CEE Story From The Mission Field
On the Path to God
Febuary 21, 2005
"Tropinka", or "the path", is a tiny village near the swamps a few hundred kilometers south of St. Petersburg, Russia. Alexander and Ludmila had dreamed for a long time about having a little place in the country away from the hustle and bustle of big city life. The Lord opened the door for a purchase of a small piece of land in that village where only 15 people live. The small thatch cabin located on the land almost went unnoticed, but Ludmila saw a dream come true as she decided to spend her summer there, a summer where she could be alone with the Lord. The Lord apparently had even greater plans for her.
"The Path" was home to some shady characters, about 15 people who were very superstitious, relatively illiterate, and could honestly be labeled as thieves, drunks and grumblers. Ludmila recounts several instances where the police were often called for domestic disturbance or for reports of stolen property, but those residents would vanish into the swamp for days on end, never to be arrested. Life in the Path was harsh and dark.
Ludmila began her summer picking berries, planting zucchini and cucumbers, gathering mushrooms, and "living off the land." What some could only label "swamp", Ludmila considered paradise, but something was missing. She couldn't help thinking about the spiritual condition of the village. She would read her Bible and pray for the villagers, but still it didn't seem to be enough.
"Lord, I'm not a missionary!" she argued aloud with the Lord. And then like a rebellious Jonah, she set her heart to living a peaceful summer to herself. She even began reading Scripture aloud to the storks who happened to drop by, but she was terrified to approach the cold, hard people who lived in the village.
One afternoon by the lake as she read Ezekiel 3, the Lord spoke to her heart. "Ludmila, if you don't 'go now and speak to your countrymen', I will hold you personally accountable for their blood." The thought scared her so much that she began to read even louder. A little later, a local widow walked up on Ludmila and stopped to listen to her read. Ludmila asked the widow there if she had a Bible.
"No, they've never given me one," she replied. "No one has ever told me the story of God."
Then in tears, Ludmila asked if she could give her a Bible. The widow nodded, but said she couldn't read. So Ludmila offered to read it to her if she wanted, and the two became instant friends. They agreed to meet on Sunday at 12pm to read the Bible to her under a tree between their houses. Sunday morning came, and it was raining cats and dogs.
"My friend won't be there," thought Ludmila, but she decided to go check. Not only was the widow there, 5 other widows sat under the tree with her huddled under umbrellas. And at exactly 12pm, the rain stopped and the sun came out.
Ludmila spent the summer reading 1 John and Mark to these women, and 4 of them accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord. They met every Sunday at 12pm for Bible reading, prayer, fellowship, and ministry to each other all summer. The Lord never failed to give them dry weather, and one Sunday even blessed them with a rainbow to illustrate a lesson Ludmila was teaching.
One other woman joined them for their worship time, but returned early autumn to the city to her Russian Orthodox church. As Ludmila said goodbye to these women, she presented Maria, a widow who can read, as the new group leader. She will continue to read the Scriptures to the group. Although Alexander, Lumila's husband, had to work in the city all summer, he began to make regular visits to the village and share Christ with the men. Ludmila and Alexander are praying that the 5 women will be used to reach the rest of the village for Christ.
As she fought back tears one minute and shouted to the Lord with joy the next, Ludmila recounted her summer experience over a cup of tea in the home of Buck and Leslie Burch, IMB missionaries in Russia.
"Luda," Buck told her, "you are a true missionary! But only half your work is done. Now you have to tell your story to the church, so that others might hear God's call to become missionaries." The Burchs can see in both Luda's and Alexander's eyes how God has changed them. They are more bold, more believing, and still available to God's movement -- no matter what "Path" it may take them down.