February 11, 2008

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

I find it hard to believe that we are already near the middle of February. The first weeks of the year have flown by. I have spent much of my time over the past month working on visa challenges, ours rather than yours. There have been changes in the law, and though they were not directed at us, they have affected us significantly. Falling in line with much of the rest of the world, Russia has issued a new law that requires those working in Russia to have a work permit (the same kind of law applies in the United States and nearly all European countries). Without a work permit, once I get a new visa (and I am due very soon), I can only be in Russia for 90 days out of every 180. You can imagine the complications of this for us. We are busily working on a long-term solution, and feel good about the prospects, but in the meantime, I am working on a contingency plan that will have me in Russia when I need to be and out of Russia as much as is necessary to conform to the law. We would be grateful for your prayers.

Gary Payton (regional liaison for Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Poland) and Jerry Van Marter (coordinator of the Presbyterian News Service) arrived at the beginning of February. This is one of Gary’s biannual visits with mission co-workers in Russia. It is Jerry’s first visit to Russia. After spending time with our other colleagues in Moscow, Gary and Jerry joined me last Tuesday for a course on twinning over lunch. The course was actually given by one of our partners, Mikhail Chekalin (senior presbyter of the Moscow Baptist churches and pastor of the Good News Baptist Church). I really needed to add very little, as Mikhail understands and appreciates the program very much. Jerry wrote a good article about our conversation.

Tuesday night, the three of us boarded the late train for Smolensk. Smolensk is an amazing church. They are an extraordinary example of a missional church. The congregation of 234 is engaged in a wide array of ministries and always looking for where the Lord is calling them next. Gary and Jerry wanted in particular to see the church’s television studio and pieces of their orphanage ministry. The church is also involved in post orphanage ministry, sports ministry, prison ministry, music ministry, and is on the verge of opening their first rehabilitation center for alcoholics and drug addicts. Jerry wrote another good article about that. There are photos as well on Jerry’s blog.

Returning to Moscow on Friday morning, we spent the day with Margarita Nelyubova of the Russian Round Table, visiting some of the ministries that she is involved with. We visited an excellent elder care facility run by the St. Dmitri sisterhood (an Orthodox lay sisterhood associated with St. Dmitri Church, which is involved in a wide range of ministry). Next we visited the St. Alexi hospital, the only church-related hospital in Moscow. It is also the only completely free hospital, but you would not know this by the level of care. We were particularly interested in visiting this hospital, because they are getting ready to open a palliative care unit for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Finally, we visited an organization called Sobesednik, a resource center for psychological counseling involved in educational seminars on HIV/AIDS and volunteer burnout. They are educating clergy and congregations in order to destigmatize HIV/AIDS and empower people to reach out with care and support. With so few hands involved in ministry and so many problems, volunteer burnout is a serious problem. Margarita and I have been talking about the issue for some time. I was delighted to get acquainted with them and look forward to attending their next seminar. Watch the Presbyterian News Service page for upcoming articles. Gary and Jerry are now in St. Petersburg visiting other colleagues. I’m sure that there will be articles coming out of that portion of their visit as well.

On Sunday, I drove out to Podolsk to visit the Old World Drug Rehabilitation Center. I had lunch with the staff and residents. I shared with them about my travels to rehabilitation centers in the United States, and they were deeply interested in all the details. Still, I sensed fatigue there. Drug rehabilitation is a challenging area of ministry. Few are interested in it. The director, Evgeniy Protsenko, has told me how much a partner would mean to them—someone to share their joys and challenges, someone to encourage them when they get worn down. I have not yet found one. Having been involved in conversations over the past week about so many aspects of our ministry, I have been thinking about the whole. The pieces are all a part of one whole—vacation Bible school and camping, orphanage outreach and work with troubled youth, and drug rehabilitation ministry. All are efforts to help children build a foundation in Christ that will give them the strength and direction to stay the course. Many in drug rehabilitation spent their youth in troubled homes, orphanages, or on the streets. When do we stop caring about them? Our Lord does not.

I am humbled by the work that our partners are engaged in, and I am deeply grateful for the support that Presbyterians have given—your prayers, your encouragement, and your financial resources. I hope that you will read Jerry’s articles, because our partners have expressed what partnership with Presbyterians has meant to them, and you should know.

There is a chance that I will be in the United States for much of April. If you would like me to visit, please let us know.

Peace and blessings,

Ellen

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 158