As I went down to river to pray...

On our last Sunday in town we were blessed to witness the baptism of some of our newest brothers and sisters in the Lord. We learned some interesting things about Russian Baptists. In my experience, a baptism in an American church, while celebrated, is not taken very seriously and often is scheduled and performed without any testimony by either the believer or witnesses. In Russia, they have a proper understanding of baptism (that it is merely a symbol of our salvation not a part of it), but they treat it with great care. When a sinner professes to have repented and believed, the church watches his life for a year or two to see if it is any different before bringing them forward to be baptized. With so few believers, they can hardly afford to have a professing, baptized member of their church walking around living in sin. So on that Sunday they brought the new believers forward, had them share their testimonies, and then asked them to go into another room so the church as a whole could discuss them and bring forth any objections to their being baptized and becoming a full member of the church based on their observations and interactions over the last year or so. All 16 candidates were approved by the church body and we all caught busses out to the Tom River to witness their baptism. This being Siberia, it was of course a cold and windy day, even in the summer. I was cold and I didn’t even have to get in the water :)

The second picture is of our friend and one of our translators named Alya. She is from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and was the last of the 16 to be baptized. I’ve never met a happier person on this Earth (although our friend Heather Grice might be able to give her a run for her money). In her former life she was miserable and drank often. With the change Christ has worked in her you could never imagine her as anything but joyful. We have an awesome God who is at work in the former Soviet Union, a place that just 16 years ago was closed to the Gospel. Continue to pray for the work that needs to be done in Russia and for the missionaries and Russian Christians there shouldering the load.

Life in the Siberian Countryside

Before we arrived on the ground in Tomsk, our initial plan was to do the English classes at the church and also do some work in a local orphanage. On our first day in Tomsk, we got bad news that we would not be permitted to visit the orphanage that week. However, the next day, the Lord opened another door for a few of our team members to travel an hour outside Tomsk to the small village of Malenovka to teach in their school. Up until now we had only seen the city life in Russia. Now I got to see what life was like in the country. Country life was very different. Manual labor in the fields during the summer and surviving long Siberian winters in wooden cabins makes life hard. However, many things were the same as in the city.

The factory that was once in this small village had closed down and there was no work. Many of the men were alcoholic and the young boys appeared doomed to follow in those same footsteps, choosing not to go to school and get an education. Conversely, the teachers (all women) and young girls were all motivated to get an education and took our visit very seriously since the ability to speak English could mean the difference between staying in Malenovka and getting a job and moving away from this dying village. You can see in the picture there is not a single male student. We had a good time teaching the classes and I was amazed at how well the older girls could already speak English. Our visit was a blessing as Pastor Sergey later told us that they had been trying for a long time to minister in this village and build a partnership with the school but had continually been turned away. After our visit, the school has opened up to the Church’s ministry.

English = Opportunity

Erika and I spent most of our time in Tomsk teaching English classes. English is in high demand all over Russia. It is a skill that greatly increases your opportunity of getting a good job in Russia. As such, most of the people that came to our classes were university students from one of the many universities located in Tomsk. While many spoke no English at all, most had some formal English instruction in their university but the opportunity to practice with native English speakers was considered invaluable. All the students were great and we all had a lot of fun getting to know each other over the course of the week.

They all were curious about who we were, why we were there, and about America in general. At the end of the week we had a graduation party and a short Gospel presentation with information available for those who might be interested in continuing to practice their English with some of the younger Baptists church members that were teaching English Bible studies. There was a great deal of interest from many of the Russian students with very open hearts. If the offer was made to a typical American audience I think it would have been received with a cold, “politically correct” attitude so common in our culture. The Russians on the other hand were appreciative of the offer, even if they were not interested. After the graduation and presentation, we all said one last good bye to our students, many of whom brought us gifts to remember them by.

Baptists in Russia

When you ask about religion, most people will tell you they are Russian Orthodox Christians, even though they do not attend church or know much about their religion. Those that do attend a church go in and bow before icons and paintings to make their prayers, maing the sign of the cross and departing back out into the world with thier lives unchanged and with no knowledge of God. There is a lot of religion in Russia, but few with a saving relationship with the Lord. The first picture is of the Orthodox Church in Tomsk.

Here is a picture of the small Baptist church in Tomsk. Tomsk is a city of almost 600,000 people. Of that 600,000 and all the people in the surrounding villages, I would estimate that the number of Baptists in less than 500. Many of them ancestors of Baptists exiled to Siberia over 80 years ago. There may be some other believers from other denominations out there but if so, they are also few in number. Needless to say, there are very few born-again Christians in the area.

Modern Day Russia

While many things have improved in Russia since the fall of communism there are still many problems that often seem insurmountable. Unemployment is high and alcoholism is a way of life for many men seeking to temporarily escape their problems. With fewer good men to marry, the women dress extremely provocative to compete for those that are available. The abortion rate in Russia is higher than the birth rate and is one of the major causes of the declining Russian population. While the boom in oil business continues to be big in Siberia, the majority of the people see none of the money that comes in. There is a general sense of hopelessness among most. The need for Christ is great in Russia. This picture shows a typical apartment complex in Tomsk. While there are some newer buildings going up, most of the people still live in these old buildings that are showing there age due to time and the harsh winters.

The Theisings in Russia

Erika and I have started this blog to make it a little easier to pass on information about our recent mission trip to Siberia. I hope you enjoy the photos and our brave new entry into the world of blogging. First stop, Red Square. AFter our 10 hour flight from Atlanta to Moscow we had a long layover where we got to take in the sights and do the whole tourist experience. Here we are in front of St. Basil's Cathedral.