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:
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
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 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
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.
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!
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
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!”
Well, it looks like I’ve finally figured out the problem with posting pictures on this site. It took me quite a while (needed to change folder permissions on the server), but now I’m able to create posts again. Hopefully that’s the last of our ‘issues’. Goodness, I spent many hours troubleshooting that problem.
A week or so ago we had friends over for “Mexican Night” and Val helped make tortillas. (I really like Olga’s home-made tortillas.) We cooked fajitas and made quesadillas and nachos. Tough life in Russia. . . .
Here is a video of Valerie reading. She is now reading and writing in both Russian and English. Just three years ago, when she was three and half years old, she spoke only three words. She’s a sharp kid. . .
Well, here’s a video of her almost exactly three years ago (at the same desk, in the same lap) saying two of those initial three words: gde, papa (where, papa). She could also say mama. By the time this video was made (5 weeks after she came to live with us) she could also say vse (meaning, done!).
Here’s a fun moment when I was showing her how to make videos using my small camera. She was pretty excited (poor kid had a few sores on her lip).
Now that our site is working again, I hope to post more updates, news, Postcards and devotionals.
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.
Mike and Olga Cantrell 