September 8, 2004
Dear Friends in Christ,
We are so grateful for the fellowship we have with you and for
the prayers you have lifted for our family and for Russia over
the course of the past two weeks. We know that you have grieved
with us over the atrocities that have been committed. Neither
the airline crashes nor the metro bombing prepared any of us for
the horrors of Beslan. Russia is deep in grief. Her love and prayers
reach out to all the families of Beslan, regardless of ethnicity
or faith. In that, this violence has been uniting. For the families
of Beslan, the road that stretches out before them is painful.
Please pray for them as they nurse the injured, as they seek their
missing children, as they bury their dead. Please pray for healing
of mind, body and spirit. Please pray for peace and unity for
the whole region and for the nation. May we all, in the face of
such horrors, put our trust in God.
For the past week, our family has been in Turkey for a retreat.
We have just returned and are now more able to answer those of
you who have asked about ways to respond.
We would like to share updates on Beslan from Russian Ministries,
which were forwarded to us in the past few days These updates
come from Sergey Rahkuba of Russian Ministries. The PC(USA) has
worked cooperatively in the past with Russian Ministries, a U.S.-based
organization, in joint projects in Russia with our Baptist Union
partner. We were aware in the midst of the hostage crisis that
the Baptist pastor in Beslan had five children in the school.
We did not know that the president of the Baptist Union had traveled
there, but we were so relieved to know that he was there.
Throughout the crisis, Sergey maintained cell phone contact with
a friend in Beslan.
Update from Beslan, Russia
Saturday September 4, 2004
4:00 p.m. CST
Pastor Sergey Totiev, a local pastor in the Beslan area, whose
children were held as hostages in the school, spoke by phone today
to Sergey Rakhuba, vice president of Russian Ministries. Sergey
Rakhuba also spoke with Pastor Yuri Sipko, the president of the
Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists, who is also in Beslan
and was an eyewitness to yesterday’s events. Here is a summary
of their discussions.
Pastor Totiev confirmed that Anya, his 8-year-old daughter, was
killed. Azum, one of his sons, is being treated in hospital where
doctors are trying to preserve vision in both of his eyes. His
niece, Madina, has left the hospital and returned to her home.
She has not spoken and is in a state of shock. Sergey and his
brother Taymuraz had 8 children in the school during the ordeal.
The five other children remain missing. Many children were sent
to a larger hospital in Vladikavkaz. But the area surrounding
Beslan is now sealed off, so he is unable to travel to that city
and search for the remaining children in his family.
Pastor Totiev said that he fears that the number of dead may
be as high as 500, but no one yet knows. Some of the bodies will
be difficult to identify because of the explosions that were set
off at the school. He estimates that 60 percent of the dead will
be children.
The hostage-takers seemed to be highly skilled, and the action
appeared to be a well-planned and carefully orchestrated event,
with many explosives stored at the school during a time of remodeling
during the summer. There are still an estimated 50 kilograms of
unused explosives at the school site that, if detonated, could
blow up the entire neighborhood. Pastor Totiev reports that 27
hostage-takers were killed, three are in custody, and four remain
at large. Nine of the hostage-takers appeared to be neither Chechen,
Russian, or Ossettian, but of Arab descent.
Pastor Totiev wants to express heartfelt gratitude for people
around the world who have prayed for him, his brother, their children
and all the people who are directly affected by this terror.
Yuri Sipko, the president of the Evangelical Christian-Baptist
of Russia, journeyed to Beslan, and was present as bodies were
being pulled from the debris. He reports that it will be impossible
to identify many children and adults. He is inviting all Baptist
churches in Russia not just to pray, but to also financially support
the community in Beslan regardless of religious affiliation because
of the many financial needs—for caring for the injured,
burying those who died, and helping the community at large recover
from this tragedy.
Russian Ministries has established a Terror Relief Fund to help
the community in Beslan with spiritual and physical needs. You
may give online, call toll-free (888) 462-7639, or mail your gift
designated for Terror Relief Fund, to Russian Ministries, P.O.
Box 496, Wheaton, IL 60189.
Late last night, we got word that Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
has also set up a receiving point for relief funds. It is not
yet on the PDA Web page, but should be there shortly. Information
on how to contribute through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
can be found at http://www.pcusa.org/pda/response.htm.
Please continue to pray for Russia.
May the peace and blessings of our Lord be with each of you.
With love in Christ,
Ellen & Al Smith
The 2004 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
182
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