November 2, 2008

Dear Friends,

I want to share a story with you.

Before the fire: from summer camp in July 2007.

Shortly after a great war, in a deep wood, not far from an ancient city, a building was constructed for children. Because of the war, building supplies were hard to come by, so the building was built of wood, which abounded in this forested region. Initially, the building was used for a kindergarten. It had four large rooms on one side, two smaller rooms on the other, and a veranda at each end. Time passed, and the building was turned into a camp. Other camp buildings were built nearby. Years passed and, sadly, the building fell into disuse. Abandoned and neglected, this building began to look very shabby, but a family heard about it and came to see. They saw the holes in the floor and the peeling paint. They understood construction well, so they knew the building needed work. They also knew they could put it right again, and they wanted the building very much. With the help of family on the far side of the globe, they bought it and everyone pitched in with hammers and nails and paintbrushes. They fixed the broken windows, repaired the floors, painted the walls, rehung the doors, and in a few short months, the building was ready to hold children again. For eight years the family loved this building very much, and took care of it, repairing it each spring. In the summer they opened its doors and filled its rooms with children for a camp. Then, in the dark of the night, a stranger came to the building. He started a fire and the building burned. Fire trucks came very quickly, but it was an old building built of wood.

The family in this story is the Smolensk Baptist Church, and the building built for children was their summer camp, “Rodnik.” And the family on the far side of the globe is their partner church, White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. Thursday, October 23, in the early hours of the morning, someone set fire to the building.

Olya Ignatenkova inside the ruined building.

I returned early Friday morning from Smolensk. I spent Wednesday evening and all day Thursday with Victor Ignatenkov (pastor of Smolensk Baptist Church) and his family. Victor, his daughter, Olya, and I went out to the camp Thursday morning. It is a sad sight. The arsonist set mattresses on fire in four different rooms. The fire actually only spread in one room, but it destroyed 80 percent of the roof. There is smoke damage everywhere, not to mention water damage. The building is a total loss. They expect the first snows to collapse the roof, if high winds do it first.

Victor shared the story with me. He was in Moscow at a seminar when the fire broke out. A neighbor called his brother, Leonid (pastor of a nearby church). Both Leonid and the neighbor called the fire brigade. By the time Leonid reached the camp, 15 minutes later, three fire trucks were already there, so they responded very quickly. Leonid called Victor early that morning. Given the early hour, Victor knew immediately that something was wrong. As soon as Leonid told him he was at the camp, Victor knew that it had burned. He ate breakfast and left Moscow immediately. He called his wife, Nadia, from his car, telling her that he was on his way back. She did not realize immediately that there was something wrong, and was simply glad to have him on his way back early. Her response when he told her that the camp had burned was, "What?!" Then, it was "Oh my God, oh my God!"

After the fire.

She still has not been able to bring herself to go out to the camp. It has been a shock for everyone. The church’s TV studio did a report on the fire during their Saturday evening broadcast, so many of the church members heard of the fire that way. They called in tears and disbelief. On Sunday the rest of the congregation found out. One little girl, came up to Olya in tears. “I'm finally old enough to be in camp this year!” she said. Their hearts ache for something that was more than just a camp building for them. They had all put so much into this building: the original renovations and the yearly upkeep and repair, gathering beds and bedding, stools and tables, fixing the showers, etc. Olya commented, "We finally had enough stools for everyone."

Their family in Raleigh, the members of White Memorial Presbyterian Church, responded to the news immediately with emails and prayer. It has given them strength and encouragement this week. Without that support, they would have felt very alone.

Our Baptist friends in Smolensk want to rebuild. They want to build a better building that will not burn (out of bricks rather than wood) and one that can be used year around (with heating). They want to add a caretaker's apartment, so that someone can live there year around, to protect the property, and they want to build a kitchen, so that they can prepare meals themselves. They don’t want to expand the size of the dormitory, because they think the intimacy of a smaller camp is best for the children.

I ask for your prayers for Smolensk Baptist Church. It is a heavy time for them. They know that it will not be possible to open their camp next summer, but they hope to begin rebuilding by May. They have great courage. As we sat in the car, looking at the blackened structure, Victor commented, “If God is for us, who can be against us.”

Over the years, the Outreach Foundation has been a major supporter of the ministries of Smolensk Baptist Church. If you would like to make contributions to help rebuild the camp, gifts designated for “the Smolensk Camp” can be sent to:

The Outreach Foundation
318 Seaboard Lane, Suite 205
Franklin, TN 37067-8289
Fax: (615) 778-8887

Peace and blessings,

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