Captain David E. Payton, assigned to the Salvation Army's Training Institute in Russia, visited the Good News! office recently. He reflected on ten years of service in the Eastern Europe Territory, six of them at the institute.

"We have about 25 cadets from Georgia, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, and Russia [at the institute]," Payton said. "They are in three rotating groups, each in instructional training for one month, then two months in field training." The institute, which prepares cadets to be commissioned and ordained as officers, is part of Moscow's Mission Training and Education Center, which also includes continuing education, soldier training, and other programs.

The institute has no permanent facility, so cadets are housed at officers' homes, in apartments housing several cadets, or in hotel rooms for a month at a time.

"Language is an incredible challenge," Payton said. "We have one cadet from Georgia [and another] from Romania who speak neither Russian nor English. Both need personal translators to sit with them though every lecture, through every test."

The Army in Russia faces particular challenges, Payton said. One corps in northern Moscow, for example, cannot find anyone who will rent a facility to them for services, so the congregation must share the Moscow Central Corps instead.

Power struggles between various governmental, political, and religious factions make stability difficult, Payton said. "It can be really a monumental effort, just to exist under those circumstances, let alone thrive or grow.

"I don't think we are in imminent danger of being liquidated, or thrown out of Russia, though we used to fear that...." Payton said. "It's not that bad now, but we will probably have an adversarial relationship with the government, for at least this, and maybe the next, generation. It may cool in a while, but not in the near future."

Payton said that the Army is having great success in St. Petersburg and southern Russia, but by and large, it's a difficult fight.

The Army is also working in the former Soviet states of Georgia, Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine.

"The brightest spot has probably been Moldova," said Payton, "where we have the most vibrant Army in the whole region."

When asked to give a special message to Good News! readers, Payton said, "Clearly, I want soldiers and officers of the Eastern Territory to think more deeply about world missions."