June 12, 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

You are probably wondering if we are still in Moscow after about a three-month period of silence. Sorry about that, but it really seems like we just blinked and the time flew by. So much has happened over this period that I am sure a single letter will not do it justice, but let’s try to get caught up.

When we last wrote it was March, and we were right in the middle of Lent. Well, Christ has risen! He has risen indeed! It is a little late, especially since a few weeks have passed since Pentecost! Let’s fill you in on what is happening here in the ministry of the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy. This past month a family in our soup kitchen had tragedy strike them. They are a mother, let’s call her Gallina, and her daughter, let’s call her Irja. They are both homeless and are considered disabled by the Russian government. Because of this they are able to take part in our ministry. One day Irja disappeared. She was found two days later beaten and in a coma. Her mother stayed by her side until she passed away at the age of 32. She was a sweet young woman who knew quite a bit of English. Bob would see them periodically on the metro and always enjoyed seeing the wonderful smiling face of Irja.

A few days later we had a memorial service for her at the soup kitchen. Nearly a dozen volunteers from all over the world (United States, Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, Brazil) came to give their respects to Irja and share their sorrow with Gallina. Bob was able to pray and preach a short sermon based upon Jesus’ promises to gather the children unto himself. For many of the clients and the volunteers, it was a unique opportunity to hear of the hope we have in Christ. It was also a great opportunity to demonstrate the true ministry of MPC, which hopes to feed not only the physically hungry but the spiritually hungry as well.

April was a difficult month for our members of color. April 20th is Hitler’s birthday, and it is a day that people stay off the streets here in Moscow. Amazing that in an industrialized country such events can’t be controlled. Our students who stay in dormitories literally had to be locked into their dorms from Thursday the 18th, which is Lenin’s birthday, until Monday the 23rd.  If they wanted to leave the dorms they had to sign a waiver saying that they would not hold the university responsible if anything happened to them. That is the reality in which we live, and in which we preach the reconciling gospel of Jesus Christ. We heard of three people that were beaten during that time. One of them, an Ethiopian named Emmanuel, received a broken nose and a broken leg. Since he does not have insurance, MPC was able to find resources to ensure that he received a cast and the medications that he needed to recover fully.

We have good news to share as well. Our social ministries are really taking off—not only in the increase of material resources and goods that we are able to distribute, but also in energy and vision. We just hired a development director to be responsible for raising funds to take our outreach to a new level. An idea we are tossing around is having a single center where people could come for a soup kitchen, medical attention, clothes distribution, spiritual guidance, and food packets—a one-stop social service center. It is still in its beginning stages but we have the attention of the Lutherans here—they have a potential space—and some other potential donors who think it is a viable opportunity.

The church experienced a wonderful year. With the coming of June many of the families retreat back to their dachas or their home countries. We are so thankful for what we were able to be a part of this year. On Pentecost we had 13 choirs representing 13 different countries. They all sang songs in their native languages. We had choirs from the United States, Russia, Ukraine, Malawi, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Korea and Japan. It was exciting and amazing all at the same time. All were proclaiming the glory of God, just like on the original day of Pentecost.

It has been an exciting time in the life of the church. We continue to baptize adults who are recognizing for the first time what it means to become a disciple of Christ, attend church, and be a part of the family of God. Over these past couple of months we have had four adult baptisms and one infant baptism. It has been exciting to see the growth in the church.

Stacy continues to lead a mid-week women’s Bible study and is continually encouraged by the way women from every country join together to challenge one another to grow in faith. Our life experiences are different, but the love of Christ binds us together in unity. She will take an active role in the leadership of an additional study group in the fall. This new group will study Breaking Free by Beth Moore, which is familiar to many of you.

Now for the girls. Their school just got out a few weeks ago. Grandma Bronkema was in town to witness their last days of school, and then we took off for St. Petersburg by car. That was an experience. The main road between the two most important cities in Russia would make a Putnam County Road look like a major highway. We were stopped on the way for going a little too fast and actually ended up being taken to a police station in a little town called Tver. There we were—Bob, Stacy, Rachel, Naomi, Bethany, and Grandma Bronkema—in a building that was so decrepit that it probably hadn’t been touched since WWII. We paid our fine and after about an hour were allowed to leave. It was an exciting beginning to our trip.

St. Petersburg was beautiful, such a contrast with Moscow. Surprisingly, it is also more dangerous for foreigners because of the large number of ultra-nationalists who reside there. We really enjoyed our time at the Hermitage and Peterhoff. We also enjoyed many walks along the beautiful canals. The girls absolutely loved it and were hard pressed to return to Moscow, which is so urban and chaotic in comparison.

Rachel is going to take a big step this summer and go with a friend from school to a Russian summer camp run by a Russian church. She has a great desire to learn Russian, and we know this will be a big help. She continues to play tennis and was on the principal’s list for straight A’s every report card period. We are very proud of her and looking forward to what her eleventh year will hold.

Naomi is grateful that school is over for the year, but walked away with almost all of the blue ribbons at field day. She made the honor roll every report card period and got a special award from her Russian teacher in front of the whole school for being the student with the best attitude. We had her whole class over at our house for her birthday in May, and she had a blast. Mom and dad took a couple of days to recover after that and decided that once was enough, no more whole-class parties!

Bethany did a great job in first grade and loved every minute. She received a special award from the music teacher and was recognized for her love of writing stories. She is really looking forward to July when all of the girls and Stacy will be helping our Presbyterian colleagues here in Moscow at a Russian summer camp. They will be camping out in tents and sleeping bags and speaking Russian for 10 days. It will be a challenge, but we hope they will learn a lot.

We continue to pray for you, and we hope that you will pray for us. Next month we will be sending out our one-year anniversary letter. We will also include an attachment for any who might be interested in helping to sponsor our ministry here. We are so grateful to all of you.

We remain your servants in Christ,

Bob, Stacy, Rachel, Naomi, and Bethany Bronkema