When people ask, "Well, what did you do last week?" Boy, have I got an answer for them. It was the year 2003 and I flew 30,000 miles in 14 days. I went from one country where T-shirts and tank tops were OK in 85 degree heat with 80% humidity, to another country where it had snowed and the temperature at the airport was freezing. Where the food went from Empenada's and the language was Espanol, to red cabbage and people spoke Russian. I loved every minute of it, except the 30,000 miles in the air. I think my body is really built for first class seating, not coach, but I have not been able to find a way to make that happen yet. Here is what happened during those 14 days.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24
As Benjamin Franklin once said, "Early to bed, early to rise" – so you can stand in line at an airport for a security check. It was the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, and it was the longest security line I have ever had the pleasure of standing in. It made the Pirates of the Caribbean line at Disneyland look comparatively small. My theory is that if a "bad guy" accidentally got in line, the airport security would have him trapped for an hour while they evaluated the situation. Well, we finally cleared security with about 3.5 minutes to spare. It is always fun carrying your boots in one hand and backpack in the other as you run to make sure you get in the plane before it takes off with out you. I am sure I was seated next to a fine human being, but being 63 years old at the time I cannot recall who it was, whether male or female, young or old. The plane lifted up on time, we ate our meal from a bag that we grabbed as we went through the runway, and we arrived at Atlanta, Georgia on time.
It seems that airports put the international concourses as far away as possible from arriving domestic flights. I accidentally got on the tram as it showed up while I was reading signs. As we sped by Concourse A, B, C, D, on our way to Concourse E, I muttered a sigh of relief that I had found the tram, or that it had found me. It must have been a 1 or 2 mile walk for those people who did not take the tram. Once at Concourse E, it was just a small matter of walking to the very end of the building where I spotted Arnie Burk (Arkansas), Team Leader for this adventure, sitting with fellow Gideon Mike Argall (Colorado). Soon, James Gray (Georgia) arrived and we were on our way to Caracas, Venezuela where we would sleep that night. It was an uneventful flight. Can't remember if we ate or not, can't remember who sat next to me either. Seemed we always gave a N/T to whoever it was, so maybe we will all see each other again anyway. Two other Gideons, Ron Simpson (Arkansas) and Randy Crowe (Tennessee) had a direct flight to Valencia and we would connect with them on Saturday or Sunday.
We arrived at the Caracas airport in the evening and were met by Adolfo Leonard, the National Field Officer for Venezuela who is headquartered in Caracas. We secured our baggage which arrived safely - for which we are always grateful. I must mention that I had one suitcase packed with clothes for 29 degree weather and one suitcase packed with clothes for 85 degree weather. It was always lurking in the back of my mind that the wrong suitcase would end up at the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing like having T-shirts and shorts in Moscow in November; or mufflers, hats, sweats, and boots in Venezuela.
Got to the hotel, El Presidente, around 8:00pm. This was a super duper hotel, meaning everything worked, the restaurant was excellent, and they took Mastercard and VISA. Had dinner with the US Gideon crew, changed a $20 for 32,000 Bolivars, hit the sack, and slept like a log.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25
We decided to rise early in order to go to Adolfo Leonard's office where the scriptures are stored. We volunteered to help him unload a truck assuming he needed help, but when we got there about 10 young strong men were already unloading the truck – sure was glad to see them. I wandered upstairs and right into the Caracas Camp Saturday Morning Prayer Meeting. That was nice. Got some good pictures of some Auxiliary members and the Gideon's who were praying for the success of the Valencia Blitz. About 10:00am we hopped into the van which was going to take us from Caracas to Valencia, about a 3 hour drive over a mountain range. Valencia is in the state of Carabobo which is an economic hub of the country with a lot of industry and manufacturing. The oil production is east in the area of Maracaibo and gasoline is about 35 cents per gallon. We arrived in Valencia about mid-afternoon and checked into another excellent hotel, although the security guards at the gate with loaded pistols did make me wonder a bit.
That afternoon we were taken to a fast food court at a local mall where I had a slice of pizza and tried to pose as a local native. The only one who really passed was Gideon Lennart Svedman who arrived in Caracas earlier, a Swede who spent 11 years in Chile as a missionary and speaks Spanish fluently. It was hard paying 10,000 or 20,000 Bolivars for food because we did not have the exchange rate memorized yet ($1.00 = 1600 Bolivars). Simon Bolivar looks the same on all of the bills. In the evening we had our first planning meeting at the hotel where the Gideons from the USA and Valencia, plus our translators and drivers had a chance to meet each other and receive instructions for the week. Later that evening we were assigned our church services for Sunday.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26
Everyone from the USA team was assigned to speak in 2 or 3 church services with a translator and a driver. My translator was Lilian, a co-pastor of a Vineyard Church in Valencia, and my driver was Alfredo who was a member on one of the churches on our list. Alfredo stopped at his church (Asamblea de Dios) to make sure we were still on the program, and then we proceeded to the second church which was named Maranantha. It was a large church of 1,000 people and they had taken over a vacated Sears building.
I suppose this is as good a place as any to insert what writers would call a parenthetical statement. It regards the driving habits in Latin America and a mind set the people embrace. First, painted lines in the streets identifying lanes or intersections are few – it is first come, first served. Second, signal lights on the streets (or on cars for that matter) don't seem to mean much except, "keep your eyes open, someone may run the light." Third, horns are meant to announce your presence. Fourth, it is a violation of your personal honor if you allow someone else to squeeze in front of you. Fifth, expect someone in your lane at any time driving opposite to the flow of traffic. Well, you get the idea. I saw a maneuver that I could not believe – a man next to us on our right hand side stuck his hand out and made a U turn across 6 lanes of traffic in heavy late afternoon rush hour. I still am amazed at how he did it without injury or war. OK, lets go on.
Maranantha is a live wire church and we are led to seats near the front under the large speakers. This was a very big mistake! It took one week before my left ear became functional again. The singers sang and sang, and the band played and played. Then there was more singing, the pastor preached, communion was served, a baby was dedicated, an altar call was given – by this time we had given up on returning to the first church. Finally, at 1:00 pm it was time for the Gideon presentation. Despite the lateness of the hour, I was repeatedly interrupted by applause as I told about the scripture distributions planned for the days ahead in schools and universities. In fact, I met many students during the week from that church at our distributions. Several people raised their hand to let me know they had come to faith in Christ as a result of a Gideon placed scripture. I left the church in a hurry as my need to visit a "bano" had been postponed far too long for my personal comfort. Thank you Jim, Arnie, and Mike for your concern for my personal situation.
Later that night we were taken to a mall every bit as modern as any in the USA, and we ate at a Tony Roma's restaurant. It was clearly apparent that there would be no starvation on this scripture blitz.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27
Prayer takes place at 5:30 am in the annex to Arnie's room. That means the alarm goes off at 4:30 am. As the week rolls along I'll let it slip to 5:00 am before I get out of bed. We are all on the 4th floor except for Ron and Randy who are on the 2nd floor. We all gather in TL Arnies room for prayer, including 5 – 10 of the local Valencia Gideon's, drivers, and translators. And, then it is down to the lobby at 6:00 am to assemble as teams, one US Gideon assigned to each team. My team is #5 which for the week will consist of Salomon, an 80 year old ball of fire who is a member of the Valencia Camp, his son-in-law Julio Silva who will be the driver and translator, and Alfredo who was my driver on Sunday. More on each of these men later.
The distributions will take a familiar pattern all week. We arrive at the first public "middle" school at 7:00 am and make arrangements with the school principal to distribute New Testaments to the students as they are lined up for the playing of the national anthem, flag salute, and announcements. When those are finished we are allowed to make an announcement about the reason we are there and then give every student a testament as they file by. Then we head off to a nearby private school, be it Catholic or Protestant or Montessori where we make the second distribution, often going classroom by classroom. Finally, around 10:30 we arrive at the third school of the morning, what would be "high schools" in the USA where we make classroom presentations. This means that Salomon would make a 5 minute statement about who we were and what the little book was all about, then we would give each student their own personal copy, and finally I would give them 5 minutes of English which would be translated into Spanish by Julio. I would close with "Las muchachas y senoritas de Valencia son muy bonita" which always brought big smiles from the girls.
In the evening we once again retired to Tony Roma's restaurant to regain our strength and prepare for the morrow.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28
This day is a repeat performance of Monday. School 1, school 2, and school 3. We are averaging about 2000 testaments per day, and all teams are totaling over 15,000 per day which bodes well for going over 80,000 for the week (actual count was 108,000+). It really is exciting when you realize these schools have not been covered by the Gideon's recently, and these students have never received a New Testament from a Gideon.
Recognizing that food might be scarce during the week and maybe next week as well, I asked to be taken to a super market for a few purchases to keep in the hotel room. I got 4 cans of tuna, 4 cans of deviled ham, a block of cheese, some crackers and wafers, diet Pepsi's, some bottled water and orange juice – all for 48,000 Bolivars or $30.00. I continued munching on those goodies while waiting in 4 different airports. Probably the most important thing a person can do when traveling is to load their backpack with snack food and water.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29
Today was University time. And there were 5 campuses to be worked. I was part of the group that covered the campus where Julio Silva was still teaching part time in the Chemical Engineering department. Our group of 20 Gideons placed about 12,000 testaments from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. We had a downpour at mid day that lasted an hour or so.
There were many occasions to talk to the students about their personal spiritual journey and the importance of the book we just placed in their hands. At 6:00 pm we pulled up stakes and went to connect with another team at another campus several miles distant. This is where we met one of those folks who got tired of waiting in a long line of cars, and decided to travel on our side of the road – in our lane! Found the others at 7:00 pm as they continued to work in the dark because evening students were still coming and going by the hundreds.
Hate to admit it, but tonight we went to a fine restaurant near the hotel and – I ordered filet mignon for $12.00. Felt guilty as sin, but enjoyed every bite.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30
Up again for 5:30 am prayer time, and down to the lobby at 6:00 am. Our first school this morning is a 1000 student Montessori School and the standards are very high. No kids goofing off here. The tuition is high and parents expect performance. Then off to a Catholic School where we are welcomed as well. And last, but not least, off to a school with no air conditioning where dedicated students and teachers work under difficult circumstances. A word about air conditioning in general. There is no central air conditioning. Classes will have a wall mounted unit, or they will have open windows and doors. Some classrooms will be, shall we say, a bit stifling. All schools will have locked and guarded gates. One principal even turned away some tardy students and sent them back home.
Tonight is our Pastors Banquet and victory celebration. A fine event it was and well attended by over 100 people. The food was excellent. The fellowship was great. The program was short. We got to bed before 11:00 pm. A good night.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31
This is our last day in Valencia as we will be sleeping in Caracas tonight in order to be near the airport on Saturday. So we packed our suitcases last night and will leave them in the room of one of the Gideons flying out of Valencia on Saturday. A little touch of sadness as these will be the last schools we cover. We spend a lot of time at the first school going room by room. Then at the break time I am surrounded by 15 year old kids who want to practice English with me. Some real sweethearts in the crowd. We finished up and went to school #2 where we received our only rejection of the trip. Don't know what the problem was, but my thoughts were that several hundred children were not going to receive a copy of God's Word that day. School #3 turned out to be a new state school under construction. My best photo of the trip came from this school.
After this school was completed we adjourned to the house of Julio Silva where we sipped that strange beverage the Venezuelans call "café" which is served in a small cup containing 1/3 sugar, 1/3 milk, and 1/3 coffee. You need all 3 to make it palatable. Julio started out the week as a driver and a translator – but he ended the week by becoming a Gideon and his wife became an Auxiliary member. I was able to donate my emblem and "pin" Julio so he was official. I always take some of my neck ties to other countries to give as gifts to people we work with. Julio and Salomon became the beneficiaries of 8 of my ties. In turn I received an inscribed tile, a cup, some local candy, and other special gifts from some very special people. After an hour of meeting the family of Julio, the subject of Salomon's woodworking shop came up which he wanted me to see so we drove to his house, appropriately named "La Dahlia" after his wife, for an inspection tour. Then it was back to the hotel to say our good byes and make sure we made connections for the drive back to Caracas. The van appeared around 3:00 pm. We paid our hotel bill of about ½ million Bolivars (that was scary), loaded luggage, and said good by to the people of Valencia. Caracas hove into view about 8:00 pm, we ate another magnificent meal at the El Presidente Hotel, and to bed we went.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 01
The faithful van was in place at 6:00 am when we checked out of the hotel. We stopped on the way to the airport for Adolfo Leonard who would guide us through the exit process and make sure we physically got on the airplane. Processing through a strange airport for the first time is a bit unnerving so we all appreciated Adolfo coming to see us through the system. I had brought my last baseball glove to give some youngster in Venezuela. Adolfo's son became the recipient.
On the flight back to Atlanta I sat next to a fellow who was reading a book with "Noah" printed on one page. I asked him what he was reading and was told that it was a lesson from the Torah. He was a Jew, born in Romania, and now living in the Washington D.C. area. He was a sales rep for a telephone company and his territory included South America and Southern Europe. I was able to give him a New Testament to accompany his Old Testament.
Arnie, Jim, and Mike met me at the baggage claim area of the Atlanta airport and we said our good byes as we all headed off in different directions. Although I was in the same concourse that I arrived from Venezuela, and that I would be departing for Russia from – about 50 feet away, I had to get my baggage and then check in and get security checked again which was about a 1 hour process.
The flight from Atlanta was a 500 passenger Air France 747, and I discovered that they really feed their passengers well. Even though it was the same old plastic, the French took pride in their cuisine and their service. The flight over the Atlantic Ocean was long and we lost a day as we came into Charles De Gaulle Airport around 8:00 am on Sunday morning. More about this strange airport when I make the return trip.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 02
My bags had been checked through to Moscow from Atlanta so I did not have to run through the baggage area. Just went to the message board and saw the flight to Moscow required me to go to a nearby gate. One strange thing about CDG airport is that at the gate was a bus which we all entered. Once the bus was packed with people, it dropped 10 feet or so as it was on hydraulics, and we took off for the Aeroflot airplane that would take us to Moscow. After flying all night across the Atlantic I was not exactly excited about climbing onto another airplane for another 4 hour flight. By the way, this flight did get exciting as we were landing in thick foggy overcast and then broke through the cover some 200 feet above ground – when the pilot gunned it full throttle for another go around. His voice came over the intercom a bit later and he explained, "the runway was occupied, I hope you understand." Time seems to stand still when you are having so much fun. Once we were firmly on the ground, it was time to grab the suitcases, and begin the strange dance through customs, immigration, make sure you follow the green line, not the red one, if you have nothing to declare.
Once safely through the last gate I look for my friend Curt Gustafsson from Alhambra who had previously come from Stockholm to Helsinki via ferry and then to Moscow on the train. It never dawned on me that it might be hard to find him among 1000 people, but fortunately I spotted him after 10 minutes and away we went, each pulling a suitcase behind us. I decided then and there that the person who put wheels on suitcases should be awarded a Nobel Prize next year. I had decided earlier to go with Curt on the buses and underground rail system to get a flavor of the public transit system of Moscow, so our first goal was to get on a bus going into the city where we could transfer to the trains. Like buses everywhere, this was an opportunity to get "up close and personal" with people. My wallet had long since been transferred to my front pocket, and my passport + half my cash was hanging from my neck so I felt secure. It was wet and cold outside so the windows fogged up quickly, but Curt was familiar with the route so we got off at the right place and began the trek to the underground.
A word about the public transportation system of Moscow – it is great! May Los Angeles dream of such a system. First, it is cheap. You pay once and then you can ride all day in any direction for the entry fee. You ride with interesting folks who are allowed to bring beer on board with them. No one talks to the other passengers. Everyone brings a book to read. Not a lot of smiles. Lord help the poor tourist who can't read the signs and doesn't understand Russian as they will end up 30 miles out in the boonies with not a clue as to how to get back to their starting point – but that is the beauty of the system, you can ride it all night long without paying another entry fee, and sooner or later you will end up where you started from (if you recognize it). We got off and walked a couple of miles to the venerable Sputnik Hotel where the room cost was $35 versus the $65 we paid in Venezuela. That should give you a hint as to the difference in rating, 4 stars versus 1 star. But, after traveling 30 hours – give me a bed and leave me alone. Back on the 4th floor again. No hall cameras here, but real live floor monitors.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 03
Let's talk about the room a moment. First, the toilet is built ½" from the wall. Sitting down requires a dextrous sideways motion so you don't scrape against the metal toilet paper hanger. If you require soft tissue, bring your own from home. Second, the shower IS the bathroom. By that I mean you have a shower wand and you shower standing in front of the sink with water draining who knows where. I decided that I had had showers every day in Venezuela and my trip to Russia was short enough that I could get by without showering for awhile. Well, lets just say that the rooms are quaint, and you really are not going to be in them except for sleeping anyway. Now for the good news. Breakfast is included in the room price. And they serve a big buffet breakfast with most of the food being quite good and edible – no complaints on the BK at all. Only complaint is that everyone smokes. All these young people are huffing and puffing on cigarettes and ruining their lungs. You have to stay down wind from these nicotine fiend addicts.
This Moscow part of the trip was on behalf of Institute for Bible Translation, rather than for the Gideons. There is a connection between the two organizations in that the Gideon's currently use 2 of IBT's translations (Georgian and Azer), and hopefully will use more IBT translations in the future as the CIS republics are developed. Remember, the Russian language was imposed by the former Communist regime on some 140 people groups whose native language is not Russian. The center of IBT's operations was moved from Stockholm to Moscow earlier this year, and the 6 countries with IBT offices are exploring procedures to develop an International association.
The offices of IBT Russia are in a Russian Orthodox Monastery which is located 1–2 miles from the Sputnik Hotel and next to the Moscow River. You get there by foot through mud and drizzle. Great exercise, but I went to old walking shoes immediately after my boots were caked with mud. The international polyglot of people at these meetings was really amazing. Although English was the "official" language for the meetings, people struggling for words could be heard speaking Russian, Swedish, Finnish, Spanish, English, and even Croatian. People were there from throughout the CIS as well because the prior week had been a 30th anniversary celebration of the work of IBT in translating and publishing scriptures into the non Slavic languages of the former USSR.
The meetings today are informal, designed to introduce the 20 or 30 people from 6 countries to each other before the official board meetings of Tuesday and Wednesday. It is amazing to see the dedication of people who are committed to the translation of scripture into the heart language of the people groups great landmass that stretches across 11 time zones.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 04
The board meeting agendas are private and cannot be repeated here. But, let me say that it was a delight to interact with these people and establish eye to eye relationships. Lunch was had in the monastery lunchroom and consisted of soup and a meat plate. I believe on Wednesday they slipped some liver by me that looked like a hamburger patty. I don't eat liver but I swallowed this, can't offend your hosts you know. Dinner was at an Italian Restaurant down the street. It could have passed for Spaghetti Eddies in Glendora. The menu was in Russian and Italian. I could guess at the Italian did all right, except what I thought was an Antipasto salad turned out to be raw salmon. Well, like the liver, you make the best of it. I still had a backpack of Venezuelan snacks in the room so I wasn't suffering.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 05
The International IBT board meetings continued for the day with an agreement to meet again in October 2004. Many people are leaving at mid-day so Curt invites me for the obligatory tourist run through Red Square, the Kremlin, various Orthodox church buildings, and the Mall. Seems like everyone wants to take you to their malls, no matter what country – not realizing that I now spend my waking hours trying to figure out how to avoid going to the malls where I live.
We did the two hour walk and took our photos. Next trip I'll take a full day and do it again. It's a great city with a lot of history. We are a country (USA) that has never suffered invasion by foreign armies, but Russia has a long history of destructive invasion and that plays a part in the mindset of the people. I look forward to going back. It is easy to feel at home here among these people. Having grown up in the 1940's and 1950's with the cold war mentality of the times, it was hard moving among the Russian people this week and understanding how two peoples could have been on opposite sides. It is too bad governments build fences and barricades between people. The Russian people look like us, they act like us, they think like us. It is hard to see any difference between them and me, except I can't speak Russian.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 06
The car to the airport will be in the lobby of the Sputnik Hotel at 5:30 am. I guess I'm afraid of missing him so I'm checked out and waiting by 5:00 am. I left a pretty white Russian Testament for the maid with $2.00 in the cover. Curt wanted to go to the airport with me, and that was a good move – the airport is 20 some odd miles out of town. It was another beautiful day hovering around 30 degrees and drizzling. You expect Dr. Zhivago to step out of the fog looking for Lara. We pass a huge IKEA on the way. I check my bags all the way to LAX – now that was an act of faith. We are going to chase the sun from Moscow to Los Angeles. We will spend the next 18 or 19 hours in the air and airports, but only 6 or 7 hours on the clock. I think we left Moscow and arrived at Paris about the same time. It is helpful to take someone with you who speaks French when you travel to Paris. The Charles De Gaulle airport is the largest airport I have ever been to. People are transported to and from international flights by busses. Transferring by bus from check in to the Air France plane was a 15 minute journey, and I don't know how the bus driver found the airplane without a map. Locked and loaded, we took off around 11:30 am. Once again the cuisine was superb and the service was excellent. Now, if only I could have gone first class. I have to admit that flying long distances in coach must be punishment for my failure to come to a complete stop at all those stop signs my wife points out to me.
The flight to LAX was interesting. I assumed we would fly near New York City and keep going on a straight line to Los Angeles. Foolish me, who forgot about Eric the Red and Leif Erickson. We skirted under Ireland, then kissed the tip of Greenland, flew over Hudson Bay, turned left as we passed over Calgary and Edmonton, and flew a straight path south between Idaho and Washington on a direct route over San Francisco and Bakersfield to LAX. Hit the Tom Bradley terminal around 4:30 pm and had my passport checked more times than at any of the other airports we visited. Then came the really tough part. Getting on the #405 and #10 freeways at rush hour. I told my son – get on the #105 and go to the #605. But you know how sons are, they have to go their own way in life. I was just happy to be a passenger with my luggage in the trunk of the car, knowing I did not have to pull out my passport anymore and answer questions about what kind of fruit, vegetables, or contraband I was bring into the country. Got to my front door at 8:00 pm, said hello to everyone, hugged the wife, hit the shower, thanked my son for the ride, and went to bed.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 07 - 13
For the last 2 or 3 days, it has been bedtime around 6:00 pm and waking up at 2:00 am. Then 3:00 am. Then 4:00 am. By Wednesday the 13th everything is back to normal and I am finishing this report.
CONCLUSIONS
Would not have missed it for the world. Life is far too short not to take advantage of every opportunity to make a difference in the lives of other people.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24
As Benjamin Franklin once said, "Early to bed, early to rise" – so you can stand in line at an airport for a security check. It was the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, and it was the longest security line I have ever had the pleasure of standing in. It made the Pirates of the Caribbean line at Disneyland look comparatively small. My theory is that if a "bad guy" accidentally got in line, the airport security would have him trapped for an hour while they evaluated the situation. Well, we finally cleared security with about 3.5 minutes to spare. It is always fun carrying your boots in one hand and backpack in the other as you run to make sure you get in the plane before it takes off with out you. I am sure I was seated next to a fine human being, but being 63 years old at the time I cannot recall who it was, whether male or female, young or old. The plane lifted up on time, we ate our meal from a bag that we grabbed as we went through the runway, and we arrived at Atlanta, Georgia on time.
It seems that airports put the international concourses as far away as possible from arriving domestic flights. I accidentally got on the tram as it showed up while I was reading signs. As we sped by Concourse A, B, C, D, on our way to Concourse E, I muttered a sigh of relief that I had found the tram, or that it had found me. It must have been a 1 or 2 mile walk for those people who did not take the tram. Once at Concourse E, it was just a small matter of walking to the very end of the building where I spotted Arnie Burk (Arkansas), Team Leader for this adventure, sitting with fellow Gideon Mike Argall (Colorado). Soon, James Gray (Georgia) arrived and we were on our way to Caracas, Venezuela where we would sleep that night. It was an uneventful flight. Can't remember if we ate or not, can't remember who sat next to me either. Seemed we always gave a N/T to whoever it was, so maybe we will all see each other again anyway. Two other Gideons, Ron Simpson (Arkansas) and Randy Crowe (Tennessee) had a direct flight to Valencia and we would connect with them on Saturday or Sunday.
We arrived at the Caracas airport in the evening and were met by Adolfo Leonard, the National Field Officer for Venezuela who is headquartered in Caracas. We secured our baggage which arrived safely - for which we are always grateful. I must mention that I had one suitcase packed with clothes for 29 degree weather and one suitcase packed with clothes for 85 degree weather. It was always lurking in the back of my mind that the wrong suitcase would end up at the wrong place at the wrong time. Nothing like having T-shirts and shorts in Moscow in November; or mufflers, hats, sweats, and boots in Venezuela.
Got to the hotel, El Presidente, around 8:00pm. This was a super duper hotel, meaning everything worked, the restaurant was excellent, and they took Mastercard and VISA. Had dinner with the US Gideon crew, changed a $20 for 32,000 Bolivars, hit the sack, and slept like a log.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25
We decided to rise early in order to go to Adolfo Leonard's office where the scriptures are stored. We volunteered to help him unload a truck assuming he needed help, but when we got there about 10 young strong men were already unloading the truck – sure was glad to see them. I wandered upstairs and right into the Caracas Camp Saturday Morning Prayer Meeting. That was nice. Got some good pictures of some Auxiliary members and the Gideon's who were praying for the success of the Valencia Blitz. About 10:00am we hopped into the van which was going to take us from Caracas to Valencia, about a 3 hour drive over a mountain range. Valencia is in the state of Carabobo which is an economic hub of the country with a lot of industry and manufacturing. The oil production is east in the area of Maracaibo and gasoline is about 35 cents per gallon. We arrived in Valencia about mid-afternoon and checked into another excellent hotel, although the security guards at the gate with loaded pistols did make me wonder a bit.
That afternoon we were taken to a fast food court at a local mall where I had a slice of pizza and tried to pose as a local native. The only one who really passed was Gideon Lennart Svedman who arrived in Caracas earlier, a Swede who spent 11 years in Chile as a missionary and speaks Spanish fluently. It was hard paying 10,000 or 20,000 Bolivars for food because we did not have the exchange rate memorized yet ($1.00 = 1600 Bolivars). Simon Bolivar looks the same on all of the bills. In the evening we had our first planning meeting at the hotel where the Gideons from the USA and Valencia, plus our translators and drivers had a chance to meet each other and receive instructions for the week. Later that evening we were assigned our church services for Sunday.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 26
Everyone from the USA team was assigned to speak in 2 or 3 church services with a translator and a driver. My translator was Lilian, a co-pastor of a Vineyard Church in Valencia, and my driver was Alfredo who was a member on one of the churches on our list. Alfredo stopped at his church (Asamblea de Dios) to make sure we were still on the program, and then we proceeded to the second church which was named Maranantha. It was a large church of 1,000 people and they had taken over a vacated Sears building.
I suppose this is as good a place as any to insert what writers would call a parenthetical statement. It regards the driving habits in Latin America and a mind set the people embrace. First, painted lines in the streets identifying lanes or intersections are few – it is first come, first served. Second, signal lights on the streets (or on cars for that matter) don't seem to mean much except, "keep your eyes open, someone may run the light." Third, horns are meant to announce your presence. Fourth, it is a violation of your personal honor if you allow someone else to squeeze in front of you. Fifth, expect someone in your lane at any time driving opposite to the flow of traffic. Well, you get the idea. I saw a maneuver that I could not believe – a man next to us on our right hand side stuck his hand out and made a U turn across 6 lanes of traffic in heavy late afternoon rush hour. I still am amazed at how he did it without injury or war. OK, lets go on.
Maranantha is a live wire church and we are led to seats near the front under the large speakers. This was a very big mistake! It took one week before my left ear became functional again. The singers sang and sang, and the band played and played. Then there was more singing, the pastor preached, communion was served, a baby was dedicated, an altar call was given – by this time we had given up on returning to the first church. Finally, at 1:00 pm it was time for the Gideon presentation. Despite the lateness of the hour, I was repeatedly interrupted by applause as I told about the scripture distributions planned for the days ahead in schools and universities. In fact, I met many students during the week from that church at our distributions. Several people raised their hand to let me know they had come to faith in Christ as a result of a Gideon placed scripture. I left the church in a hurry as my need to visit a "bano" had been postponed far too long for my personal comfort. Thank you Jim, Arnie, and Mike for your concern for my personal situation.
Later that night we were taken to a mall every bit as modern as any in the USA, and we ate at a Tony Roma's restaurant. It was clearly apparent that there would be no starvation on this scripture blitz.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 27
Prayer takes place at 5:30 am in the annex to Arnie's room. That means the alarm goes off at 4:30 am. As the week rolls along I'll let it slip to 5:00 am before I get out of bed. We are all on the 4th floor except for Ron and Randy who are on the 2nd floor. We all gather in TL Arnies room for prayer, including 5 – 10 of the local Valencia Gideon's, drivers, and translators. And, then it is down to the lobby at 6:00 am to assemble as teams, one US Gideon assigned to each team. My team is #5 which for the week will consist of Salomon, an 80 year old ball of fire who is a member of the Valencia Camp, his son-in-law Julio Silva who will be the driver and translator, and Alfredo who was my driver on Sunday. More on each of these men later.
The distributions will take a familiar pattern all week. We arrive at the first public "middle" school at 7:00 am and make arrangements with the school principal to distribute New Testaments to the students as they are lined up for the playing of the national anthem, flag salute, and announcements. When those are finished we are allowed to make an announcement about the reason we are there and then give every student a testament as they file by. Then we head off to a nearby private school, be it Catholic or Protestant or Montessori where we make the second distribution, often going classroom by classroom. Finally, around 10:30 we arrive at the third school of the morning, what would be "high schools" in the USA where we make classroom presentations. This means that Salomon would make a 5 minute statement about who we were and what the little book was all about, then we would give each student their own personal copy, and finally I would give them 5 minutes of English which would be translated into Spanish by Julio. I would close with "Las muchachas y senoritas de Valencia son muy bonita" which always brought big smiles from the girls.
In the evening we once again retired to Tony Roma's restaurant to regain our strength and prepare for the morrow.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28
This day is a repeat performance of Monday. School 1, school 2, and school 3. We are averaging about 2000 testaments per day, and all teams are totaling over 15,000 per day which bodes well for going over 80,000 for the week (actual count was 108,000+). It really is exciting when you realize these schools have not been covered by the Gideon's recently, and these students have never received a New Testament from a Gideon.
Recognizing that food might be scarce during the week and maybe next week as well, I asked to be taken to a super market for a few purchases to keep in the hotel room. I got 4 cans of tuna, 4 cans of deviled ham, a block of cheese, some crackers and wafers, diet Pepsi's, some bottled water and orange juice – all for 48,000 Bolivars or $30.00. I continued munching on those goodies while waiting in 4 different airports. Probably the most important thing a person can do when traveling is to load their backpack with snack food and water.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29
Today was University time. And there were 5 campuses to be worked. I was part of the group that covered the campus where Julio Silva was still teaching part time in the Chemical Engineering department. Our group of 20 Gideons placed about 12,000 testaments from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. We had a downpour at mid day that lasted an hour or so.
There were many occasions to talk to the students about their personal spiritual journey and the importance of the book we just placed in their hands. At 6:00 pm we pulled up stakes and went to connect with another team at another campus several miles distant. This is where we met one of those folks who got tired of waiting in a long line of cars, and decided to travel on our side of the road – in our lane! Found the others at 7:00 pm as they continued to work in the dark because evening students were still coming and going by the hundreds.
Hate to admit it, but tonight we went to a fine restaurant near the hotel and – I ordered filet mignon for $12.00. Felt guilty as sin, but enjoyed every bite.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30
Up again for 5:30 am prayer time, and down to the lobby at 6:00 am. Our first school this morning is a 1000 student Montessori School and the standards are very high. No kids goofing off here. The tuition is high and parents expect performance. Then off to a Catholic School where we are welcomed as well. And last, but not least, off to a school with no air conditioning where dedicated students and teachers work under difficult circumstances. A word about air conditioning in general. There is no central air conditioning. Classes will have a wall mounted unit, or they will have open windows and doors. Some classrooms will be, shall we say, a bit stifling. All schools will have locked and guarded gates. One principal even turned away some tardy students and sent them back home.
Tonight is our Pastors Banquet and victory celebration. A fine event it was and well attended by over 100 people. The food was excellent. The fellowship was great. The program was short. We got to bed before 11:00 pm. A good night.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31
This is our last day in Valencia as we will be sleeping in Caracas tonight in order to be near the airport on Saturday. So we packed our suitcases last night and will leave them in the room of one of the Gideons flying out of Valencia on Saturday. A little touch of sadness as these will be the last schools we cover. We spend a lot of time at the first school going room by room. Then at the break time I am surrounded by 15 year old kids who want to practice English with me. Some real sweethearts in the crowd. We finished up and went to school #2 where we received our only rejection of the trip. Don't know what the problem was, but my thoughts were that several hundred children were not going to receive a copy of God's Word that day. School #3 turned out to be a new state school under construction. My best photo of the trip came from this school.
After this school was completed we adjourned to the house of Julio Silva where we sipped that strange beverage the Venezuelans call "café" which is served in a small cup containing 1/3 sugar, 1/3 milk, and 1/3 coffee. You need all 3 to make it palatable. Julio started out the week as a driver and a translator – but he ended the week by becoming a Gideon and his wife became an Auxiliary member. I was able to donate my emblem and "pin" Julio so he was official. I always take some of my neck ties to other countries to give as gifts to people we work with. Julio and Salomon became the beneficiaries of 8 of my ties. In turn I received an inscribed tile, a cup, some local candy, and other special gifts from some very special people. After an hour of meeting the family of Julio, the subject of Salomon's woodworking shop came up which he wanted me to see so we drove to his house, appropriately named "La Dahlia" after his wife, for an inspection tour. Then it was back to the hotel to say our good byes and make sure we made connections for the drive back to Caracas. The van appeared around 3:00 pm. We paid our hotel bill of about ½ million Bolivars (that was scary), loaded luggage, and said good by to the people of Valencia. Caracas hove into view about 8:00 pm, we ate another magnificent meal at the El Presidente Hotel, and to bed we went.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 01
The faithful van was in place at 6:00 am when we checked out of the hotel. We stopped on the way to the airport for Adolfo Leonard who would guide us through the exit process and make sure we physically got on the airplane. Processing through a strange airport for the first time is a bit unnerving so we all appreciated Adolfo coming to see us through the system. I had brought my last baseball glove to give some youngster in Venezuela. Adolfo's son became the recipient.
On the flight back to Atlanta I sat next to a fellow who was reading a book with "Noah" printed on one page. I asked him what he was reading and was told that it was a lesson from the Torah. He was a Jew, born in Romania, and now living in the Washington D.C. area. He was a sales rep for a telephone company and his territory included South America and Southern Europe. I was able to give him a New Testament to accompany his Old Testament.
Arnie, Jim, and Mike met me at the baggage claim area of the Atlanta airport and we said our good byes as we all headed off in different directions. Although I was in the same concourse that I arrived from Venezuela, and that I would be departing for Russia from – about 50 feet away, I had to get my baggage and then check in and get security checked again which was about a 1 hour process.
The flight from Atlanta was a 500 passenger Air France 747, and I discovered that they really feed their passengers well. Even though it was the same old plastic, the French took pride in their cuisine and their service. The flight over the Atlantic Ocean was long and we lost a day as we came into Charles De Gaulle Airport around 8:00 am on Sunday morning. More about this strange airport when I make the return trip.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 02
My bags had been checked through to Moscow from Atlanta so I did not have to run through the baggage area. Just went to the message board and saw the flight to Moscow required me to go to a nearby gate. One strange thing about CDG airport is that at the gate was a bus which we all entered. Once the bus was packed with people, it dropped 10 feet or so as it was on hydraulics, and we took off for the Aeroflot airplane that would take us to Moscow. After flying all night across the Atlantic I was not exactly excited about climbing onto another airplane for another 4 hour flight. By the way, this flight did get exciting as we were landing in thick foggy overcast and then broke through the cover some 200 feet above ground – when the pilot gunned it full throttle for another go around. His voice came over the intercom a bit later and he explained, "the runway was occupied, I hope you understand." Time seems to stand still when you are having so much fun. Once we were firmly on the ground, it was time to grab the suitcases, and begin the strange dance through customs, immigration, make sure you follow the green line, not the red one, if you have nothing to declare.
Once safely through the last gate I look for my friend Curt Gustafsson from Alhambra who had previously come from Stockholm to Helsinki via ferry and then to Moscow on the train. It never dawned on me that it might be hard to find him among 1000 people, but fortunately I spotted him after 10 minutes and away we went, each pulling a suitcase behind us. I decided then and there that the person who put wheels on suitcases should be awarded a Nobel Prize next year. I had decided earlier to go with Curt on the buses and underground rail system to get a flavor of the public transit system of Moscow, so our first goal was to get on a bus going into the city where we could transfer to the trains. Like buses everywhere, this was an opportunity to get "up close and personal" with people. My wallet had long since been transferred to my front pocket, and my passport + half my cash was hanging from my neck so I felt secure. It was wet and cold outside so the windows fogged up quickly, but Curt was familiar with the route so we got off at the right place and began the trek to the underground.
A word about the public transportation system of Moscow – it is great! May Los Angeles dream of such a system. First, it is cheap. You pay once and then you can ride all day in any direction for the entry fee. You ride with interesting folks who are allowed to bring beer on board with them. No one talks to the other passengers. Everyone brings a book to read. Not a lot of smiles. Lord help the poor tourist who can't read the signs and doesn't understand Russian as they will end up 30 miles out in the boonies with not a clue as to how to get back to their starting point – but that is the beauty of the system, you can ride it all night long without paying another entry fee, and sooner or later you will end up where you started from (if you recognize it). We got off and walked a couple of miles to the venerable Sputnik Hotel where the room cost was $35 versus the $65 we paid in Venezuela. That should give you a hint as to the difference in rating, 4 stars versus 1 star. But, after traveling 30 hours – give me a bed and leave me alone. Back on the 4th floor again. No hall cameras here, but real live floor monitors.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 03
Let's talk about the room a moment. First, the toilet is built ½" from the wall. Sitting down requires a dextrous sideways motion so you don't scrape against the metal toilet paper hanger. If you require soft tissue, bring your own from home. Second, the shower IS the bathroom. By that I mean you have a shower wand and you shower standing in front of the sink with water draining who knows where. I decided that I had had showers every day in Venezuela and my trip to Russia was short enough that I could get by without showering for awhile. Well, lets just say that the rooms are quaint, and you really are not going to be in them except for sleeping anyway. Now for the good news. Breakfast is included in the room price. And they serve a big buffet breakfast with most of the food being quite good and edible – no complaints on the BK at all. Only complaint is that everyone smokes. All these young people are huffing and puffing on cigarettes and ruining their lungs. You have to stay down wind from these nicotine fiend addicts.
This Moscow part of the trip was on behalf of Institute for Bible Translation, rather than for the Gideons. There is a connection between the two organizations in that the Gideon's currently use 2 of IBT's translations (Georgian and Azer), and hopefully will use more IBT translations in the future as the CIS republics are developed. Remember, the Russian language was imposed by the former Communist regime on some 140 people groups whose native language is not Russian. The center of IBT's operations was moved from Stockholm to Moscow earlier this year, and the 6 countries with IBT offices are exploring procedures to develop an International association.
The offices of IBT Russia are in a Russian Orthodox Monastery which is located 1–2 miles from the Sputnik Hotel and next to the Moscow River. You get there by foot through mud and drizzle. Great exercise, but I went to old walking shoes immediately after my boots were caked with mud. The international polyglot of people at these meetings was really amazing. Although English was the "official" language for the meetings, people struggling for words could be heard speaking Russian, Swedish, Finnish, Spanish, English, and even Croatian. People were there from throughout the CIS as well because the prior week had been a 30th anniversary celebration of the work of IBT in translating and publishing scriptures into the non Slavic languages of the former USSR.
The meetings today are informal, designed to introduce the 20 or 30 people from 6 countries to each other before the official board meetings of Tuesday and Wednesday. It is amazing to see the dedication of people who are committed to the translation of scripture into the heart language of the people groups great landmass that stretches across 11 time zones.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 04
The board meeting agendas are private and cannot be repeated here. But, let me say that it was a delight to interact with these people and establish eye to eye relationships. Lunch was had in the monastery lunchroom and consisted of soup and a meat plate. I believe on Wednesday they slipped some liver by me that looked like a hamburger patty. I don't eat liver but I swallowed this, can't offend your hosts you know. Dinner was at an Italian Restaurant down the street. It could have passed for Spaghetti Eddies in Glendora. The menu was in Russian and Italian. I could guess at the Italian did all right, except what I thought was an Antipasto salad turned out to be raw salmon. Well, like the liver, you make the best of it. I still had a backpack of Venezuelan snacks in the room so I wasn't suffering.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 05
The International IBT board meetings continued for the day with an agreement to meet again in October 2004. Many people are leaving at mid-day so Curt invites me for the obligatory tourist run through Red Square, the Kremlin, various Orthodox church buildings, and the Mall. Seems like everyone wants to take you to their malls, no matter what country – not realizing that I now spend my waking hours trying to figure out how to avoid going to the malls where I live.
We did the two hour walk and took our photos. Next trip I'll take a full day and do it again. It's a great city with a lot of history. We are a country (USA) that has never suffered invasion by foreign armies, but Russia has a long history of destructive invasion and that plays a part in the mindset of the people. I look forward to going back. It is easy to feel at home here among these people. Having grown up in the 1940's and 1950's with the cold war mentality of the times, it was hard moving among the Russian people this week and understanding how two peoples could have been on opposite sides. It is too bad governments build fences and barricades between people. The Russian people look like us, they act like us, they think like us. It is hard to see any difference between them and me, except I can't speak Russian.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 06
The car to the airport will be in the lobby of the Sputnik Hotel at 5:30 am. I guess I'm afraid of missing him so I'm checked out and waiting by 5:00 am. I left a pretty white Russian Testament for the maid with $2.00 in the cover. Curt wanted to go to the airport with me, and that was a good move – the airport is 20 some odd miles out of town. It was another beautiful day hovering around 30 degrees and drizzling. You expect Dr. Zhivago to step out of the fog looking for Lara. We pass a huge IKEA on the way. I check my bags all the way to LAX – now that was an act of faith. We are going to chase the sun from Moscow to Los Angeles. We will spend the next 18 or 19 hours in the air and airports, but only 6 or 7 hours on the clock. I think we left Moscow and arrived at Paris about the same time. It is helpful to take someone with you who speaks French when you travel to Paris. The Charles De Gaulle airport is the largest airport I have ever been to. People are transported to and from international flights by busses. Transferring by bus from check in to the Air France plane was a 15 minute journey, and I don't know how the bus driver found the airplane without a map. Locked and loaded, we took off around 11:30 am. Once again the cuisine was superb and the service was excellent. Now, if only I could have gone first class. I have to admit that flying long distances in coach must be punishment for my failure to come to a complete stop at all those stop signs my wife points out to me.
The flight to LAX was interesting. I assumed we would fly near New York City and keep going on a straight line to Los Angeles. Foolish me, who forgot about Eric the Red and Leif Erickson. We skirted under Ireland, then kissed the tip of Greenland, flew over Hudson Bay, turned left as we passed over Calgary and Edmonton, and flew a straight path south between Idaho and Washington on a direct route over San Francisco and Bakersfield to LAX. Hit the Tom Bradley terminal around 4:30 pm and had my passport checked more times than at any of the other airports we visited. Then came the really tough part. Getting on the #405 and #10 freeways at rush hour. I told my son – get on the #105 and go to the #605. But you know how sons are, they have to go their own way in life. I was just happy to be a passenger with my luggage in the trunk of the car, knowing I did not have to pull out my passport anymore and answer questions about what kind of fruit, vegetables, or contraband I was bring into the country. Got to my front door at 8:00 pm, said hello to everyone, hugged the wife, hit the shower, thanked my son for the ride, and went to bed.
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 07 - 13
For the last 2 or 3 days, it has been bedtime around 6:00 pm and waking up at 2:00 am. Then 3:00 am. Then 4:00 am. By Wednesday the 13th everything is back to normal and I am finishing this report.
CONCLUSIONS
Would not have missed it for the world. Life is far too short not to take advantage of every opportunity to make a difference in the lives of other people.
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