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1 1 Russia 2018 Trip report Please come back and teach the book of Revelation. We want to know what the Bible says about the future. When I was in Russia in March 2017, five different people in two different cities asked me to return in 2018 and teach the book of Revelation. It was as close to a Macedonian Call as I ve ever heard (Acts 16:9). From April 8-22, I was doing just that, teaching the book of Revelation to people hungry for the Word of God. This was my 19 th short-term ministry trip since 1992, and my 14 th time in Russia. It was the 7 th time in the past 8 years I worked with John & Naomi Musgrave to help train and equip young pastors and leaders. John & Naomi are missionaries sent out and supported by Crossroads Bible Church in Bellevue, WA. My adventure began on April 8 when the elders of First Central Bible Church laid hands on me and prayed for me during the morning worship services. We were following the example of the church in Antioch as they commissioned Saul/Paul & Barnabas for their first missionary journey (Acts 13:1-3). What follows is my account of the trip, including some of the things I taught, experienced, and thought about along the way. Pull up a chair and pour a cup or glass of your favorite beverage and read about what God did and how he answered your prayers. On April 8, we John & Naomi and me left our respective homes in WA & MA and journeyed over four days to Amsterdam, Moscow, and finally arrived at Anapa on the north coast of the Black Sea. We spent a night in Amsterdam on the way over and then spent a night in Moscow before continuing to Anapa. This is done as ********************* John & Naomi Musgrave a concession to the fact that we are growing older. Breaking up the travel in this way helps to ease the jetlag and allows us to hit the ground running when we arrive in Anapa. For those who were concerned about my health, my leg/hip held up nicely. I had wheelchair assistance in Boston, Amsterdam, and Moscow. I even had a loaner cane to walk through security in Krasnodar while they X-rayed my cane. I got my share of exercise between walking through several airports and taking a stroll on the boardwalk in front of our hotel in Anapa. I was able to maintain my therapy exercises 1-2 times a day depending on our schedules. I passed a milestone in Anapa when I discovered I was able to walk normally up a stairway. Instead of going one step at a time leading with my good leg, I was able to alternate legs as I went up each step. I also started to walk a bit without the cane. I m not to give it up quite yet, but it s another sign I am making progress. The only disappointment in traveling was that I didn t set off any metal detectors in any of the airports.

2 2 The class in Anapa met in the home of Pastor Vanya & his wife Tanya. There is an indoor climbing gym for his children and artwork on the walls and stairway. Vanya added a large, spacious room that comfortably accommodates a large group. 23 people from three different cities were registered for the class in Anapa. Pastor Viktor and two people traveled 9 1/2 hours by car from Pyatigorsk in the south. Pastor Sergey brought three people from Feodosia in Crimea, and their trip was only 5 hours by car and ferry. The rest were from the church in Anapa. To travel that distance tells me that people are hungry for the Word of God and for fellowship with other believers. The out of town folks stayed with Vanya and his parents who live next door. They enjoyed great fellowship and conversation each evening. Since this was my seventh trip in eight years, I already knew about half of the group. That allowed me to reconnect quicker and go deeper in our discussions. Already having a relationship with many helped me answer their questions better as well. Each day in Anapa Thursday, Friday, & Saturday we started at 9AM, took an hour break for lunch at 1PM, and wrapped up at 5PM. On Saturday, we wrapped up a bit earlier at 3:30PM. With a break thrown into the morning and afternoon sessions, it was about 6 1/2 hours of teaching on Thursday & Friday and 5 hours on Saturday. That gave me 18 hours to teach the book of Revelation, less than an hour per chapter. Since many of the folks had been praying for my recovery, I began on Thursday by talking about my fall, recovery, and rehabilitation. I shared some of the lessons God taught me along the way. Several said they were continuing to pray for me. Before diving into the book of Revelation, I talked a little about hermeneutics and methods of interpretation. I explained that I follow a literal, grammatical, historical approach to interpretation rather than an allegorical approach. I stressed that the approach you take determines your understanding of the book. Unlike the book of Romans which I taught in 2016 & 2017, I knew I could not break Revelation in half, but needed to teach the entire book in one 3-day class so as to understand the big picture and how the details fit into the whole. On Thursday, we worked our way through the first five chapters. On Friday, we discussed nine

3 3 chapters, That left 8 chapters, 15-22, for Saturday. As I did with the study of Romans, I went verse by verse, using Dr. Thomas Constable s Bible study notes as my foundation (one of my professors at Dallas Theological Seminary). Throughout the three days, the group was very engaged and attentive. They asked many questions and offered insightful comments. Where do people go when they die? Can those in heaven see us? What happens to a person who dies that prayed to receive Christ, but never lived a godly life? When does the Rapture take place? Where is the Holy Spirit in the Tribulation? What happens to those who trust Christ during the Tribulation? Are Jews in heaven? Where is the church in the Tribulation? Who populates the Millennium? How can Christ and Satan be in the same place at the end of the Millennium? How many resurrections are there? Who is resurrected when? Who is judged when? How are Jews saved during the Millennium? Is Hell permanent? I tried to answer the questions the best I could. But there were times when I had to say, I don t know. The Bible doesn t tell us. I received many positive comments about the class. Many thanked me for teaching verse by verse through the book. Lena, my translator, said she never knew Revelation was so interesting. It s like a novel, so exciting! Some commented how interesting the book was and how intense it was. They said they were so engaged they did not notice the time. It just flew by. Two people said they noticed how prevalent God s grace is in the book. In spite of the fact it describes judgment, it s not immediate, and God continually gives people the opportunity to repent. Several thanked me profusely at the end of the class on Saturday. On Sunday, we worshipped at Holy Trinity Church in Anapa, where John had been part of the elder team. Having worshipped here several times over the years, I ve seen the church grow from handful of people to a thriving body of believers. There were at least 60+ people present, one third of which were children. Pastor Vanya brought the message from Acts 19. You can see the health of the church by how long people stayed afterwards for the fellowship time. It was an encouraging morning of worship. Sunday afternoon, our driver took us to Krasnodar, a 3-4 hour journey. On Monday, he drove us the 7-8 hours to Elista in Kalmykia, near the Caspian Sea. The countryside between Anapa and Elista is relatively flat, filled with a number of farms and towns that all begin to look alike.

4 4 ************** How it all began. I started going to Russia in 1992 as part of Walk Thru the Bible Ministries involvement in the CoMission. I went by myself on the first trip, and then starting taking people from Crossroads Bible Church along with me. For a time, I was going once a year which led the leaders of CBC to ask me to switch roles from adult ministries to missions. In my role as missions pastor, I played a small part in helping John & Naomi Musgrave go to Russia as missionaries in Initially, they served as the alumni directors for the New Life Bible College in Moscow. I led teams of elders from CBC to help teach continuing education seminars for the graduates. The first one in 2003 was on the role and responsibility of an elder. Though I left Crossroads in 2004 to become a senior pastor, I maintained my friendship with John & Naomi. In 2010, John & Naomi moved to Tsibanobalka, near Anapa on the northern coast of the Black Sea to operate House of Grace, a guest house for pastors & wives where they could rest and recharge. John & Naomi have since transitioned to a ministry called, Mentoring Matters, where they focus on mentoring pastors, elders, and their wives. As part of the ministry of House of Grace, they invited me to consider coming in the winter to teach a 3-day course on a book of the Bible. Beginning in 2011, I started going once a year to teach and train leaders. I taught the book of Joshua (2011), the life of David (2012), the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, & Joseph (2014), the life of Moses (2015), the book of Romans (2016 & 2017), and the book of Revelation (2018). The initial classes were limited to a dozen men who were either pastors or emerging leaders. Some came from the church in Anapa where John served as part of the elder team and some drove 12 hours from Elista near the Caspian Sea. Beginning in 2015, we offered the class in both Tsibanobalka and Elista, which allowed us to train twice as many people. In 2016, we opened the classes to both men and women. By returning to the same place over and over, I have been able to build on previous relationships and invest even deeper in the same pastors and leaders Vanya, Kolya, Sandzhik, Mergen, Sergey, Slava, Viktor, Naran, and many others. This practice follows the model of the apostle Paul (Acts 14:21-22) where he evangelized key cities, gathered the new believers into faith communities, taught doctrine, appointed elders, and strengthened the believers. He then wrote letters to these new churches to continue the strengthening process.

5 5 In Elista, John & Naomi and I stayed in the apartment of Mergen & Elza. They moved to the next building to stay with his parents. Lena, our translator, stayed with Sandzhik & Elza. I did not get all the details but Sandzhik recently had a difficult encounter with the authorities. There was a group of foreigners in town to record the JESUS Film in another language. They were traveling on tourist visas. Sandzhik had rented a recording studio for the project. He had the group at his home (not sure if they were staying there or having a meal). The police came and gave them trouble for doing religious work on tourist visas. That encounter set the tone for our week and added a sense of caution. The class on Revelation began on Tuesday. We met in another flat in a different building that Sandzhik had rented for the occasion. There were 14 people present for the class. I knew all the people in this class, having been with them on several occasions. Sandzhik limited the enrollment to those who completed the preclass assignment. He also did not include new believers since the topic required more understanding and maturity. I taught from 9AM 6PM, with breaks in the morning and afternoon and an hour for lunch. Sandzhik told people to hold their questions so I could focus on teaching. Several times I asked if they had questions and there might be one or two, and then Sandzhik said to keep going. Not surprisingly, I covered the first 8 chapters on day one. ************** I estimated I would be able to cover 9 chapters on day two, leaving 5 for the third day. However, we learned that we ran afoul of one of the neighbors. At the end of the day, the neighbor complained to Lena, our translator, that we were making too much noise. She preferred a quiet life and people coming and going from our apartment bothered her. Then she started listening to the teaching and was horrified that I was talking about God and judgment. She thought, They are saying terrible things about God. She thought about calling the police and complaining. Thankfully, she did not do so. Because of this situation, Sandzhik called an audible for day two. Rather than take a chance, we changed locations and met in the facility where the church meets for worship. The church meets in a two-room building that was functional, but not as comfortable as the flat. The toilets were two outhouses behind

6 6 the building. Sandzhik also thought it best to finish the class on the second day and then go sightseeing on day three. Considering I was traveling on a tourist visa rather than a religious one like John & Naomi, I agreed that was the wisest course of action. John did say he would dock my pay since I shortened my work week. Having taught chapters 1-8 on Tuesday, that meant I had to work through 14 chapters on Wednesday, Needless to say, it really compressed the day. We started at 9AM, took lunch at 1PM, had breaks morning and afternoon, and then finished at 4:30PM. The only way we could do it was that they held their questions until the end. After 4:30PM, I spent 45 minutes answering questions about the entire book, as well as a few other areas of theology. Afterwards, we took a group photo and they gave John & Naomi, Lena, and me gifts. John & Naomi and I received Kalmyk portraits. It is a very cool gift. In the evening, we had dinner at the home of Mergen s parents. Over dinner, we debriefed the class. They were all very positive about what they learned and gained from it. I asked if I came back again what they wanted me to do. Sandzhik suggested teaching a harmony of the gospels or the book of Acts with the epistles inserted into the chronology. On Thursday, we were picked up at 11AM to do some sightseeing. We drove outside the city to a traditional Kalmyk farm. Part of it included a traditional round dwelling place with beds, clothes, and furnishing. Our guide said it could be dismantled and carried on two camels. The Elista church will come here in May for a barbecue and day of fellowship. Previously, they brought their Awana children out for one day of a three-day camp. On the way back into town, we drove into a field of wild tulips. I m used to the organized, well laid out fields in the Skagit Valley of Washington. I was surprised to see the tulips growing wild. The red ones were the largest, followed by smaller yellow ones, and then tiny white ones. We had lunch with Kolya & Valera, Elza, and Lena. Valera asked if their class was easy for me to teach. I responded by saying, Yes and No. It was easy because they were so attentive and thirsty for knowledge. But since they didn t ask questions, I wasn t sure whether I was communicating clearly enough. Kolya said the material was perfectly clear, which was a curious comment since he did not attend the class. He went on to say that Valera took copious notes and went home each night and told Kolya what we studied. Valera also said they were so interested and enthralled in the teaching that they did not want to interrupt me. High praise indeed. In the evening, John & I met with the church elders while Naomi met with the elders wives. The elders meeting was a very encouraging time as John asked about how they were doing and what progress they had made since he met with them last year to

7 7 discuss the roles and responsibilities of an elder. They have a plan in place where they have divided responsibilities and hold each other accountable. They are moving forward in reaching their goals. John & I added some suggestions, tried to encourage them, and then prayed for them at the end. The elders again thanked me for coming, especially in light of my injury. Naran complimented me by saying I took the most difficult book of the Bible and made it understandable. Encouraging words indeed. Back at the flat, John & I discussed the fact that he is seeing the fruit of this ministry. I brought a team of elders from Crossroads in 2003 to teach on the role and responsibility of an elder at an alumni retreat for New Life Bible College. At that time, the material didn t stick and sink in. John & Naomi have invested in several pastors & wives and their elders since that time. The fruit is starting to blossom. Thanks for praying, Mark Wheeler Friday morning, our driver picked us up at 8AM and drove the 7 hours back to Krasnodar. On Saturday, we flew back to Moscow, and on Sunday, I traveled from Moscow to Amsterdam to Boston to Chicopee. Home again! In the early years of this ministry, I traveled on a tourist visa and had no problems. Two years ago, the Russian Parliament passed a law which in essence rolled back the religious freedom to the Soviet era. It made it much more difficult for individuals and/or churches to do evangelism, hold meetings, etc. In order to be above board about our activities, we switched to humanitarian visas for religious work. This required a Letter of Invitation from a ministry in Russia as part of the visa application. This year, however, the organization supplying the LOI stopped doing so. Before John could find another organization in time, I had to switch back to a tourist visa for this year s trip, which meant I was taking a risk. With the problems encountered in Elista, John & I both agreed that we need the humanitarian visa for religious work for future trips. We don t want to cause problems for the Russian churches nor for us. In the event we were asked to leave because we said we were tourists but were teaching Bible classes, we would not be able to obtain another visa for five years. This would shut down this ministry. Once again, it is cause for prayer and dependence on God for his provision.

8 8 In talking about the church in Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11), I explained how God uses suffering in our lives. While we expect the ungodly to suffer, why does he allow the godly to suffer? Scripture indicates at least four broad reasons Discipline 1 Corinthians 11:30-32 Preventive 2 Corinthians 12:7 Teach what we can t learn otherwise o Learn obedience Hebrews 5:8 o Develop character Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4 Provide a better testimony Acts 9:16 I shared two lessons God taught me over the past five months. One is that I realized how impatient I am. A second lesson was regarding pride and how it hinders givers from receiving. It puzzles me why givers have trouble being receivers. It bothers me that servants struggle with letting others serve them. Unfortunately, I am guilty of the same problem. My pride, independence, and self-sufficiency get in the way of me being on the receiving end. As I contemplated traveling to Russia, I wondered how I would navigate the airports. I had been going to the mall and to the church gymnasium to walk several times a week in order to build up my stamina and endurance. Walking an airport terminal would be a tiring challenge, but I figured I could do it. John & Naomi suggested I request a wheelchair service. I listened and made the arrangements. After I said goodbye to Carol at Boston Logan Airport, the wheelchair attendant whisked me through security and all the way up and down the terminal to the departure gate. It was the best $5 tip I ever spent. As boarding began, a ticket agent wheeled me to the door of the airplane and I was the first one on board. When I landed in Amsterdam, there was no one to meet me, so I walked all the way from the arrival gate to the front door. A long, slow, walk. When I approached passport control, an attendant said she didn t want me standing in a long line, so she took me to the front to the next available agent. When John, Naomi, and I checked in for the next flight to Moscow, John told the agent I had requested wheelchair service. A chair was produced and John wheeled me through security to the departure lounge and eventually to the departure gate. When we landed in Moscow, I walked off the plane past a wheelchair sitting in the jet way. I assumed it was someone who needed it. Naomi mentioned it was available, and I responded, I ll be fine. John countered, Pride. Shortly after his incisive comment, an attendant came up with a wheelchair and said, Mr. Wheeler? I was waiting for you. I apologized and allowed him to take me through passport control to baggage claim and then to an airport restaurant where we had dinner. Accepting help chafed against my independent, self-sufficient nature. My pride would have worn me out physically and robbed others of the joy of serving.