The View From Here

My mom (or grandma? or both? somebody ….) used to say, when explaining why it was hard to get letters written (yes, in the day before email OR blogging people actually wrote letters…on PAPER…with PENS or PENCILS…imagine…) that there was “nothing that big that forced her to write and too many little things that kept her from writing”. Oh how I can relate…

But in the spirit of this new, more often, (hopefully) shorter blogs, here are some of those more notable “little things” that I didn’t get around to telling you all about when they happened…

Planting Seeds…

 Books for *Babushki (*plural of Babushka) :    AT THE HOSPITAL……When my friend Marilyn was in the hospital the “Babushka” (older lady) sharing the room with her was really sweet and talkative. She seemed very scared of her condition (which we could never quite figure out what it was). We offered to pray for her and she asked if we could write what we prayed down because she thought that her grandkids could “really benefit from prayers like that”. She was Orthodox and they typically (as far as I know) have their prayers written out and memorized rather than just freely from your heart as we in protestantism are used to.

She told us all about her family; her kids and grandkids, etc. So I gave her some books for all of them. A children’s Bible for the grandkids and a Bible for her, “Married and How to Stay That Way” by Steve Carr for her kid’s and their spouses, “Why Grace Changes Everything” by Chuck Smith and a couple of novels (“Stepping Heavenward” and others by Christina Roy) and she was overwhelmed. She just kept thanking us over and over. During the time my friend was there she had read two of the Roy  novels and was quite a ways through the book on grace. We also gave her a tract with the gospel and an invitation to church. She said she lived too far away to come to our church (Kyiv is quite big and can take an hour to get across town on public transport.) That was fine and we didn’t push it. The books and the Holy Spirit are more than enough tools for God to do whatever He plans at this season in her life.

AT THE OFFICE…Recently our “*dezhornaya” (*door-lady) was sitting in her little “office” in the entryway of our building  reading the Psalms. I asked her if she was a “Believer” (a common way to refer to Christians…typically people answer “of course! Everyone is!”) She answered slowly and said, well, the Psalms were very interesting and inspiring and she figured by reading them she could get closer to God but that she didn’t really know and she didn’t really go to church (for most Orthodox people being a Christian is equal to going to church. If you don’t go to church you are suspect and if you go to church then it is without question that you are a Christian. From what I have observed your beliefs and consequent expression of life has really no relevance on the question.)

I asked her if she would like to learn more about what it meant to be a Christian and she was very enthusiastic. I brought her Chuck Smith’s book on grace (the aspect of salvation it seems that Orthodox people most need to hear about, since I have seen little or no concept of it in their works based system of faith….good people, but burdened under the fear of not knowing if you have done enough, are good enough, etc. to be accepted into heaven when you die…how sad!)….and the novel based on the biblical story of Bathsheba by Francine Rivers.

She said it was too much to give them to her and was relieved when I explained that they were from our library. She was reading away at one the next time I passed by and I have seen two other of the “dezhourni” reading them, too (they work two separate overnight shifts a week to “guard” the entryway and have to spend their whole time either in their teeny tiny little room with a cot or somewhere right there in the entryway.) They have asked if they can get new books once they finish these! Of course!

“Be ready to give an answer to every man that asks the reason for the hope that lies within you…”

I often have a book or cd or something with me to give out to anyone where the “door” seems open. Now with the van that’s even easier to have something with me. Our church goes to a baby-hospital to help change diapers, rock babies, etc. and I asked if they could find out if we could donate a little three-shelf bookshelf and some books for a little “library” for parents that are anxiously waiting to hear news of their little ones that are sick. Please pray that we might have the chance to offer some words of encouragement and hope, via these books, to these families during such stressful times.

Oh…and BTW, today I got a phone call for another 10 books from the woman that bought 10 at the weekend book faire recently!  She is from an international Christian institute here in Kyiv. She knew nothing of the book or the author, but just saw it at the faire (that wonderful cover again - that I’m  still TRYING to download a picture of here!) and then liked what she found inside even better than the cover!  

Yea…that’s what I like to hear.