I released him to go potty. I then went in to take pictures of
some sleeping babies, and returning, Eliza saw me just as she was
finished on the potty. She let out a squeal, and ran to me, arms
held high open wide. I then let out a little squeal of my own
and ran to meet her and swoop her up in my arms. I, as well as
those around me, were delighted and I enjoyed time holding her and
playing with her for the next several minutes. All the babies
were precious, though some just didn't smile. We continued to
play with different ones for quite some time, and I knew that there
wasn't one person who was heartbroken when we had to leave.
Before this visit I went on a specially assigned mission from our bus
captain, Ward. He spotted a group of Russian teenageers playing
guitars, hanging out, and umm, well, smoking some interesting stuff we
weren't quite sure was legal... I was assigned to lead an elite
team of JMM workers to infiltrate their ranks and present the Gospel
to them. They asked me to play the guitar for them, once they
were tipped off by some of my colleagues that I play guitar. I
played the best I could on a beat up old out of tune guitar, but they
were complementary. We shared with them, and they told us that
they already believed, which may or may not be the case. At
least I know that seeds for Christ were planted and that was our duty.
They wanted to spend more time with us (there ended up being about 10
total) so I got some of their numbers and told them I'd try to call
them so they could shop some with us (I didn't, after the advice of my
interpreter was given about the group). We headed back to the
baby house to go minister to the infants there. I was actually
challenged by one of the members of my group (gasp), who wasn't sure I
belonged in with the babies! I couldn't help but be drawn to
them and love them. These were orphans who were taken care of
fairly well physically, but simply did not have enough time being
played with and being held. There is a direct correlation, I was
told, between early brain development and the love received as a
child. This broke my heart and I wished there was more I could
do, so I seized the moment to care for them while I could before I had
to leave.
It was later that evening when I found that a Russian
minister in the Moscow area needed an acoustic guitar for a praise and
outreach band he is a part of in his outreach and worship ministry for
AIA. Through funds God provided me, I was able to find, buy, and
give away a very nice Russian guitar and case I found with the help of
Artyom, one of the local JMM staff. An equivalent guitar and
case probably would have cost several hundred in the states, but here
in Moscow Artyom was able to bargain the price down to less than a
couple hundred. It sounds so good- I can't wait to lead worship
with it, and I can't wait to give it away. It's a beautiful red
and black guitar, so it was officially named Red Raider by the staff,
after my prodding. To all my Tech friends out there- yes I do
have school pride, even though I know that Tech is only the second
best university in the nation (behind KU, of course!). Well, I'm
getting sleepy, and with so much excitement ahead and behind, I'd
better not neglect my body!
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