John White - Developing Church Leadership in the Russian Speaking World c/o Eric Yodis, Postal Box 3644, Donetsk 83076, UKRAINE April 2001 jwhite@alumni.princeton.edu http://www.marucheck.net/jw
"Prepare a sermon on what sin is, then prepare a sermon on the differences between heaven and hell." This is an example of one of my assignments-from my Russian teacher Galina! We've discussed a lot of interesting things that I wasn't expecting, from the problem of evil to how we're saved to the history of the church. Surprisingly, this has become my most comfortable area to discuss in Russian, yet it really still is Russian 101 and not Theology 101!
I now have a little more complicated Russian language schedule, which includes two days a week of grammar, one day on "The Word about God" (written by a Russian Christian), one day with a different teacher, Alla, on C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity," and one day on Russian literature. This has been an exciting but tiring change, which includes joining my fellow student Tim during two of these classes each week. We've been able to have some great discussions with our teachers, and I'd appreciate your prayers that God would use our words and witnesses to impact our teachers' lives.
It also has been encouraging to see my ability grow in an area that's so important to my future work. Please pray that God would use this time to give me wisdom in how to teach His Word, insight into the way Ukrainians think, and ways to bridge the gap between God's truth and Ukrainians' lives. This is especially complicated considering the mix of atheistic and Russian Orthodox ideas that people often have, so I have a lot to learn!
The ironic thing about discussing so many Biblical ideas in a government University is that I'm learning more about the Bible there than in the small group Bible study I joined! The study is entirely in Russian and meets in my home. Now, don't misunderstand me- it's not a problem with the Bible study! No, it's the difference between speaking and listening in Russian. In class, I'm able to do most of the speaking, and I've become reasonably good at making myself understood. But in Bible study, I'm mainly listening to Ukrainians speaking Russian to each other, and they speak very fast and use many words I don't know. I'm told this contrast is normal, but it's still frustrating to sit through so many discussions of the Bible I can't understand. However, this has been a great chance to make some new friendships, getting to know some of our neighbors and some students from the Christian University (especially Sergei). Please pray for my patience.
Sometimes in looking at the strange way life goes, there seems to be no plan. Yet, I like how C.S. Lewis put it in his book "Perelandra" when he said, "All that is made seems planless to the darkened mind, because there are more plans than it looked for...There seems no plan because it is all plan..." I am thankful for God's plans, even when He seems to be using things in strange ways!
In thanks for your prayers,
John