Reflections on the trip

Thank you all for keeping up with us via the blog and for praying for our trip! Sorry it took us so long to update again. We needed a few days to get back into the swing of things. :-)

Looking back on our trip, we are so grateful for the many experiences our Lord had in store for us that we will cherish. The precious times of worship in the three churches and the two concert halls, the heartfelt responses of the people and their pastors, meeting with the missionaries and pastors and their families, seeing the rich culture and their beautiful cathedrals, hearing the people’s love for their city and its history, these are a few of the memories we will take with us. Following are some exciting things we heard about what our Lord did while we were there.

This is an excerpt from an email we received from Kirill, the man who organized our time in Moscow:

“It…was a great joy to have all of you here and fellowship with you and minister to our Lord. I already hear many great responses. The concert hall in the Tchaikovsky Philharmonic hall was a great success! [For several reasons:]

1. There was a good number of unbelievers. One of my friends told me that he invited an unbeliever friend and she was crying during the concert, she was crying so much so he was afraid to look at her so she would not feel uncomfortable. We were very lucky that our pastor agreed to lead the concert. He was wise enough to read the scripture and to add something to it so it was a little sermons, but not too attacking so the local authorities did not had any questions (remember that I told you that we could not preach or so in such hall? it is illegal now here). So, for the first time, the Bible was read in one of the most prestigious concert halls of the world!

2. One of the TV companies came and recorded some of the concert and took interview from you [Johnny] and me. It was a State channel called "Culture”. They broadcast through all over the country and every one can see that Channel in any city of the country. They showed a little clip during one of their news block. This is very important.

3. Another two journalists were present at the concert. They were representing two major news web sites, and now, their articles are presented at their web sites that visit thousands people every day. Plus to that, information will be showed at our, Christian web sites tomorrow (also visited by great number of people. these sites represent our brotherhood in the secular world). So Baptists had an ability to present them selves in Russia’s secular world. I truly think that your visit was a success in Moscow.”

Jennifer, one of our clarinetists, lived in Moscow for two years, and her email sheds a little light on the impact we had:

“Having lived in Moscow, I knew that what we were doing was important even though it may have seemed like we didn't make many [opportunities to converse with the Russian people]. I was concerned, though, that the rest of the group might not understand the significance of what we were doing. Kirill is right when he talks about our concert as a "bridge" between Baptists and the Russian people/authorities. It's true that Baptists have been regarded as a cult, so anything that can be done to show the general public that we are "normal people" will help validate the work that so many believers have done and will do in Russia.”

More from Kirill:

“Also, during the concert at Second Baptist Church (pictured above), we know that some local unbelievers came for that event. At the same time, some of the local authorities came and it was very important for that church too! In our case here, it is very important to have good relationships with local authorities. Gennady Sergienko (the same guy who was at the Second Bpt. Church and the concert hall of Tchaikovsky) told us that the local authorities who were present at the church on Wednesday were very pleased with the event, and this is important for future!”

And from Jennifer:

“I enjoyed seeing the response of the church people to our music. [In each church, they were visibly touched and said so afterwards.] Russians tend to have a "hard outer shell," and they don't say things they don't mean just to be polite (for example, they wouldn't generally say "nice to meet you" when they first meet you because they don't know you yet - they actually think we're a little shallow when we do this!) So they wouldn't have told us they loved the music if they weren't touched by it. Day-to-day life in Russia can be difficult and dreary, so it was great to give them some joy and encouragement.”

That is the Lord working! Sometimes I get short-sighted when I can’t see what He’s doing – but surely He works according to His passion to bring the freedom of truth and of His joy to each person He created. We can rejoice in knowing that He works through us! Thank you for joining in helping us through your prayers. Many people have given thanks for the favor bestowed on us in answer to your prayers!

“Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with You.” Psalm 40:5

Day 8

Thank you for your prayers for tonight’s concert! It was a joy to play His praises skillfully with fellow believers and for the blessing of the people who came.

It was fun to see our posters a few places around the city.

It was good to see the concertgoers and Camp told us that it was really good attendance. It is neat to think that we had the privilege of playing some hymns in a public concert hall that have never been played there before. The people were responsive, and after the concert several clustered around to tell how touched they were. We know it was a rich blessing to several believers who came.

We know the Lord has done many works in people’s hearts that we can’t see. Please pray:

For our Heavenly Father to use times of quiet in their lives to bring to mind the experiences they had this week,

- That the people whose lives we touched would seek truth and would hunger and thirst for righteousness,

- That we would be open to how the Holy Spirit is shaping us through experiences we’ve had on this trip,

- For safe travel and successful connections as we go our different ways.

Day 7

Thanks to GMP for including our train ride picture from the blog in their monthly newsletter!

Several of us have enjoyed shopping at the open air market this week. It reminds us of something out of a fairy tale.

We had a fantastic day of touring the city. It started with Red Square and viewing Lenin’s body. The room was dark and cold and he looked like an ordinary, short Caucasian man. It was an object lesson on how fragile men of power really are and who they will ultimately answer to.

We ate lunch in the GUM, the 3-story mall that covers a city square and borders the Red Square. What irony that the former communist offices were turned into a capitalistic mecca.

After lunch, we toured St. Basil’s cathedral. It is actually 9 churches dedicated to orthodox saints. The walls are beautifully painted up to the high ceilings, and the artwork on the alters was exquisite. A men’s quartet singing in the central church added to the beauty.

We took the metro to the outskirts of the city to a beautiful overlook in Vorovyo Gory Park. After a long steep hike to the top, we took a relaxing ski lift down.

Five of us decided to visit the Cathedral of Christ our Savior, the biggest cathedral in Moscow. It was stunning! Everything looked much newer as it was completed in 2000, but the style and artwork was similar to the ancient cathedrals.

Please pray for our last day in Moscow, that we would play with excellence and many people would be touched by spiritual truth.

Day 6

We spent the afternoon at the LOGOS Institute of Sacred Music.

When we walked in, Camp was already leading a session on church music. We are glad to have him with us! He gave a great talk encouraging these future music ministers to incorporate instrumental music into their worship services. After Camp spoke, Johnny gave a mini seminar on rehearsal technique and conducting. The students started asking him questions and he was able to share some faith stories from his life.

The church was so welcoming. The dinner they provided was delicious, and the ladies who served us were very sweet. The students were excited to take a picture with our team. They seemed very happy that we had come.

It was such a blessing to lead the worship service. The members of the church were responsive after we finished and asked several questions about the orchestra and it’s members.

Please pray that we would fill the concert hall on Friday, and that the Holy Spirit would continue to remind the people of how we spoke to them this week.

Day 5

This is Olesya, our first guide around Moscow. She was so nervous leading a group of 30 strangers through the Moscow subway during rush hour. She stopped to count us around every corner. After our first successful ride with everyone getting off at the right spot, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was a delight to have with us and we look forward to her help again on Thursday.

We saw the Kremlin today: the armory and cathedrals. We enjoyed looking at the artifacts from Russia's history. What an amazing collection.

Stopping to rest before leaving the Kremlin.

Central Baptist church was a beautiful venue! The pastor told us afterwards several people mentioned how touched they were. It's such a blessing to touch the hearts of people who speak a different language.

A couple of the ensembles warming up before the church service.

Please pray:

- That we would be a blessing to the students at the Logos Institute of Sacred Music,

- For Friday's concert: That things would go smoothly, we would play with excellence, and people would be softened to spiritual truths.

Days 3 and 4

Happy belated Father's Day! We did receive our missing luggage by 3 AM Sunday morning. It was an answer to prayer to receive it before leaving the city. We heard that Camp will join us on Wednesday! He is using his own frequent flyer miles in order to join us for 3 days.

Sunday Morning we lead a 2 1/2 hour worship service at Kolpino Baptist church (a country church outside the city). This was the first time a symphony had played in their church, and the pastor was very touched as he shared with us about the unchurched people who came (including a co-worker of his) and guests from other churches who were deeply blessed.

We had some time in the afternoon to explore more of the city. This is a photo of the church of the Spilled Blood built on the site where Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in the 1880's.

The river boat tour of "The Venice of the North" was beautiful! There are so many stories in St. Petersburg and we could tell how much the people love their city and it's history.

We successfully made it to the capitol city via sleeper train. It was quite an experience: Four people, plus luggage, and instruments in a 6x8 foot room. Two people even had to share their car with strangers. Funny memories!!!

Please pray:

- For effective communication during our chamber music worship service tomorrow at Central Baptist Church. Pray for people to come and be blessed.

- For the people of Russia to hunger to read God's word and know him personally.

- For publicity for the Tchaikovsky Hall concert on Friday. It will be a ticketed event and such an opportunity to reach unchurched people.

Day Two

Today began with a bus tour of the city and of St. Isaac's Cathedral. "Astounded," "Flabbergasted," and "Speechless" would describe our faces upon stepping into the cathedral. The ornate artistry was evident in the marble columns, polished mosaics, intricate paintings, bronze carvings, and gold accents. Learning the history of the building gave us a new appreciation for the building's magnificence.

Our first concert in a beautiful European style concert hall was a success! The people really enjoyed and connected with the music, asking for two encores. Pavel, our M.C., shared with the audience the text of each hymn tune and was able to clearly share the gospel. Our ministry partner, Clint, asked his church members not to attend to make room for unchurched music lovers. After the concert, Bibles and advertisements about local ministries were handed out.

Prayer Requests:

- For seeds that were planted today to grow and bear fruit.

- As of now, it looks like Camp will not be joining us this week. Although we miss him very much, we are thankful for the way the Lord has provided in his absence.

- For safety as we travel by overnight train to Moscow.

- For the days in Moscow, that the Lord would direct our ways and use us as effective witnesses.

- That we would be spiritually renewed and the fragrance of Christ would spread to the people we encounter.

- That the people God has prepared will be able to attend our concerts.

- We haven't heard about the luggage yet - please continue to pray for this.