Battle on Through Prayer

March 24, 2005

The battle rages on. God has gripped my heart thoroughly these last few weeks and my time in His word and in prayer has been sweet. Around me the battle rages on in the lives of many dear friends and other missionaries. My desire is call upon those prayer warriors who have years of intercessory experience. Tuesday was an especially difficult day. We received two calls. One telling us our landlord had been killed and money and apartment documents stolen from him. He was a gentle young man, whose soft spoken voice will be greatly missed. My instructions from Aaron – Don’t open the door to anyone you don’t know, ever! Our names and address were on the apartment documents taken, as well as how much we pay a month in rent. The second call came minutes later when a close YWAM missionary friend called to tell us that his fanny pack with his family’s passports, car documents, credit cards and money for the base ministries was stolen. Because his license was in there as well, he will not be able to drive his family of four, and the cost to reregister the car, get new visas and passports for the family, etc is well beyond their budget. He saw the men who stole it get into a Mercedes Benz and drive off. This family has been hit especially hard the last few months as they have decided to take on the YWAM base leadership here in St. Petersburg. The enemy loves to attack those who step out for the Lord.

Our third prayer request is for a Baptist pastor and his wife who have served for 17 years in the former Soviet Union. They have been forced to leave the mission field due to his serious health problems - a direct result of stress in his life. Currently, one of their Russian neighbors is filing a suit against them for supposed damage done to her ceiling during remodeling of their apartment. They offered to repair the cracks in her ceiling which could have happened long before their remodel job, but she is insisting on $20,000 compensation, 10 times the actual cost of a high quality repair job. The husband is with the children in the states while the wife is here alone packing up and getting ready to leave. 7 men showed up at her apartment last Thursday to “arrest” her furniture (meaning she could not sell or give it away) and told her she could not leave the country till the court decision was made – a decision that could take years. A local member of their congregation stepped in and took responsibility on behalf of the missionary family. Please pray for peace for this family as well as justice done in this court decision. Many times judges here base their decision on the size of the bribe offered by one or the other party. And pray for Kathy, the wife as she is especially vulnerable in this time of being alone while her family is home in the U.S. It has been an emotional and difficult time for her to be solely responsible for packing and selling 7 years worth of living memories.

For those of you who don’t know, we bought a van which was promptly impounded two days after Aaron started driving it. Evidently the law was changed the first of this year and not all the documents were in perfect order, so the road police, who pull over people randomly looking for bribes, took our car. At least this officer was honest enough to admit to Aaron that he gets a cut of the impound fee from the towing company for impounding cars. We got a chuckle out of that honest crook. After 300 dollars in fees and a change of ownership documents we finally got our van back. Lo and behold the same officer pulled Aaron over again (most likely hoping he hadn’t done everything correctly) but all our papers were in order and he was forced to let Aaron go. Now however, we are struggling with a huge problem with the intake manifold which will cost close to $2000 to fix (a third of the value of the car). Our car is a rare breed (Estima/Enima), made in Japan for driving in Japan, and the parts are horrendously expensive. Of course the labor isn’t cheap either. The advice from the repair shop, sell the car and don’t tell the new owners what the problem is. Of course this is not an option for us, so pray that we will be able to find the part in Finland when we leave to give birth to our second child. In the mean time, we are only burning half our diesel and leaving the rest in a cloud of black smoke behind us. Who would have thought car ownership could be such a burden here.

Wow it sounds like life is depressing for us here, but in truth we are truly blessed, and the Lord has been working in our lives and in our hearts. We have an opportunity to start a pastoral ministry for the YWAM base here, a much needed service, and we have become coordinators for the worship ministry at our church. Timothy and I have started daily devotions and are having great fun learning about creation, drawing, coloring, and cutting included. He is growing in leaps and bounds and at 2 years 3 months is adding words daily to his vocabulary. The difficult part is figuring out if they are in Russian or English, or just his own Baby talk. Mom is getting to be a pretty good interpreter! We wait with joy for our little girl, and are slowly accumulating a few pink outfits, bows included.


To my dear sisters who have written and called I want to thank you for your intersession on my behalf. I have felt the prayers in my life and my spirit is being renewed every day as I come into the presence of the Lord. He is amazingly good and merciful.

We love you and look forward to seeing you this fall.

Ramona, Aaron, Timothy, and Baby Girl Bogott

Christmas in Norway

January 2, 2005

So much to write about, so little time to write! I sit here, my tummy getting bigger as baby Bogott grows and grows and grows. Three more months and a new little one will join the Bogott generations. Although the doctor tells us he is 99% sure this one is a girl, we haven’t bought anything pink yet. Grandma B. was ahead of us in that one. Names? This time is much more difficult for some reason. Aaron keeps coming up with such silliness as Penelope, Buttercup, and Chiquita!?!? Timothy just pats my tummy and says “La, la”, (the Russian diminutive for infant) or “Baby”. Maybe we should just name her Abigail La Chiquita Bogott, and then we can all be happy :). We are all looking foreword to her arrival with great joy and expectation, well mom and dad at least are. I don’t think Tim understands what momentous change is about to hit his centered little world in about 3 months time. His only concession to change is sitting next to mommy when she reads him a book, rather than on my lap as room is running out. My heart’s desire is to not loose track of those precious moments together in the crazy busyness of caring for a newborn. He is such a precious joy to me and our “snuggle” times are some of my favorite moments during the day.

Timothy wailed in fear and clung to Papa as our plane lifted off for the beginning of our Norway Christmas adventure. My spirits rose with the craft as we left the dark weather and dirty streets of St Petersburg behind us. Thoughts of Christmas with loved ones in a land that actually celebrates the birth of Jesus filled my mind. Mom and Dad Bogott gave us the lovely gift of celebrating Christmas in Norway by paying for three round trip tickets to meet them and Amy and Jon in this land of the Fjords and mountains. Included were a trip to the lovely town of Bergen and a small trip through the mountains and Fjords called “Norway in a Nutshell”

We were met in Oslo by a young University student who offered us beds for the night. Her hospitality and graciousness was a huge testimony of God’s love to us. And then it was off to meet the family at the airport the next day! Aaron and Timothy went to the airport to meet Grandpa and Grandma and Auntie Amy. On their return, Tim promptly went to sleep and woke up feverish and vomiting. For the next five days he struggled with vomiting and diarrhea as we traveled from one part of this lovely country to the next. The worst day was in the charming bed and breakfast in Bergen, where he vomited profusely all over their antique rugs, down comforters, and feather pillows in a record six upheavals. Our dear hostess kept bringing in towel after towel as we attempted to protect their furniture and bed from his sudden upchucks.




Through the upset stomachs, diarrhea, vomiting and colds, we had a wonderful time and Christmas in Norway!!! A family who gets sick together sticks together. Luckily, not everyone was sick at the same time and we saved a lot of money on food as no one really had an appetite the final week of our trip. Some of the highlights…There was waking up on Christmas morn to the beautiful sight of soft falling snow with several inches already on the ground. The sweet smell of flavored coffee greeting us in the morning, coupled by beautiful surroundings and a quiet so peaceful, I forgot what it was like to live off a busy street. The towering snow clad cliffs on either side of us as we made our way up the Fjord to catch a mountain train back down to Oslo. There were candles in the windows of every home; music played in the stores, smiles on faces all around us. Donna and I browsed the bookshops, looked longingly at the candles and decorations and kept our money firmly in our pockets due to the extravagant prices of everything we saw. And last but not least, Timothy learned how to say AAAMEEE in reply to his coaching aunt. He now repeats it over and over when asked. These are memories I will treasure, holding them closely in my heart.

God has given us an incredible gift in the form of His Son. He has also given us families who know and love Him … a rich heritage of righteousness upon which to build. Both Aaron and I have had the privilege of growing up being instructed in God’s word, learning at an early age the love which God has for us. It is now our responsibility to pass that knowledge and love on to our children. This is where peace is, this is where the blessing flows. May all of you find peace and rich blessing in this coming year. You will find it in the presence of God, in the shadow of His wings.

Much love to all of you!!!!

Sister & Sun

November 11, 2004

Smiles, hugs, long conversations, good food, and great fellowship, our time with my sister Rebecca was truly precious in every way. Even to have a sister here for a long period of time was such a blessing for me. The hardest part of living in Russia is the lack of close fellowship with family. Sometimes I look out my window at the gray sky and darkening days and I wish I were back home where life and laughter and loved ones abound. But God has a purpose for us here and until that purpose is finished we will stay. During her time here, it was wonderful to see Russia through the eyes of a newcomer. Sometimes I forget how different the culture and living conditions are here as opposed to other places. Let me give you a short example of her letters home…

… Now let me say more about toilets. This must be the only place on earth where one PAYS to use a public restroom. Yep, 25 cents for the privilege of comfort, and you don't dare sit on the seat (please don't ask for details) And you bring your own tissue, always, when out on the town, because it ain't always supplied even for the 25 cents. I used one port-a-potty perched happily on a downtown street, on other occasions we were at a restaurant so a potty was available there. Life is topsy turvy here...one public park bathroom stood out for its amazing cleanliness and pretty tile work, but the toilets at church, which gathers in a rented theater, were so foul you want to close your eyes and plug your nose, but of course you can't, because all energy is focused on squatting just so, and finding the tissue in your pocket and not letting your skirt touch ANYTHING in the tiny, damp closet of a bathroom. I strongly suspect the natives go around dehydrated to avoid the NEED for potties in public places…

I had a wonderful laugh at that one!

We hit all the highlights of Russian culture including the palaces, the Hermitage, the ballet, and the Russian Art museum. Everywhere we went I learned more about Russian toilets through the comments and laughter of my sister. Thank goodness I didn’t take her to the holes in the floor at the major train stations which serve as toilets there.

Please pray for my sister as she is currently battling breast cancer. She returned from Russia to learn that a lump in her breast was cancerous. I believe that the prayers of God’s family are 100% more effective than all the treatments our medical community can offer.

Sunshine, palm trees, and clear blue water. Aaron and Timothy and I took our first vacation as a family and flew to the warm Egyptian shores of the Red Sea. Air temperatures stayed in the 80s and Water temperatures in the 70s. Coming from the cold north it was funny to see a plane-full of frozen northerners stagger out into the desert heat of the far south, coats over arms, eyes squinting in the brilliant sunlight, boots and long sleeved shirts out of place in this sudden summer. Plane after plane was landing from all over Europe unloading hundreds of passengers into a tiny airport where tour guides were shouting frantically to attract the attention of those who were to join them for a trip to their specific hotels. After an hour and a half wait in the long line through Passport Control, we were loaded on busses and made our way with much honking and crazy driving to our beautiful glass fronted hotel. With three swimming pools and terraced levels the grounds of this 4+ star resort were absolutely stunning. And the service was hard to describe. Every day our cleaning man (only men work in the hotel for both cultural as well as religious reasons) would leave a beautiful sculpture made out of our towels and lovely blossoms of every color.



And then to the beaches and the warm warm water. Fish of every hue, size and species swarmed the coral reefs of this lovely town. With snorkel gear in hand, Aaron and I took turns for several hours a day exploring the rich world of a tropical coral reef. Timothy played in the sand and surf, chasing the occasional white heron which would land nearby looking for smaller fish swimming close to shore. We built sand castles, ate falafels from a nearby cafe, and strolled the walking streets lined with shops. With Timothy’s blond hair and blue eyes, we were an attraction for every passing Egyptian. With grins and whistles they would lift our startled son into the air, kissing him on the cheeks, exclaiming over and over how beautiful he was. It was a contest for the staff at our hotel to see who could make him smile or laugh the most. They would dance in front of his highchair at dinner, blow him kisses across the dinning room, and the chief chef would make a mad dash from the kitchen every time he heard Tim’s voice, to kiss and hug him.

All in all it was a lovely 10 days of relaxation and fellowship as a family.
May there be more to come!

Blessings to all of you and may you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.