September 9, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

The summer is officially over here in Russia. September 1 marks the first day back to school and the beginning of fall. It has been a wonderful summer, but we are glad to be back in Moscow for the start of school and the beginning of the church year.

The Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy has been in the news quite a bit lately. We recently published our yearly Racial Task Force report, which was picked up by BBC, Reuters, NPR, and a number of other news outlets. We continue to get feedback and interest on our report, and we seem to be holding our breath hoping that there aren’t any serious repercussions from the authorities on this side of the pond. So far, so good, although a member of the task force did receive a threatening phone call. Please pray for Sydney, that God would protect him. He was involved in a number of the interviews with BBC.

If you wanted to find the links you can see them below or you can find a number of others on Facebook on the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy group page. I know you may be wondering what have we devolved to if we have to refer you to Facebook, but it is actually becoming a wonderful way to get the word out as far as what is happening at the Chaplaincy.  In case you’re not comfortable with Facebook, you might be interested in the BBC's story about the Racial Task Force Report or another BBC video report about a Russian citizen born in Guinea Bissau who is running for office. The story is called "Russia's Obama Defies Racists."  If you speak French, there's a good story in Le Monde. We expect there to be more press over these next few weeks, but we continue to pray for the safety of our members through all of this. We hope that little exposure will raise awareness of the problem and cause some substantive changes.

Our refugee resettlement program with the U.S. embassy has kicked into high gear. We had two more people who were accepted for resettlement and should be heading to the States in December. We will let you know about their location and any way in which you could potentially help as they get settled into their new country. Also, in June our administrative assistant, Arold, and her family won the green-card lottery and are now resettled in North Carolina. If you happen to live in that area it would be great if you could contact them just to see how they are doing and if they may need any help. They are originally from Madagascar and are a wonderful family. I am sure you will be blessed if you contact them. The name is Arold Rixilia Rambeloarisoa  and the email is: miorarold@mail.ru.

Along those lines, Rony Kumi, who was our faithful organizer and overseer of all of the programs that came out of our parish center (medical clinic, English, Russian, and computer classes, task force, etc.) now finds himself in Chicago. We are not sure for how long, but he would also appreciate some connection with people who may be interested in assisting him in his journey. His email is ronkum2@yahoo.com. These are just some tangible ways in which you may be able to help those who have lived in the closest thing to “hell” imaginable and have survived and are now looking for a better life.

The medical clinic continues to be blessed with daily miracles. An average of over 20 people come to the clinic every Tuesday and Thursday. The need is great. I just received a Facebook message that may launch us into an initiative to open a hospital on the outskirts of Moscow that would treat anyone and everyone. We are in the dreaming stage right now, but there is a fine line between dreams and visions.

Our present vision is to open up an overnight emergency shelter. Pray that God would provide the wisdom to implement this shelter in such a way that people of color could come and stay safely overnight. We sent two of our members to Washington D.C. this summer to attend a conference on homelessness so that they could come back with a little more knowledge. We thank the U.S. embassy here in Moscow for their visa support and for their continual support for the idea of the shelter. Speaking of the U.S. embassy, through the Department of Energy they donated a used Toyota Land Cruiser for our ministries.  It was much needed and as of last week we have been able to drive it legally! We are so grateful for our relationship with the embassy and the diplomats here in Moscow.

What about the church? You can never tell what it is going to be like from one year to next. Last summer after a huge May we left for the States, and I came back in July to a nearly empty church. I almost expected the same this summer, but thankfully, that didn’t materialize. The church remained full, and last Sunday we had to use all three trays for Communion. That usually only happens on Easter. It seems that people are recognizing and appreciating the diversity and uniqueness of MPC. We continue to have Bible studies in many different locations around Moscow. Someone said if he won’t come to the mountain then move the mountain.

The Sunday school classes have welcomed many new children, and the school year has just begun. We’ve begun a whole series of events around Moscow for middle- and senior-high-school kids that begin on September 19. Please keep that day in your prayers as we look to kick off opportunities for youth to get plugged in while living in a city that can be very isolating. We really feel as if this year is going to be an extraordinary year on just about every front. As we step back and look at the church, it is a bit overwhelming to realize that we now have 22 paid staff and a whole army of volunteers who help out in over a dozen programs. It was really encouraging that we were gone for seven weeks this summer and the church continued as if it didn’t even notice our absence. Now that is a good feeling!

The family spent much of the summer in Olympia, Washington, which was a real treat for everyone.

Rachel had an awesome experience this past summer with MPC’s youth group on Mission 2009: Naples, Italy. You can see and read about some of their experiences on the blog they kept. It is a really worthwhile read and has some great pictures. Bob and Rachel had an eight-hour layover flying back to Seattle and were able to meet a member of MPC in London and see the city before heading to the West Coast. Rachel went to tennis camp for a week and is really coming into her own on the court. She is glad to be back in Moscow, working hard at school, spending time with her friends, and playing on the soccer team.

At the end of last school year Naomi helped her fifth-grade class make the goal of reading over 800 books by reading over 100 by herself. She was ecstatic to get back to Washington to run around in the woods, play on the beach, and spend time with her cousins. She started off sixth grade by winning a class election to become one of the two sixth-grade students in the school council. She is looking forward to an exciting year.

Bethany was also glad to get to Washington. After receiving many awards in school last year, she was happy to take a break.  With the new pair of rubber boots she got for her birthday, she became the master blueberry picker and helped fill the Bronkema freezer with berries. She also did tennis camp and enjoyed it.

We continue to be amazed by God’s providence. While our personal funding is complete, and we thank you for your generous giving, please do not hesitate to think about giving to MPC and its work directly online by clicking the "give" button at the bottom of the page.

We remain your servants in Christ,

The Bronkema family

The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 177