A Quick Overview of Mike’s Work

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As I’ve been posting pictures of Montenegro, I realized that people may not know what I really do other than see beautiful places on a regular basis. So, I thought I’d write a note about what I’m up to these days.

For those who don’t know, I am the Executive Director of Stoneworks International, a small American mission organization that has projects in Russia, Estonia, Belarus and Montenegro. I’m also the chairman of the board of МИР (MIR), a Russia charity I helped found about 11 years ago. And, I’m a founding board member of Päikesekiir (Sunbeam), an Estonian charity that’s in the process of establishing a day center for children with disabilities in Northeast Estonia.

Here in Montenegro, I’ve recently done some preliminary planning for a mission team we’ll host in May. I’m spending time with ministry leaders and co-workers, as well as with Olga’s sister’s family. In the past, I’ve helped several short-term mission teams run summer camps here; I hope we’ll run another this coming summer. And, having an internet connection, I continue to communicate with partners in other countries.

In Russia, our ministry faces a variety of challenges, including financial short-falls and a staff in transition; I’m in regular contact regarding budgets, staffing, vision, etc. MIR has just finished a successful summer, and we’re thankful for that. I’ve also been helping a couple, Yan and Nadya Boldyrev, as they transition their orphan ministry to work more closely with us. I’m also in talks with Teen Mania about a 40-person mission team they plan to send to Russia and Estonia next summer.

In Belarus, I primarily help in decision-making regarding the future of the ministry, and I help assure that reporting (financial, ministry) is going smoothly. Other Stoneworks board members are active in helping the ministry in Belarus. Of course, the staff of our sister ministry, Spring of Revival, is great and serve selflessly. Recently, I helped our co-workers there get Estonia visas, and I look forward to the time when our friends in Estonia will meet and partner with our friends in Belarus. The ministry staff in Belarus are facing a difficult time these days; the culture is under siege and the financial markets are very unstable.

My work in Estonia continues to grow. The biggest project is Sunbeam, a center for children with disabilities we plan to build in Johvi. Right now, the city is working on zoning changes for the land they will grant to us. I’ve had several meetings with the architect, and his designs are nearing completion; it’s going to take a while to build it, but it will be great when it’s all done. I’m also in early planning for a project to build a missionary guest house in Estonia, a home where Christian workers from Russia and other ex-soviet states can take a break and be refreshed. We’ve identified a building at Camp Gideon that we hope to renovate for that project. Our relationships with people there get better and better all the time. We also now have an apartment in Estonia (our home is still in St. Petersburg), and our car is registered there, so our connections in Estonia are increasing.

This update has the word “I” quite a bit. It must be said that everything I do is in partnership with many wonderful people. In Russia, I commend Masha, Katya, Tatiana, Tanya, Yan and Nadya, Zhenya, Dima, Marina, Lyle, Peter and Liz; in Estonia, I tip my hat to Artur, Liana, Erkki, and Andres; in Belarus, the work is carried out with love by Olga, Yasha, Alesya and Masha; in Montenegro, my co-laborers are Vladimir, Marijana, and Violeta; in the USA, I depend very much on Mary Jean (who is the best!), Dave, Larry, Jill, Dan, Kirk and Phill (who is actually in South Africa). These people and many more are my co-workers for the sake of the gospel.

God sets us together as living stones, and I am very happy with the ‘stones’ among whom He has set me.

So, that’s a quick run-down of what I do. I’m also enjoying being a new father, as Olga and I are in the process of adopting a little girl who is living with us now —  a 4 year old named Valerie. And Olga and I will celebrate our 10th anniversary in November.

As I write this, I’m sitting in a flat overlooking the Bay of Kotor, on the Adriatic coast of Montenegro. Another day, another beautiful view. . . .

Snapshots from Montenegro

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We’re staying with our friends Vladimir and Marijana Cizmanski, in Podgorica, Montenegro. Here is the view from their porch last night.

We visited our friends Sergei and Christina where they are staying, in a flat on the Bay of Kotor:

And here is a quick video of Olga and Valerie swimming in the Adriatic Sea, on the beach at Petrovac. Valerie is in the yellow floatie. It was her first experience with the sea, and she LOVED it.

The Lord has blessed us with wonderful family and friends here. We are very thankful for His kindness.

From Russia to Montenegro

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Last week we made the drive from Russia to Montenegro. We traveled in two cars with our friends Sergei and Christina and their twin girls. Here is a photo record of the trip. (You can see a slideshow/video of a previous trip here).

We started early in the morning from dacha in Russia. Sergei said his goodbyes to Olga’s grandfather, Orest Grotten.

Olga posed for a portrait with her grandparents, Orest and Ludmilla

Orest said goodbye from the kitchen window

We packed up our cars and headed out!

The sun came up as we headed South, past Pskov to the Latvian border. Continue reading →

The Wounds of War

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Recently we were at dacha, Olga’s grandparents’ house in a small village named Dolgovka. The house is well over 200 years old. It was clearly built by a wealthier family; the house is one of the largest and was built with high-quality materials and workmanship. Now, it’s run-down and needs a lot of TLC.

One interesting part of the history of the house is how it weathered WWII. In October 1941, the German army moved through the village. In early 1944, the German army retreated along the same route. The Germans used the house as a headquarters. It’s interesting to think of German soldiers sitting in the chairs we still use.

There were battles in the village, and the house still has shrapnel damage from bombs and shells that fell nearby. One lady who was living in the house at the time died from shrapnel wounds. I took some pictures of the damage that remains:

This is an upstairs bedroom door. You can see two places where shrapnel pierced through.

Here are two scars in the eaves of the house:

This is a hole in an interior wall. A few years ago I dug this piece of shrapnel out of the log wall opposite.

This scar is on the door of a wardrobe.

And this is the upstairs gable. The elongated holes are gaps between siding boards, but all of the round holes show how shrapnel peppered the building. One was not safe in a wooden building during a battle.

 

I Had a Proposal to Make

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Ten years ago today I proposed to Olga in the garden at dacha. We’re at dacha again, just like 10 years ago, to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday today.

Earlier that morning Olga and I both felt God’s clear call for us to be married (she had a dream and I had a miraculous revelation as I was praying), so we both knew that I’d ask her to marry me that day.

Before I proposed to Olga, I asked Olga’s mother to bless our marriage. She had to sit down when she realized what I was about to do! After she gave her blessing, I gave her a camera and asked her to take a picture when I proposed. She was crying and it was hard for her to focus on us as she stood on the porch overlooking the garden.

It was a film camera and by the time we developed the film I’d forgotten that she took the picture. It turned out pretty well:

By the way, this was the first time I told Olga that I love her. We were both guarding our hearts and following counsel from Elisabeth Elliot in her book Passion and Purity: only say ‘I Love You’ when the next sentance is ‘Will You Marry Me’. It’s good advice.

A Postcard from Estonia

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I (Mike) have just seen the fulfillment of a dream. For the past two years we’ve thought that it would be great to send children from Russia to a Christian camp in Estonia. Well, it’s come to pass: MIR, in partnership with Love Russia UK, have sent 43 foster children and 6 Estonian orphans to Camp Gideon, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland. A team of about 30 from the UK met the children and have been running a two-week camp. Interpreters from Russia are also serving there. The foster parents also went to camp, and it’s been a GREAT help to them to have a holiday in Estonia.

Russians have a saying — the first pancake is always a mess. So, while things have not been as smooth as we would have liked, the Brits have already committed to doing the camp again next year.

The Russian government changed laws making it more difficult for MIR to send children from orphanages out of the country, and this is one reason we had to stop the hosting program to the US. However, we are able to work with orphans in foster families. This looks to be a fruitful part of MIR’s work from here on.

MIR has several new things coming up and yet is going through a tight time financially. We’ve been in the situation before: hard times that are accompanied by new growth.

Please keep us in prayer as we discern what God has next for MIR and the ministry in Russia.