Trip to the Dacha

Hello Intercessors, 

Many new things to report on this end of the world. We moved to a new apartment last week, which is a located a little farther from the center of town. It is quieter but still has many opportunities to talk to people with several parks nearby. We also had the opportunity to visit a dacha this past weekend with our new friends Alex and Sveta and their son Matthew. Alex speaks excellent English so that helps immensely, but we also try to practice our Russian on him as well! Dachas are small vacation cottages that Russian people visit on the weekends. Many of them are very primitive, not having running water or electricity (many times families build the dacha themselves), but they are great for getting out of the city for a day or two. Here are some pictures from our visit! With the summer getting into full swing, we will have several large events going on. We will both be teaching in an English intensive school the last week in June and then in mid July we will be traveling to Turkey and finally Greece for a convention for European personnel. Be in prayer that we will continue to find opportunities to engage those around us and that the gospel will shine through us more and more, especially as we gain more proficiency in the language!

View of the main dacha house (far right), storage shed (middle), and sauna (left--these are popular as well in Russia).

Working in the garden beside the buildings.

Chara with our friends -- Alex, Sveta, and Matthew.

You've got mail!

One of the cultural differences we have run into has been the mail system on this side of the world. Today we just got a package that Chara's parents mailed on -- pause for effect -- February 21! That being said, I'm sure there are countries in the world where the package might not come at all or come in pieces, so we are thankful for actually getting exactly what was mailed.  

Overall, life is good here in Novosibirsk. We had our last official ESL class of the semester last week, and  I wrapped up our study on the deity of Jesus by giving the decision: Either Jesus is God (in which your only response is to make Him Lord), or your other options are that He is a liar, a lunatic, or the Bible isn't accurate. I challenged the group not to see Jesus as just a good man or a prophet, but exactly who the Bible says He is. Although there were no faith responses, I am sure that God is working in hearts. 

We will continue to press into our language learning going into the summer, and we greatly appreciate your prayers for us as we continue the steep climb toward proficiency in Russian!

Back to school

Last week, we had the experience of visiting several classes at a Russian school with one of our American friends, who lives in Akadem and runs the ESL program we teach at. We answered questions from the students about life in America on everything from what kind of music do you listen to to what do you think of politics. It was a great experience getting to see and experience a Russian school firsthand. It was amazing to see a school with hundreds of students ranging in age from kindergarten through high school. Although our students seemed  fairly well behaved, there very little discipline compared to American schools. For example, students would show up for class way late without the teacher giving any correction. According to our friend, this is a holdover from the communist philosophy that all people are inherently good and that children, if left to their own devices, will become productive members of society. Of course, the Bible has a completely opposite philosophy on that.

The students asked if we believe in God, and one student in particular asked why! Our friend gave a great response that looking at the order of our world and the universe, it makes logical sense to understand that there is a Creator. God is always creating opportunities for His message to be shared!

Afterward, we enjoyed a meal at one of the Mexican restaurants in Akadem. Unfortunately, the waitress did not understand my order so Chara and our friend got their plates and I waited for a long time before realizing that mine was not coming out! Both of them let me have some of their food though!

Please continue to pray for the ESL ministry at Akadem, as we are close to the end of the semester. We are close to wrapping up our series on the identity of Jesus and I would like to close by asking our students to make a response to the gospel. Pray for God to work in their hearts and lives during the next few weeks in particular. We will likely be transitioning the ESL program into an English language Bible study during the fall with our friend potentially leaving for a new city, so pray for a good transition as we move toward this. We are also looking at possibly going back to visit the school in the next few weeks, so pray we will have more opportunities to share our faith.

Until next time!

Short sleeves? Sort of!

It has been an exciting couple of weeks here in Novosibirsk! We have actually had a few days in the 70 degree temperature range, and this has been perfect T-shirt weather. In Siberia, the motto for spring could be, "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 seconds". Lo and behold, Saturday we had cooler weather and in the afternoon we looked out the window and snow was going sideways! This continued for about 20 minutes, but virtually all of the snow that accumulated was on cars and melted fast. Needless to say, spring is an interesting time of year! 

Ministry at Akadem ESL has been very good lately! After the Bible story last week, we got a few really great questions about whether Jesus truly is God. One person asked why Jesus can't be just a man considering Lazarus was raised from the dead and he was just a man. Good question indeed. I explained that Lazarus came back from the dead because Jesus called him. Lazarus couldn't have come back without Jesus calling him forth. But Jesus said He had the power to lay His own life down and take it up again--thereby accentuating one of many critical differences between Jesus and Lazarus. The biblical evidence for Jesus' deity cannot be stronger!

Please continue to pray as questions like these are exactly what we are looking for. They are inroads to the Gospel. Also, be praying for the future of the ministry at Akadem, as it looks as if this is going to shift from ESL this spring to more of an English language Bible study this fall. Of course, we also continue to request prayer for learning Russian -- we are learning slowly but surely! Once again, your prayers are much appreciated!

Where's the snow?

Well folks, over the past week or so the snow decided that it had overstayed its welcome this winter and made its way out of Novosibirsk! We had a few days of "mini-rivers" and puddles to navigate, which made getting around a little tough, but the past few days I (David) have actually been able to wear a short sleeve shirt outside (yeah!!!) Of course, we are continuing our steep climb of language learning and are continuing to build relationships with our EFL class at Akadem. Pray that the Word will plant itself richly in students' hearts and that they will begin to understand their need for a relationship with Christ. Also pray for our encounters around the apartment complex -- there have been less people to talk to lately as people tend to go to their dachas (country homes) when the weather warms up, but we continue to try to meet people and plant seeds for the gospel as we are able to. Thank you for your faithful prayers!!!!

March Madness

March has brought its own form of madness -- but in a good way!! Believe it or not, we actually live in a place where it has just recently gotten "warm enough" to snow (if you can get your mind around that). Once it started snowing early last week, it was on and off snow for several days! It actually made the dirty-looking spring snow look white and clean again, at least for a little while! It would be a great analogy--whereas the fresh snow will soon melt, revealing the dirty snow again, Christ sprinkles our hearts anew with fresh snow that makes the dirty snow underneath disappear!

We are continuing to work with our language coach, practice our Russian in varieties of venues, and teach in the ESL program at Akadem Gorodok. Pray for hearts to be opened as we discuss the identity of Jesus in our big group time with a focus on the deity of Jesus! I pray that many seeds are already being planted in student's hearts and lives that, like the mustard seed, will one day become a mighty tree! 

Conversation practice?

It has been an excellent couple of weeks here in southern Siberia, despite some tense moments! We were both walking to church the Sunday before last when I (David) walked across the street when the "don't walk" signal was flashing. I ended up being escorted into the back of a police car for a few minutes. After calling the language teacher on my cell phone, she was able to explain to the police officer that I am new in the country and he let me off with just a warning!!! I imagine this could have been much worse if I had gotten one of the not-so-good cops, but all in all, it was a good chance to practice my Russian phrases under pressure!

Other than that, we have been out and about trying to talk with people and slowly improve our Russian. Today, we went to lunch before our language lesson at the one Mexican food restaurant in Novosibirsk. Chara got chicken fajitas and I got a burrito. We actually set our expectations pretty low (since Russians really aren't into spicy foods), but we were pleasantly surprised as it actually tasted pretty much like Mexican food!

Keep praying as we are beginning to meet people in our ESL class at Akadem (about 20 miles south of the city proper). Pray specifically for (initials only) P and D as they both appear to be seeking the Lord. Also, Chara and I are looking at possibly being the only current teachers in the ESL program for this fall, so please pray that the Lord will give us wisdom as to how to continue and grow the program as a way to share the Gospel!