The villagers live in great fear of these holy places. One man in the village, either in a moment of ignorance or outright disregard, defiled a holy place near them. As a result of his actions he became an invalid. The man is still alive today and serves as a constant reminder of the power of these areas.

   Even so, our brother Abe speaks out against the holy places. The villagers told Abe to be quiet or else the same thing that happened to the invalid would happen to him. But Abe’s belief was so strong that he told the people he could even defile the holy place just like the other man had and that Jesus would protect him from any harm.

   Soon after, he made his way to holy place, defiled it, and returned home.  The villagers waited to see what would happen to him, but nothing did.  Abe boldly responded, proclaiming that Jesus was more powerful than the holy places. Abe has taken an amazing stand against the darkness in our area.

   Wouldn’t it be amazing if Abe shared the gospel with the invalid man, this man came to faith, God healed him, and the village was left speechless over the power of God? I’m not sure what God is going to do, but I pray that he does something great for his name’s sake.  

Please pray – right now! – for Abe’s continued growth in Jesus and for God to bring more Muslims to Himself, specifically the invalid man in this village.

   I was surprised and embarrassed because it should have been me that thought of giving it to them but it wasn’t. It was my nine-year-old son reminding me to look for and take any and all of the opportunities that we’re given to share. He wrapped it up along with the little bracelet they bought for her and took it over.

   The mother said yes about presenting the Bible to her daughter and the kids went through with the plan. When the birthday girl opened the present she was so excited to receive the Bible and showed it to the other two girls at the party. They each wanted one and after asking their parents permission, the kids also gave them The Bible. It seems that one of the girls hasn’t put it down since and has been reading from it every day.

We wait anticipating what God will do through His words and the faithful work of a nine-year-old boy!

“I remember a quote from the greatest quarter back to ever play professional football and it’s what I think ‘almost’ every day we’re here.

It was said during the last few minutes of a very close superbowl game when Brett Farve was leading his team down the field for a last second victory. They were in the huddle on a fourth down and long. Everyone in that huddle stressed and worried about the outcome of the next most important few second of their lives.

When Brett leans in, ready to give what could be the last play of the biggest game of their season and most of their lives, says, ‘Guys can you believe they pay us to do this!’ It was typical Brett Favre humor but his point was perfectly made and the same rings true for me each day we do what we’ve been called and blessed to be able to do here. We love it here and count it a true blessing each day.

We thank each of you for all the time you’ve spent over us in the past 365 days and we know it’s because of your prayers and His hand of protection that we’ve had such a blessed year.”

A First-Timer’s Guide to the Banya

I was treated to a real village experience…the Russian banya.

It all started over their celebration of the end of Ramadan. While Grandma (Babushka), her daughter, her 9-year-old granddaughter and I savored the prepared feast at which I was a guest, the horrifying fact that I’ve never bathed in a Russian banya came out. That would be remedied tonight.

At first glance

In case you’ve never been inside a banya yourself, allow me to enlighten you. It is so warm inside, that for the first few seconds you wonder, “Am I about to pass out or something?” Once you’ve realized that you will survive, you look around to see that the banya is a small insulated wooden building with a narrow entry area and a small door leads to a large steam room that looks similar to a sauna.

The undressing

Babushka began taking off all her clothes pointing to where I could hang mine. I’d heard about getting naked in the banya, but being an American, I was unaccustomed, as I most Americans are, to stripping off my clothes in front of a stranger, unless he/she is a doctor. Fortunately for me, Babushka was a doctor, and assured me that I need not feel shy.

The birch leaves

Entering the steam room, Babushka directed me to a low bench and seated herself on a large raised table across from me. She started off by tossing water on the coals to produce more steam and doused herself with warm water. (The banya floor is wooden, so all the water drains through the cracks.) Once wet, she began to beat herself with birch branches. Then it was my turn. It’s harder than it looks to whack yourself on the back, front, sides and extremities at awkward angles with a two-foot-long bundle of branches weighed down by warm water! If your babushka is a kindly sort of lady like mine, she may say, “That’s not bad for the first time!” and then help beat you properly.

Scraping, soaping and scrubbing

After that, we scratched our whole bodies with our fingernails, scraping dead skin from our legs, arms, chest, neck, face, etc. Good, old-fashioned exfoliation! The next step was to rinse, then lather up a woven plastic scrub with soap, scrub everywhere and rinse again.

If you should happen to scrape, soap or scrub yourself unenthusiastically, as I did, your babushka will again assist you! Once I got over thinking, “I’m not going to have any skin left!” I actually began to enjoy the invigorating scouring my back was receiving. She kept saying, “It’s like a massage, it’s like a massage!”

The cold slosh

Whew! It’ll take your breath away. Babushka took a pot of cold water and slung the contents at me from across the room several times. Once my system got over the initial shock of the swift temperature change, my brain decided that it’s rather a pleasant sensation overall, even though I did gasp when each cold potful made contact!

Finally, we put on our robes, tromped back to the house, and ate and drank more hot tea, for the desired benefit of causing us to sweat more.

Finishing up

I certainly don’t know all the ins and outs of banya-ing yet, but I did learn one more important tip from the 9-year-old. After I’d gotten dressed in the restroom, she said, “You could have peed in the banya!” Hmm. I’ll know that for next time.

Three weeks later I visited Babushka again, and she let me go to the banya alone. Her daughter called to me once through the window to ask if I was alright, but when I was finished everyone was calmly waiting for me inside the house! I think I’m “in.”

A First-Timer’s Guide to the Banya

I was treated to a real village experience…the Russian banya.

It all started over their celebration of the end of Ramadan. While Grandma (Babushka), her daughter, her 9-year-old granddaughter and I savored the prepared feast at which I was a guest, the horrifying fact that I’ve never bathed in a Russian banya came out. That would be remedied tonight.

At first glance

In case you’ve never been inside a banya yourself, allow me to enlighten you. It is so warm inside, that for the first few seconds you wonder, “Am I about to pass out or something?” Once you’ve realized that you will survive, you look around to see that the banya is a small insulated wooden building with a narrow entry area and a small door leads to a large steam room that looks similar to a sauna.

The undressing

Babushka began taking off all her clothes pointing to where I could hang mine. I’d heard about getting naked in the banya, but being an American, I was unaccustomed, as I most Americans are, to stripping off my clothes in front of a stranger, unless he/she is a doctor. Fortunately for me, Babushka was a doctor, and assured me that I need not feel shy.

The birch leaves

Entering the steam room, Babushka directed me to a low bench and seated herself on a large raised table across from me. She started off by tossing water on the coals to produce more steam and doused herself with warm water. (The banya floor is wooden, so all the water drains through the cracks.) Once wet, she began to beat herself with birch branches. Then it was my turn. It’s harder than it looks to whack yourself on the back, front, sides and extremities at awkward angles with a two-foot-long bundle of branches weighed down by warm water! If your babushka is a kindly sort of lady like mine, she may say, “That’s not bad for the first time!” and then help beat you properly.

Scraping, soaping and scrubbing

After that, we scratched our whole bodies with our fingernails, scraping dead skin from our legs, arms, chest, neck, face, etc. Good, old-fashioned exfoliation! The next step was to rinse, then lather up a woven plastic scrub with soap, scrub everywhere and rinse again.

If you should happen to scrape, soap or scrub yourself unenthusiastically, as I did, your babushka will again assist you! Once I got over thinking, “I’m not going to have any skin left!” I actually began to enjoy the invigorating scouring my back was receiving. She kept saying, “It’s like a massage, it’s like a massage!”

The cold slosh

Whew! It’ll take your breath away. Babushka took a pot of cold water and slung the contents at me from across the room several times. Once my system got over the initial shock of the swift temperature change, my brain decided that it’s rather a pleasant sensation overall, even though I did gasp when each cold potful made contact!

Finally, we put on our robes, tromped back to the house, and ate and drank more hot tea, for the desired benefit of causing us to sweat more.

Finishing up

I certainly don’t know all the ins and outs of banya-ing yet, but I did learn one more important tip from the 9-year-old. After I’d gotten dressed in the restroom, she said, “You could have peed in the banya!” Hmm. I’ll know that for next time.

Three weeks later I visited Babushka again, and she let me go to the banya alone. Her daughter called to me once through the window to ask if I was alright, but when I was finished everyone was calmly waiting for me inside the house! I think I’m “in.”

Check here often for ways that you can lift up the Muslims living in Russia, and find out how God is working in their lives! As you read, you will learn more about these amazing people, and come to a better understanding of what their lives are like.  Please don’t forget, as you read the latest post, to take time right then to interceed on their behalf.

Thank you for your faithfulness to pray for the Muslims of Russia!  Happy Reading!