Homecomings

We made it safe and sound all 13 hours of flying. I got no sleep on the way over but the kids and my husband did. We are flying home to be with my sister, Rabecca, for several weeks who has been diagnosed with terminal bone cancer.

It is awesome being with family again. My family is large. With seven of us and our children things can be a little crazy. When we get together it is absolute mayhem - but a fun mayhem nonetheless. Kids and babies everywhere, adults trying to talk - my papa who is mostly deaf just sits and takes it all in, looking with love over his large clan. We chat, laugh, play games, go for hikes in the mountains, go skiing, golf in the Columbia River Gorge, watch movies with all the girls crying at the sad ones while the guys pass the tissues and laugh at us. Fellowship is sweet as is God’s presence in our midst.


I glance at my sister, not wanting to go. Tears come as I gently take her hand. Today is the hardest goodbye I will ever have to say. I may not see her alive again as cancer ravages her body.

She is frail now, finding it hard to even stand, unable to eat for weeks due to unrelenting nausea. I remember her whole and healthy leading the way on our long mountain hikes, water bottle in hand eager to see what is around the next bend in the trail.

She bows her head matching tears making a wet path down her own cheeks. "You'll come if things go bad quickly?" She pleads in a quiet voice. I want to grab her and hold her close in a tight hug, but even touching her hurts her bones and every move I make has to be gentle and slow.

"I'll be on the first plane out" my voice catches as I promise to come for her death. We sit there quietly heads bowed, hearts heavy. I know thousands suffer from diseases such as this, but this is my sister and if only I could take some of her pain on myself, I would do so in an instant. "This isn't goodbye," I whisper, "only a see you later, in this life or the next". She smiles up at me, her dark curly hair a halo around her pale face.

"I know" she whispers back.

Becky, I love you, you will always be my hero! God is your strength and refuge!

With Love

Ramona!

Go Go Batmobile...

I sink lower in my seat trying not to be seen by the passing people or cars. “Go go bat mobile smoke screen”. Aaron yells as we take off in a cloud of billowing black smoke. The car behind us sits for a second or so in stunned immobility as our lovely diesel van leaves no visibility for the next 100 yards or so. The traffic policeman in the intersection rotates to watch us pass his mouth open, a look of astonishment on his face. “You know we are the reason Russia cannot pass its clean air act”, Aaron continues to crack jokes. I slide lower in my seat. “Oh man, look at that guy.” A poor smoker frantically roles up his window as we pull even, our smoke catching up with us as the wind blows it foreword and rolls it into the crowd crossing the street in front of us.

“Dear God” I pray, “please perform a miracle on our poor car and heal it of this disease”. Pedestrians cover their noses with scarves or sleeves as they pass and stare at me, sitting in what should be the driver’s seat because our car is a right sided steering model from Japan. ‘This must be God’s answer to keep us humble’, I think as I turn to fiddle with something, anything. “Let’s take public transport next time” I suggest helpfully. Aaron nods his head abstractedly, glancing in the rear view mirror.

“Well no one will rear end us in this vehicle” he comments “they have to stay so far back just to be able to see the road.” I peer back through our smoke cloud and see the cars trailing far behind, an almost unseen event in Russia. Suddenly the humor of the situation hits us and we start laughing.

Our car, the thorn in our flesh, has spent more times in the shop than out, giving us one trial after the other. Bills continue to mount as we and our mechanic try one thing after the other to find the problem and fix it. To date we have probably spent over half of what we bought it for in trying to repair it. It currently sits on a road on the way to Aaron’s work where it broke down once again. Our desire is to get it in running condition and then sell it to someone who loves to fix cars for a very low price, just to get it off our hands. But we can’t even get it running, so it sits, deserted, lonely, cold, and we continue to pack up the two kids, with all our stuff and go by public transport to various destinations. Every time I think about it, my heart aches for Aaron because he has to deal with the situations that arise. But God is faithful, His ways are not our own. He can even use a car to teach us.

I have started back at work at the International Clinic and Hospital MEDEM. I spoke with the Director and he has agreed to start a fund for needy people instead of paying a salary to me. I decided that whatever money I might make at this job would be used to bless and benefit others in need. He was so shocked by my suggestion of starting this fund that he asked if others could donate to it. Smiling, I quickly agreed. My hope is to find individuals who cannot pay for an operation, or medical treatment, and use the clinic to treat them, paying their way using money from the fund. As MEDEM is one of the best clinics/hospitals in the city I want to see it used to bless and serve those who are less fortunate than others.

I start a medical terminology class next week with a group of 11 doctors and nurses. That is all I can allow in the class at this time as it is difficult to teach a larger group. There are over 300 staff working at MEDEM with 150 of them being medical, all in sore need of English language training. Another nurse from the States is joining me in teaching these classes (also a missionary). Please pray for us as we work in this secular field that God can use us to touch and minister to the lives of many.

We had a lovely New Year’s party with the YWAM staff. I found the last turkey in our local grocery store, almost had to fight off another shopper for it, and we had roast turkey and stuffing for dinner that night. Several of the Russian staff had never eaten turkey in their life, so it was a culinary experience for them. I made fudge and the rest brought Russian salads. We ate from 8 in the evening until close to midnight, a very Russian tradition, and then everyone (except for us and the base leaders) went out walking until morning. Fireworks from the neighborhood parties stopped around 4 am when Aaron and I went to bed. It’s amazing the kinds of fireworks you can buy here. Some of them should only be lit by professionals, but you have groups of drunk men lighting these massive four feet rockets from the streets below our balcony. I’m surprised more people aren’t seriously injured by the amount of explosive material being lit on New Years morn. Our windows were rattling from the blasts as one group after another made their way out onto the street to set off their noisemakers and rockets. Fun fun fun !

Blessings to all of you in this coming year.

Aaron, Ramona, Timothy, and Abigail

Pastoral Care & Pastoral Scenes

October 21, 2005

Warm smells of pizza waft into the room as we chat about light topics ranging from my first (and last) experience drinking Vodka in my ignorant innocence on my first trip to Russia, to the strange way YWAM has of sending people off on trains into the unknown with someone to meet them on the other end who has never set eyes on them before. In this case a family coming to St. Petersburg from Moscow and being met by a girl who has no idea as to which train they are on let alone the wagon they are in and she has never seen them before – the only info, a 5 am train arriving from Moscow. I laugh as I remember my own YWAM experience of getting placed on a train with two drunken men in my compartment on an 18 hour ride to the Ukraine from southern Russia. The man who was supposed to meet me thought I was coming the next day and I sat for several anxious hours until some passing students helped me contact him.

We are meeting with the YWAM staff of St Petersburg, praying with them and sharing our vision for the new pastoral care ministry we have taken on for the base. Our hearts are to see this base covered in prayer, to see an unusual unity among the staff, and to see the churches in the city become more involved in missions. There is so much fear in the hearts of many pastors here. They believe that to send someone out means that the church will loose their potential talents for themselves, when in truth the church should be eagerly sending out missionaries to fulfill the great commission! Many of these churches were planted by people called by God to cross oceans to preach the good news of the gospel, how can they not desire to continue that commission? If only they could see the immense blessing the Lord pours out on churches that are active in sending others. My heart breaks to see this spirit of fear and control so active in the churches here.

So with hearts full of God’s calling and purpose we have become intercessors for this city, for the base, and for individuals God has brought into our lives.

A praise report! The wife of the YWAM base leader was having complications with her pregnancy and ended up in the hospital with her placenta separating from the wall of the womb. Doctors feared she was close to miscarrying and placed her on medication to stop the uterus from contracting as well as bed rest. We began to pray intensely upon receiving the call from her husband. Two days after being released home on bed rest she came in for a follow up ultrasound and the placenta had reattached itself to the wall and was almost completely healed. The doctors were amazed at this miraculous recovery. I was not. Some of the prayers I prayed were “Lord, You are the Healer, Creator, take this placenta and stitch it back into the womb.” Although she is still on bed rest for another two weeks, we are looking for a complete recovery and the birth of a lovely child in six months time.

I glance around at the beautiful chaos that surrounds me, children laughing, five or more conversations going on in different parts of the room. I study faces I have not seen for years, my mind trying to memorize features of children now on the brim of adulthood. Where has the time gone? Not long ago, I was one of these laughing dancing children, wondering when the adults would be done eating so I could go outside and play. Now I’m an aunt many times over and even a great aunt to a child of my oldest niece. Personally I don’t think you should be allowed the title “great” anything until you are over the age of 40. Aye aye aye!

The time home with my family was lovely. Not only the faces, but the surroundings ministered to my soul. The peace of Silver Star Ranch and the surrounding mountains and valleys called out the name of my Creator. Crisp nights where a myriad stars shone as only they can shine miles from any city or town. The haunting call of the coyotes put me to bed at night and the sweet sound of birdsong woke me in the morning, that or my son bouncing on the bed shouting “Getupgetupgetup”.

Midway through the trip I came down with pneumonia which, as a typical nurse, I did not have checked out for close to a weak. We are renowned for self treatment therapy (i.e. Cough syrup and 1000mg of Tylenol every 4hrs). I also did not sleep for that week as I was up coughing all night and ended up sleeping in a lounge chair to help me breathe. After temps ranging from 102 to 104.2 F for more than a week, I decided it would be best to get a second opinion (the first doctor said I had a viral infection). I was promptly diagnosed with pneumonia and placed on antibiotics which lo and behold actually worked. Strange that. What hit me the hardest, once I returned home to St. Petersburg, was the fact that during almost half of my 26 days in the States, I was miserably sick and unable to function properly or even visit with others without feeling miserable. I had a good cry and let God know my disappointment and things were suddenly better with my heart. I cherish the memories there and look foreword to returning to my family in a better state of health next time around.

To all you at home and abroad we send our love and blessings.

Aaron, Ramona, Timothy and Abigail