Random Acts of Kindness in Mother Russia
Justus Walker is helping to accomplish precisely that which more than a few Western helpers are longing for: overcoming the “perpetual” (since 1990) financial dependency of the Russian church.
Walker belongs to a diminishing remnant: This Kansas-born offspring of missionaries has remained on location in Russia. He, his loyal wife Rebecca and their three young daughters, are into small-scale dairy farming in the village of Takuchet northeast of Krasnoyarsk in central Siberia. He shot to fame in Russia after his clip last year on Youtube criticised Western sanctions. He added though that the sanctions had greatly increased his own cheese sales. Souvenir T-shirts celebrating the “Jolly Milkman” are in circulation.
“Senseless” deeds of mercy such as tilling the garden plots of needy neighbours for free have added to his fame. When this bearded,
unlikely Russian folk hero crashed his car in 2014, total strangers raised funds for a new one via the Internet.
Not surprisingly for a farmer, keeping the Sabbath is not Walker’s forte. On 12 September 2015, he announced on Facebook that his sermon the next day would be followed by sales of cheese and
honey. It’s apparently virtually impossible to keep all the commandments simultaneously, especially if one’s concern is a self-supporting and self-sustaining church ministry.
Walker remains unabashedly evangelical; he cares about church-planting. Have a look at the family’s Facebook page: “Justus Rebecca Walker”. The long-time, Moscow-based “Agape Unlimited” medical mission of Dr. Bill Becknell remains an ally.
William Yoder, Ph.D.
Smolensk, 16 September 2015
A journalistic release for which the author is solely responsible. It is informational in character and does not express the official position of any church organisation. This release may be reprinted free-of-charge if the source is cited. Release #15-09b.
Note from March 2021: In 2016, Justus moved his family to a remote location in the vicinity of Biysk, which is in the Altai region southeast of Barnaul. You’ll see more under: “eurasianet.org/the-american-farmer-who-makes-russians-laugh”.
