April 17, 2007
Dear Friends and Family!
Christos Voskres! Christ is risen!
Voistinu Voskres! He is risen, indeed!
We traveled with friends from our home church to celebrate Easter
at Transfiguration Church in Oryol. After worship, we sat in Valeri
and Vera’s living room waiting for lunch. Babushka was watching
Patriarch Alexey deliver Easter greetings to all of Russia on
television. President Putin also delivered Easter greetings. With
a smile, Babushka commented on how times had changed. Fifteen
years ago, she said, they would have been invited to clean the
streets for Easter.
Times have changed in many ways. Valeri, pastor of Transfiguration
Church, told us how he had been called in to see the regional
governor. He had no idea what to expect and was quite nervous.
The governor wanted to know about the Baptist church in the region—how
many churches, how many believers, what kind of activities. At
the end of the visit, the governor offered the support of his
office. For Easter, a local television station did a program on
Transfiguration Church. They came to film the service and did
an interview with Valeri afterwards.
It is an extraordinary church and the Orlovskaya oblast is an
extraordinary region. It is very small, but they have 30 Baptist
churches with over 1,000 believers. This may not sound like much,
but a neighboring region with a much larger population has many
fewer churches and only around 300 believers. They have a strong
ministry to children and youth. The churches in the Oryol region
work in 11 orphanages and put on a series of children’s
camps throughout the summer. I have always been in awe of how
well they reach youth and engage them in active ministry. During
Soviet times there was one church in this region and there could
be no social ministry. That one church celebrates its hundredth
anniversary this year. Praise the Lord! Transfiguration is celebrating
its fifteenth anniversary. Our brothers and sisters in Oryol have
used the time since Perestroika well and continue to plant new
seeds and harvest.
Yesterday I met with a pastor who is establishing a social ministry
organization from which to continue ministry begun by the church.
The city’s administration is glad to help him develop outreach
programs to orphanages, the elderly, and large families (families
living on the edge of disaster from which children often end up
in orphanages), but they shy away from anything labeled Baptist.
It is a strange situation, because there is no question about
this pastor’s loyalty and affiliations. He has longed dreamed
of building a new church for his congregation. They had a piece
of land, but as they got ready to build, they found that a new
apartment building was planned on that spot, and they would lose
anything they began. Now he dreams of building a Christian social
ministry center.
Some of the changes are painful. I met with another pastor yesterday.
His church has had a strong ministry to local orphanages, hospitals,
and prisons, but in the past year, all of those doors have closed.
The leadership of the institutions has changed, and the new directors
do not want to work with “sectanty” (the term used
to dismiss Baptist Christians). I want to weep for them, but they
do not weep for themselves. They give thanks for the work they
were able to do in these places and seek new doors for their ministry.
They have a ministry to the handicapped, and they have begun a
modest feeding program for homeless people, sharing the gospel
with them.
We also talked about the needs of children leaving the orphanages.
As conditions in orphanages have improved, many of us have recognized
the urgent need for post-orphanage ministry. The children are
physically safe in the orphanages. When they exit the system,
they are not. They do not have the life skills, the emotional
maturity, or the work ethic they need to be successful. A huge
percentage ends up in prison or on the streets, and 10 percent
commit suicide. Only 10 percent succeed. There are a few post-orphanage
programs in Russia, but they are isolated and rely heavily on
Western funds. A model is needed that can be developed and maintained
by local churches. It will require resources to get them started,
of course, but the goal is a model that is self-sustaining.
Times are changing. Sometimes things get easier, but not always.
There will always be problems. We will persevere, because our
Lord perseveres with us. He is always faithful. When one door
closes, He opens another. May we always be ready to follow where
He leads. We wish you joy in this Easter season.
Peace and blessings,
Ellen & Al
P.S. Most of our newsletters go out only by email and are then
posted on our Web page at PC(USA)’s Mission Connections
site. If you would like to be added to that list, please let us
know. Our email is elalsmith@eamail.net.
The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 186
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