Cross-Cultural Exchange in Russia

By Donna Duell

The Great White

The jeep crept slowly over the dirt road as we peered into the woods. After rising early to drive outside the city, we had spent the last hours enduring mosquitoes in the woods and swamps. Now, slightly weary, we were road hunting. "Stop, stop," shouted Dina as she leaped from the vehicle and hurried over to a clump of moss and pine trees. Reaching deep into the ground, she pulled out the prize. "I got it!" She held aloft her treasure, the great "white mushroom" beloved of Russians.

Not being a connoisseur of mushrooms, I was at first puzzled by this cultural fascination. Over 153 million Russians hunt mushrooms in August. Mushrooms are free food, and special varieties bring money. Once harvested, they grow back with proliferation. Unlike deer hunting, mushroom hunting is a noisy, communal affair with shouts echoing through the woods when a beloved specimen is found. I was amazed at the sheer variety of mushrooms in the damp undergrowth of Russia 's forests: red, brown, yellow, and green; speckled, thick and slender-stemmed; old and young; kinds that squeak when rubbed, kinds that taste bitter; kinds to fry and kinds to boil.

Russians can't imagine a whole continent of intelligent Americans who don't hunt mushrooms. They sadly shake their heads at such ignorance and waste. After sliding through slippery dead leaves in search of the coveted white mushroom (which isn't white at all until cut open), I came no closer to developing "mushroom fever." But by participating in Russian culture, I was able to demonstrate my love for the people I desired to reach with the gospel.

The Big, Black Trunk

Missions is a cross-cultural exchange. Just as I joined in their cultural pastime of mushroom gathering, I encouraged the Russians to try making American-style crafts. Hidden in a big, black trunk under my bed is the largest crafts supply in the Ural Mountains region. The cache had been stashed for months, awaiting the opportunity to be used for the Lord.

In the past, Russian women were preoccupied with the responsibilities of work and home. They had little time or money for fellowship, much less for making crafts. Creativity had been stifled for years. Americans perceive hand-made gifts as personalized and special-evidence of the thought and effort of the giver. To Russians, however, the idea of making rather than buying a gift seems cheap. Quilt-making, which we consider an art, seems absurd to them-only the poor would spend time piecing together blankets from scraps of material.

However, a broadening worldview, in combination with the tightening economy, has changed many Russians' perception of crafting as frivolous. Women's church groups have come to embrace craft evangelism as a fresh method of reaching women with the gospel. My big, black trunk of craft materials is finally being used in Russia, but now we need to adapt craft evangelism to Russian culture. In the past, we used imported materials for craft projects. When the ladies learned the materials could only be bought in America , their enthusiasm was dampened. The use of imported goods puts pressure on missionaries to continue importing more materials.

In the future, we desire to enlist other women to brainstorm craft ideas and find Russian substitutes for American materials. We are grateful to our Hungarian colleagues for pioneering the concept of craft evangelism: their vision and creativity has spread to the Russian-speaking world.