October 18, Thursday

ESV Psalm 113:3 From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised!

I write this entry in the quiet of morning in the Far East. The sun has not yet risen over Uganay in the Primorsky Krai region of Russia, but my prayer is that in some small way the LORD's name will be praised as fruit of our trip here.


Before I forget, thanks to all you who have written and prayed for us during these first two weeks. Thanks also to my partner, Pastor Steve Graham for his good humor, consideration, wisdom, and example of a Christian man and pastor to me thus far. I have learned much from this friend in ten days. Twenty four hours a day together has a way of influencing you...  And thanks to Luda and Alexi Pavlenko for their selfless hospitality and service to us during our four weeks here. They drive, translate, cook, do laundry, make meeting arrangements, assist with internet connections, etc., to help make the time here more profitable.

Wow, what a day yesterday! It began with an early morning trip to Vlad. One of us was invited to be a speaker for an international conference on safety/environmental concerns organized by FEFU (Far Eastern Federal University). Steve spoke well, I might add!), Alexi interpreted, and we were invited to a private reception as part of the package. After the reception we had lunch with Alexi's boss Vladimir, who had arranged the invitation for us to speak at the conference. We have not yet spoken with Vladimir about his soul, but hope to at our next meal together. Every contact can be wisely leveraged into an opportunity to build another friendship, and every friendship can then be an opportunity for the Gospel. Think of the spiritual vacuum here between 1918 and 1988 and you realize the need for the power, hope, and purpose of the Gospel (think Romans 1:17). I mentioned this before, but just engaging Russians cross-culturally where you can speak honestly to one another (i.e. them) in the context of relationships is key.

On the way back from lunch we met at least four people whom Alexi had taught English to at some point or another. After lunch we took a bus tour of Vlad and the new FEFU campus southeast of Vlad with some conference participants. Many Russians want to talk with Americans (like I hope we would conversely), so we take full advantage of the opportunity. We talked on the bus and as we walked around at our stop at the new campus.

We finished the day with one of our many classes with Alexi. Alexi is an English instructor at FEFU. This is the second week we have had time with his Thursday night class from 6:00 - 8:45 PM. These are good to very good students. We had six ladies - two in high school and four from probably 20 to 35 years of age. They are delightful. In fact, they have my blog address, so I welcome them if they are reading for the first time! :) We discussed: two types of Americans, why Steve comes to Russia, communication styles of Russians and Americans, types of communication, a Biblical model of communication (i.e. when speaking, speak the truth with kindness and with a sense of "Is this necessary?", and the five "love languages". These ladies get A's for their attention, open minds, sense of humor, listening, attempts to master English, and their patience with us as we butcher their native language with our attempts to speak Russian. I was honored when one of them asked if I would proofread and offer suggestions for her letter to a German university as she seeks admittance to one of their graduate programs in physical chemistry. I'll return that to her next week. In two weeks (Thursday, October 31) we hope to speak about the Reformation and its impact not only on Europe, but the whole world.

Steve and I leave in four hours for another trip to Progranichny. Steve has been invited to provide the message at a wedding there tonight. My first Russian wedding! Pastor Oleg (from that city) will pick us up and bring us back either tonight or in the morning. Tomorrow morning we have another three hour session with the Bible school. Pray for us to teach wisely in our limited time.

- Mark for the team