As we go to press with the October edition of Insight, we are grieving with our Russian brothers and sisters over the catastrophic evil perpetrated at the Beslan Middle School in North Ossetia. Many of you have been praying for the families and have sent gifts to help them recover from their tragic loses. Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (UECB) president Yuri Sipko was on the scene in less than 24 hours, while UECB senior vice president Dr. Piotr Mitskevich got there the next day. A reported 50 children who attended the nearby Baptist Church were among the hostages, including the three children of Sergei and Bella Totiev and the five children of his brother, Teimuraz and his wife, Raya. Sergei, also known as Constantine, is a church planter sponsored through SGA by Kodiak Bible Chapel in Kodiak, Alaska. At the time of this writing, two of the eight Totiev children are in heaven, one is in the hospital, one is at home, and four are missing.
The Beslan Baptist Church, led by Pastor Mikhail Kodzaev, is known for its outreach to the children in the community. Join with us in prayer as our Christian brothers and sisters seize the opportunities to minister to the grief-stricken families. Pray for Bibles and literature in the Ossetian language. Pray also that out of the ashes of this horrible tragedy, the Lord will raise up a wonderful Antioch church to love and reach the suffering people of Beslan, a church capable of training church workers and sending them out to reach all of Ossetia for the glory of Christ.
The following are reports from Dr. Mitskevich written just after he ministered to the families and especially at the memorial service for 8-year-old Anna and 12-year-old Luba Totiev.
In Christ, with my heart broken for the families of Beslan,
Bob Provost
All is weeping! Through the rain, nature is weeping as well as the hearts of the people. It is the second day of funerals in Beslan. Excavators are digging graves for hundreds of new coffins carrying the young children.
Beslan’s population is about 35,000 citizens, with 30,000 of them ethnic Ossetians while the other 5000 belong to other nationalities. The local UECB church has 244 members and carries out their ministry in the Ossetian language. The church was very active in children’s ministry. Many children from unchurched families in the community went to Sunday school in the church — their parents are still unbelievers. Right now these children are with the Lord. Several of the children from Sunday school were buried during the last days, and their parents head about eternal life in God during their funerals.
Accompanied by Pastor Peter Lunichkin, I visited the homes of the Totievs. On the that tragic day in September, the families sent eight children to school. But only two of the children returned back alive, yesterday they received the two dead bodies of their daughters. We will perform the funeral tomorrow. All of the other four children are still missing.
Men are in black outside the home on the street while the women remain in the yard around the two dead bodies. Grief. We prayed together and cried, and the families are grateful for the support, prayers and help they are receiving.
Thank you for your prayers!
Let’s weep together with our brothers and sisters.
Heroes of faith! They prayed!
A year ago, I had the privilege after a pastor’s conference to be in the home of the Totiev family. Brother Felix as the elder blessed the meal and his two sons, Teimuraz and Sergei along with their wives, joined the table. We had a celebration dinner. The children prayed with us and left.
This year, we met this family again, but this time, a different dinner had been prepared. We cried together at the funerals of their daughters - one from each family.
Yesterday, I visited two believing families who lost children. Sergei and Bella Totiev lost one daughter, Anna, while their son, Azamiz, is in hospital. One other child has not yet been found.
Teimuraz and Raya Totiev lost their daughter, Luba, while three more children are missing.
When their mothers prayed, I was surprised at what I heard. They said to the Lord, “You are teaching us to be thankful for everything.” How it is possible to say this when you once had five children, and right now only one remains?
Christians have a unique perspective on death, one that no one else in the world can possibly have, due to the resurrection of our Lord, who said, "Because I live, you shall live also." The quaint old Puritan, Thomas Watson, put it this way: What a wicked man fears, a godly man hopes for. The Christian’s best things are to come. The world is but a great inn, where we are to stay a night or two, and be gone; what madness is it to set our heart upon our inn, as to forget our home?
This was my first time at an Ossetian funeral. The culture of the Ossetian nation is rich. They like to celebrate, but they also know how to grieve. Almost all the speaking was done in the Ossetian language, and one man translated for me.
Beginning in the early morning, people from the neighborhood and from surrounding villages started come to the home of the Totievs. One old man had the responsibility to greet people who come to the funeral, along with the people who expressed their sympathy. Men and women were separated. Men could come to the coffins, but only ladies could remain near the coffins. Everyone was crying loudly. This cry of the people can be heard from a considerable distance.
Near the two coffins of the Totiev children, about 2,000 people were gathered to participate at the funeral ceremony. A funeral is an important event for all Ossetians in which to participate. The people are trying to support each other.
About 1.00 P.M., the cry stopped and the people listened very carefully to the speeches of the representatives from neighborhood, from the families and special guests.
I started my message with a short prayer to God the Father, Who gave His only Son so that everybody who will believe in Him will have eternal life. I told the people that many people around the world are praying and crying together with us. People in silence listened to the Word of God.
1 Thes. 4:13-18 tells us to comfort each other by these words. Christ is Risen! Those who died will rise again. It is wonderful that God gives eternal life to those who believe in Him.
Many people witnessed as to how these two girls prayed to God in Sunday school, prayed at home, and also how they prayed in the last days of their lives as hostages in the school. One of the surviving sisters said that they prayed every day. She said, “Once, one of the terrorists heard the prayer in the name of Jesus and said, ‘Stop it. You have to pray only to Allah!’ But we continued to pray to the Lord!”
The funeral service was held near the homes of two brothers, located just 150 meters from the local Beslan church which itself is near the school. I invited everybody to come and pray in the House of Prayer on Sunday.
In the evening, six churches in the city of Vladikavkaz (capital of the region of North Ossetia) joined together for a prayer meeting, and so many people prayed.
Are we ready to pray always?
Dr. Piotr Mitskevich
Beslan,
North Ossetia, Russia.