"The Other Side of the World is Not So Far Away..."

In September, EB was part of a Campus Crusade team that traveled to the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk (where Matt was in June).  She helped put on a women's conference through a partnership between our ministry there and a local Baptist church.   EB spoke several times to several hundred women on topics ranging from home decorating and organizing, as well as child-rearing.  As has become her custom in recent seminars, EB arrived a day early to shop in the stores and markets.  She then uses items available locally to demonstrate how to beautify and organize a home easily as well as how to cook efficiently and cheaply. 

Communism silenced or killed off Christian church leadership.   That makes it hard today for this generation in Eastern Europe and Russia to find good teaching in their language and culture, including such topics as Biblical perspective of money and raising children.   That is also why in this city of 1 million people, the largest Protestant church has only 800 members.

At the same time EB was in Siberia, I was in Orlando, Florida; quite literally on the opposite of the planet, 12 times zones away either direction.   In Orlando I was helping to train the newest missionary class with Campus Crusade how to develop their financial support.  The missionary class was divided into 5 different workshops were the training took place in a classroom setting.  I am pictured above (lower left) with the workshop where I assisted.   

 

These missionaries will fan out across the globe with the gospel, with their support teams behind them praying and providing for them.   Some will go into very sensitive locations which is why several faces were blotted out in the above picture.   My heart is have this quality training available to our staff in Eastern Europe and Russia which is why several European staff have joined me at these trainings so they too can learn to teach others in our part of the world.