Praise God!!

Salvation!
Big news from Moscow!! Remember the boy in my class whom I mentioned had not yet made a decision to accept Jesus? Well, last Friday night after school, he came up to me with a big smile on his face and said, "Mr. Hays, I have something important I need to tell you. On Wednesday I gave my life to Jesus!" I was ecstatic for him! I gave him a huge hug, exchanged hi fives with him, and then asked him what the turning point was. He said that his parents and he had been discussing our memory verses for the week ("Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish" -Psalm 1:5-6), and he realized that he needed to make a decision about Jesus. What a powerful testimony to the effectiveness and potency of the living Word of God!

Sometime in the next couple months, we are going to have a birthday party for the whole class, in which we celebrate our spiritual birthdays, the days on which we gave our lives to Christ and were reborn. It should be a blast!

The salvation of this student was especially meaningful to me since it is one of the first times I can rememberwhen I was able to have a direct role in the salvation of someone I know. I now understand the joy of the shepherd who finds one lost sheep after leaving 99 others to find it. Praise God for what He's doing!

English Cafe
Another big praise from this week is that our first English Cafe went really well on Saturday night. We had a turnout of 20-25 Russian college-aged students, and our theme was "Western Night". We had a blast doing a couple variations of line dancing to "Cotton Eye Joe" and a little bit of Alan Jackson. Our Russian friends thoroughly enjoyed the night as we interspersed some of the up-tempo frolicking with some get-to-know-you games. During one of the activities, we had 2-3 minute segments of time in order to ask questions and get to know other individuals before "rotating" to meet someone else (we called it "Speed Friendship", as opposed to "Speed Dating"). This opened opportunities to share our faith. When some friends asked me about my favorite childhood memories, I was able to recall with fondness how my family would have dinner together around table on most nights, along with family devotions and prayer before bed (a very formational practice for me). I was also able to recall family vacations around the U.S. and overnighters at Grandma's and Grandpa's house. I never would have known back in my childhood how those memories would one day be the subject of conversation in Russia!

My Unforgettable 25th
As long as I live, I will never forget the celebration I had for my 25th birthday. Some of my closest friends decided to honor my quarter-century mark by having me complete a list of 25 tasks before turning 25. I received the list on Friday morning, September 5, and started to attack the list (e.g., I finished the 25 original puns on Friday night/Saturday morning). On Saturday afternoon at 3:00, about four friends and I met to head out for a day on the city, in which I was to complete the rest of the list. I was so excited! Here it is:

1. Sing Happy Birthday to himself 25 x’s.
2. Run across the GUM mall in 25 seconds.
3. Collect 25 kopeks (any denomination of coin is possible) from random sources.
4. Throw those 25 kopeks at the “Center of the City” outside Red Square.
5. Drink 25 centiliters of coffee
6. Eat 25 grapes.
7. Eat 25 mentos
8. Spend exactly 25 rubles on something bought from a street vendor.
9. Take 25 pics w various monuments around the city.
10. Send 25 emails to friends w those 25 pics.
11. Tell 25 people in Russian that it is your birthday.
12. Stop at 25 different metro stops, and take pictures at each one.
13. Run the school stairs 25 x’s.
14. Eat 25 french fries from McDonalds – at the same time.
15. Blow up 25 balloons.
16. Give 25 stickers to 25 different students.
17. Come up w 25 puns (birthday puns would be great but not necessary).
18. Find an address w the # 25, and take a picture.
19. Do 25 pushups.
20. Do 25 jumping jacks on Red Square.
21. Goosestep 25 x’s in front of (or nearby) the eternal flame.
22. Collect 25 signatures from passer-bys.
23. Walk backwards up 25 escalator steps.
24. Price 25 souvenirs on Arbat.
25. Blow out 25 candles.

By about 12:30 a.m. Moscow time, the last e-mail had been sent out, and I had accomplished 24 out of the 25 tasks! I have yet to make it to the remaining seven metro stations, but I've got some time for that one! Soon, I will post a couple videos of the hilarity.

But the 25 tasks were not all! When I arrived back at my apartment around 1:00 a.m. early Sunday morning, I discovered that the lock on my door wasn't working properly! I was locked out! I tried fidgeting with it, but to no avail. Max was gone, and so I was in a tough position. So I decided to call a friend and get some advice. Adhering to their wise counsel, I decided that it would be best to flag down a taxi and head to the school, where I could safely sleep on a couch for a few hours. At first I was a bit scared about this option, but I prayed about it and sensed enough peace to go ahead. What then ensued was definitely providential!

My taxi driver was named Ilgar, a man from Azerbaijan who has a wife and a seven year-old son who are living there while he is here making money by driving the taxi. Asking God to open doors in conversation and to speed my understanding and speaking of Russian, I went ahead and starting asking him about his life and telling him about my own. When he asked me why I would teach here for so little money when I could be making so much more in the U.S., I was able to tell him that it was because God wants me here. This then led into questions about God. I asked him directly if he believes Jesus is the Son of God, and from what I could understand, I believe that he said he is a Muslim and that he believes Jesus is a great prophet. Upon reaching the school, I paid him my 700 rubles and was able to get his phone number in case I ever need a taxi driver in the future. I pray that God will continue to speak to his heart in these coming days and months.

On Sunday (my birthday) afternoon Max and I spent quite a bit of time using an axe, crow bar, and hammer to break into our apartment. We were then able to find a new lock that was the exact same model as the old, broken one! We replaced the old one, and now the door is functioning very well. In the midst of all this, I was overcome with amazement. Through a "bad" situation, I was able to meet my 26th Russian and tell him it was my birthday; more than that, I was able to tell him about my Savior!