In keeping with some other posts, here are two views of our drive through Romania. The first is through a very dramatic canyon in the Carpathian range, not so far from the border with Moldova. The second is in the foothills, approaching the Carpathians. The third video is a quick view of one part of our drive in Moldova.
In case anyone is interested, here is a map of our recent travel from Russia to Montenegro and back. The return trip took us through countries we’d never visited before: Romania, Moldova and Ukraine.
We started the trip at dacha, about two hours south of St. Petersburg. We spent the first night in a motel near Warsaw and the second night with Jan and Nada Dudas in Bački Petrovac, Serbia, arriving in Podgorica, Montenegro on the third day. We had great fellowship in Montenegro.
After two weeks in Montenegro we headed to Moldova. On the first night we stopped again in Bački Petrovac after a 9 hour drive. The second evening was spent in Sighișoara, Romania where we met some great people and enjoyed seeing the town. The next day we arrived in Socora, Moldova after driving through the Carpathian range in Romania. There we visited with the Urasinov family.
From Moldova, we crossed into Ukraine and drove through L’viv. We had no trouble crossing the borders or driving through the country, though there was a clear military presence in the country. (I didn’t have a Belorussian visa, so we had to avoid that country.) We crossed into Poland near Lublin and spent that night near Bialystok, Poland. From there we drove into Russia, spent a night at dacha and arrived home in St. Petersburg yesterday.
On this trip we visited Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Montenegro, Romania, Moldova and Ukriane. Total: 8043 km (4,997 miles). The trip from Montenegro was 3,660 km (2,274 miles) with a moving time of almost 52 hours.
The Urasinov family
We’ve just arrived in Russia after a long and fruitful 3-week trip (8043km, 5026 miles total). We spent 2 weeks in Montenegro and then visited new ground in Romania and Moldova. In Montenegro, we were able to visit family, friends and ministry partners. It was great to encourage and be encouraged by our Christian family there.
As we passed through Romania on our way to Moldova, we unexpectedly made great connections in Sighișoara, right in the heart of Transylvania. We were welcomed warmly by local believers and learned a bit about what God is doing in that area. We hope to visit again (and it was fun driving through the Carpathian Mountains).
We went to Moldova to meet the Urasinovs, a Christian foster family in Soroca, just across the Dniester River from Ukraine. Early this year I (Mike) received an email from a Norwegian believer I had met a few years ago. He’s been helping the Urasinovs, and as he was praying for them my name came into his mind. So, he felt that perhaps the Lord wanted me to be involved in some way. I immediately started communicating with the Urasinovs. My purpose in the visit was to build relationship and discern if the Lord wants Stoneworks to partner with them.
Victor and Victoria are foster/adoptive parents to 8 children and have two biological children. Victor was a drug addict who came to the Lord several years ago. They’ve now opened their home to abandoned children. Two children are currently at university and one was out of the house when I took the picture above. Victor is the pastor of a Full Gospel church (about 50 members).
They are fairly isolated. They partner only with the Norwegians, who visit less than once a year. They’ve never hosted a mission team or received help from the States. Moldova is the poorest country in Europe, and it quite an experience to visit there. Most of the population is either quite old or young; many adults have left to find work in other countries (never to return), so many children are living with grandparents and then orphaned when the grandparents die.
We really like the Urasinov family and had a good visit, though it was too short. We look forward to seeing if/how the Lord opens doors for us to pursue partnership with them.
Dniester River, Ukraine on left, Moldova on right
There is a gate on the lane leading to the little cabin where we stay in Finland. One of Valerie’s chores, assigned a couple of days ago, is to open the gate when we come and go. She enjoys it, and she’s almost a perfect counterweight for the counterweight . . . .
She actually gets some air time:
In case you haven’t heard, the ministry I direct, Stoneworks International, has a new partner in Montenegro. The R.A.E ministry in Montenegro serves the Roma & Ashkali/Egyptian population in Podgorica.
Roma and Ashkali refugees from Kosovo live in ‘temporary’ housing that was built many years ago. The refugee camp is built on the site of an old dump.
I’m very happy to be working more closely with Siniša Nadaždin, the leader of the ministry, and I am very grateful to the Lord Jesus for allowing me to participate in the fruit of these good relationships He’s given us.
We’re in Finland for a few days enjoying the little cabin called Koppero. I have a simple ‘office’ here so I’m able to work, and it’s nice to sit by a beautiful lake and enjoy the autumn weather, for the summer has passed; the days are cool though the leaves have not yet started to turn. It’s nice to enjoy a fire during the cool evenings.
We’ll go to Russia in a few days, spend about a week there and then plan to head south to Montenegro. Once again we’ll drive all the way from St. Petersburg, Russia to Podgorica, Montenegro. Valerie and I have made a list of all the countries we’ll visit on this trip. She’s drawn all the flags and will check them off as we cross borders. If all goes as planned, we’ll be in 15 countries in the next few weeks!
I also plan to visit a potential new ministry partner in Moldova with a stop or two in Romania. More about that later . . . .
Here is one of my favorite drives in Finland, a small road between Hämeenlinna and Hauho —
July – what a good month.
At Camp Elama in Russia we served with a team from Austin, Texas helping run a camp for at-risk mothers and their children, then we were at Camp Gideon in Estonia with a team from Athens, Georgia helping run a camp for children with disabilities (above). It was great to have so much time with our friends – Russian, Estonian and American. (I also very much enjoyed helping build picnic tables for camp Gideon.)
These days are very clear examples of the unity of the body of Christ. It’s a great comfort experiencing how the Lord unites us, as we love Him and serve others in His name.
My primary role is to help others do what God is calling them to do, so I’m particularly gratified serving in these situations. One camp staff member said that the team from Athens was one of the best she’s ever seen; they served selflessly with joy and unity. What a pleasure to help them serve.
I had several very good conversations with team members and one or two may intern with Stoneworks next summer. In our talks, we often returned to the truth that we must surrender our lives to Christ in order to receive life from Him:
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”
What we DO should be the fruit of our relationship with Christ, His life expressed through us. We don’t work to earn God’s favor, we work because He has given His favor as a free gift and we want others to be comforted with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
Quick link: Newsletter from Stoneworks
We’ve just returned from dacha where we moved a lot of dirt. Val worked (some) in the garden while Olga and I installed a simple drainage system; we need to get the water away from the house so we can improve the foundation. (Olga and I may start a drainage business: Cantrell and Wife — Our Work is Beneath You)
Our dacha belongs to Olga’s grandmother, and the house is well over 200 years old. It was originally set on large stones, and over the years it’s slowly been sinking into the (very wet) ground. We want to save the building, so one step is to dry it out. A few years ago part of the foundation was replaced but the most difficult work remains. Perhaps some day we’ll be able to tackle that . . . .
We found a bullet from WWII not too far below the surface. It’s a reminder of violent episodes in that little village; German soldiers used our house as a field HQ as they moved to encircle Leningrad in 1941. The old house still bears the wounds of war, battle scars. We’ve also found an artillery shell casing in the attic and a US Jeep tire pump (from 1941, part of Lend-Lease) in the workshop.
Our dacha visit was little lull in the action. A team from Austin arrives in a few hours to help run a camp at Elama for single mothers and their children. Next week I go to Estonia to meet a team from Athens, GA that will run a camp for the disabled children from Sunbeam.
I have crossed the border several times over the past few months and have had no problems at all. That has been a pleasant surprise. We continue to wait to hear from the US government regarding our green card applications for Olga and Valerie. We’ve submitted another round of documents and are waiting for them to process the docs and give us a decision; the next step, if all goes well, is for Olga and Val to have an interview at the US embassy in Moscow where they would hopefully get immigrant visas. For now, we wait . . . .
The ministry of Stoneworks continues to grow. In addition to full summer schedules running camps and conferences, many of our partners are traveling, meeting with one another, from the Arctic to the Adriatic, Baltics to Balkans. I am very thankful for the friendships and partnerships God has given us. It’s an amazing blessing to be welcomed as family in so many places. The body of Christ is beautiful.
Here’s the weather on the longest day of the year here in St. Petersburg. Note the sunrise and sunset times —
This may not look significant, but it’s a big step forward.
Earlier this week, Sergei Tovstopyat and I built an outhouse for flush toilets (!) at Camp Elama. This has been a big need ever since we opened the camp. We’ve been using the very old outhouse that was originally built for the Soviet youth camp that was on the property. It always, uhhhm, graced the camp with a wafting reminder of its presence.
Sergei and I worked for two beautiful days. It was great to have fellowship and work with our hands. We just need to finish up the septic system and we’ll be all done.
The past month has been one of constant travel. I was in Montenegro with a team for three weeks (which went very well), then had a couple of trips to Estonia with stays in Russia in between. I’m now in Finland for a few days; then it’s back to Russia and then on to Estonia in July. Every step of the way has been good.
When we crossed the Finnish border yesterday, the border guard commented that he’d seen many passports in his time but he’d never seen one as thick as mine. My passport is just 5 years old, and I’ve already had to add pages twice. It’s like a little book. It seems that many more border crossings are ahead . . . .
I had to take a picture of this menu that I saw in Montenegro. Notice the Sweet Crepe with Plasma.
Can you find Ham & Eggs and Bacon & Eggs?
Mike and Olga Cantrell 