From Russia with Love - March, 2008
posted in Missions, Eastern Europe |From Russia with Love
Newsletter: March 2008
Eileen R. Emch
Prestoncrest Church of Christ
Dallas, Texas
Eileen’s Website
Last Wednesday was little Natasha’s last day at the nearby orphanage. After a flight to Moscow and visits to the U.S. Embassy for a visa, she headed to the States with her new parents. Adoptions are fairly routine at the orphanage here, a home for 100-some abandoned babies from infancy to five years. But Natasha’s adoption was especially poignant because of her special needs.A dear couple from Atlanta, Georgia learned about Natasha from an agency website. They have three boys – 10, 13 and 15 – and had been wanting to add a girl to the mix. After meeting Natasha and seeing her spunk and smarts, they’re confident that she’ll fit right in.This adoption reminds me of our spiritual father and his invitation to join his family. He offers to repair our hearts, our souls, and our wounds but gives us freedom of choice. Imagine Natasha refusing such an opportunity.Imagine her saying, Prove to me that America exists. Those passports could be fake and this all a hoax. Besides, I’m comfortable right here. If I go with you, that means more surgery, more therapy and more pain. No, thanks. I’m happy just like I am.The idea of refusing an adoption is so absurd it’s almost amusing but yet in the spiritual realm, that seems to be the norm.Well, Natasha’s new parents are devout believers and they joined us on a recent Sunday for worship. Our congregation gave them a warm welcome and offered special prayers as they prepared to take Natasha home to Atlanta.Population Bulge: Speaking of babies, perhaps you have read about Russia’s baby boom. The surge is government-sponsored in hopes of reversing the population decline. Russian families are being offered significant financial incentives for raising a second child and so national families are adopting too. Out on the street, pregnant ladies are blossoming everywhere. And this is a good thing: It means more children to invite to our children’s Bible classes. Now we need more Christian families to do their patriotic duty. . .
Across the Border, Visiting Jeremiah’s Hope
Finally, finally, finally I made it to Mariupol, Ukraine to visit Jeremiah’s Hope, also known as the Transitional Living Center (TLC), a program for orphanage graduates. This fine ministry is a work of a congregation in Mariupol and several members are employed there.
The focus of the TLC is in helping youth transition from institutional life in orphanages to independent living. In general, orphanage leavers are an at-risk population and many turn to crime. Jeremiah’s Hope makes a difference, providing support and guidance while the young people are enrolled in trade schools, learning job skills.
Fifteen or so young folks call the TLC home and it’s a family setting with guys’ rooms on the west end, girls’ rooms opposite and common areas in between. This wasn’t my first attempt to visit. June of 2006, I was all set to go with two others from here – Nadya Aleshchenova and Artash Adriasov – when those plans went out the window because of a family emergency. So Nadya and Artash went on by themselves.
Nadya made the trip with me this time though, which made it twice as fun and half as stressful even though the trip was only 5 hours by bus. Tagging along with someone who knows the ropes is nice, especially the first time. Our trip across the border was a necessity because of my needing to re-register my visa by February 1st. That involves exiting Russia and re-entering with new immigration documents for the local OVIR office. Who knows, that law might be outdated already, as visa laws tend to change.
Back to Jeremiah’s Hope, a dream for our congregation here in Rostov, is to offer such a program for orphanage graduates. How nice that Andrew Kelly has already blazed that trail. Andrew, from the Hillcrest congregation in Abilene, Texas, was one who got the program up and running. And then there’s Lance and Debra Atchison, newlyweds and fellow Prestoncrest-supported missionaries until recently when they returned home. One of their good works at the TLC is the top-notch computer lab where the kiddos can develop skills for this tech-savvy world. Thinking about visionaries such as Andrew, his bride Jenny and Lance and Debra and others, I find it positively energizing to rub shoulders with the mission-minded youth of Generation Y.
New Visa Challenges
My visa expires Wednesday, April 3rd and just yesterday I booked the exact flights I wanted thanks to Delta.com – with brief layovers in Atlanta to visit little Natasha and her new family there.
As mentioned earlier, visa laws are subject to change and, sure enough, the visa changes we feared last fall seem to be in place, as per my November newsletter. It sounds as if most expatriates here are adversely affected, except for those on student or employment visas and, of course, those who have managed to obtain temporary residence permits. But most one-year visa types are affected including religious activity visas, such as mine.
Our mid-range goal is to get me on an employment visa, employed by the church here. Dear Gheorge, our church administrator and Artash, our preacher are working on all that, fortunately, because being approved to employ a foreigner involves considerable red tape. We’re hoping that by 2009 that approval will be in place. Until then, it looks as though we’ll be going with three-month visas. That makes for more travel, more expense and more wait time but it’s certainly better than the alternative – three months in Russia, three months out and then repeat for a year. So I do request prayers for the visa adventures ahead.
A Few Highlights
- The Sisterhood: Dear sister Amal’ put together a sisters’ dinner February 16th for our women’s Bible study group. Amal’ is from Morocco and has lived in Russia seven years. She prepared foods from her homeland and shared photos of her family. Amal’s heritage is so diverse – one parent is Jewish, the other Muslim; her first language is Arabic but she’s fluent in French, English and now, Russian. Amal’s contribution to our congregation is so valuable and we love her more and more.
- Father Abraham: Artash leads our Wednesday evening Bible study of Genesis. We are moving through the life of Abraham at a camel-like pace, slowly and with lots of discussion and background. What a rich, deep book has been preserved for us in the book of Genesis.
- Children’s Class: The Patriarchs has also been the theme of our children’s Bible classes. We have 4 to 8 children usually. In the winter, two great little girls came along several times, neighbors of co-teacher Frieda and her grandchildren. All was well until the parents decided we surely must be a cult and have stopped the girls from coming. We hope that they’ll be able to come this summer for our special program.
- Several friends attend regularly, study with us and are considering becoming Christians. That would be Karina, Artur and Dima, all young working folk.
- Our prayer group meets every Saturday for two hours, as it has for years. Brother Gheorge leads the little group and sister Frieda diligently maintains the notebook of prayer requests. Lots of people request specific prayer and often we pray for those overseas too. What would I do without this precious little group and their prayers on my behalf. . .
Prayer Requests
I do have several prayer requests – several dozen, in fact – but here are priorities: 1) For my upcoming visa trip: that a visa will be approved, for safety during travels, for positive routine medical visits and for the time with loved ones and supporters. 2) For our children’s class during my absence: It happens that co-teacher Frieda will be gone to her homeland of Armenia at the same time. We need someone to teach our little ones in April and early May. 3) For our upcoming all-Russia Christian conference in Moscow. That it will be well attended and a spiritual feast. 4) Our June program: I’m concerned about finding translators for our guest teachers. 5) One prayer, already answered: Last Thursday my landlord and asked me to vacate the apartment ASAP. I was basically numb with that for a few hours but agreed that I would move in late May. Not to worry though. The next morning the landlord called back to say that they decided not to divorce after all, wouldn’t be separating and so I could keep the apartment. And I said Thank you dear Lord. Thank you a hundred, thousand times.
Upcoming Events
My visa-renewal trip: April 2 or 3rd through May 8th.
May conference in Moscow: All-Russia Christian conference in Korolev, a Moscow suburb, May 9 to 11. Tim Brinley and the Moscow congregation(s) are leading that. Keynote speaker: Timothy Pownall from Pepperdine University. Also Dino Roussos, Athens, Greece – and fellow Prestoncrest-supported missionary – has been invited along with several others. Theme: Reconciliation.
Special summer program: The week of June 15th, four wonderful Christian sisters from Oklahoma and Texas will be with us for children’s classes each morning and a women’s program each evening. We will be richly blessed by their visit.
Singing School: The Russian-Ukrainian singing school is pending, as per Clint Steery. Plan A is for the school to meet in Kiev area, early July. Here is the website: http://www.christiansingingschool.com
Those are the highlights. Thanks so very much for your prayers and support and love. Did I mention that I’ve finished nine years here in Rostov – currently in my tenth? God is good and He is merciful and He never fails. And Prestoncrest, my beloved sponsoring congregation is absolutely the best. I am richly blessed, indeed.
S BOGom, ((Go) with God),
Eileen
Blog address: Visit my blog at http://russiawithlove.blogspot.com for a taste of life in Russia.
Photos: The latest are posted at http://community.webshots.com/user/eileena110.
Mailing address: You can send letters and such to me at Prestoncrest Church of Christ; 12700 Preston Rd, Suite 210; Dallas, TX 75230-1824 or directly to me here: Russia; Rostov-on-Don 344 022; Semashka 99/248, Kv 7; Eileen Emch.
Telephone: First, dial the international access prefix (check the front of your telephone book), then 7 (for Russia), 863 (Rostov city code), 250.0171 (my place).