This post concerns our day on Saturday, October 13. I am playing "catch up" with the blog, and am beginning to wonder if I am repeating myself. :) Please forgive me if I have. We were able to teach from 10:00 AM until 1:30 PM at the Bible School in Uganay (still not sure of the spelling). Apparently we will be teaching on some week nights and on Saturdays. This, and the number of students, is different than what was represented to Pastor Graham. We taught three students (Alexander, "Serg," and Ann) and the administrator Olga. What I know about the three students is that Alexander was incarcerated at one time; "Serg" is an auto body worker; Ann is a civil attorney and single mother of a daughter. We began with praise and prayer in Russian. Pastor Graham began with Bibliology; I finished with an introduction to Christology. We kept it simple, remembering to not assume too much about the knowledge level of our students. A very good time; the students (grown adults) were responsive and participated well. It is a joy to see Christians in other countries yearn for the pure milk (Russian: moloka) of the Word.
After lunch we had a youth meeting at the church (50 yards from the Bible school) with four youth (young persons?) between the ages of 13 and 15. Saib has been used of God to bring the other three to the church. We call him "Saib the evangelist." We had Veta (13), Dima (15), and Eugene (15) as well. Alexi led and then Pastor Graham and I engaged them with many questions: Why do you think you are question? How can you know you are a Christian? How do you win your unbelieving parents to the Lord (Dima raise this question)? Pastor Graham is totally in his element with this age group. This group has designs on turning a room in the church into their own space.
On the way home with had a simple dinner with Alexi and Kata and their two daughters Arisha (3 years of age) and Alicia (9 months). They live in a one-room flat on the 4th or 5th floor of a run-down graffiti-marred apartment building. We sat with this delightful couple for probably two hours in their 300 - 350 SF apartment. Imagine one room for a family of four. Not so bad, when the children are very small, but increasingly difficult as the children grow up. The result: marriages in Russia struggle when space is limited and marital intimacy is hindered. This is the stated cause for the failure of many marriages in Russia, even among Christians. Nonetheless, Alexi and Kata could not have been more hospitable. It is very evident that they love the church, each other, and their two girls. It is difficult to convey the joy and love that filled the little flat. They laid out a spread of chicken soup, bananas, desserts, and chai. Pastor Graham encouraged both them, Alexi Pavlenko, and another Kata (i.e. Kate or Ekaterina) to assume leadership and initiative in the church. We hope to visit with them again soon. And I will post pictures soon.
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