April 2001
Rudi and Kirsten Blümcke, 660001 Krasnojarsk, ul. Menschinskogo16a
kw.109, Russia;
tel+fax: 007 3912 440160; e-mail: rubl@online.ru
Krasnojarsk, 17 April 2001
Dear friends!
Holy Week has begun. I have brought Mano (Asia adviser of the mission work) to the airport and now I begin an Easter letter - we will see whether it is finished before the Easter celebration. We live by faith and not by sight - new life, Resurrection, healing and redemption - often are surrounded we by death and superstition, by controversy and failures. There the Easter message is a torch, which we carry into the darkness, that sometimes becomes almost too hot in our hands.
For a long time already many of you wait for new messages about our Church building project. I have become more cautious, after several concrete descriptions of the project and inspiration, a certain disillusionment has occurred. In the last week now the fifth project smashed itself, a building of 1910 in ramshackle status for us finally. We had the support of the deputy Governor. The building is in the possession of the regional administration, and on our request the administration was quickly willing to provide us very favorably the building with surrounding grounds, so that our collected resources could have flowed fully into the restoration of this building. With our official inquiry however we also awakened sleeping dogs in the administration, and now the whole went to a company, which will tear the building down, in order to pull up a modern residential complex, since coworkers of the administration were promised some dwellings. So it goes in Russia. So it means that we again begin at ground zero, after previous projects also did not turn out to be feasible. Sometimes the offering company has made a backdown at the last minute, because it allegedly suddenly needed no more cash, and another time it turned out afterwards that we had not negotiated with the owner of the building at all. Real estates are in Russia prime possibility of washing cash and of letting papers go hand to hand, since the laws are not yet unambiguous (one sees that, if one inquires with authorities about the legal situation or about concrete objects, and gets from each place a different response).
But we do not give hope up, and also in this area we wait for the light, and hope that it becomes visible soon. In any case it is good that the sum which has accumulated continues to grow, so that we can act quickly if we get a good opportunity. The rent for our present worship space constantly rises, without our currently being able to have an influence on it (currently we pay converted approximately 140 DM per Sunday for the hall and two rooms for the parallel children's service for three hours, since after the service we always have a cosy coffee hour). Meanwhile we rented a further dwelling over our 3-room congregation dwelling, in order to accommodate our church office. Our small 14 square meter office burst from all seams. There are now working Dascha, my new translator and secretary, who I hired, after Tatjana, my support of many years, quit for personal reasons. Elena, our musician (well known by the coworker school in Hermannsburg), administers also the office matters and now also has taken the main responsibility for our church newspaper. A Web Page is planned. Then since last summer Rosa works with us as a bookkeeper. What in Russia is called a bookkeeper in the church I experienced on an accounting seminar that I organized together with ministers from Novosibirsk. That is a diplomatic service, to present the truth also in the fiscal authorities and be received there again and again with complete lack of understanding. How important this seminar was, in which we gave these accountants also religious support "Be wise as serpents, but harmless as doves", we noticed only afterwards
Since last summer I have a Vicar from the first course of our theological seminary from Novosaratowka by St. Petersburg. Evgenij comes from Kirgisien, wants to assume the Russian nationality however and will probably work here in the future with us in Siberia. On the one hand we rejoice much about these young people, who represent the future of our church, on the other hand they will probably still need clear religious guidance for quite a while, since they usually bring along very little congregational background and would be overtaxed, if they were put alone into a congregational situation somewhere in the wider Siberia.
Michael and Stevie Fendler have now at the beginning of March concluded their language phase, have entered into the work here and prepare for an assignment in Abakan, in the south of the jurisdiction. They are to build a new congregation there in the capital Chakassien and to serve the many small congregations in the villages in the south, which so far I could visit only twice a year. Last weekend were we all in Chakassien, and tegether visited four of our congregations there, held services, and Kirsten with two young people organized a program for the children and young people of the village. It becomes clear again and again, how rapidly the German congregations shrink and how little future is to be seen, unless something is begun with children and young people, or also only in the Russian language. We hope the presence of the Fendlers there in the south can strengthen the small careful beginnings in the right direction. First I am pleased that the two, together with the Vicar, take services and also travels to the villages from me, which physically are quite draining. Above all Stevie and Michael engage themselves in our group of young people, and also will organize summer camps with them, when we are in Germany
A further topic, to which we were constantly responding, was the winter this year. Many inquired by email about our experiences issued, or also anxiously called. Even German radio sender asked us "survivors" after the cooling wave. The fact that one's eyes freeze at minus 40 degrees after 10 minutes outside is typically and perhaps in Germany a headline worth picture newspaper style that with many humans the heating had failed - yes, that happens here regularly each year - and also each year many homeless people and drunk ones die, because they are simply frozen on the road. I want to play nothing down thereby, the importance of which was magnified in the headlines. No, but what is taken up in Germany as disaster, where many people hold their hands over their head - struck with horror with the thought that there perhaps live acquaintances in this country - that is here in Russia in the country of the most modern military equipment and the Sputniks everyday chaos, slovenliness and indifference. It is not the first year of such cold in Siberia, and also this year was lower perhaps 2 degrees Celsius than other years. But Russia is not a proud country, here dares it loud to cry out and complain. If it is available in the consciousness of the people at all
It is really a tragedy, if one sees, under which circumstances some humans live here must - we experience that live with the visitors of our Diakonia station. A large assistance was in this year the spontaneous assistance of the Rheinish church, which made available funds to us, with which we above all could buy warm clothes, which we hare distributed in Barnaul, Novosibirsk and here by us in the region of the villages and in the city. Also our projects continue. Still we supply 20 people with warm meals three times a week and give packages of supplies for daily living and medicines and clothes as assistance to needy people. Unfortunately the auto that we bought for the diaconical work 2 years ago, meanwhile has become hardly reparable, again and again it breaks down, the impact holes and the cold temperatures adds much to the problems of the vehicle. So far I still have no idea, how we can get a new car for these projects. Thus here the call: If someone is moved to give away or deliver a passenger car combination or also a minibus if possible with all-wheel drive in good condition, please contact us! Our driver Eduard will comes gladly and fetch the car.
More importantly for us is then still the entire position of our diaconical work. The contracts between the church representatives from Westphalia and the vocational school administration here, the salaries, which had clarified running costs of the Diakonie and also the space question, obviously ran out after 5 years, so that we are getting to hear more from both sides that that is not to be financed all any more. So we have actually always plentifully means for the projects, but the projects to handle and ill, handicapped and old people to visit and maintain, no one wants to take over the salaries of the people, because one would have to commit oneself there steadily over the longer term, since its own financing is at present not yet visible on the horizon in Russia.. The space question is connected again with our own building. Those are now our current prayer requests.
Last Autumn we had a very dear visit from Canada. Bishop Steve Kristenson came with his wife, on a round trip through Siberia, for a busy week to us to Krasnojarsk, and we enjoyed exchanging with the two very intensively religiously. Later then also still their daughter Heidi came to us for a longer time, she makes a practicum in Yakutsk at the university, also with her we had much joy.
Well and now Ponniah Manoharan is already back in Hermannsburg again, and the time together flew very fast. It does simply well to have guests who can listen attentively and really have a missionary heart, what the work meant for us and now and then also at times can give fraternal advice here. We are very grateful for these visits.
Now I do not have any longer busyness before Easter. The celebration is past, but our hearts are still crammed with all these impressions. Only a Good Friday worship service, which we had announced months beforehand in the cultural center, unfortunately it was not entered into the meeting calendar and our hall was filled. Thus we changed over to a very small space, in which there was also a piano, and exactly 70 people came. The last stood outside in the corridor, but the Good Friday mood could not be broken. A very moving service, in which Stevie preached the happening of the Crucifixion and made a deep impression. On Sunday then 180 adults and 50 children - more would not have fit also into the large hall. A festive service, with choir, decorated altar, much singing and festive drinking of coffee.
In the evening then still another special event was on the program. Together with the most diverse churches of the city we celebrated a service with a festive concert following in an enormous hall, organized of different bands and choirs and drama groups of the congregations. All were completely fulfilled. That is already rather special, to celebrate the Resurrection of the Lord together with approx. 1500 Charismatics, Pentecostals, Catholics, and Lutherans.
We look forward to the summer, particularly on a vacation, which we want to live also this year again on Corsica.
We wish you a joyous Easter. Your Rudi!
Kirsten: If one has not reported for a long time, there is always much to report, and honestly said I shy away from it, simply because I think that it becomes too much you. The more surprised I am then again and again over your reactions and your sympathy at all our happenings here, thank you! We cannot tell you how important your prayers for us are, we notice nevertheless increasingly, how dependent we are on our Lord. Thus cordial thanks! Also I am still quite fulfilled by our Easter, of which Rudi already reported. The appearance of our congregation in the evening (our choir had learned the Stabat Mater and led the group of young people on a mad pantomime on) was particularly impressive, because we simply experienced our togetherness anew. The young people, who were very excited, were particularly worked up and assembled themselves behind the stage for the common prayer and appeared afterwards better than ever.
Many of you reacted to my report over youth camps the last summer and so I would like to tell, how it continued in the youth work. Apart from our weekly youth hours particularly our winter camps let us grow together still fixed. Even if we were only 20 people because of the icy frosts, nevertheless even this family constellation did very well for us. Our topic was called "New Life". We spoke about which it means new to be born anew, and how the new life in Jesus Christ express itself quite concretely and can affect everyday life. It was helpful to practice this new life on the spot and to share many open discussions about it. For almost all Kids such an atmosphere of love and attention is rather unusual with each other and we were united that we are really dependent on God for assistance, even if we want to live outside of our community. I am grateful to our Lord from the heart for our group of young people and its visible working at it and by it. I am grateful also for the other leaders, that ripen more and more and even take responsibility. There Fendlers in the summer camps will lead, also entered into the youth work. and it makes great fun to cooperate with them.
Because we are now so many coworkers, I can remain at home from time to time and give assignments, which is also necessary, since otherwise often too little time remains for the family. That is for me/us a conflict again and again: on the one hand the child and youth work makes very much fun for me, and challenges me quite beautifully (one could invest still more) and on the other hand I would also like to be at home more, so that Rudi and the children do not get cut too short. So I am again and again weighing, and have often the feeling that by phases sometimes the one and sometimes the other falls short. I pray there again and again for much wisdom
Yes, how does it look at home? Since Summer Jonathan goes into the Russian school and comes there amazingly well there. Besides the daily homework we make an additional hour of German with the remote school material each day. Additionally he learns flute and so is quite busy. Sometimes it bothers me that he is that busy, but he always has fun making music and he is apparently also quite musical. We try to make certain however that he has at least Saturday afternoon and Sunday free and he particularly enjoys that. I believe summer holidays will do him good. We have often discussions about the social life in the school, which is partly rather antisocial. There Jonathan is very easily influenced, and also fast learned to resist, there is much material for discussion. I am very grateful also here for our good relationship and for its openendedness. Anna Maria further goes gladly to kindergarten and for the winter also to the preparatory school. There she learned already Russian reading and writing, and after a discussion with the teachers we decided that she is to attend the school after the summer, although the children only at 7 are given their first schooling here Also with her I do a little German each day, she reads and writes already quite properly. Additionally she loves to still sing and recite poems, almost daily she learns new songs or poems in the Kindergarten and presents them here at home. Additionally she goes to the Ballet, which she enjoys. Again and again we rejoice at our awakened children, who are now getting big and nevertheless still need us as before. I believe that we as parents are often in danger of thinking that the children nom longer need us any longer, because they can now do much alone. But they need us then more as moral support, as listening partners, as models for life. I pray that God helps us in these things.
How is it going for me personally in the middle of all the describing? Sometimes I am full of power and enthusiasm for working our Lord and that we can share in it. Sometimes I have doubts, whether we need to do things differently, then we talk, reflect, and pray. Sometimes I am tired and long for vacation, but then already in the morning alone with my Lord, and skiing in the woods, I am restored. And I am astonished again and again at the boundless grace of God, which does despite all our inadequacies its work and gives so much strength and progress. He has preserved us e.g. health in this year so marvelously. Always, if something were in the offing, I only prayed: Lord, you know nevertheless that I have now at all no time to be ill, please turn it away, nevertheless still this mark, for your work, and our gracious Father heard and handled it. I even heard song: "Who follows Jesus does not lead a comfortable life... ". That is surely true, but too much comfort leads as is well known also to inertia and boredom. I find the life with Jesus totally exciting and like that I am excited again and again, what He continues to intend here in Russia and which He works in all your lives. I hope that we can exchange ourselves over it with some of you this Summer.
Cordial greetings to you, your Kirsten!
Rudi and Kirsten Blümcke