Hello everyone,
I just got back from a retreat with the members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. This is the congregation that Pastor Sobolev is the pastor of. We spent a week in the woods at a place like Camp Omega but with none of the facilities. We did bible study every day twice. We are trying to help them understand the basics of the faith and help them understand the idea of family that we take for granted. There are a lot of orphans and broken families here. Some of that was due to the Lenin and Stalin years where people were just separated and sometimes killed. That happened to a man by the name of Slava. His parents were killed by Stalin. There are some very sad stories here but the Gospel has made all the difference in their lives. Pastor Sobolev left to go to Latvia to bring his mother-in-law back to Krasnoyarsk to live with the family. I am sort of the vacancy pastor for him while he is gone. Just as you are surviving and growing in my absence while someone else takes care of you for now, it is my turn to do the same for another congregation. In the church, we are all together no matter where we are.
I am in an internet cafe right now so I cannot download pictures. I hope to be able to do that in the near future. I will also be working this week in the village where they want to build the seminary for the new Lutheran Church body and then the following week we will be in a small town that will be a mission congregation. You are making things happen around the world with your prayers and support. The people here are very grateful.
More later,
Pastor Heidorn
Good Morning,
I am now as far away from Rochester as possible on this trip. Directly on the other side of the world, if you will. The time here is 13 hours different. I am writing at 3 PM and it is 2 AM where you are. Worship was very interesting today with Pastor Sobolev. Their service starts out with praise music. They have some of the same songs, just different words. They also have some very new songs with nice tunes. The service was very liturgical. The music was very modern–a nice combination. Because so much of the past was destroyed by the Soviets, the churches have keyboards instead organs. I guess if you can have only one instrument get one that can sound like everything. The service lasted two hours. Pastor Sobolev preached for about 45 minutes. For those who think I go too long…
Here are some pictures of the congregation. There is a lady in charge of hospitality who takes care of everything. I think that every Lutheran Church has hospitality as a prime Sunday activity — as it should be when God’s people get together.
Tomorrow we go to the family camp. I don’t know when I will have internet access again but probably by the end of the week. If I get access sooner I will send a report. I am keeping notes and will have a much bigger write-up when I get back for the presentation in September.
In Christ,
The travelling Heidorn’s
Hello everyone, We are in Kazan.
Kazan is a very Muslim city. It is not Muslim like Rochester with people from the Middle East. These are Tatar people. We Visited the main Mosque yesterday and got the “hard sell” by some seminary student. I think he thought he could get me to convert, but do not worry, I am still Lutheran and he is still frustrated. The congregation here is St. Andrew. It started through the work of Lutheran Hour and is a great success story. It did not have the property fight every other place seems to have had. They just bought a building, gutted it, fixed it up, and made all the furnishings themselves. I will send pictures when I can. The pastor and his wife are very hospitable and kind. We have a girl that helps with translation. I presented at their bible class which meets on Tuesday evenings. There was a lot of discussion as this is an ‘open’ bible class. That means that people from other denominations can come and visit. There was one Pentecostal guy who I needed to correct immediately and I was hoping the Holy Spirit would come upon me like at Pentecost and give me the ability to speak fluent Russian, because to correct the guy would haved taken an eternity with a translator. Anyway. It was a long day.
Today we will go to a beach that is in town. It is near the center of the city. Kazan celebrated being a city for 1000 years just a couple of years ago. It is very modern though and reminds me a bit of Rochester or Minneapolis. It is far more calm than Moscow but again, the lines on the road are only suggestions for the drivers, u-turns happen anywhere, and the speed limit is only as fast as you can go for the traffic around you.
There are two projects that I think Grace people could do next summer. I will explain those when I get home. I believe we can do much. So if you are thinking about coming next summer for a week to do some work there should be much to do. I have asked for at least 4 projects so we can pick the one that seems the best.
We have not yet been doing the things we thought we would be doing when we left but that is how it always is. Everything changes when reality shows up.
Thank you for your prayers. We think of you often and will write every time I can get computer access. It is not like at home. I always need at least one hour to get anything accomplished.
The support we have given has accomplished much. The support we may give in the future will accomplish even more. The people here understand stewardship well. Most members tithe and some give beyond that in offerings. I am very impressed with their generosity.
More next time.
In Christ,
The traveling Heidorn’s
Hi everyone.
I preached this morning at the church of St. Mary Magdalene. It is called that because it is a congregation that came about because of reformed prisoners. Mary Magdalene had been a very bad person before Jesus came into her life. Thus the name. Notice that this is the congregation to whom we gave the paraments from the altar guild. They are very grateful.
More on another day.
Pastor Heidorn
Photos from Pastor Heidorn’s trip to Russia are available for viewing in the Russia Trip 2007 photo gallery. Photos will be added as they come in!.
Good morning everyone,
It is about 2AM yoour time. We are getting ready for our day. Yesterday we visited the Kremlin with a Pastor Ivan (I don’t remember his last name) He did not speak English. But he does speak German so we got along fine. I amazed myself at how much I remembered and could understand. Whethere he cold understand me is another question. I will get pictures sent from the camera later.
Peter was sick. Today he is a bit better but not 100%. I didn’t feel good last night and everyone is very tired. Lot of walking, lots of smelly subway rides, lots of roued busses. But we are geting around ok so far. It is very expensive here.
Tonight we go to Varonish and preach in the morning.
Hi everyone,
We have had had a lot of experiences so far. On Sunday we had worship. The congregation gave me a gift for my ordination anniversary. There is a picture attached. We also had a short visit to Red Square. We will go back there to explore more of it, as well as the Kremlin.
The work of the church that has gone on here has been cut back. We will need to see what we can do to help more in the future.
We have met the people in St. Petersburg that work with ministry to Jewish people, the homeless, and with mental patients. It is amazing how much they can do with so very little.
Today we are back in Moscow. We toured the Lutheran Hour Ministries office and spoke with the workers. They have had to cut back on the workers.
Hello everyone. I finally got internet access. We are fine and have seen many interesting things so far. We will send pictures when we get back to the Lutheran Hour Ministries office in Moscow. Interesting work that is going on.
Our support has been greatly appreciated. Thank you for your prayers. Will write more later.
In Christ from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg,
The Heidorns
Great progress on the Rummage Sale donations and set up so far. Thanks to all who have donated, have yet to donate and all those who have been working to move from chaos to order.
Rummage Sale hours are Saturday morning from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Come early for the best selection. Remember items are priced to move!
My family and I are almost packed for the trip. It seems that no matter how far out you plan an event like this, it always comes down to the last minute — at least there are only a few things left to go in the bags.
We received our visas for Russia. They spelled our names in Russian letters, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet. They look neat in that language. Now I just have to learn how to write those letters and we will be set.
Keep us in your prayers. We will keep you in ours.