Jimbob's Russia Trip

A friend reminded me that I have been remiss in telling about Jimbob’s trip to Russia.  When the team arrived at DFW the first thing all six of them said was, “I want a bath.”  After 18 hours of travel, I can relate.

Anyway, his first impression of Moscow was that it is very crowded, very dirty and a lot of poverty.  He said people on the street are extremely rude and never look you in the eye.  When I told him they were probably afraid to, it all made sense.

The Mafia is very big in Russia, crime rates are high and people simply don’t know whom to trust.  You are subject to being pulled over by the police at any time without reason.  In the US you go to jail for trying to bribe a cop.  Over there, you go to jail for not bribing them.

His mission team was stopped one day and they all had their passports, but two of them forgot to bring a certain piece of paper with them.  The cop wanted a $100.00 (US) bribe or he was going to put all seven of them in jail.  The guy finally settled for $30.00, but it was still more than he made all month.

The group took an overnight train to St. Petersburg to see the Hermitage museum.  It used to be the czar’s winter palace.  Jimbob said it is huge and is now filled with artwork from all over the world.

On the train back to Moscow someone tried to break into their sleeper compartment.  One of the ladies heard him/her so made a lot of noise to scare the person off, but before fleeing, he placed something in the door track to lock them in.  It took quite a while for someone to hear them pounding on the door and come let them out.

When Jimbob first got home he said he was glad he went but would not go back.  Now he’s changed his mind.  The people he met at the seminary where they stayed have been haunting him.  They’re so hungry to learn about God and spoken English.  Several of the members begged him to teach them to sing the Lord’s Prayer.  They had never heard it before.

Many members of the English class at the seminary are in the Russian army.  While they are learning to speak English, they are also learning about God and the Bible.  

One man who left an impression on everybody is named Visciley (spelling?).  The communist threw him in the Goolag in Siberia simply for being a minister.  He spent 13 years of his life being beaten, starved tortured, teeth knocked out and any other form of abuse the guards could think of.

Now that he is free, you might think that he would give up on God and go his own way.  Instead, he is ministering to the homeless.  He presented each of our team members with a beautiful stole to honor them and thank them for coming to Russia.

P.S. I sent the man to Russia with two disposable cameras and he came home with 3 maybe 4 decent pictures.  I’ll try to post then in the near future.  I’ve been so busy lately, the faster I paddle, the quicker my dingy is sinking.