Aim Accomplished in Tiraspol

Driver Serghei is a good story teller. Among his stories are a number of accounts of silly policemen. Most policemen here are reportedly corrupt, and frequently try to take advantage of the citizenry, as well as foreigners, often seeking bribes by threatening a fine or arrest. Remember that driver Serghei is the one who joked that he never uses toothpaste on Thursdays because Thursday is Transnistria day, and the Transnistrian cops like to check him for drunkenness by smelling his breath. He also told of the time some policeman stopped and questioned him without justification, in a way that threatened a fine, until Serghei asked the policeman's name. “What?” “Your name, please.” “What is this? You don't need my name! Blah, blah, blah, you can go.”

Well, on Tuesday Nathan and I were walking in the center, and I stopped to take a picture of the statue of Stephan-cel-Mare (Stephen the Great). Turning and walking away from taking the shot, we were stopped by a policeman. Authoritarian tone, in Russian: “What are you photographing?” “Oh, I was just taking a picture of Stephan-cel-Mare” (pointing to the statue). Of course he doesn't understand my English, but certainly understood the name, and my pointed finger. “Blah blah blah more authoritarian tone blah blah blah! Pasaporta i visa!” So we showed him our passports, open to the page with our visas. He saw the line on my visa that said where it was issued, but could only read the city name, not “Issued in.” So pointing to me he asked, “From Vashington DC?” Off to the side, Nathan said with a smile, “Yeah, we work for the President.” I don't think the cop caught that. I said, “Nyet. Visa, Washington DC.” “Ah, da, visa.” He gets out a little booklet and begins to write our names down from our passports. So I lift my camera to chest level, with the flip screen turned so I can see in it, and take a shot of his badge and badge number. “Blah-Blah! Blah blah blah blah blah!” I understood only some of this section of blahs, but he was asking if I just took a picture of him (and if so, that I should not). Me: “Nyet,” and then I touched his badge with my finger. “BLAH Blah blah blah blah!” He began making demands and pointing to my camera, kind of motioning to himself some of the time. Clearly he wanted the camera, wanted the picture deleted, etc. I was not about to turn over my camera in any case, and the language barrier was my additional defense. He had no idea whether we could understand the demands or not, and he had no right to forcefully take the camera from my hand. So he finished writing down our names and let us go. We restrained our laughter until we got some 20-30 feet away, but he may still have heard us. I'm glad we've got better police forces in America.

(enlarging the picture on my computer brings the badge number 0122 clearly into view)

Tuesday evening was the Bible study at the church meeting place. Thanks to a friend back home in Georgia, who found my notes on wine and drunkenness in a pretty unlikely place, and emailed the files to me, I was finally ready to teach a lesson on this needed topic here. There is a problem of occasional drunkenness of one guy within the church here, and I wanted to put the pressure on him, and reinforce the thoughts of others on drunkenness. I made sure that afternoon that he would be present, and was glad to see him there that night. The discussion went well.

Yesterday (Wed) we were in Balti as usual. The ladies had asked recently if we would simply answer questions in our sessions with them, but on this third time since that request they had no specific questions and were expecting a lesson of our choosing. I used some notes I had with me on “Three Biblical Women,” a study of good characteristics of Moses' mother, Dorcas, and Priscilla. Especially good that day though, was that Dora, the lady who just over a week ago was upset at Serghei, Vyera, and the church there, and who said she would not be back, was back after all, seemed to enjoy the study and general comaraderie (sp?), and afterward asked if Nathan and I would pose for a picture with her. Very good.

Last evening we stopped by the hospital to see Valerii. Nathan has spent a little more time there than I, playing chess with him. Just about every time he or us are there, we get involved in Biblical discussions with the several other men in the same room. One day Valerii told us in Russian for all present to hear, while pointing to one of them, “This man doesn't believe in God. What should we tell him?” So we started talking. Anyway, last evening was another night of such discussion, this time with a patient of unspecified religious affiliation (apparently not Orthodox), but who asked us many questions about our faith, until finally we had to go due to other commitments.

Today being Thursday, the two Sergheis picked us up at 7:45, and we headed to Tiraspol. Serghei Sergheiovich used most of the time today to translate his latest letter to Ken G. (American inst. brother), and there followed much discussion among the Christians present from Tiraspol and Benderi. Nathan and I had seen the letter the day before, and had to laugh at Serghei's first line, in response to Ken's lengthy letter wherein Ken said nothing helpful and failed to respond to Serghei's concerns. Serghei's new letter began:

Dear Ken,
Thank you for sending me such a long letter.

Maybe you had to be there, or maybe not, or maybe you have to know Serghei, or maybe not, but we laughed a lot.

After the discussion wound down some, Sasha asked if I could finish up my thoughts previously presented on the work of the church, which I had been very much wanting to do, and today was my last day to be able to do so with Christians from both churches present. It was a quick version, summarizing previous thoughts on congregational works approved by the NT text, and then dealing with the difference between aids for those things and additions to those things, and in particular, common meals and church kitchens. Even though brief, as we needed to leave before too long, I think it was sufficient, and they agreed with my teaching. Since Sasha and Ina assemble with the Benderi church each Sunday, and since we will not be here another Thursday (but still two Sundays), we had to say goodbye to these two today. It's been good to meet them.

(some of those present in Tiraspol today. left to right: unknown name; Vyera, whose home is used for a meeting place; Peter, a Soviet army veteran; Sasha, from Benderi)

Tonight Nathan and I prepared dinner for Serghei Sergheiovich, his wife Anna and daughter Viki (Viktoria), and for Valentina, the wife of the hospital patient Valerii. Cooking styles differ, and there are some unusual eating patterns in some of those present. Not everybody ate everything (some ate only one thing), but 2 out of 4 things were commended by one person or more! So it's hard to feed some people. It was still a good evening. Nathan and I walked out with our guests, to walk Valentina home. Serghei and Anna started walking in one direction, and the three of us in the other direction, and little Viki just stood still in the middle, watching we three walk away. I ran back and quickly got this shot. :) She, by the way, speaks toddler Russian and toddler English.

Our time here is coming to a rapid conclusion. Tomorrow we go to Balti; tomorrow night a study at the church meeting place; on Saturday, we use a free day to drive to Odessa in the Ukraine; Sunday Nathan goes to Balti and I to Tiraspol; and then after the evening assembly in Chisinau, Nathan and I head south to Turkey in the rental car we'll pick up tomorrow afternoon. Destinations: Troas, Pergamum, Ephesus, Miletus, and as time allows, Laodicea, Antioch, Iconium, etc. We won't make it to all the places I'd like to see. I hope we'll be able to post from Turkey. If not, at least I'll try to send a quick email somehow to a few. We'll return from Turkey on the following Saturday, meet with the saints in these churches one last time on Sunday, and fly home on Monday Nov. 20. Arrival home in WR should be about 10:30 that night. For now, I'm gonna say if a few of you nightowls wanted to be there that late at night, we'd be glad to see you. For a little while. :)