What were you doing in Siberia?

by Bob Marks

The University of Washington Chapter's Campus Crusade for Christ Staff (Nicole Lewis, Matt "the Shovel", Jill Olney, Brian Ricci & Nathan Uno) visited Ulan-Ude in Siberia during the first part of March 2001. Paul Latvala, a UW student whose brother is living in Ulan-Ude and me, UW Campus Crusade faculty advisor Professor Robert J. Marks II, accompanied them. The rumors are true. Siberia is cold.

The group met with a number of English Clubs at Ulan-Ude's universities - Buryat State University and the East Siberian Institute of Technology . I gave some invited technical lectures at both universities. The power point slides of the talks are on my lab's home page. (Click HERE). I also gave a special evening lecture on "Scientists and Faith: The Myth of Incompatibility". You can see the slides of my talk. Look at the bottom of the left panel on your screen. (If there is no panel at the left, click HERE.)

From their mission statement, Campus Crusade "is an interdenominational ministry committed to helping take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations." The CCC staff's purpose in visiting Ulan-Ude was to further the overseas vision for the UW Chapter and to share the Gospel. Under communism, belief in God was discouraged in Russia. We found the students and faculty eager to learn about us and what we believe. In one of the English clubs, one student told Brian "We don't believe in God here." When Brian asked why, he said "Because we do not know about Him. The Communists took God away from us and we no longer remember." Brian later summarized it nicely. "The Communists tore a hole in the soul of the people and now there is a great vacuum that exists in their lives and society."

The impact of life with an institutionally discredited God is devastating. A Buryiat professor shared with Nathan "My husband lies awake at night saying he has no purpose in life. Will you tell me about purpose in life? How do I find purpose for my life?" Revealed is (scientist, mathematician & inventor of the first computer) Blaise Pascal's statement "There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man, which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God, the Creator, made known by Jesus Christ."

After speaking at the English clubs, one student admitted to Brian "We need people like you at our University."

When I gave my evening lecture, the students and faculty who attended were obviously surprised to hear a western professor talk about science and faith in God. After the lecture, one student approached Brian and said "Tell me about God!" Brian spent the next hour talking with him about Christ.

Traci, who lives in Ulan-Ude, wrote afterwards "It was so encouraging to have them [us!] here and to hear what's going on back at home. But the best part was how the Lord used them to help us reach out to new people and make friends at different universities. One of the universities even invited us to start an English club with them. Dr. Marks gave many lectures on his field of expertise during the week, and finished off with a talk on how science and faith DO coincide. It was a great conversation starter and made many people rethink their view of science."

Sasha, a Russian Christian who translated my evening talk, said of our visit "Because you have come here, many people are thinking about God. You must return!"

We all feel honored to have been part of this - and give any and all glory to God!

Bob Marks

PS: Although the purpose of the trip was serious, I've had a lot of fun putting this web page together. Campus Crusade people know how to have FUN! I've tried to capture this in these web pages.

PPS: For information about the sounds, click HERE.