Our 2008 English Teaching Team

We had a large team this year, 17 in all! Such a big team allowed us to expand our ministry much more than previous trips. In addition to our standard classes at the Central Church, four of our teamates were professors from Southwest Baptist University gave lectures at Tomsk State University. As mentioned below, four of us got to teach in the village and orphanage and for the first time we were able to teach classes in the second church, Emmanuel Baptist Church, aswell. I hope you enjoy the pictures and stories posted below (if you are new to blog websites, please note that the most recent posts show up at the top. To read our story from the beginning, sroll to the bottom and click on "Older posts" and you will find our first 2008 posts or you can click on "Back in Russia" in the menu on the right and read the entries one at a time.) There is so much more to tell but hopefully this gives you a glimpse into the ministry and witness we went to perform.

Novosibirsk, the largest city in Siberia

After saying tearful goodbyes to our Russian brothers and sisters, we boarded a “Comfort Bus” to take us from Tomsk back to the airport in Novosibirsk. This Comfort Bus was to be equipped with air conditioning and reclining seats, so we were told. In reality, AC meant a third of the tiny windows could be forced open and half the seats were broken! But all was made well when we arrived in Novosibirsk and were greeted by the Boll family and Mike Shepherd, IMB missionaries in the city.

We spent the next day touring and we had a great time with our missionary friends. In the main part of Novosibirsk there are 3 sets of statues. Frank and I are standing in the foreground of the wheat and sickle statue which represent the Russian land. There is also a statue of 3 men defending Russia. By far the most interesting is the statue of Lenin, looking boldly into the future of Communist Russia. It is hard to miss the enormous Nokia sign behind him declaring the triumph of capitalism. It was an ironic and amusing sight to see.

The Tomsk English Ministry Team

One of the most rewarding aspects of this trip was witnessing how the youth at the church have been so faithful in their follow-up from our classes last year. Although Russians have freedom of religion, Non-Russian Orthodox churchs are viewed as “cults” and as a result most Russians would never consider entering a Baptist, or any Protestant, church. As the Russian Orthodox Church does not emphasize a personal relationship with Christ and preaches in an archaic form of the language, most Russians have never heard the Gospel of Christ, although most would tell you that they are Christians because they are Russian. That background will help you understand why our short term trips are so important. Many Russians really want to learn English and are willing to visit a “cult” church in order to have the opportunity to study with native speakers. Each student receives about 15 hours of conversational English instruction, 14 of those hours are not taught from the Bible or are religious in any way. On the

last day we take about 1 hour to talk with the students about Jesus and what would compel us to travel so far away from our homes to come to Tomsk. That brings the people into the church and gives them an introduction to the saving faith in Christ. The Russians in the church do the follow on work which is the real heavy lifting. Their faith and dedication to their ministry and mission work of reaching the lost in their own community is both inspiring and convicting. Erika got the opportunity to visit both the Basic English Bible study and the Intermediate English Bible study (see picture on right). These Russian believers who are fluent in English use 1 hour to teach English and 1 hour to teach the Bible to believers and unbelievers every week. There are at least 3 unbelievers coming to the Basic class and 5 at the Intermediate class. From this trip we had about 33 say they were interested in joining these Bible/English Study groups! Your prayers for our Russian brothers and sisters on the English Ministry Team are greatly coveted.

Erika speaks Russian and cooks like one too!

As many of you know we have been taking Russian lessons for the last several months. We always wanted to learn a second language and decided for an extra challenge it might as well be one of the most difficult! On the second day of classes, Erika didn’t have an afternoon class so she used her best Russian to ask the ladies in the kitchen if she could help cook supper. They were delighted! They spoke no English so it was both a cooking and language lesson for Erika. We found that we knew just enough Russian to make the Russians think we knew a lot more. It helped us in a few practical situations like getting clean towels at the hostel and finding the right bus.

The students who came to English class were very impressed with our Russian and we felt better knowing that even native speakers think their grammar is difficult. Anxious for practice we spoke Russian with everyone we could, including the ladies at the front desk of our hostel. This limited communication and our desire to try got us the keys to the private baths on the last day of our trip! There is only one shower room at the hostel with 3 stalls and with the hostel full of university teachers and students the line can get long at peak hours. We were at the back of the line when we were presented with the keys to the manager’s shower and bathroom. What a perk!

Teaching in a Russian Orphanage

As mentioned earlier, this year’s trip provided us a new opportunity to teach in an orphanage located in the village of Oktyabrsky. Going in to teach for the first time we had no idea what to expect. We didn’t know how many kids there would be or what level of English they knew already. As it turned out, the vast majority (about 20 kids) were rather young 5-7 years old, however there were also five 16-17 year old girls that did have some very basic English skill. Obie and I taught the more advanced students and the 2 girls on our team taught the younger students. Teaching them turned out to be a test of our ability at improvisation. We were both

trained to teach intermediate level students but these girls were still very much beginners. So we did our best to work through the beginner material and managed to have a lot of fun in the process. Like typical teenage girls, they were giggly and always joking with each other. In the end I think they learned a great deal and had a good time with the lessons. While at the orphanage we were interested to discover that "orphan" doesn't necessarily mean no parents. There were many children that lived at the orphange that either had extremely poor or negligent or abusive parents that could not be trusted to care for their children. In fact, we we're shocked at one point during our lesson when they gave the young boys (maybe about 14 years old) a smoke break. Our translator confirmed that it is illegal for children under 18 to smoke but there is no method to enforce that law out in the countryside and often it is the parents themselves that insist that their children smoke because it is a "family tradition".

Teaching at the Malinovka Village School

Last year, I taught at the village school in the morning and the Tomsk Central Church in the evenings. This year we taught at the school in the morning and afternoon and then headed out to an orphanage to teach in the evening. My students were mostly familiar faces from last year but there were some new additions (From left to right: Tanya, Tanya, Me, Yulia, Alla, Sonya, and Alex). I taught the 10th grade students who have just one year of school left before heading off to university (in Russia there are only 11 grades, not 12 like in the U.S.). I am proud to say that the girls I taught last year had made great strides in their English studies and it made the classes an incredibly enjoyable experience. They are all such talented, funny, and interesting individuals with big dreams for their future. However, like most teenagers, there mind is on earthly future and not their eternal future and they weigh heavy on my heart and in

my prayers. In addition to my class we also had 8 graders that Obie taught, and two elementary level classes taught by the two girls on our team, Brandy and Lacy. Overall we had about 40 students total and it was a great experience. Their warmth and friendship made it difficult to say goodbye. Their offer to give us a permanent teaching position was touching and would be very tempting except for the whole swarm of man-eating mosquitos in the summer and bitterly cold Siberian winters :) While we could not stay our prayer is that the seeds we planted take root and that as they grow into adulthood they recognize their dire need for the Savior.

Teaching at the Malinovka Village School

Last year, I taught at the village school in the morning and the Tomsk Central Church in the evenings. This year we taught at the school in the morning and afternoon and then headed out to an orphanage to teach in the evening. My students were mostly familiar faces from last year but there were some new additions (From left to right: Tanya, Tanya, Me, Yulia, Alla, Sonya, and Alex). I taught the 10th grade students who have just one year of school left before heading off to university (in Russia there are only 11 grades, not 12 like in the U.S.). I am proud to say that the girls I taught last year had made great strides in their English studies and it made the classes an incredibly enjoyable experience. They are all such talented, funny, and interesting individuals with big dreams for their future. However, like most teenagers, there mind is on their earthly future and not their eternal future and they weigh heavy on my heart.

Living in the Village

This year, I along with 3 other people from our team, were given the opportunity to spend a couple nights living out in the village. Our village experience started out with a picnic with our students. It was great time of eating and playing games but I will note that Siberia is basically a giant swamp once all the snow melts and as a result the mosquitoes are absolutely horrible. Swarms of mosquitoes were everywhere and left me little option but to wear my long sleeve jacket with hood lest I be eaten alive. There are not words enough to describe how bad the mosquitoes were so I will leave it to your imagination. After the picnic we went to stay with our host Tatiana, one of the local teachers. I was extremely interested to see the inside of the wooden cabins the villagers lived in. Needless to say, the living conditions exceeded my expectations. Tatiana’s house was actually pretty comfortable with gas heating, electricity, and running water for everything but a toilet (a wooden outhouse was connected to her house by a small covered walkway). I asked her if her house was typical and she said it was not. More than half the village did not have running water and her street was the only one with gas heating, all the others used firewood. So my stay in the village was rather comfortable, which was both a relief and a disappointment as I am still curious to see the inside of the “typical” house out in the village.

Erika teaches at Tomsk Central Church

Over 150 students registered at the Central Church and were placed into one of 5 levels based on their English speaking ability. Classes were also taught at Emmanuel Baptist Church this year and were a great success in bringing unbelievers into the church. Last year Erika helped out with the Super Advanced (highest level) class during a time period when she didn’t have another class. This year, the leaders of our group decided she should teach the class alone. Students in this group speak English fluently and usually want to talk and practice with a native speaker as there aren’t many floating around in Tomsk.

While it is easier to get to know the students in this class, it is also very challenging in keeping them interested enough to continue coming. As students at this level can also be very cocky and bored easily, it stretched Erika’s creativity. Preparation before we left paid off and her classes discussed a love letter from Abigail to John Adams, the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, how to make a Hamburger, and even how Russian and American women view themselves. She had a morning and an evening class and the majority of her students were faithful in attending all week. They all listened faithfully on the last day when she shared her testimony and these fluent speakers all received a New Testament in English. We are hopeful that a couple of them will return for Bible study at the church

Pictures of Tomsk

Upon arriving in Tomsk we had a little free time before our classes began so we took the opportunity to walk around Tomsk and see some of the sights. To the left is a picture of the WWII memorial and park at the southern end of town. If you ever travel to Russia you will quickly learn that WWII is a huge part of their history. As important as WWII was for our country it is significantly more important to the Russian people. In every town and village there are memorials and reminders about the "Great Patriotic War" to defend Mother Russia from the Nazi invaders. The German-Russian theatre of the war was by far the most deadly and it put a lasting mark on the Russian people.

Upon reaching the memorial you are quickly rewarded with an incredible view of the Tom River and the Siberian countryside (Picture Below). Russia is the largest country on earth containing 1/8th the world's land area. On our bus ride from Novosibirsk to Tomsk we drove for hours without seeing anything but forrests and rolling hills. Driving through the midwest can seem sparse but it has nothing on Siberia. The pictures really do not due justice to the vastness and beauty of the Siberian Countryside.

Back in Russia

Its hard to believe a whole year has passed since we last visited Russia. The time passed quickly and on our return we were accompanied by our good friends Obadiah (Obie) and Danielle Dalrymple from our Sunday School class. After a short ten hour flight from the states, our first stop was a 12 hour layover in Moscow giving us the opportunity to leave the airport and see some of the sights. Of course no visit to Moscow is complete without a stop through Red Square. Danielle took a great panoramic shot of Red Square (below) that should help give you a better idea of how large it is. Straight ahead is St. Basil’s cathedral and on the right you see the Kremlin wall along with Lenin’s tomb. After our brief sightseeing, we caught our flight to Novosibirsk (literally New Siberia), the 3rd largest city in Russia. From there we took a 5 hour bus ride to our final destination, the city of Tomsk.

2008 UPDATE COMING SOON!

Erika and I are in the process of updating our blog with pictures and stories from our 2008 trip to Tomsk, Russia. Please check back soon.