Reports of recent Trips and Work by Godspeed Missionary Care

Moscow, March 2001 - Notes from a Pool Hall

Question: What do Josef Stalin and Barney Davis have in common?

Answer:
It is Wednesday...minus 3 Centigrade, light snow...I have to assume that there are many Russians who are asking their spouses, "Honey, have you seen the car?", as there are snow banks greater than six feet tall all around. One sees someone shoveling to keep their car accessible, while immediately next to him is a huge mound of snow with only the tip of an antenna sticking out...it will be springtime before anyone will know whose car is buried within.

We are meeting with a group of missionaries who serve in different regions of Russia, during their annual "Russia Field Council" meeting, a chance to share with each other and plan for their work over the next year. Some of them are the only English speaking people in the towns they live in; they are the ones who have trouble finding the "right" word in English in their conversations, as they have been speaking Russian for most of the last six months. This meeting is when mail from home is brought in (by us). One would think that the first thing this group would want to do would be to talk, to open their mail, to just be around each other and socialize. Yet, the first thing that the group did after they came together for the first time in months was to spend two hours singing praise songs, having a devotional time, and group prayer. It was soon evident that more important to each of them than being with other missionaries, than having time of rest and relaxation, than hearing from home, is being in close and worshipful relationship with their God. Their priorities are convicting and humbling.

The medical issues presented thus far are diverse; one person has significant heart findings, suggesting a need for possible surgery at some point. The issue is not so much what to do, but when to schedule doing it, as even a basic cardiology/cardiac surgery consultation will require flying back to the U.S. Another had a skin lesion removed, and is seeking counsel about appropriate follow up. Orthopedic complaints are common, as are gynecological concerns. Even routine infections pose the problem of access to appropriate antibiotics. The Russian medical system varies widely, and treatment recommendations by local doctors are often vaguely delivered and erratically available. "Routine" medical care is anything but routine. Our counseling issues thus far: personal concerns about handling the stress of working in this distant land; relationship problems between team members, between husband and wife; dealing with the issues of "re-entry", that mixture of excitement and sadness when the missionary leaves their work "home" to return to their "passport" home.

And finally, the answer to the quiz question (see above): They both frequent the same pool hall. Josef Stalin, arguably the most malevolent of Russian Communist leaders, who persecuted faithful believers and systematically tried to dismantle worship during his reign, would travel to a retreat center on the outskirts of Moscow to play pool with his cronies, on a huge, lovely pool table. 50 years later, a group of faithful believers, this missionary group we are here to serve, is holding their Field Council meeting in that same building. The pool table is still here. Stalin is not. God is in control.

Godspeed,

Barney M. Davis, Jr., M.D.
Executive Director,
Godspeed Missionary Care