I am reporting from what is finally a wonderful wintery Petrozavodsk. Except for a few short bouts of cold in January, the temperature here has hung around zero celsius bringing a constant cycle of snow-melt-snow-melt-ice-melt-repeat. Now, since that is just about the worst weather I've ever lived through, I am elated to relate to you that for the past two weeks or so it has been a rather constant 2 to 5 below zero celsius, with nearly a constant trickle of snow. These conditions make for optimal sledding weather and we have not failed to take advantage.
Going both for fun and as part of our children's ministry, we use these little round sleds with a handle and try to balance on the way down. Below is Sirozhia and his sled.
Pictured below is one of the trains we normally form - I usually go first because I am good at keeping my feet up and not falling over - something I take full advantage of in the form of bailing at the last moment and sending everybody tumbling. It hurt so much when we flew into the trees.
Then after sledding, we go back to the Christian Center and, well, what else - Have tea!
From left to right are Eric, Sasha, Yelena, Sirozhia (hiding), and Graig, a molecular biologist visiting to give some talks in the schools.
As for other news, I start my group at the University this Wednesday, and I will be holding my "English Conversation Table" every Monday and Wednesday until the end of the year. Please pray that I will be able to use this meeting as a way to get to know students and get them connected to a local church. My best current idea is to have a field trip to see, "Lillies of the Field," a really awesome Sidney Poitier flick that you should all see if you haven't - a church here used to be a Soviet 'movie theater' for soldiers, and so is aptly equipped for such things. Please pray that something like that will work out. The deal is that no matter how cool and persuasive I am at the group A) I have to respect the stated reason for the table - practicing English through speaking about important contemporary topics - to do otherwise would be dishonest, so I won't be able to evangelize outright, (though, as I oft repeat, Christianity contains my world view and philosophy, and you wouldn't bar a communist from espousing his/her world view, now would you?) and B) Quite frankly, I will be leaving in July. If we don't get these people acquainted with a church, then I leave and the best I did was plant a seed in their head that maybe this Jesus thing isn't so crazy after all, which is good, but how much better would it be for there to be a continuing relationship between Christians in Petrozavodsk and the students after I'm gone? Way better! I'm really praying that we can keep this thing from being a cult of personality thing, though I am very charming! This has to be God's thing.
That's all I've got for now, except, ummm, maybe the above announcement!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,
Peter.
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