Camp Kondeboga

Dear friends and supporters,

Our retreat in Kondeboga went very well. I think you will notice that I now spell Kondeboga differently, and that is because I have become orthographically enlightened. In any case, all of the kids, young and old, had a great time and we had great help from both the church there and church leaders Petrozavodsk. We had music, skits, Bible study, a photo scavenger hunt, not to mention the essential – tea time! (pictured). Thank you for all your prayers for this retreat.

If you missed it, my previous entry lists my new mailing address. It takes letters about two weeks to get here, not bad considering I’m half way around the world. I would love to hear from you, and letters are even nicer than email – and if I’ll always try to return the message (though I must admit, it is considerably more trouble for me to procure stamps and envelopes than it will be for you. But I will do my best!)

My first presentation went very well last Thursday and I have good reason to believe that some of the student’s from Vera Nicolayevna’s 11a English class will stop by during office hours this Tuesday or Wednesday. Thus we can build relationships with the students and direct them toward our weekend Bible Study and hopefully the church (eventually). We are very blessed in Petrozavodsk to have a quality Orthodox church in town – and it just happens to be the central church. They have an Alpha program and the youth leader there, a good friend of our ministry, even has a Russian Orthodox rock band. Thus, we can feel comfortable sending them to the traditional Russian church if they so desire.

I had another mishap this week – I picked up Eric and Liza’s son Vladik and wrenched my back, keeping me out of basketball for the third straight week for the third straight reason (two weeks ago it was my foot and last week was the retreat). Please pray for healing. I ran some yesterday and it felt ok, though I am still quite sore.

Thank you all very much and get a hold of our November newsletter for the latest news on the Campground Project.

Sincerely,

Peter.

New Address!

Hello everybody,
If you would like to send me any letters or anything, I now have a permanent address:

Peter J. Bodurtha

Frunze 6-12

Petrozavodsk, Karelia 185002

Russia

If you want to send a package, please send it to Liza Debelak at the address mentioned in an earlier article (it's better that way, trust me.)

Doomsday

Dear friends,
This weekend we go to Kondepega, a village about 30 minutes from Petrozavodsk for a retreat with some of our Christian Center and Awana students from Lyceum #1. There will be skits, presentations, food, tea (never without), and picture scavenger hunts (Photograph a Picture of President Putin – and more!). Please pray that the students both enjoy themselves and that the Gospel message has special impact for them this Saturday.

Monday I moved in with Liza Debelak’s mother, Vera Petrovna for the foreseeable future. Vera Petrovna is very nice and speaks a little English so I will learn Russian very quickly here. Please pray for my continued learning (my brain often hurts from studying – not a bad feeling!).

Pictured is my new acquaintance, the Doomsday Device. We don’t get along very well. Though the Doomsday Device is nothing more than a Russian water heater, I will now proceed in horrific detail the facts that have earned this hunk of metal its apocalyptic cognomen.

The Device works in the following way: In that oval crevice lies a spigot that releases natural gas. This spigot then lights a pan of more spigots which heat a water pipe that runs through the Device and to both the kitchen and shower faucets. Now, if by chance the water running through the Device were to stop for any reason while the gas is lit, the heat from the multitude of flames would turn the residual drops of water into steam. This steam would then expand rapidly, causing the water pipe to explode into the device’s metal casing. Obviously, then, this explosion of liquid would snuff out the flame, leaving the spigot to spew nothing but natural gas into the kitchen, then the apartment, then the building. If left in such a state for long enough, the flick of a light switch would cause the entire building to explode. Every apartment in the building runs on this system, though it is clear that the apocalypse has yet to affect this place, since no part of it looks to have exploded during it’s forty years of existence. Thus, you can see why I and the Doomsday Device have an uneasy relationship.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. If you do not get the newsletter, please contact me or someone who might get it to learn more about our Campground Project. There are no Christian Bible camps in the province of Karelia and we have been offered land 30 minutes outside of Petrozavodsk for a very good price. We would like to buy it by spring and we already have about one third of the $25,000 needed. Please consider giving to this project (talk to me or someone at St. Paul’s for more information.)

Thanks and I’ll talk to you again soon

Sincerely,
Peter.

A New Hat

Dear friends,
Thank you all for your prayers and support. I have had a good time in Russia so far and I am beginning to feel comfortable (just barely). Today I will go out by myself for the first time, which is an accomplishment in Russia because it is perhaps the most disorienting developed nation on earth (For Americans, I mean). Eric and I actually had a discussion last night about what we think people who have visited India would think about Russia, if it would be more of a culture shock or less. If anyone out there has visited both places, please weigh in so that we can settle this question. Thanks.

It is pretty cold and gray every day here, hovering at about 35 degrees Fahrenheit, with a lot of humidity so it sticks to your bones, but not cold enough to snow (and I hear it snows a lot here!). This week I was so cold that I determined that I needed a warm hat. And not just any hat, but the most Russian hat that I could find. Pictured, you will see me with my Russian hat. I think it looks a little French, and with my pea-coat, Eric and I agree that I look like I am ready to mount a failed invasion of Russia during the Fall (let's not repeat history now...). That hat is very warm and is the only thing that makes me look remotely Russian. Everyone can tell I'm a foreigner here, it's sort of like a sixth sense - or the fact that my facial structure is all wrong to be Russian. And I wear a pea coat (very non-Russian for a man to do - but it's a nice, warm coat).

Good news, the Camp Project is going ahead. We have about $8,000 of the $25,000 we need to buy the land, a very doable amount we think. This spring we will turn the land into a usable space to invite kids from Petrozavodsk to enjoy the great outdoors! I will get to wield an axe and cut down trees like a real live lumberjack! Thank you for all your prayers for this project and please pray that the funds would come in by this spring so that we can get to work.

As for me, please pray that my left foot heals. It really hurts to walk and it is acting up for no particular reason (it's nice to be sitting at a computer instead!). Also pray that my scheduling of presentations at the schools goes well.

Sincerely,
Peter.