To Russia with memories

To Russia with memories

Anyone who has read my first book, ‘Are we nearly there yet?’ will know about our first trip to Moscow in 1988 and the traumas that amazing trip involved. So it was with that trip in our memories we proceeded with interest, a week ago, to see how the old place has changed over the past twenty one years.

The motive for the trip is the same as it was in 1988 – to help bring the scriptures to those who do not have them. I was representing the UK Board of the Institute for Bible Translation (IBT) at the annual Board meeting of IBT Russia. I have been on the Board of IBT UK for five years. The head office for the mission is situated in an ancient Monastery on the banks of the Moscow River. Here a dedicated staff organise the translation and printing of scriptures into the non-Slavic languages of the former Soviet Union. There are 140 such languages and they cover 40 million people who have little or nothing of the scriptures in their mother tongue. ‘Every tribe, every tongue, every nation’ Rev. 5:9 is the watchword.

So far we have printed at least a Gospel and usually much more into 80 of these languages. So far a full Bible in five languages and a complete New Testament in twenty six languages. Languages such as Chechen, Gagauzi, Tartar, Armenian, Uzbek, Georgian, Uighur, Yakut, Ossetic, Turkmen, Tuvin – just to name a few of the more well known. Included in the work has been a children’s Bible in 36 languages. The children’s’ Bibles are particularly important because their parents will make sure the children learn to read in their own mother tongue and often, this is the only book they may have. The work is incredibly difficult and new words sometimes have to be developed to get the Biblical meaning of words like ‘Lord’ across. A single Gospel can take up to ten years to translate. Most projects take five years or more.

Moscow has changed! The roads are gridlocked and the streets lined with parked Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and masses of 4X4 cruisers – all covered in mud. Red Square is about the same except for the famous Gum stores. It used to stock expensive rubbish, but now it has the world’s collection of super-rich designer shops where they dare not advertise the prices. ‘If you need to ask the price – you can’t afford it!’ High officials and mafia tough guys float around the place with their beautiful molls on their arms, dressed in four inch heels, jewellery and expensive furs. I got chatting to one who came and sat by me (I think out of curiosity) until her tough looking bloke with cropped hair, a black leather jacket, bulging muscles and no sense of humour, came and stared at me before whisking her away, as she quickly explained that I was only some stupid English tourist. The highlight for us was a visit to the Moscow State Circus. What an amazing show! Animals galore, with trained Lions, a massive tiger, leopard, camels, monkeys, ostriches, horses, lamas, parrots, all performing the most unlikely routines. The finale, which brought the house down, was a single seal that performed the most amazing feats I have ever seen. The lighting, lasers, special effects, intricate sets, and music, all combined to add to an amazing show.

We were reminded of just how big Moscow is as we walked endlessly between our accommodation(at a Methodist Seminary), the monastery, Metro stations, church and tourist attractions. We came home exhausted. My lack of fitness, bad knee and short legs made it rather a trial. The Metro stations are still done up like Tsarist palaces and the old wooden escalators whisk hundreds of people at a time, at high speed, down to near the centre of the earth. The Metro trains are noisy and propel themselves across Moscow at about a thousand miles an hour. Great fun except we couldn’t read the station names in Cyrillic script. A thirty five year veteran of IBT was Barbro who was our guide and lovely companion.

At the board meeting, I had my arm lovingly but effectively twisted to take on the new role of International Chairman. So we will be going back next year too. I must try to get fit – or what passes as fit with me – before then.