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We travelled into the Russian countryside and then into the Ukraine. As we talked to listeners, this theme came up again and again. Galeena Victorovna, director of a school in a Ukrainian mining town, said, "When I listen to the program, I relax." Others said the same thing.
Little did I know that God was about to teach me what "relax" means in the former Soviet Union.
Leonid returned me to my hotel after a full day of meetings. As I walked into my room, I noticed that all my luggage had been removed. At first, I thought maybe the maid had placed it in a closet, out of the way. But no, it was gone.
The front desk was no help--they did not speak enough English to understand that I had been robbed. I called Leonid back, and we decided to file a police report. Hopefully this would help me collect insurance.
The investigators who came to the room were 30-something males in black leather jackets and blue jeans. They had no identification. When the "police", young fellows in uniform sporting automatic military rifles, arrived, they were summarily sent away.
Then the questions began. Name and address of your work location. Your home. How much education do you have? Whom have you met here in Russia? Leonid, since he was accompanying me, was asked many of the same questions.
I suddenly realized that this investigation was not about the theft. It was about me. A report was handwritten in Russian and translated to me, and I was asked to sign it. Finally, after about two hours, they took all the reports with them, saying that if they did not find the luggage in 10 days, they would mail me a copy for my insurance report.
By that time, I needed one of Leonid's programs--badly. I have been a victim of property crime several times before, in Canada and the US. In those instances, I trusted the police, even though they were ineffective and showed little concern. But I never felt that they were investigating me rather than the theft.
Then I began to understand the meaning of relaxing. People in Russia and the Ukraine live with the vivid memory of past state repression. Today, even though the activities carried out by the state are less murderous, that memory is kept alive by investigations, phones that appear to be tapped, the recent firebombing of Leonid's church, strangers showing up at churches under false pretenses to "investigate" fire code violations, cars following you to your destination, and a hundred other little things. Through fear and intimidation, informal and formal authorities continue to exercise population control. The new law limiting religious freedom will make these practices even more acceptable.
When people hear the Good News through programs like The Bible Today, the curtains of intimidation and fear are pushed aside just a little. When God is in charge, the power of the state doesn't seem quite so frightening. When the importance of you as an individual in God's eyes is emphasized, the power of the state begins to crumble. You can relax, secure in God's care.
So, I have come to agree. A good goal of our programs in Russia and the Ukraine is to help people relax.
Burton Buller, Executive Director, MB Communications
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