Yes, that's right. I did ministry naked, and it's a normal thing here in Ukraine. It's a way of fellowship here and many men do it every week. It just so happens I was invited to attend this week.
So a cultural norm here in Ukraine, and many other Eastern European countries I'm sure, is what is called a Russian Sauna. Here men gather and for the most part is done completely naked. It's a healthy ritual that conditions the body and prepares it for the cold in some way or another. I don't exactly know the science behind it, but above all else it's a form of bonding. Allow me to shed some light on my experience. Warning: clothing is optional. Also I'm not responsible for your imagination running wild.
So my new friend Rudy invited me to go to this Russian Sauna with him, and he kept re iterating that girls weren't allowed, and that immediately told me that this is probably done nude. It took a while for me to get it out of Rudy whether or not that's what was going to happen and finally I asked the right question, "why aren't girls allowed?" His answer was direct. It's normal for him though just because it's culture here, however, I love experiencing other cultures and this was a way for me to do so. I accepted the invitation and went.
Upon arrival I assumed that the only thing that was done was that you sit around in a sauna and that was it. That wasn't the case. There is actually a process that is done. First we went in the sauna (our towels still on) and sat for roughly five min. We walked out to jump into a cold pool (no towel) the rapid change in body temperature was utterly shocking. You dip in the water three times before exiting and sitting in room temperature for about ten min. (Towel on) That process was repeated one more time. While sitting outside the sauna adjusting our body temperatures once again, Rudy looked me right in the eyes completely serious and said (in his Ukrainian English accent), "now I beat you." I said, "Rudy, never tell an American guy you are going to beat him." I asked for him to explain and he informed me that he was going to take a bouquet of heated oak leaves and literally beat me with them. I thought I would be able to keep my towel on, however I was wrong. We went back into the sauna and he told me to lay my towel out and lie down. If you're wondering whether it was my front or back, it was both. My back side was done first and we went and jumped in the pool before going back and sitting for about ten minutes and re entering the sauna to once again beat by backside and then telling me to roll over so we could do the front side. at some moments I had an audience of other men watching this "beating" take place. The whole experience lasted roughly two hours.
I would say that things were awkward at first, but you get over that in a hurry. I never had a Russian Sauna on my bucket list, but I've recently added and checked it off (twice). I went back today and things were the same but even more intense. We had roughly twelve others to share the experience with along with my teammate Joey Willis who just wrote a blog on his experience. His first, my second. Check out what he had to say. Hopefully he doesn't give more detail.
