In church this morning the pastor preached on the theme of forgiveness. After the sermon several people stood up to share how God had been speaking to them about forgiving someone in their life. One man even shared that the night before God had spoken to him in a dream about forgiving a man who had wronged him over 20 years ago. These were some moving stories so during a break I asked one of the church members about what I was hearing. He reminded me that this was “Forgiveness Sunday.” This past week Russians celebrated “Pancake Week” or Maslenitsa (literally translated “Butter Week”). This is an old Russian tradition where they eat “blini” or pancakes (similar to our crepes) all week as they prepare for the Russian Orthodox equivalent of Lent when they are supposed to refrain from these foods. In the Russian tradition this week was a time of festivals with eating, drinking, and the famous Russian dancing bears performing in a Mardi gras type atmosphere. Then on the last day of the festival, Forgiveness Sunday, people would go around asking for forgiveness from anyone and everyone they had wronged during the past year.
The pastor took the cultural significance of “Forgiveness Sunday” and reminded each of us in the service about Biblical forgiveness. We ended the service sharing communion together -- a vivid reminder of what it truly means to be forgiven for our sins.
Visas
We now have work visas which enable us to stay in the country and not have to travel to Spain or Finland every year to get new visas as we have done in the past. We still have to renew these visas each year but this can be done in country. This involves the process of getting a medical exam which shows, among other things, that I do not have leprosy. The process takes several weeks and we are suppose to get our renewal on March 11. However, we just found out that our paperwork is being delayed. Pray for all these documents to be processed quickly so that we can get our renewal and not have to leave the country for an unexpected visa trip.
Tyumen/Tobolsk
Bob will be traveling to Tyumen and Tobolsk March 6-9. In both churches he will be conducting surveys using the Natural Church Development materials. The goal is to help the churches identify areas of ministry where help is needed. Bob will travel back to these churches later in the year to present seminars to help facilitate the church’s strategic planning.
Glad News Church—Moscow
The church we work with here in Moscow continues to grow. Every Sunday there are 70-80 people gathering together for worship. This past month 3 people demonstrated their faith in following Christ by being baptized. Pray for the leaders as we begin to pray about a new church plant for later this year.
National Church
We are here in Russia at the invitation of the Russian national church that we have partnered with since 1993 (Evangelical Christian and Missionary Union). It is our desire as a mission to help the Russian church development into a missions sending church. The national church will be electing a new president this month. This is a significant stage in the development of the national church, which we helped start 15 years ago. Pray for wisdom and unity for our Russian brothers and sisters for this election on March 27.
Benjamin
Benjamin has had a busy month. For President’s weekend he joined five of his dorm mates from SPU and loaded up into two cars for a drive to San Francisco. They ate in Chinatown, drove down Lombard Street (“the crookedest street in the world”), stood on the Golden Gate Bridge, and camped in the Redwood forest before heading back to Seattle for classes. “Road trip” has a whole new meaning in our family!
Benjamin also celebrated his 20th birthday on February 28th. You can still send him birthday greetings at merrill89@gmail.com.
Michael
Michael is keeping busy with homework (at least that is what he tells us!). Pray for him to have times of rest during this stretch of the school year. He has been able to stay healthy and his knee is doing great. He is looking forward to the school retreat the first weekend in March. Pray for Michael as he is challenged in his spiritual walk.
Timothy
Timothy just finished the basketball season playing on Hinkson Christian Academy’s middle school team. For their last game they played the US State Dept. school here in Moscow (Anglo-American School). At least all the players spoke English. And Timothy's team won!
Timothy will be traveling with Lisa March 24-28 to escort Michael back to Russia for Spring break. Timothy is planning on returning next year to Black Forest Academy to begin high school. Pray for him during this trip that he could reconnect with friends and get a feel for the school as he has been gone for the past two years.
Thank you for your support and prayers for our family and ministry in Russia. We know many of you are facing difficult times during this crisis. Your churches have had to cut back, many letting go of pastors and staff in order to keep the church open. Some of you have even lost your jobs and are learning to trust in the Lord in new ways to meet your needs. As you pray for us be assured that we are praying for you as well. We understand some of the hardships and difficult decisions you are facing. Since the beginning of this year our allowance was cut back 17% due to a shortfall in giving to the Great Commission Fund, which is how we are supported here in Russia. We have now received word that starting this month our allowance will be reduced again by 5%. Like many of you, we are cutting back and trying to get by on less. God is good and has always met our needs. We stand with you in trusting God during these difficult days knowing that He uses times like these to open doors and opportunities to share our faith with those who live without hope.
