United Methodists from Austin, Texas were also in worship, having just arrived for a mission trip to several orphanages. The Rev. Irina Margulis preached on Jacob wrestling with the angel. Jacob, and we and the church tend to live in comfort, she said. But when we move to the margins, crossing borders into unknown lands and situations, something new happens to us. God works in new ways when we change our point of view, she said. “We may find ourselves wounded, but we also discover a new names, new lives and ultimately a new world.”

In the afternoon, some of the group visited the Hermitage Museum, which features more than 3 million works of art. It is located in the former Winter Palace, home of Russia’s emperors.

Among the highlights of the tour was Rembrandt’s painting of the Return of the Prodigal Son, created in 1668.  The painting, critics say, is “endowed with the sense of great tragedy elevated to a symbol of universal significance. Complex emotions are expressed in the figure of the bent old man and his suffering, kneeling son: repentance and charity, boundless love and regret at the belated spiritual awakening.” It is simply beautiful – a biblical story made masterpiece.

All that was left was farewells to Russia – and the knowledge that United Methodists in the Baltimore-Washington Conference has embarked on partnership with people who are seeking our prayers and resources to assist them in creating disciples to transform the world. Our faiths combined have limitless potential to glorify God.

Dag Hammarskjold, the Swedish diplomat, had a prayer that summed up the trip and the partnership: “For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes.” Amen.

Now called St. Petersburg, the city of Leningrad was under siege by the Germans for 900 days in World War II.

Toward the end, the residents resorted to cannibalism and bodies were piled in the streets. Documentary footage at the memorial shows images of an old woman trudging through the snow, lugging the body of a loved one on a sled.

For their survival, Leningrad was named one of Russia’s “Hero Cities.” But the horror lived out beneath that designation defies imagination. It also lends itself to tremendous courage and points to the resilence of the human spirit.

In the midst of the slaughter and vast deprivation, Igor Stravinski paid homage to this human spirit by writing a symphony. Musicians, some who could barely hold their instruments, played the piece, which was broadcast to the Germans and to the world beyond. Good deeds.

This same day, the group also visited the palace of Catherine the Great with its magnificent Amber Room. Opulence abounds and visitors are pulled into the world of this woman ruler who ushered in an age of enlightenment in Russia.

The itinerary also included a trip to Bethany UMC, which is building a new church in the town of Pushkin and the day ended with a boat ride down the Neva River.  The arc of a perfect rainbow appeared in the sky as we walked down the streets to the hostel. It was a benediction.

The 40 children moved into the public school building, living on cots in geography and science classrooms, under portraits of explorers and the Periodic Table of elements. During the day they did sports, made crafts, had Bible study and worshipped in the evening.

“This is called Camp Spring,” Landorf said to the 10 Americans who visited her in Zhitkovo, near Finland. “Spring like the source of water; every child has a source of something good in them. We tap into the source of new life in every child.”

During the course of the camp, the children gradually learn about God, the old, bad stuff is removed and we open them to the Holy Spirt and fill them with God and good things, said Landorf.

After a day of play and getting to know one another, at the evening worship service, some of the children came forward to hold a lit candle and pray for their families. They then sought the blessings of the BWC clergy, who laid hands on the children, one-by-one, claiming the children’s unique destinies for God.

The prayers were intense, transcending language barriers and some of the children got in several lines, eager to be blessed.

Landorf knew this would happen. Over the years, 170 children have come through the Spring Center. She marvels at what is possible when one relies on God.

Raised a Muslim, she was 35 years old before she had ever heard of Christ. Her child’s illness led her to God and to serving children. The United Methodists took in her and her flock when no one else would. “We are thankful for Methodist church; we learn from you to be a big family,” she said.

For Landorf, family has few boundaries. God gave her a gift to love all children, she said.

Recently, Grace UMC, the church Landorf pastors and the homeof Spring Center, was closed by the government, which denied the 45-member congregation permission to continue to rent their facility in St. Petersburg.

It is one of the city’s largest United Methodist churches and Landorf worries about the children who will be hurt if they cannot find a new space.

The Rev. Charles Harrell of Trinity UMC in Prince Frederick, assured her that “what God has started he will bring to a finish, and those words have brought her comfort,” she said. “I will keep loving God, and I will love these children. What else can I do?

The group stopped for a photo at the iconic Church on the Spilt Blood, with its multi-colored onion domes along the river. In 1881, revolutionaries threw a bomb at the carriage of Tsar Alexander II, who escaped uninjured. The Tsar went to help others affected by the blast and was killed by another bomb, thrown by an assassin. Ironically, when he died, unbeknownst to those seeking political freedom, Alexander had the draft of a constitution in his pocket.

We also visited the fortress and church of Saint Peter and Paul, where the city was founded, and the history of the nation’s leaders is told in the burial places of the its leaders, beginning with Peter the Great, who built the Russian empire, creating a national army and navy and launching extensive educational and culture reforms.

The tombs of the Nicolas and Alexandra Romanav family, the last tsarist family who were executed by a firing squad in 1918.

The shots that called the Russian people to revolution and signaled them to storm the winter palace, were fired at the fortress on Oct. 25, 1917. This movement ultimately brought Vladimir Lenin to power and launched the creation of the communist  state.

The same might be said of Russia. In fact, in 1939, when trying to predict how Russia might respond, Winston Churchill called the nation “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”

Russian poets understand this. One said, “Russia cannot be understood with the mind, nor can it be measured by a common yardstick. A special character she has. In Russia, one can only have faith.”

The depth of mystery that is Russia was reflected in the native art of the Tretyakov Gallery. Amid the centuries of art, is the work of the painter Ilya Repin. One of this most well-known works, painted in 1885, is titled “Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan.” The painting portrays events from 1581 and features the grief and madness of a father as he clutches his dead son in his arms.

Russian culture is also reflected in its ballet. Before bidding farewell to Moscow, we watched a production of the Nutcracker with its sugar plum fairies in swirling white tutus, rat kings and a dance of cultures. It was a world of fairy tale and imagination, with a dangerous undercurrent, all set to music and defined by beauty.

The day was spent at the Way of Salvation UMC with the Rev. Elena Kotelkina, superintendent of the Moscow North District, and pastors and laity of the Moscow churches.

After the bold and pioneering ministry of Voronezh, the spirit of Moscow was subdued. In recent years, six of the 12 United Methodist churches have closed. The reasons are varied, but, Kotelkina attributes the decline, in large part, to the pervasive influence of the Russian Orthodox church, which places significant roadblocks in the path of Protestants seeking to do ministry in Russia.

Kotelkina believes it is only a “heart to heart” approach that will bring people into church.

She has great hopes in pastors like the Rev. Alexander Bogdanev, whose name literally mean “gift from God.” As pastor of Sulanita church, which meets in his apartment, Bogdanev receives no salary. The churches of the Moscow district do not have partnership relationships to provide such assistance.

Bodanev explains that his mother was a pastor and he feels called to care for his mission field. “Our vision,” he said, “is to be a vision community that can
change the society. That is a prayer.”

On a tour of Voronezh, the Rev. Irina Mitina of Resurrection UMC showed the group the spot near Lenin’s Square where, when working as an interpreter 10 years ago, she gave her life to Christ and United Methodism was born in this
450-year-old city.

A modern-day Robert Strawbridge, the maverick who brought Methodism to Maryland, Mitiva cares most about being fully alive and creating a joyful and meaningful testimony to Christ’s love. This love pours from her torch-song voice, the radical care she shares with all she encounters and the boldness of her leadership.

Sharing the bus with Mitiva on the tour of the city was Katya Guseva, an interpreter from Peter and Paul UMC who is a theologically astute, intensely faithful leader of the district’s youth and young adults.

Guseva, who revels in the empowerment of lay people, recently led a leadership program for six youth. The principles she shared were simple, but life-changing. As the program progressed, these youth became mentors to teen orphans. The authorities of the orphanage never expected the program would work. But under Guseva’s care, the orphans and the youth blossomed. Like Francis Asbury, the first Methodist bishop in America, she believes in good plans tempered with grace.

These two women differ dramatically in their leadership and the expression of their faith, but they share a common bond in Christ and their differences are indicative of a diversity that will create a new flavor ofMethodism in Russia.

In the back seat of a small taxi, the Rev. David Simpson drove with the Rev. Galina Kolesnikova and interpreter Elena Kristina to the village of Latraya.

Simpson became emotional as he reflected on the day with Kolesnikova.  When he was growing up, he said, Khrushchev and Eisenhower were in power. The U.S. and the Soviet Union were adversaries. “How could I ever imagine this day would be possible in my life. I’ve spent most of my life in the Cold War. I lived through the Cuban missile crisis. But I’m persuaded this day is possible because somebody had a dream – they dreamed peace would prevail, they dreamed more about feeding our children than arming weapons.”

Simpson said that when he looks back on his life, preaching at Revival UMC would be one of the high points of his ministry and his life. The day was also a special one for Kolesnikova, who ten years before felt called to the village, where crime, alcoholism, drug addiction and poverty pose challenges. She and her husband Alexander looked at a small three room house in a small weedy field and saw a church. And so they began.

“God sent us into this place. I think God has a plan,” Kolesnikova said. “God does everything with our hands.” With the help of United Methodists from Mississippi, they’ve begun building a brick building and on Sunday, the 12-member congregation worshipped in the still unfinished space, sitting on benches made of logs and plywood, and giving thanks to God for dreams answers and those still undreamt.

Maria Konovalova, an old woman in a white head scarf who has believed in God even when the Communists told her God didn’t exist, was one of the first members of Revival.

“We need this church to gather together to speak about God, so God will be present here in our village and hear from our hearts,” she said. “This is God’s building and it won’t be empty.”

After blessing the new worship space, the congregation gathered in the yard under the apple trees. The men grilled pork kabobs over a fire while the women chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers fresh from the garden. Kolesnikova’s son played the guitar.

Sitting back content on a summer Sunday afternoon in Russia, Simpson smiled. “Miracles,” he said, “will happen here.”

Transfiguration UMC in the village of Novogremyachenskoe reflects the grace of God that shines through its pastors, the husband and wife clergy team of Tatyana Nazintseva and Vladimir Nazintsev. The pair lives with their three children and his mother in a modest home. Attached to the house is a worship center Vladimir and his son helped to build.

On Sunday mornings, the people crowd into the small, 16 square-meter room, and time flies as they praise God. Healing happens in this room as parishioners confront the challenges of their lives with faith and prayer. People also come to know the life-saving love of Christ, said Nazintsev, who was a well-known physicist before become a pastor.

Their home is a modest one. Receiving just $300 a month salary, Nazintseva grows a garden to help feed her family. With no indoor plumbing, the family and parishioners brave -30 degree temperatures in the winter to use the squat toilet in their backyard, where kittens are born on a regular basis.

But a portion of their income usually seems to find its way into caring for the village’s school children. Sacrificial giving comes as naturally to them as breathing.

But the congregation requires a house of worship, Nazintsev said. “I can say that for a Russian person, a church is always a building. In our village, if the church had a building, it would become the center of spiritual and cultural life in the village.”

Also on the church tour was Resurrection UMC, a three story building, which was bought in 2000 for $60,000. While it is still be renovated, the church has a hundred small touches, from framed calendar prints to beautifully tiled bathrooms, which reflect the spirit of Irina Mitova who even grouted the tile on the floor with her own fingers.

St. Peter and Paul, UMC, reflects the creative spirit of the congregation. The church started in 2000 and met in libraries and schools, but people kept asking them to leave. In 2004, Mary Wood, from Georgia, gave them enough money for a sanctuary. “It’s a slow, step-by-step process,” said the Rev. Igor Volvodov, in part, because the church is intent on spending its time and resources on starting new churches. It already has two daughter churches, and one of those in beginning a daughter church.  Today, St. Peter and Paul has “a door into the future,” and is well into a new building project to create a new sanctuary.

New Commandment UMC, the first church in Voronezh, is on the first floor of an older three story building. The rooms used to be a space where Communist party members met. To the church is plagued by financial problems, caused by having to replace sewage pipes, which run from the apartments upstairs and installing a mandatory fire response system. The basement of the church is home to a cat and her new kittens, whom the pastor now takes responsiblity for feeding.

In the village of Latraya, Revival UMC, has put up the walls of a new brick building, which was built, in part with assistance of United Methodists in Mississippi. The 12-member congregation continues to meet in one tiny room of the Rev. Galina Kolesnikova’s home.

An old icon hangs in the corner of the room, left by a previous owner. The contrast of the two spaces is dramatic. It points to a future the congregation has just begun to dream of.  “Step by step,” all of the pastors say. “Step by step church a Russian United Methodist church is being created in the Central Black Soil District.

In a series of cabins, a group of Greek Orthodox people were placing an icon on a wooden post of their meeting space. A woman expressed caution about allowing the United Methodists to speak to the children – leery that they might say inappropriate things. It’s a sign of their distrust. New religions are often seen as cults.

But Efremova, seemed happy they were there, renting the camp. It’s a small step in building bridges. Small steps are often the order of the day when one is creating a church in a nation where one’s very presence may feel suspect.

However, among the United Methodists there was little hesitation as Americans and Russians found themselves bound in common stories.

Masha Litvinenko shared how her near death experience drew her into a personal relationship with Christ. Later, her 3-year-old daughter had a similar experience. “It brought me to my knees for the first time in my life,” she said. She promised God that if her daughter lived, she would adopt and care for an unwanted child. Today, she has seven children.

Experience with St. Peter and Paul UMC in Voronezh inspired Litvinenko to create a church in her village of Ertil. She discovered a source  of free old bricks at a sugar factory, and together she and her family transported, by small carloads, 8,000 of them to their home, where they’ve built a small worship and prayer hall.

The Rev. Vladimir Popov of New Commandment UMC paced and gestured broadly when he shared the story of how his congregation is deepening their spirituality by devoting one and a half hours in the morning and the evening to prayer. He calls it “praying the tenth.”

“I can tell people about faith, but I don’t have need to convince them. God responds to their prayers and when simple believers experience this and witness to others it gives good results,” he said.

For example, after praying, three sisters in his congregation are going as missionaries to a church camp by the Black Sea. One is a pensioner and the other two have little money, but they’re covering their own expenses. “This is the beginning of a revival for our church,” Popov said.

These stories of witness were repeated throughout the day, as the groups from the BWC learned about the Rev. Igor Volovodav who once served, during the Communist regime, as an officer in his factory, in charge of “proving atheism.” His investigation to refute faith led him to believe in Christ.

They heard about the ministries of the Rev. Galina Koleshinkova, who is a chaplain and leads Bible study for men at a maximum security prison; the Rev.
Yuri Kapaev, a former gymnast, who is now a scholar, starting a mission church
in Lipetsk; and the Rev. Irina Mitina, who opens her church as a home to students from Africa and to those with disabilities, who often can’t find a place in Russian society.

In the evening, the groups gathered for a concert. At one moment, students from Ghana who attend Mitina’s church, led the Russians and Americans in African song and dance. The concert closed with a variety of versions of “Amazing Grace.” And it was.