ÁËÀÃÀß ÂÅÑÒÜ—blagaya vest—Good News

Luke 12:32 "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Sorry that this is late—I have been on the road visiting many of our work sites in Siberia and have not had access to email. Of course, the big news here in Russia—if you have not already heard— is that due to budget cuts we are closing two of three mission stations, the one in Novosibirsk and the one in St. Petersburg. I had no part in making this decision, but from what I see, since we don’t have funds to do everything, we needed to prioritize. The decision seemed to center on keeping mission sites open or supporting our partner church congregations and our mission work—training pastors and helping with planting new congregations and growing established ones. We elected to support our partner church and our work.

Although having only one mission station—Moscow—will be inconvenient, the savings for now are substantial. Most of the work will continue, but our travel will be increased. Given our focus on training pastors, it is actually cheaper for me to travel once a month to Krasnoyarsk and the Minusinsk area, than to keep the Novo station open and travel from there. God, of course, is in charge, and is working all this out for the good—even these budget cuts. When mountains seem to be moving out of our control, God is at work—He is in charge, and this ultimately is Good News. My task for the next few months will be encouraging the Russian pastors and leaders here, letting them know that even though the local mission is closing, they will not be left unsupported materially, spiritually, and emotionally.

45 Days of on the Road

Romans 1:12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

These last two months, I have spent 45 days on the road away from my family. On May 23^rd I left my wife and children with relatives in St. Petersburg—where I knew they would be safe and have the support of loved ones during my absence. While my wife worked on our visa paper work and celebrated the 300^th birthday of St. Petersburg, I had to return to work in Novo. Flying across 3 time zones, I arrived in Novosibirsk just in time to pack and catch the train one more time zone to the east—to Krasnoyarsk to help out with the seminary program there.

The third term of the Siberian seminary program started on May 25^th, and I planned to be there for the whole session—not only did I have to teach a couple of classes, but I also had a lot to organize for next year. This year Missionary Pastor Doug Reinders, who is the Educational Coordinator in St. Petersburg, did the lion’s share of the work in organizing teachers and so forth for the program. Next year, however, he will be studying for his STM in St. Louis, and won’t be here to help. Along with Pastor Daniil Sobolev, who coordinates the local needs of the seminary, Doug and I had a lot to get organize. By the end of the first week we already had tentative dates for next year’s 3 terms, the curriculum laid out per term (so we already know which teachers we need to invite when), and we have added classes to meet the specific needs of the Siberian area.

I also took the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the students for one on one counseling and so forth. Five of the eleven students who finished the program qualified for further study; two we are recommending for ordination as deacons, two we are recommending spend at least one more year in their parish work to develop skills before continuing studies at the main seminary in Koltushe, and one student did not wish to continue.

During the last week of the program, Dr. Kolb and his wife Pauline arrived—Dr. Kolb taught the course on Mission and Evangelism. When the semester was finished, we all took the over night train straight south so Minusinsk to do a seminar for the German congregation there. Their pastor, Grigory Savchenko, is planning to leave for study at St. Louis so that he can return to administrate and teach the seminary program in Krasnoyarsk. His leaving has caused some concern for the local people, so the seminar was important for encouraging them. Since most of the members speak a Siberian dialect of German, and Dr. Kolb speaks German, they got along without a translator.

After Minusinsk we took another train one zone to the east to Irkutsk, where we met up with the other Siberian clergy of our partner church for a continuing education seminar—led by Dr. Kolb—and a retreat focused on strengthening the spiritual life of pastors and their families. Although our budget was cut, Dr. Kolb helped us find special funding for this retreat with the help of Dan Mattson. Such retreats are important, and those who attended were most grateful. The clergy here are separated by time zones and are often working alone. Many are close to burn out due to over work, poor pay, and very difficult working conditions—and their families bear much of the burden. By the end of the retreat, most those who attended left much more encouraged in their work, and had begun to form solid relationships with each other. They are looking forward to the next retreat, which is planned for the late fall (if we have the funds).

The Kolbs flew back to Moscow and on to Europe from Irkutsk, I returned to Minusinsk via Krasnoyarsk—I needed to do a recruiting tour one time before Grigory left for his studies. By the time you receive this, I will have returned to Novo—July 6 I fly to St. Petersburg, and from there my family and I go to Finland for our new visas. With those in hand, we will return to Novosibirsk to pack, say our good byes of sorts (since we are not really leaving, just moving to the other side of the country), make this clear to those we are leaving behind.

45 days is a long time to be separated from my family—it has been very hard on me and them. The time we have invested in building relationships here, however, is already bearing fruit—my relationships with the local clergy are much stronger, many of the details are in place for next year’s seminary course, and I can see how God has used my time and efforts to encourage and solidify my Russian partners (as they have encouraged me). God is Good, praise be to the Lamb forever.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for our mission as once again we face drastic budget cuts—cuts which are causing great upheaval in the way we will be working the next few years. Pray for the families of those Russian mission staff members in Novosibirsk and St. Petersburg who will lose their livelihood in a very unstable Russian economy—in Novosibirsk that would include(but not be limited to): Ludmila Ivanovna, Ludmila Michailovna, Ella, Olga, and Agrippina. In St. Petes that would include (but not limited to): Luda, Olga, Peter, and Valeri. Pray for my family, for the Thormodsons, the Smiths, the Reinders, the Mehls, the MacWilliams, and Matt Heise as we face major changes in the way we have been working—help us see these changes as positive, as God given, so that we can see what we can do rather than mourn over what we cannot do because of lack of funds. Pray for all of our mission families as we face a lot more travel given the new structure. Pray for our partner church and the congregations we support as our budget cuts will shake them up as well. Pray for the Siberian clergy and their families: Grigory and Yelena (who, God willing, will be leaving to study at Concordia St. Louis), Yuri and Rita Ivanov, Vitali and Antonia, Albert and Alexandra, Yuri Peddelski and his new wife, and Probst Daniil. Pray also for some Lutheran clergy who are in the process changing their affiliation and joining our partner church—Michail and Deacon Pulaskin. Pray for the recruiting of students—prospective pastors—for the seminary, specifically from the Minusinsk area. Pray for the mission leadership in St. Louis as they struggle with hard decisions resulting from these budget shortfalls, and pray for the US economy and that people will once again be able and be moved to give to missions through the official organs of the church. Pray for all the packing and moving. Pray for my wife Zhanya who has her birthday July 11 and for our daughter, Nastya, who has her birthday July 28.

Family News:

Karl finally has learned how to read—for this we need to thank first Jeanne Thormodson who spent a lot of time with him in April and May. Jeanne then passed the batton and materials off to my mother who came for a visit in May and June.

What is a Probst?

Our partner church’s organization, like many European Lutheran Churches, is headed by a Bishop. Next in rank is the probst—which would sort of be equivalent to our district president. The Lutheran Church of Ingria has 6 probtsvas or districts (and therefore 6 probsts). The largest district is the Siberian Probstva, which is headed up by Pastor Daniil Sobolev (he also pastors the congregation in Krasnoyarsk). His district covers 5 time zones, and over this last month and a half we have worked very closely. Keep him in prayer as he works to prepare for next year’s seminary program, provide pastoral care for his area congregations who are without pastors, as well as manage his own congregation—all this while he seeks to support himself (he does not take a salary from his congregation, but is using the worker-priest model of support).

Encourage me, Lord, with Your Spirit

Like smoke blow my fears away

Guide me to know and do Your will

In all that I do and say

This is my translation of the third verse of a Russian/Finnish hymn

In Christ,

Leif & Zhanya Camp

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NEW ADDRESSES--Feedback, questions, whatever are most welcome.

Home Address:

For now use the LCMS World mission address

Leif & Zhanya Camp LCMS World Mission/Russia

1333 S. Kirkwood Rd.

St. Louis, MO 63122

The first address is our home address—for letters and packages we understand that for regular ground mail it takes about 2 months, the second letters are sent via courier through the State side mission office (airmail takes less time but is more expensive). The third address in the mission address here in Novosibirsk. If and when we are ever in the States, our stateside address is 902 N. 12^th, Melrose Park, IL, 60160 (my mother’s address).

Telephone: after getting an international line by dialing 011-7 then 3832 (our area code) 17-92-55 (our phone number)

Note—Between Novosibirsk and central US time, the difference is 12 hours.

E-MAIL: lzkcamp@online.nsk.su Please feel free to share this newsletter with your Church, friends, or enemies if it might help! If you would like to receive a copy via e-mail, simply email me directly and ask!

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