by Gary Munson

In high school, I became interested in missions, specifically foreign missions. For a period of time back then, I didn’t have a good experience in the church where I grew up in Minnesota. I thought being a missionary would be best for me, because I could concentrate on Jesus and not argue about style of clothes, the proper type of hair cut, the proper songs played at church, why a guitar in church is wrong, the color of carpet in the church, etc. This was during the 80's, so the country most talked about in school, at church, in the news, and everywhere I went was the Soviet Union. So, I started studying everything I could about the Soviet Union. I was taught to fear and hate this country as well as the people who lived there. However, I had never been there before or met anyone from there, so I decided I wanted to see this place for myself.

Early in 1991, during my second year of college when I was studying Political Science and International Relations with an emphasis on Soviet and Chinese relations, I received a phone call from a missionary my church supported, who was moving his family to Leningrad, Russia, in the Soviet Union. He asked if I would be interested in taking a year off from college to join them to see first-hand the country I was studying. I left Minnesota for England in August, 1991 (We were to get our visas to the Soviet Union in London). Within a few days of arriving in England, there was a coup attempt in the Soviet Union. We sat in England watching what was going on wondering whether or not we would be able to go. After a month, and the failure of the coup, we received our visas and left for Leningrad.

When we arrived in Leningrad, I was blown away how everything I had studied was now right in front of me - the coup was just the beginning of change for that country. On December 26, 1991, the Soviet Union disbanded and many of the Soviet States declared independence. This was a very interesting time to be there as a 20, and then 21 year old college student. I returned home to finish college with a wonderful experience that changed my life.

After graduating from college, I had another opportunity to return to that area of the world to teach English and study Russian grammar. This would be in Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine, which is the area Russia annexed in 2014, declaring it to be part of Russia (it’s the same area that many of the current Russian forces, who are now invading Ukraine from the south come from). I spent two years in Sevastopol doing Bible Studies with my English students and those in the college I met.

I joined the Army after living in Sevastopol, primarily because most men I met in Russia, Ukraine, and other parts of Europe I visited, were required to serve in their military. I was often asked what the US military was like, but couldn’t answer them. Therefore, at the age of 28, a college degree and a bit of world experience, I enlisted into the Active Army. I left Minnesota for Basic Training on October 7, 1999 - my 29th birthday! I planned to be in the Army for 4 years, get out, and go back to something to do with missions. I ended up staying in for almost 11 years, and then working at the Veteran’s Affairs Office.

I have friends in both Russia and Ukraine. Right now is a very difficult time to be watching the news. I am often glued to my phone for information and praying constantly for this Putin invasion of Ukraine to end. I say Putin invasion because that is what it is. Putin is using Russian forces for his own delusion of power and might. Many Russian soldiers do not know where they are or what they’re really doing, and they’ve been told a lie about what’s going on. This is an extremely sad time for both Ukraine and Russia, so please join me and millions of others around the world to pray for peace, and do what we can to help.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for praying. God's peace be with us.

Gary Munson