A Tale of Two Countries

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campers, high above the Bay of Kotor

Montenegro is a beautiful country filled with beautiful people. I spent two weeks there with a mission team from Athens, GA.

Meanwhile, Olga and Valerie had an eventful time in Russia. In addition to time at dacha, they attended a church retreat and have been quite busy.

Kristi came later and so missed this picture

In Montenegro, the team included four young ladies (Alex, Caitlin, Kristi and Missy) from the Wesley Foundation and Jane Kilgo, and older lady with great wisdom and experience. Montenegrin friends were very involved in the trip: Maša Simonović, Marijana Cizmanski and Vladimir Cizmanski. The team focused on ministry to women.

Siniša and friend

The team served in a variety of ways, mostly in the capital city of Podgorica. We were very glad to make a connection with the Roma ministry led by Siniša Nadazdin (at R with one of the Roma girls). The Roma are a culture unto themselves. They are quite separate from the surrounding Montenegrin culture, Muslim refugees living in ‘temporary’ housing built 15 years ago. Siniša began ministering there a few years ago and has built a community of believers. It’s a good work, and I’m very glad we’re getting to know them.

In addition to a few meetings with the Roma, the team led a youth camp for young ladies from the Roma ministry and from the Brethren Assembly. We had 3 days at a lovely house in Kaminari. The theme of the retreat was Inner Beauty, and the team encouraged the young ladies to walk in God’s ways. Our primary function is to support the local ministry and build relationships in order to communicate the love and truth of God. Here is a picture of a group discussion:

ministry by the sea

university ministry

The team also served in Nikšić, a university town an hour from Podgorica. They helped Danijel Petkovsky in his university ministry where they met with students for Bible studies and English clubs. Several university students also joined the team on an outing to the mountains. They also help Stan and Vicky Surbatović in a variety of ways at their ministry center/home (and got some gardening done!).

All through the trip, Jane and Marijana met with ladies in the church for times of prayer and counseling. Many people in Montenegro carry scars (war, generational issues), and Jane has been a great help to many people.

The team also spent several hours after church on Sunday talking with members of the congregation: praying, encouraging and comforting as they shared scriptures and spiritual counsel. This was a very blessed time. The church is going through a transition and it was great to be able to pray for and encourage people.

I also met with the Brothers meeting, the leadership team of the church. The Lord has been teaching us all about how important it is to have unity. It’s great to be with people who are serious about following the Lord and loving Him more than anything else.

In Russia, Olga and Valerie attended a short church retreat at Camp Elama. They had a great time with a variety of fun activities that included games exemplifying breaking the darkness, fighting against sin, etc. A few people were baptized. Continue reading →

A Postcard from Russia – Dacha!

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We’ve just returned from a nice visit to Olga’s grandmother’s summer house in the country, better known as a dacha.

front of the house, apple trees

This dacha is well over 200 years old. The siding on the front part of the house is made of larch, a tree that was used for ship building (it’s known to be tough and waterproof). The siding has not rotted at all over the past 200 years. German soldiers used it as a headquarters as they were pressing toward Leningrad; it has quite a history, like a living museum in some ways.

However, the foundation of the back half of the house is pitiful. We’re not sure how we’ll repair it, but it desperately needs help. The original logs were set on large stones over two centuries ago and they are slowly sinking into the ground. We need to lift that part of the house about a meter!

May is the month for opening up dacha. The house has been closed all winter; among other things we re-connected the water system, cleaned the rooms, repaired various bits, pruned trees, removed a rotted fence, heated it up (by wood-fired stove) and started preparing the garden.

The weather was cool and sometimes rainy. It will be nice when the warm weather arrives.

Speaking of, I (Mike) go to Montenegro on Thursday to be with a team from the States. It will be great to see again my friends and family in Podgorica, and the team will serve in several different settings. I’ll report on that later.

We’re still working on US green cards for Olga and Valerie. The process is moving along, but we have no idea when we’ll be finished. Hopefully we’ll be done by the end of the summer, but we won’t know until we know.

We ask that you continue to keep Russia, Ukraine and other countries in your prayers. Leaders need wisdom in order to do the best for their people. May the Lord’s will be done in every person’s heart.

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Familiana: at Koppero

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Val took this, Holy Lake

We just returned from a nice visit to Finland. A friend has a small log cabin that we can visit just about any time we want. (Thank you, Juhani!) We’ve been going there for quite a few years now. The weather was great – cool and sunny – though the leaves aren’t out yet.

The cabin is called Koppero, the Finnish word for ‘Hovel’. It has no running water but it has a lot of heart.

In addition to some good family time at Koppero, we also visited our friend Riitta. She owns a Finnish estate, Hovinkartano, on the same lake. It’s always good to get caught up with her.

Visiting Finland feels like visiting an old friend. We really like it there. I was able to get some work done in a make-shift office thanks to modern wireless internet technology.

And Valerie made a friend:

When Val asked ‘can I kiss him?’ many thoughts ran through my mind. The primary being, ‘if Olga were standing here I’d probably say no, but since it’s just Daddy here I’ll say yes’.

Now we start to move into the very busy part of the year. Soon I’ll be in Montenegro with a mission team, then we’ll welcome teams in Russia and Estonia. In between we’ll be at dacha (a summer house in Russia). I’m helping coordinate several projects in various countries (visit the Stoneworks Ministry Map to see where we work), so there is always something interesting happening. You can see updates at the Stoneworks site.

Here are a few more pictures:

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Familiana

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I arrived in Russia safe and sound on Friday. My trip was uneventful and the border crossing was a breeze. The passport control officer didn’t say anything to me at all. I go to Estonia (to pick up my car) tomorrow, so hopefully the border crossing from Estonia will be as smooth.

We had a nice visit to the park today, so I thought I’d share some of the beauty:

Prayer for Peace from Methodist Bishops

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The following letter was sent from Bishop Eduard Khegay and Bishop Christian Alsted calling the church to prayer concerning the difficult situation in Ukraine and how it affects Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Phil.1:2)

In a time of turmoil and unrest in Ukraine and other European countries we write to You, the people called Methodists in the Nordic & Baltic and the Eurasia area to encourage You to continually devote yourselves to Christ in prayer for peace and understanding among the peoples of this world.

Many things divide the earth’s population – nationality, culture, language, economy, ethnicity, gender and age, however the kingdom of God has always been a realm that despite of all gathers people together in mutual love in Christian community. While the political winds are shifting, the church is called to be a fellowship not of this world and yet sent into this world to reflect the self-sacrificing life of Christ. (John 17: 16, 18) This is by no means an easy task, and we continue to be challenged by the ever changing circumstances under which we live, as we seek to interpret and live out what the church should be, a redeemed and redeeming community.

As United Methodists in the Northern Europe and Eurasia Central Conference we are bound together in a covenant to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Our mission is along with other Christians to be part of Christ’s redeeming and transforming work in people’s lives, in the society and in world, rather than only to be successful and recognized. To “spread scriptural holiness” is to grow together and as Christ followers intentionally influence the society “to do justice, embrace faithful love, and walk humbly with your God”. (Micah 6:8)

Jesus said to his followers: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives.” (John 14:27) Trusting in this promise we ask our churches to unite in prayer…

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace;

Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is error, truth;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek

To be comforted as to comfort;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in forgiving that we are forgiven;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

 

May we as the United Methodist Church be such an instrument of peace always reflecting the love of Christ.

Christ is risen; He is risen indeed.

Eduard Khegay Bishop of the Eurasia area

Christian Alsted Bishop of the Nordic and Baltic area

A Postcard from Russia – Pilgrims

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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 Finland

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A few times in the last week I’ve spoken with people about one of God’s characteristics: he is able to do more than we can ask or even imagine. Not too many years ago I would not have imagined enjoying time in a little, primitive cabin in Finland. Now it’s a source of great joy. In all our planning, we try to leave at least one blank spot for the thing we can’t imagine, and it may be that very thing into which God is going to call us. This helps us hold our lives loosely, trusting that God is a REALLY good shepherd, and He will lead the way. He’s led us to Finland, and that’s very good.

There’s a certain joy in visiting Finland. We love it here. I’m in Finland on my own this time. Olga and I have bank accounts in the US, Estonia, Russia and Finland. I needed to come to Finland to take care of some banking and visit friends, and a few days opened up for me to do that.

I stay at a little cabin call Koppero, next to the lake Pyhäjärvi. A friend owns the cabin and lets us stay here whenever we want. As you can see, the lake is still quite frozen. The temperature inside the cabin was the same as the lake; it took several hours to warm it up. Koppero has no running water though it does have electricity and I have a wireless internet connection. So, for a few days this little cabin is the European office of Stoneworks International (see my executive office below).

I’ve also just had a very nice visit with our friend Riitta Tarvainen. Riitta owns an old Finnish estate, Hovinkartano, and we’re very glad that we’ve become friends with her. She told me today how her local church, in the small village of Hauho, has supported missionaries around the world. It’s encouraging: God is at work in every culture, and once He begins a good work He continues it all the way to the end.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen

 

A Postcard from Estonia

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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.

Green Card News

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As many of you know, we’re applying for US green cards for Olga and Valerie. We don’t intend to live in the States full time, but we feel like now is a good time to get green cards.

Our lawyer just wrote saying that it may take another 5 – 9 months before we’d go to the States. I’m very surprised at this but the US government is taking longer than expected to process applications, and it’s just a long plain old long process.

However, this means that we’ll probably be on this side of the ocean for the summer, and that’s good. We can do a lot of work at dacha and I’ve got plenty to do in Russia, Estonia and Montenegro as we have teams coming over for summer ministry. Our lives are not our own, and we’re happy to be here if the Lord wants that. Though we’re sad that we’ll be away from our family and friends in the States for so long. (It’s been two years since we visited Texas!)

Onward!

Encouragement

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A good friend sent me a note yesterday. I had written to him, thanking him for his partnership and mentorship over the years as we’ve worked together in ministry. His letter was a great encouragement —

At church I am in a 5 person rotation for leading opening hymns and prayers and scripture. I was leader yesterday, and the Psalm was Psalm 15 (see below). Without necessarily naming these ideals specifically, I feel we have tried to live by them in our dealings, and it has borne great fruit in our lives and for the lives of others.

Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?

The one whose walk is blameless,

who does what is righteous,

who speaks the truth from their heart;

whose tongue utters no slander,

who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others;

who despises a vile person but honors those who fear the Lord;

who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and does not change their mind;

who lends money to the poor without interest;

who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

Whoever does these things will never be shaken.

 

note: I will point out that I believe under the New Covenant we are not to despise people. Our battle isn’t against human beings; it’s a spiritual battle. We’re to despise (feel contempt or a deep repugnance for) vile spirits and attitudes. I’ve experienced plenty of extortion, gossip, manipulation, etc, all of which I despise. I love the extortionists, the gossips and the manipulators. (Or at least I’m working on it.)

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8