Not seeing what is in front of our eyes...

Today is Easter in Russia. Due to the fact that the Eastern Orthodox churches use a different calendar to calculate their holidays, most often we do not celebrate religious holidays at the same time as most of the rest of the world. This does have its advantages though. For one, we get to celebrate twice...once with our traditions and once with theirs. But I think even more importantly it usually brings me back to familiar scripture passages more than one time a year. And each time I read them I gain new insight.

Since our first trip to Russia more than a year ago I have been struck with a singular thought and lingering question...how can a people be surrounded with the truth and not see what is before their eyes? This morning I re-read the Easter accounts in all four Gospels - a practice I have held on Easter morning since I was a teenager. So, you would expect that it would be difficult to see anything new. However, it seems that each time I read these passages I see something that I have never really seen before.

Russia is not what we would classify as a "heathen" nation. In fact, Christianity has been a part of Russia for centuries. Almost everywhere you look you can see at least one brightly-colored onion-shaped dome capped with a cross marking a Russian Orthodox church or cathedral. There are even several within the Kremlin walls. And, much like in America, Russians are surrounded by the symbolism of Christianity. Religious holidays are celebrated by nearly everyone in the country - believers and non-believers alike. And most know the religious stories tied with the holiday. How is it then that a nation who knows the stories of Christ can not see the the truth locked in the stories and traditions? This question has bothered me for the better part of a year...not just for Russia, but for my home country as well.

Yet this morning as I was reading it hit me. The Jews of Jesus day were not really any different than we are today. The answer to my question is this...it is because most people are not seeking answers from what is placed clearly before them.

Let's take a quick look at the scriptures to see what I am talking about. First, the women who came to the tomb were not looking for the resurrected Jesus. They were coming to mourn. They were not looking for an empty tomb. When Peter and John went back to the tomb, were they looking for a risen Jesus? No. The men on the road to Emmaus were not expecting to be walking down the road or sharing a meal with a man they had watched be crucified just days before. Even after he explained the scriptures about himself to them they did not really understand what was plainly in front of them until he allowed himself to be revealed to them. And when Jesus appeared before all the disciples in the upper room he proceeded to give them a lesson in the scriptures so they could understand how the teachings of Moses, all the prophets pointed to Him.

You see, the Jews of Jesus' time were surrounded by a religious culture. One with religious holidays and festivals and customs. And, just like us, they were blind to the real meaning and significance of those holidays. This is not a new phenomenon. I imagine that the priests of Jesus day had to remind the people that their was deep, significant meaning behind the ceremonies and customs that surrounded the High Holy Days. (Who knows, maybe they even had bumper stickers made for the back of their ox carts that read "Moses is the reason for the season.")

So what can we take from this blindness to things that seem so obvious to us as believers? First, I think it is important that we not assume that just because we are surrounded by the truth that everyone understands that significance. Secondly, I think we must remember that it is not their fault that they do not recognize that truth. And thirdly, and most importantly, I think that we need to remember that none of the people in the Biblical accounts of Easter came to the realization of Jesus' resurrection on their own. In every account, Jesus had to open their eyes. And, in many cases, he used the scriptures, holidays, and customs to teach them that all of these things that they were familiar with all pointed to Him.

I think it also important to remember the response to His teaching. The men on the road to Emmaus returned to Jerusalem saying, "It's really happened! The Master has been raised up!" Mary Magdalene called him "Rabboni" and clung to him and wept. And Thomas fell to his knees and proclaimed, "My Lord and my God!" You see, revelation of the scriptures and the true nature of Jesus as the Christ comes only after He opens our eyes.

Our responsibility, no matter where in the world you are when you read this, is to help those around us understand how the holidays, traditions, and most importantly the scriptures point to Jesus. To explain to them how and why God came to earth to live a sinless life among us and how he chose to sacrifice Himself to save us from our sins. And, to remind our family, friends and neighbors that the tomb of the man know as Jesus remains empty to this day. We are to tell them that having a relationship with the living God is more than ritual and religion. It is our responsibility to share that true Christianity comes from asking Jesus to forgive us of our sins and inviting Him to live in our hearts.

We cannot open the eyes of those around us. Only God can do that. But we have the responsibility to tell others what we know to be true. All of creation and history points to Him...Jesus, who is the Christ and who is risen!

христос воскрес! (Christos Vos-kress! He is Risen!)
воистину воскрес! (Va-east-a-new Vos-kress! Truly He is Risen!)

Blessings on this Easter morning,
Marc

Photo Essay - Messanic Passover Seder

These are some of my favorite photos from last night's Passover Seder.

During dessert we were entertained by the musical group, Patmos.

There are just some faces that beg to have their picture taken. His was one of those.

What would a Jewish celebration be without singing Hava Nagila, a Hebrew folk song meaning "Let us rejoice."
I loved the smiles on the faces as they sang.

The benediction.


Another great face.

Remembering the ten plagues of Egypt. In the ceremony wine is poured out of the cup in remberance of each of the ten plagues.


One of the four cups of the Seder.

The breaking of the bread. The Passover service requires the use of unleavened bread known as "matza."
The bread and bitter herbs. "To remind us of the bitterness of slavery." This woman was also reminded us of the bitterness of her sin. At the end of the service she was one of two people who gave her heart to Jesus.

Prior to the service these two women studied the scriptures together.

"And you shall tell it to your son on that day, saying, 'Because of this God did for me when He took me out of Egypt'" (Exodus 13:8). The words and rituals of the Seder are a primary vehicle for the transmission of the Jewish faith from parent to child, and from one generation to the next. Messianic Jews take this opportunity each year to share about how Jesus' death on the cross became the ultimate Passover sacrifice using His blood to cleanse us from sin and save us from eternal separation from God.

If this woman had red hair she could have been my Nana. She was sweet and precious. And, at the end of the evening prayed to have Jesus forgive her of her sin and to live in her heart.

Creating "Missional Space" is much more fun than it sounds.

As most of you know, our team is focused primarily on reaching the artists of Moscow. And, much like in America this segment of the population is not usually prone to go to church or church-related functions, so we have to find other ways of connecting with them and forming relationships. On paper it is a little more involved than this, but in a nutshell this is what we call creating "missional space" -- a place where we can find common ground and interest that will allow spiritual conversations to flow naturally out of a developing relationship with each other.

About a month ago our team hosted a conversational English class that was advertised at many of the music schools around town. We had about 45 people attend the week-long class, mostly students in their 20s and early 30s. Since then, Kellye and I have been hosting an English Club in our home every Thursday night and have been averaging around 10-13 people every week.

A couple of weeks ago after class we were drinking tea and snacking and talking about the different kinds of music that we enjoy. Of course, I mentioned that I enjoyed American country music. One of the guys in our club, Alexey, a former MIG pilot and now a music student, asked me if I would be interested in going with him to watch one of his friends play country music. "Sure," I said. "That sounds like fun."

Well, this week Alexey called and his friend's band was playing on Friday night and wanted me to go. Now, as a quick aside here you have to know that it has been a rather horrible week around our house. The weather changed back to cold, rainy and depressing. Everybody was at each other's throats. And, to make matters worse, we found that a Russian man that I have been trying to develop a relationship with has been stealing expensive electronic equipment from us. So, to say that I have been in a good mood and wanted to go out on Friday would be the far from the truth. But, since invitations and opportunities like this do not come along often, I jumped at the chance even though I really didn't feel like going out.

I met Alexey and his two friends at the metro station and then walked to the bar/restaurant called Кантри Бар or "Country Bar." No kidding. The Russians have a real flair for naming things! The atmosphere actually reminded me a lot of Longhorn Steaks and included photos of John Wayne along one wall. At this point I should say that Alexey reads and writes English very well, but speaks very little. As a matter of a fact, I speak much more Russian than he does English (and that is not saying too much.) So, between his little English and my little Russian we were able to converse most of the night. His friends are intermediate English speakers and gave us some extra help in translating for each other, but we did fairly well without them.

Alexey introduced me to his friend Vladimir, who (and I am not making this up) told me to call him "Bob." Bob plays guitar for the band and is quite talented. He also plays in a jazz/fusion band with Alexey and some more of his friends. The music started shortly after and they played a lot of my favorites, including Alan Jackson, Vince Gill, Hank Williams and Jimmy Buffett, not to mention some BB King and Chuck Berry just for fun. As a general rule I haven't really gotten homesick since I have been here, but sitting there in an American-styled place and listening to country music really did it for me.

I got home this morning around 12:30 am and was pretty exhausted, but felt good about the time I had made to expand some "Missional Space." I have been invited to several more concerts featuring Alexey and/or his friends - including the chance to hear Bob play country music at an Independence Day concert at the American Embassy. So I am looking forward to these opportunities to spend time with my new friend Alexey and his friends.

I would love to tell you that while sitting in the bar and listing to music I had the chance to lead one of these folks to Christ. I would love to tell you that I had the opportunity to share the Gospel or even my testimony. But I didn't. However, what I did have was the chance to start some friendships with a few people based on our mutual love of various kinds of music. And, as those friendships deepen and our conversations broaden, those opportunities will come. Until then, I am enjoying the chance to meet some new people, use my conversational Russian in a practical setting and listen to some good music.

One last thought before I close. Creating "missional space" is not something that is exclusive to missionary work around the world. It is something that we should be doing as often as possible whereever in the world we are. So as you go about your week, look for chances to develop relationships with people and see if you can't create a little missional space of your own.

Blessings,
Marc

Our New Addition

We want you to meet the newest member of our family, Ночка (Notchka-- pronounced "notsh-ka", which means "the night").


As many of you know, when we left America we were forced to give up our beloved cats, Beacon and Scout. Since that time everybody in our family has been terribly lonely for a pet. And, with the expenses associated with having a pet in Russia, we thought it impossible for us to have one while we live here. However, our God is bigger than all that and knows our needs better than we do ourselves.

This past week Sarah Beth and her friends found a stray kitten outside of the school grounds. She brought it home in the hopes that we could adopt it, but again, the expenses of spay/nutering the animal, getting vacinations and all of the other papers we would need to have a pet made it impossible. After sending her downstairs in tears, our hearts were broken.

Well, not more than an hour after that we received an email from friends telling us about a teacher at the school who was looking for a home for her cat. She (the cat, not the teacher) had been spayed, has all of her shots, and even has a passport making it possible for her to return to the States with us when we go. So, much to the surprise of our children, this morning Notchka came home to live with us.

Now in connection with this story I must share with you my "Language Blunder of the Week." It has been a particularly bad Russian language week for me and I have spent a majority of the week at a loss for even the simplest of words and phrases. And Wednesday night was no exception. Before we could bring the cat home we had to get permission from our landlady for us to have a pet in the apartment. I called her Wednesday night to ask her permission. Well, of course, our landlady speaks Russian, but also speaks a little English. However, I try to communicate with her in Russian whenever possible. So I explained to her that since leaving America my children had been very homesick and that Kellye and I were trying to find something to make them feel better. I then proceeded to ask her permission for me to purchase a "coat" for them. That's right...a "coat". So she asked me to repeat my question. And I did...two more times. Finally she said, "Why don't you ask me in English." So, this time in my language, I asked her if she would allow me to buy my children a "cat." "OOOOhhhhh, you meant kush-ka...not kut-ka"

So, our children once again have a pet to scare, chase, and upon whom to shower their affection. She is already becoming part of the family and has spent the evening lying on the hallway floor watching the goings and comings of the family. A few minutes ago I heard John-John tell Kellye that, "This was the better than any present we could have gotten." I don't think there is anything I can add to that.

Blessings,
Marc

Hannah's 11th Birthday

Apples!

Oranges!

My Banana!

Stand up and yell if you love Hannah!

YEAAAAAAAAAAAA!

I can't tell you how many years ago I started doing that cheer with Hannah.  It has been our special thing since she was very small.  And now she is 11 and not too many years away from being the tallest person in the family.

Hannah is truly an amazing child.  While transitioning to life here in Russia has not always been easy for her, she is usually one of the first to remind us why God brought us here.  She has a heart for Jesus that grows and grows every day and I am proud of the young woman that she is becoming.  She understands missionary life and that God has called us to this place for this time in our lives.  She is not only stunningly beautiful, but very smart, funny, talented and loves to create things.   Hannah spends many hours each week creating things by using the computer and I can already see that she has an amazing eye and is quite talented.  She loves all things Hannah Montana and can sing and dance along with High School Musical with the best of them!

I love spending time with my Banana.  Whether it is sitting in bed with her resting her head on my shoulder, going for our special McDonalds dates, or just singing our cheer in the hallway of the apartment, time with Hannah is always fun and never boring!  So, Happy Birthday, Hannah!  Your Daddy loves you!

Hannah gets a new song...

Not locked in a Siberian gulag...

It has been awhile since I have written, so I wanted to assure you that I have not been locked away in a Siberian gulag or set adrift at sea...

I have, however, been quite busy working on several different projects.  And, for those of you who know me well, I would much rather be busy with project work than having too much time on my hands.  Frankly, it is nice to finally feel useful here.

One quick note about language before I go.  Most of you know that on Thursday nights we host an English Club for Russians.  It is truly a great experience and I plan to write more about that later.  However, I thought that I would look forward to that time because it was a time and place where it was appropriate to speak with Russians in MY native tongue, and not theirs.  However, what I have found is that when I am speaking to a Russian person, my brain automatically switches to Russian language and I begin to think (and often communicate) in Russian!  It really is the wildest thing!  So, while I am helping them with their English, they are helping me with my Russian.  We really enjoy our time together.  So, at this juncture I have to give proper credit to Irena, our language teacher.  I may not always enjoy how I am being taught, but whatever she is doing seems to be working.  At times like these it makes the long hours of language study (ok, maybe not the grammar part) worthwhile.

And, speaking of which, I have some grammar homework to finish before my lesson this afternoon.  So, hopefully this weekend I will have an opportunity to write "The Kiev Chronicles" and bring you up to speed on some of the other happenings in our lives.  Until then, know that we appreciate you taking the time to read our thoughts and pray for us.  

Blessings,

Marc