Love of life

Somewhere over the North Atlantic – Monday, March 9, 2009 – 8:41pm Minsk time

 

Whenever we’re in Belarus, we attend church on Sunday evening.  That leaves the morning free to spend some time with our friends and tour a historical site or two.  This has become our tradition and has taken us to a variety of incredible places like old castles, 10^th century ruins, and churches that are hundreds of years old and significant to the Protestant history of Belarus.  This year, we enjoyed something completely different.  Our friends picked us up at the hotel at 10:00am.  From there—and after I fell flat on my tail on the ice—we drove to the industrial part of Minsk and did a drive-by of some of the primary factories in Minsk.  If Belarus is known for any manufacturing at all, it is known for the manufacture of heavy transportation machinery.  We got to see a Belarus tractor factory.  Belarusian tractors are used all over Europe and Russia, and not a few plow the fields of the U.S., too.  Because of the economic crisis sales have all but stopped, so there tens of finished tractors parked on the factory grounds waiting for buyers.  They are beautiful pieces of machinery, if one can call a tractor beautiful.  Impressive at least.

 

After the factory detour, we drove about 30 minutes west of Minsk to a small town called Rakov.  It rests in what used to be the Polish part of Belarus before WWII.  It was also overtaken by the Germans at various times before the Soviets made it Belarus and a part of the USSR.  In Rakov, Felix Yanuskevich owns and runs his own private museum.  The man was quite the character.  An artist by trade, Felix is a trained painter and ceramicist with a thousand stories to tell about Rakov and the history of the region.  He is also a short barrel of a man who greeted us amidst the snow and ice wearing jeans, a button-up shirt, and a cardigan sweater.  That’s it!  No hat, no gloves, and no jacket, and he never changed to anything else.  His lack of eyebrows or a single hair on his head only made his blue eyes stand out that much more, and his smile could probably light up the entire village.  After vigorous hand pumps all around, he proceeded to spill forth with story after story for four hours, pausing only long enough for some quick translation in English for our benefit.  We could just see his delight at having us there and having someone to listen to his stories.  Felix was born in Rakov in 1954 to a Polish mother and Belarusian father.  He has four brothers, one of whom is a sculptor who has pieces of art in galleries throughout Europe.  Felix himself has paintings in a gallery in St. Petersburg, Russia, and has exhibited throughout Europe over the years.  His real love is Rakov, though, and he decided several years ago to take it on himself to preserve the cultural history of the area via a private museum.  We started outside and laughed as he showed us ancient clubs and sticks used by husbands of the time to “keep their wives in submission, but only on Thursdays.”  We saw boxes for keeping and transporting gold, old farming implements, military hardware from Napoleon’s troops as they marched through Rakov on the way to Moscow, and myriad pottery with all sorts of uses among other things from the past several hundred years.  Throughout his narration, our Belarusian friends were dying laughing.  Felix’s eyes would twinkle, and we could tell he was thoroughly enjoying our company.  Our interpreter laughingly apologized and said there was no way she could accurately translate everything he said.  He used so many proverbs and innuendos that only a native would understand.  After a couple hours’ tour, he led us into his house where he served us a terrific lunch of homemade village-style food.  We had potatoes (of course), locally smoked meat, cheese, bread, cabbage salads, meat crepes, and the most delicious fresh cottage cheese with fruit jam that you could ever find.  Other than the homemade birch tree juice (yes, tree juice), everything was delicious.  Felix barely sat down for a bite before he was jumping up to serve us something else and encourage us to eat all we could because we’d “never eat food like this again.”  He was probably right, in one way or another!  J

 

We left after another hour or two in mid-afternoon with full bellies and giant smiles.  It was a refreshing change of pace from the academic seminars, and we got to experience real Belarusian culture outside the capital city.  Felix was a delight with a real love for life.  We couldn’t tell what sort of faith he had.  There was a lot of Catholic imagery in his art, but he talked a lot about the pagan history of the region.  Then again, he insisted that we pray before sitting down to lunch.  Who knows!  I do know this, though.  He loved life, and his passion about his life was contagious.  It made me think about the whole of the experience in Belarus this time.  We in the west would look at the culture of Belarusians and the daily life of the believers there, and wonder how we could be satisfied in that context.  We probably couldn’t because we’ve grown comfortable in material wealth.  If you know me at all, you know that I love my technology and American heritage, and I’m in no way saying that we should give that up to be happier or in right standing with the Lord.  But, if there’s one thing that the Lord has been impressing on my spirit this week, it’s that this current crisis is being used by Him to strip away the “fluff” in the lives of believers.  He wants to ground us back in Him and to truly value what He values.  The believers in Belarus aren’t perfect to be sure.  They fall and struggle as we do, as any human does.  They have something we often lack, though.  They are content and take shelter under the wing of the Lord.  They are working hard to change their country and to realize true freedom and godly prosperity.  While they work, though, they rest on the fellowship of believers and the Lord’s provision.  We in America would do well to do a little more of the same.  As evangelicals, maybe we’ve grown a little too comfortable with our programs, our church formulas, and our daily comforts.  Could we give them up if God called us to or if He stripped them away?  Would I give them up if He simply asked me to?  These trips are always time to deepen my faith and serve others in a context where I don’t normally operate.  This time, I come away having felt the great love of God and seeing in a new way the great love of life we can have when centered directly in His will, no matter our setting or circumstance.  Thanks, Felix!

 

More to come.

 

Scott

Heading home

Minsk, Belarus – Monday, March 9, 2009 – 7:00am local time

 

The time here in Minsk always seems to increasingly disappear into the past.  We land on Thursday, get settled in the hotel, start teaching on Friday…and the next thing I know, it’s Monday morning!  I have to pack up and prepare to head home!  It happens every time I’m here.  The result is that I don’t have enough time to post like I would want and to fill you in on the things that have happened.  I’m forced into reflection mode before I really have a chance to live through process mode.

 

Our seminars went very well.  They are always fruitful and enjoyable, but there was a real sense of cohesion this time.  As we plan our trips, we intentionally design the topics and presenters to be complimentary.  This time, however, they seemed to be purposefully written with specific themes, even specific Scripture passages, in mind.  When three people can teach about historical Christian reformers and their political theology, Christian roots of western law, and biblical economics and the current crisis and have them all focus on James 1:27, other passages, or the freedom we have as Christians as evidenced through the Lord’s Prayer, without even trying, something Someone bigger than us is at work!  We saw the Lord move in many ways over the last few days.  There was a unity and hunger of Spirit that was refreshing to experience.  The current economic crisis has hit this area of the world much harder even than it has the U.S., and the result is that believers are returning to first principles and coalescing as the Body of Christ.  What if God is using this meltdown just to flush out those things that stand in our way of realizing Him in His fullness?  I believe that’s precisely it.  30-50% of American and world wealth has been wiped out.  What if we never recover it?  Scary as that is, perhaps God is not-so-gently nudging us back to Him and His Church.  I don’t have those answers, but I know that the Spirit is moving in ways we’ve never experienced in our current generations.  Let’s welcome this coming next Great Awakening, and let’s welcome the role that the emerging church in other countries will play in leading us into it.

 

Bags are packed and one last, good breakfast is calling before I head off to this last day of activity.  I’ll write from the plane about the unique experience we had yesterday with Felix and his infectious love for life.  More to come.

 

Scott

Not enough time to post!

Minsk, Belarus – Saturday, March 7, 2009 – 9:23pm local time

 

Our God is so good!  There is a confidence that comes from knowing that God will show up when we are called to a work and are given a platform to carry it out.  Nonetheless, it is our responsibility to prepare ourselves and be ready when that time comes.  In light of the current economic crisis, I asked for a full teaching session this time to speak just about biblical economics and the current crisis.  Bruce kindly granted that, and I began to ask the Lord what He would have me share.  It’s one thing to know your topic in an academic sense.  It’s another entirely to be able to relate it to real-life, especially to a people who are living through a terribly rough time.  Imagine if prices in the U.S. went up by 20% and salaries went down by 20% and it all happened overnight.  That’s exactly what occurred in Belarus in January when the currency was devalued by 20% on January 2.  It’s frustrating and bewildering to the people, yet, while there are a number of causes to the global crisis we’re experiencing, biblical principles still apply!  My prayer over the last month has been that the Lord would give me a specific word to bring.  I wanted to be able to make things understandable at a basic level without watering things down.  I also wanted to bring hope and not left them in despair.  I’ll admit there was a little intimidation factor at work as well as many of the seminar attendees are academics, PhDs, and students.  One is even a teacher of economics!  Leave it to the Lord to bless my socks off, though, and give me more than I ever wanted.  By the time my session rolled around this afternoon, I felt as if I was stuffing 50 pounds of potatoes into a 20 pound sack!  It all came together, and I could tell by the expressions on the faces of the seminar attendees and by the questions they asked later that things penetrated.  What a blessing!

 

We finished the evening with an enjoyable dinner and fellowship time sitting around the table at A’s house.  12 of us talked about geopolitics, Russian, Belarus and its president, history, and various other things sure to try anyone else to drink.  For me, though, it was the meat and potatoes of everything!

 

Minsk, Belarus – Sunday, March 8, 2009 – 8:52am local time

 

My last posting was interrupted by another walk outside in the snow and ice as Bruce and I unwound from the day and talked through various things.  It was a precious time of connecting about so much more than this trip.  Our friendship continues to deepen and grow, and I grateful that the Lord has placed him in my life.  We ended a wonderful day reflecting on the completed seminars, our lives, our shared needs and joys, and a unmatched time of prayer.

 

More to come.

Providence

Minsk, Belarus – Friday, March 6, 2009 – 10:07pm local time

 

There is nothing quite like a brisk walk of a couple of miles in the cold winter air with ice and snow drifts all around.  When I think of Minsk in the wintertime, I expect snow and ice.  It was quite the delight to land yesterday and see the snow piled up on the sides of the icy sidewalks.  I just love winter, so it was a special treat to get out and walk about a circuit downtown from our hotel and back.  Bruce and I decided being cooped up in the hotel room after a day of seminars just wouldn’t do.  The temperature was about 30 degrees, but with gloves and hat it was perfect!

 

Our first day of seminars went very well.  The attendees were somewhat fewer in number than in the fall, but today is a work day after all.  Tomorrow will certainly have more people in attendance.  Today’s topics were political theology of the historical reformers (Luther, Calvin, Anabaptists, etc.) and Christian roots of western law.  Fascinating stuff for a guy like me!  Tomorrow we’ll have more of the same along with a Q&A time and my session on biblical economics and the current global crisis.  I was very blessed with the chance for somewhat of a dry run at that at dinner tonight.  We ate as a group with our interpreters, B&B (no names for security), and a couple of others from the seminars.  Our conversation was wide ranging, but our hosts had some very stimulating questions about pastoral involvement in politics, illegal immigration in America, President Obama and his policies, economics, etc.  It gave me a chance to run through much of what I’ve been trying to pull together for my session tomorrow, and I feel much more comfortable with what is important to them now.  It’s fine to bring our ideas of what we should teach, but it is so much more satisfying to know that we are speaking to what they want to know.  The Lord is good in allowing our team times like these when we can bounce around ideas in an informal setting before presenting them to the whole in our seminars.  Thank you for your prayers on our behalf.  God is here and clearly directing us.

 

One bit of especially good news as I sign off.  Our luggage arrived on the afternoon flight from Frankfurt!  We got word in mid-afternoon that it had arrived at the airport, and, sure enough, two suitcases were waiting for us at the reception desk of the hotel.  Fantastic!  I was not looking forward to wearing the same clothes for the fourth day in a row, nor were my teammates looking forward to that unfortunate occurrence either.  Prayers answered all around.

 

More to come.

 

Scott

Same clothes, different day

Minsk, Belarus - Friday, March 6, 2009 – 7:52am local time

 

It’s so good to be back in Minsk again.  It would be even better if I had clean clothes to wear!  Unfortunately, my luggage didn’t arrive with me from the States, so I’m now wearing the same clothes for the third day.  Yeah.  Our very first flight from Norfolk to DC was delayed by more than 90 minutes on Wednesday.  That necessitated a mad dash across two terminals in Dulles to make the flight to Frankfurt.  They literally closed the plane door behind the two of us and off we went before we even got good and strapped in our seats.  As you might guess, however, our luggage decided to amble across the tarmac and didn’t make the flight.  We got to Frankfurt, ready to transfer our bags to our Minsk flight (no straight check-through this time), only to find that they weren’t there.  Jim, my traveling partner and I, had a sneaking suspicion that would be case.  It was only that much more frustrating to find it true.  Our first shot at the bags arriving would be today on the 1:20pm flight into Minsk from Frankfurt.  The great Lufthansa baggage tracing website has shown nothing so far, though, so we are a little anxious.  Yet another reason to pray for this trip!

 

In some ways, I find that I’m struggling with things to write about this morning.  It is so exciting to be here again and to have the opportunity to minister and share with these dear brothers.  Yet, our relationships have grown so close with the Belarusians that they really are extended family to me now.  And what do you write about family?!  One doesn’t really blog about family and their everyday lives, do they?  We’ve settled into a routine in Belarus now and our work is building upon prior trips, so there is not so much “new” to talk about.  There is no way, however, that I can adequately express all that is happening here and what a great thing that God is doing in these people.  It is an incredible privilege to be called to this work and to be able to travel here to teach His principles on a foundational level.  You can feel a new tension here this year.  The economic crisis is affecting things greatly in Eastern Europe, and Belarus has not been immune.  The tension, though, is not just that.  There is a spiritual tension here in the sense that something huge is about to break out.  The believers here know they are on the edge of a great revival and new move of God.  I sense that they feel all of the preparation they’ve put into being ready to reform society when the time comes is about to come to fruition.  Things are moving here.  Persecution remains great; the government is still oppressive; there is little true liberty, and Christian reformation of society is still but a vision with no legs.  At the same time, though, the time is coming soon.  It’s palpable.

 

So, there is not much to write so far today about details and new sites seen, but there is much happening.  We attended a praise and prayer service last night, and the strand through all the music and words spoken was an encouragement to the believers to “thrive, not just survive.”  As believers, we need not fear the churnings on the present day.  As Psalm 46 says, nations are in an uproar, but we can rest on the Lord.  Jesus said, “…take heart, for I have overcome the world!”  Now is the time for Christians to demonstrate the love and great plan of God for mankind!

 

More to come.

 

Scott

 

---

From: Scott B. Walter [mailto:scottbwalter@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 04, 2009 5:57 PM
To: 'scottbwalter@gmail.com'
Subject: It's that time again...

 

Virginia Beach, VA – Wednesday, March 4, 2009 – 10:31am local time

 

Hard as it is to believe, I am preparing to head for the airport in a couple of hours to leave for Belarus once again!  It seems like just a few weeks ago that I returned from my fall trip.  I’m excited because our teams will be traveling to Belarus twice this year, once in the spring and once in the fall.  That means we’ll be able to do twice the amount of teaching as we have previously, and we’ll able to take two professors with us with different perspectives and specialties in biblical worldview topics.  A team will also travel to Belarus this summer to help with practical things like repairing a house and meeting place for our Belarusian friends, talk about Christian education and its practical implementation, and discuss effective pro-life ministry.  I won’t be traveling in the summer as we’re expecting Wee Little Walter Number Four around that time, but it looks to be a great year ahead for our International Reformation ministry.

 

I am very encouraged and blessed by the outpouring of support I’ve received from you and others.  My support funds have poured in.  I have enough for this spring trip and am on my way toward my goal for the fall already.  In addition, so many of you have asked about the trip and its preparation and assured me of your prayers.  That is both humbling and encouraging.  What a blessing you are!

 

All my bags are packed, and my stuff is ready.  I’ll be flying today from Norfolk to DC and then on to Frankfurt, Germany, to connect to Minsk.  The forecast in Minsk calls for highs around freezing with snow each day while we’re there.  Interesting!  As always, I’ll do my very best to post updates each day.

 

Please be praying for my family while I’m away.  This is a short trip compared to previous years, but it’s still difficult for Karen.  Pray for her peace and good rest.  I’ll be presenting a session on the current global economic crisis as a part of our seminars.  As hard as the economic downturn has been for us here in the States, it is even more pronounced in other parts of the world and especially Eastern Europe.  I anticipate some difficult questions, and I covet prayers for wisdom, clear thoughts, and clear communication.  A great opportunity is here to talk about God’s economy and the biblical ideals for economics, but our world is so complex and the problems so deep that it can be confusing.  Please pray that God will make Himself known through me and that I can bring the truth while also being encouraging to them.

 

I’ll talk to you from Minsk!  More to come.

 

Scott

It's that time again...

Virginia Beach, VA – Wednesday, March 4, 2009 – 10:31am local time

 

Hard as it is to believe, I am preparing to head for the airport in a couple of hours to leave for Belarus once again!  It seems like just a few weeks ago that I returned from my fall trip.  I’m excited because our teams will be traveling to Belarus twice this year, once in the spring and once in the fall.  That means we’ll be able to do twice the amount of teaching as we have previously, and we’ll able to take two professors with us with different perspectives and specialties in biblical worldview topics.  A team will also travel to Belarus this summer to help with practical things like repairing a house and meeting place for our Belarusian friends, talk about Christian education and its practical implementation, and discuss effective pro-life ministry.  I won’t be traveling in the summer as we’re expecting Wee Little Walter Number Four around that time, but it looks to be a great year ahead for our International Reformation ministry.

 

I am very encouraged and blessed by the outpouring of support I’ve received from you and others.  My support funds have poured in.  I have enough for this spring trip and am on my way toward my goal for the fall already.  In addition, so many of you have asked about the trip and its preparation and assured me of your prayers.  That is both humbling and encouraging.  What a blessing you are!

 

All my bags are packed, and my stuff is ready.  I’ll be flying today from Norfolk to DC and then on to Frankfurt, Germany, to connect to Minsk.  The forecast in Minsk calls for highs around freezing with snow each day while we’re there.  Interesting!  As always, I’ll do my very best to post updates each day.

 

Please be praying for my family while I’m away.  This is a short trip compared to previous years, but it’s still difficult for Karen.  Pray for her peace and good rest.  I’ll be presenting a session on the current global economic crisis as a part of our seminars.  As hard as the economic downturn has been for us here in the States, it is even more pronounced in other parts of the world and especially Eastern Europe.  I anticipate some difficult questions, and I covet prayers for wisdom, clear thoughts, and clear communication.  A great opportunity is here to talk about God’s economy and the biblical ideals for economics, but our world is so complex and the problems so deep that it can be confusing.  Please pray that God will make Himself known through me and that I can bring the truth while also being encouraging to them.

 

I’ll talk to you from Minsk!  More to come.

 

Scott

A final wrap-up

Virginia Beach, Virginia – Tuesday, December 30, 2008 – 11:39am

 

For weeks now, I’ve been meaning to send a final email to wrap up my recounting of my trip to Belarus and Ukraine and to share with you the amazing story of the Vineyard Christian School outside of Kiev.  Life and procrastination got in the way nonetheless, and so I figured that the end of the year was a good time to write.  I can wrap up this year’s trip, talk a little about what is going on with the greater ministry, and present some plans for 2009.

 

First, let’s talk about Vineyard Christian School outside of Kiev, Ukraine.  Whenever I travel to Eastern Europe and talk about the Christian worldview of business and economics, I start with a question about the purpose of a business.  It’s to generate a profit, and profit is not bad or unbiblical.  In fact, honest profits and their pursuit are very biblical!  However, what’s essential to taking “doing business” to the next step of “doing business ‘Christianly’” is what is done with those profits.  My understanding of the Bible through my studies is that profits are to be used to glorify God by empowering people, advance the gospel, enrich the community, and show His love by the example of responsible stewardship.  Because Communism has stripped many eastern Europeans of the understanding of profitable business practice let alone Christian business practice, these ideas can be difficult to grasp.  This year, though, I found in Ukraine a great example of what biblical business looks like in practice.  In a small suburb of Kiev, there is a pastor whose full-time job is as the owner of a contracting company.  He is a residential and commercial builder and is very successful.  He and his wife have committed to using the profits of the business to develop the community and be the very best witness they can be as a result.  To that end, they have personally financed road construction that enabled easier travel to and from Kiev and allowed for delivery of goods that were previously not accessible because of poor roads.  New businesses have started as a result, and those have provided jobs locally rather than forcing residents to travel to Kiev to work.  The couple has also built Vineyard Christian School as an offshoot of their church.  The school provides jobs for a dozen teachers and staff and provides a first rate Christian education for the tens of students now enrolled in grades K-8.  Two years from now, they will have enrollment for K-12.  While in Ukraine, our team spoke about Christian education one evening in the school to parents and teachers.  We talked about how parents can make their homes a center of Christian learning even if they don’t specifically homeschool their children.  The building is physically spectacular, and the children enrolled are testing very well against their state school peers.  Perhaps more importantly, though, the school is making a great difference in the community.  Two property owners whose properties adjoin the school and who are not believers have deeded land to the school for future expansion because of the witness of the pastor and his wife, the schoolchildren, and the school faculty.  Local unchurched residents have explored the church and some have even joined because of what they’ve seen from the school and those related.  All of this is a perfect example of Christian business worldview and how this pastor and his wife are acting out what the Bible proscribes when it comes to business and the use of profits.  They personally funded construction of the school and continue to fund its operations until it is self-sustaining.  They run their construction business expressly for the purpose of using its proceeds to advance the Kingdom!  It was incredibly gratifying to see and experience firsthand and a fitting end to our time in Ukraine.

 

Let me share a couple of things about this greater ministry I’m involved with.  2008 was a very exciting year.  We are two-thirds of the way through the steps to officially incorporate as a non-profit organization, and we expect that to culminate with the registration of the Institute for Reformation in early 2009.  In September, we had our first Board of Directors meeting and named six Directors to the Board.  To my great surprise, I was nominated to serve not just as organization Treasurer and Secretary but as a full Board member.  I was completely surprised and thoroughly humbled.  It is a great honor and an awesome responsibility before the Lord.  We also successfully completed our fourth teaching trip to Belarus and took our second Regent University professor to deliver high-level academic teaching.  We have sustained and even deepened our relationships in Belarus and are moving well along in our multi-year plan to establish an accredited degree program in biblical worldview studies for Russian speakers in Eastern Europe.  We delivered ground level introductory teaching in Ukraine and established new relationships that will enable future projects in the coming years.  It was a very blessed year!

 

That leaves me approaching 2009 and with news of what’s ahead.  For the first time in 2009, I will be traveling to Eastern Europe twice in once year.  After much prayer and the Lord’s direction to focus our ministry sharply, the organization’s leadership has decided that we will concentrate our efforts on Belarus in 2009 and trim back on travel to other countries.  Three teams will travel to Belarus for five days each in March, July, and November.  Because Karen and I will be welcoming wee little Walter number four in July, I will only travel in the spring and fall.  While the trips will be shorter, it is still a tremendous undertaking for which I pray I am equipped.  Your support has been crucial to my participation over the past years, and I would ask that you prayerfully consider whether the Lord would have you to support me again this year.  I am so very grateful for your prayers and your financial gifts.  It will cost about $3500 for me to travel next year, and I am confident that the Lord is not constrained by our shaky economy!  He will provide.

 

We serve a mighty God who has blessed us all tremendously over the course of 2008.  Take time these next couple of days to reflect on His goodness and to thank Him for His constant watchcare.  As you have time and interest, I would love to talk to you about your plans for the coming new year.  How can I pray for you and your plans?  What is God calling you to this year?  Let me know!

 

Always more to come,

 

Scott

Kiev premiere parte ( little French lingo for my current location)

Basel, Switzerland – Sunday, November 9, 2008 – 8:07am local time

 

I’m finally headed home this morning after a long but wonderful trip.  Since the last leg of the journey is about to begin, I figured I should at least write something about our time in Kiev.  Sometimes as we travel the schedule allows for easy times of writing and getting online to post updates.  Other times, it’s not so convenient and I fall behind.  I apologize.

 

Kiev was a fascinating city.  I’d not been there before, and I anticipated another city of Communist-style block apartments as far as the eye could see and the typical Soviet gray everywhere.  It wasn’t at all like that!  Much of the city was beautiful and reminded me on some western European cities I’ve been in rather than a Soviet outpost on the eastern frontier.  In the Soviet Union and well before, Kiev was one of the three primary cities of the Russian empire and thus it has always been very cosmopolitan.  Baroque architecture is everywhere, and they use such fantastic colors on the buildings—yellow, teal, Carolina blue, gold, peach.  The Orthodox cathedrals were the best.  All painted up with brilliant gold onion domes shining for miles around.  It really took me by surprise.  Here’s the downside, though.  The glorious past didn’t stop the decay.  The city has definitely fallen into disrepair.  It’s grimy, traffic is terrible (lots and lots and lots of new car owners in the last couple of years), and the economic crisis has hit Ukraine hard.  That’s not to say that progress isn’t being made; it is and parts of the city shine like a coat of new paint.  There is much to be done, however.

 

Our meetings in Kiev were all in the evening, save one day-time interview.  So, we had the opportunity to play tourist quite a bit.  We must have walked 20 miles in four days, but it was worth it!  My favorite place was Mariinsky Park.  The trees formed arching canopies over the walkways.  The leaves were golden and orange and carpeted the park.  It was peaceful and so enjoyable to stroll through on Thursday morning.  Not too far from Mariinsky Park, on Wednesday night, we had perhaps the most interesting experience of the trip.  A lady was stationed outside St. Michael’s Cathedral with a tableful of various souvenirs.  Among them was a soccer jersey from the old Soviet team with CCCP emblazoned across the chest.  We pointed it out and chuckled and she went off!  She made sure in no uncertain terms that we knew she was born in Russia and spit on Ukraine!  Arms gesturing wildly, shouting, “Down Ukraine!  Russia big strong country!”  A Ukrainian who was with us then made the mistake of saying that we were Americans.  Oh, did she go apoplectic!  She started growling at us, spitting, shouting, “Go home!  Away!  Away!  Close door!  Grrrrrrrr!  RRRRRRRRR!”  It was all quite comical really since we were in no danger whatsoever.  Sad, too, though that she could be so bitter and trapped in the ideology of the past.  I wondered what her life had been like.  What had she been told about the world?  Why was she in Kiev if she hated Ukraine so much?  Memorable to say the least!

 

The reason for our visit to Ukraine, however, was to teach not play tourist.  We had four scheduled events, and they all went off swimmingly.  On Wednesday afternoon, we met a local journalist at a cafeteria for two interviews.  He was a young guy, a Christian, and writes for two websites that are very popular in Ukraine.  NATO is a big topic in the country these days as Ukraine ponders membership and the US ponders issuing an invitation.  Apparently, most of the population desperately wants a greater relationship with the west instead of Russia, but they also generally oppose NATO membership.  Seems a bit dichotomous to me, but who am I to know?  One of our team members is a retired Rear Admiral from the US Navy, and he spent 35 minutes answering questions about NATO and geopolitics.  I kept my mouth firmly shut and thoroughly enjoyed simply listening and learning.  What a blessing to be able to hear that kind of insight from a godly man who knows what he’s talking about!  The second interview was about Christian education in the US.  We talked about educational history in the US, private Christian schools, homeschooling, secular and Christian universities, Regent University, MBA programs, all sorts of stuff.  I think the journalist was a little overwhelmed with just how big a role Christian education plays in the American society.  I really don’t think he even conceived of something like that in Ukraine.

 

Over three evenings, we had a chance to speak in a non-denominational church, give a seminar on making your home a center of Christian learning, and give a talk and participate in a roundtable discussion about Christian worldview and how it plays out in society.  All three meetings were warmly received and we made some excellent contacts for follow-up work.  The church service was particularly interesting for me in one respect.  One of the Ukrainian university students who spent a lot of time with us as an informal guide and interpreter described the pastor as a “soft Charismatic or radical Baptist.”  This was funny and very apt!  We met him very briefly before he turned the entire Wednesday evening service over to us, and neither of us knew quite what to think of the other.  New Life Church has about 1500 members in Kiev and has planted numerous other churches throughout the country. It is very influential.  We met in the large auditorium at a local university, and the pastor sat at his own table during the service.  It faced and adjoined the stage, meaning his back was to the congregation the whole time.  On the table were an enormous laptop, two carafes of hot tea, and a complement of cups and sugars.  For the entire message, he was buried in his laptop; I didn’t think he was listening to a word that was said.  Bruce brought a great message about the four spheres of government and how the church must be involved in society, something new for Ukraine.  At the end, the pastor took the mic to close the service, and I wondered what he would say.  He then proceeded to speak for about ten minutes summarizing everything Bruce has said and especially urging his people to think about what the church could do in society to take back the authority that the state had usurped, what they could do to strengthen families, what they could do to empower self-government, and he repented for not being more involved civically.  He even said that, “it was time that he visited the national administration and began to talk about the church in Kiev and Ukrainian society.”  I was amazed and thrilled.  An excellent night!

 

There is much more to tell, but this posting is already getting too long.  Remind me to tell you about Vineyard Christian School.  Fabulous testimony of Christian business and practicing what you preach.  More to come.

 

Scott

I'm in!

I think I have officially integrated myself in Europe.  I'm standing at a train station in Mannheim, Germany, waiting for my train on to Basel, Switzerland.  A local just came up and asked me, in German, if there was a train to Munich.  It must be the greasy hair and jeans that have been worn five times now! :)

Sorrow

Kiev, Ukraine – Wednesday, November 5, 2008 – 6:12pm local time

 

I have a heavy heart today.  With the time difference here, we went to bed last night knowing that Americans were voting across the country but not knowing any results.  Of course, we knew as well as anyone what the polls were saying and that they are often wrong.  However, we also knew what the sense of America was leading into yesterday and that we were called to intercession but with the full knowledge that God might not choose to answer our prayers in the way that we hoped.  We awoke this morning and turned on the TV before we even got out of our beds and held our breath as we waited for the results.  Though we were fairly certain of the outcome, it still cut deeply to actually see and hear the words President-Elect Barack Obama.  My Lord, what have we done in the name of hope and change?  Americans have knowingly elected a man who has no regard for the unborn, a man who has little regard for biblical principles in any area, and leaders who scoff at the very founding principles of godly government and a moral people that have invited God’s blessings for so long.  There is no doubt that we are in a mess, but Barack Obama isn’t the answer.  Joe Biden isn’t the answer.  Nor is John McCain the answer.  Sarah Palin isn’t the answer.  Democrats aren’t the answer.  Republicans aren’t the answer.  Liberals aren’t the answer.  Conservatives aren’t the answer.  Jesus Christ and a return to God’s law are the answer.  Until America rediscovers the law of God and right moral standing before Him, it will matter not who is in the White House or which party controls Congress.  My heart is heavy today for my country and for what it has become, what it has allowed.  I tremble at the thought of a Barack Obama presidency, but I also trembled at the thought of a McCain presidency if he didn’t fall on his face before God each and every day.  Are we at the point where we can say America is no longer great because it is no longer good?

 

I think Tuesday was a real I Samuel 8 moment for America.  Because self-government and personal responsibility have broken down, the family has crumbled.  Because the family has crumbled, many, many churches and their leaders do not effectively operate according to God’s intended model.  Because the church has surrendered its rightful role in society, the civil government has become an unwieldy and ungodly monster.  Romans 13 tells us that civil government and political leaders are ordained and established by God.  Civil government is biblical and has proscribed authority.  That authority has limits, however, and we have allowed it to take a role so much greater than God intended.  We also now look to it to direct and guide our country.  Have we become Israel in I Samuel 8?  Israel begged Samuel, “Give us a king…  We want a king over us.  Then we will be like all the other nations with a king to lead us…”  God listens to us and usually gives us what we seek.  God, have mercy on us.  Save us from ourselves and turn us back to You.

 

More to come.

 

Scott

Trees planted by living waters

Somewhere between Minsk, Belarus and Riga, Latvia – Monday, November 3, 2008 – 5:11pm local time

 

We’re on a flight somewhere between Minsk and Riga where we’ll overnight before heading on to Kiev, Ukraine, for the second leg of our adventure.  Our team has shrunk by one as we saw Jim off at the airport in Minsk to head home.  His portion of the teaching is complete.

 

Our time in Minsk came to a conclusion with a sobering time and then a great celebration.  The plan this morning was to stop at Kurapaty forest on the way to our last meeting.  I’ve written about Kurapaty before, but no simple retelling of a visit there can do it justice.  Kurapaty lies now on the outer edge of Minsk, and the main ring road runs right through it.  In 1937, however, the Kurapaty forest lay well outside of Minsk in the midst of a few villages.  Beginning in 1937 and continuing through 1941, Stalin’s security forces used Kurapaty as a place of mass executions of the intelligentsia, upper class, and “wealthier” peasants, basically anyone who didn’t agree with forced collectivization and Communism.  We had the privilege of having a trained historian with us today, and he gave us a moving recounting of what happened there.  Because of the Soviet methods and years of non-acknowledgement, a true counting of victims buried there is impossible.  However, estimates range from 30,000 to 250,000.  In the late ‘80s, a Belarusian dissident began collecting stories of eyewitnesses and archaeologists and publicized what happened in that somber forest.  Now, there are hundreds of crosses erected amongst the trees wherever bodies were found.  Only two sets of remains have been positively identified.  The national government of Belarus still refuses to fully acknowledge what happened there, despite the unearthing of grave after grave, and vandals continually try to ruin the site.  Nonetheless, brave volunteers keep a vigil over the forest and refuse to let people forget what happened there and under Communism.  The trees form a canopy overhead and a cold fog rises up amongst the crosses.  Sorrow drenches the earth, and a heavy burden hits your heart as you wander and ponder man’s inhumanity to man.  We stood quietly and listened to the history of the place and then prayed for the forgiveness of sins, the repentance of the nation, and that this place would be a marker in the future of how God can transform a nation that rights itself before Him.  Powerful.

 

After such a heavy time in that place, we needed an uplifting celebration.  We always spend the last morning in Minsk meeting with reformational leaders and discussing our joint plans for the future.  We did just that, enjoyed a light lunch, and then we were presented with gifts from our friends.  Their generosity is always so affecting.  They spend hours and hours in preparation before we arrive.  They run us all over the city and beyond from meeting to meeting to historical sites to the hotel and so on.  They feed us so well at every meal and make sure we always have a fresh bottle of water or cup of tea at hand.  Then, just before we depart to the airport, they always give us gifts.  We were especially touched this year as they presented us with a special offering that was collected on Sunday night especially for our team.  Wow.  What a selfless act on their part to give out of their need simply to bless us.  We decided that it would not be proper for us to accept the money, so we turned it right back around and gave it to their building fund for a new Christian school.  It was only fitting considering that the school sprung over the last few years as a result of one of our previous trips.  Seeds planted!

 

Those planted seeds also led to a great surprise just as we departed.  On Thursday night, Bruce gave a brief message in church about planting seeds and trees that will grow many years in the future.  As believers, we plant seeds in our families, our churches, and our society that we may never see fully prosper or fully grow but that will mature in future generations and bless our children’s children as we walk in the way of the Lord.  To symbolize that, our Belarusian brothers had arranged for us to plant five trees outside the gates of the church just before we loaded up for the airport.  What a joy that was!  Each team member took a shovel and planted a pine tree in the rich Belarusian soil as a symbol of the great work that God is doing to put seed in the soil there and grow up strong trees with deep, deep roots by living waters.  What a symbol.  Our hearts fairly leapt with excitement and joy as we gathered together for one last time in prayer and fellowship before leaving Minsk for Riga and on to Kiev tomorrow.  God is so good.

 

More to come.

 

Scott

Riga

Riga, Latvia – Tuesday, November 4, 2008, 1:16pm local time

 

Ah, Riga.  The good ol’ Baltic States, (semi-)western Europe.  Thanks for Air Baltic and the cancelling of our flight to Kiev last night, we got to spend the night here in Riga and get a little respite from our hard pace of the past several days.  We knew in advance that we’d be overnighting here, so I found a moderately-priced hotel right in the Old Town of Riga.  It was within walking distance of everything we could need or want to see.  It was thoroughly enjoyable to do a two-hour walking tour this morning.  We were numb from the cold after ten minutes, and so we simply stood with our face to the wind and pressed on!    I mean, really.  How often do you get to stand in the nave of a church that was built in 1225 or walk cobblestone streets that were laid centuries ago and are hardly wide enough for a horse and cart let alone a car?!  So what if it’s only 40 degrees and damp outside!  Like any good tourist town, the hotels in Riga have little magazines with loads of advertisements, lists of restaurants and hotel, and a roster of points of interest.  This little guide also provided us with the great walking tour.  In about two hours we had covered most of Old Town, and I sucked in the atmosphere of the city.  I love being in old Europe and seeing buildings that have stood little changed for centuries.  Riga looks a little like Vienna, a little like Timisoara, Romania, and a little like something all its own.  The colors, the style of the buildings, everything is just a little distinct from other places I’ve been.  The walk ended with us going back to the hotel via the riverfront.  The wind chill was about 25, and we fairly froze our noses off!

 

As quaint and fascinating as the old centers of Europe are, one thing hits you immediately.  You can see it in the faces of the people and in the storefronts.  Secularism runs rampant and is embraced with vigor.  After checking in to Radi un Draugi Hotel (fantastic!), we set out to find an affordable dinner.  We ended up at Čili Pica, which was both affordable and delicious, but we will hit full force with the worldview of Europe as we walked down the first street from our hotel.  We passed a clothing shop called Faith Connexion.  In the window, we could see shirts with the word ‘FAITH’ emblazoned across the front.  Another said ‘GOD LOVES YOU,’ all in very gothic script.  Curiously, we poked our heads inside, and Bruce asked the girl behind the counter what the idea for the shop was.  She immediately shot back, “To be sexy, to be ‘rock and roll.’  It has nothing to do with God.”  Here was the perfect description of the majority European mindset.  God might exist, but if He does He’s simply a tool to be edgy.  There is spirituality, but it is only an essence of being, a front you project to show that you have deeper knowledge of something and are “enlightened.”  Never mind that it is really mockery of God and true faith.  It’s sick.

 

The people in Latvia have grown wealthy quickly.  They gained independence less than 20 years ago, and the economy and standard of living are already visibly high.  It’s not Germany or France, but it’s getting there rapidly.  It was nice to be back in a western country after the time in Belarus, but it saddened me to see the spiritual and moral decay that has already set in.

 

We’re off to Kiev shortly—a first for me.  I can’t wait to drink it all in and absorb something new again!  More to come.

 

Scott

Belarus, dosvidanya

Minsk, Belarus – Sunday, November 2, 2008 – 11:19pm local time

 

I promise you a shorter posting tonight since it’s late here already and we have to get ready for our departure tomorrow to Ukraine by way of one night in Latvia.

 

What a wonderful day we had today!  A, Y, A and O picked us up from the hotel for a morning and early afternoon of touring.  We always make a point of visiting some historical sites wherever we go so that we can get a better context and learn what is important to the people we’re working with.  In Belarus, in particular, this historical treasure hunting is important because the thrust of the group we work so closely with uses the teaching of the Christian history of Belarus to show the people what their modern day society can look like if they incorporate biblical principles in all spheres of life.  If you haven’t heard me talk about it previously, there is a strong movement to expose Christians here to their Protestant past, the so-called “Golden Age of Belarus” in the 15^th and 16^th centuries.  Protestantism came to Belarus through the royalty and transformed a warring, pagan backwoods into a thriving, wealthy, and peaceful power in Slavic Europe.  Each year, our team likes to visit one or two historical sites and learn a little more about their particular significance.  If we have a team member that is traveling here for the first time, as we do this time, we find that this is a very effective way to form relationships and educate ourselves.  Today we had the privilege of visiting Kryeva and Zhshlava (phonetic spellings—don’t hold me to correctness!).  We first tackled Kryeva to see still-standing ruins of a castle that was constructed when Belarus first became a Christian nation between 1385 and 1387.  The walls are broken down and full of holes but still stand 12 or 15 high in spots and encircle an area of about an acre.  The atmosphere was perfect to hear about the history of fighting factions and families—foggy, damp, and cold with a horse grazing right in the center of the walls.  The story was typical of European history, queens who couldn’t bear their kings an heir, arranged marriages across religions and countries, brothers fighting brothers, uncles imprisoning nephews.  All thoroughly delightful stuff!

 

We left Kryeva and drove about an hour southeast to Zhshlava.  This was one of the first towns of Belarus with documented settlement since the 900s.  Amazing.  Our primary focus was a Calvinist church built in the 1300s that has since been transferred from the Protestants to the Catholics to the Orthodox to the Soviets (who used it as a warehouse) back to the Orthodox who currently occupy it.  We poked our heads inside and watched a priest christen a little boy.  From the sounds of it, I couldn’t tell if the baby was being christened or circumcised!  Poor kid.  We talked briefly to an older lady who was doing the Stations of the Cross in the church.  She had a beautiful voice and was really sweet.  She told us that she “knew a Protestant lady once but she moved to the States.”  Orthodox is most certainly the primary religion here!  We were finally driven out of Zhshlava by hurricane force winds and heavy mist that froze us to the bone.  It was about 45 degrees today.

 

The highlight of the day, however, was something I can’t really write freely about.  We had a late lunch with some friends that we work closely with and then went to a church service.  Because of security concerns, I can’t say too much but it was such an encouraging and edifying time of praise and worship, a fantastic message, and a great time of being with friends.  We went out to dinner afterward and spent two wonderful hours telling jokes, talking about church, telling of our observations from the trip, and just enjoying being together.  What a delight!

 

We wrap up the Belarus leg with a meeting tomorrow morning, and then we’re off to Riga for a night!  I’ll write from there.  More to come.

 

Scott

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

Back in the saddle again

Minsk, Belarus – Friday, October 31, 2008 – 10:47pm local time

 

The first full day here in Belarus is in the books, and a fabulous day it was.  This is my fourth trip to Belarus now, and the relationships we’ve formed over the years are precious.  When we come back now, it’s like coming home in some ways.  After getting settled in the hotel, our team went to a mid-week praise and worship and prayer service last night.  That was great, but we had the best time afterward upstairs in the church office with B & B and A (not a good idea to use their real names).  We spent about 90 minutes snacking and talking about B’s testimony, life in Communist days, and a general mix of history and politics.  One member of our team had not been here before and has no experience in formerly Communist countries or contexts.  He was fascinated by the discussion, and it instantly swept away his jetlag!  Among the most special times on these trips are the sweet times of fellowship we get to have with other believers that have to walk out their faith every day despite real persecution that we in America really only hear about or imagine.

 

My head finally hit the pillow at 11:30 last night, and I was asleep at 11:30:30!  I didn’t hear a sound until 6:30 this morning.  We enjoyed the breakfast buffet above the casino in the hotel (really!) and then fought our way through Minsk traffic to the church for today’s seminars.  They tell us traffic is something new to Minsk, and I have to say that I don’t remember anything as bad as now on previous trips.  Suddenly, everyone has a car, and the roads here were designed and laid when only the Party bigwigs had cars.  Things are choked in all directions now.  It’s like the DC Beltway!  Once we got that out of the way, we settled in for the first day of seminars—seven great sessions on political theology and constitutional structure.  (Don’t you wish you were here, too?!)  It was fantastic, and I loved every minute of it.  Over seven hours, we covered definitions and surveys of periods of political theology, political thoughts of major streams of Christianity, Calvinist political theology, the Preamble of the US Constitution, separation of powers and its biblical basis, the three branches of government and their various powers, bottom up government versus top down government and how it enables a society to develop citizens best as created in the image of God, amending a constitution, and the full faith and credit clause and how states are forced to deal with certain moral issues when other states pass laws that differ.  While we Americans don’t necessarily study our government in depth regularly, we sort of innately know much of this.  In Belarus, however, this stuff is as foreign to them as the Russian language is to you and me.  I could see light bulbs exploding on at various points during the day as those attending the seminar latched on to one part or another of the lectures.  We’re trying our best to give them godly foundations for nation-building so that when freedom truly comes to Belarus Christians will be prepared to step up and fill the leadership vacuum that will result.  What an amazing opportunity from the Lord to partner with a people to build their nation the right way and almost from scratch!  Tomorrow, we’ll dive more into constructing a political theology for the Belarusian context, the Bill of Rights, rights in general, and using biblical principles to delineate and protect rights.  (I know, I know, you want to be here for all fourteen hours of lectures, too!)

 

In between the lectures, we stuffed our faces with home-cooking Belarusian style.  That means lots of potatoes, dark bread, cheese, fruit juices, cucumbers, tomatoes (I didn’t stuff those), pork sausages, cabbage, olives, hot tea, and cookies.  It’s all good, too good, and I’ll be walking straight from the airport to the treadmill when I get home.  After we ate, we talked more politics (this time American election politics) and history and then ate again.  Really.

 

Tonight is Oct 31, Halloween.  More importantly, it’s also Reformation Day when many Christians worldwide celebrate the Protestant Reformation.  That is big deal here as the Christian community is big on looking back several centuries at the nation’s history to when this was a center of Eastern European reformation and Protestantism and using that knowledge to teach the present church what a biblically-based society can look like.  Two years ago when we here on Reformation Day, there was a big concert with several Christian rock bands and historical re-enactments.  This year, it was more of a traditional church service with praise and worship, a couple of choral pieces, brief words from several different pastors from various denominations (how ‘bout that!), and a drama with an adorable little girl and some historical figures.  We all got a good laugh with her!  What a blessing that they make something meaningful out of today.  I wouldn’t trade my kids’ Fall Festival experience tonight back home for anything, but I always want them to know the true significance of the day as well.

 

I’m going to sign off for the night and get caught up on a little more sleep.  Another action-packed day!  More to come.

 

Scott