Dispatches from Minsk

Somehow, it is already November. October was a whirl of travel and color, ending in my trip to Belarus this past week. LCC has a fall break during the last week of October, and a girl from my seminar class invited me to visit her home in Minsk. So, after classes finished late on Friday the 28^th, she and I, and a fourth-year student, Ermiona from Albania, joined the group of Belarussian students heading to Minsk on the night train from Klaipeda.

Without too many details (noisy, snoring drunk Lithuanians; burning my hand with the scalding tea water at 3 a.m.; giddy LCC students singing Beatles songs as we pulled into Minsk; having my passport THOROUGHLY examined at the border crossing – and my name passed along to KGB, no doubt), I will simply say that it was an adventure! The week in Minsk with the two girls was like a non-stop slumber party, with me playing the part of the older sister. We stayed up late talking, spent mornings in our pajamas, talking, walked around the city, talking, went to the circus, the opera, ate at McDonalds, talking, and did a lot of shopping. Oh yeah, and talking!

Minsk is an imposing city with lots of imperial-looking buildings, and quite a few Soviet symbols remain around town – in the metro, on factories, in parks. The architecture reminded me of the part of Pest I lived in 5 years ago, though more orderly and rigid than Pest’s ring streets. For those of you who don’t know much about the politics of Belarus, I would recommend paying attention to the next year or so. Since the separation from U.S.S.R., Belarus has been ruled by a president named Lukashenko – who is currently trying to obtain a third (and prohibited by the constitution) term as president. Opinions on Lukashenko vary, but I will say that from my one encounter with the guy, he seems a bit paranoid. J Yup, I actually saw him driving down the street in a motorcade, and of course, could not resist snapping a picture, shutterbug that I am. After taking the picture, we crossed the street and were followed by a tall guy trying to talk to me in Russian. I got Zenija to translate for me, and I was informed that I had to delete the picture I’d just taken. The guy was fairly nice, but obviously Secret Service, given his tiny earpiece and nondescript outfit. I won’t go into detailed descriptions of politics here, but since my visit, the country of Belarus is very much on my heart and in my prayers.

Even given my exciting run-in with Belarussian Secret Service, the highlight of the week was our visit to the International Christian Church of Minsk on Sunday. Walking into the spacious, sun-warmed room, I felt an indescribable feeling of home. And not just because the service was entirely in English. There were believers from Nigeria, the U.S., Belarus, England, Canada and who knows where else, all worshipping together. “This is home,” I thought, “this family of believers, singing and lifting up prayers to the God who connects us all. The Spirit is our place of belonging.” It was a joy to sense the reality of the Christian family and feel connected to the truly international kingdom of God in that place.

The message that morning was given by a minister visiting from the States who preached on the words of Isaiah 61, that Jesus read when He began His ministry:

“The Spirit of God is upon me, to preach good news to the poor,

to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion –

to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,

the oil of gladness instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord

for the display of His splendor” (Isa. 61:1-3).

Sitting and listening, as the minister read the phrase – “to bind up the brokenhearted” – I began to cry, and I felt in my heart the Spirit saying, “this is what I am calling you to do.” In my short time at LCC, I have had so many conversations with young women who are truly broken, hurting from the lives they’ve lead, or the choices they’ve made, loves that have gone wrong, or the broken families they’ve been born into. I had a profound sense that God wants to bestow on these women “a crown of beauty instead of ashes.” He wants them as oaks of righteousness displayed for His glory in this part of the world. It was such a needed and unexpected reminder that this is what I am to be about, a big part of why I have been brought to LCC.

Now, the last few hours of fall break light are dwindling into the late Sunday afternoon haze. I have piles of grading left to do – which of course means that my house is spotless, all my laundry is done, and I have been cooking most of the weekend (nothing like productive procrastination!). There are only six weeks left of classes before Christmas break, and I know they will go by in a rush and if I am not intentional, I will miss out on the things God wants me to do. But, I have slept, taken pictures, seen a new country, read a novel, sat on buses and trains listening to music and knowing, without a doubt, what it feels like to be alive, and to know that I know it.