For years, Mission has supported the evangelist team of Br Oleg Lyubich, who bring the Good News to Nentsen, Ngagasans and Dolganen high above the Arctic Circle on the Tajmyr tundra. One part of that support is a training conference that mission offers once every two or three years.
The last time we were able to do so was in 2020, and that trip to the city of Norilsk then included a 'baptism of fire' by the missionary consultant to experience what it is like to drive for hours across the tundra on the way to villages and settlements with sometimes no more than a hundred residents.
Meet
Due to the war between Russia and Ukraine, it is now not possible for missions to travel there. But that doesn't mean nothing is possible. Every year, mission does have an amount in the budget for that conference - or for visits from Tajmyr to the Netherlands - and there is a fund available for leave expenses. By putting that together, we were now able to convene a week-long conference in Turkey. The friends of the unregistered EChB meet there more often just international guests, so the path was well known to them.
A total of 10 evangelists came from Tajmyr, and a number of brothers from the council of brothers (the synod council, we would say), and a few support people travelled with them. The interpreters in particular were invaluable, and of course there were a few good cooks along too. From the Netherlands, Rev Van der Toorn had been excused for a week by his church council, and two people from the circle of Stichting Friedensstimme NL had travelled with him.
Letters to the seven municipalities
If you are in Turkey - the former Asia Minor - the obvious choice of theme is something that fits into that context. Western Turkey is where there were seven churches, in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Tyatira, Sardes, Philadephia and Laodicea. In the Bible book of Revelation, letters are written to those churches, and those letters were the basis for the meetings with the evangelists. The cultural and religious background and history of the cities was explained in detail and then the spiritual significance of the letters was reflected upon. Not only did the Dutch brothers share something about the letters, the evangelists and members of the synod board also shared their insights. It was really listening to each other and listening together to the message the Lord has for us in those letters.
Lukewarm water
Beautiful was that we were 'near' one of those cities: Laodicea. On one of the conference days, we travelled there by bus with a guide who could tell a lot about the ancient place. It was special to walk around that area. We visited (what is left of) the cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis, which are within sight distance of each other. It was impressive to sing together in the stadium of Hierapolis. And also to visit the church there where the evangelist Philip from Bethsaida worked at the end of his life, and where he was buried. The letter to Laodicea speaks of "lukewarmness". Laodicea was a community of rich people, self-sufficient in almost everything except water. They got that from Colossae, where sufficient cold water was available from the mountains, or from Hierapolis, where a hot spring provided hot water. Through an ingenious system, the water arrived in Laodicea, but the hot water from Hierapolis cooled to lukewarm on the way, and the cold water from Colossus warmed to lukewarm during the journey through the pipeline. The people from the city understood exactly what was meant by: you are neither hot nor cold.
An important part of the conference was the day when the evangelists told their personal stories. You get impressed by the difficulty and adversity that is sometimes endured over years. Let us pray for courage and endurance for these brothers and their families.
