Editor's note: Nina Archakova, of Volgograd, Russia, volunteered to carry a flag in the traditional March of Nations, a central feature of the Nazarene Missions International (NMI) Convention during the Church of the Nazarene's General Assembly and Conventions every four years. Archakova carried a flag for her nation at the convention in Orlando, Florida, U.S.A., in June.
I have to admit that I was not looking forward to carrying my [traditional Russian] dress through my whole trip and it taking up so much room in my suitcase, especially because we had to fly 14 times in our trip (we went many places after General Assembly).
But I really wanted to carry a flag [in the March of Nations during the Nazarene Missions International service], so I packed my dress and came to the assembly, and God showed me how He can use small things that we can not even imagine.
Nina Archakova (center) wore her traditional Russian dress when carrying
her nation's flag in the traditional March of the Nations during the NMI
convention at General Assembly in Orlando, Florida, June 24-26. The dress
created an opportunity to share her faith. Photo courtesy of NCN News.
I was standing behind the stage ready to carry my flag when a lady in uniform came up to me and asked in English, what country I am from. I said that I am from Russia, and the lady got so excited, saying in Russian, “Yes, I recognized your dress!”
That was two minutes before I was supposed to come out with my flag, and after I went through the hall, the lady was waiting to talk with me.
She is Russian, and moved to the USA with her parents when she was 17. She lives in Orlando and works at the convention center and she had no idea what was going on, because she asked me, “What show is this?”
We talked about church and about God. She had so many questions and I tried to tell her as much as I could about Church of the Nazarene--she was so interested. She was disappointed that she missed this event.
Then she asked, "Is there a Church of the Nazarene in Orlando?"
I said yes and tried to find people who could give her a church address. At the end of our talk, I was trying to encourage her to join the church by saying how wonderful it is to be with God. She was listening and then said, “If only you knew how lonely I am.”
I have her e-mail address and will write to her. I pray she will find the Lord, because I know it was His plan for this lady to use a Russian dress to let her know that she is not lonely, He is the One who wants to help her.
-- This and many other stories about the Church of the Nazarene in Eurasia are included in its regional newsletter,
Where Worlds Meet. Visit the
Web site to read and subscribe to this monthly publication.