Ready or not, here March comes!

Sitting here at my computer tonight, I'm overwhelmed with gratitude for all that has transpired in the recent past, and I'm excited about everything that's coming in the next days and months. What's taken place in the past month? What's yet to come? Join with me in praising God for His work in the following ways!

5th grade at HCA: My flock of fifth graders continue to grow and mature, and my relationship with the kids continues to deepen. I just love those kids! We've had some stellar classes and memorable moments lately, especially during Bible class, Social Studies, Science, class prayer, and God Sightings time. Some of the kids are really starting to own their faith and take it seriously. We're kicking off our Loose Change to Loosen Chains campaign to help free slaves around the world. One girl was tickled pink this week when she received an autographed book from an author in Ireland whom she had written to. The author encouraged my student, who desires to be a missionary, saying, "If you believe in Jesus, you are a missionary already"! The boy who is in Korea with his mother for health reasons is still there, but in my limited correspondence with him, I've learned that his mother is doing well. Praise God! Certain students who have lacked motivation are continuing to progress academically. This week is school spirit week, and the kids will be decorating our door, dressing up in all sorts of crazy ways, and rooting for the Hinkson Huskies in the All-City basketball tournament on Friday. We're also very excited this week to have a Skype conference with 5th graders from Oklahoma City who would like to interview students who live in Russia, as they have been studying Russia in school. What a cool opportunity! Continue to pray for me have the wisdom, love, and patience to wisely and humbly shepherd these precious souls! Also, please pray for me as I continue to seek God's heart about what to say during elementary chapel this Friday. I will be speaking out of Mark 7, and I sense God leading us to focus on intercessory prayer in the K-5 classes.

Visa situation: The school is still sorting through a lot of confusion with the visa situation. Join us in praying for the government to grant our school an exception, which would allow us to extend the visas of teachers whose visas are about to expire. This would be a temporary fix as we still await the word on whether we will receive the much-needed quota card for this year (and next year). If we receive the quota card, almost all of the headaches involved with the visa issue would be solved. Join with me in believing that God will grant our school favor this Wednesday, March 3, as our case will be examined in a committee meeting that deals specifically with the quota cards and our particular situation.

English Cafe: So far in 2010, we've had three English Cafes at the school, and they've all gone very well! Two weeks ago, we had about 60 people come for Word Game Night, which was a huge success, and we're eagerly anticipating Karaoke/Open Mic Night this coming Saturday. Each week we are seeing new faces, and as a leadership team, we are trying to more intentional about developing relationships with all those who come. In a little over a month, we will host our 2nd annual Easter Fair, which was a big hit last year and opened the door for some great spiritual conversation. Pray for those who come, that they would sense the love and presence of Christ, and that they would desire to not only come back to the Cafe, but that they would see their need for Jesus.

Church English Cafe: This ministry is officially up off the ground! Last night we had our second ever English Cafe at Moscow First Church of the Nazarene, and we had 10 people come, 9 of whom do not attend our church! Both times we've hosted this event, we've had a fun, laid-back atmosphere and good conversation. God is opening doors for more and more people to hear about the Cafe, and we are excited to see where God will take this. Join us in praying for this ministry to grow as God leads and for just the right people to come, that they would sense the love and warmth of community, ultimately desiring to know the God who made and loves all of us! Below are our remaining Cafe dates at the church:

March 27
April 24
May 15

Alpha Course: Borne out of the English Cafe at the school, our second Alpha Course is underway. We have five new guests, and so far the discussions have been excellent. The leadership team has told me that our current guests have very good English, which makes deep conversation much easier, and they also have been coming with many tough questions about the Christian faith. One friend of mine, a man from Sweden who is studying here in Moscow and who is attending the course, recognizes that he has a void in his life that he doesn't know how to fill, but he is struggling to accept that Jesus Christ is the way to satisfy that desire. He struggles with accepting that, in Christ dying on the cross for our sins, it places us in a tremendous place of debt to Him, a debt that we can never repay. My friend struggles because he didn't ask Jesus to do that for him, and yet Christ did. Another friend is trying to reconcile the differences between the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses and the teachings of the Bible. Yet another of the guests said on this past Thursday night, "The is the first time I've actually understood why Jesus died!" Praise the Lord with me for His great work in the Alpha Course! Join praying for each soul who comes, that they would find peace with God. Pray also as we are preparing for the weekend away, which will be April 16-18. The weekend away is a crucial time for building community and going deeper and more intimate with God.

Orphanage Visits: God has opened the door for my middle school boys and me to return to the orphanage we have been visiting for the past two years, but which we had been prohibited from visiting for about 8 months! We are hoping to make our second visit of 2010 in the near future. When we visited about a month ago, the orphans went crazy when they saw us (see January 30 entry), and they wanted to know when we would visit again to play basketball and card games, drink tea, eat snacks, and just hang out. Please pray for relationships to develop between my students and the orphans whom we visit, that the orphans would sense the love of Christ in us.

Lindsey and I: It's always fun to save the best for last :) As of tomorrow, March 1, Lindsey and I will have been dating for exactly one year! I'm planning a fun date with her that will take us around the city and will allow us to celebrate all that God's done in bringing us together! Less than five months until the wedding...about 139 days (but wait, who's counting? :-) Praise God for writing such amazing stories!

I'd like to leave you with a couple verses from Psalm 57 that have been speaking to my heart recently, especially as God's been showing me how crucial it is that we walk humbly with Him and desire to see Him be glorified in all the earth:

"Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed. I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me. He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; God sends his love and his faithfulness...Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth." (Psalm 57:1-3,5)

One Year Later...

Wow! It sure is amazing to see how much change can come in just one year! Exactly one year ago today, Lindsey and I had our first picture together after an English Cafe. For that particular evening, themed "The Times of Your Life", we had both dressed alike unintentionally! I had dressed up in denim and a wig (the beard was really mine!) to imitate George Harrison of the Beatles, representing the 1960s. Lindsey had dressed in denim, but her goal had been to represent the 90s! I remember really wanting to get a picture with her, thinking that this was a really cool coincidence, wondering if it might be indicative of more. So I mustered up the courage to ask her if she'd like to take a picture together, and she said, "Yes!" However, neither of us really knew how to pose, so it was a bit awkward :-)



Now, one year to the day later, Lindsey and I have been engaged for over six weeks, and we're less than five months away from our wedding date on July 17!!! We're working on bridesmaids dresses, guest lists, invitations, and many more exciting details - quite a bit of change from a hope-she-accepts-it invitation for a picture! Posing with her now isn't awkward at all :-)


Today, the 21st, is also a very significant date to me, as it was on the 21st of December, 2003, that I first saw the WAIT tombstone. After a long and difficult first semester of my sophomore year at Olivet Nazarene University, I came home quite exhausted for the Christmas break. After a couple days of sleep and rest, I decided to take a long, quiet walk through the snowy streets of Flushing. I distinctly remember that on that particular day, the snow was so gorgeous and fresh (like the weather we've got right now in Moscow), and it created such an atmosphere of peace and joy. My heart was in need of that peace, as I was really starting to desire a girlfriend. Many of my friends and peers were in dating relationships, and some were even getting married - and here I was at 20 years old, never having dated. Up to that point, I had never really had a problem with that, but at the beginning of my third decade of life, I realized how much I desired a companion to share the journey with. So I had gone out on a long, slow walk with God to sort out my feelings and seek His guidance.

While I was praying, asking the Almighty what He wanted me to do about girls, His answer came in an unforgettable manner. I had just asked Him, "Do you want me to date? What do you want for me to do? I'll do what You want, Lord", and then a few minutes later, as I was walking up the snowy hill of Boman Street toward the old cemetery, I looked across the street and was stunned by the tombstone that seemed to have God's will for me written in stone (albeit a person's last name): WAIT. Amazing! I remember walking over to the tombstone, standing in front of it in a worshipful attitude, thanking God for being so gracious and clear to me about His will. From that point on, my heart was at rest in WAITing on God for all my needs and direction, and in WAITing patiently for the right woman to come along at just the perfect time.

Little did I know that exactly six years later, on December 21, 2009, I would have the honor and privilege of taking Lindsey on a walk through Flushing on a snowy day, leading her eventually to Boman Street, telling her the amazing story of what had transpired six years before at exactly the same place, showing her "the tombstone", which is my favorite place of worship in the world, and excitedly telling her that I've been WAITing patiently for her (I'd kept it a secret until then)! What a day that was!

Thank you, Lord God, for writing the most amazing stories and for graciously including us, Your children, as characters in Your grand story of history and love. You are incredible!