Father Kuczak, C.M., a Polish Vincentian priest, recently visited the area of Siberia selected for a new Vincentian mission. Here are some excerpts from his report.

I visited Russian Niznij Tagil in the Urals. Situated on the eastern slopes of the Urals, this is the place where the continents of Asia and Europe meet. And this is a place where it seems people have always been lied to and who therefore have a twisted sense of life.

The People Had Been Deluded
Imagine people not only without jobs, and therefore without livelihood, but also for years had been presented with delusions of reality, where materialism is all important and where God is said to be only the creation of sick imagination. This is what the 700,000 inhabitants of Russian Niznij Tagil woke up to when Communism collapsed at the end of the 1980's. Its economic success was a delusion. The Communist vision of material welfare turned into a real tragedy. The people woke up to agony.

They Lost Their Jobs
Within one year 45,000 tank factory workers lost their jobs. The end of Communism in the countries neighboring the Soviet Union, the end of the cold war, and the breakup of the country into smaller republics shook the arms industry. This was the end of gigantic orders for weapons. Along with the big tank factory, smaller ones producing tank equipment and parts also went bankrupt. Tens of thousands of people were put out of work. They were without the means to live. An ordinary worker woke up and suddenly found himself in a totally new reality. With no job, he lost his motivation to live. He did not know God, since he had always been taught that God was a dangerous drug. How could he live? And why?

There Was No Moral Support
When I was looking at those simple, ordinary people during my stay there, I thought they were like homeless children. They were wandering aimlessly not knowing what awaited them the next day. They drank gallons of beer and vodka. There were countless abortions. These poor people were drowning in moral decay. They lacked moral and spiritual support. Further, the people of the Ural region were constantly abused by those who illegally tried to attain a better standard of living. Here is what the people faced. Sunday is the only day free from work. However, some even have to work on Sundays. The Orthodox Church is weak. It had become part of the national tradition of Communism. The people have become the companions of misery. They are living in poverty and without prospects for a bright future. The theaters, movie houses, discos, and circuses are closed. One or two people die from alcohol poisoning every weekend. This does not surprise any of the residents. These people of Niznij Tagil have been left without hope for a better tomorrow. They have no authority in which to believe. They are like rejected children--bad and tough on the surface, scared and uncertain inside.

Hope Can Light the Flame of Good
Sometimes the sincerity, hospitality, and kindness of the people win out over the distortion of their consciences and mutilation of their sense of sin. It is necessary to light this barely smoldering flame of good that is within them. They were, after all, created by God to be like him. Jesus said, "The healthy do not need a doctor; sick people do." (Luke 5:31) For this reason we would like to establish our mission there. We want to ease the pain of the people's awakening after Communism. This suffering has become so much a part of their lives. Please pray for these people and for our mission.

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It is an opportunity for you to answer Christ's call to "make disciples of all nations." Jesus said to his disciples, "But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8) Vincentian missionaries bring the faith to the remotest and poorest places of the earth. And you can help them.