In the past three weeks, we have endeavoured to make face-to-face contact with all the officers in the Division so as to share our stories together, and to assure them of our support. This has been a really valuable exercise, and at times, very moving as many of them shared as we asked them each how they came to faith. In Soviet times, some were secret members of the underground church, others spoke of their links with the Communist party and of their conversion from atheism, some spoke of the influence of their grandmother’s faith, and still others came to the Lord because initially their children had been invited to a children’s program in the local Corps. All amazing stories!
These conversations also assisted us as we attended the Divisional Commander’s conference earlier this week. We shared in preliminary discussions about the annual Field Change (moving of Salvo Officers for non-Army readers!) as well as other strategic issues about the Eastern Europe Territory. The internationalism of ‘the Army’ was evident, as the leaders of five countries, Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova and our Territorial leaders met around a common table. There are nationals leading in Russia and Georgia, whilst other leaders are ‘expats’ from the Netherlands, New Zealand, Moldova, Sweden and of course Australia. It was a rich experience - the kind that always seems to be a part of Salvationists sharing together.
The venue was a small conference centre at Old Orhei about 50kms from Chisinau. Close by, there is the 15th century Butuceni monastery which is set in a large cave on the side of a cliff.
We walked up one lunchtime, and were met at the door of the cave by a young entrepreneur whose name was Iwo.
He immediately offered to guide us down the steps into the cave, (for a price!!!). He made a killing! We met the resident Orthodox monk, Efim, and saw where he sleeps, which is comfort in comparison to the small carved out ‘cells’ that used to house several other monks in past days. There is also a chapel area about 6m by 6m that hewn from the rock. It was ornately decorated, as indeed are all Orthodox churches and around the centre of this area were souvenir crosses, bracelets and pictures for purchase. It was like being in something from the middle ages.
The conference was memorable for many reasons. Here are two..
The conference centre proved to be something akin to ‘Fawlty Towers. The day we arrived, we had a meal about 6-30pm and then off to our rooms to settle in. A feature of Moldovan construction is one power point per room, and see how many times you can piggy back power boards and adaptors to power up all your appliances. It was cold (got down to about –12°C) and the power kept going off. This must be the only building in Moldova with a safety switch. Great!! We had no heating, there were no sheets on the bed, only a bare mattress with a sort of mattress protector on it, and a doona that did not even reach the sides of the bed. And the toilets did not flush during the night. (Yeah..we’re getting old!) To top it off, no heating also meant no hot water!!! Even washing the bare necessities was painful! It was fun, sort of, and after sharing similar stories at breakfast, we made a few adjustments for the next two nights to help us keep snug and warm. It’s amazing how resourceful one becomes when desperate!
Another highlight of the Conference was sharing devotions ‘al fresco’ one morning . We walked a little way up the side of a hill and stopped beside a leaf bare tree, with a large rock nearby.
In silence we considered the stark but beautiful scene before us. We were then invited to sing together a verse of ‘How great thou art’ each singing in our own language, and then to read Psalm 100 slowly verse by verse(again in our own language) which speaks of the faithfulness of God. Here is the Psalm…
1 Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!2 Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.5 For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
It certainly was a choice moment as we shared this time together.
Prior to this conference, we had Alistair and Astrid Herring, the ‘2IC’s for this Territory, staying with us on the weekend. We took them to Capriana Monastery, (described in an earlier post). On this occasion we met Dmitri the bell ringer, who was insistent that we climb the bell tower to see his bells (!!) It involved a climb of about 50 steps up to the top. They were impressive to say the least, and one was manufactured in 1902. Dmitri looked almost as old! The view was also pretty good.
This guy was the Church Candle Extinguisher
Dmitri the bell ringer (in the background!)
I have been driving for about three weeks now, and am becoming more confident doing nearly everything ‘backwards’. There was quite a heavy snow as we drove up into the hills, and the roads were white when we left to come back home. We managed to crawl back to the main road having only fishtailed twice. It was a rather harrowing experience.
Our latest challenge is to get our work and residence permits which have not yet been granted. Because of some new laws that came to light after our arrival, (why are we not surprised?) we needed to supply evidence of our educational qualifications and also a Police check from Australia to say we are not criminals. Both involved some challenges as the originals are all in storage in Melbourne. However, we are led to believe that all the required papers are now in the hands of the appropriate Government Department awaiting approval. We would be glad for the ‘pray-ers’ who read this to pray that this will go through quickly, because if we do not receive these permits before our visas expire on 15th March, we will have to leave the country, and will not be allowed back in until 2009!
Having said all of this, we are loving the place, and relishing in the challenge!
Here are some random pictures…
Traditional Moldovan welcome offered to us at Orhei Corps
Salvation Army uniform with a Moldovan touch!
Traditional hospitality after the meeting!
Some of the welcoming committee at Orhei!
That’s all for now… Until next time.
Ian and Viv xoxo
