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• Sharing Christ in Eastern Europe
  Bill and Denise Braun
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  Jim and Carla Junge
• They Call It a Splav
  Bill and Denise Braun
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  Maureen Longnecker
• Four Dads and Four Daughters
  Cheryl Fawcett
• Ten Days of Casave
  Andrew Large, Nicaragua
• Something Unusual in France
  Frank and Marlea Pfeifer
• MKs Help in Outreach to Small Town Portugal
  Miriam Tyers, Portugal
• What is Language School Like?
  By a missionary in South Asia
• Dreaming Big: Church Ministries Institute Partners with Horizon International Schools
  John Taylor
• Nenagh-Gateway to Lough Derg
  Matt Tuttlebee, Baptist Missions Ireland
• Orthopedic Specialists Visit Togo
  Russ and Melody Ebersole

Russia after 9/11: The Bondage of Fear

By Leon Duell

In October 2002, Chechen rebels took hundreds hostage at the Nord Ost theater in Moscow, demanding a Russian withdrawal from Chechnya within seven days. Before this event, few Americans would have considered the Russian Federation to be a country where foreigners are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. The 9/11 attacks focused attention elsewhere. The fact is, those of us who live in the former Soviet Union have long been aware of potential danger.

Russia and Ukraine have very close ties with Muslim countries in the region, many of which were formerly Soviet republics. The Russian political/economical connection with Iraq is well known, and the conflict with Chechnya is ongoing. We have seen brick walls chalked with the graffiti: "Viva Osama bin Laden!" Terrorist attacks deliberately aimed at Americans could be a possibility in the future, or we could be caught in the middle of a hostage situation similar to the Moscow crisis.

Our greatest concern is for our children. In Ezra 8:21, the prophet asks the Lord's protection especially for the Israelites' children on the journey ahead: "Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance." We face these same parental feelings when our 17-year-old daughter goes out alone at night in the city or leaves on a short-term missions trip to a Muslim country. Like Ezra, we take our anxiety to the Lord and seek His right way for her. We trust in God's sovereignty.

We do take some precautions: discussing contingency plans, closing the shades before turning on the lights in the evening, maintaining awareness of our surroundings and of people who follow us on the streets. We rarely speak English in public and don't advertise that we are Americans--we blend. Our daughter is trained in self-defense. These precautions are a way of life for Americans living abroad, but we do not allow them to dominate our thinking, because we do not want to be in bondage to fear, nor do we want to be prevented from sharing the gospel with Muslim friends.

In this time of uncertainty, the people in Russia and the Ukraine are in even greater need of the gospel. The void left by communism is swiftly being filled by new ideologies such as Islam. The two Russian provinces that lie to the south of where we live are the autonomous regions of the Bashkir and Tatar people, both predominantly Muslim. The population where in the Ural region where we live is 15% Muslim, and we mix with Muslims every day as we shop in the market or ride on public transportation. The large mosque 200 yards from our church in Perm, Russia has recently started using loudspeakers to call the faithful to prayer. We have passed lines of vehicles stopped along the road, their occupants prostrate on the ground, bowing toward Mecca.

Our prayer is that God will release us from the bondage of fear and make us faithful disciples of his Word, the only true solution to spiritual unrest.