John kicked out of church!

Enjoying a cruise on the Black Sea.

A Ukrainian flag flying off our ship.

And so we begin a new chapter in our short lives – that’s right, John getting kicked out of church!  Last night our friends took us to a local Russian Orthodox monastery.  We had to prepare ahead of time – no shorts, skirts below the knee, heads covered with scarves for the women…As we were looking around, the outskirts of the church were surrounded by monks dressed in long black robes, many with equally long beards.  The reverence and opulence of the area was something to see, although the worship itself seemed to be more of icons, monks and legalistic rules rather than Jesus, Himself.
 
As we were looking around, a monk came up quite hastily to John and yanked John’s hands out of his pockets.  He also quickly indicated John needed to turn around, as he disrespectfully had his backside to an icon.  Of course, as our friends pointed out, it was impossible to stand anywhere in that church, without having one’s back to some icon, as they were all over!  John turning around didn’t seem to satisfy this monk, so we were thrown out of the church and yelled at by him.  Vladimir informed the monk he shouldn’t be so rude and a few other choice remarks, including he would never be back to the church again.
 
A couple interesting points from this experience:

First of all, he thought John and I were Russian, and therefore became even more inflamed when John didn’t respond and speak to him.  He wouldn’t believe that we weren’t Russian – so I guess we don’t stand out too badly as Americans!
When our friends visited our local Christian Life Center church in Moscow (Assembly of God denomination), they were shocked at the joy, laughter, smiles, fellowshipping and relaxed attitudes of all the worshippers and pastors.  They told us that something like that would never happen in their churches at home.  Now we see the difference!  Instead of enjoying the freedom found in Christ, they are sadly stuck in rules, formality and somberness.  While the Orthodox sense of awe and fear of God might indeed part of healthy worship, they seem to miss the joy and happiness as well.
This experience was the first time I have ever really felt afraid in a church – my heart was pounding and I was quite nervous over the entire situation.  It is too bad that so many people equate this type of strict rules and authoritative power with church and God.  While local missionaries may struggle initially by not having the gold-laden opulence found in orthodoxy, the simple joy found in Christ must indeed have its own power.  Our hosts, having experienced true worship longed to be a part of that, and kept asking and wondering “why” the rules, formality and somberness were required.
Coincidence or not, I’m not sure; but this event happened just when I was praying for the monks, the church, the worshippers and the Orthodox denomination that the true Spirit of God would fill the place.  So, pray along with us for the Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox churches that the Truth will be known, celebrated and worshipped. 
 
After our church experience, we enjoyed ice cream in an outdoor café – complete with live music and dancing.  Our hosts hardly seemed impressed by the local folk music, although we enjoyed the experience!
 
We spent today touring around the historical downtown Odessa.  We were able to visit the insides of two palaces.  The first, now basically abandoned but for children’s activities and occasional performances, belonged to the Governor of Odessa.  One room was of most interest – the oval room.  This was the office of the Governor, and where citizens wanting to travel to other countries must come visit and gain permission.  Apparently, and now we want to check our history books at home, the White House oval office was modeled after the Odessa oval office.  Having seen the Odessa one, and numerous pictures of the US one – they are indeed identical.  And, with the Odessa oval office built in the 1700s, the timing certainly seems to be correct!
 
We have felt so fortunate that be able to see so many beautiful places.  Both palaces that we were toured through were done so by women that appeared to be “door guards”.  When we first entered, we were quite closely scrutinized and observed.  For whatever reason, the four of us gained their favor and were given the full tour throughout the place, including being allowed to sit on various pieces of furniture and to take pictures.  At the governor’s palace, the woman actually locked the front door, disallowing any other visitors to come in, while she showed us around.  Relationships are indeed quite important here.
 
While we were out, we stopped by one of numerous McDonalds around Odessa and had a Coke.  One of Vladimir’s university students was working there, and thus prompted an interesting discussion.  Apparently, university students receive a stipend every month of 45 Grivnyas – approximately $8 (the current exchange rate we saw today was 5.2 Grivnyas equals $1).  Because this isn’t enough to live, most students are required to get a job, and working at McDonalds is one of the best you can get.  Apparently, it is quite competitive to be hired at McDonalds, and the pay is excellent, by Ukrainian standards.  Employees must work 6 hours a day, 7 days a week, and earn upwards of 500 Grivnyas a month.  Vladimir shared with us that this salary is even higher than associate professors earn at a university!
 
It has been so interesting to hear our Ukrainian friends explain things, as their history affects so much.  So many things are described as “before revolution” or “after revolution”, or “in Soviet times”.  In Kiev, for example, the Metro was built 100m underground (that is quite the escalator down!).  It was built by Soviets to be safe from nuclear war.  Street names have been changed, monuments taken down, put back up, destroyed.  Churches have been destroyed and are now under reconstruction.  History is alive and meaningful in Ukraine – without understanding it, you lose perspective and meaning of so much you see here. 
  
 Back again for a quick update....we just came back from touring the beautiful seaport of Odessa.  We took a boat cruise around the port for about an hour.  It was indeed beautiful, and if we can upload a picture, you might also be able to see!  We sadly didn't see any dolphins, but are told that they are quite a common sight at times.