The Rev. Stacy Bronkema is a gifted Christian educator serving as a PC(USA) missionary in Moscow, Russia, with her husband, Bob, at the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy (MPC). She’s also the mother of three young daughters — Rachel, 11, Naomi, 9 and Bethany, 7 — and after 18 months of juggling these two heavy responsibilities, she appreciates both the joys and the challenges.
“I made it really clear when Bob and I were interviewing for these positions that my family was going to require a lot of time,” she says during a late-night conversation in the family’s small but comfortable apartment in Moscow. “The missionary recruitment folk in Louisville said ‘okay,’ and though it’s really time-consuming it’s working.”
Stacy is involved in the ministry of the congregation at MPC — Sunday School and women’s Bible study groups — while Bob handles worship leadership and the many social ministries of the church.
“Old-timers appreciate that having a family has changed the dynamics of the congregation,” Stacy says. “The congregation was intent when we came that congregational life be enhanced and more family-oriented. Our family has sure done that.”
MPC’s Sunday School has grown under Stacy’s skilled leadership, moving from a “one-room schoolhouse” model to multiple age group classes. “We really love the diversity of this congregation,” she says of the congregation’s multi-national, multi-denominational make-up.
Stacy’s first love is the numerous women’s Bible study groups she leads during the week. A Wednesday night group that used to meet in the cramped apartment of a church member who lived near Red Square has now moved to the U.S. Embassy.
“It was really hard to get to Red Square and many women didn’t want to be over there at night, but it’s much better at the embassy,” she says. The group includes American, Swedish and Russian women.
A new Friday morning Bible study group meets in another part of town, near the upscale Anglo-American School. That group is less diverse — American women or women married to Americans — but it is using the same study materials Stacy used at the PC(USA) church she and Bob served in Palatka, FL, before coming to Moscow. “I really love those (“Beth Moore”) materials,” she says, “so it’s lots of fun.”
The girls are very happy in Moscow, especially at their school — the Hinkson Christian Academy, where another PC(USA) missionary, Alan Smith, teaches — Stacy says, and through her daughters she’s made some wonderful friends.
“Rachel’s and Bethany’s best friends are Korean and their mothers want to practice English so I spend a couple hours each week with them and they’ve become two of my closest friends,” she says. “I’m delighted with the community Rachel and Bethany have created for us.”
The Russian language “is really hard,” Stacy admits. “Some days I have to just stop answering the phone because it’s so exhausting trying to figure it all out.”
A native of Fox Island, near Tacoma, WA, Stacy says what she misses most about being in Moscow is family. “Really, I’ve been away since seminary, so we’re really glad to be going back to Washington State for an extended stay this summer.”
As a Tacoma native now living in Louisville, I can relate.
“I made it really clear when Bob and I were interviewing for these positions that my family was going to require a lot of time,” she says during a late-night conversation in the family’s small but comfortable apartment in Moscow. “The missionary recruitment folk in Louisville said ‘okay,’ and though it’s really time-consuming it’s working.”
Stacy is involved in the ministry of the congregation at MPC — Sunday School and women’s Bible study groups — while Bob handles worship leadership and the many social ministries of the church.
“Old-timers appreciate that having a family has changed the dynamics of the congregation,” Stacy says. “The congregation was intent when we came that congregational life be enhanced and more family-oriented. Our family has sure done that.”
MPC’s Sunday School has grown under Stacy’s skilled leadership, moving from a “one-room schoolhouse” model to multiple age group classes. “We really love the diversity of this congregation,” she says of the congregation’s multi-national, multi-denominational make-up.
Stacy’s first love is the numerous women’s Bible study groups she leads during the week. A Wednesday night group that used to meet in the cramped apartment of a church member who lived near Red Square has now moved to the U.S. Embassy.
“It was really hard to get to Red Square and many women didn’t want to be over there at night, but it’s much better at the embassy,” she says. The group includes American, Swedish and Russian women.
A new Friday morning Bible study group meets in another part of town, near the upscale Anglo-American School. That group is less diverse — American women or women married to Americans — but it is using the same study materials Stacy used at the PC(USA) church she and Bob served in Palatka, FL, before coming to Moscow. “I really love those (“Beth Moore”) materials,” she says, “so it’s lots of fun.”
The girls are very happy in Moscow, especially at their school — the Hinkson Christian Academy, where another PC(USA) missionary, Alan Smith, teaches — Stacy says, and through her daughters she’s made some wonderful friends.
“Rachel’s and Bethany’s best friends are Korean and their mothers want to practice English so I spend a couple hours each week with them and they’ve become two of my closest friends,” she says. “I’m delighted with the community Rachel and Bethany have created for us.”
The Russian language “is really hard,” Stacy admits. “Some days I have to just stop answering the phone because it’s so exhausting trying to figure it all out.”
A native of Fox Island, near Tacoma, WA, Stacy says what she misses most about being in Moscow is family. “Really, I’ve been away since seminary, so we’re really glad to be going back to Washington State for an extended stay this summer.”
As a Tacoma native now living in Louisville, I can relate.
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