A Postcard from Russia — ‘Our Girls’

November 28, 2009March 27, 2020Leave a comment

We have mentioned this before, and it’s high time to introduce you to Zhenya, Anya, and Natasha. Just about a year ago, we were in the US when three young ladies from our church, on short notice, needed a place to stay for a few weeks. Well, that ‘few weeks’ has turned into a year of blessing.

We are now like family; even at church the girls are referred to as Канртеллы (Cantrells).

We just celebrated a fine Thanksgiving meal with them and other friends and family, where Olga’s grandfather, Orest Maximilianovich, played the piano (see the picture below).

— Zhenya Kopushy has degrees in Education (Russian language and literature) and Physics (thermodynamics). For six years she taught at a Christian school and is now working with a Dutch mission at Hospital #15 for street children. She leads intercessory prayer at our church.

— Anya Kazak is originally from Belarus. She is studying to be a teacher of deaf children and is also teaching at a Christian school. She is the leader of the children’s ministry at Street Cry.

— Natasha Pavlova is a counselor at Crimson Sails, a Christian children’s shelter in St. Petersburg. She has as degree in architecture and worked for several years at an architectural firm before joining the staff of Crimson Sails three years ago.

Zhenya, Anya and Natasha bring life and joy to our home. We continue to argue with them about who is the most blessed by this arrangement! This is clearly a God-given family, and we are so thankful.

Orest Maximilianovich Grotin, Thanksgiving 2009, at the very piano on which he learned to play over 80 years ago

Early in the morning

November 28, 2009Leave a comment

This is from Liz Hulley, a friend and co-worker here in St. Pete. She has a great blog; I encourage you to visit it.

———

Who likes to get up on a cold, dark morning? Not me…although in the summer I would probably find another excuse.

But as I was going about my morning routine, an excerpt popped into my head:

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance…” (The Gospel of John, 20:1)

What does morning mean to you? Perhaps it includes a lot of moaning and groaning before you begin your day. But how many wonderful discoveries have been made in the morning! The main one, of course, the discovery of our Risen Lord.

That is my encouragement for the day. 🙂

Communism in America

November 5, 2009Leave a comment

Here is a true American communist. This interview is presented on Russian state television — Russia Today.

Missions to the Far North

November 2, 2009Leave a comment

Here is an update from Street Cry, our church in St. Petersburg. Please visit the Street Cry site to learn more about the great work that God is doing through the ministry.

———————————————–

Our School of Ministry graduate and missionary to the Far North of Russia, Arkady Ledkov (photo on the left; we wrote about his evangelistic work among the nomadic people of the north in the March 2009 issue of our newsletter) spent the summer of evangelism with us in St. Petersburg actively participating in all of the street evangelism events. Then after the summer season ended here, he joined a team of Canadian missionaries for his next trip with the Gospel to the nomads of the tundra. Here is his report:

This time we started from Salekhard city – the capital of Yamalo-Nenetsky Autonomous Region. The goal of this trip was to visit new believers who accepted Christ during our previous trips, encourage them in the Lord and bring humanitarian aid to them. At the same time, we purposed to visit new villages where no one preached the Gospel yet.

Therefore, we rented a boat and went down the Ob River from one small village to another, from one camp of reindeer shepherds to another. There are actually no roads or way to reach them besides the Ob River.

It was a wonderful time! We fellowshipped with the reindeer shepherds; they hospitably received us in their tents (called “chooms” in the local language) and introduced us to their families. We showed the Jesus film and distributed evangelistic literature. God’s presence went with us. And the nomads opened not only their homes but also their hearts to us!

In one place, we were guests of a family of seven and as a result of our visit, all of them repented and accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. I cannot adequately describe the joy that we all experienced! Continue reading →

Challenge

November 1, 20095 Comments

Here is another encouraging post from Liz Hulley, a Stoneworks missionary in St. Petersburg —

—————————–

Looking back at previous blog posts, I noticed that I often post something from Oswald Chambers in October. I wonder why that is. Perhaps the autumn brings about a kind of desperation that makes me reach for something uplifting.

“The challenge to the missionary does not come on the line that people are difficult to get saved, that backsliders are difficult to reclaim, that there is a wedge of callous indifference; but along the line of his own personal relationship to Jesus Christ.

‘Believe ye that I am able to do this?’ Our Lord puts that question steadily, it faces us in every individual case we meet.

The one great challenge is – Do I know my Risen Lord? Do I know the power of His indwelling Spirit?”*

I don’t have a problem asking myself “What would Jesus do?” I think it is a good idea to follow Christ’s example.

However, we can get into a pattern of striving to make ourselves like Christ, by our own means.

Maybe it’s better to ask ourselves, “Do I trust God in this situation? Have I surrendered this to Him, or am I still trying to do it all myself?”

*Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest -reading for Oct. 27th

A Postcard from Russia — Apples, Mushrooms and Berries

September 4, 2009March 27, 2020Leave a comment

The end of the summer is upon us, and now is the time of harvest and of looking forward. The apples, mushrooms and berries (and carrots, peas, cucumbers and potatoes) are plentiful.

Last week we were at dacha again for Olga’s grandmother’s birthday; she is 77 years old this year. On that day, August 28, eight years ago I proposed to Olga in the garden there. Each year since we’ve been at dacha to celebrate the birthday. It’s a blessing that we can have time with family. Olga’s grandfather, Orest, is doing fairly well, in his 90th year.

God continues to bring new opportunities. We look forward to telling you over the coming months about a few things that are on the horizon. MIR is doing well, Stoneworks is growing, our ministries in Belarus and Montenegro are increasing, new workers are being called to work along side us, and key relationships are growing deeper. We are thankful for the fruitfulness that God brings.

In His love,

Mike and Olga Cantrell

Undiscovered Russia — 1912

August 25, 2009Leave a comment

I recently ran across a book published in 1912 entitled ‘Undiscovered Russia’, by Stephen Graham, an English traveler. The quotes by Merezhkovsky are particularly noteworthy. It’s very interesting to read in light of the tidal wave of revolution that was to break upon Russia just after this was written —

PREFACE

Russian life is not known in England. The Slavonian land is not so far away but that the picture might have been visible had it not been for the dust raised between us in these years.

Russia is not a land of bomb-throwers ; is not a land of intolerable tyranny and unhappiness, of a languishing and decaying peasantry, of a corrupt and ugly Church that at least may be said right away in the forefront of this book.

The Russians are an agricultural nation, bred to the soil, illiterate as the savages, and having as yet no ambition to live in the towns. They are strong as giants, simple as children, mystically superstitious by reason of their unexplained mystery. They live as Ruskin wished the English to live, some of them, as he tried to persuade the English to live by his “Fors Clavigera.”

They are obediently religious, seriously respectful to their elders, true to the soil they plough, content with the old implements of culture, not using machinery or machine-made things, but able themselves to fashion out of the pine all that they need.

But they have all the while been doing this, and have never fallen away as the English have. There is no ” back to the land ” problem in Russia, nor will there be for a hundred years.

The Liberal press and the revolutionaries would like to educate the peasantry to give them a vote. They would at the same time place no restraints on Russian manufacture and the freedom of town life, and so once more betray the country to the town and rush into all the errors of Western Europe. Continue reading →

Trotsky

August 23, 2009Leave a comment

Here is a series of videos with Christopher Hitchens and Robert Service discussing Trotsky, whose actions 100 years ago continue to affect millions (if not billions) of people around the world. I hesitate to put Hitchens on our site, yet there is value in hearing other points of view. I’ve read quite a few of Service’s books and have enjoyed them.

It’s in five parts —

More Good News from Street Cry

August 18, 2009Leave a comment

Our church, StreetCry, continues to do great work in St. Petersburg. Here is a portion of the most recent update. Please visit the church site to learn more about the ministry.

Our School of Ministry graduates Natasha Bakshaeva and Kirill Borodichuk (you may read their testimonies in the March 2009 and December 2008 issues of our newsletter) have a burning desire to bring the Gospel to young people lost in homosexuality just like they were before encountering the transforming power of Jesus. So they go witnessing to the places where such kids hang out in St. Petersburg.

Recently they met a girl named Nastya who came from Moscow to St. Petersburg University to study. Nastya was touched by their testimonies and genuine interest in her life. She came to our evangelism coffee-house, then to a mid-week service and repented of her sins and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. God is changing her day by day. Now she often joins us in witnessing during our street concerts.

It has become more ‘exciting and challenging’ this year to conduct street evangelism concerts – as the official permission from the government (which has been required for several years) has been declined numerous times, and when the odd time occurs that we do get permission, the authorities have come to the concerts trying to find fault in our permits.

But with a lot of prayer, faith and perseverance the band and personal evangelism teams continue to go out preaching the gospel. As a result hundreds continue to hear the message of the Kingdom and many are responding and getting saved.

After one concert our worship leader Nastya Bosonogova (in the photo on the right) spent 3 hours talking to a girl visiting from Murmansk named Yulia. Yulia is a vocalist, too and sings in her college band.

Here is some of her story: Continue reading →

A Postcard from Russia — Home Sweet Home

August 16, 2009March 27, 2020Leave a comment

The other day I came home to a pleasant sight: Olga making jam from gooseberries she and babushka picked at dacha. We’ve done a lot of traveling this summer, and it’s nice to be back in Russia for a bit. We’ve recently spent time at Elama, been at dacha, and visited with teams from the USA. August is holiday time in Russia, so things are slowing down a little.

For the past several months we’ve had three young ladies from church living with us — Zhenya, Anya, and Natasha. We’ll tell you more about them soon. They are all very strong believers, good friends and have become members of our family; the people at church now call them Kantrelli. Our home is full of life. We truly have a sweet home.

Natasha visited dacha with us and learned how to mow grass. I think we’re the only people in the village with a lawn mower; we always have interested neighbors stopping to look at how the machine works, many have probably only see one in the movies.

Many of you know that I am the executive director of Stoneworks International. We are seeing much growth. Also, this fall Stoneworks and Spring of Revival are opening a Family Home in Minsk: a residential program for graduate orphans. If you’d like to be on the update email list for Stoneworks with reports on our work in Russia, Belarus and Montenegro, please visit here to sign up.

We give God the credit for all the good He does in and through us. We hope you, too, will see these good things and give praise to our Father in heaven. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him.