Belarus Trip May 29-June 5, 2008

Thursday, May 29- Friday May 30, 2008

We left FBC Lavaca on Thursday morning bright and early at 6:30 am after we gathered for prayer; it was a sweet time and a moving experience as we were all excited about going overseas on this trp. Those who went Brother Terry, Emily and Katie Hurt, Christy Williams, Frances and her son Mark Headley, Micah Gregory, Stu and his wife Sarah Smithson and me. We stopped by Krispy Kreme to get some hot doughnuts now and they were some kind of tasty! We flew from XNA in Fayetteville, AR to Chicago, met up with our group from Green Pines Baptist Church and then on to Frankfurt for 7-hour flight, then on to Minsk, Belarus. We arrived about 1:30 their time which was 8 hours ahead of our time. We went to the memorial outside Minsk and that was very moving as the Germans killed entire villages during WWII. Two million of the eight million people died in Belarus. Dan and Lori Upchurch met us at airport and took us to tour the memorial. We went to hotel Planetia and ate dinner then made it to bed exhausted at 10:30 p.m. eastern European time which was 6:30 am our time! God blessed us with great trip and we got our entire luggage.

Saturday, June 1, 2008

I slept till what I thought was 5:30 am but it was 4:30 am as our hotel clock was off. I took good shower had quiet time then on downstairs for Belarusian breakfast. We departed for our destinations as the Hurts, me, Christy, Frances and Mark traveled to Orsha and Micah and Smithsons went to the camp in Mogilev. Some of the team from Green Pines Baptist Church in Knightdale NC went to the camp and others went to Bobruisk to help the church there and conduct VBS clinic. We traveled 3 hours to Orsha and met with Pastor Leonid his wife Natasha and their family and what a family they have. They have 5 children, Onya who sang at FBCL in February of this year, Andrew, who is 17, Lilia who is 15, Nicolai, 11, and Lucy, 9. What a blessing they were to get to know and spend some time with. I gave some gifts to them we brought from the USA like 2 pair of shoes for Leonid. He has to walk a good bit and watch his diet as he had heart attack in Feb 2008. We ate very good meal, had some Borsch soup, cabbage, cookies, and of course tea. You drink a lot of tea in Belarus! We went to the church and had a youth service tonight with singing and sharing and the youth pastor Sergei asked if I would preach a message and I said sure and preached from Luke 4:18-19. We sang and Terry sang Amazing Grace, My Chains Are Gone.” Later that evening we walked to the river and played volleyball and had a lot of fun. We went back to pastor’s home and ate again, planned the service for the next day then to bed. Oh my, my friend Dan can sure cut some ZZZs.

Sunday, June 2, 2008

Slept till eight and had quiet time, then very good breakfast.
What a great day! We had a 2.5-hour worship service in the am and p.m. We observed the Lord’s Supper and it was incredible; the LORD blessed. Dan spoke from Acts 9 and it was good message. We had very fine lunch, as Natasha is something else, a wonderful Christian woman who epitomizes Proverbs 31. We rested after lunch then I spoke with Dan for a while about church issues and the Emergent Church movement and he has concerns as I do about their lack of emphasis on teaching. WE went back to church and they had this spread of food and we ate, sang, and pastor spoke on the sword and used the sword I gave him from last year and it was a great message. Each one on our group shared a little bit and it was really good. I spoke for a few minutes on the Radiant Church our vision statement here at FBCL, shine upward in worship, inward in discipleship and outward in evangelism, missions. We went back to the home and had great fellowship until 12:30 am.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Got up at 8:00 am had quiet time then on to Orsha for some shopping at a linen store and I picked up some gifts for folks back home. We walked around the city of Orsha and it was founded in like 1067 AD, wow that is old! This nun asked if we wanted a tour of the Catholic Church and that was nice and this Catholic church has a priest who is evangelistic which is wonderful. We went back to pastor’s home and ate then off to Sino for humanitarian work in an orphanage, and this was a blast! The good news was shard in a drama and our team from AR sang and then we gave out gifts we brought like balloons, candy, pens, toothbrushes, etc and it was a blessing. My heart goes out to these boys and girls. WE then went to Pastor Pavil’s church in Sino; he is Pastor Leonid’s brother and we had a great meal and sang and it was so fun. (Their father was also a pastor. Leonid’s wife’s name is Natasha and her 2 brothers are pastors, and her sister is married to a pastor. Her father was not a pastor but a godly layman in his church.) For the blessing they asked for me to pray and I said something without thinking—“Do you want me to pray in English?’ Christy and Terry could hardly stop laughing it was pretty funny. I meant to say do you want me to pray in English and will you then translate into Russian. Oh well it was funny thought! We drove back to Leonid’s home and ate some cookies and had tea till past midnight. The fellowship here with the believers is so sweet. There is such a difference in their countenances and the faces of those outside the church. Tonight I could not go to sleep so I watched an episode of The Unit, which I have really enjoyed as it has helped pass the time. I still had hard time going to sleep but finally did and slept till 9:30 am.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Now this day was intense for our group. We went to the passport office to get our registration to be in the city. Next time we really need to get tourist visas and not humanitarian visas. The passport official asked to see us and we went into her office and she smiled and I thought all was well then her countenance changed and she and Natasha had a heated exchange in Russian. It was tough moment for our team. She sent us away with out giving the registration we needed. Dan could hardly sleep that night, so the next morning Natasha went with Dima from the group that sponsored us, Stephanos, and they spoke to the lady and showed her the law and she was much more cooperative and gave us our stamps. One thing very interesting to me was this lady told Natasha that she knew who she was and that she was a part of that sect because your eyes are clear. Wow, what a statement. Jesus spoke about our eyes having light in the Gospel of Matthew. I thought this was such a great compliment to Natasha. I want to have such “clear eyes” that people see Christ the Hope of Glory radiating from my eyes! We went shopping in the city then on to Sergei’s and his wife Olga’s home and had an incredible lunch; I mean tasty. We had this potato and mushroom soup, and then chicken with pineapple on it, and it was very good. I took a 15 minute nap and then later on we went back to the river for a time of picnic with the youth and fellowship and I preached from Acts 2:42-47 on why I love my church. The Lord blessed and I am so grateful for His hand of favor on me as I preached His Word. I love the Belarusian people. We came home and Natasha prepared some pancake-like dish and again yes very tasty. I went to bed, watched another episode of the Unit, read some of Chuck Colson’s book, The Faith (very good book and I finished it on the plane ride home), and went to sleep about 1:30 am, which is 5:30 p.m. back home!

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Got up at 7:30 am and had quiet time, took it easy until time to go to pray over new church building in Baran about 12 miles from Orsha, one of 3 church plants that pastor Leonid is helping start. We prayer walked the church and around it and it was powerful time for sure. I am so blessed to be on mission with God with our people from FBCL, as I love our people; they are doing a super job, no complaining just giving their all. Stu and Sarah and Micah are doing great as well at the camp. One of the 2 men helping build the church building, a man named Ephraim, was so neat. He is helping build this church in Baran physically while serving as one of the spiritual leaders of another church in another city where they have a nucleus of believers and the money to buy property but cannot find a building to purchase. Pastor Leonid told us as we gathered for prayer for this fellowship that he was contacted by gov’t official and told that hey would investigate if they found out that a church was being planted. And he gave such a great response that they ought not waste their time investigate them but go to where people are drinking because they would be needed more there! We gathered around and I led in prayer for this church. We drove back to Sergei’s and ate lunch and while there I learned that Hannah and Brooke got caught in a riptide in Panama City Beach, and God spared them. Thank You Lord. This turned out to be quite an ordeal as she and Broke had to be rescued by a guy on Jet Ski. We also got the news today that we did indeed get our registration papers to be in Orsha, and Dan especially was glad about that. During that whole ordeal it was intense but we felt the presence of the Lord in our lives and being in the center of God’s will is indeed the safest place to be. We hung out at the church till about 6:30 and Andrew and I worked out again in his room. He is a good young man and he really works out and is knowledgeable about what to do. BAINO TIME! Oh my this was quite the experience! From bout seven to ten we went to this nice place where we took hot sauna, got in cool pool, ate fresh fruit and got back in sauna and pool. The best part is when they take these leafy devices and hit you with them; it really feels good, like a massage. Sergei, the youth pastor, the big Belarusian hit Mark, Terry and me with this device and it was of all things very relaxing. When I left the baino I was like so loose and relaxed. We went back to pastor’s home and Natasha had prepared this Belarusian pizza and let me tell you it was some kind of tasty. I slept on a mattress tonight and ah it was sweet sleep for me for 7 hours! We got up about 7:30 and ate good breakfast about ten and Natasha had cooked this cake with fresh fruit on it and it was one of the best cakes I had ever eaten (I sure am talking a lot about food, but you just have to be there to see what I mean! The food and tea are great but it is the fellowship you enjoy that is priceless. During one meal one of the church members at Pastor Leonid’s church came and spoke to us while we ate and just bragged on her pastor and his wife, and it was so moving. She said I hope our pastor stays for a long time. In America that would mean I hope he does not go to another church, but in Belarus she meant she hoped his health would hold up. Dan told me they do not change churches in Belarus; the people and pastor pretty much stay together; I thought that was neat.)) We said our good byes and that was hard as this family is so amazing. They gave us each a linen tablecloth and some chocolate candies and we left after pictures and prayer. We traveled back to Minsk and went shopping and ate good dinner and had debriefing time with Dan and team from Green Pines, and Dan asked each of us to answer or fill in the blank, I am glad I came to Belarus because . . . Everyone shared and it was very moving, many tears were shed. I got chocked up because my greatest dream came to fruition, I got to minister with my people from FBCL, I got to go in the trenches with them and do ministry and for a pastor that is a true honor and blessing. We stayed up until about 2:45 am and Dan and Lori picked us up at hotel and we went to airport and flew from Minsk to Vienna then on to Chicago then to Fayetteville then drove home to Lavaca, yeah! God richly blessed and we all made it back safely with so many cherished memories to share with our families and church family.