// BLOG
A Personal Update
September 3, 2010
Olga Goncharenko, in Belarus, has this short personal news to share…
We have two exciting events:
Our baby girl Erika was dedicated on August, 8 2010.
And our son Thomas is starting school this September.
~Olga
More Camp News
September 3, 2010
Olga Goncharenko, in Belarus, has a final summer camp update…
As summer is coming to an end, we are finishing up with all the ministries at our camps. We want to share with you about the Vacation Bible School that we did for 40 kids, ages 5 1/2 through 12. Though it was for the first time in the history of our church, the the challenge was taken.
We want to thank the team from Holden Chapel, MA, who came to show us how to do it. It was a four day camp from 9 am till 4 pm, where we had not only Bible lessons, sports, crafts, and English lessons; but we also learned several great worship songs in English with the kids. Besides all that, we also did all the cooking. The kids really liked VBS, even though the team had to work really hard.
Minsk Family home girls had opportunities to grow spiritually through their service in different camps as well. Masha was counselor for other orphans at a Christian camp, Katya helped by cooking, and Alla was a helper at a camp in Belarus and in Poland.
To finish up with the camps, I can add that two groups of 63 kids each that went to a Christian camp in Latvia had a very blessed time there.
A New Baby!
August 27, 2010
Olga Goncharenko in Belarus has some terrific news and pictures to share:
Our third child (a baby girl) was born on July, 28th 2010.
She is adorable.
Her name is Erika.
We thank God for her and ask His blessings on her life.
~Olga
Break Time
August 24, 2010
Olga and I are in Finland for a few days, taking a break after such a full summer. We’re here with our ’sister-in-law-in-law’ Violeta (her brother is married to Olga’s sister). Violeta, pictured above on Pyhäjärvi (Holy Lake), is from Montenegro and has had a great time in the northland where it’s finally cooled down — temps today are in the 60s F.
We do have some sad news. Christina Melton, SII missionary to Montenegro, has resigned due to personal reasons. This came up suddenly. We’ll very much miss having her in Montenegro and wish her only the best.
Our work in Montenegro will go on. We continue to partner with the Brethren Assembly and will send teams to run summer camps. Vladimir Cizmanski, pastor of the Brethren Assembly, and his wife Marijana will be visiting the US this fall. They’ll spend most of their time in Athens, GA visiting the church and getting much-needed rest and relaxation.
New opportunities continue to arise in Estonia. Plans are afoot to help establish a ministry to disabled children in Jõhvi, and we’ve already had discussions about two mission teams next year. We’d like to open a guest house in Estonia for Christian workers, so people who serve in Russia and the former CIS will have a place to relax and re-charge their batteries. Estonian property prices are low, and it would be great to buy a place to be used for ministry.
More importantly, we are very thankful for the love that the Lord has for us. He is very good. And we are very thankful to be able to serve Him in the work He has given us.
You know it’s hot when…
August 12, 2010
from On Life in St.Petersburg by Liz Hulley
One thing Americans and Russians have in common is that they both like to complain about the weather, hot or cold. I have a friend from the extreme north of Russia, and she’s always cold. However, when I was in Congo, I didn’t hear any of the locals complain about the heat. But then again, I didn’t understand most of what was said. 
I would say it’s characteristic of all humans to worry about physical comfort, but I haven’t polled everyone yet…
As you know, it’s been a warm summer in Russia. While we often wish for “real summer” in St. Petersburg, we forget that hot weather is only fun if you can hang out on a beach and jump in the lake, not if you are required to go to work, do remont (home renovations), cook anything that requires heat, get a good night’s sleep, ride the public transportation, go outside at all, wear anything long-sleeved…
It’s been interesting observing how the extreme weather uniquely affects life in northern Russia. If in Massachusetts the warmer temperatures prompted us to get our first air conditioner (instead of the usual assortment of fans), St. Petersburgers are buying their first fans, ever.
This humorous list has been circulating the Russian web. If you’ve been here at all in the summer, you may appreciate it.
-when choosing a restaurant, you don’t consider the menu, you consider the air-conditioning (McDonald’s!)
-you could care less* about the hot water being turned off (this happens for 3 weeks every summer)
-you think that showering twice a day is too little
-you now like to go out only after 11 pm (that’s when the sun finally goes down)
-you think 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) is chilly
-you think that the best food is okroshka (chilled soup) with ice cubes, and the thought of a barbecue makes you gag
-you tried buying a fan in 10 different stores and failed (see: snow shovel shortage, Winter 2009-10; rubber boot shortage, Spring 2010)
-you’ve thought for the first time about buying an air conditioner for your home
-you sleep on the floor with a wet bedsheet and that is just fine with you
-your windows are covered by foil or other reflective material, and you don’t care that it’s dark in the room
-you’ve practically forgotten how to boil soup and fry meat or potatoes
-you’ve forgotten how to iron and what an iron even looks like
-the three most frequented websites on your browser are weather sites, and you look at them at least 3 times a day (okay, 10 in my case)
-you longingly look at travel guides for Norway and Finland…
-the words “come here, let me give you a hug,” can create a scandal (agreed…a handshake is almost TOO much contact at this point)
-you eagerly jump out of bed in the morning, “to work, to work!” because in the office there is air conditioning (or “to the grocery store!”)
-you take off for Egypt, because it’s cooler there
*meaning, you couldn’t care less. I was going to fix the grammar, but then it wouldn’t be conversational. I came across a lot of forums calling Americans stupid for saying “I could care less” when it means the opposite. So I decided to use it anyway, just to exercise my patriotism.
