Over the weekend we visited Porkhov, a county center in the Pskov region. The pastor of the local church, Vyacheslav, is a missionary who moved with his family from Samara, Russia, two years ago.
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Tag Archives: photos
Photos of Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine
I visited Crimea, Ukraine in the summer of 2007. Without a doubt, my favorite city was Sevastopol. The Russian Black Sea Fleet is stationed here and you can take tour boats around the harbor – hence the Russian flag everywhere. During the Soviet Union, the Soviet Black Fleet was here. After independence, Russia rents the base and shares the harbor with the Ukrainian fleet.
With its strategic location, Sevastopol has been sieged by the British, French, Turks and Germans over the past several centuries. Crimea is once again in the news with reports of increased Russian troop levels supporting protests against the newly installed government in Kiev.
To see why I loved the city so much – and Crimea in general – check out the photos!
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Photos from our First Trip to Pskov
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Christmas at the Gypsy Church in Dupnitsa, Bulgaria
We spent Christmas Day with Nansi’s home church in a Gypsy village of Dupnitsa, a town south of Sofia. I preached from a nontraditional Christmas passage (John 1:1-16) and Nansi translated. The children all got presents from Samaritan’s Purse, so if you and your church participated in any of the international Christmas gift outreaches, we saw the fruits of that!
Christmas Eve Table
Owen preaching, Nansi Translating
Blessing the children
Gypsy Church in Dupnitsa
Receiving their gift from Samaritan’s Purse
Everyone’s gifts from Samaritan’s Purse
“The Greatest Gift.” Booklets given with every present from Samaritan’s Purse
Fellowship and hand warming after the service
Digging into the Samaritan’s Purse gift
Stove provides heat for the room and a place to cook
Most people in the Gypsy village live in half finished houses
Yards between houses
Exterior of houses
Beautiful mountains around Dupnitsa, Bulgaria
Beautiful mountains around Dupnitsa, Bulgaria
Panorama view from the Gypsy village in Dupnitsa, Bulgaria
Photos
Some photos to give you an idea of our ministry in Pskov, Russia:
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Our neighborhood in Bulgaria:
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Photos of Pskov and the surrounding areas:
Pskov in Europe
Downtown Pskov
Pskov Kremlin
Pskov Kremlin in Winter
Pskov Kremlin
Pskov Kremlin in Winter
Village Life
Monument to Pskov’s Heroic Past
Typical Soviet Apartment Block
Standing in a Courtyard
Stalin-era Building
Stalin-era Building
City living
Soldiers visiting orphans on Veteran’s Day
Orphans on Veteran’s Day
Breakfast at the orphanage
A special New Year’s at the orphanage
Orthodox Faith
A Clash in Time
Pechory Monastery
Pskov has many Orthodox churches
Pskov has many Orthodox churches
Abandoned Factory from Better Economic Days
Typical Soviet Apartment Block
New Apartment Construction
Country Scene
God’s Charity?
I came across while looking for pictures for another of my sites:
«Милостыня божья.» на Яндекс.Фотках
It’s labeled “God’s Charity.”
Such a beautiful building, and leaning against it, a man with serious problems. It would be very easy to go off on a rant now about the priorities of the Orthodox Church. It is a corrupt institution, with a lust for earthly power. It deceives people into thinking that they’re saved if they pay some money and go through the motions. It has failed abysmally to take advantage of the fall of the Soviet Union to bring people to Christ and combat the moral decay and nihilism that is rampant in that part of the world. That is all true, but it is too simple an interpretation of the photograph.
As one commenter said:
Впечатление, что храм при всей своей красоте абсолютно равнодушен к судьбе этого человека…
(I get the impression that the church, with all it’s beauty, is absolutely indifferent to the fate of this person)
That feeling is made even stronger by the fact that the church is surrounded by a sturdy fence. Could this picture describe our church, here in America, or our spirituality? Beautiful on the outside, but walled off to those who need it?
The church in America does a much better job with this, but there is always room for reflection and self-criticism. And this picture should touch the hearts of anyone who considers themselves a Christian.
