Our thanks to Raymond and Cindy LeClair, ACSI Regional Directors in the Commonwealth of Independent States, for providing the following “snapshots” from the Christian Teacher ’98 conference. The conference was designed for Christian teachers from public and Christian schools in the former Soviet Union. This four-day event is the highlight of the year for many Christian teachers because of the unique training it offers as well as the fellowship and sense of solidarity it provides to many who often feel isolated in a secular—sometimes even hostile—environment.
Tuesday, March 24, 1998
0930 Excitement is like electricity in the air! Teachers are arriving at the conference facility even before registration opens. There are expressions of great expectation on their faces. It’s obvious that this event has been long awaited. There are a few tired yawns—most of the teachers traveled overnight on crowded trains. Marina, a teacher in a small, new Christian school in Siberia, was provided airfare by a generous American donor, but instead she chose to use those funds to purchase two round-trip train tickets so that another teacher from her city could attend as well. They endured a grueling two-day, third-class train ride in order to get to Kiev and participate in this year’s conference.
1300 The turnout of teachers is excellent. More than 250 have already registered, arriving from every oblast [political subdivision] of Ukraine and from Russia, Belarus, and Armenia. We expect a busload of local teachers from Kiev still to arrive—but where will they sit? The auditorium will hold only 300 people. I guess we’ll have to put the lecturers, workshop leaders, and interpreters on the stage.
1600 So far, so good. The auditorium is packed to overflowing with eager teachers intently listening to every word and furiously scribbling notes so that the material can be shared with colleagues back home. Lectures on Christian worldview—particularly as it relates to educators—seem to be right on target. The lecturer is Dr. John Shortt of Stapleford House Education Centre, England.
1800 Suppertime! Our team of young ushers with their borrowed walkie-talkies does a great job of directing traffic and collecting meal tickets. Beets, buckwheat kasha [porridge], and greasy meatballs aren’t half as delicious as the conversation of friends who haven’t seen one another since last year’s conference. Judging by the noise level, that extra hour of fellowship scheduled after tea is most welcome!
Wednesday March 25, 1998
0945 What a voice! Local Christian musicians provide a musical break from the rigors of lectures and note-taking.
1130 Choices! Choices! “With the possibility of attending only six workshops out of thirty, how can we decide?” ask the teachers. Check out the workshop leaders . . . Hungarian, Russian, Irish, Ukrainian, Canadian, American, . . . Texan! All the topics look good—and so practical. Too bad some of the make-do workshop rooms are so small. In one popular session, forty people share seating on twelve beds and the floor!
1530 Uh-oh! The local police arrive. Will it be a repeat of last year’s threats and interrogations? Nope. Just checking to see that capacity seating and fire regulations are being met. A local Christian attorney is in attendance . . . just in case. No hassles, no threats—just some muttered comments about “ideological brainwashing by the CIA” from some elderly hardliners who live at the conference facility. At the same time, the kitchen staff asks Cindy to tell them what she thinks about God!
1900 After a quick supper of sandwiches on the run, the lecturers and workshop leaders enjoy a concert of Ukrainian folk instruments at the Kiev National Opera Theater. After a supper of beets, buckwheat kasha, and greasy meatballs, the conference participants view a Russian-language video on “Teaching with Style,” by Walk Through the Bible’s Dr. Bruce Wilkinson.
Thursday March 26, 1998
1015 During the break teachers turn in tearfully written thank-you cards to be sent to donors who provided funds to help them attend the conference. Many teachers who work in public schools haven’t received their pay for three months or more. Most had to borrow funds to get to the conference. In many cases, their churches helped them to attend.
1600 That long-awaited moment . . . the book sale! In stampede manner, the teachers approach the booksellers, who offer Christian literature that is unavailable in small towns or points far from large evangelical communities. Many teachers come with funds from their pastors to buy tapes, videos, and books for various church ministries. We and our staff rejoiced that this year we were able to add to our center’s list of nine previously published titles Dr. David Noebel’s Understanding the Times. After almost two years of being translated, edited, re-edited, formatted, proofed, and so forth, the book arrived—hot off the presses—in time to be available to the teachers of this conference. PTL!
2000 Ray and Cindy are interviewed by a correspondent from a Christian newspaper in Odessa, Ukraine. Mention of our conference has been noted in a wide range of Ukrainian Christian publications.
Friday March 27, 1998
0930 The teachers spontaneously call for an offering to be taken for “My Father’s House,” after a moving presentation by the director of this organization that provides refuge, Christian care, and schooling for the growing population of abandoned children in Kiev. In spite of hard economic times, almost six hundred dollars is collected.
1300 No conference is complete without the official farewell and “lecturer appreciation program” organized by the participants themselves. This is a time to laugh and cry together as a small group of volunteers recite poetry, and sing and perform humorous skits to remember highlights of the conference and endearing traits of the lecturers. Each lecturer and staff member is honored with a card, a poem, or a small gift. The participants know about Cindy’s love of decorated Ukrainian eggs and make a lovely addition to her collection. Nobody really wants to leave the warm family-like atmosphere that has developed in just a few days, but train schedules are train schedules, so no one can linger too long at our last marvelous luncheon of beets, buckwheat kasha, and greasy meatballs!
Of course the core of the conference was thirty-five hours of excellent teaching that has the goals of helping to make the teachers’ Christian faith relevant to their profession and enabling them to become better disciplers of the children they minister to. There are few people who have greater impact on the hearts and minds of a developing generation than a teacher!
Christian Teacher '98 1.5