“Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.’” (Acts 15:36 NIV)
On our last mission trip to Ukraine this past October, we had a joyful visit with the staff at East European Missions in Donetsk. We had an exciting experience as the director of this office helped us with Russian language Bibles and religious literature for Magadan. It is very difficult to obtain Bibles in Magadan due to the remoteness of the city. It is not accessible by (Photo: Magadan, Russia Regional Government Building)
train, which is the cheapest method of shipping between other major cities in Russia and Ukraine. The staff even helped us take the boxes up to the nearby Post Office when they figured out that we arrived at their facility by bus and would have to hire a taxi to take the boxes. Not only that, but we had help in getting them shipped. It was a further joyful occasion when we were in Magadan and we would receive a notification that the boxes had arrived.
In the past I have written about how difficult it is for foreign religious workers to reside long term in Russia. Nowadays, we are able to obtain a visa for staying in Russia for three months. The two cities we need to visit in Russia are thousands of miles apart. Magadan is in the northern Far East, and Inta is located in the Komi Republic up on the west side of the Ural Mountains and near the Arctic Circle. Galina and I are richly blessed that the Dalraida Church of Christ is the sponsoring church for our mission work. This makes it possible for us to be gone for long periods. When I was the local preacher in Cedar Key, Florida we would take mission trips lasting 2 – 3 weeks. Due to the great amount of time eaten up with travel, we lost much valuable time with the churches in Russia and Ukraine. The brethren at Cedar Key were kind to allow us to be gone, and sometimes a few of the men would look after part of my duties. However, we did not feel good about this and that is why we left them so they could have a preacher that would give them the full-time that I had given them for over six years.
One nearly hair-pulling portion of the travel preparation process involves gathering all the necessary documents that are required before leaving our country, and before entering another country. Entry and Exit documents are very important, and if our travel documents are not all in order, we could be turned around - even though we have already paid dearly for the airline and train tickets.
Before going abroad, it is usually necessary to have a Passport that identifies you as a citizen of the United States. It has always been a source of amazement whenever I hear of many Americans who have lived almost their entire lives without even thinking about a passport. Apparently, many people in this country do not have any desire to leave its borders. Far off places like Japan, Mongolia, Chile, Zimbabwe, Mumbai, Timbuktu, or Siberia remain a fuzzy part of what they have learned in literature or watched in a video or movie. Without much doubt, perhaps one major benefit of going abroad is the homecoming. You see it written all over the faces of people as they quickly exit the plane and stand on home territory with a sense of joyful relief.
A little friendly word of advice, get a Passport. You never know when you will be invited to accompany a missionary on a trip. Without this, many countries will not allow you across their border. In addition, many countries also require that U.S. citizens have a visa issued by the host country. The visa, when approved by the Consular Affairs office of the country you want to visit, is affixed onto one of the blank pages of your Passport. The airlines and airport security police will want you to prove that you have proper travel documents before boarding the aircraft.
Presently, our dear brothers and sisters in Magadan are working with the local police of that city to issue us an invitation to visit Russia as religious workers. We have been coming to Russia this way for several years. The process requires much attention to detail since immigration authorities in all countries regularly reject an application due to the slightest mistake on the paperwork. This is especially true when it involves missionaries from foreign countries. We are pleased that we are apparently on good grounds with those authorities in Magadan. Olga has already made a couple of visits to that office. Ivan and Vasily are working on the required annual registration of the church. All this must be in order before we can receive this invitation. When we receive this letter from Magadan, we can then apply for our visas at the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC.
Slavic people from countries like Russia and Ukraine for example, have a habit of sitting down on their travel bags before leaving the house or hotel room. This pause is an almost untimely interruption in the rush to arrive at the airport on time. The taxi driver, family or friends are waiting to carry your luggage to the car or bus. This old tradition may be steeped in some ancient superstition, nevertheless it is a convenient time to stop and make certain that you have your Tickets, Passport, Driver License, travel itinerary, money, credit cards, prescription medicines, along with every document, bag, purse or briefcase you intended to have with you when you arrive at your destination several thousand miles away. Just to make certain that we are not being superstitious; we have gotten into the habit of using this brief time before departure to say our prayers.
Soon, perhaps very soon, whether we have made any preparations or not, we must all take a journey across a wide ocean from which there is no possibility to return. When I say “we”, this is a reference to our souls that all come from God, the wise and beneficent Father in Heaven. In the first chapters of the first book of the Bible, we learn from this God-given book that our human ancestors did not appear upon the earth by accident. Like everything else that exists, the great and invisible God created the first human beings. God gave our first parents a living soul. This soul is destined to live for all eternity. The earth and everything consisting of the various created elements is atrophying at an alarming rate. Only God the Father knows the exact moment in the future when created life and all matter will cease to exist.
God looks down upon humanity with powerful compassion. Before Creation, by His love God devised a plan that makes it possible for sinful man to cross over that great divide and enter into the blissful paradise. Before entering into that eternal home, we must be prepared to prove that we are worthy of eternal life. In spite of all the laughable stories of the proverbial St. Peter standing at the “pearly gates,” I am not aware of such a doctrine anywhere in the scriptures. There is only One who can open that door or keep it closed. The Son of God came to bring Gods’ dazzling light of truth to this dark world. Jesus said: “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.” (John 12:47-48 NIV)
The fate of our eternal soul lies within our own free will to follow Jesus Christ as Lord of Heaven and Earth. He will lead us safely Home into a place from which we will never desire to leave. We will be home at last!
David Binkley, Sr., evangelist
RUSSIAN UKRAINE GOSPEL MISSION
8116 Ansley Trace
Montgomery, AL 36117
Sponsoring church:
DALRAIDA CHURCH OF CHRIST
3740 Atlanta Highway
Montgomery, AL 36109
Then Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (John 6:35)
