March, 2016
It is been several years since I wrote on this blogspot. A lot has happened over the past almost 5 years. This is a quick update. During spring break, I flew to Rome, Italy and taught the Gospel of Mark to the Filippino Church on Monday through Thursday. Then on Friday and Saturday, I taught New Testament Greek. About 35-40 were in attendance. The Filippinos have a hunger for the knowledge of truth from the Scriptures. It is always a blessing to be with them.

Going to Vorkuta, Russia

Hey Everyone,
I will be leaving for Vorkuta, Russia on March 10. Will fly to Moscow, from there fly north and a little east to Uhkta, and from there ride 14 hours by train to Vorkuta, which is above the artic circle. If you go to Yahoo.com search engine and type in "Vorkuta, Russia," you will find some interesting and heart-wrenching stories of people living there. Also, check out the website that takes you to the weather forecast. It is quite cold there, and just recently the sun has reappeared on the southern horizen for a few minutes each day.
I will be teaching "Synoptic Gospels" and "New Testament Theology" to about 39-45 pastors. Please pray for safe traveling and adquate sleep while I am there. When I was there in Oct. of 2004, I had a difficult time sleeping because they have 25% less oxygen, due to the lack of green plants.
I hope to hear from a lot of you while I am gone.
Blessings,
Galen

Tuesday, June 14

Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Just finished dinner. Had a long day, but very interesting, as I am having the pastors give an exegetical sermon in class – a good way for them to do instead of just hear. They are doing a really good job of analyzing a text and communicating the author’s intent in a relevant manner with appropriate illustrations and principles to apply to everyday life here in Russia, or anywhere for that matter.

I got home at 10:30 last night. Went with the Bible school director to his city, which is about 20 km from Naberezhny Chilny. Yesterday was a holiday in Russia, so no one worked and the church in the city I visited had a special meeting for me. I think they just wanted to see the American, which doesn’t come their way, but very rarely (and see the ironed undershirt:). Sort of like seeing the circus when it comes to town – something different. Anyway, I had a great time with them – got some good pictures then drove down the the Kama River and took a walk along the bank – people everywhere, and swimming in suits that exceeds the limits of good sense – men too in their speedo type suits that violates your sense of propriety to look at. I wish I could bring this weather home with me – evenings cool in the low 60’s and daytime highs in the low 80’s at best, and no humidity, with rain about every other day. Everything is lush and green. And flowers are everywhere, and most of them are pyonese (still don’t know how to spell that word, but I mow around them about twice a week).

The pastor, Stephan, and his wife are from Ukraine, and she cooked a wonderful Ukrainian meal, of which I took a picture, and we ate fresh-picked strawberries. I forgot how much better fresh strawberries are then the store-bought kind.

I have one more full day of classes, then exam on Thursday, and wrap up things, then fly back to Moscow on Friday, then Paris on Saturday, then home one week from today. Can’t wait to see everyone. Where is the July WagJerCo?

Hopefully I will post another one tomorrow.
Love,
Dad

Monday, June 13

Just got back to my host family at 10:30 pm - spent the evening with a family in nearby city - on the same river (Kama). Stephan and his wife are from Ukraine. He is a graduate of Moscow Theological Institute. I taught him three courses at MTI; he is now the director of the Bible school here in Chilny.

His small church has a special meeting tonight in order to here me speak.

Long day,
More tomorrow hopefully,

Dad

Sunday, June 12

Just got back from worship service. I spoke and afterwards I like to have never gotten out of there. Everyone wanted to skake my hand and speak to me, with translation, so there was a line waiting. After a quick, small lunch I will meet the pastor for a large lunch and then we will go to his summer house (daucha) for relaxation and snacks. They are really treating me good here, too good - don't think I'll lose any weight on this trip.

Four more days of classes then back to Moscow then Budagpest then Paris then home.

Sam, can you do me a favor? Inquire at Home Depot on S. Metcalf about renting a good heavy duty chainsaw for cutting down trees in our backyard. They are all going down except the oak. Anyone nedd any firewood? I should have a bunch. Thanks for checking into it for me.
Give all the kids a hug for me.

Love,
Dad

Saturday, June 11, 2005

Saturday, June 11, 2005
I just got back from classes, which ended at noon with the first exam over Hermeneutics. The students were worried that the exam would be too hard, so we reviewed together for an hour before the exam, and I think everyone did okay. I gave them a weekend assignment to select a passage of Scripture from either Testament from which to do an exegesis presentation next week and to study from a list of Greek words which will be on the exam this coming Thursday.

The last few days have been a blur – I haven’t had time in the evenings to catch you up what is going on here in Chilny, but here is a quick resume (sorry if some of this is repetiton, but I am typing as thoughts take shape and don’t remember what I wrote earlier).

Classes start at 9 am and go for 50 min. then minute break (which is usually filled with ping pong, I taught them how to play group ping pong starting with about 12 around the table – they love it) for 10 min. Classes continue until noon, then we break for lunch, and back to class at 1 pm and go until 6 pm. It makes for a long day, but time well spent.

Sam, I am taking a lot of pictures. I love this digital camera! I have some pretty good pictures.

The other day I mentioned that we should eat some ice cream (marozhenae), and they keep bringing it for me, which I share with everyone else. They have a room off the classroom for my personal comfort, in which they stock fresh fruit, tea, juices, cookies, and now ice cream. They definitely are treating me very well – too well! They are very kind and hospitable and thankful that I have come this far to teach them.

Today the cook, who wears a white chef’s hat, told me that she was worried about cooking for an American, thinking that the cooking would not be good enough. The food is really great and they go out their way to accomodate me. I have eaten more meat (myasa) then ever in Russia. And my host family’s wife is cooking up a storm for me. I really enjoy living with a family for a lot of reasons which may be obvious, but it helps me to learn Russian and to refine my pronunciations. Last night I was reading, or trying to pronounce, one of Luda’s books which is a Russian primer that works through the alphabet giving pronunciations of various verb conjugations. So with Luda on my lap, we were learning Russian together (she is 7). Sam and Laura, she loves to play with me on the floor where she runs at me and I flip her over me onto my legs. She had never done that before. I wonder if my Dad invented that, because I have never seen anyone else do it. And Laura, she loves to swing the way I swung you countless time, and we both loved it.

So here I am back with my host family on Saturday afternoon. I think I will take a nap and study for tomorrow’s sermon – what a luxury!

Hopefully tomorrow I can add more to this continuing saga from the Motherland.

Love to all!
Dad

Wed. June 8

Wed, June 8
I am writing this on Wed. evening and catching you up on past events.
Going back to Sunday am – Left for church at 9:30 with the family I am staying with, a 10 minute drive to the church. N. Chilny (the locals call it Chilny for short) is a pretty clean city with flowers everywhere – red salvia and lots of pyanese.

The church meets in an old gym, and everyone is required to put plastice elastic slipons over their shoes to keep from marking the floor. The congregation is quite large. They sit on plastic stack chairs, which everyone helped to stack after service. The women all were scarfs for head coverings. The service began with a choir of mostly women singing. The majority of the congregation is made up of women. My translator’s name is Natasha. (If some of this is repetition, it is because I wrote in my notebook a log of the first few days and am just typing what I wrote) Natasha is 25, quite friendly and speaks pretty good English. Service went as follows: choir sang, worship for 30 min., choir sang again, recognition of birthdays with flower given to them (they gave me a bouqet also – pyanese), offering, and then the pastor introduced me, and I spoke for 1 hr and 15 min. (remember that is with translation). The church has a wonderful spirit of worship and receptivity to the leadership and ministry of the Word, and seem to have a unifying spirit. After the message, the pastor called for people with special need to come forward – quite a few came down – again mostly women. Then we sang another worship chorus and then dismissed. Several people came to me afterward to express thanks or for counsel. I will speak in the your meeting tonight and next Sunday also. The pastor also informed me that classes will start on Tuesday, so tomorrow he will pick me up in the morning and will go to his Dacha (summer vacation house – more like little shacks – a big Russian cultural thing) and go fishing. The pastor also asked me to do a seminar Thursday evening to pastors and leaders and anyone else who wants to come.

In the service I met a very devoted young lady, a Tartar, who has a very strong passion to reach the Tartar people with the gospel. The Tartar people are predominately muslim. She said she had no respect or authority to speak until she is married. So she if trusting God to send her the right Tartar man to marry. Is Dave Knapp a Tartar?:) She has a very humble and teachable spirit.

Back at the home I am staying at – for lunch we had cucumber salad gretchka (buckwheat cooked like rice), sausages (like small hotdogs), bread, and tea. It is hard to be picky when you are a guest and the hostess has gone to a lot of trouble for you, and she continues to labor hard for me. I am even eating tomatoes – now there’s a sign that the apocalypse is upon us. Now if I start eating sour cream, you better be prayed up!

At the youth meeting in the evening – I had a good time with the youth. They were very receptive. I took several pictures.

After youth service, came home, ate gretchka and some kind of pastry roll and tea. Afterward went jogging with Olga and Luda down by the river – beautiful night – cool.

Before bed, Nadya played the piano and cello for everyone. She is quite good.

More later.
Love,
Dad