Kрещение

Greetings blog readers!

Not long ago in late January, Chara and I accompanied some friends to the annual day of Kрещение (kre-she-nye -- which means "baptism"). Although it was a not-so-warm -2 F outside, about 100 or so people gathered at a little creek to watch the orthodox priest give a short message and bless the water in a large cross cut out of the ice. After the priest blesses the water, many people dressed only in bathing suits take turns jumping in and dunking themselves 3 times. Paramedics are literally within a few hundred feet of the creek just in case someone goes into hypothermic shock, but amazingly this doesn't stop many people from participating. 

Some participate only for cultural reasons. Some participate because they really think dipping in water blessed by a priest will pardon their sins. We pray for both, that they will come to a knowledge of the truth and realize that water baptism is but a reflection of the repentance and new heart we have received inside. 

"Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in the newness of life." Romans 6:4

Below is a short video of the priest blessing the water. It would be longer but my phone shuts off quickly when the temperature is very low!

Christmas at a Glance

Greetings Blog readers,
Overall we had an excellent Christmas holiday. We ate Christmas lunch at TGIF and then went and saw an interesting Disney movie titled in Russian "Cold Heart", I think it is "Frozen" in the US. The movie is quite apropos here, and we got some great listening practice.

Chara's parents came in for New Year's, but unfortunately, the flu bug traveled over with them and we spent New Year's with a fever and cough. We still tried to be a blessing to those in our apartment building, making gift bags and baking cookies (washing our hands many times in the process!)

Even more importantly, we feel extraordinary blessed to have had multiple opportunities to share the gospel with people. We did a candlelight service for one of our ESL classes and encouraged people at the end to "make room in their hearts for Jesus", and not to say "no room in the inn." Several new people were there who we had never seen before, so we hope they will come to the ESL classes when we start again this coming week.

We  continue to prepare and pray about starting our first small group. Pray with us and we'll continue working toward this goal over the next few weeks.

Here are a few photos from a winter festival we visited in downtown Krasnoyarsk:

Snow, snow, and more snow!

Greetings prayer partners,
Last week we attended an excellent training in Novosibirsk centered on the small groups we would like to start early next year. The training involves starting a small group and discipling all members of that small group to start their own groups. We are convinced that Krasnoyarsk cannot be reached for Christ with just big churches, but small groups of people reaching their family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers. We are excited about the potential of these groups, so be in prayer that God will take the "7 loaves and 2 fish" that we bring to the table, and multiply it so that all Krasnoyarsk has a chance to hear and respond to the gospel in a safe place. We would like to start the first group in January or February.

Here is a video from the huge snowfall that hit us today and yesterday. Enjoy!

Prayerwalking: Riverfront

Greetings Prayer Partners!

This video was taken close to downtown along the riverfront. There is actually a whole other part of town across the river from downtown. We know one lady who lives there and so we cross the bridge every now and then. The Yenisey River (visible in the video) actually never freezes up due to a hydroelectric dam a few miles upstream. When it is really cold (about 5 degrees or below), steam rises from it, which is beautiful to watch. I will post a video of it as well once we get that cold. As you view this brief clip, pray for God to move and change the hearts and lives of those who live on both sides of the shore in this vibrant area. 

Thanks again for your prayers!

New Prayer Walk: Prospect Mira

This is the main street in town. Our language school is on this street as well as many interesting restaurants, coffee shops, etc. Yesterday was a major holiday, and so there were not many people out, but pray that God will use us to make His presence known in this area of town as He brings people into our lives.

Thanks again for your prayers!

New prayer walk coming shortly, but where were we????

We actually were out of the country for a few weeks to get visas, but we got the chance to go to several countries in northern Europe in the process including:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Oslo, Norway
(ski jump -- too bad there was no snow yet!)

Glasgow, Scotland

Dublin, Ireland

Cork, Ireland

Cherbourg (Normandy), France
Omaha Beach

London, England

Paris, France

However, as great as these places are, the place we want to be most in the world is where we are. Being lights for Christ in Krasnoyarsk, Russia!

We're back!!!

Prayer partners and other blog readers,

We have finally returned from our visa run! Although the countries we were in were interesting places and we had several opportunities to share the gospel, we very much missed our home here in Krasnoyarsk and are glad to be back. Stay tuned for more prayer walking updates coming in the next few days . . .