Next time, I'm a garbage man!

Minsk, Belarus – Saturday, November 1, 2008 – 10:38pm local time

 

I knew it was bound to happen!  At the end of our seminars today, our team did a panel Q&A time where we took questions from attendees about whatever they were interested in.  Sure enough, the first question out of the box was directed to me, “the banker.”  The questioner wanted to know what caused the global credit crisis and why it spread to Belarus!  Before I even left the States, I knew that I was going to get that question.  It was closely followed a few minutes later by another question about the Federal Reserve controlling the world and if I think that we as ordinary citizens are powerless.  I’m not kidding.  You know, the only thing you can do in that situation is pray that God will put His words in your mouth and go with it!  On Bulgarian TV, I’m asked how a Christian can legitimately participate in business.  On Romanian radio, I’m asked to explain globalization from a Christian viewpoint.  In a Belarusian seminar, I’m asked to explain global finance and the Federal Reserve system.  Unbelievable.  I actually enjoyed the questions and answering them.  What is so great about it, too, is that even these mind-bogglingly complex problems are simple when boiled down to their essence in the light of God’s Word and biblical principles.  Nonetheless, I asked Bruce if he would please introduce me as a garbage man next time.

 

I joke about the tough questions, but I have no doubts that God has put me in this place at this time for a reason.  His call is so very clear.  We had another great day of seminars today with five more sessions expounding on yesterday’s topics and then wrapping up with our panel Q&A.  Since it’s Saturday, the seminar attendance was greater than yesterday, and they were all very responsive.  We probably could have carried on with Q&A for three hours.  In fact, after we wrapped up the seminar with a sweet time of prayer from us for the Belarus Christians and them for us, we retired upstairs for dinner and more conversation with a few key leaders.  A dozen of us crowded around a table designed for six or eight and enjoyed Belarusian pizza while we talked about political theory, whether the Church here should seek ways to work with the immoral and illegitimate dictatorship in Belarus to ward off an advancing Russia, the roots of the Protestant reformation, morality laws in the US, methods of child discipline and so on.  These are the best times.  We’re with old friends that we’ve met over the past four years and we add new friends to our circle each time.  B&B are such wonderful hosts.  V is our long-time interpreter since the first trip, and we added M (she was our second interpreter this time) & S (an attorney) to the circle this time.  After dinner and a couple hours of chatting, we drove to downtown Minsk and three of our team took a great walking tour with M & S leading us to various sites, the old Jewish Ghetto area, and an underground shopping mall (literally under ground, not black market).  We stopped at a café, and I ordered hot chocolate.  What I got was essentially a melted chocolate bar or maybe chocolate pudding—delicious!  We walked and chatted for two hours, took our pictures in front of the huge Lenin statue outside of Parliament (yep, that Lenin), took another picture on the steps of the KGB headquarters (yep, that KGB), and finished the night with a ride on the Metro.  That was cool!  For some reason, I have this odd fascination with foreign public transportation, and I’ve wanted to ride the metro here since I first came to Minsk in 2004.  Box now checked!

 

Tomorrow morning we head out of the city for an excursion to some important historical sites north of Minsk and then we gather with members of many churches at a joint service.  We did the same last year, and it will be a fitting and meaningful conclusion to our time here before we have a brief meeting with some reformation leaders on Monday morning and jet off to Kiev.  The seminars exceeded our expectations over the past two days, and our team has felt your prayers.  Thank you so much!  I couldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your support in so many ways.  So much is happening in this country.  The persecuted church is overcoming and laying some great foundations that will bring reformational and transformational change to their society.  Please continue to pray for them as well.  Their zeal and passion will overwhelm you, and I am so humbled to be in such a place at such a time.  More to come after I collect some trash.

 

Scott