Beslan Mission Trip 2005, Calvary Chapel Pittsburgh

Comforting Those Who Mourn

Update from

Russia

, 10. July 9, 2007

God - our Father - has loved us, and He’s given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace!

(2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)

7/4/07, Wednesday: AM fellowship; saw Raiya and chatted w/ her. (Raiya lost four of her five children in the school massacre, and is an amazing woman of faith and trust in The Lord.) To God’s glory, her ankle is better and she’s able to walk now (she had broken it and had to stay off it for a month or so). Hung out and talked w/ Sasha, a brother in The Lord who’s the same age as I am. He told me how he had met Vova (Khodov) a few times, who later became one of the main terrorists in the school massacre here. Sasha told me that Vova was a drug addict. …Sasha and I talked about several different things, one of which was about the difference between ‘killing’ and ‘murdering’ in the Hebrew language. So far as I know, Russians use the same word for ‘kill’ as they do for ‘murder,’ and The Russian Bible translates one of The 10 Commandments as saying not to ‘kill;’ some English translations translate it that way as well, but the Hebrew actually commands us not to murder. Hebrew has words for both ‘kill’ and ‘murder,’ but makes a clear distinction in The 10 Commandments, which prohibit us from murdering. Not that I’m trying to say we ought to go around freely killing – you know what I mean! Just that people sometimes create enormous movements (such as pacifism) and try to back them up with a Scripture which they incorrectly interpreted.

7/6/07, Friday: Went and visited Mairbek and the people in his apartment’s courtyard. Talked with Aza, a grandma whose two grandchildren miraculously survived the school massacre. Pray for her health, which has been a problem since the terrorist attack; this is the case with many of the people in Bsln. I visited Mairbek, who for some reason really wanted to learn the English alphabet this evening. (Mairbek is 11, and survived the terrorist attack although his mother was killed there.) So I taught him the Alphabet song, which he wanted to turn into a rap – so we did! He also wants to start coming to English/guitar lessons where I live.

7/8/07, Sunday: Went with Taimuraz and Raiya to the Baptist fellowship in Vldikavkz. (Taimuraz pastors that church; he and his wife lost four of their five children in the massacre.) Afterwards, I spent a lot of time in fellowship with the believers there, and was really blessed in talking with Tamara – Tamara speaks English pretty well, and is involved in the ongoing work of translating The Bible into the Ossetian language. Please keep that translation work in your prayers, that The Lord would grant them love, wisdom, and unity as they labor in their ministry. I, for one, am fascinated with languages, and so it was really interesting talking with her, and she gave me an Ossetian New Testament, as well as Genesis and Exodus. And of further interest to me was that she mentioned wishing someone would put The Psalms to music in her language (Ossetian), and so with God’s help, we’re going to work together on this project (songs for the believers here to sing which are right from The Psalms). Tamara also told me that several people had been asking her about starting an English class, and so she asked if I’d be interested in teaching one. Lord willing, we’re starting this new week, and will be using a children’s Russian/English Bible storybook as our main text. Talked with one brother there named Sultan who asked for prayer for his mom, Raiya, who had surgery; Sultan is a believer, but his parents are muslim.

A note of clarification: one of the dear saints that is very involved in sharing in this ministry wrote and shared her concerns over something written in Update #8, where I said that the people of Bsln need personal visits more than material things. In case anyone else also misunderstood what I said, I want to explain what I wrote. Something which I’ve tried to communicate several times before is that the people of Bsln need to see the love of Jesus in personal ways more than in general ones. Of course the people here are happy to receive financial gifts and so forth – but a visit, phone call, or letter/card to one of the families who lost a loved one means so much more to them. I’m not one who sets out to criticize what other people do or what they donate… may The Lord bless them a thousand times for every gift they’ve given! But here, I’ve seen how groups have given money to build playgrounds, or donated backpacks and school supplies, and so forth; and those are wonderful demonstrations of their love. But I have seen how one girl here has received around 4 backpacks (and I’m sure that’s the case with others), and also how there are numerous playgrounds here – and it’s not that I’m against those things. But just that I know the victims’ families would be more precisely and personally ministered to by simply receiving a note of condolence, love, prayers, and care. In having spent a lot of time here, and really getting to know very many of these dear families, I know that they are ministered to much more by having a visitor come and sit with them or in receiving a letter than they are with new playgrounds being built in Bsln. That, again, is not to say that the other things are bad: I’ve just been trying to communicate with people that there are better and more effective ways to reach these families. Of course financial gifts also bless and help them, but I try to put myself in their place. What if I had lost my young daughter (and only child) in a vicious terrorist attack, searched for her for a long time afterwards trying to find out what actually happened to her, and then took one body home from the morgue thinking it was my daughter and almost buried the child before I realized it was the wrong child and then had to have my relatives return the body to the morgue… and then later, buried my own daughter? (This is the actual case of one mother here, whom I personally know). I firmly believe that I, and that mother, would rather have one visitor, or one phone call, or one letter/card, than to have 1000 new playgrounds built in my town. The Bible gives us so much knowledge about caring for others and helping them, and were Timothy, John, or Paul still on the earth today, I believe they would be more involved in personally reaching out to the hurting, rather than trying to build a new playground in the city. I don’t think they would oppose a new playground, but I do believe that they’d try to focus in on how to personally touch the lives of these families. I can focus on trying to build people up, or I can focus on trying to build things up. I think a similar case could be made regarding your place of Christian fellowship; were John still alive and able to visit, I think he’d be much more concerned about the state of the church (that is, the people) than he would be about the state of the church’s building.

Please pray for:

*Vova, for God to give him wisdom, strength, and encouragement;

*Vova and Zipha’s new baby, Olesya - and praise God for a healthy baby and safe delivery!;

*Aza’s health;

*Vitalik, a Christian who will be taking some exams soon;

*Those translating The Bible into Ossetian, that The Lord would grant them love, wisdom, and unity as they labor in their ministry;

*Sultan’s mother, Raiya, for health and for her to surrender to Jesus;

*the English and guitar classes I’m teaching;

*me, to not be overwhelmed by the incredible amount of things to do!

* for Brian, a young Christian who was visiting

Latvia

with his school. Brian was in a diving accident on Saturday, and he broke his neck. They operated, but he still cannot move, and is being given morphine for the pain. His parents and brother flew to Latvia to be with him. Please pray that Brian recovers fully by the grace of God.

Thank you all for your prayers and support as you share in this ministry – all glory be unto Yah!

In His faithful goodness,

jason, jalazone7@yahoo.com

Our Father has given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace! (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)