Last evening we enjoyed a delicious pot-luck meal and had the opportunity to welcome home Terry and Lisa Harmon who have spent the last three years doing mission work in Moscow. I also had lunch with Terry and got to talk with him about their experiences of living and serving the Lord in Moscow. All of this has reminded me of how fortunate we are in so many ways.

First, I feel fortunate to be a part of this congregation. I appreciate the many who came last night to express their appreciation to Terry and Lisa and thank them for their good work in Russia and their willingness to spend that part of their lives sharing the gospel with some of the people who have been denied that privilege for so many years. We are fortunate to have a group of people here at Netherwood, our missions committee, who have done a wonderful job of keeping in touch with the Harmons and encouraging them in their work. Terry expressed his gratitude for the McNicols, the Johnsons and all the others on our missions committee, and our whole congregation, for all the ways we supported them in their work in Moscow.

Second, we are all fortunate to live in the United States of America and to enjoy the freedoms we have as citizens of this country. Russia is a country in turmoil. Communism has done untold damage to the citizens of the former Soviet Union. Terry told us of how difficult life is for the Russian people. So many of the comforts and even necessities of life that we take for granted are either not available to them or very difficult and expensive to obtain. People living in the large cities like Moscow must spend something like six hours a day just to obtain things like the food they eat. They often have to stand in many lines and travel long distances to buy something we could run down to our local supermarket or convenience store and get in five minutes. Clothes and other consumer items are very expensive and of poor quality. People in service industries, like waiters and waitresses, are often rude and provide poor service. Terry was almost shocked at our waitress at lunch yesterday. She actually smiled and provided good service!

Their way of life has made most Russian people, at least in Moscow, rude and aggressive. To live there you must imitate much of their aggressiveness or you will not survive. This would be very difficult to deal with for a Christian who has been taught to treat others with kindness and gentleness!

Many of the Russian people have an interest in spiritual matters, but their interests take vastly different directions. Many of them have an interest in knowing about God (or a "god"), but find it difficult to know whom to trust to find truth about God. We need to keep Russian Christians in our prayers as well as those still in Moscow (like the Brinleys and Jacksons) who continue to proclaim Christ. Let’s thank God for the blessings and privileges we have as Americans and do all we can to encourage people in other lands to come to a knowledge of Jesus Christ and salvation in Him.

-- Wayne Sharp