MY MISSION TO RUSSIA - A HUMBLE MOMENT

The pastor took us on a tour of the church they were building. It was directly behind their current church of service. Their new church was completely built . It was made of white brick. Each brick had been laid by hand. The mortar had been carved intricately in between each brick, not slabbed on. The interior was still in need of finishing touches. They did not have the funds to complete it. The pastor was a little emotional as he explained their situation. He had put his heart and soul into the project and they were at a stand still. He explained his intentions for the church once they were able to get it up and running. There would be a children's service on the top floor. The adult congregation would convene below.

While the men continued to discuss construction plans, the girls and I went outside to ponder on our surroundings. We sat on a pile of bricks and looked out into the country. A little girl from across the street came for a drink from a well. No drinking fountains here! She had to pump it a couple times for water to come out. There was a little boy herding a group of cows far off in the distance. I could hear roosters crowing, dogs barking and children playing.

I began to feel a calming peace. These people have such a different life than we do. We are always so stressed out and rushed to move on to the next thing. We want more and more luxeries and usually get what we want, even when we don't need them. They have the simplicity of only needing the things for survival. Their only hardship in life is to stay healthy and to be able to survive from winter to winter. While we have swing sets, swimming pools and grocery stores, they have gardens, chickens and cows. One elderly lady actually approached Kevin and asked him how his harvest was this year. He was a bit thrown off with the question but had to explain that we don't have personal gardens. At least most of us Americans don't. And most Americans don't fill their backyards completely with their year's supply of food!

Feeling quite humbled at that moment, I went back into the old church with the adults and we sang together.