Introduction
Do you remember the television show
Candid Camera? It was funny and clean. From TV
Guide: TV Shows: Candid Camera, we learn, “Candid Camera was
a popular American hidden camera reality television series. Versions
of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally
created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical
jokes, and initially began on radio in 1947. The show was later
hosted by Allen Funt's son, Peter Funt.”
Welcome, dear reader, to the 15th entry
in the Mission
Work topic section. The focus of this brief article is on our
departure over 31 years ago from Nashville to Moscow, Russia, on
Saturday, 10/1/1994. It includes a couple of candid camera
photographs.
Inspiration for This
Article
My “adoptive” sister, Carol Sue,
inspired this article. Thank you, Sis.! She emailed me on
Monday, June 8, at 10:55 PM. I saw it early the next morning. The
email's subject line was “LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!! LOL!!!” The
attachment is the first photograph below. It was a “Candid
Camera” moment in time over 31 years ago! I had been exposed (no
pun intended).
I left Carol Sue a voicemail the
following Tuesday afternoon. With no reply, I reached her by phone on
Thursday, June 11. (She was having difficulty unlocking voicemails on
her cell phone.) Well, we laughed about the photograph below and
caught up on life for almost an hour and a half. Even my wife, the
“long-suffering” Mrs. Appalachian Irishman, spoke with Carol Sue
for a while.
Carol Sue, I plan, Lord willing, to
call you after publishing this article! I have to poke a little fun
at myself by writing it!
Background to the
Photographs Before Our Departure
The Covington and Bryant families were
already in Moscow. My wife and I became the third family on the
“Mission Moscow” team of Christian missionaries. Newly
established churches were already in Moscow and the nearby city of
Klin. My wife and I served exactly five years, from 10/1/1994 to
9/30/1999. The Covington and Bryant families returned stateside
before us. Young missionaries, who participated in our college
mission internships during the summers, arrived after our departure.
My wife and I chose to depart for
Russia from the Nashville
International Airport instead of the closer McGhee
Tyson Airport, near Knoxville. We had already moved our
belongings back to East Tennessee from Dexter, Missouri, where I
served for two years as an associate minister while we prepared for
overseas mission work. Before our departure, we stayed with my
parents in Hawkins County and my wife's parents in Etowah, Tennessee.
Our decision to depart from the
Nashville International Airport was under the assumption that members
of our sponsoring church, the Dexter
Church of Christ in Dexter, Missouri, would come to see us off.
Sadly, not a soul from our sending church bothered to drive down to
encourage us as we began our missionary journey.
Instead, four members of the Charleston
Church of Christ in Charleston, Missouri (Facebook:
Charleston Church of Christ), delighted and inspired us with
their presence! Before Dexter, I had served as the minister in
Charleston from 1986 to 1992.
Photographs Before Our
Departure
This section includes four selected
photographs, out of 25 that we have. The first two are candid camera
shots! The final two show members of our church and biological
families.
Candid Camera Shots!
While waiting for our departure, my
“adoptive” brother-in-law, Michael, Carol Sue's husband, knew
that I would use the restroom at some point. Literally behind my
back, he took the following rather embarrassing image of me facing
the urinal!
At least my pants were up! Yes, the
hair on my head used to be black, not gray with a little black like
it is now. As an aside, the last time I shaved my beard was on this
day of our departure for Russia. I started growing the beard, which I
have kept all these years since.
It is said that revenge is a dish
better served cold. I wanted revenge! I waited. Michael was quenching
his thirst with water. Nature called. He answered. Stealthily, I
followed him into the men's restroom and took the following shot:
Wisely, Michael had chosen a stall! He
knew what I would do! Hearing me snap the camera, he turned his head.
I caught only his back, right arm, and cleft chin. I still laugh when
I think about those candid camera moments!
Members of Our Church and
Biological Families
Still awaiting our Delta departure
time, someone took the following photograph of our church family from
the Charleston, Missouri, Church of Christ:
From left to right are shown the church
minister and his wife, Carol Sue, me, my wife, and Michael. Smiling,
we were enjoying an unforgettable moment in time.
Michael, with his sly grin, must have
been up to something. Apparently, my wife forgot to look into the
camera.
The next photograph, taken by someone,
was of our biological families.
From left to right in the back row were
my father, my youngest brother, and my next-to-youngest brother. My
younger brother, closest to my age, may have been working. His two
daughters, however, were there.
The second row from left to right
includes my mother, me, my wife's younger sister, and my
father-in-law. The camera caused my sister-in-law's red-eye glare.
In the third row from left to right are
my wife, her younger sister, and her mother. My wife was looking into
the camera this time.
The final row shows our three nieces.
Again, the camera caused the red-eye look for my brother's two girls.
My parents, my wife's parents, and our
niece, standing between the other two nieces, have since passed away.
We certainly miss them.
Conclusion
The time of our departure was at hand.
The call to board was announced. Tears of sorrow from the imminent
continental separation mixed with smiles and words of encouragement,
love, and pride due to the cross-cultural mission work that my wife
and I were beginning in service to our Savior.
Once seated at takeoff, we both began
to feel the separation from loved ones. I recall saying, “This
is it.” Our two years of
preparation were finally being realized. We were on our way!
I
recall that we flew from Nashville to JFK International Airport in
New York. After a layover there, our flight continued to Sheremetyevo
International Airport (Международного
аэропорта Шереметьево) in Moscow, Russia. Moscow
time is eight hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. Due to the time
difference and the layover, we arrived in Moscow the next day,
Sunday.
The other two missionary families and
members of the Lord's church in Moscow met us at the Moscow airport.
Their warm greetings and excitement at our arrival uplifted and
strengthened us.
Eventually, we arrived
with our luggage at our apartment just off Tverskaya Street (Улица
Тверская) on Trekhprudny Lane (Трехпрудный
Переулок). Our second-floor apartment was in building 6,
apartment 8 (дом 6, квартира 8). It was within walking
distance to the Kremlin (Кремль) and Patriarch's Ponds
(Патриаршие пруды).
Initially, the Covington
and West families formed the Mission Moscow team. The Wests, however,
departed before our arrival. The Bryants arrived a few months before
us. During our survey trip to India and Russia in 1993, we stayed
with the Wests in the same Moscow apartment. It was familiar to us.
At first, my wife and I
felt out of place in the apartment, and we missed our stateside
families. I noticed a chest of drawers, which had been under a mirror
in the narrow hallway, was not where we remembered it to be the year
before. I moved it back to where we remembered it being.
Doing that made us
suddenly feel at home. I said, “We are home now.” My wife
agreed. We became excited about beginning our five-year commitment to
Christian missionary work in Moscow, Klin, and surrounding areas. The
adventure had begun.
