In November of 2000, I (Mike) moved to Russia to help establish a Russian Charity named MIR. A little over a year later I married Olga. Over the years, God has led us and blessed us in many ways.
We now live in Russia and spend time in the US, Finland, Montenegro, and Estonia. I’m the Executive Director of Stoneworks International, a Christian mission organization that works in Russia, Belarus and Montenegro.
We hope you’ll wander around here, learn more about us and see evidence of the goodness of God.
Nine years ago on August 28 I proposed to Olga. We were at dacha (a Russian country house) celebrating her grandmother’s birthday.
A couple of days ago, we had another birthday lunch under the apple trees at dacha. Russians love to give toasts at special occasions. Orest Grooten, Olga’s grandfather, gives a toast to his wife:
And here is Orest walking back into the house.
I took this picture yesterday of Violeta on Pyhäjärvi (Holy Lake).
We’ve had a good time here in Finland, and we head back to Russia tomorrow.
Tags: Finland
As a service to ministries and folks in St. Petersburg, here is a map of flea markets in Finland. I will constantly update the map as we find more kirppisi (actually, kirppikset), so check back as often as you will. And let me know if I need to correct or remove any listings. (Accuracy isn’t 100% guaranteed, since things change! Please let me know if I need to correct, add or remove any entries.)
I’ve noted, as often as possible, which kirppis is run by Fida International, the Missions and Development Organisation of the Finnish Pentecostal churches.
View Kirppisi in a larger map
Olga and I are now in Finland. We’re here with Olga’s mother, Tanya, our ‘sister’ Violeta from Montenegro, and our good friend Natasha from Russia. Once again we’re staying at the little cabin by the lake, which comes complete with beautiful sunsets. (Just so you know — it takes us about 5 hours to drive here from our home in St. Petersburg; it’s not too far at all.)
This is Natasha’s first time out of Russia, and it’s been great fun to see her experience a new culture for the first time. She said she never imagined how people could care for the land so much. Her understandings of stewardship, order and beauty are being broadened. It is a beautiful country, and this is a great time of year to visit.
We’ve had quite a busy summer. I’ve been in Montenegro, Estonia and Russia, and I recently returned from a very quick trip to the US. Jet lag is my familiar friend. The ministry has been rewarding and full of life. Olga has stayed closer to home and has had good time with family. We’re both very thankful to be together and able to rest a little.
New opportunities seem to arise all the time. We look forward to telling you more about them in the coming months. It seems that Estonia continues to present itself as a land of opportunity, and we are starting on a big project in Russia.
For now, though, we are content and happy to be here at Koppero.
Back in 1959 a showcase of American life was presented in Moscow, something unseen by Russians; during the Stalin years they couldn’t even dream of such a thing.
The Americans brought everything imaginable – cars, food, Coca-Cola and jeans; and they also brought some really large objects like an American shopping mall and a typical American home.
This is a condensed version of a documentary made by D. A. Pennebaker:
Tags: 1959, Exhibition, Video
Here’s something funny I saw today on the web: the Salmon Celebration –
This happened in Iceland at the weekend, during a match between Stjarnan and Fylkir (the former were responsible for the celebration, after Johann Laxdal scored).
Tags: Celebration, Iceland, Soccer
