Grace Notes

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

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

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.