Posts Tagged "religion"
Kyrgyz Coffe Maker Who Found Islam
He was making espresso and cappuccino near a Moscow university from the back of a 'coffee car.' These coffee cars started appearing about 1-2 years ago here and are becoming a bit of a trend as people get used to coffee-on-the-go. He said the machines can work in temp as cold as -15c. His company chose this location as 'students like to drink coffee.' The ruble drop has boosted his company's costs by 30%. They haven't yet passed on the costs to coffee drinkers, but his coffee is still cheaper than the Starbucks 100 meters from his car. I asked him about thd big moments in his life in 2014. He said he moved recently to Moscow from Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia to save money to build a home. He also said he was Muslim and began reading for 1st time a prayer book, which has had a very big impact on his life. "Before, I didn't know the purpose of life, where we came from. I am trying to find the answers.
Sergei: English Translater
Sergei, a translator like his father, studied in America and I interested to here about his experience there. He highlighted that religious organizations were quite active on the campus and he was invited to events. He said he was surprised to see a church service where the music was performed by people with guitars and other instruments. He felt overall it was an advanced attitude toward religion. He pointed out that the more religious students from the US university are the ones that have tended to keep in touch since he returned to Russia.
Katya: Jehovah Witness
Katya, a nanny, was standing by a popular Moscow park offering interested people Jehovah Witness literature. While I often come across JW followers in NYC, I have met few in Russia and thus I asked Katya how she become a follower. Katya said she become interested in religion as a young child growing up in Siberia. She would often accompany her grandmother to church, asking her questions about Jesus and heaven.
Following a move to the south of Russia, her mother became friends with a woman who was a JW follower. Katya said her mother thought the woman had made a mistake joining JW and sought to convince her. Katya said her mother ended up with the reverse outcome - her mother ended up becoming a JW follower herself. Katya said she and her sister then also joined JW because she ‘found answers to the questions’’ troubling her
Victor: Singing for Ukrainian Church
Victor was sitting on the sidewalk near a Moscow metro station singing softly as he played the guitar. A sign next to him said he was raising money for a damaged church in Lugansk in Eastern Ukraine. He said plays to raise money on his days off from work and that he has raised money for other churches in the past.
