October 1, 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

We have decided that this time of year is by far the most enjoyable in Moscow. We are experiencing what is called “Babiletta,” which means “grandmother summer.” It is in the low to mid 70s every day. With the leaves changing color, it is the perfect time for a walk in the park or a round of golf, which Bob gets to experience thanks to one of our parishioners.

Helping asylum seekers

So much has happened at MPC since we last wrote. We have had some great successes over these past few months. Months ago, we mentioned that the U.S. embassy had given the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy the status of an NGO, and we were thus allowed to refer people to the embassy to be resettled as refugees. The first person we referred was turned down, but the second person, a young woman from Ethiopia, was accepted. She has an amazing story. Politically active in Ethiopia, she was arrested and tortured for two weeks, then let go. They were coming after her when she escaped to Moscow, where we found her. Now she will be going to the States. Once we hear where she is going to be resettled, we will let you know so that you can welcome her. This was one of those moments in ministry when you know that your work really does make a significant difference in someone’s life, even a life-or-death difference.

The soup kitchen and the Hungry Duck

On September 10, 2007, to much fanfare MPC opened up its first mothers and children soup kitchen. We had a host of dignitaries from the Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Korean Presbyterian, and Baptist churches present. It was quite a celebration, with our first client involved in cutting the ribbon and all the dignitaries receiving gifts from our army of volunteers. It was exciting to see a project for which we had prayed, hoped, and worked hard come to fruition. 

The new soup kitchen is located where the “Hungry Duck” first operated in Moscow.  I hope that most of you don’t know what the “Hungry Duck” was. It was considered the most notorious of all night clubs in Moscow. It was amazing to hear from someone connected to the soup kitchen how his life had been transformed because of his relationship with Jesus Christ. Being present at the opening really allowed him to realize how much he had come full circle. From a place of debauchery to a place where hope is given. I can’t get over that image. I love the symbolism.

Closing of the parish center

In the midst of the firsts and the successes we have also had some bad times as well. On September 1 our parish center was closed “temporarily” to allow the tax police do their work, and then we were supposed to get back into business. Well, “temporarily” stretched out until the end of the month. We just heard from the owners that they do not want us back again. That means that our office space, the place of refuge that we offer daily to people of color where we have seven computers on the Internet, a library, a recreation room, a room for resting and relaxing and Bible studies, and a place that is considered the nucleus of our ministry has been shut down. We are now desperately looking for a new place to occupy. It has seriously hampered some of the most important work that we do. We are convinced that God has another place for us to go, and we are working hard to find that place.

The church is full again, as people have come back from the summer. We have a number of new families. We had a new-members dinner the other night at our home and the variety of people represented there was amazing. We had the ambassador of Nigeria and his family, a diplomatic family from Indonesia, a diplomatic family from Ghana, and an American Marine. It provided some very interesting and lively conversation. We are truly blessed at MPC to have people of faith who consider each other as family in spite of their many differences.

The girls

Rachel has been striking out on her own quite a bit lately. At the end of the summer she went with a friend to a Russian church camp and absolutely loved it. She has spent many evenings with school friends and is becoming a wonderfully mature young lady. Being in middle school this year was probably more of a shock to her parents than it was to her. She is totally taking it in stride and loving some of the independence and responsibility that comes with that step in her life.

Naomi enjoyed her first week in fourth grade before heading back to the States with Stacy to attend Stacy’s grandma’s funeral. Although it was a quick trip, they were thankful for the opportunity to be with the family. When they returned there was a little black puppy face peeking out of their carry-on bag. Rachel and Bethany were completely surprised and thrilled to welcome this new member into the family. Rosie has learned many tricks, taken many walks in the park and is a joy to have around. Naomi is making tremendous strides in her guitar. We finally found a Russian teacher for her, and she is learning the classical guitar and yet able to maintain the contemporary style and songs that she loves. She is enjoying fourth grade and continues to beat the boys in running races and soccer games.

Bethany is enjoying second grade and the fun of being back in school. Like Naomi and Rachel, she is attending a Russian music school. She goes to piano lessons twice a week and joins other students for a theory class on Saturday afternoon. The girls’ theory class is quite an experience. The class is made up of our three and their three Korean friends from school. The teacher is Russian, and as you can imagine the mix is quite funny at times. Bethany is loving her new pet and is able to share in the daily responsibility of caring for this little puppy.

That is pretty much all from Moscow. Grandma Bronkema will be coming back to visit us in the beginning of November. If over these next few years any of you think of coming our way, November seems to be the best time for ticket prices. We were able to find a roundtrip ticket for under 600 dollars from Florida. Not bad. Our doors to you remain open. Please pray constantly for God to provide us a space where we can relocate the Parish Center.

We remain your servants in Christ,

The Bronkema family