Diane Rorabaugh

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Prayer Letter/Ministry Update

March 1, 2009

Dear Friends,

Greetings to you from Moscow on “Forgiveness Sunday,” the final day of a weeklong festival here in Russia called Maslenitsa (or Butter Week). Maslenitsa is a combination of a pagan ritual celebrating the end of winter, and a Christian holiday that is the prelude to Lent. In times past this was a huge festival, with performing drunken bears, group fistfights, bonfires and many other significant events (kind of a week-long Mardi Gras). It is still celebrated here in Russia, to a lesser extent than in the past. Here in Moscow this year you could find outdoor performances, traditional Slavic games, folk dancing, troika rides and stalls of food and curios. I read in the paper that on Monday they even had an old-fashioned group fistfight near the Kremlin. Sorry I missed that. All week long people eat blini, which are pancakes similar to crepes, round like the sun, in honor of coming spring, and made from butter, milk and eggs, which are forbidden during Lent, which begins tomorrow.

As I said, a part of the purpose of the festival is to celebrate the end of winter, and interestingly enough, this year the final day of Maslenitsa is today, March 1st, which Russians consider to be the first day of spring. That may seem normal down in southern Russia, where it’s warming up already, but here in Moscow it’s kind of funny to be welcoming spring with so much snow on the ground, when there is a record high of at least 20 people ice fishing on the pond across the street, and bunches of kids on sleds. Call me strange, but I love winter, and I’m in no hurry for the snow to melt. (Don’t tell my neighbors, though.)

Today, the last day of Maslenitsa, is called “Forgiveness Sunday”, when, according to Russian tradition, they ask forgiveness from everyone for all the sins they committed during the past year, whether done wittingly or unwittingly. How cool is that? A Christian Day of Atonement, but atonement granted by your neighbors, not by God. A few years ago on Forgiveness Sunday I was at a market with a friend, and there were some things going on that seemed out of the ordinary, so we asked the vendor what was going on. She thought about it, and said, “Oh, it must be Maslenitsa.” And then she realized that if it was Maslenitsa, it must also be Forgiveness Sunday, and then she asked our forgiveness in case she had caused offense in any way. I love that! A complete stranger asking my forgiveness, just in case. Maybe we should live every day like it was Forgiveness Sunday, not necessarily asking strangers for forgiveness, but being more aware of how our actions and attitudes can effect/hurt those around us, and being willing to ask for forgiveness when we offend.

I guess the most obvious way to shift to a different subject now is to apologize for how long it’s been since my last prayer letter. The last time I wrote, I was planning a trip to Maikop in January for Russian Orthodox Christmas, and I’m embarrassed that I’ve not written about that trip yet. Things got really crazy in the office after my trip, and we’ve had all kinds of traumas with visas and all sorts of things. And really, I have no excuse for procrastinating – sorry. Let me tell you now briefly about the trip.

Natasha and Volodia live in Maikop, close to Krasnodar, where I used to live. They lead a ministry to families with handicapped children, children in orphanages, and needy families. One of our biggest times of the year is Christmas, when we try to give a small gift to everyone that they’ve been ministering to during the year, as well as new families (from a list given by the city social services department). So by the time I arrived, they (and other volunteers) had already visited 65 families, and had given packets of food and gifts. They also had parties for or gave gifts to: 40 kids at a young children’s orphanage, 130 kids at an orphanage for older kids, 130 residents at a home for special needs kids/adults, 15 kids who used to live at an orphanage, but now are living with foster families, and 30 kids at a school for sick kids. They were busy! They saved some of their visits for when I was there – some people that I already knew, and some that they wanted me to meet. We were busy every day while I was there, either visiting others in their homes, or meeting with people who came to visit us in Natasha’s home. It was pretty overwhelming for me to be speaking Russian the entire time for a solid week, except for an occasional phone call to or from an American! But it was really a time of blessing – for me, and I hope for those that we visited as well. We got to hear many stories of how God has blessed, and changed lives, and provided for needs, and received many thanks for being a part of God’s provision for them. We also met people who don’t yet know God, and are still trying to figure out why we would want to help them, and what we might want out of it. And there were others, who may be skeptical of our motives, but are happy for any help they receive. Please pray for all of these people, that beyond the gifts they receive they’ll see the Giver of all gifts, and come to know him. And please pray for Natasha, and her husband, Volodia, as they pour out their hearts and their lives into the needs of others. Please pray for an extra dose of renewal and refreshing for their hearts.

I won’t take the time now to tell you the stories of all these people that we visited. If you’re interested, I’ve been writing some of their stories on my new blog, and you can read them there. The address is: http://www.dianeinrussia.blogspot.com/

Here’s one final thing I’d like to share with you. Last month we sent out this prayer request through our field’s prayer bulletin, Prayer Warriors For Russia: “Each year our main Russian partner church body (ECMU) must submit an application to government offices in order to receive permission for inviting our workers and securing needed visas. These documents were submitted on February 1. We expect permission to be granted by the end of February, and are awaiting news that this permission will extend to several cities where we hope to place staff. Please pray that this process will be handled smoothly and timely. It could provide the means needed for securing visas for over half of our workers during this coming year.” Please be in prayer with us about this situation. This is a pretty normal situation to be in here, and our lives are continually full of the ups and downs of bureaucracy. But last week we had a crisis, when we learned that not only was it not working out in a timely fashion to receive this permission, but there was also a delay in the extension of the visas of all of our Moscow staff. It looked for a while as if all of us (15, counting children) would have to leave the country when our current visas expire in mid-March (which would mean applying for invitations at a very late date), and apply for new temporary visas (at great expense). Then eventually we would have to leave again to apply for work visas, once permission would be granted. We prayed for a miracle, and the ECMU’s lawyer went back to the government office to fight for us. Before I tell you the results, I want to tell you a little story. It was Thursday when we received the bad news. Thursday night I called Natasha in Maikop to talk over some plans for a visit in March, and also told her a little bit about the visa problem, and asked her to pray. She told me that it was a spiritual problem, and that I shouldn’t spend my time worrying about it, because there was nothing that I could do about it besides pray. She assured me that it was God’s plan for us to be here, and that He wasn’t going to let this situation happen. And then she called up a bunch of people that know me, and asked them to pray about it. (Her focus point was that if I had to leave the country in mid-March, I probably wouldn’t be able to make the March visit that we’d been planning, and that would be unacceptable!) And then Friday morning around 10:30, she called me up to ask me how the situation had been resolved, because she was so confident that their prayers had been answered. And although I myself had been praying for a miracle, and was touched by her faith, I privately smiled at how naïve she was being. And then – wait for it, now – about an hour later we got the call that a miracle had indeed happened, and the government office had agreed to give us all temporary extensions, even if the permissions we’re waiting for haven’t yet been granted! I called Natasha right away, and I’ve never been so happy to hear someone say, “I told you so!!”

Praise God with us for this huge answer to prayer, and please continue to pray with us that the ECMU will receive the permission they’re waiting for to continue to provide us with visas.

So, to recap, in this letter on Forgiveness Sunday, I’ve confessed my sins of procrastination, lack of communication, and worse, lack of faith. I read an article on the Internet that said that the day following Forgiveness Sunday is called Clean Monday, because everyone has confessed their sins, asked for forgiveness, and has begun Great Lent with a clean slate. I’m thanking God today that I don’t really need a special day to ask for forgiveness, and I can start every day out just like Clean Monday, with God’s mercies that are fresh and new for me every morning. I’m praying for a lifetime of Clean Mondays for you all too.

Thank you for being partners in this ministry, through your prayers and through your gifts! You are helping to shine God’s light in the darkness!
In His love,

Diane Rorabaugh
with The Christian & Missionary Alliance in Moscow, Russia

PS Don’t forget to check out my new blog at http://www.dianeinrussia.blogspot.com/ .
And check out our field website: www.cmainrussia.org to see what God is doing elsewhere in Russia!

Prayer Requests/Answers to Prayer

1. Pray for the visa situation here in Russia, and especially that the ECMU will receive permission for inviting our workers and securing needed visas.

2. Pray for Natasha and Volodia as they lead the ministry to families with handicapped children, needy families, and orphanages.

3. Pray for the ministry to the home for the handicapped. Please pray for enough volunteers to continue to make this meaningful visit, and please pray for funds. Each visit costs around $300, to pay for the gifts of yogurt, fruit, and snacks for all the residents, and to pay for gas. (The home is about an hour away from the church, and they use an old van.)

4. Pray for Violetta’s family, for spiritual growth, and for God’s blessings on their lives as they reach out to share God’s love with their friends. Pray for her husband, Nikolai, who has an ongoing problem with alchohol.

Russia

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