In Search of the Khanti

We arrived in Surgut this morning just after 4am and were met at the airport by Senior Pastor, Sergei Kubata who took us to our hotel to get settled into our home-away-from-home for the week.
After a couple of hours of much-needed rest we met at the church for a light supper and learned much about the work here among the Khanti. Of the 20,000 Khanti there are only about 70 believers – that’s 4-thousandths of a percent! They are scattered throughout the region mixed-in with Russians in different churches and groups. Right now there are no Khanti churches.
A difficulty of reaching the Khanti, we learned, is their semi-nomadic lifestyle. We are hoping to visit a reindeer herd while we are here. As we are told, the problem is that this time of year the herders are deep in the forests far from any roads or civilization. We are looking for some snowmobiles, and permission to go out into the forest, but even then, the temperature is to the point that reliability is a real concern. It is minus 30 Celsius (or minus 22 F). And even if we can find the snowmobiles, and someone to take us, there is no way of knowing where to look for the groups, they could be anywhere. How do you plant churches among a field that is constantly on the move across the frozen tundra?
We don’t know either!
Pray for the work among the Khanti. Pray for the local Baptists as they reach out to the Khanti. Pray for our trip Thursday to the village of Ruskinskaya, a modern day trading post for the Khanti.
S’Bogum
Tim for Team Engage Russia