Thoughts on Russia.

Only a few more days in Russia. I was sitting here, thinking about the question I have been asked many times by Russians and I know will be the first on the lips of the Americans:
"What was Russia like?"

That is a question I am hard-pressed to answer. Three months is a long time, and at the same time, a short time. A week-long mission trip is not enough to share in people's lives, to see what they see, to feel what they feel. And yet, it seems like only yesterday I stepped into Krasnodar. It's far too short a time to dwell among such great people. I am not the same man I was 3 months ago, and yet I have only been here a mere 87 days.
What was Russia like?
How do you describe something as big as Russia in a single blog post. I can only try, but I know that whatever I'm about to write will only scratch the surface.

What have I seen in Russia?

 I have seen a once-proud nation reduced to chaos and confusion. I have seen the rejection of truth and the willful choice of ignorance. I have seen people choose what is convenient over what is right, the road most traveled on, rather than the road most true. I have seen the shepherds of the people, charged with the welfare of the flock, instead make deals with the wolves for their personal gain. I have seen a blinding cloud of darkness descend over the land, condemning all who dwell underneath it to enslavement and backwards ignorance.
But that is not all I have seen.
I have also seen a light in the darkness, proclaiming liberty to the captives, wisdom to the foolish, and hope to the despairing. A lighthouse standing in the midst of the storm and calling out, "Here! Here is safety, here is rest!" I have seen the weak made strong by Divine Power. I have seen the captive's chains struck off. I have seen the naked clothed in truth and the hungry satisfied in righteousness. I have seen courage, where once there was only cowardice. I have seen passion, where once there was only apathy.

I have seen vast and mighty strongholds built up to resist truth and imprison the hearts and minds of men, and have seen the same walls come crashing down to rubble and ashes. I have seen both a people content to wear chains, afraid of the idea of freedom. And I have seen a people standing up and casting off their rags and proclaiming, "We will be slaves no more."

I have seen the Cross proclaimed, and I have seen the Cross triumphant.

I have loved Russia, and God willing, I will return. I am excited for Russia's Future. God is working great things here, and the winds of change are beginning to swirl. This summer has radically challenged me in many ways, and made me rethink several aspects in my life that I had never questioned before and taken for granted. God's not finished with Russia, and neither am I, I believe. And I know God's not finished with me.
I could go on for days, and probably will when I get back to the states, trying to articulate what I've felt and experienced here.

But the best (and really, the only) way for you to truly know is to come back with me. Until that time,

до свидания, друзья мои.
Do Svidanya, My friends. 

Да благословит вас Господь и сохранит тебя, пока мы не встретимся снова.

Russia Post 7: English Camp in Krasnodar

Wow… how do I even begin to sum up the past 2 weeks? They’ve gone by so fast and so slow at the same time.

Well, to start, I’ll introduce the UTSA team that arrived in Russia at the beginning of August.

Josh Wheeler

Sam Isenhower

Marie Isenhower

Jessi Adcock

Bethany Powell

Kristen Armstrong

And Johnny Hauk

These guys have been the greatest. They spent almost 18 hours in a Russian airport getting into the country, arrived jet-lagged and worn out, and then jumped head-first into the barrel of monkeys that is Krasnodar English Camp.

English Camp is a project started a few years ago that takes older kids (16-25 were ages or thereabouts) and throws them out the middle of the woods, and takes them camping, hiking, bike-riding, rafting, swimming, archery, and all the trimmings of a summer camp. Complete with no flushing toilets and no hot water. 

Me organizing 4-Man Tug-O-War

We drove 3 hours into the Russian mountains, away from the vestiges of civilization and camped next to the White River in Adygea, Russia. Caleb and I had been there before with the Hayes’ in July and, yep, the water was just as cold.

The next 2 weeks went by in a dizzying blur. I have never been so exhausted and having so much fun all at the same time. Caleb and I were organizing games, heading out river-rafting, teaching archery, and making some wonderful new friendships with some amazing people. Those guys were great, speaking in English which was always much better than my limited and broken Russian.

We all divided into six teams: Black, Red, Blue, White, Yellow, and Green. All during the week, we would have competitions pitting each team against the other (Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, archery tournaments, dodgeball, and battles with swimming noodles, you name it).

The FOOD was amazing!! (Shout-out to Christine Hayes and the kitchen team, you guys are my heroes!) We had Russian verrimika (I KNOW that’s not how you spell it, but it was basically chicken-n-dumplings), and American hamburgers and TEXAN Mexican food! I wept tears of joy consuming enchiladas and chips and salsa.

At night, we roasted apples, bananas and smores to our hearts’ and bellies’ content, sitting around a roaring campfire, sharing one another’s company and an unsullied view of God’s marvelous creation. Stars shone brilliantly, especially since the light pollution in the mountains was almost zero.

^“But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who among these knoweth not that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?” 

This verse was shouted by the very creation around us, testifying to the Lord Who is there and Who is not silent.
The farewells were tearful and hard at the end of the camp, and we came back to Krasnodar mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted, but enriched at the same time. So many new friendships and so many lives were touched in the short time we were in the mountains. A single word, a touch, a high-five in the kitchen, or something as simple as a smile can affect someone’s world in ways we cannot even imagine and will never know this side of heaven.
All I know is that God was at work this week, and that I want to be here next year to see these faces again.
Russians and Americans both, my life has been blessed beyond measure this week.

Do Svidanya, my friends.