Omega Challenge Russian Ministry Trip 2004

After praying for a destination, we felt called to minister to the people in Russia where there are many needs that we as a team can meet. "In all my prayers for you I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." ( Phil. 1:4,5) During the period that the team ministered in Russia they emailed pictures and reports. These were posted here as they arrived.

Russia

Like its symbol, the bear-awesome, brave and unpredictable is a proud but despairing nation. It has been systematically plundered and looted by the very ones who once deceived it with the morally destructive Communist ideology. Watching it lumber and lurch into the future, we're sometimes tempted to keep a safe distance.

For Russia's poor, life is a daily grind of survival and many people spend hours each day selling their belongings or other goods on the street.

During most of the Soviet era religious expression was strictly discouraged and the Communist Party controlled religious institutions. In the late 1980's , however, the government began to ease its restrictions on religion, and a 1990 law granted Russians far more religious freedom. Despite the reemergence of traditional religions, most Russians do not adhere to a single belief. Instead, they combine traditional faiths with other alternative beliefs. Witchcraft and astrology are popular, especially among young people.

Illegal drug use has risen substantially in the post-Soviet period because of a lack of enforcement and increased drug availability. Alcohol poisoning is a leading cause of death, especially from homemade or diluted industrial sources. Russia has the lowest life expectancy and the highest infant mortality rate of the industrialized countries.

Russian Stats

World's largest country extending across 11 time zones between the Baltic and the Pacific.