Ordzhonikidze is a small town on the East coast of Crimea and the landscape is beautiful. We arrived there Wednesday night around 11pm after an eight hour bus ride. We were all tired and went to bed shortly afterwards. We drove down with Jay Don and Mary Lee, 4 other American missionaries who helped organize and fund the conference, and 3 orphans. We were put up in a local motel that was quaint. It gave us privacy but had a few let downs. Thursday was a free day for us to explore the town and recover from the long drive. Laurie and I spent our time walking and hiking. The area has many hills and peaks to discover from which you can take beautiful pictures.
Then on Friday the conference began. The costs of the conference are covered by Eastern European Missions (EEM). EEM produces a weekly local television program on faith. Often they have people who call in to their response center asking questions. So this conference in Crimea is an annual event in which EEM tries to bring together many of the Christians around the Ukraine along with many of these people who have called in to their response center. The goals of the conference are to be evangelistic in answering questions and encouraging faith in those who are searching for Jesus and also to equip existing believers with resources and encouragement to start home churches so the Word of God can spread even further.
Saturday was the giving of resources and baptisms. For about an hour Sasha would talk about a book, CD or Bible and then they would hand them out. I was quite impressed. There was a lot of good resources that were available for anyone who wanted them. Then watching the baptisms in the Black Sea was very interesting because the locals were very interested in what was going on. As the twenty two people were baptized I could see people coming up and asking others about the event. It was a good warm day and the sea was all calm and perfect. I was happy to be apart of that.
The speakers did an excellent job in reaching both new and seasoned Christians through their messages. Or I should say that God did an excellent job of reaching out to these people. I know it was God speaking through these other men because one of the main speakers got quite sick and was unable to do much of his sessions. So other speakers had to jump in and fill his spots. Jay Don spoke three times on the weekend and was only originally scheduled to do a Q & A session. Nevertheless he did an excellent job of bringing Scriptures to life in a new way even with the short notice.
Here's a funny moment from the weekend. So what's the last thing you would ever expect to see at a Christian conference? A grandma in her bra!?!?! Well, that was one embarrassing surprise. Laurie and I sat down in the auditorium for one of the talks. In front of us was a mother and grandma we knew from a congregation we have visited before in Donetsk. The next thing I see is the grandma taking off her sweater and revealing her bra! I then quickly realized that she was hot and was trying to just take off her sweater but her under shirt was stuck to her sweater. I turn to Laurie, put my hand to the side of my face to shield me from her exposure and say to Laurie, “I can't help her, I...I can't help her.” After a few seconds of this the grandma puts her sweater back down but her daughter turns to her and says, “what are you doing?” She then helped her mom take off her sweater and then they turned around and looked at us. I said, “better, yes” and then we all burst out laughing pretty hard. She was so embarrassed but laughed at herself with us.
Next Sunday we will be traveling once again. Laurie and I with the Rogers will go visit a congregation about two hours away located in a small village. Afterward we will go and see one of the graduates of UBI and his work. He started a drug/alcohol rehab center and is doing great work there helping many men and women recover.
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