So good to be back!

Hello all! Wow, it sure is great to be back in Moscow! I had an incredible time in Michigan for Christmas. The 2.5 weeks flew by as they were rich with time spent with family and friends. I come back refreshed, refocused, and rested. Praise God! Thank you, Flint Central Church of the Nazarene, for providing the means for me to fly home. I asked Him more than anything over break to give me a defining sense of His peace: in my life, in my classroom, in every moment. And He's answered the prayer! These first three days of school, in my estimation, have been three of the best for the entire year. I have instituted many changes within the classroom, all of which make the class run more efficiently and effectively, have fewer interruptions, and encourage the students to be more responsible and take more initiative. I'm also learning to be more strict within the classroom, and I've found that the kids actually like that more! One student today said, "Mr. Hays, you've really changed since last semester!" I replied, "Yeah, for the better!" We've already had numerous hilarious and memorable moments in class and plenty of engaged learning experiences, and my interactions with my students have never been better (another huge answer to prayer)! Needless to say, I'm loving my "job" (if you can call it a job, doing what you love).

Here's the precious family from Flushing! This was taken on Christmas Eve, and it's probably the best picture we've had together as a family. By the way, Elizabeth got engaged on Dec. 22! She will be marrying Daniel Lutz, also of Flushing, this year! We're so excited! (The current running total of weddings for me this summer, before I return again in August to teach 5th grade, is now 3!)

Notes like this that are left by students are priceless!

On Christmas Eve, I had the awesome privilege of attending the Christmas Eve service at Christ the Savior Cathedral, which is the central Russian Orthodox church in Russia. It was incredible! Here's a picture of the highest dome in the cathdral, which is over 100 feet high. In the standing room only environment (probably 1,500 to 2,000 people were there), combined with the angelic voices of a mixed a capella choir (no musical instruments are allowed) and the awesome sense of the fear of God that is instilled by such a service, I felt like I was in heaven!

Way cool! My students received an amazing reply from Mr. Bob Phillips, a prolific writer of Christian children's joke books, in response to the business letters they wrote him last fall. All students who wrote him received a book personally signed by him! One student received a reply directly from a consumer relations representative from the Tootsie Roll Company!

These are pictures of Grigor and Meetsyah, two friends from Moscow 1st Church. On Monday, Grigor gave me the most amazing, therapeutic, and thorough haircut I've ever received...for free! All I can say is, two hair washings combined with massaging of the neck and about 45 minutes worth of hair trimming can put one in a very relaxed state!

Praise God for His faithfulness! Please pray for me to teach to the utmost of my potential, reaching every student where they need to be met and loving them as Jesus would. Please continue to pray for Bob Kring and his family. Also, please pray for a couple from the school (two teachers and their baby daughter), who are stranded in New York until some tough visa/passport issues can be solved. Pray that the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be proclaimed boldly and effectively here in Russia and that many of its people would come to know Christ!