A journey to Russia

BY ROD MILLER

On July 2, I stepped onto Russian soil and began a nearly three week pilgrimage of faith and adventure in that wonderful and enigmatic land.

The purpose of my trip was twofold. First, I was invited to participate and serve as a staff member for a week long youth camp called Ant Hill, led by young adults near the city of Voronezh. The next 10 days I was to travel with the district superintendent to visit pastors and churches of our partner United Methodist congregations scattered around the Black Soil District of southwest Russia . This article focuses on my experience at Ant Hill.

Journey

I knew that adventure was in the air when I discovered that my compartment mate on the overnight train from Moscow to Voronezh was a recently retired three star Russian general. He bought me a bottle of water and we settled in to communicating as best we could about the train trip, the World Cup and Kosovo.

My host and “home” base was with Rev. Igor Volovodov, district superintendent of the Black Soil District and pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul United Methodist Church in Voronezh. He and I offered prayers for some of the participants and leaders of Ant Hill that attended worship on July 4. Then we were off for an hour ride into the country where the Ant Hill camp had been set up the day before.

Camp Ant Hill was located in a clump of woods surrounded by a newly cut field not far from the Voronezh River about 30 miles north of Voronezh. It turned out to be an amazingly creative and practical little village erected of tents and tarps, tables and benches of wooden planks, and a large army tent for worship, talks and a talent show. Everyone slept in tents (I was fortunate to have my own) and there were separate tents for prayer, supplies and a “spa” for the girls.

Tarps provided space for meals and for food preparation. Black plastic wrapped around trees and poles were used for the shower (a water barrel suspended in a tree complete with shower nozzle), and the toilets were holes dug in the ground (which took a little getting used to). Our sink was a dozen two-liter water bottles with the bottoms cut out, and suspended neck down on ropes between trees. The bottles were filled from the large opening at the top. You used the “sink” by opening the cap slightly so that water trickled out. Water was regularly filled in the sinks and the shower with water from the Voronezh River.

Groups of participants prepared and cooked the meals. A generator provided electricity in the army tent for lights, synthesizer and laptop for words on a screen. There was also a campfire, a flag and flagpole, and a field with lashed stick goal posts for soccer.

Clever and functional, the camp offered all that we needed and complemented the program theme this year which was “breaking down walls.”

Talks, games, projects, even the flag (which had drawings of walls with a red circle and a line through it) all focused on the theme.

The leaders of Ant Hill asked one of their friends, Svetlana, who is an English major and is becoming a professional translator, to translate for me day and night so that I would be included as much as possible in everything that took place.

She did a fantastic job of keeping me connected and others connected to me. I quickly found myself drawn into this intentional community of honest sharing with adults and youth. Living, learning, laughing, playing, praying, eating, stretching and discovering together provided time and space to build trust. I sensed an opportunity to go deep in my faith sharing and to have conversations about important topics. In doing so, my own faith was re-kindled.

Knowing that I had a limited time to be with people, and that language and culture sometimes led to lots of questions, made me more intentional about my conversations. I also had the opportunity to offer devotions and leadership development with the adults each morning.

There was an altar call on the last morning, following a talk about God being a fortress of safety and strength for us, a strong bulwark on which we can depend (the Russian word for this fortress is “kremlin”).

I had the privilege of standing with Igor to invite persons forward to commit their hearts to Jesus Christ. In those special moments, with music playing, youth coming up, tears and prayer, I found that Svetlana was not waiting to hear what I was saying -- she was “feeling” my words and simultaneously translating. Nearly all the youth and many of the adults came forward. I sensed the opening and softening of hearts toward God.

Following that session, Costia (Constantine), who is 16 years old and had been thinking and talking about being baptized for a year, asked Igor and me if we would baptize him that day. We talked about baptism while sitting out in the sun in the field late in the morning, and then put on our bathing suits and walked down to the river where we baptized him and then floated down the river to the swimming hole. What an experience of being held in the baptismal waters.

I saw transformation happening in front of my eyes. A young boy came to camp with a black jacket zipped to the chin and black pants. He and I talked in short quips and starts. It turns out I was the first American he had ever met and he said he wished he had paid more attention in English class so that he could speak to me.

As the days passed, we played chess (he won) and the conversations became more frequent. It turned out that he cut himself and did not want anyone to know about it. Late in the week, he wanted to talk about it. And by Friday, he was in a T-shirt and swimming in the river. Being with him was like seeing a flower unfold.

Ant Hill ended following a raucous talent show, and a late night campfire where everyone shared what had taken place in them and in the group that week.

The following morning, Sunday, July 11, I was blessed to be invited to preach at Sts. Peter and Paul UMC. Many of the Ant Hill youth and leaders attended, including one adult who had not come to church on his own in the past. It was an opportunity for me to reflect back to them how they make powerful transformational community happen with so few material resources. And to let them know that I would be sharing the story of Ant Hill back home.

Reflections

There is much for us to learn from each other. I have come home renewed and re-focused on the power of the Gospel in community to change lives. It is the power we have all been given through our faith and experience with God in Jesus Christ. Ant Hill inspires me.

To be a committed Christian in Russia means being willing to put your life on the line with the society and the government. We need to provide times and places for life re-orienting steps to take place in us and our people both inside and outside of our churches. My mission has been reinforced. It is to:

+ encourage the creation of small intentional spiritually based communities led by a core of equipped and committed servant leaders, with an organized plan that includes experiences and opportunities for learning, creating and sharing in a playful and serious atmosphere, all focused on a clear mission.

They have the potential to change lives right in front of our eyes.  

The Rev. Rod Miller is Conference Director of Connectional Ministries