July
2006 in Kemerovo, Siberia
Ministry to Leaders and Youth
Kemerovo is some 5 hours by air east of Moscow. It is about 600 mile north of the China-Tibet border. It is closer to Tokyo than to Moscow. It is twelve hours time change from North Carolina. We had several delays and were almost 24 hours late in arriving. We were traveling altogether about 40 hours, but glad to be at our destination. I was traveling along with Buddy Walker, of Missions Without Borders and with Dr. David Wilson Pastor of Cornerstone Church in Oneonta, AL, (pictured above left) to take part in a camp involving both youth and leaders. David and his wife Lucy Wilson have done such camps for almost 15 years all over Russia and Siberia. They are part of our Master Builders team of churches. This was my second trip to Russia with them, having been in 1996 to the Moscow area for a similar camp.
On the Sunday
before the camp began, I had the privilege of preaching in The Church of
the Risen Christ in Kemerovo, pastored by Yuri Stoliarov, pictured
above. Below is a picture of yours truly preaching on that Sunday
morning.
During the camp we ministered to pastors and leaders for several days and ended the camp with a picnic in the taiga (Siberian forest) for the team. The Russians put on a wonderful picnic and David baptized several new converts in the cold Siberian river adjacent to the picnic grounds. (David the Baptist is pictured in the heading of this report above.)
A photo of the picnic and the wonderful food is seen above.
Above are several Siberian women from the church who cooked the
shish-ka-bob out in the open.
Below is a picture of Pastor Eugenie of the Kemerovo Church that put on the picnic.
Back to Moscow and a night of resting at the Rosa Church. There, a party was prepared for the team with plenty of good food.
