Florida Youth Convention 1990

Starting at the beginning can be a little like pulling a thread which just keeps unraveling. You think if you pull you'll find the beginning, but instead it just keeps going and going and going. You get the idea. So, while we could keep following the thread a long way back, we have elected to start at this particular point. Of course, other events led to this point, but this is where our first hand knowledge of the story of Chelyabisnk begins.

The State of Florida Youth Convention was held the last weekend of November 1990. The speaker for the convention was Dr. J. David Stone, from Lousiana. Dr. Stone's daughter had been in an accident and sustained a paralyzing spinal injury. Determined to find a way to help his daughter regain mobility, Dr. Stone arranged for her to undergo a type of spinal surgery performed only in Moscow, Russia. While in Moscow, Dr. Stone and his daughter made the aquaintence of a young student, also visiting Moscow from a Siberian city one thousand miles from Moscow. To meet and become acquainted with an American was an amazing opportunity for the Russian girl.

Dr. Stone and his daughter, who had a successful surgery and did regain some mobility, returned to the United States. The young Russian girl returned to her city, far from Moscow and soon convinced her father to extend an invitation to her new American friends to come to Chelyabinsk to visit. The father of the Russian girl, happened to be the Minister of Education of the city of Chelyabinsk and the invitation was extended as an educational exchange. Dr. Stone received the invitation and realized what an honor and incredible opportunity was being offered. This is still more than a year before the official collapse of the Soviet Union and even more, the city of Chelyabinsk was considered a "closed" city, not open to visitors. But this city official had the authority to invite and so the opportunity was calling.

Dr. Stone shared this story with the youth and in particular, a youth pastor from Florida (at the time) Mark Shaner. Mark has a heart of passion for youth and for missions and this invitation nailed both passions into one. At the close of the convention, Mark extended the challenge and invitation to the youth of Florida- kids who have probably never seen snow- to go to Siberia to meet and make friends with Russian youth. God brought all the details into place- a relationship made by a "chance" meeting in Moscow, an invitation to a city that was unapproachable, a pastor with passion to challenge youth and reach the world for Christ.