Travelling up the river in the Shoria region of southern Siberia It was a ‘chance’ meeting.
Our boat had been cutting through the river’s clear waters, taking us steadily deeper into the heart of Shoria, a mountainous region of southern Siberia.
At one of our stops, we were greeted by a Shor family. Their daughter had been healed after the local pastor and our local guide had prayed for her.
The family and our guide were overjoyed to see each other.
As they talked, we were able to give an audio player to one of the family’s friends. When I asked her if she believed in God, she motioned with her hand to point out the beautiful surrounding landscape. Then she exclaimed, ‘How is it possible not to believe in the God who created all this?’
The Stories of Jesus book in the Shor language Our team had left the city of Novosibirsk on an outreach trip, armed with a box of books plus a box of audio players.
The books were Stories of Jesus, translated into the Shor language by Orthodox missionary Ivan Shtigashev around the turn of the 20th century. Now they have been edited into the modern Shor language with a Russian translation too. In addition, the book featured beautifully drawn pictures by a local artist who is well known in the region.
The audio players included recordings of the Gospels of Mark and John in the Shor language. They also had the whole New Testament in Russian. The batteries in these audio players charge using a built-in solar panel, making them ideal for these remote Siberian locations.
Some of the villages in the Shoria area are very remote. They can only be reached by river in the summer (when the water is high enough) or by snowmobile in the winter (when the river is frozen). There had been plenty of rain at the beginning of the week. So we were able to use the local boats designed to sail through the shallow waters. As a result, we could visit some of these villages and distribute the audio players and books.
Walking through the long grass After about an hour and a half of travelling with the river’s current, we reached the first village. During the Soviet Union years, the village was much larger – even having its own junior school. But now there are only five permanent inhabitants, though this swells to about 30 people during the summer.
Once there, our team split into two groups and walked through the long grass from house to house.
The houses are simple wooden constructions, some consisting of just one room. We were welcomed inside each dwelling apart from one. Several of the people we visited were drunk, which unfortunately is not unusual.
Giving the book and audio player to a Shor woman In one house we saw an audio player that had been given out during a previous visit charging on the window sill. That was encouraging to see, as it showed these players are being listened to.
In another house a woman was actually reading a book about Jonah, which a previous team had given her. She was overjoyed to receive the new book about Jesus.
Time was short, and we often couldn’t spend long with each person. So it was good to be able to leave behind these resources, which will help the people understand the gospel in more detail.
A couple read the Stories of Jesus book in the Shor language As well as showing people how the audio players worked technically, we also encouraged people to pray a short prayer before listening to God’s word, asking for his wisdom to help them understand.
But as we left, how wonderful it was to know that God’s word is present in these remote, rural communities and it is reaching into the hearts of the people.
