Date: Mon, 22 Jun 1998 14:00:12 -0400
Subject: Rom 8:28
 
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
" The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord
be praised "
 
We finally received an answer that did not surprise me too much. We
have to leave Russia by the first of July. The good news is that they
won't stamp in my passport the one year banishment they wanted. We
can praise the Lord for the influence of my highly placed Russian friend.
He had mentioned all the humanitarian help I had provided for the city,
but as he said himself, it is mostly because of his position that he was
able to minimize the damage. This mean I might have some chance to
come back to Russia in the fall. If ever possible, than I will have to keep
a very low profile. No preaching and teaching in any public situation. As
they said earlier, that would be against the very purpose of my visa, 
which is strictly limited to study Russian language.
 
Some asked me why I cannot get a religious visa. The problem is that
our church is not registrated, which mean we cannot invite anybody at
all. We always had to invite through somebody else. Since many years
the local officials categorically refuse to register us. In fact they even
openly said to us : "We will not register you. We do not want those
Protestant and foreign groups here " This stubborn refusal is not just
limited to our group, this is the policy they have against all "non Russian-
Orthodox" churches in Voronezh. For instance at one time the Salvation
Army had provided one million $ humanitarian help for the city, they got
big advertising in all news papers, but never got any registration !
Because they are not officially registrated, today they are not even
allowed to distribute food and help to the poors ! And some people
wonder why there is so much suffering in Russia !
 
Others asked me why I don't come with a business visa. Again, whatever
reason I have soon or later not well intentioned people will find out that
the good I try to do in Voronezh is not good for them ! Unlike most
western nations of the world, the Church and the State are not separated
in Russia. In theory they are, but not in practice. History clearly shows
that even if they might not always liked each other, they always were
depended on each other for the sake of their own purposes. It was this
way in Russia the last 10 centuries and it is not likely to change today.
That may explain why in some places the Russian Orthodox Church
will try to use the State powers as much as they can against the "outside
competition". Now, this influence greatly varies from one region to
another. Some regions like ours have increasing problems, while
others enjoy relative freedom. It depends mostly how the local
authorities view the Orthodox Church and foreigners. ( Some of them
assume mistakenly that churches that are not strictly Russian Orthodox
are of foreign origin and therefore not good for Russia ).
 
Voronezh is a place where Satan will use such power, but He can
only go to the end of his chain. That is why we make Jesus words
ours today for Voronezh: " Do not be afraid, keep on speaking, do
not be silent...for I have many people in this city "( 1 Cor.18: 9-10 ).
Our Lord has already shown us that His promise for Voronezh is true :
The past week we had three baptisms, and two more are scheduled
this coming week ! There is an incredible spirit among us all.
We are confident that God is with us, and the growth He gives
confirms it. To Him be the Glory !
 
We serve an awesome God!
 
Thank you for all your prayers,
Your Yves and Anna