Our team arrived safely in Moscow and are enjoying SLEEP after 26 hours of travel. These are photos from our Boise departure including the massive amount of cargo we are towing to camp. (Five of the ten large suitcases will be staying in Russia!)

Intro to Tambov

Wrap-up

Picture: Missionary/nurse Beckie Garrison tending to me January 10. Ow! That REALLY hurt--the injury, not what Beckie did.

I confess, blogging slowed down after my crash in Tambov. The last 5 days of the trip were still fruitful. God used the class on Titus as we prayed. I got feedback a week after returning home that things from the class are being quoted and applied in talks about church situations in Tambov. Todd's work has incredible potential for the future. (I guess that's when most potential develops!)

Todd's and my final day was a snowy Sunday's journey to worship in Kirsanov, one of the healthiest churches in the oblast. Jenni drove us to and from Kirsanov, then accompanied us to Moscow and delivered us to the airport right on schedule. Our trans-Atlantic flight was diverted to London to drop off a passenger who fell ill, but we were able to absorb the delay into our scheduled layover in Chicago so we returned home on schedule Monday night.

The news on my shoulder is encouraging. "It's broken" is not what you usually want to hear, but in this case it's good news. Two fractures near the top of the humerus (upper arm bone) seem to be the extent of damage. After first x-rays and examination the sports medicine doctor does not think I damaged the rotator cuff and does not think I'll need surgery. Follow-up on January 24 will hopefully confirm the diagnosis. If that holds true, it will be a matter of keeping it in a sling until the bones heal sufficiently to begin physical therapy. I've set my personal goal to hit a golf ball by May 1.

I'm humbled again at the things God is doing through this bi-continental partnership. Thank you for praying for us. Thank you Todd, Jen and Megan for making this trip and letting God use you exceeding abundantly beyond all you could ask or think. Thank you to everyone who sacrificed (giving, babysitting, covering at jobs, etc.) to make it possible for the team to go. Thank you for praying for dear friend Paul Guay who intended to be with us. Please pray his recovery is sufficient to fulfill our plans to get him to Tambov in October.

Ephesians 3:20-21,

Jim

Big Day

Photos: Class picture (sadly, without the guys from Michurinsk who had to leave early) and dinner feast at the home of Vadim and Oksana Mihalin.

What a day!

We spent the morning finishing class. Good discussions of how God wants His church to function and more good connections than ever with the pastors and missionaries here.

After lunch we drove 2 hours to TCC (where Winter Camp was held) to visit the Drug and Alcohol Rehab Center. There are currently 8 or 9 people in the 2-month program. It’s all Bible study, prayer and discipleship–no psychology or medication. After tea we had a time of worship and study together where I preached briefly and answered Bible questions.

Next was dinner at Vadim’s home. Oksana prepared a delightful feast for 8 guests in addition to her family. Dinner was about 9:00 and we got to our room at the church a little before midnight.

I’m heading for bed. Todd battled a migraine headache all day. Please pray he can be back to normal tomorrow. We have the morning off, then meetings with Vadim. The evening is dinner and movie night at Jenni’s along with other Russian friends.

Thanks again for your prayers for pain management with my injured arm. God has granted me good rest each night and the ability to do everything necessary.

–Jim

How The Car Was Fixed

In Todd's post he mentioned casually "We fixed the locked brakes and had her back on the road in a short time." I wish I could have been there and made a video. From all the reports I've heard it involved:

- Pasha lying under the back of the car

- Jenni in the driver's seat with instruction to keep trying to pull forward and "Whatever you do, don't go backward--Pasha's lying back there"

- Todd and another guy with a tire iron, a meat tenderizer hammer and a dinner knife from the kitchen, banging on the brake drums and cylinders to break them loose

- Someone lighting newspapers on fire and holding them under the rear wheel wells to heat everything up and melt whatever was frozen

- Jenni praying something like "Lord, I'm Yours and this car is Yours. If you want to bring me home to You by burning alive in the car, so be it."

My mental picture is that this probably looked like a gathering of medicine men performing rituals to free a car from its bondage. The image would be complete if they told me they were chanting while they did all this.

That's today's snapshot of life in Russia.

Tomorrow: 3 hours of class before lunch, then adjourn. After lunch we travel to TCC (Transformation Christian Center where camp was held) where I will lead a Bible Q & A with the people in the rehab program.

Thanks for all the prayers and notes about my injured shoulder. I'm getting along OK. God is allowing me to sleep well in spite of the pain. Marsha already has an appointment for me at Idaho Sports Medicine Institute the day after I get home.

--Jim

New Friends

We have new friends and co-workers on the Russian side of our partnership.

Two couples have come from Uzbekistan where they served the Lord faithfully until bitter persecution drove them out. Please pray that God grants them much fruit for His glory.

The younger couple is Sergei and Nadia Shopin. They are working with youth through the church in Michurinsk (for those who know, that’s where Raphael is pastor). He has a diploma from Tashkent (Uzbekistan) Baptist Seminary by way of a distance learning program of Dallas Theological Seminary. They have no children yet, but Sergei tells me they are asking God for five! We saw them in action at camp, and they do a great job.

The older couple is Sergei and Luba Astashenko. They did not marry until well into their 40's and have no children. Sergei was a pastor in Uzbekistan for about 15 years. He has the same diploma from Tashkent Baptist Seminary and a Master’s from Reformed Seminary in Miami (also a distance learning program). They will be working in the church in Nikforovka (also called Dmitrievka) where Alexei Silkin has been the church planter. Alexei will move to the town of Kirsanov from which he will start a new church in a nearby village called Umyot. This is the first time Luba has ever lived away from the city (Tashkent) where she was born. Their smiles belie how difficult their life has been.

–Jim

We did it!

Imagine this . . .

Beautiful log cabin

Fox and coyote hides on the wall

Wild boar’s head trophy on the wall

Dart board on the wall

Antlers for coat and towel racks

Table and benches made of logs

(Sounds like an Idaho cabin so far, right?)

On the table . . .

5 varieties of chips

Pistachios

Dried smoked fish

Apples

Oranges

Deer jerky

Non-alcoholic beer (“kvas”)

(Still sounds like Idaho . . . )

Add in . . .

4 Russian pastors

1 American missionary

1 American pastor

1 American businessman

All wearing next to nothing

A 120 degree sauna room

Water to splash on the rocks to add humidity

Birch branches with leaves on them for slapping your skin while you sweat

10 minutes in the heat

Quick dip in the river

Sit, drink fluids, talk, eat

Repeat the cycle three times

That’s the Russian experience called Banya, and Todd and I have passed our initiation. I had to skip the river because of my shoulder and not wanting to navigate snow/ice but Todd did the full treatment. I stood outside and rubbed snow on me to cool off after the heat cycle. What I’ve been told is true . . . you feel really good after Banya. On my 11th visit to Russia I finally participated and now I wish I had done it sooner. No pictures–in this case what happens in Russia stays in Russia (except for descriptions on the internet!).

–Jim