Serving is an Expression of God's Love

November 25, 2005 Okay, the day is here at last! We fly off to Russia at 4:15 PM. This is Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. It will take us until the early hours of Sunday morning to reach the city where we will spend most of the next year. The Lord has already told us that this shall be a special year in our lives. Its been 6 years since we last lived in Europe somewhere and I feel like it’s the very first time again. I’m excited and nervous at the same time. Matt and I have never been to Russia before, though Dean has been several times now to this city. It’s the Great Russian Adventure!

This is what I wrote down the day we left the USA for Russia. I remember being so glad to get here to this city. To get to meet the people that Dean has known for some years now. They had been asking what we were like so they had wanted to meet us too. Someone put a banner in our flat to welcome us with balloons. I was so touched I wanted to cry when I saw it. We've been to most of their homes now, and the food here is great. Our life in Russia is great.

That first year I remember constantly being asked if we liked being here. They were so afraid we wouldn't like everything, or were homesick. If we needed anything, someone would help us find it or even bring it to us. We are here as missionaries to serve them, but they have just as much made themselves available to serve us.

We are sons and daughters by our new birth and we serve by choice because of His love for the whole world.

What's Happening in the Russian News

One of the top news stories today was that there were men still trapped in a mine disaster in Kimerova, Western Siberia. There is still a lot of coal mining done here but there have been a lot of safety features added to make it as safe as possible. During the time of this collapse, there was a team from England there to check out the situation concerning a new safety system they were going to put in. One of that team was among the 106 known fatalities. This has been called one of the worst mining disasters to happen here.

I heard three things that interested me on Russia Today, the English language channel that is available here. One was that since the weather is warmer than usual this time of year, there is some concern about the people that are still ice fishing on the lakes and rivers. It's a very popular sport, but with the ice beginning to thaw, they have had to rescue some of the fishermen off the ice. The article showed some hovercraft that they are using to patrol and rescue with. The people shown in the article complained that with the noise of the boats the fish are scared away. But there have been over 200 deaths in the last few years so its good to see they have a way to do rescues in a timely manner.

The second article was about a dog sled race in Komchatka, in the far eastern part of Russia. They did not say Siberia, but it could be. The race is two weeks long, over a 600 mile route.
As the contestants travel the route of the race, they will deliver toys to the children and much needed medicines to the villages. The prize for the winner?? A snowmobile!

The last article concerns a new taxi service in Moscow. Some women have reported that they have been treated badly by some taxi drivers. This got some women to thinking that the best thing they could do is start their own taxi service. It's for women and children only. Any men have to be accompanied by women. They are building their service to be professional, on time and they are using distinctive pink taxicabs.

Russian Potatoes with Carrots Recipe

This is a home cooking recipe and one of the easiest I have learned in Russian cooking. It is simply one or two carrots sliced thinly and put into a pot with water to cover. Dice 1/2 an onion if you want fresh onion - my son won't eat them so I usually put some kind of powdered onion. While they cook, peel and dice some potatoes. Add them to the pot, again with just enough water to cover the vegetables, cook until tender. Season this with some parsley, salt and pepper. What makes the different taste here is that you put two large spoons of mayonnaise in it. Use your judgment on how much you like. Only don't use Miracle Whip. Just a good plain mayonnaise. If you want to thicken it, some instant mashed potatoes will do it quick. This is a pretty simple dish and it tastes great!

* I prepared this today for lunch and I think that sour cream, or maybe some heavy cream would work just as well with this recipe, as a substitute for the mayonnaise. I have also added some diced cooked ham to it as I fixed it today. My husband really likes this one.

Missionary St. Patrick

My Father was born on this day, March 17. He passed on about 14 years ago and I miss him very much. But for most people this day is known for St. Patrick of Ireland. I was curious to see what I could find out about him, so I did a small search to see what I could find out. I was mostly looking for facts and I believe I found some of them. You can probably do a deeper search, but its not been easy to get onto the Internet lately from Russia. I have no idea what the problem is, but getting connected with websites is difficult.

According to the Catholic encyclopedia, life in fifth-century Ireland was a primitive existence. Human sacrifices and slavery were accepted. There was no common law; there was a royalty of sorts in charge of what government there was, and pagan worship. During this time a band of Irish marauders slipped into Great Britain and kidnapped a number of people intending to sell them as slaves. Among them was a 16 year old boy named Patricious. He was purchased by a local warlord and put to work caring for the man's sheep.

He became known as Patrick to the people, and in the despair and hardship he found himself in, he began to reach out to God. He found a great satisfaction in prayer and he began to pray often as he went about his work. After about 6 years in Ireland, one day he saw a vision that told him his ship was ready and he could go back home. Patrick escaped and soon found himself back with his family.

Patrick felt called to work as a missionary to the Irish people, so he entered the priesthood not long after he returned to Britain. No definite date is given for his return to Ireland, but he lived and died there among the people who had his heart. The Catholic Church formally recognized him as the Bishop of Ireland and certainly the Irish people considered him one of their own.

One source I found mentioned that the apostle Paul himself never got of the Roman Empire. It was left to those who were discipled to carry the Good News to the rest of the world. Patrick is one of the first recorded missionaries after that time. Knowing what kind of people they were after having been a slave amongst them, it was truly a love for the people as well as God Himself that must have drawn him back to Ireland. He was a true missionary.

Blessing Over our Food

And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. Exodus 23:25

Have a great day, whereever you are! DJ

The Heaven of Having Hot Water Again

Today our hot water came back on. Oh the heaven of a warm shower!

Last year as the warmer weather began to thaw the ground out, the men from the heating plant began to make repairs on the water pipes. It took them 4-5 days. The water went off on Monday and my husband pipes up: "I didn't see a notice about this in the stairwell." And Matt's comment was "I guess its time for the bucket brigade."

My husband came up with the phrase "bucket brigade". Most of us are familiar with the term being used to refer to volunteers gathering with buckets to put out a fire. To us it just simply means you heat water on the stove and take an abbreviated version of bath from the resulting warm water. Matt finds it so amusing, but I grew up in a house without an indoor bathroom, so it is nothing new to me. We had a one-bedroom house with a path!

Today I remember to thank God that we have water at all. I remember the many times 700Club or some other has spoken about having helped a village obtain fresh water by digging a well for them. The water is not the best here, but its cleaner than in most places and MOST of the time it's readily available.

I remember hearing about times in parts of Russia when there was hot water available only for a few hours a day. In recent years it is available 24 hours around, except when the system needs servicing or someone is renovating their apartment and requests a temporary shutoff.

Okay, it's my turn now for a shower. The "bucket brigade" days are over until the next time.

Thanking the Lord for His grace in all things, DJ

International Women's Day

March 8th is International Women's Day. This holiday is very well known in Europe and it is a day to honor any lady who means a lot to you. Anyway I think today would be a good day to introduce the lady who translates for us. Her name is Oksana and she is married to Andre. They have two children, a boy and a girl. They're a great family and it's a blessing to have her work with us. Dean calls her our "voice".