John White - Developing Church Leadership in the Russian Speaking World c/o Eric Yodis, Postal Box 3644, Donetsk 83076, UKRAINE December 2002 jwhite@alumni.princeton.edu http://www.marucheck.net/jw/
This is a good thing overall, since winter has arrived. But, sometimes things get hot a little too quickly...
I had that experience in November, about a week before my course was scheduled to begin at Donetsk Christian University (DCU). I was having problems getting my kalonka (small hot water heater) to make the water hot enough for my shower. So, I turned the water way down, and presto! The water was nice and warm. As I was enjoying my shower, though, I started to smell something like smoke. Now as you may know, I don't have a very good sense of smell (which I blame on years of allergies), so at this point I figured I might be in trouble. I hurriedly turned the water back up to full and opened the bathroom door to see lots of smoke, filling my entryway, living room, and kitchen. I quickly turned off the gas to the kalonka, and fortunately, the smoke died down. Apparently, the kalonka had gotten too hot and had caught the paint on the outside of the vent on fire. So, I opened the windows, turned on a fan and...went to McDonald's! When my pastor (who's my landlord, too) came and inspected it, he found that the mechanism itself actually still worked! Apparently, such problems happen in most families at some point, so I guess I'm going through growing pains! And, I'm very thankful for God's protection.
Things are also heating up as I'm busy teaching my first course at DCU. I' m teaching Romans to 24 third year bachelor of missions students, and am enjoying it. I'm learning a lot as I get to know the students better and am doing my best to adjust to their questions and needs. I'd like to make my teaching very practical for them so that the material can help them in future ministry (so I'm giving them oral reports to do on important words and themes). I'm teaching in English and using a translator, but I do occasionally pray or give announcements in Russian. I definitely see my need to continue studying Russian! It is a privilege to have this opportunity, and I would very much appreciate your continued prayers. It's sometimes difficult to see what impact I'm having, so please pray that I would focus on Christ and not on receiving compliments.
This course finishes December 20, and then I should be starting to teach a course in January on introduction to missions. I think I've learned a lot from my first experience, but I definitely need wisdom in preparing new material for this second course. I'm also busy preparing monthly sermons (in Russian) for church, continuing to work through the book of Philippians (I'm now starting chapter 2 in December).
And, I continue to stay involved in Campus Crusade. I went to their fall conference in October and was a small group leader there. I then gave a talk at Crusade back in Donetsk on Halloween on God's love (which I repeated to my DCU class since it focused on Romans 5:6-11!). I used illustrations from Don Richardson's "Peace Child" story as well as a small portion of Les Miserables. Yes, things are definitely warm! Please pray that God would (as they say in Russian) "heat my heart" for Him.
Blessings to you, and Merry Christmas!
John