Newsletter from Liz Hulley (Sukhovskaya)
May 10, 2011
Dear praying friends,
I realize not all of you “follow” me on Facebook or my blog, or receive the Stoneworks newsletters (let me know if you want to sign up). Therefore, here is an update on what I’ve been up to for the past several months.
In the fall I received my residency permit, and then I got sick several times, so it’s hard to even remember what else was going on at that point. Well, except for a few tidbits…
The truth is that I’m married! But here’s a more explanatory version:
In late August 2010 I started dating a close friend from church, Andrei. This was a much-anticipated move and an answer to our prayers. We’ve been very encouraged by everyone’s positive response and support as we move forward.
Andrei is an elder at our church and teaches Philosophy, Religion, Cultural Studies, Politics, and other subjects in 3 local universities. He leads our small group at church and organizes lectures and excursions as a ministry to friends as well as local students.
In January 2011 we announced our engagement at church and the pastor exhorted married couples to invite us to their houses and impart wisdom. So it’s been a fun season of spending time with married couples in our church and gleaning from what they have to share.
Our wedding in St. Petersburg is planned for July 30th, 2011. But our civil ceremony has already taken place: we were legally married in a St. Petersburg wedding palace on April 17th, 2011. We still have a lot to do to prepare, but everything has gone smoothly so far. We make it a point to celebrate even “small” victories so that we can give thanks and glory to God. So we wanted to share with you that this step, at least, is complete.
Paperwork
Remember my year-long journey to receive a temporary residency permit? Well, a new last name means a new passport…which means, goodbye to those precious stamps in my current passport. I’m currently in the process of transferring everything. THIS week I hope to have everything more or less sorted out.
Andrei recently received his new passport in order to travel abroad. That’s one victory! Right now we are working on a visa for him in order to visit the U.S. this summer after our church ceremony. We are aware that he might be denied a visa. We’ll be sad if we don’t get to go, but we are also certain that our plans are in God’s hands.
Witnessing at the orphanage
When you’re a foreigner in Russia, you are often asked about your motives, especially if you are “voluntarily” staying in the country. This is a good excuse to talk about God, but it can also alienate people pretty quickly. Much easier to say you are studying or just checking out the nice architecture, right? I’m still learning how to be bold. Read more
Hard-knock life
March 15, 2011
from On Life in St.Petersburg by Elizabeth Hulley
There have been many new arrivals to the orphanage this year. Sometimes if we have tea together the counselors tell me about them, but I was still missing information on several of them. Not that it’s my business, but it helps to know.
For example, why would a 17 yr old end up in the orphanage? She’s at the age where she could already be in a dormitory.
I started noticing Dasha in my favorite counselor’s group about a month ago. She kept to herself and sat quietly doing homework, or something. There was something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. She was quiet and serious in a way that reminded me of a child who had brought up in a very conservative household, perhaps religious. Actually, she reminded me of an adult. When she brought me her English homework to check, I saw what had kept her so busy…lines and lines of painstakingly neat penmanship. There are other kids with neat handwriting, but this was done so lovingly.
Dasha seemed eager to learn and even more excited about her grades. She was getting A’s and perhaps a few B’s. She brought out her book to show me the good marks. She told me (voluntarily) about the different subjects she was studying. Doesn’t this seem weird to you, if you picture the typical teenager?
When we started writing an autobiography together for English class, I started to wonder. My name is Dasha. I’m 17 years old. I’m in the 8th form. Being in 8th grade at age 17 just didn’t add up, even in Russia where kids might start first grade at 7 or 8 years old.
And then Dasha started to tell me about how she didn’t go to school for two years. Her mother wouldn’t let her. I didn’t quite get the details about her mother’s mental breakdown, but Dasha is in the orphanage while her mother is undergoing evaluation. Given that her mother had pulled a knife on her…I’m not sure they’ll be reunited. Was it the poverty that prompted her mother to keep her home, maybe a fear that someone would find out?
The not going to school made sense. No wonder Dasha was so excited about her pencils and notebooks; her homework assignments and good grades. She had been deprived, before this, of an education, of a basic rite of passage.
Dasha said that the scariest moment was when the police came for her. “Are you coming to snatch my child?” her mother asked. “No, we’re coming to snatch YOU,” one of the policemen said. “We’re taking your child to safety, because you are the worst kind of mother.” Dasha didn’t seem clear on whether she should be loyal to her mother or not, but she was obviously traumatized by the event. She seems calm on the surface, but got a certain gleam in her eye when mentioning seeking revenge on the woman who put her mother in this condition. She’s in a better place now, but her future fate? Only the Lord knows.
More Progress
March 6, 2011
Liz Hulley reports (from On Life in St.Petersburg)
In which we apply for a civil wedding…
One of the hard things about getting paperwork done in St. Petersburg is that most offices (including banks) have a lunch break from 1-2 or 2-3 pm. So if you get there too close to the lunch hour, you will have wasted time waiting in line and then waste another hour waiting for the place to reopen.
Andrey was free at 1 pm, the lunch break was at 2 pm, and I needed to leave for the orphanage around 3 or a bit later. So we basically had an hour before lunch in which to get everything done.
I arrived a little earlier to reserve a place in line. I was already mentally rearranging my schedule and calling the orphanage to tell them I couldn’t make it. Then I walked up the steps and turned the corner, expecting to see a full waiting room. It was empty-HA! continue reading/-
I poked my head into the office and asked if they were still open and if I could have an application. The woman started asking me about our citizenship and what date we wanted, but Andrey wasn’t there yet. Nevertheless, she took a look at my documents.
I really hadn’t been worried about my documents; it had all seemed easy and straightforward compared to applying for residency. In a way I was glad I had been through that whole process, so that this would seem like nothing.
She looked at the affidavit which I had just gotten back from Moscow. “This will need to be translated.”
“What?” I was confused. The whole form was in Russian. What language did it need to be in?
“This line here, in English.” I looked at what she was pointing at and it was a footnote under the signature: Do not sign affidavit until instructed to do so. That was for notarial purposes! She also pointed to a few lines that said (in English), Russian Federation, U.S. Embassy, Moscow.
“But I can tell you what they say!” I translated them for her, but she shook her head. “That doesn’t matter. WE don’t know what it says.”
I thought I was going to burst into tears. Another trip to the translation bureau? Another few days to wait, now until next week? Sometimes it seems like the small obstacles are even more upsetting than the large ones. I had thought we might have a time crunch, but I hadn’t expected everything to be delayed because of one little line of text.
She took the affidavit and announced that she was going to show it to her colleagues, then ushered me back into the waiting room and marched into an inner office.
I called Andrey, who was on his way. I told him the good news, that there wasn’t a line, and the bad news, that I needed a translation. Just then, the lady emerged from the other room. “A translation won’t be necessary.” No translation! Hurray! Andrey went to the bank to pay the fee while I stayed put to monitor things.
When A. got there, we took turns filling out our parts of the application form while the other looked in the computer database for dates that were open. Having a civil ceremony at one of the wedding palaces is by appointment only. Of course it makes sense, since each wedding party needs a room for the ceremony and arrives with an entourage. We would have preferred to just show up at an office and sign a form, but for some reason the fact that I’m a foreigner means that we have to go through the wedding palace.
A few other couples were showing up, but most were leaving as they learned the spots for the summer were all filled up. A potential bride could be heard moaning, “But September is too COLD!” As for us, we were aiming for spring. We’ll get the bureaucracy over with and just enjoy our church wedding in the summer. We hope.
The lady was a little exasperated with the way we had filled out our forms, but we eventually got them straightened out and picked a date, all by her lunch break. She printed out our names on a fancy invitation.
And then we realized that we were getting married very soon…on paper, that is. The plot thickens.
The first interesting thing about going to Moscow in February…
February 18, 2011
The first interesting thing about going to Moscow in February…
…is that I spent Valentine’s Day on a train with my fiance.
Well, sort of. We were headed to Moscow to do paperwork, and it was already 11pm when our train departed. We had “platzkart” tickets (see details here), and that meant bunkbeds in an open cabin.
I had traveled platzkart to Moscow by myself before, but this time I had Andrey to protect me, drink tea with me, and tuck me in before getting into his own bunk.
Valentine’s Day is usually referred to in Russia as “Lovers’ Day.” In the past I would wish people a “Happy Valentine’s Day” and they didn’t really get it. They would ask me, “Have you found someone?” It wasn’t the same holiday I knew from home that was full of chocolate, conversation hearts, and movie night with the girls. But this year, I fit the Russian description.
Residency!
December 3, 2010
News from Liz Hulley –
In the end of October I received my temporary residency permit, which is valid for 3 years. This was the end of a 10-month process which began in January with a race to get in under the quota, and culminated in several back-to-back rounds of standing in long lines as my 90-day visa headed towards expiry.
I also came down with tonsillitis towards the end and I know it was the prayers of many of you and my church here that carried me through. It then took about a month for me to get my strength back. As you can probably imagine, it is quite a feeling to look at the stamps in my passport and remember what it took to get them.
Interestingly, my ministry has been focused mainly on one orphanage this fall. Although I had fellowship with some kids from other orphanages while my dad was visiting in early November, #8 has been my main destination.
The counselors are welcoming and take good care of me and I tutor some of them in English individually. The kids are dear despite their difficulties and I always look forward to spending time with them. A few that I especially prayed for are being adopted by American families.
One Russian woman from a local church is seeking custody of two siblings (a third is already graduating). Of course we pray for the doors to be opened for more local Christians to become involved so that more kids can experience having a family. Just the other day we were sitting at dinner and one of the teenage boys was being so goofy and I wished someone could see what a fun person he is and give him a home.
Wounded
November 12, 2010
from Liz Hulley at On Life in St.Petersburg –
When my dad and I took some kids from the orphanage out last week, the counselors whispered to us about the backgrounds of some of the kids. Well, they didn’t really whisper; it seems more accepted to talk about kids’ behavior right in front of them. But a few of these facts were more personal and they meant it for our ears only.
The kids said “Thank you very much” after the meal. Most tried, with prompting, to say it in English. And then the counselor explained what great progress that was for many of them. I hadn’t really thought about it since I see them regularly, but it really is a challenge for them to look an adult in the eye and say “Thank you.” And of course, trying it in a foreign language showed special courage.
One of the boys the counselor pointed out was new (I actually hadn’t met him yet), and she said that he (at 11 y.o.) witnessed the murder of his mother by his stepfather, perhaps over the summer. I saw how he held himself: not rudely like some of the other kids with “behavioral” problems, but like a bird, hovering at the edge of conversation with a wan smile.
Today I saw him at the orphanage and he again offered a weak smile, so I tried to reach out. “Pasha, right?” so he would know I remembered him. He nodded, but shrank back and quickly darted away. I wonder what is on his mind after all the trauma; what kinds of fears he lives with.
The Promise of a New Life
October 9, 2010
From Executive Director Mike Cantrell:
Olga and I are happily back home in Russia after our time in Estonia and Finland.
Each month, MIR hosts a prayer meeting (above) attended by people who give their lives in Christian ministry. It was great to attend after missing the past few meetings. MIR is facing some challenges just now, so your prayers are appreciated. A friend once told me that choosing a life of ministry means choosing a life of poverty. There’s truth in this.
These saints do not pursue worldly wealth and achievement. Rather, they lay down their lives in service: blessing orphans, printing Christian literature, helping local churches, managing humanitarian projects, providing godly counsel, fixing computers, ministering to college students, and more — all because of their reverence for Christ. It’s an honor to serve with these friends.
Now, from Olga: This year’s Fall has been especially beautiful. I don’t remember such a glorious October as we are having now. And even though Autumn means that nature is falling asleep, it holds a promise of new life in it. And for me that is what I feel. There is a promise of new life. God has something in store for us. And not only for us, but all of His children. His plans are good, His plans have a future. We may not understand this, we may not see it now, but He does.
Birthdays And Clowns
October 3, 2010
Another great update from Olga Goncharenko in Belarus…
It has been a big part of our ministry to bring clowns and it was one of the ways how we could get into the orphanages in the first place. Now the team is bigger and even MFH girls like to participate. Our clowns bring joy and Jesus, run Birthday parties, give gifts and share cakes and sweets.
Here you see a birthday party that took place in Stankovo shelter in September.
Everyone enjoyed it.
There were 11 birthday kids and they got nice, but very practical gifts such as pijamas, shirts, hats and gloves, and of course, some toys.
Stankovo Camp Reunion
October 3, 2010
Olga Goncharenko in Belarus sends this update…
Now as summer is over and they are back to the orphanage it was great to see them again and remember all the wonderful times at camp.
Here is the picture of a group of boys from Stankovo that went to a Christian camp with us in June.
Zhenya is an orphan, who is very talented.
He is at artist and started to attend an art school in town.
They find him very gifted.
We have helped him financially to get the necessary art supplies so he can attend the school.
Into the furnace
September 29, 2010
From our own Liz Hulley, at On Life in St.Petersburg
The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (I always liked saying those names) is one so familiar from the Sunday school days. But even now, I’m amazed each time I read this testimony of the Lord’s power and favor.
It struck me recently that the story isn’t only about what happens when we trust in God, it’s also about what goes through the mind of someone who does not yet believe. And that’s a perspective about which I sometimes lack understanding.
While reading Daniel 3, something made me examine the king’s point of view. This isn’t a fairytale-God gives us examples in the form of humans who really lived and experienced real emotions that we can relate to. It might be obvious who the “good guys” are, but the “bad guys” sometimes aren’t too far off from our flawed selves. Here is a king, full of power, grasping at human answers to a problem that only God can solve.
King Nebuchadnezzar has already been shown what will be in the future, and now he tries to somehow change his fate.
What I saw in these measures was fear.
And then my mind flashed to all the presidents and other leaders of the world’s nations, who make such decisions…when to go to war, how to deal with enemies, how to keep the peace…
All of this “policy,” “tolerance,”…whether on a local level (in the workplace, school) or international, it all comes down to fear, and the ultimate fear is fear of death. How many people around me live with this fear? How much does my own lifestyle subscribe to this fear, when I should instead have an eternal perspective?
