February 6, 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

Over a month has passed since our last letter and during that time we celebrated our six-month anniversary of life and ministry in Moscow. Let’s get you all up to date on what is happening in the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy and its various ministries.

MPC is now able to refer to the U.S. embassy people for resettlement. Our first candidate, Saul, who has recently arrived from the Ivory Coast, was passed on for consideration this past month. Our second candidate, Tebeka, is a woman from Ethiopia. She has a husband and a 4-year-old daughter and is in the process of putting together her paper work. We are very excited about being able to provide this service, which has the potential to give hope to some who presently live in fear here in Moscow.

Soup kitchen

The soup kitchen continues its work, and we are looking at possibilities of opening a second one in the center of town near Red Square. This would be a more convenient location for volunteers from the various embassies and ex-patriot women’s groups. We currently have a whole slew of volunteers from different countries and embassies. There are also many wives of the military attachés who support the soup kitchen in a variety of ways. Included also in the soup kitchen’s support are businessmen and women who come on a weekly basis to help out. In fact, we just started a pilot project for people who work during the week through a kind of meals-on-wheels and adopt-a-grandparent program. We have one woman who works at Alpha Bank, one of the largest banks in Russia, who has “adopted” four of our soup kitchen clients and visits them weekly and brings them supplemental groceries. We are very excited about this program and think it has great potential for interaction between foreign volunteers and Russian pensioners. We will keep you up to date on the progress of this project.

We are so thankful for the presence of fellow Presbyterian colleagues, Al and Ellen Smith, and their daughters Meg and Emma. They have helped us figure out some of the more puzzling details of life in Moscow. For example, we had to change the oil in our car the other day and we were informed, by them, that you had to first go and buy your own oil and filter and only then could you take your car to the garage and ask them to change your oil. Sure enough, it was exactly as they had said.

Speaking of colleagues, we just had a visit from Gary Payton, who is our regional liaison from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and Jon Chapman, our direct supervisor, who overseas all missionaries within the PC(USA) in the region of Europe. It was great to have them with us.

While they were here they were able to see the work of MPC’s young adult and student group. They were also able to listen to the heart-wrenching stories of discrimination and violence. These stories represented the experiences of the more than 80 students and young people who make up this group. They were able to visit Friendship University where, in 2003, there was a fire in a dormitory that housed primarily African students, and 49 of them died. Many members of MPC were in that dormitory and some escaped with their lives after breaking through windows and jumping from three stories. It was a dramatic, moving visit that reminded us of the crucial role that MPC played by offering assistance to the students after the fire through the help of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance of the PC(USA).

We are looking toward the future with a number of initiatives that cause us to pause and say: “God is good, all the time.” A member of MPC has offered to fund a three-year fundraising position for the social outreach of MPC. This person would make contact with international corporations and ask for their sponsorship and help with the social ministries of MPC. This person would also look for ways to get the Russian society more aware of opportunities to volunteer their time and resources to help the suffering around them. We think much can be done to improve the active participation of the average Russian in helping the needy in the Russian society. Pray that God would lead the right person and that this initiative would be successful and lead people to come to recognize the importance of putting one’s faith to work.

God has brought many new people to MPC in the recent months. A man and his family from the Russian American Christian University have begun to attend MPC. He was a music director at a church in the states for 13 years and has agreed to help out with the music here at the church. One of our main prayer requests has been that God would send someone to help supplement the already eclectic and wonderful music that we have here at MPC. Again, God is good, all the time.

The Wednesday evening women’s Bible study has welcomed new members as a result of its move to the U.S. Embassy and the excitement of the women to study God’s word together. There are currently plans to begin another women’s Bible study in the morning at another location. We are continually encouraged by the many members who seek to use their gifts to honor and serve the Lord.

On the home front, the kids really enjoyed the three-week winter vacation they had over Christmas. A family from the church returned to the States for Christmas and needed someone to take care of their home and their dog. We were happy to oblige. They live in a community that has indoor tennis courts, a swimming pool, and a number of quality sledding hills. It was a real retreat for the family, but also a time of tremendous contrast, as Bob drove to MPC every day and faced the harsh realities of life that the vast majority of our members must deal with.

We headed to Tallinn, Estonia, for our six-month registration and took the night train there and back. We got to see the beautiful old town as well as a view of the sea from a lookout over the harbor. The kids were able to see glass artisans making their craft, and we enjoyed a final meal at an Italian restaurant that made us pizzas while the kids rested their cold feet on the fireplace. It was a day in Tallinn that we will always remember.

We are back in school now and the kids are really flourishing. Rachel’s tennis has really picked up, especially since we played every day while house-sitting. We try to go to the U.S. Embassy and play there once a week. She has made a very close friend named Jin, and they often spend the afternoon at each other’s house. We are grateful for their friendship. She continues to play the piano and has made tremendous strides since we have been here.

Naomi continues to be a voracious reader and loves to be outside and experience every aspect of the snow and weather that Moscow has to offer. Her creativity astounds us as she disappears only later to call us and say: “Look what I made.” We find her room completely, and beautifully, redone complete with hiding places and hand-crafted decorations. She continues to play tennis and the guitar and now is playing some praise songs and singing along.

Bethany loves to read and was given the part of narrator in her class skit. She continues to play tennis and the piano. At home her favorite thing to do is to cut paper snowflakes and play with our cats, Boris and White Stripe. She can find a way to include those cats in almost anything she does.

Well, that is all from Moscow for now. We would love to hear from you, and remember that there is a standing offer, if anyone would like to come and visit.

With much love,

The Bronkema family