Estonia Arrival!

We all arrived on Saturday evening in Estonia. The Tallinn airport is nice and has only 14 gates! It was a quiet modern airport and easy to get around. We had all our bags and were in a van heading to Johvi within 40 minutes. The trip from Tallinn to the Kohtla-Nomme orphanage near Johvi is was about 2 hours. We stopped half-way to eat some shish-kabob called “Shalik” on our way. We didn’t arrive at the orphanage until nearly 10pm. We were settled in rooms and briefly met the director who was leaving on vacation and needed to be in the airport at 3am. All of us as the staff that were there met around a table for tea to introduce ourselves and allow them to ask questions. All they knew was that some “English” people were coming for a visit! So we explained that we would be here a week and that we were Americans from Texas. We built relationships that evening, but I had really planned to have a meeting like this on Sunday afternoon, not the night we got in! But they had questions and wanted to know more about us. It was about 12am before we got to bed after being up about 30 hours!

Sunday we went to church and worshiped together for about 2.5 hours that morning with a group of about 40 members. Our new friends prepared lunch for us at the church that afternoon. We met with Pastor Artur Pold that afternoon. He was leaving to go to the USA on Wednesday so that would be the only time we got to see him. Later that afternoon they took us around Johvi and we visited some waterfalls pouring into the Gulf of Finland. It was a nice day to do this and with some snow still on the ground in piles, it created a temptation to throw a few snowballs!

On Sunday evening we met with the head counselor and the schedule told to us on Saturday evening was changed. She coordinated with the Sillamae orphanage on the timing on when we would come. For most orphanages, it is better for them for a group of visitors to come in the evening. So, there were competing time slots. Nevertheless, we worked it out and we travel to Sillamae 1 hour to work with those kids from that orphanage from 5-6pm. Then travel to Kokla-Nomee from 6-7pm. Eat a quick dinner and then begin our program with Kokla-Nomee orphanage from 7:30-about 9pm. Then we sometimes get to have some social time with the older kids in the orphanage who are not interested in the crafts that the younger kids would do. It’s a great way to reach them.

Sunday was a great day, but also a day of rest from the long trip. We were excited to begin our activities the next day!

The Grog and The Light

A game we played at Child in Danger was called “The Grog”. A blindfolded “Grog” would try to freeze tag kids coming into a room with a hidden flashlight. The flashlight was in 3 pieces. They had to find the pieces, put them together to make the flashlight work, and shine it on the “Grog” to make him melt away. The kids loved being chased and it reinforced our Bible lesson about how light can make a dramatic effect on a dark place.

This week, we are making a dramatic effect in a dark place. We have experienced some unusual hardships, changes, and disruptions. Our newly formed SAC Prayer Team is activity praying for us while we are on mission. Many that receive the SAC Prayers Request e-mail update are also praying for us. These prayers are making a difference!

On Friday, October 16, we made plans for a tea for the older children at Child in Danger. It gave them an opportunity to be more grown-up with and activity that interested them. After an hour of talking I asked them if they wanted to know why we had come. They all responded yes. I told them about our missionary work and then I asked if they would like to know the simple story of how to have eternal life. Again, they all responded yes. I gave a simple presentation of the Gospel. I asked them if they would like to pray and receive Christ and have eternal life. They all responded yes! Four kids were saved that evening at Child in Danger! The light of Christ made a difference in a dark place.

At Lomonosov Children’s Hospital on Wednesday, October 21, when doing crafts with the kids. I shared the Gospel beginning with a flashlight. I asked them what it was. “A flashlight”, they all said. I then tried to turn it on and it didn’t work. I asked them why it didn’t work. After some investigation, they discovered it didn’t have batteries. I picked up a pencil and asked if I put that in the flashlight would that make it work? They responded noooo! I picked up some coins and dramatically tried to put them in the back and I asked would that make it work? They responded noooo! So I reached in my pocket and put in the batteries. It worked! The flashlight needed the right thing inside to make it shine its light. I then explained in the same way you need Jesus to allow God to shine His light in the world. I explained how they could receive Jesus and carefully explained that a prayer would be the start of a relationship with him. I prayed and 3 of the 6 kids said they prayed to receive Jesus. Again, the light made a difference in a dark place!

At the Boys Home in Petrohof, the week has been an attempt to tame the wild. Probably it’s better to say it’s something like herding a school of fish with a couple of little nets! These at-risk boys at this school have never been visited by a foreign team. Nothing went right on the first day. There was more cooperation in the comedy classroom classic TV drama called, “Welcome Back Kotter”! Our approach on Tuesday had to be changed radically. The Bible Study lessons I had written were dismissed. We had Pastor Andre explain the Gospel directly to the kids using bead bracelets. A grab of bracelets lead to some older kids have 4 or 5 bracelets on their wrists. Other kids had none, but the message was shared despite a very disruptive environment. Wednesday was a bit better. I had made up a schedule of rotation between Games, Crafts, and Bible Lessons. I split the older kids from the younger kids, but some still floated in and out and with other groups. In the Bible class, I had brought on of the guys from the Drug Rehab Center to give his personal testimony. The kids were surprised. In the younger group, I had about 16 kids listen intently as he shared his testimony of drug use, prison, and a messed up life until he found Jesus. His testimony was in Russian, but you could hear a pin drop as he shared. The boys sat quietly for 20 minutes! After he finished, several of the kids surrounded him and shook his hand or gave him a hug thanking him for coming to visit them. It made an impact. Most of the older boys didn’t show up, but one boy did and Victor shared. This one boy was amazed listened and asked many questions. Slowly, the light of Christ is beginning to make a difference in this dark place!

At the same time, the peace of God has come upon me and I feel that things are going well and we are doing what God has set before us.

More Changes!

Our first day of ministry in St. Petersburg brought more changes. Why should I be surprised? It’s a mission trip and you are supposed to be flexible!

We all went to Children’s Hospital #15 this morning ready to meet kids and do ministry. After several delays, we were finally in the activity room to begin a craft at 11:45am, however we would only be given until 12pm and then we would need to leave. Our team was able to minister to 8 kids with a craft project that took most of the time. However, as we were making plans for the next day, we were told that Americans need to have a ten day quarantine! They were afraid that some of us would be carriers of the swine flu and they wanted to make sure their children didn’t catch it. It seems that the hospital had a bad experience a couple of weeks ago that caused them to make this new rule in the past few days. So, since none of us have been here for 10 days yet, we are ineligible to come back. Again, it seemed that we were knocked out of our planned morning activity. Two weeks ago the Crimson Sail Shelter canceled due to government activities with the kids, and now our back-up plan to minister at the Children’s Hospital has been thwarted. Change and flexibility… that’s the essence of a mission trip!

Later that afternoon, we all ended up at Child in Danger. There were 13 children waiting on us to do activities. They were a great group! We were able to do a craft together, play some games, and lead an age appropriate Bible Story with the kids. We attempted to get them to memorize the focus Bible verse, but only one child was able to memorize the Russian verse from a small poster. Of course, more kids became much more attentive once I gave two Dum Dum pops to the one boy! We explained that we would be there all week and ended our time together in prayer.

During our craft, I was able to talk to the director and found out that 7 of the younger kids are at an age where they don’t go to school. So, with that we decided to come to the Child in Danger Shelter in the morning, play with the younger kids, go to lunch, and then go back and minister to all the kids with crafts, stories, and Bible Stories. So, now all is well and we will be spending all our time with the kids from Child In Danger. That a change I can do!

The other major change is the weather. Today it began snowing as we arrived at the Children’s Hospital. As we came in the snow came down harder and harder. By the time we had to leave, the snow was almost blowing sideways and was beginning to stick on the grassy areas. The sidewalks were full of slush and our coats were getting wet. It snowed for more than 5 hours! It was the big thick flakes that are great for making snowballs. Of course, you know what happened next!

Certainly there are lots of changes here. I’m sure there are more to come!

Last Day in Sosnovo

Time goes quickly and the last day was upon us too soon! We started off with our Bible Story, but today it was going to be a Gospel Presentation. Lots of kids in Russia have seen the Gospel Bead Bracelets as a way of presenting the Gospel, but only a few from the Day Center knew the meaning behind the colored beads on bracelets they would make later in the hour. I’ve done this presentation before know that I have to be simple and quick as there are always distractions. This was no different, but the kids were attentive and listened as I spoke and Pastor Slava translated for me.

As I was explaining all the beads, I was praying that the Lord would give me the right words to say that would be translated in a way they could understand so that they could know Jesus. I also tried to determine if it was right to lead them in a prayer at the end for those that wanted to be saved. Sometimes I don’t as I don’t feel the attention of the group is right or if the hearts don’t seem to be open. However, this time the stage seemed to be set just right and I sensed the kids having an open heart to hear the message. I prayed a simple prayer and then asked if any of them had prayed that prayer for the first time. I was glad to see six hands go up! I felt these were honest confessions and that they had wanted a relationship with Christ! I was so pleased!

After our presentation, the kids made Friendship Bracelets with the color beads as a reminder of the meaning behind the beads. The kids also memorized the verse from John 3:16 and were awarded prizes for memorizing the daily verse. Then we added up the number of stars each kid received during the week and who would win prizes. Winners were selected and presented at the closing.

We were treated to a short show of songs, dance, and a cute skit! Then it was time to award the winners of the week of competition. Five winners were selected and the kids got more that a piece of candy for their accomplishment! Four of the winner received a framed picture and the winner of the memory verse competition won a soccer ball! That soccer ball was very treasured and he had all the SAC Team members sign it as a memory of the event!

After this the kids were presented with t-shirts that I was able to round up. They were leftover from a previous mission trip and there was enough to give to the kids at the Day Center as I had no room in my bags to bring t-shirts like I normally do. In each bag I placed a copy of the ‘Book of John’ in Russian that Pastor Slava had on hand in the storage room. The kids seemed pleased, although it was not as much as what we had given before. But no one complained… even when the t-shirt wasn’t their size. Nadezhda, the Day Center director also presented us with hand-made gifts from the church.

A few days later after we had left, Pastor Slava had stayed in Sosnovo to attend Sunday services. He told me that 4 of those 6 had come to church that morning! They were seeking! The young preacher who had come to Sosnovo to preach was surprised by the number of youth that had come to the service. Pastor Slava told me that he adjusted his message to address these youth that had come! They are now talking about starting a youth ministry at the church!

The long term work of a dedicated Day Center director, noticeable building improvements, the happiness they felt participating in the events of the week caused hearts to change and the fruits of Christian labor to be manifested! “Slava Bogum” (Praise God!)

Sosnovo Improvements

In the four years we have been coming to the Day Center, it has always been cold inside. Often the kids and all of us would keep our coats on because the electric heaters could not keep the drafty old building warm enough. It was also very costly to run these electric heaters. Well, that all changed this week!

Recently the city of Sosnovo had been given money from the central government for the region that was used to make improvements to the city infrastructure. This included remodeling several city building, making street improvements, and connecting building to a central heating system operated by the city. In Russia, it’s more normal for public buildings to be connected to hot water pipes that run throuogh radiators in the buildings. This is how they heat most of the buildings. In Sosnovo, the public building had not been connected to the city hot water system and therefore had none of this heat. The week we were doing ministry there, city workers were installing hot water radiators in each of the rooms in the Day Center! Now the kids can truly come to a safe AND warm place and not have to keep their coats on! This will also allow Nadezhda to open up other connecting rooms that has a ping pong table (that SAC purchased a couple of years ago) and she can monitor all rooms with doors open. They couldn’t keep the doors open before as they couldn’t afford to heat those rooms. In addition, this will save the Day Center in electrical costs and reduce some of their expenses in a troubled economy. The new heaters should be turned on this week!

Another problem was the huge mud puddle around the entrance to the Day Center. The small area in front has always had poor drainage and when the snow melted or it rained, it would always pool up in front of the Day Center. Pastor Slava said that a couple cubic meters or gravel would be a big help and cost only about 1000 rubles ($30) per meter. Lenoid, the deacon at the church, ordered the gravel and it was dumped just about the time we needed to start the Bible Study… of course! But the kids once they saw the gravel they all jumped in and began to help spreading it. We only had four shovels and a couple of buckets, but somehow everyone got involved and helped. One boy named Igor had a shovel was asked by another boy for his turn to help. Igor said, “Not on your life!” He wanted to keep that shovel and help!

Two other boys in school uniforms (as some public school require) were asked to join in, and they said they had just finished working hard at school on some cleanup. Nevertheless, after putting their backpacks inside, they quickly joined in the spreading of the gravel. Within about 15 minutes all the kids had spread the gravel and there was now a path to walk on without getting your shoes wet!

The kids take great pride in “their” Day Center and were encouraged by the improvements!

Sosnovo Games!

I was a little worried about this trip regarding games. Usually on a mission trip I can bring some supplies and things to play with and leave with the Day Center, but on this trip I only had one bag that I could pack and take with me overseas and this would need to hold all the crafts, Bible Study material, and anything else I could fit in. I didn’t have room for a lot of games, so I was concerned things wouldn’t work out… but I was wrong!

There are many games that can be played without supplies! One game we played had all the kids sit at a table in a circle and place their hands on the table. But their hands had to crossover the person next to them. Then they had to slap their hand in order around the circle. Sounds simple enough, but visually the order is confused when you have the hands crossed. I think the kids could have played this game for hours! They loved it and there was no supplies needed.

Then we had them in a room and we had them mill about. We would call out a number (in Russian) and they would have to make a group according to that number. Well, that game got pleasantly violent as kids grappled for one another to create a group. You will see on the pictures the kids in a clump on the floor having the best of time!

One of my favorites is a game I call “Head Plant” although that’s not the real name… its just the name I gave it! The kids are in two groups of five or more. We would call out, “5 hands, 4 feet, and 2 heads” and the kids in each group would have to configure themselves so that their group had only 5 hands, 4 feet, and 2 heads touching the floor. It’s a crazy game and again no supplies were needed!

Lastly, Tina and the translators worked on a game for several days that we would do on Thursday. We had two teams and each team would roll a dice to see what number they would get. The kids in each group would run to find a paper pinned on the wall that matched that number. We placed 50 of these numbered games around the outside of the building in various order. On each numbered paper was an activity that the team needed to complete before they could go on to the next numbered game. Each of the 50 games were things like, “count backwards from 50 (in Russian of course), wrap a group member in toilet paper head to toe, or take a bite from an apple hanging from the basketball hoop.

Again, this took little supplies and required only a big imagination! A BIG thanks to Tina who led the games and created a lot of fun for all of us!

Sosnovo Memory Verse

At the beginning of the week, we told the kids that they would have an opportunity to memorize the Bible verse that we would be discussing that day to be eligible for a prize. Surprisingly, most ALL the kids joined in this competition. All of them had a great memory and they all would do this each day with eagerness! Of course, the treasure box full of candy like M&M’s, Twix, and other Russian candy that was available was certainly an enticement for all ages.

After the Bible Lesson, the kids would see the Memory Verse that Nadezhda would put on a poster so they could memorize. Pastor Slava and Sergey would manage this and get the kids to say and memorize the verse. The first day was easy… they only had to memorize Monday’s verse, but on Tuesday they had to memorize both Monday and Tuesday’s verse! It seems I had t make a couple of trips to the store to buy more candy!

At the end of the week, we had a competition for those that memorized all five verses and would be the first to recite them. We also had prizes for those who helped the most, showed the best servant attitude, and several other prizes. I was pleasantly surprised that the kids would participate in this so well and show so much enthusiasm!