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When we are in America the question most oftenasked is, “What does a typical day in your lifelook like.” Our life follows more of a weekly cycleand so we thought we would share with you whata week of ministry life includes.

On Monday we drive 75 kilometers south fromthe city to the Bogorodsk rehabilitation center toteach. This is the main drug rehabilitation centerfor Cornerstone Church in Nizhny Novgorod. Wehave been teaching at this center for about threeyears now and we love watching what the Spirit

of God does as these young men and womensubmit to him.

Michael teaching at Bogorodsk. Itʼs a bit chilly inthe room and the guys are sharing a blanket.

Tuesday is reserved for teaching preparation,theological studies for Michael and otherbusiness. It is a general work/study daydepending upon what needs to get done thatweek. On one Tuesday we used the day to havean electrician come to our apartment to repair our

wiring. Two junction boxes had wiring which hadmelted and fused together nearly causing a fire!We learned that all the wiring in our apartment isaluminum!

Tuesday, March 1st was a bridge building day aswe joined a group of American college studentsto participate in an English language culturalexchange sponsored by a local Baptist church.

Wednesdays we teach in two centers in the city.Our first stop is the Social Center for theHomeless. There are about 20 residents at thistime. The house has a kitchen and 3 rooms; 2tiny bedrooms where the ladies sleep and a smallliving room where the men unroll mattresses tosleep on the floor.

In spite of the fact that these homes are insidethe city limits there are outhouses for toilets andno indoor running water or bathing facilities. Forhygiene the residents use the backyard banya.This is a Russian wood-fired sauna, but moreprimitive or basic than we would imagine.They have the opportunity to bathe here twotimes a week. All laundry is done by hand in thebanya.

People in the Social Center taking notes whileMichael teaches from Isaiah.

A week in the life of….

M I C H A E L & K A R E N M C D O N A L DS E R V I N G T H E R U S S I A N C H U R C H

F O U R S Q U A RE M I S S I O N S I N T E R N AT I O N A L - H O P E C H A P E L N A S H U A N H

N O R T H E A S T D I S T R I C T O F F O U R S Q U A R E C H U R C H E S

R   USSIAN   H  ARVEST M A R C H 2 0 1 1

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Our next stop is to teach at the “Prison Center,” ahome for those who are coming out of prison andhave nowhere to live. This center averages about18 residents. The transition from prison life isdifficult so the center experiences a lot of turnover.We do see some residents stay long-term and it iswonderful to see the effect that trusting in Christ

has upon their lives.

Yuri is an ex drug addict who is now working andministering in the prison center. He is leading us in

worship this evening. Over the last 1.5 years wehave watched this young man make an amazingtransition as he has grown spiritually and now

serves full time.

Thursday is another ʻwhatever needs to be doneʼ day. Today is Thursday and Karen is preparing toteach while Michael is doing his theological studies.This afternoon we will go to pay bills. This is acash society so bill paying is done at a bank or postoffice where we stand in line and wait for our turn topay our phone bill and other utilities in person. Thisevening we will use our car to help a friend move.

On Fridays we drive north to the Zavolzha/ Gorodets region. These are “twin” cities of about50,000 people each, situated on opposite banks of

the Volga River and located about a 1.5 hour drivenorth of Nizhny Novgorod. The church has beendoing drug rehabilitation work in this area for twoyears now and we come to teach basic Christianlife concepts.

In the evening we drive from this center toGorodets where the new church has established a

center for the homeless in a village house by theriver. The house has two small bedrooms, a verysmall kitchen and a living room about 12ʻx18ʼ. As istypical in village houses there is only cold runningwater in the kitchen, no indoor bathroom or showerand no hot running water, and as in the othercenters, the residents use a banya for bathing and

laundry. The center currently homes 10 residents.

Karen counseling a young woman about how to besure her sins had been forgiven

Saturday is our day off and in general we try to notdirectly involve ourselves in any ministry activities.

On most Sundays of course we attend our localchurch. Karen serves on the worship team as oftenas possible. We both also occasionally speak in

the services. From time to time we also speak inother churches in the area.

In addition to all this we try to find time to teachmarriage seminars and to provide pre-maritalcounseling to those who desire it.

Such is our day to day life in Russia. We oftenhear people speak about the impact that ourlifestyle and our teaching has upon their lives. Wedonʼt say this to say “wow, look at us”, but rather wewant to say “Thank you,” to you because of the

generous partnership of all who follow our work andsupport us. We couldnʼt be here without yoursupport. We greatly appreciate your prayers, yourfriendship and your financial support. It is such aprivilege for us to be here working alongside theRussian church. Thank you for allowing us to doso.

Important Giving Directions! Please make checks to “HOPE CHAPEL” and write

“Russia” or “McDonald” in the memo portion. Please mail your check to: HOPE

CHAPEL NASHUA, PO Box 1458, NASHUA, NH 03061-1458.

Thank you so much for your partnership. Individuals may send support to our homechurch at the address above.

Direct electronic giving link through Foursquare

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