Hey all! I know it's been a long time since I last posted an entry on the blog, but it doesn't seem like it to me! The time is going so quickly here in Moscow. I guess I can attribute that to the fact that I'm having such a fun time doing so many things. The journey of my first twelve weeks here has been adventurous to say the least. I was just describing it to someone yesterday by saying that each day seems to be characterized by complete exhaustion at the end, but it's the complete exhaustion of a fresh, overflowing supply of God-given energy each day. It reminds me of a hymn that has meant a whole lot to me since I've arrived and spent more time in solitude than I ever have before: "...Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, blessings all mine with ten thousand beside...Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord, unto me!"

I'm now heading into November, which is the three-month mark, and I've been warned about this point in the journey before I came. During missionary training, I was told that most volunteer missionaries really hit a wall of culture shock after about 90 days on the field...everything seems to go poorly, they get fed up with the oddities about the culture, they miss home, they don't want to keep going, they want to stop. So, I've been praying for months now that when November comes, I would not fall trap to the discouragement of the enemy and would continue to find sustaining joy and strength in the only Place it can be found. But I must be honest and share with you what I recently shared with my roommate. As I near the beginning of November, I have really begun to feel the weight of responsibility here at the school (I'm typing this just after finishing up set-up and preparation for parent-teacher conferences tomorrow), and the increasing coldness of the weather outside has become a symbol of the despair of a monotonous life that I tend to sense from people as I walk throughout the city. Such a spiritual atmosphere really wears on one's soul. Constantly commuting and walking and worshiping in a place where my native tongue is usually not spoken exhausts one's mind more quickly than one might think. The work within the classroom does not relent, and the teaching of seven subjects a day can become a difficult task, almost a chore, on some days. Some days I think, "Where's the next creative idea going to come from? Am I really being effective? What's the point of this anyway?" But God has been so consistently faithful to encourage my heart at the precise times I needed it most!

I could share at least three stories from last week of encouraging words coming from my principal, a speaker for the school's spiritual emphasis week who was also called Mr. Hayes...but his name has an "e," and from students. One of my students (whom I have affectionately given the nickname "Seeyertsah," which means "heart" in Russian, because of her tremendous heart of love for people), recently wrote in her journal entry about an invention that she would like to make. She wants to make a machine that can "[listen] to your stories, and it tells you [an] interesting fact. And the best thing of all is ~ It listens to your wishes (good wishes) and [makes] them come true!!" Toward the bottom of her entry, she said, "My 2nd wish is Mr. Hays to have a girlfriend." That really made me laugh, and it touched my heart deeply that my students want so much good for me. How much more does my Heavenly Father want what's best?

Please pray for me in this month, that I would not lose heart, but that I would indeed delve deeper into the heart of Christ and might know Him more intimately in these tough days.

Since I last posted, my great-grandmother passed away, and I greatly wished that I could have been there in Tennessee for the funeral and memorial service. I am thankful that she knew Jesus personally and that she's now home with Him. Her passing prompted my thoughts and deepened my appreciation for this wonderful, yet extremely brief "vapor" that we are living right now. Thank you for your prayers.

Also, the urgent legal issues with the school came to a very good conclusion within a week of my last post, and the entire school is praising God for coming through! The battle is not over, however, and I still request your prayers on our behalf.

I just returned this afternoon from a weekend-long retreat with the HCA middle schoolers. We took a charter bus to a small Christian campground outside of Moscow. It was an incredible time. Yes, it was exhausting, but it was also refreshing at the same time. I was able to connect with a number of the middle school boys, which was a direct answer to prayer. Many students sensed God calling them to a deeper relationship with Him, and this morning I was able to talk a group of them through what they can do to deepen that relationship. Talk about invigorating! In addition to the relational side of things, I was able to see more stars last night than I have since our family sat on the rocky beach of Union Bay, MI (Upper Peninsula) three months ago. It was something to behold!

I also praise God for allowing me to form good relationships with Russian college students during my time here. That has been a prayer of mine, that I would not only know and love my fifth-graders, but that I could connect with Russians of my own age. Last Monday night, I was able to have a heart to heart conversation with a friend of mine who does not profess to be a Christian and whose direct questions to me regarding some of my convictions opened the opportunity for me to share my faith and the ways in which I live my life by God's Word. It was awesome!

Tomorrow morning, I will have my first ever day of parent-teacher conferences, and I greatly anticipate each meeting. I have a tough schedule, however: I'm booked solid from 8:45-noon, with 13 straight, 15-minute conferences. Please pray for strength and wisdom for me!

Random fact: I've begun developing my love for singing by joining the praise team at Moscow First Church for one song a week! All songs are in Russian, so it gives me a great opportunity to practice my Russian while praising my God! I've also joined a new ministry at the church of visiting those members of our church body who are unable to attend due to health reasons. I've met one man who is 26 and can barely walk and another woman who has basically lost the will to live...quite sobering to say the least. But we were able to be a source of joy for a small window of time!

Kittens update: Sashka and Eara are about twice the size they were when we got them. They're now eating solid food, are extremely active and playful, love to give me kisses, and are a tremendous source of comfort here.

Next Moscow exploration venture: This Tuesday, I will be going to a professional soccer game with Tanya and Davide (I want to get a picture of the three of us so I can show everyone). Next weekend, I hope to go to one of the famous circuses in town...I hear that I might see bears driving motorcycles!

Random cultural tidbit: Public transportation can get VERY crowded! Last Wednesday, I boarded a bus with all of my belongings and was soon sandwiched among 3-4 other people, whose bodies were all pressing on mine. With the position I was in, I was forced to stand on one foot for about 20 minutes without moving. It was not easy!

GO BLUE!!!

Hey all! As I write this post, I have a number of things that are pressing on my heart. First of all is an urgent prayer request: please pray for a matter of legal urgency here at the school. I can't go into further detail, but the school would greatly appreicate as many sincere prayers as possible!

Second, I just received news that my great-grandma has taken a turn for the worse in her battle with pneumonia, and she is now in critical condition. Please pray for her and my family (my Mom's Dad's side).

Third, I am writing this in a rather sleep-deprived state. Things here at the school have been fun, joyful, and exciting as usual, but I've had a TON to do lately. The demands of a classroom teacher are seemingly endless (and they are compounded when the teacher has a deep desire to see all his/her students do well), and unexpected responsibilities are surfacing more frequently. It is quite taxing. Add to that an intermittent longing for home, and I realize just how hard life in another culture can be. I have taken heart, however. This morning, although I had to rise at 4:00 to finish writing a test, I purposely set aside time to seek God first, and as is always the case, it set the course of the day in the correct perspective...I had been longing for refreshment so much, and He gave it! It's so easy to become spiritually dehydrated even though the Living Water is always there. He is so faithful!

One final thought before I head home for the evening (to finish a bunch more work that needs to be done before the quarter ends this Friday). I don't think I've ever felt so much pride in my students as I did last Friday during the 5th grade chapel! They did such an incredible job, and it was heartfelt through and through! I got to thinking about why it meant to much to me to watch them in action. Then it hit me: The goal of any teacher is to see his/her students live out on their own what their teacher has taught them. For the most part, I had very little say in how the chapel would look; my students planned the whole thing, organized it, practiced, wrote scripts...everything. And my joy couldn't have been deeper. And isn't it the same way with the Master Teacher? He walks with us and talks with us, teaching us His ways, revealing Himself and His truths in the word. But that's not the ultimate aim of our Teacher. He teaches so that we might live it out those teachings...that in living out His word (abiding in Him and having His words abide in us - John 15:7), we would come to know Him. He doesn't call us to obedience just because "that's what humans are supposed to do...we have to obey God if we love Him." Could part of the great joy that fills God's heart (Nehemiah 8:10 says that this joy is our strength) be found in His desire to see us creatively apply the gifts He's given us to carry out His commands? He knows what He wants us to do and He informs us of that, but could He not also excitedly anticipate how we'll use the abilities and interests He's given us to carry out His will in a unique way? I realize that so often I obey because that's just simply what I'm supposed to do. Obedience to the Master Teacher, which is faith lived out, takes on another dimension when we approach it as a way to creatively worship God! We can obey God, but how will we do it?

Of course I provided a guiding and leading voice for my students last week and during our dress rehearsal, but I left the performance up to them. And the knowledge they demonstrated in those 45 minutes far outweighed that which could be assessed on any written test or assignment, for their learning was in the realm of life experience! That's God's classroom: life and its experiences. He's always speaking, always guiding, always pointing the way in which we should go. Will we heed His voice, His wisdom, His counsel, His love, and trust Him enough to creatively apply our God-given abilities in the day-to-day happenings of our lives? "LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me. Even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure...You have made know to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand" (Psalm 16: 5-9, 11).

Welcome to my new blog site! I just recently decided to change my blog site address (most likely, you have been directed here from my first blog site http://luminousluke.blogspot.com/), and I hope it doesn't cause too much confusion! Feel free to check out the original blog to catch up on the stories, reflections, and pictures from my first 10 weeks in Moscow! From now on, all new entries will be posted on this site.