a note from Tonya:
Passion week has usually been
one of the busiest in our missionary lives, a time of sowing, asking,
and answering questions. I remember several years ago in Russia the
Lord moved on our hearts to talk to the assistant director of an
orphanage asking permission to talk with the kids about the death and
resurrection of Christ. The assistant director, Tatiana Nikolayevna,
hesitated for a while, but when I shared a story of a powerful
emotional healing in one of the children a year before, she agreed.
So, grateful for the opportunity, I got our “Resurrection Eggs”
kit and went from class to class sharing the story of Christ’s
resurrection with the orphanage children and staff. The Gospel
presentations went very well, the children gave full attention to the
story, and many people prayed with us afterwards. God gave us a word
through one of our Russian sisters, Ogla, “No eye has seen, no ear
has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who
love him.” 1 Cor. 2:9
I was encouraged by His Word
thinking that it was concerning the children's evangelism effort that
was going so well. Little did I know that God had another
opportunity for me that day. After speaking to all the classes in
the orphanage, I stopped by Tatiana Nikolayevna’s office to thank
her for letting us speak to the students. She asked me to close the
door behind me and started to pour her heart out. She said she’s
been an Orthodox Christian for years and followed all the traditions
and rituals of the church faithfully, but could not understand why
God was punishing her. At that moment her only son, who was 27 years
old, was dying at the hospital from tuberculosis.
I had a long conversation with
Tatiana that night, we cried together, prayed together, and finally
she seemed to be feeling better and I went home. The next morning
Cecil and I asked a Russian brother, Andrei, who had been healed from
tuberculosis to visit the hospital and talk with her son. The same
afternoon Tatiana’s son called her very excited. She was rather
surprised because her son had been depressed for months. He said,
“Don’t worry Mom, it’s going to be all right. A fellow came to
my hospital room and told me I will live, and live forever, because
Jesus forgave my sins and died for me. And Mom, could you bake me
paskha?” Paskha is a traditional Russian Easter bread.
That story happened years ago.
This passion week we are in the States restricted by the
stay-at-home orders, waiting for the borders to open so that we can
go back to Russia, the land of our calling. This story reminds us
that God is still the same, He is not restricted, He still heals,
saves, and surprises us because “no
eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has
prepared for those who love him.”
Let
this time of social distancing and isolation be a time of waiting
upon the Lord and expecting him to do great things.
Easter
Blessings from Cecil and Tonya Eshelman
