Russia mission updates - Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Summary: Church in St. Petersburg, shopping, meetings and more meetings
Details: I am up at 5 AM. It is raining this morning. I am glad to have more coffee this morning while I write my blog. At 8 AM we hiked over to the bus stop and retraced our steps via public bus and subway to the center of St. Petersburg. Pastor Lief was our host for the morning. His wife prepared bilini for all of us -- 18 people and a homeless man he found outside on the street. It was delicious! We ate and then joined their English service at 10 AM.
The service used the 1941 Lutheran Hymnal and the liturgy seemed to be from close to the same era. Pastor Lief preached a refreshingly positive sermon about God’s call in our lives. I think there would have only been ten or so people without our group. He seemed glad to have a full house.
The Ingrian Lutheran Church is three blocks from the Church of the Spilt Blood. One of the largest souvenir markets is near that church, and so we walked over to shop. Pastor Lief warned us not to pay the first price because they will bargain as you walk away. Oy! There are maybe 80 stands and many of them have the same things. Much of it caters to American tourists. I watched as one of the Minnesota team members bought nesting dolls (matrioska) in Minnesota Viking uniforms. The inside dolls had Brett Farve, Peterson, etc. He paid 1,000 rubles ($33).
While I was shopping one, of the vendors asked me what I thought of Obama. I tried to give a noncommital answer, and he started an intense conversation about politics and corruption in Russia. He asked where I was from, and when I said Salt Lake City, he asked what I thought of Mormons. I told him I was Lutheran and he asked me what the difference was between the Mafia and the Mormon Church. I was quite surprised by this question and asked him why he asked it. He said he could see no difference. Both the Mafia and the Mormon Church take 10-15% to further their own empires. I asked how the Mafia functioned locally, and he replied they protected businesses for their fee and that the government also took their fees. He would like to open a store, but it would cost him $40,000 in fees total but paid to both groups. I asked how he was doing, and he said he had a wife and children and that he could not afford to put his little one in a preschool because there were more “enrollment fees.” Everyone has to pass on their expenses. He warned me that those who complain too loudly usually have an accident… I was glad for this long and heartfelt conversation. Pray against the corruption in Russia!
We had an incident while returning to Koltushe. Two of the women lost their focus for just a few seconds as we pushed through the crowded streets on the way to the subway. They walked past the subway entrance and got lost. Fourteen of us huddled in the entrance while Sally and Bill searched them out.
We returned to the seminary and began team meetings at 3 PM. We met with our Russian translators and began to talk about procedures for the camp. The big news for the day is that we now have 47 registered for classes. Dinner was at 5:30. We had two more meetings and I must confess others noticed I was nodding off. I’m still dealing with jetlag. Michael and I agreed we were still real men if we went to bed before 10.
