As I write, Bruce has just begun the first session of the day at our seminars in Minsk. This is day two of the seminar. We had about 50 people in attendance yesterday at first day of the seminars. It was a closed session of select people in order to minimize publicity and the possibility of interruption by the authorities. There were eight 50 minute sessions, four by Bruce on theology and the importance of theological study in the pursuit of nation reformation and four by Dr. Bom on democracy and democratization. The response of the people was very good, though were some comments that some of the subject matter was a little abstract and hard to grasp. That was not surprising to us, but we knew that this year would bring things at a whole new level. As we move to the formation of the reformation institute here, our teaching will take a more and more academic tone and move to a more “university” level of thought. Based on the questions and response at the end of the day, it was apparent that most in attendance really enjoyed everything and appreciated the material.
One of the more intriguing questions asked of us at the end of the day was the difference between reading the Bible devotionally each day and studying it exegetically for deep theological study. Very interesting. Bruce answered it well, but it was a demonstration to me of the true attentive paid to the seminars by the people here and their desire to really learn.
One of the best parts of these trips it the time we have to fellowship with each other over meals. We’ve enjoyed two great dinners in the evenings we’ve been here. On Thursday night after we arrived, Boris and Bella took us to The Beatles Café. It was a hoot! Pictures of the Beatles everywhere, life-size cut-outs of the band posed on a stage in the corner, and Beatles music playing in the background. Bruce and I especially enjoyed it, and we both ordered the “Paul McCartney,” supposedly Paul’s favorite meal of fried chicken, French fries, and bacon. I also had a Greek salad with fabulous sharp feta cheese. Also with us were Vitaly, our interpreter, Benjamin and his wife Nelly (the first pastor of the church we’re partnered with), Dima and his wife Marina (associate pastor the church), and Boris and Bella. It was a great time of getting caught up on what has happened since we were last together and sharing our vision for the next few days and the future. Following dinner, it was back to the hotel where I crashed for a good eight hours. Nice!
After the seminars last night, we went to Bergamo, a fancy Italian restaurant nearer downtown. With us were Boris and Bella, Vitaly, Yuri (a seminar attendee and local small business owner), and Dmitry (a pastor from Grodno in the western part of the country). The food was great and the service was good, but the kitchen was sloooooooooowwww. Whenever we’re over here, we simply accept the fact that service is different than back home and the patience is truly a virtue. This was something altogether different, though. Dave and I sat together at one end of the able, and we waited 90 minutes for our food after ordering. What’s so strange, though, is that others at our table waiting only 20 minutes or so and one guy was served his meal and dessert long before we got our meal. So, put the wait together with the waitress’ refusal to let me order what I initially requested, and it was an interesting experience. But, we really had a great time of fellowship. Lots of laughter and joking mixed with very serious conversation and discussion of history. It’s so good to be back in Minsk! It’s an intellectual and cultural experience I treasure. More to come…
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