Did you ever have a chance to look at something that you have grown accustomed to through a different set of eyes? At the end of May, I was privileged to speak at the 32nd National Conference of Athletes in Action Russia and serve as the conference chaplain. Although it is a national conference, historically it has drawn people from various parts of the former Soviet Union, and even though because of war, the stream of athletes from neighboring countries has shrunk over the last 3 years, the conference has still attracted professional athletes like Nadezhda Stoliar, who is a nine-time national champion of Belarus in volleyball.
Through the years I have spoken numerous times at this conference. I never tallied all the times that I got to preach at this event, but it is quite possible that it was over 16 times, or more than half the time that the conference has been held. Because of that, one grows accustomed to it and it is hard not to take for granted this great honor. However, this time around I was at the conference with my family, and it helped me to look at it afresh. The opening night, Michael Platonov of the Russian power team put together a brief presentation of their ministry, complete with tearing in half a directory the size of the old yellow pages, rolling up a metal frying pan, and blowing up a hot water bottle as if it were a kid’s balloon. I have seen this show several times before, but this time around I was with my boys, who were utterly impressed. It was into the late hours of the night that the two of them lying in bed were talking about huge nails that were knotted together or a deck of cards that was torn in half by Michael. It was really refreshing to see and hear about this show through their eyes. This in turn helped me to gain even greater appreciation for what God has been doing through Athletes in Action and their ministry, and what a privilege it is to serve this ministry all these years.
Yours in praying and hastening the day of revival in Moscow and Russia,
Constantin and Alexandra
P.S. It was a quick turnaround for us before we embarked on our next adventure as we headed out to Tel-Aviv where I got a chance to co-teach at the City-to-City Preaching Lab.
THREE PRAYER REQUESTS:
Please join us in praying for God:
- To stregthen Athletes in Action ministry in Russia and to multiply its effectiveness.
- To bless our summer camps with new teenagers and kids that would put their trust in God and would stat in church afterwards. We are getting ready for the youth and the kids camps right now. Please pray for God to use these camps mightily.
- To bring peace to Ukraine and Russia. Moreover, ask God to use this conflict by bringing reconciliation and revival to both countries.
