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Saturday, May 6, 2017

TRAVEL REPORT: Russia, Ukraine, Kazakstan and Romania


Dear Family and Friends.



PICTURES:   Russia/St Petersburg/Hermitage Museum:                  https://cincopa.com/~AgDAl4NfTRpQ

               Kazakstan, Junior Olympics and a Meeting in Russia:                        https://cincopa.com/~AkEAC8NFnlP4
 

TRAVEL REPORT:  See Below

[Note re Saint Petersburg and the Hermitage Museum from  Wikipedia since most pictures are not captioned: 

The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest[2][3] and oldest museums in the world, it was founded in 1754 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise over three million items (the numismatic collection accounts for about one third of them)[4] including the largest collection of paintings in the world. The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment, including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors.

Travel Report for January 2017
Euro-Asia Division and Romania

The following is the first major trip of the year which lasted three weeks. Many names were left out but I am indebted to so many.  Once again, this trip, like many others, was life-changing for me.  I write as we are circling and circling and circling over Tokyo due to heavy winds.  This present trip will be followed another long one (4 weeks) to Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand for LEAD Conferences,   and then finally off to India for the last two weeks where we will have an advisory for union leaders and a training program for Gospel Outreach workers for the Deaf.  I will also visit orphanages and schools for the blind and deaf while there.  That report will be shared later.

Moscow, Russia

Moscow was the original destination of the invitation by the Special Needs Director, Pavel Liberansky, but it expanded from there.  The advisory (training) was held in the division office just outside Moscow.  The division office was purchased when the building was nearly completed as a children’s home or school (not clear).  It is a very nice but not elaborate facility.  In addition to office space, there are several guest rooms as well as a small cafeteria.  A very nice church was built adjacent to it. 

Moscow is a city of large/huge apartment complexes.  Rent, so it seems, is expensive when compared to salaries.  When converted into dollars alone rent seems on the low side. The graciousness of those who cared for us was very generous in every way. The food was exceptional--especially if you like me relish potatoes and soup/borsch the way I do!  The advisory was for union leaders throughout the division.  Their attention and interest was strong. Interest in Special Needs Ministries is well established in the leadership here though it is relatively new other that work with for the Deaf which has been going on for some time. I presented devotionals for the morning worships for the office as well as seminars for those who came to the advisory.  I am so encouraged as I visit the various “corners” of the world.  Just a few years ago there was little being done in Special Needs Ministries. However, I have yet to find a strong division program for Special Needs if it is not supported by the union leadership.  I have seen the work for the Deaf dwindle in my own division to only one denominationally sponsored pastor!    Independence is a good thing in some areas but it seems some divisions shy away from the resources the General Conference has to offer.  Synergy among all Special Needs Ministries is vital.

After a Special Needs advisory in Kazakhstan, I returned to Mosow in time to catch a city tour and a tour in St. Petersburg.  It was an amazing trip as you can tell from the pictures.  We visited many palaces and cathedrals whose beauty was breathtaking.  It was, however, sobering when we learned that the golden walls and doors and ornaments, etc., etc. was done while the poor financed the opulence in these places of worship and governance.  

As I write, I am on a 20 hour flight to Manila, Philippines. The division leadership there is very supportive of this ministry and have given strong encouragement to the union for their participation. 

Carrie, my wife, was supposed to join me on this trip but about a week before we were to leave, we learned that her 96-year old mother fell at home and broke three ribs.  Other family members with whom she was staying had to be gone.  She made the right decision to be with he mother – I have been truly blessed over the years with an outstanding mother and father-in-law. It’s the least Carrie/we could do. [Her mother died in February but just before her funeral Carrie’s sister, Sandi Carlson, collapsed while grocery shopping.  It was discovered that she has Acute Myloid Leukemia and is currently in isolation at a Portland, Oregon hospital.  She has now had two rounds of chemo therapy.  We are hoping she will soon be able to receive a bone-marrow and stem cell transplant. Cancer is plaguing so many of our friends!

St. Petersburg, Russia

The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums in the world, it was founded in 1754 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852. The pictures depict the amazing beauty found there.

Almaty, Kazakhstan

With three days between meetings, it was suggested that we use that time to conduct an advisory (training event) in Kazakhstan, which we did.  Though this whole trip already had quite an intense itinerary, we are glad we made this extra stop.  It was good to see the support of the leadership of the mission.  I feel compelled to establish a firm foundation for this ministry before I retire in 2020 so anything I can do inspire, motivate and train and that is within my budget I try to do.  I see so many evidences of the Lord’s intervention – not only in my life, my career, but also countless others.  It just seems that this ministry has been put on “full steam ahead” by a Power that exceeds anything we do.

Our visit to Kazakhstan was in the southern part, the mountainous region where the city of Almaty lies.  The union mission office is located here—a beautiful recently constructed building. On Sabbath, we spoke in two churches.  We were impressed by both the friendliness of the members and by the quality of music—not just the special music presentations, which were spectacular, but also the people in the pews.  The response to our emphasis on “Special Needs Ministries” was encouraging.

The city is also the home of the 2017 World Winter Student Games (Olympics).  A small group of us took the gondola to the very top (3rd level) where it is much colder than at the base) the day before the “junior Olympics” were to begin.  It was quite amazing to see all the preparation that goes into such events. We saw skiers, snowboarders practicing.  We looked down and saw the skating rink for the competitions – uncovered (no roof) and we understand it is the highest skating rink as far as elevation is concerned. We saw the large security force and we even saw the emergency team practicing taking individuals down the hill on the well-crafted stretcher. Quite spectacular is the Russian Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension.  It is a beautiful brightly-colored building and was constructed in the late 1800’s and was made entirely without nails.  It is one of the landmarks of Almaty.  It is one of only a few structures that survived the devastating earthquake of 1910.  The Rakhat chocolate factory is a well-known tourist attraction though we never went there (but that doesn’t mean I didn’t get my share of chocolate while there!).   Apples, it is widely believed, originated in Almaty! They are delicious.

Leaving the dedicated believers and workers was difficult yet I’m confident we will meet again someday. Of special note were two interpreters for the deaf from Kyrgyzstan.  What a Christian spirit.  One is sponsored by Gospel Outreach.  We pray that the seeds planted regarding work for the Deaf and those with Special Needs will develop into a strong ministry for those are often overlooked.

Kiev, Ukraine

This was my second visit to Kiev.  Soon after my first visit, Dr. Jay Sloop, a physician from the northwest who had gone to Kiev to begin a health center, went missing and wasn’t found until about two years later.  He had gone to a park where I had gone with a friend. He went alone and never returned.  Such memories flooded my mind.  Life is indeed fragile.

The occasion to go to Ukraine was the annual GC Leadership Summit.  All speakers were given 20 minutes to speak and, of course, I was asked to speak about Special Needs Ministries.  Once again, the response was very encouraging!  It is so important to get the buy-in of leaders if this ministry is to become more than a “program”.  It is becoming a movement as leaders and laypersons grasp the heart of this work.  It is happening!!  We can settle for nothing less.  We often hear protestors within the church (outside the church too, of course) but I wonder why aren’t we protesting about the marginalization of those with Special Needs?   Some are never even given a chance to live.  I am reminded of the 56 million aborted lives between 1973 and 2014.  If we believe that we (everyone) is created in the image of God, then who are we to decide their fate.  It’s about giving them a choice too!   How can we be silent?  Far too often when this issue is raised in the United States it is confused with a political party. We must not let politics confuse the issue.

Bucharest, Romania

I’ve given up trying to make this a short report – believe me, however, it has been shortened.  Recently, I reluctantly accepted the invitation to add Romania to an already intense trip.  The union president and Duane McKey strongly urged me to go for at least one weekend to hold some evangelistic meetings for a special gathering of those with special needs.  I knew the group having spent four days with them last year.  Pastor George Uba and Daniel Constine lead out in what I hope to make into a global strategy for those who are disabled.  About 50 attended the meetings of which 90% (or more) were not members of our church.  The response was absolutely worth the extended trip.  What precious people.  Many were in wheelchairs.  I was never so proud to see an
Adventist Church crowded with wheelchairs and canes. Some, only a few, were mentally challenged but I’m proud to call them some of “my own.”  Surely they also have a need to feel like they belong somewhere.  Don’t they!  Some were bent and twisted from cerebral palsy.  To think that dictators in the past would have had them executed (in a variety of ways) because they were not “right” in their “form.”  Looking at them and their open hearts I saw the image of God.  Dignity is a gift from God but sometimes we are the “blind” ones.   It is an inherent quality that is not given because of what we can do or not do. The dignity is inherently there but some of us need to learn to see it and treat it as such.  My first first “evangelistic” sermon for this group was entitled, “Celebrate What’s Right!” It was the first time I ever began evangelistic meeting with this topic but such is the impact this ministry has had on me.  It only makes sense to start with what’s right and see where things went wrong rather than the other way around.  Mine was a call to come back to the relationship with God that we had at the very beginning.  The response was very positive.  I was not expecting any decisions for baptism after only four presentations but four made the decision to be baptized. Because of the accepting church of Pastor Uba they already felt loved and God’s Word had already spoken to them. I am deeply moved as I see God work.  The world is in a mess but we have a hope that is greater than any problem Satan can throw at us.  Keep looking up!  -- Larry Evans