HECTOR HERNANDEZ | staff writer

Russian international student will help bridge the cultural gap for her Ukraine mission team.

Originally from Kaluga, Russia, Alexandra Morozova, graduate student in organizational leadership, has experienced being an outsider within another culture. As she leads a Focus International missions team to Ukraine this summer, she hopes to share that experiance with students on her team.

Morozova became interested in Southern California when she volunteered as a translator for a missions team from Calvary Chapel Pomona. While looking for a university to study at, her friends from Pomona introduced her to Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State University Fullerton and APU. It was while on the campus tour that Morozova “fell in love with APU.”

“When I came here to take a campus tour, I was amazed by the hospitality and welcoming atmosphere, and I just loved it,” Morozova said. “I saw people walking and smiling and almost ready to hug me. It was amazing; you won’t see that at any university.”

As an international student, she has noticed many differences between the people and cultures here and in Russia. One of these differences is in the degree of hospitality. Within the APU community it is more common for people to smile at each other as they walk down the street, while in Russia hospitality is expressed once people have gotten to know each other.

“As soon as you know a person, it’s just amazing how welcoming a family can be in Russia,” Morozova said. “I think it’s more on a personal level.”

She also sees differences in the belief systems of the two cultures. In Russia, where there are more Orthodox Christians than Evangelicals, people do not share about their faith as openly as here in the U.S.

“Not that many people share about their belief in public, but they have deep faith in God within themselves,” Morozova said. “Being here I’m learning to be more open in prayer and sharing about my belief.”

Her desire to share her belief has led to the planning of a summer mission team to Ukraine where she has distant family. Morozova wants to help create and maintain connections between APU and Ukraine. She has been a leading factor in forming this new connection for APU missions.

“I feel that Eastern Europe is a part of the world, at least from American missionaries’ standpoints, that often gets left out, gets forgotten,” Morozova’s co leader and graduate student of student affairs Joshuah Urie said.

The team will be helping English students at the Donetsk Christian University in Donetsk, Ukraine. Her hope is to create a lasting relationship with this university and APU.

“Her heart was very much toward relationship-building and the opportunities that come to share the Lord through that.” coordinator of Focus International Adam Carpenter said. “We believe relationship is at the core of missions, and that was her heart.”

Morozova hopes that through the English classes, APU and Ukrainian students will create bonds that allow them to share in knowledge and understanding of scriptures through discussion and possibly Bible studies.

As an international student from a culture similar to Ukraine, she can provide help and encouragement from her own experience of going into a different culture.

“She will act as a cultural or language bridge. In any situation we are in, any location, we need people to help us bridge the gap of language, the gap of cultures so that we are more relevant, we are more sensitive in our ministry,” Carpenter said. “There’s also a great blessing because she knows the opportunities.”

Morozova, Carpenter and Urie each spoke of the great importance of prayer when traveling and living abroad.

“A big thing with Focus International and the Office of World Missions is prayer, prayer, prayer,” Urie said. “I think that’s true in our team. What we are doing needs to be covered in prayer.”

She recognizes the fears that students can have but is confident that it is possible to be safe while abroad.

“Know you can be safe in any country if you respect culture, value traditions and value people’s interest. You are safe in a country when you are open-hearted,” Morozova said. “It’s important to respect everyone because without that there won’t be any relationship the communication won’t yield with people who are arrogant.”

Lasting relationships are her goal.

“I hope this will be just the beginning,” Morozova said.

Focus International is also hoping this is the beginning of something good, the participation of international students in missions. International graduate student Russel Anwar from Bangladesh, will also be leading a team to India and Bangladesh.

“Our hope is that our teams would continue to be blessed and strengthened by international students’ participation,” Carpenter said. “They bring a real strength and it’s just a good representation of the body of Christ when we can have our international students participating with our national students in this international sort of ministry.”