March 15, 2005

Dear Friends!

We greet you all in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

We are beginning to get notes from friends describing 75-degree days. It is not yet warm here, but there are days when we can feel the hint of spring as the temperatures inch up to the freezing mark and glance at the other side. We have monstrous snow banks after several major snowstorms in February, and snow continues to fall almost every day. As we think about the prospect of spring, we cannot forget about the major melt and mud that is inevitable.

This past weekend, I traveled to the western reaches of Russia, flying over at least two countries to get there. I traveled to Kaliningrad, a city in that little piece of Russia wedged between Poland and Lithuania. It is cut off from the rest of the country. It became part of the Soviet Union after World War II. Prior to that, it was the city of Koenigsberg in the region of East Prussia. Some of you may wonder why it did not revert to Germany with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In all honesty, the Germans didn’t want it back. They had their hands full restoring East Germany, and Russia needed the warm water port on the Baltic.

Prior to World War II, East Prussia was a rich agricultural region. The Germans had tamed the swampy Baltic coastal plain with elaborate drainage systems that included underground channels for water. The region produced a bounty of agriculture that could be sold beyond her borders. In just two years, the Soviets managed to destroy agriculture in the region. Their plows dug too deeply into the ground, tearing up the drainage system and pulling up sub layers of earth, destroying the delicate balance in the soil. Within two years, this rich agricultural region was forced to begin importing food.

After all the travel in January and February and facing the upcoming travel in April, we agreed that I would not travel in March, unless the opportunity to visit Kaliningrad arose. I have been trying to get there for six months. My purpose in going was in general was to get a picture of the Kaliningrad diocese’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. More specifically, I traveled there to visit a rehabilitation center for drug addicts infected with HIV. I traveled with my Russian colleague and friend, Margarita Nelyubova. She is the director of the Russian Round Table (RRT), an office of the Patriarchy for support of diaconal efforts in the Orthodox Church. The goal of the RRT is to help partners get started in diaconal work, assisting with training and infrastructure, and providing them with the tools to move forward independently. Over the last two years, Margarita and I have met repeatedly in Moscow to discuss issues and explore ways for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to connect. The Orthodox Church has taken a lead in responding to this crisis, and have stuck with it when some NGOs have redirected their energies elsewhere.

We arrived Saturday morning and were met by Father Oleg, who is organizing the diocesan anti-AIDS efforts. Together, the three of us drove the 80 kilometers from Kaliningrad to the rehabilitation center. The center is located in the countryside, 9 kilometers from the nearest village. The diocese has purchased a small farm for the project, providing the residents (all men) with a place to live, to work, and to heal. Because there is no hospice care for AIDS patients in the region, the center has also provided a place for some to die. The residents raise vegetables and livestock. They also work on renovation. The farm is very old and badly in need of repair. At present they can only use one quarter of the house, limiting the number of residents the center can currently hold. Because the German drainage system is in poor shape, the cellar of the house, where root vegetables are stored, is damp. But the men make do and have already accomplished a great deal. The center provides psychological and spiritual care for the men as well. There is a definite sense of teamwork, with residents encouraging and helping one another.

In the evening, we returned to Kaliningrad to meet with Father Oleg’s HIV/AIDS prevention team and a support group of mothers whose children are caught in drug addiction—not yet ready to throw it off. I was impressed with the commitment of these people and the openness to trying new ideas. Again, I found the sense of teamwork.

On Sunday after worship I was able to meet with Bishop Seraphim, the bishop of the Kaliningrad Region. He is an extraordinary man, soft spoken and full of compassion. He is very open as well. There is ecumenical cooperation in this region. He is very supportive of Father Oleg’s efforts and that makes a huge difference.

The visit was a gift. The time with Margarita deepened my understanding of the crisis that Russia faces, and I will carry the individual stories I connected with as I move forward. I don’t know what the next step is, but I am watching for it.

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

With love in Christ,

Ellen

The 2005 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 187