Category: Russia

Posts relating to Russia.

A Postcard from Russia – Pilgrims

Leave a comment

I’ve just returned from a very quick trip to Estonia. Since I’m going to the States at the end of this month I needed to leave my car in Estonia (it has Estonian plates and shouldn’t be in Russia while I’m away). While there, I’ll have some body work done on the car; here in Russia a couple of guys got into a fight when I was at a stop light and they dented my car as they were shoving each other around. Ahhh, life in the city .  .  .

Valerie is losing teeth! We’ve been learning the old song, “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth.” The picture above is of a Skype call we had a couple of days ago. Valerie and Olga are doing well. Last week saw the first ever home-school conference in Russia. It was very encouraging and helpful. We’re learning how to navigate both the Russian and American laws regarding homeschooling. Everything is good.

Please pray for the escalating crisis in Ukraine.  Many Russian Christians are concerned about the direction their country is going. This could become a very significant point of conflict. Emotions and stakes are high.

When I entered Russia yesterday, I was taken aside and questioned by the border guards. They asked why I was visiting Russia, what other countries I’ve visited, etc. This has never happened to me before, and I’m sure it happened because of the tensions between Russia and the EU & USA regarding Crimea. The USA is threatening to limit visas for some Russians. We may very well face a ‘visa war’ which could affect my visa. The next few weeks will show us a lot, and there could be changes ahead.

Aquila and Priscilla are mentioned several times in the Bible. They were kicked out of their home in Rome because they were Jews, met the Apostle Paul in Corinth (they, like him, were tent makers), traveled with Paul to Ephesus, met Apollos in Ephesus and then ended up back in Rome with a home church. Paul greets them warmly in his letters.

I take comfort from following what little we know of their lives: even when political events cause us to be displaced, God uses everything for His glory. Followers of Jesus are pilgrims passing through this world; our home is in Him.

A Postcard from Estonia

Leave a comment

I’ve just had a nice visit to Estonia. It was very nice to have a quite leadership meeting with Artur, Andres and Ursula. I hope to have some very good news about Sunbeam in the near future. Artur always seems to have some great plan in process . . . .

I received an email from a Norwegian believer, Trygve Nilsen, who I met a year ago when he visited Estonia. Two weeks ago as he was praying, he felt led to contact me about a small ministry in Moldova that he’s been helping. My heart leapt when I read his note. A pastor there, Victor Urasinov, has a small church and runs a crisis center for single mothers. They help about 15 mothers and their children. Additionally, Victor and his wife have adopted eight orphans. I’ve exchanged emails with Victor and like all that I hear from him. I may try to make a fact-finding trip there. So, we’ll see how that goes . . . .

I’m in the thick of planning multiple mission trips and helping support the workers over here. We’ll have teams in Norway, Russia, Estonia and Montenegro. I plan to be with the teams in all of those countries, so the next few months will be quite busy preparing and then traveling. More news on that later.

A friend sent a message the other day reminding me of a great truth about our God. He is a refuge in times of trouble. We do not need to fix our problems before we go to Him. He wants us to run to Him in times of trouble, to find safety with Him.

A Postcard from Russia

Leave a comment

cold

To Belarus and Beyond; All are Different, All are Loved; Faces of Sunbeam

Winter finally arrived! We had a (relatively) warm December and early January, and now we have a good full-on Russian winter. This picture was taken by my friend Zhenya Koltakoff as we were exploring in the forests north of the city.

As some people know, we’re in the process of applying for US green cards for Olga and Valerie. We thought we’d be in the States by now but the US government has asked for more documents, so we’ll file another round of paperwork and wait to see what they say. Who knows when we’ll go the the U.S. of A. . . . .

Since our last newsletter, I (Mike) have traveled a bit with visits to Belarus and Estonia. It’s been good to have time with friends (who are ministry partners). In addition to the travel, I’ve been helping Sergei Tovstopyat and Ursula Randlaine prepare for trips to the States, and I’m planning for summer mission trips. This summer we’ll have two teams in Montenegro, a team in Estonia and a team in Russia. We recently hosted a friend from the States, Seth, who was here for a few days after delivering a plane from Portugal (he’s a pilot). We love to host people, so come visit.

For the past few weeks the Cantrells have been happily at home. Valerie is doing well homeschooling, learning the piano, taking dance classes and memorizing Scripture. We’ve been getting our flat in order and even re-arranged the living room furniture.

And now from Olga: “The last month has been a little challenging, but I feel like we have passed a little milestone in Valerie’s homeschooling and upbringing. Valerie likes to memorize scriptures and do a lot of creative things. I’m learning to make bread and enjoy it very much. You know, it feels like a new beginning.”

Valerie says, “Thank you. Dad, Mom and Valerie love everybody. You’re welcome!”

Shchi – Russian Sauerkraut Soup

Leave a comment

Here’s another Russian recipe for you foodies. Here is Olga’s recipe for this very traditional Russian soup (pronounced ‘shee’)–

Ingredients

• Beef – 1 pound (or as much as you want)

• Potatoes – 3-4 medium potatoes (or as much as you want)

• Carrots – 1 or 2

• Onion – 1 small

• Sauerkraut – 1 pound (or as much as you want)

• Bay leaf

• Parsley

• Pepper

• Celery powder (spice) – a touch

• Barley (optional) – ½cup

• Oat Meal – ½ cup

• Salt

——-

1. Rinse meat and put in pot in COLD water

2. Skim off the foam as it rises, before boiling is reached

3. Once the water is boiling – add onion, one or two whole carrots, bay leaf, spices, barley

4. Cook for 1.5 hours, at low boil

5. Add potatoes, cut into bite-sized cubes

6. Cook for another 15 minutes (or until potatoes are almost done, don’t overcook)

7. Add oatmeal and sauerkraut

8. Cook for another 5 – 10 minutes

9. Add spices for flavoring

Notes:

Remove meat, cut it into pieces and add to soup, or keep for another dish

you can mash the potatoes once the soup is done.

 

A Postcard from Russia

Leave a comment

Well, well. Autumn is here and we put on winter tires just in time; we’ve just seen the first snow of the season. Many of the leaves have now fallen. It’s been a glorious Autumn.

After a tremendous amount of travel (Central Europe, Germany, Montenegro, Estonia, Finland and Norway), we are now at least settled in the same general area. I’m in Estonia for a few days taking care of some business (like putting on winter tires) and head to Russia tomorrow.

On Friday we had a board meeting of Sunbeam, the center for children with disabilities in Estonia. That program is doing very well (but is in need of financing, as is often the case). The director, Ursula, is a very good leader, and more children are joining the program. In addition to the wonderful paid staff, we also have two interns from the USA serving for several months. The leadership team is pictured below.

One VERY good outcome of the meeting is our intention to open a Christian kindergarten in one wing of the building. I hope to have more news about that in the coming months. This was Artur’s idea, and we all agree that it will be a wonderful thing to have a Christian school there, starting with a kindergarten. Continue reading →

Valerie on the Pi-a-ner

Leave a comment

Valerie is taking piano lessons:

This is the piano that Valerie’s great-grandfather Orest learned on over 80 years ago. Valerie’s teacher, Olga, is very good and, even though she’s just beginning, it’s been quite fun to watch Valerie, learning to read, write and play music. She’s recently been asking to play my mandolin, too.

Antique Maps

Leave a comment

I ran across a very interesting website. The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection has overlaid several historical maps over Google Earth.

St. Petersburg is one of the cities covered, the map being from 1753.

Click HERE to see the maps.

Milestones

Leave a comment

The past two days have seen very significant milestones in our lives, and the transitions have been smooth and joyful as we move from one phase to the next. Now is a time of rejoicing and looking to the future.

We thank the Lord for His guidance and love as we turn the page on two significant parts of our lives:

First, we are VERY happy to announce that our adoption is final. Valerie is now officially a Cantrell! We received the final court order today.

Exactly two years ago, on December 28, we picked up Valerie from the orphanage.

When she came to live with us, she was three and a half years old and spoke just three words. For the past two years, Valerie has been under our guardianship but still a ward of the state.

No longer! She is now Valerie Evelyn Cantrell, a member of her forever family.

We are so very thankful for the many prayers and other support that people have given us over the years as we’ve dealt with lost pregnancies and infertility. It’s great to be a part of the body of Christ and receive blessings from God through His people.

Also, there are changes at MIR. Twelve years ago I moved to Russia as part of a team to open a Russian charity named MIR. Through this work I met my wife and have been blessed with abundant life.

For the past twelve years I’ve been the president and director of MIR. About four years ago I stepped down from the day-to-day leadership of MIR when I became the executive director of Stoneworks International, and a couple of years ago MIR started a transition toward having fully Russian leadership.

Last night we had a MIR board meeting and finished that transition. I have resigned my position at MIR and no longer have any official tie to the organization.

Sergei & Kristina Tovstopyat

The new chairman and director is my good friend Sergei Tovstopyat. Sergei has been on staff with MIR for a few years, and he’s been the Executive Director since September. You can read about Sergei here.

We’ve agree that I’ll be the ‘grand-dad’ and continue to advise and help as much as is needed, but Sergei now is the leader and carries the responsibility for the direction of MIR. I happily hand over this role to Sergei. He’s a good man who loves the Lord and is laying his life down for the gospel.

Many people deserve thanks for their years of service to MIR: Mark Browne was the visionary who started the process, and founding board members were Alexander Kotenkov, Maria Mikhaylova, Dimitry Rozet, Mikhail Moshkov, David Hulley and Dan Wilson. Other board members have included Lyle Thomas, Zhenya Koltakoff, Larry Heller and Arkady Bizyanov.

In my role at Stoneworks, I’ll continue to support MIR in every way I can.

I’m very glad that MIR will continue beyond me as Olga and I look forward to the next chapter in our lives.