Walking Backwards into the Future

One of my students saying hello from Moscow...just kidding!

Riding the teacher shuttle from the metro to school one morning

Mr. Hays in news anchorman mode...we had some rather fun oral country reports! Have you ever used a stapler as a microphone?

Two fifth-grade boys improvising during their oral report

Country Celebration! On April 27, we had a celebration in the cafeteria to mark the end of the students' reports on countries in the Eastern Hemisphere. The food from each respective country was delicious!

The 20-something guys chilling out before the cruise down the Moscow River.

A view of the Kremlin from the Moscow River.

Christ the Savior Cathedral from the river. I've been told it cost $1 billion to rebuild this magnificent cathedral in the late 1990s.

Алeнка (Alyone-kuh), one of the most beloved chocolates in Russia. This is the portait of the cute little baby that serves as the symbol for the chocolate company. The chocolate factory is right on the river!

HCA male staff...a great bunch!

A quintuplet pun...I couldn't resist! (Yes, I'm aware that I look really weird!) Since a nickname my dad calls me is Bo, and since I'm a beau, you could say, "The beau Bo was taking a bow on the bow of the ship while his tie was in a bow!

Илбов (Eel-bove) and I. Илбов is the streetsweeper whom I see nearly every morning as I walk toward the metro. We've become good friends throughout this year. He has a wife and two daughters in Uzbekistan, and he's here in Moscow working to support them.

Oh the rigors of standardized testing. My fifth-graders took 11 subtests of the Stanford Achievement Test a couple weeks ago. While quite intense for the students, it was a welcome "breather" for both the students and teacher.

Mr. Hays was invited to tag along for a limosine ride around Moscow with all the 5th grade girls. My Peruvian girl was celebrating her last day in Moscow before moving to Spain.

Christ is everywhere....we'll see Him if we'll only look.

A ski-jumper practicing in the off-season on Sparrow Hills, which is near Moscow State University and provides a beautiful view of the city.

An older man selling flowers at the entrance to the metro.

Stage 2 of 3 in the African Children Project. My precious fifth-graders have taken complete ownership of an initiative to help the Invisible Children of Uganda (children soldiers) and AIDS children in the same continent. My heart has been touched by their compassion, vision, and sacrifice...how much more God's! Here they are selling home-baked goods at lunch.

Many Muscovites enjoying the fireworks on Victory Day (May 9). I really like this picture because all of the light needed for illuminating the faces was provided not by my camera, but by the fireworks overhead!

Dima and I after eating lunch today. He's my good friend from Moscow First Church. He helps me with Russian while I help him with English.

Only three weeks now remain on this incredible journey! It's hard to believe that my first year of teaching is nearly complete, but I can honestly look back and say that I've had no regrets. It has been an amazing year, a year in which God has proven His faithfulness, mercy, and grace to me again and again and again. He's been molding me on a heart level, and for that I am so grateful!

Last night was the first English-speaking prayer meeting at Moscow First, and it was a splendid time of worshiping together with the small minority of us whose native tongue is English and not Russian. During our time together, a man named John brought a very profound devotional to us from his heart. In it, he painted a vivid picture of the Old Testament character Abram when God gave him the promise of descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the shore. John described how it's the same picture that should describe us as we go about this life. He said that the picture in Scripture is of Abraham looking into the face of God as God points over his shoulder into the future, into the Promised Land, a land whose whereabouts Abram doesn't know, but that God does. Abram had such a trusting relationship with God that he didn't need to be concerned with where he was going so long as he knew the One who did know. John encouraged us to so intently look into the face of God that we see the image of where we're going reflected in the eyes of God as we walk backwards into our future, so to speak. That message really touched my heart, as you might imagine. For coming here to Russia for a year has been very much a "walking backwards into my future" endeavor. While I knew generally where I was going and what I was doing, I had no idea what all of those things would hold, or should I say what God was holding through all of them? It's a desire of mine to keep that kind of relationship with Christ day by day into the years ahead. Lord, help us to love You like that! Give us the kind of faith that Abram had!

What do the next three weeks hold? A field trip, Russian chapel, the Elementary Spring Musical, a 5th grade boys sleepover at Mr. Hays', field day, 5th grade promotion, finishing up the last few units in each class, and so much more! I've got very mixed emotions about it all right now. There is an overwhelming gratitude in my heart for the privilege of living and teaching and growing and learning here in Russia for a year. There is the sadness of knowing that my time with this group of students is nearly over and that I might not see some of them ever again. There is the utter excitement of coming home to see so many loved ones in just a short period of time. There is the anticipation of next year, which I am already convinced will be better than this one. It seems to me that in living abroad, one becomes much more keenly aware of his or her emotions and thoughts than at home; it's as if living abroad actually sharpens your vision until you notice the most acute thing. I've found that this is so healthy, though. Living here has given me a much clearer picture of who I am in the body of Christ. After living here in Moscow for ten months, I can wake up in the morning, look in the mirror, and say Psalm 17:15 with assurance: "And I - in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness." To look at oneself in a mirror - to look at anyone's face for that matter - is to see the likeness of God. How beautiful is that truth!

I had requested many prayers for the ACSI Accreditation visit that took place three weeks ago. Well, praise God! It went extremely well. Although we won't yet have the official word on our accreditation within the Association of Christian Schools International until June or no later than February, the visiting team did nothing but sing the highest praises of Hinkson Christian Academy during their final report. To sit in the room with 50+ other Christian educators and hear the amazing report on what God is doing within our school and within our team of believers was something I will not forget! Thanks for your prayers!

I am requesting your prayer for my former roommate Fabio. He recently returned to Brazil after being in Moscow for three weeks, and he's undergoing some very difficult times right now. Please pray for him to find strength in God during these times.

Please pray for me to walk hand-in-hand with Christ these last three weeks. I want to go at His pace so that we might accomplish exactly what He desires, nothing more. I need His peace, strength, and wisdom to finish this schoolyear out well!

Continue to pray for God's hand of blessing upon the parents of my students, those who are doing God's kingdom work here in Russia as missionaries and businessmen. Pray that they would remain obedient to Him in this country and that they would grow in faith as they see Mighty God provide every need.

One couple at the school (he's the assistant director and she's the kindergarten teacher) have requested the serious prayers of many from now until May 20 (and beyond that is OK, too). They are in need of money to help start a Christian school in Krasnadar, a city that is 24 hours south of Moscow by train (near the Black Sea). Pray for faith to increase, for every need to be met in a timely fashion, and for God's peace to abide with the family as they transition to their new life soon.

I will most likely not be updating the blog before flying home on June 2, so I am requesting your prayers now for a safe flight across the Atlantic on that day. Thanks for journeying with me this year!