September 2003

Dear Friends in Christ!

Greetings! It feels like a long time since I sent out our last newsletter. It has been a busy summer, and now we are already sliding into fall. School has begun for Al and the girls. Al is teaching high school math again at Hinkson Christian Academy. Meg is now in the seventh grade and Emma is in first. Finally, Emma gets to go to school five days a week. She is very pleased.

I have been wanting to write you for some time now, but couldn’t seem to pull my thoughts together. I’m not sure they’re together now, but they are running about in my head and need to get out. Mostly they are moments from the summer that speak to me about life in Russia and the deep needs around us.

Our family joined groups for two different camps this summer, one in the Tula Region and one in the Oryol Region. We love the camp season. We love being out in the Russian countryside with our fellow Christians. Russia is an extraordinarily beautiful country and the Russian people love to be out in its vast expanses. I was standing on the edge of a Russian prairie looking out over the Don River when an elderly man, part of the church camp team, came over to chat with me. He asked me if we had anything like the vista before us in America, vast expanses without fences—open to ordinary people to wander, to gather mushrooms, to pick flowers, to pitch a tent, to fish. His love of the land and its resources ran deep. Those resources have been important in hard times.

I was late for the Oryol camp. I had to go to Belarus for a meeting, so Al and our girls went ahead with the American group. I arrived three days later, travelling from Moscow by night train, arriving early in the morning. I traveled out to the camp with Gennady and several children who were also arriving late. As we drove out, one of the children began coughing and Gennady became quite concerned, asking if she was getting a draft. It was apparent that her arrival had been delayed by a summer cold. It was also clear that Gennady thought she was still not ready to be at camp.

To many Americans, it seems that Russians overdress and worry too much about drafts and chills. I used to be of that group, but I have realized that they’re right to worry. There are always opportunistic bugs around, and too many Russians, because of their poor diet, have very low resistance to such bugs. Russian children are plagued by chronic health problems—90 percent are considered unhealthy. Many of the health problems can probably be traced to a poor diet: heavy in carbohydrates, meager portions of meat, fruits, and fresh vegetables.

We met with a group recently that had put on a dental and eye clinic with one of our church partners. The dentist in the group shared with us that he had pulled over 100 teeth from adults and children, mostly teeth that had rotted away nearly to the roots, yet in each case he was able to extract the tooth with its root tip intact. He said this almost never happens in the United States. I asked what this meant. He said it means the bone structure is soft, the legacy of poor nutrition.

The physical needs across this country are great, but so are the spiritual needs. Life is hard here and people despair. Suicide rates are high. Drug addiction, family violence and alcoholism all take a heavy toll on the family structure. People trudge through the streets and for many the horizon is bleak.

So what is the good news in this grim picture? The good news is that the church is at work reaching out with Christ’s love. New ministries are beginning and evolving as our Christian brothers and sisters gain a deeper understanding of the problems they see. The camps are a relatively new ministry, and there has been a great deal of growth over the four years that we have been watching. The orphanage ministry is another young and developing program. The churches are reaching out with both humanitarian aid and spiritual care. Some of our partners are exploring how they can minister effectively to those addicted to drugs and alcohol. Others are exploring how they can meet the needs of isolated villages. They carry Christ’s love with them wherever they go and reach out with open hearts. The partnerships with American churches make a difference. Through them, our Russian partners have access to new ideas and financial support, but most importantly, they are strengthened by the sense of connection with their American brothers and sisters in Christ. It is our privilege to be here.

It is the end of August. Autumn began mid-month. The rainy season is upon us and the weather has grown cool. It is refreshing now, but it will be cold soon. Please pray for our partners that they will have strength and good health for the winter months and the work that is before them.

Al and I are beginning to think about and plan for our return to the United States in December for five and a half months of mission interpretation. We are already scheduled to visit with many of you. Though we hate to be away from our work here, we are looking forward to the time we will have to share with you. If your congregation is not yet on our schedule, but would like to be, please contact us soon.

May the peace and blessings of our Lord, Jesus Christ, be with each of you.

S Gospodom,

Ellen & Al Smith

The 2003 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 94