For now we see in a mirror dimly but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13
We, like so many others, had this chapter read at our wedding. It has always been one of my favorites, but lately, it’s become even more important to me. Later on in the blog, I’ll share my version of the chapter. It may be meaningful to you, or you may think it’s silly, but it was a good thing for me to do. In the Kay Arthur study I’m doing with some of the ladies back home, we studied a great deal this week about abiding. I want to abide in Him and Him in me, but that means He is absolutely allowed anywhere He wants to go. For me, that means He is allowed to see the dark places where I’m not always so happy to have Him roaming around. It’s not just that I’m ashamed for Him to be in those places—He might try to take some of them away from me. Then where would I be? Let’s see….cleansed, purified, fruit-bearing. Oh, yeah…that’s where I’d be. Don’t you sometimes wonder why He doesn’t just throw up His hands in exasperation? Lately, I wonder on a daily basis.
It was an interesting weekend. On Saturday, we went to Metro Kievskaya, which is on the ring line of the metro system here in Moscow. Because Stalin knew visitors would be more toward the center, the metro stations on the ring are unbelievably beautiful. We’re not allowed to take pictures for security reasons, but if I could, I’d do it so you could see the premium Russians put on making places beautiful. Anyway, we went to the crystal bridge, which is a pedestrian bridge enclosed in glass that goes over the Moskva River. It was beautiful, and for about two hours on Saturday, it was sunny. We were all like dogs who stick their heads out the windows of cars in order to let their ears blow around. We stood and just soaked in the sun on that bridge. Then we went shopping at a huge mall where they sold $40 slippers. I don’t think so, my friends. Fortunately, we found some at IKEA for about $4. The big news of the day was that Sarah Beth was approached on the metro by a very handsome young man who, unfortunately for him, did not recognize that Sarah Beth’s Mama (she was standing on the metro in front of my seat) was with her. He came and put his hand on her back, proceeded to introduce himself, explain that he and his friends had been noticing how good-looking she was, and wondered if she would like to…at this point in the very one-sided conversation, I sat up, explained that I was, indeed, her Mama, and that she didn’t speak Russian, and she wasn’t going to go anywhere with him. He immediately removed his hand from her back, stepped backward, put his hands in the air, and returned to his friends. Sarah Beth’s Uncle Larry whittled her a beating stick with her initials on it back at ILC, and we brought it with us, but I didn’t know she was literally going to have to take it with her everywhere she goes! The other big story of the day was our conversation with a very, very nice woman in a different mall from the one at Kievskaya. We were on a quest that day for a pot in which to cook chili and chicken and noodles—our two favorite meals. Not finding one at the Kievskaya mall, we went on the metro back toward home to Novie Cheromsky, where they have a more Russian kind of mall, with lots of little kiosks, etc. The kids and I went into a toy store while Marc when into the kitchen shop next door. Since the walls aren’t exactly walls, I could hear Marc say, “Mya schena,” which is Russian for my wife, so I knew I needed to head over. The lady who worked there, and who was extremely nice, was talking to Marc about a pot. I wasn’t sure the pot was big enough for what we needed it for, so after introducing myself, I asked if she thought the pot was big enough to cook “chorista”—chicken. Unfortunately, I was actually asking if she thought the pot was big enough to cook cinnamon—chorista—instead of chicken—curista. She was obviously puzzled, and it had been a long day, so I simply abandoned all dignity, and much to the horror (and amusement) of my children, I flapped my arms like a chicken. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, your cooperative program dollars at work. In my defense, she immediately knew what I meant. We didn’t buy the pot—it was about $150, which was cheaper than the $300 pot to its left—but we did make a good memory and amuse a nice Russian lady.
Some days, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, but I’ve tried crying, and it doesn’t make me feel any better, so I guess laughing is all that’s left. What is there to do but laugh when you’ve just made the chicken wings in front of God and everyone? Nothing. That’s what’s left.
As I said before, I Corinthians 13 has always been important to me, but while I’ve been here, it’s been especially important. Because of that, I spent some time one day re-writing it for my situation. Lest you think that’s blasphemous in some way, please know that I’m certainly not suggesting that Paul and I are somehow on the same inspired level. I don’t. But I do believe from my own experiences that there is great power in taking God’s word and directly applying it to my own situation. I’ve done it countless times, praying God’s word right back to Him. It does a couple of things. First, it helps to hide His word in my heart. It also reminds me of the promises God has made to me, and it helps me to claim those promises as my own. With this chapter, it reminded me to love above all else in the midst of a time that has tried me, stretched me, and broken me in many ways. So here’s my version of the love chapter.
If I speak perfect, grammatically correct Russian, but I don’t love the babushka on the elevator, my language skills are just noise. If I have the gift of discernment and the faith to move my family across the world, but I don’t love that family with every breath, I’m nothing but a fraud. If I sell my possessions to go on mission, and I walk mile after mile in order to fit the IMB’s weight restrictions, but when I get on the field can do nothing but complain that Russians aren’t Americans, then all that work and sacrifice are meaningless. Love is patient as the children (and their parents) transition, it is kind to those around it, it is not jealous of what others are accomplishing. Love doesn’t brag about language acquisition and is not arrogant about God-given skills; it doesn’t act ugly or always seek to have its own way. It doesn’t easily become angry when the children are not perfect, it forgives them their moments of transition, it isn’t glad when someone else gets “what they deserve.” It rejoices when the truth is spoken, bears up under the stress of a totally new life and identity, hopes that each day will get a little easier for all of us, endures the trials of transition. Love never fails. Gifts of discernment will fail, and my spoken Russian will never be perfect, and my knowledge of the universe seemingly grows smaller each day. For I’m only human, and I can’t always see the big picture—just my tiny part of it. But someday—someday!—I am going to see the whole plan, and I’m going to understand all that has happened, is happening, will happen. When I was a girl, I spoke and thought and understood like a girl, but then I became a woman and I put those things away. Now I can’t see anything clearly, but when I meet Jesus face to face, all of this will make sense to me. Someday, I will know Him as well as He already knows me. Now all around me are faith, hope, and love; and the best of these, the one I must choose every single time, is love.
Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Untitled update...
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5
You guessed it—I reached “apart” in my word study through the Bible this morning. For a self-confessed perfectionist, this verse is a hard one. I can do nothing? C’mon…surely I can do something on my own. I am, after all, a pretty smart, capable girl. However, if the last three weeks has proven anything to me, it’s that when Jesus said I couldn’t do anything apart from Him, He wasn’t kidding. Perfectionist or not, I have been unsuccessful at anything I’ve tried to do in my own strength here. For example:
I cannot homeschool without Him. Trust me. I’ve tried. All I get is irritated children and a bad, bad attitude. I have wavered between exasperated and embittered about homeschooling, and I have finally just prayed that God would make us happy about the situation or He would find us another situation. While I wouldn’t say there was a miraculous healing, I would say that it’s been a much better situation in the last few days, not only because we all have developed a little better attitude (except Sarah Beth, who loves homeschooling and didn’t need a better attitude), but also because there are some things I just had to give up until language school is over. (By the way—they told me that at ILC, but because I think I’m super-teacher, I decided that was for ordinary people. Ordinary people couldn’t do language school and homeschool three children in every possible subject, but certainly I could. WRONG! Trust me—homeschooling has been a humbling experience. I have a whole new appreciation and respect for some of my friends who have done it for years.)
I cannot do language school without Him. I can learn conjugations and grammatical forms with the best of them, but unless I acknowledge that as God-given skill, it falls flat. I have prayed each morning this week for ears to hear, a mind to understand, and a tongue that can put four consonants together with no vowel in sight. And you know what? I’m really enjoying my language study. In fact, during the beginning of this week, which was a very dark, dark time for me, language study was the only joy I could find. I love my teacher, Irina, and we are developing a very good relationship. I look forward to seeing her. (I don’t look forward to her narrowing her eyes at me when I don’t roll my r’s, but that’s a whole other story.)
I cannot be a successful, content, serene (that’s for Laurie Bishop) wife and mother without Him. There is so much to do here. There is so much just to keep the house clean and everyone fed without convenience foods that we are used to having. Combine that with homeschooling three children and doing language school…by Tuesday of this week, I was pretty much done. I cannot do all of that, do it perfectly, and survive. Wednesday morning, I literally cried out to God. I cannot do this. I cannot do this. And you know what He replied? “Of course you cannot do this. But I promised I would be with you wherever you go, and I am the ultimate promise keeper. You cannot do this, but I can do anything.” I would love to tell you that there was a lightning bolt from the heavens and my housework was magically done, my children behaved perfectly, and I managed to vacuum everything in my high heels. None of that happened. But little by little, I began to feel that peace that transcends understanding. Thursday night I turned to Marc and said, “You know what? For the first time in the three weeks we’ve been here, I can honestly say to you that this was a good day. Not a perfect day, but still a pretty good day.” And by last night, I just felt like somehow we had turned some kind of corner. Marc had downloaded a new show for them (thank you, Aunt Kay, for the iTunes gift cards…they are marvelous, marvelous things), and after a really nice dinner together, we all sat down and watched the show and laughed and laughed. Laughter! It may not seem like a big, important thing to you, but we hadn’t laughed a lot since we’ve been here. We enjoyed one another’s company for the first time since we’ve been here. It may not be a lightning bolt from the sky, but for the first time since we’ve been here, I feel like we might just make it. That’s miracle enough for me.
I cannot get John-John to bed without Him. You’re laughing, but until Wednesday night, we had only had one night in the three weeks we’ve been here when John went to bed without a fight. If it only took us two hours, we thought we’d had a big victory. It was generally taking four to five hours a night for him to fall asleep. Finally, after praying in desperation for God’s help, we asked John-John what he didn’t like about his bed. Know what it was? He’s never slept in a bunkbed where the other bed is on top of him (ours at home were in an L shape, so his head was out in the open), and he thought Hannah was going to fall on him and smother him to death. That would keep me up at night, too. So we pulled his mattress on the floor, and within five minutes, he was asleep. We left it there, and he has gone to sleep with no problems for the last three nights. He slept Thursday night for eleven hours, and he’s been asleep for nine hours so far, and he shows no signs of waking up. He was exhausted, we were exhausted, and that makes for an easy target for the enemy. We were like fish swimming in a barrel to Satan. Figuring out how to get John to sleep has made all the difference in the world.
I can’t do anything apart from Him. But with Him…nothing looks totally impossible to me. I can make my own tortillas. I can learn to conjugate everything but adverbs in Russian (only adverbs don’t change—I love them so much). I can have fun with my family. I can make a complete fool of myself while I try out my language skills on poor, unsuspecting Russians. I can live with the deep longing for my parents and sisters…and be thankful that God has given me such a close, loving family instead of being resentful that I am homesick for them. Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” and I am beginning to feel that my reply to Paul is, “Amen. Amen.”
I love you and pray for you often. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
You guessed it—I reached “apart” in my word study through the Bible this morning. For a self-confessed perfectionist, this verse is a hard one. I can do nothing? C’mon…surely I can do something on my own. I am, after all, a pretty smart, capable girl. However, if the last three weeks has proven anything to me, it’s that when Jesus said I couldn’t do anything apart from Him, He wasn’t kidding. Perfectionist or not, I have been unsuccessful at anything I’ve tried to do in my own strength here. For example:
I cannot homeschool without Him. Trust me. I’ve tried. All I get is irritated children and a bad, bad attitude. I have wavered between exasperated and embittered about homeschooling, and I have finally just prayed that God would make us happy about the situation or He would find us another situation. While I wouldn’t say there was a miraculous healing, I would say that it’s been a much better situation in the last few days, not only because we all have developed a little better attitude (except Sarah Beth, who loves homeschooling and didn’t need a better attitude), but also because there are some things I just had to give up until language school is over. (By the way—they told me that at ILC, but because I think I’m super-teacher, I decided that was for ordinary people. Ordinary people couldn’t do language school and homeschool three children in every possible subject, but certainly I could. WRONG! Trust me—homeschooling has been a humbling experience. I have a whole new appreciation and respect for some of my friends who have done it for years.)
I cannot do language school without Him. I can learn conjugations and grammatical forms with the best of them, but unless I acknowledge that as God-given skill, it falls flat. I have prayed each morning this week for ears to hear, a mind to understand, and a tongue that can put four consonants together with no vowel in sight. And you know what? I’m really enjoying my language study. In fact, during the beginning of this week, which was a very dark, dark time for me, language study was the only joy I could find. I love my teacher, Irina, and we are developing a very good relationship. I look forward to seeing her. (I don’t look forward to her narrowing her eyes at me when I don’t roll my r’s, but that’s a whole other story.)
I cannot be a successful, content, serene (that’s for Laurie Bishop) wife and mother without Him. There is so much to do here. There is so much just to keep the house clean and everyone fed without convenience foods that we are used to having. Combine that with homeschooling three children and doing language school…by Tuesday of this week, I was pretty much done. I cannot do all of that, do it perfectly, and survive. Wednesday morning, I literally cried out to God. I cannot do this. I cannot do this. And you know what He replied? “Of course you cannot do this. But I promised I would be with you wherever you go, and I am the ultimate promise keeper. You cannot do this, but I can do anything.” I would love to tell you that there was a lightning bolt from the heavens and my housework was magically done, my children behaved perfectly, and I managed to vacuum everything in my high heels. None of that happened. But little by little, I began to feel that peace that transcends understanding. Thursday night I turned to Marc and said, “You know what? For the first time in the three weeks we’ve been here, I can honestly say to you that this was a good day. Not a perfect day, but still a pretty good day.” And by last night, I just felt like somehow we had turned some kind of corner. Marc had downloaded a new show for them (thank you, Aunt Kay, for the iTunes gift cards…they are marvelous, marvelous things), and after a really nice dinner together, we all sat down and watched the show and laughed and laughed. Laughter! It may not seem like a big, important thing to you, but we hadn’t laughed a lot since we’ve been here. We enjoyed one another’s company for the first time since we’ve been here. It may not be a lightning bolt from the sky, but for the first time since we’ve been here, I feel like we might just make it. That’s miracle enough for me.
I cannot get John-John to bed without Him. You’re laughing, but until Wednesday night, we had only had one night in the three weeks we’ve been here when John went to bed without a fight. If it only took us two hours, we thought we’d had a big victory. It was generally taking four to five hours a night for him to fall asleep. Finally, after praying in desperation for God’s help, we asked John-John what he didn’t like about his bed. Know what it was? He’s never slept in a bunkbed where the other bed is on top of him (ours at home were in an L shape, so his head was out in the open), and he thought Hannah was going to fall on him and smother him to death. That would keep me up at night, too. So we pulled his mattress on the floor, and within five minutes, he was asleep. We left it there, and he has gone to sleep with no problems for the last three nights. He slept Thursday night for eleven hours, and he’s been asleep for nine hours so far, and he shows no signs of waking up. He was exhausted, we were exhausted, and that makes for an easy target for the enemy. We were like fish swimming in a barrel to Satan. Figuring out how to get John to sleep has made all the difference in the world.
I can’t do anything apart from Him. But with Him…nothing looks totally impossible to me. I can make my own tortillas. I can learn to conjugate everything but adverbs in Russian (only adverbs don’t change—I love them so much). I can have fun with my family. I can make a complete fool of myself while I try out my language skills on poor, unsuspecting Russians. I can live with the deep longing for my parents and sisters…and be thankful that God has given me such a close, loving family instead of being resentful that I am homesick for them. Paul says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” and I am beginning to feel that my reply to Paul is, “Amen. Amen.”
I love you and pray for you often. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Who are you following?
By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now is already in the world. I John 4:2-3
That’s kind of an odd verse to begin my blog with, I know. I promise that I haven’t found the Antichrist living in Moscow (though if he were, I’d be able to introduce myself, tell him my name, and proclaim myself a “misseeonair.”), though I’m sure that—just like the rest of the world—there are plenty of antichrists running around the city. No, instead this came from my Bible study this morning. Along with the study that the women’s group at church is doing by Kay Arthur, I have started doing a word study of different words from the Bible and how they vary in different contexts. If you are one of my FPO buddies, you will recognize that Elbert is the inspiration here. It’s not very scientific—I’m just going letter by letter in my concordance and finding what I can about different things. Today’s word was antichrist, and it fit with the Kay Arthur study perfectly. It’s awfully important to know what you believe and why. If all we ever do is look for THE Antichrist, then we miss the damage done by the spirit of antichrist around us. Here’s my challenge to you—before you decide to follow someone’s teaching, test it against God’s word. I don’t want to mention names, but there’s a very popular preacher in Houston, Texas (who smiles a lot), and he might make you feel good, but if you test what he says against what God says, you’ll find he is pretty lacking. I am a fan of Alan Floyd’s (our pastor in Florida), and I’d put his preaching up against any preaching anywhere, but if what he said didn’t match what the Bible said, I’d have to say so long. Get my point? Who are you following? I’ll follow Jesus. Men are just men. They’ll fail you—even the good, Godly ones. Jesus never, ever will fail you. That’s my soapbox for the day. Now I’ll climb down and fill you in on what’s going on here.
Well, I started language on Monday. I think it’s going well, but I promise you it’s sooooooooo hard. I am old…or at least my brain is old. It does not want to do the mental gymnastics required to learn to speak Russian. I find myself muttering away as I do things around the house. I’m sure the children think Momma has finally lost it. On second thought, they know I’ve finally lost it.
We have internet sort of. It’s not a perfect solution, but it is unlimited for only 500 rubles a month (roughly $20), so we’re pleased with that. It’s not totally reliable—we were skyping with Poland last night and lost them when the network crashed. But it’s been dependable enough, and we’re pleased to have it. I know many of you have prayed for this, and I wanted you to know that your prayers have been answered. By the way—if you haven’t discovered Skype, you must look into it. If you call computer to computer it’s free, but I can all my parents’ telephone for 15 minutes and pay about 30 cents. It’s amazing!!!
Yesterday, the sun shone for about 2 hours. Sarah Beth and I walked to the specialty grocery store (Seventh Continent), and we bought stuff for our friend Stephen, who arrived yesterday. It was so fun. It felt so good. I have never in my life been so happy to see sunshine. That morning in my quiet time, I read and prayed Psalm 43: Lord, I am living in a land of darkness…hear my pleas to You. Of course, I’m pretty sure the psalmist was being metaphoric, but I was happy for the sunshine any way I could get it. Honestly, it was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders.
Marc is ranting about the Russian language right now. One hundred and ten conjugations of the word “bathroom,” but no word for “am.” He’s right. Isn’t it weird? If I am introducing myself according to my profession, it goes like this: “Ya preepadavatyel.” (pah-Angliski: I teacher.) No “I am a teacher.” Nyet. “I teacher.” But the days of the week have 6 different endings according to case. Gotta go with him on this one. We’re so funny as we study. I teach whatever it is to no one in particular. He stares and walks up and down. The joke in our house (only Irina and I think it’s funny) is that Marc cannot say the word for teacher (few misseonair can, according to Irina), but everyone in my family is a teacher. She goes through a stack of pictures everyday, grins at him, and then asks different questions about the people there. His friend Mikey, my grandfather, my aunt and uncle, his parents….lots of teachers in the stack. When he points to me, he tries to sneak in “misseeonair,” but she waggles her finger and makes him say, “preepadavatyel.” She’s funny.
One really cool thing about Russia is that you can go to any drugstore and get prescription meds without a prescription. John-John has developed a nasty little cough, and so Irina wrote down what syrup to get for him, Marc took it, and sure enough, we got the cough syrup. Pretty cool, huh? He also got his cholesterol and blood pressure medicines.
I made my own refried beans from scratch tonight. Like from the beans in the bag to the plate—seriously, I did it all myself. I was pretty impressed. I’ve also discovered something called “testa,” which I think means dough. You just roll it out and do stuff with it. I made really yummy cinnamon rolls with it yesterday morning, and pizza with it last night. But before you’re too impressed, I had to use both packages from the refrigerator, because they both exploded, and it looked like the creature from the dough lagoon had entered my refrigerator. It’s really good. I just have to figure out a way to keep it from exploding. :o)
Well, I should go. I still have homework to do. I have to memorize the exceptions to the rules for making singulars into plurals. Yep—just as many as in English. I have a new respect for people who come to America and learn our language. They are brave, brave souls! Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
That’s kind of an odd verse to begin my blog with, I know. I promise that I haven’t found the Antichrist living in Moscow (though if he were, I’d be able to introduce myself, tell him my name, and proclaim myself a “misseeonair.”), though I’m sure that—just like the rest of the world—there are plenty of antichrists running around the city. No, instead this came from my Bible study this morning. Along with the study that the women’s group at church is doing by Kay Arthur, I have started doing a word study of different words from the Bible and how they vary in different contexts. If you are one of my FPO buddies, you will recognize that Elbert is the inspiration here. It’s not very scientific—I’m just going letter by letter in my concordance and finding what I can about different things. Today’s word was antichrist, and it fit with the Kay Arthur study perfectly. It’s awfully important to know what you believe and why. If all we ever do is look for THE Antichrist, then we miss the damage done by the spirit of antichrist around us. Here’s my challenge to you—before you decide to follow someone’s teaching, test it against God’s word. I don’t want to mention names, but there’s a very popular preacher in Houston, Texas (who smiles a lot), and he might make you feel good, but if you test what he says against what God says, you’ll find he is pretty lacking. I am a fan of Alan Floyd’s (our pastor in Florida), and I’d put his preaching up against any preaching anywhere, but if what he said didn’t match what the Bible said, I’d have to say so long. Get my point? Who are you following? I’ll follow Jesus. Men are just men. They’ll fail you—even the good, Godly ones. Jesus never, ever will fail you. That’s my soapbox for the day. Now I’ll climb down and fill you in on what’s going on here.
Well, I started language on Monday. I think it’s going well, but I promise you it’s sooooooooo hard. I am old…or at least my brain is old. It does not want to do the mental gymnastics required to learn to speak Russian. I find myself muttering away as I do things around the house. I’m sure the children think Momma has finally lost it. On second thought, they know I’ve finally lost it.
We have internet sort of. It’s not a perfect solution, but it is unlimited for only 500 rubles a month (roughly $20), so we’re pleased with that. It’s not totally reliable—we were skyping with Poland last night and lost them when the network crashed. But it’s been dependable enough, and we’re pleased to have it. I know many of you have prayed for this, and I wanted you to know that your prayers have been answered. By the way—if you haven’t discovered Skype, you must look into it. If you call computer to computer it’s free, but I can all my parents’ telephone for 15 minutes and pay about 30 cents. It’s amazing!!!
Yesterday, the sun shone for about 2 hours. Sarah Beth and I walked to the specialty grocery store (Seventh Continent), and we bought stuff for our friend Stephen, who arrived yesterday. It was so fun. It felt so good. I have never in my life been so happy to see sunshine. That morning in my quiet time, I read and prayed Psalm 43: Lord, I am living in a land of darkness…hear my pleas to You. Of course, I’m pretty sure the psalmist was being metaphoric, but I was happy for the sunshine any way I could get it. Honestly, it was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders.
Marc is ranting about the Russian language right now. One hundred and ten conjugations of the word “bathroom,” but no word for “am.” He’s right. Isn’t it weird? If I am introducing myself according to my profession, it goes like this: “Ya preepadavatyel.” (pah-Angliski: I teacher.) No “I am a teacher.” Nyet. “I teacher.” But the days of the week have 6 different endings according to case. Gotta go with him on this one. We’re so funny as we study. I teach whatever it is to no one in particular. He stares and walks up and down. The joke in our house (only Irina and I think it’s funny) is that Marc cannot say the word for teacher (few misseonair can, according to Irina), but everyone in my family is a teacher. She goes through a stack of pictures everyday, grins at him, and then asks different questions about the people there. His friend Mikey, my grandfather, my aunt and uncle, his parents….lots of teachers in the stack. When he points to me, he tries to sneak in “misseeonair,” but she waggles her finger and makes him say, “preepadavatyel.” She’s funny.
One really cool thing about Russia is that you can go to any drugstore and get prescription meds without a prescription. John-John has developed a nasty little cough, and so Irina wrote down what syrup to get for him, Marc took it, and sure enough, we got the cough syrup. Pretty cool, huh? He also got his cholesterol and blood pressure medicines.
I made my own refried beans from scratch tonight. Like from the beans in the bag to the plate—seriously, I did it all myself. I was pretty impressed. I’ve also discovered something called “testa,” which I think means dough. You just roll it out and do stuff with it. I made really yummy cinnamon rolls with it yesterday morning, and pizza with it last night. But before you’re too impressed, I had to use both packages from the refrigerator, because they both exploded, and it looked like the creature from the dough lagoon had entered my refrigerator. It’s really good. I just have to figure out a way to keep it from exploding. :o)
Well, I should go. I still have homework to do. I have to memorize the exceptions to the rules for making singulars into plurals. Yep—just as many as in English. I have a new respect for people who come to America and learn our language. They are brave, brave souls! Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
Monday, October 22, 2007
The Narrow Path
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14
I’m doing the Kay Arthur Bible study that Lauren’s group is doing at FBC Middleburg, and this morning I read this for the second time. It caught my attention because it reminded me of walking to the nearest metro station. The city has planks of wood set up over some of the muddiest parts of the walkway. They are not easy to walk on, and in the snow they became pretty icy. They are hard for me to balance on, and they are definitely the narrow way, especially in comparison with the space between them and the road, which is quite broad. Especially when people are coming the opposite direction (I haven’t quite figured out the etiquette here), it is very tempting just to hop off and walk on between the planks and the road. However, the mud is unbelievably gooey and sticky there. At best, your pants legs are going to be coated in mud when you get wherever it is you’re going. At worst, you’re going to lose a shoe in the muck and have to limp back home to retrieve another pair (and your dignity). The thing that struck me is that this is very much what Jesus is saying in this passage, isn’t it? The narrow way doesn’t always look inviting, and it certainly isn’t the easier of the two choices. However, those who choose the broad and easier path are very likely to get stuck in the muck. I don’t know about you, but I will gladly take the narrow way…that mud is hard to get out of stuff once it gets on you. Know what I mean?
Things here continue to roll along. I started language study today. My head is going to explode off of my body, but other than that, I think it went pretty well. A big prayer answered is that we really love our language teacher, Irina. She is in our home from 9a.m. to 3p.m., so if we didn’t like her, that would be problematic. She’s wonderful, frankly, and a delight to have in our home. She also speaks Spanish, and even spent two pretty interesting years teaching in Nicaragua immediately following the revolution there. Pretty interesting stuff. It’s amazing how much Russian we can understand, even if there’s little we can say…though I can successfully introduce you to just about everybody in my family, and I can ask you what something is. Other than that, I’m pretty useless right now.
There are some things I think are going pretty well. Language is going well. I think I am adapting and learning how to cook here pretty well. (I made my own tortillas the other night—no kidding!) The homeschooling thing is going okay, too, though John whizzes through everything I have for him in about an hour. Pray for us as we make some decisions about his schooling—we are seriously considering Russian schools for him, even if only for half a day. We’ve got to provide him with something that’s going to challenge him. We are learning our way around the city pretty well. We think we’ve found a church to attend during language training (after that, we hope to start our own house church in our neighborhood). It has a praise band and everything, and a children’s program for John and Han, and even a youth group. It’s pretty missions minded—they just returned from a trip somewhere. We think it’s a good fit, and it’s only a bus and a trolley ride from us, which is closer than anything else. We’ve also made some friends on our team, and we’re really in love with our team. It is the perfect fit for us, and we are thankful to those in charge who decided to put us there.
There are some things that are more difficult. Number one on that list is John’s sleeping patterns, which are still out of whack. I am swiftly becoming that mother who begs and pleads with her child to get in bed, then gives in and lets him sleep between her and her husband. I don’t have to tell you the issue this is causing. Please pray for John-John as he settles into his bed at night. That would be around 1 in the afternoon on the East Coast of the States. We are absolutely desperate for sleep. There have been several nights where we found ourselves still up with him at 1 or 2 in the morning, only to face a full day of homeschooling and language school the next day. Another thing that is difficult is that Hannah does not particularly enjoy homeschooling. She is missing other children desperately. It isn’t like homeschooling in the states, where there are lots of kids to have interaction with at church, etc. She is lonely, I think. Pray that she will make some friends at the new church. We are also looking into sports or choir as a possibility for Han. And finally, I would say that I am struggling with the weather. No matter how often people told me how gray it was here, I don’t think I really understood it. Even now, at 4:30 in the afternoon, it’s getting dark. I miss the sun. I had no idea the grayness would affect me so much. The cold doesn’t bother me, and the snow was lovely, but the gray…I would love to see a sunny day.
For sure, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It is an awesome adventure, and I couldn’t be here with anyone but Marc, who daily wants to traipse off to discover something new about our neighborhood or the city, for whom this is a daily reminder of how much God loves us, that He would send us here. If I were with someone like me (more introverted), it would be disastrous. We’d sit in the apartment and never leave it. And so, on those days when I think I will scream if I don’t see some sunshine…I have Marc to remind me that God called us here, and so we are equipped to be here. And I find over and over that he’s right. And over and over that His promises are true. And I just remind myself that somewhere out there…the sun is shining. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
I’m doing the Kay Arthur Bible study that Lauren’s group is doing at FBC Middleburg, and this morning I read this for the second time. It caught my attention because it reminded me of walking to the nearest metro station. The city has planks of wood set up over some of the muddiest parts of the walkway. They are not easy to walk on, and in the snow they became pretty icy. They are hard for me to balance on, and they are definitely the narrow way, especially in comparison with the space between them and the road, which is quite broad. Especially when people are coming the opposite direction (I haven’t quite figured out the etiquette here), it is very tempting just to hop off and walk on between the planks and the road. However, the mud is unbelievably gooey and sticky there. At best, your pants legs are going to be coated in mud when you get wherever it is you’re going. At worst, you’re going to lose a shoe in the muck and have to limp back home to retrieve another pair (and your dignity). The thing that struck me is that this is very much what Jesus is saying in this passage, isn’t it? The narrow way doesn’t always look inviting, and it certainly isn’t the easier of the two choices. However, those who choose the broad and easier path are very likely to get stuck in the muck. I don’t know about you, but I will gladly take the narrow way…that mud is hard to get out of stuff once it gets on you. Know what I mean?
Things here continue to roll along. I started language study today. My head is going to explode off of my body, but other than that, I think it went pretty well. A big prayer answered is that we really love our language teacher, Irina. She is in our home from 9a.m. to 3p.m., so if we didn’t like her, that would be problematic. She’s wonderful, frankly, and a delight to have in our home. She also speaks Spanish, and even spent two pretty interesting years teaching in Nicaragua immediately following the revolution there. Pretty interesting stuff. It’s amazing how much Russian we can understand, even if there’s little we can say…though I can successfully introduce you to just about everybody in my family, and I can ask you what something is. Other than that, I’m pretty useless right now.
There are some things I think are going pretty well. Language is going well. I think I am adapting and learning how to cook here pretty well. (I made my own tortillas the other night—no kidding!) The homeschooling thing is going okay, too, though John whizzes through everything I have for him in about an hour. Pray for us as we make some decisions about his schooling—we are seriously considering Russian schools for him, even if only for half a day. We’ve got to provide him with something that’s going to challenge him. We are learning our way around the city pretty well. We think we’ve found a church to attend during language training (after that, we hope to start our own house church in our neighborhood). It has a praise band and everything, and a children’s program for John and Han, and even a youth group. It’s pretty missions minded—they just returned from a trip somewhere. We think it’s a good fit, and it’s only a bus and a trolley ride from us, which is closer than anything else. We’ve also made some friends on our team, and we’re really in love with our team. It is the perfect fit for us, and we are thankful to those in charge who decided to put us there.
There are some things that are more difficult. Number one on that list is John’s sleeping patterns, which are still out of whack. I am swiftly becoming that mother who begs and pleads with her child to get in bed, then gives in and lets him sleep between her and her husband. I don’t have to tell you the issue this is causing. Please pray for John-John as he settles into his bed at night. That would be around 1 in the afternoon on the East Coast of the States. We are absolutely desperate for sleep. There have been several nights where we found ourselves still up with him at 1 or 2 in the morning, only to face a full day of homeschooling and language school the next day. Another thing that is difficult is that Hannah does not particularly enjoy homeschooling. She is missing other children desperately. It isn’t like homeschooling in the states, where there are lots of kids to have interaction with at church, etc. She is lonely, I think. Pray that she will make some friends at the new church. We are also looking into sports or choir as a possibility for Han. And finally, I would say that I am struggling with the weather. No matter how often people told me how gray it was here, I don’t think I really understood it. Even now, at 4:30 in the afternoon, it’s getting dark. I miss the sun. I had no idea the grayness would affect me so much. The cold doesn’t bother me, and the snow was lovely, but the gray…I would love to see a sunny day.
For sure, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. It is an awesome adventure, and I couldn’t be here with anyone but Marc, who daily wants to traipse off to discover something new about our neighborhood or the city, for whom this is a daily reminder of how much God loves us, that He would send us here. If I were with someone like me (more introverted), it would be disastrous. We’d sit in the apartment and never leave it. And so, on those days when I think I will scream if I don’t see some sunshine…I have Marc to remind me that God called us here, and so we are equipped to be here. And I find over and over that he’s right. And over and over that His promises are true. And I just remind myself that somewhere out there…the sun is shining. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
Friday, October 19, 2007
The snow, the coat, and Red Square
Well, it’s been quite a week. As we wrap up week two of our Russian adventure, I am struck by the fact that it seems like we’ve been here much longer than two weeks. And then on some days, it seems like we just got here.
First, the snow. It snowed on Sunday and Monday, and probably accumulated four inches or so. Not a big snow by Russian standards, but a blizzard by Hooks family standards. Literally, John-John and Hannah would just stand on chairs at the kitchen window, staring at it coming down. The first snow brought a couple of things to light: first, Marc is a huge kid. He was almost as excited about the snow as the two little kids. Second, there is a whole list of things we must buy before the next snow that we didn’t even have a clue we would have to buy. For instance, the children need snow clothes. Who knew? Not us. Luckily, my friend Karla drove me to Ashan, the Russian version of Walmart, and I was able to find some for John for around thirty dollars. He looks adorable. I also have to get water-proof gloves for each person. We have the cloth kind, and they just don’t hold up to the snow. Lots of stuff to learn for this transplanted Floridian.
Next, the coat. I bought a coat the Sunday before we left for Russia on Wednesday. It’s a really warm coat, and I really like it, so you can imagine my disappointment when I moved here and found that it set off the alarms at every single store I entered. I imagined it was the metal buttons and that I would have to buy a new coat. After all, I didn’t imagine myself making my first contacts with Russians as they frisked me to figure out what I was stealing. So on Wednesday, my coat and I (and the rest of the family) traipsed to Red Square to see what we could see. It was warm, but warm here is maybe 40 degrees, so you still need a coat. Sure enough, as we walked into a very fancy department store right off Red Square, the alarms started to sound, and the guards started to file toward me. In my broken Russian, I told them it was my coat. In their perfect Russian, they told me not to move. Hence, I did not move. They brought the wand, they waived it over me, and to my surprise, it was not my buttons that set off the alarm, but my pocked. As I reached for my pocket (a bad move, by the way, as one is being detained by people with guns), they said “Nyet!” very loudly. Then the guard in charge began to laugh. More of a chuckle, really, but still a sound of merriment—not something one associates with the Russian population as a whole. He points inside my coat—to the security tag, which I should have cut off immediately when I got the coat home from the store. No kidding…he went and got a pair of scissors and cut it off for me. I turned red, thanked him profusely (spaceba bolshoi), and left pretty soon afterward. I’m pretty sure I could hear “silly American” ringing in my ears as I left. No one said I was going to do this with my dignity in tact.
Finally, Red Square. Oh, my goodness! It’s absolutely, profoundly beautiful. Honestly, I was a little taken aback by it. The Kremlin is, well, the Kremlin. And St. Basil’s is so Russian and beautiful, and the whole place just resonates with history. It was the perfect thing for us to do—a little reminder of why we love this place and these people God has called us to love. It is a place of great dichotomy—people begging in front of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen. Massive churches that are museums but not places of worship. People who’ve placed their hope in an economic system, when the real Hope of the World is here, just waiting for them to accept Him. Pray for this place. Whatever you have thought of Russia all your life, pray for it now. And think of this—I am a girl from a small town who spent Wednesday standing in Red Square. Who would have thought that even possible in our lifetime? Our God is so big! Who knows what He’s up to here? I’m going to be honest—I don’t know what He’s up to here, but I’m glad to be a part of it, no matter how small. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
First, the snow. It snowed on Sunday and Monday, and probably accumulated four inches or so. Not a big snow by Russian standards, but a blizzard by Hooks family standards. Literally, John-John and Hannah would just stand on chairs at the kitchen window, staring at it coming down. The first snow brought a couple of things to light: first, Marc is a huge kid. He was almost as excited about the snow as the two little kids. Second, there is a whole list of things we must buy before the next snow that we didn’t even have a clue we would have to buy. For instance, the children need snow clothes. Who knew? Not us. Luckily, my friend Karla drove me to Ashan, the Russian version of Walmart, and I was able to find some for John for around thirty dollars. He looks adorable. I also have to get water-proof gloves for each person. We have the cloth kind, and they just don’t hold up to the snow. Lots of stuff to learn for this transplanted Floridian.
Next, the coat. I bought a coat the Sunday before we left for Russia on Wednesday. It’s a really warm coat, and I really like it, so you can imagine my disappointment when I moved here and found that it set off the alarms at every single store I entered. I imagined it was the metal buttons and that I would have to buy a new coat. After all, I didn’t imagine myself making my first contacts with Russians as they frisked me to figure out what I was stealing. So on Wednesday, my coat and I (and the rest of the family) traipsed to Red Square to see what we could see. It was warm, but warm here is maybe 40 degrees, so you still need a coat. Sure enough, as we walked into a very fancy department store right off Red Square, the alarms started to sound, and the guards started to file toward me. In my broken Russian, I told them it was my coat. In their perfect Russian, they told me not to move. Hence, I did not move. They brought the wand, they waived it over me, and to my surprise, it was not my buttons that set off the alarm, but my pocked. As I reached for my pocket (a bad move, by the way, as one is being detained by people with guns), they said “Nyet!” very loudly. Then the guard in charge began to laugh. More of a chuckle, really, but still a sound of merriment—not something one associates with the Russian population as a whole. He points inside my coat—to the security tag, which I should have cut off immediately when I got the coat home from the store. No kidding…he went and got a pair of scissors and cut it off for me. I turned red, thanked him profusely (spaceba bolshoi), and left pretty soon afterward. I’m pretty sure I could hear “silly American” ringing in my ears as I left. No one said I was going to do this with my dignity in tact.
Finally, Red Square. Oh, my goodness! It’s absolutely, profoundly beautiful. Honestly, I was a little taken aback by it. The Kremlin is, well, the Kremlin. And St. Basil’s is so Russian and beautiful, and the whole place just resonates with history. It was the perfect thing for us to do—a little reminder of why we love this place and these people God has called us to love. It is a place of great dichotomy—people begging in front of the most beautiful churches I’ve ever seen. Massive churches that are museums but not places of worship. People who’ve placed their hope in an economic system, when the real Hope of the World is here, just waiting for them to accept Him. Pray for this place. Whatever you have thought of Russia all your life, pray for it now. And think of this—I am a girl from a small town who spent Wednesday standing in Red Square. Who would have thought that even possible in our lifetime? Our God is so big! Who knows what He’s up to here? I’m going to be honest—I don’t know what He’s up to here, but I’m glad to be a part of it, no matter how small. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
Sunday, October 14, 2007
The Weather Outside is Frightful...
That’s right, ladies and gents, we have experienced our first snowstorm. Evidently, the advent of the Hooks family in Moscow was also the advent of winter in Moscow. Of course, we’ve just come from church with our team, and they all assure us that this is nothing in comparison to what is coming, but it was still a bunch of snow. Put it this way: we had enough for the kids to go down after church and make a snow man and snow angels. Thank heavens we were able to buy John a coat on Friday! Now we have to add waterproof gloves and snow pants to the “to buy” list. It seems like that’s a never-ending list! Oh, and definitely snow boots for everyone in the family.
As I was making lunch this morning (it took me two hours…unbelievable to me), I was listening to Third Day, and I felt very, very strongly that God was pushing me to say something to someone who reads this. So, if this is for you, listen up. If not, just patronize me for a second. Right before we answered God’s call to international missions, we spent a very hard two years trying to figure out what God was doing in our lives. We went through a terrible, terrible time—by far the hardest in our lives—and we just didn’t see how there could be hope. But one day, out of nowhere, it was over. And here is why it was over: we decided to believe God and not place our hope in men. People are human, and they will fail us every time. But God is faithful, and He never, ever fails us. Never. When we decided (and by we, I really mean I, because Marc recovered from this time much quicker than I did) that our self-worth had nothing to do with who did and who did not like us, who did and who did not think we were “good” Christians, etc., the sun began to shine again. And it isn’t that those people suddenly loved us and treated us well, but that we just got over caring what anybody thought about us but God. So whoever you are, in spite of how the world looks to you right now, let me encourage you with this: God thinks you are magnificent and wonderful, and He loves you more than life. Whatever else is going on around you is minutia. Take it from someone who knows from experience: let go of whatever it is and get on with what God has for you. His plan is way better than holding onto whatever it is you’re carrying. I promise. I know.
Okay, now that that’s out of the way, can I confess to you that I miss the sun? It’s weird to live in a place where the sun never shines. Actually, I’m told that it does shine from time to time—but we haven’t seen it since we’ve been here. Of course, ask me next summer when it shines until about midnight whether I would like it to be a little darker. The grass is always greener!
We had a wonderful time at church tonight. We went to someone’s apartment, sang songs, had Bible study, ate a pot-luck dinner (we’re still Baptist, after all!), and then sat around and talked and watched the Russian version of Dancing with the Stars, which just happens to be on ice skates. It is easily our favorite show on tv (because it’s just watching them skate and then looking at numbers, all of which we can do), and we had fun watching it with everyone else. All of the kids (10 altogether) went outside to play in the snow. When they came in, I heard John-John in the entry way crying. His hands had gotten cold inside his mittens, and he didn’t know how much that could hurt. Luckily, someone grabbed him and ran his hands under some lukewarm water and he survived. We have much to learn about living in the land of snow.
Well, I must go. Marc begins language study in the morning here at the house, so I need to get everyone to bed so they can get up at a reasonable hour. I will say this: church at 3p.m. on a Sunday afternoon is pretty nice. We slept until 9 a.m. (yes, even I slept in), and the kids only got up because they heard us say there was snow falling. We kept thinking it would stop, and it just kept on and kept on. By the time we left for church at 2, it was falling hard and piling up. Honestly, it was kind of fun. I haven’t seen snow in ten years. Hard to believe God would pick me out of sunny Florida and plop me down in snowy Moscow, but His ways are unknowable. :o) Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
Thursday, October 11, 2007
You are Forever
I hear the music, and I try to sing along. You are the author and the orchestra of every single song. You are forever. “You are Forever” Travis Cottrell
Well, you are all sound asleep (I hope, because it’s 1:30 in the morning where you are!), and it’s time for my day to start. Actually, my day started a couple of hours ago, but now that I’ve showered, had time with God, and fed my children, it’s time for my day to really begin. My friend, Cathy, will be here soon to go with me to buy John-John a coat. Since we woke up this morning to white building tops (ice), it’s time for the coat to be purchased. I really, really enjoy my time with Cathy, so I’m looking forward to shopping and eating lunch with her. Her son, Hudson, is coming over to play with John-John while we’re out. It should be fun all around.
Nothing earth-shattering to report. I went to the grocery store all by myself yesterday. It only took me an hour to walk there, shop, and get back home, so I was pleased with that. Our flat is between two metro stops, so we can either trek a mile to the metro or take a bus in front of our house. Because of construction, however, the busses don’t seem to be following anything close to their published schedule, so it can take as long as 30 minutes waiting for a bus. It’s getting cold, so that’s a long time to wait. At least if you’re walking, you’re generating some heat.
We had dinner with our team leader’s family on Wednesday. They have five children, and at least one for each of my children to be friends with, so it was a great night. We really love the folks on our team, and are enjoying the time we get to spend with them. It’s also nice that there are children on our team, because my kids definitely are missing the kids from FPO. So tonight, Sarah Beth and Hannah are spending the night at our team leader’s house with two of his girls, and their son is coming here to spend the night with John-John. It should be a fun night for all concerned. It’s John-John’s first sleep-over, and he’s pretty excited about it. I know…John, excited? Who’d a thunk it? :o)
We are really enjoying being here finally. Yes, there are some things we miss, and of course, we miss people very much. But what a wonderful thing it is to be in the center of God’s will. I have to confess, there have been many, many years when we were not there, and it wasn’t that life was terrible, but it wasn’t fulfilling like this is fulfilling. I am sad only when I think about the years I have wasted being who I thought I should be instead of who God created me to be. He IS the author and the orchestra of every song…including the song that is my life. He created me to be a specific person. Along with Paul, I would say that I haven’t yet attained that, but I’m running with all my strength to win the prize He has set aside for me. Some days I trip and fall on my own two feet, but I’m still running toward Him. He’s faithful to pick me up when I stumble.
Darling friends, have you trusted Him and His plan for you? I can promise you that what He has for your life is far better than anything you could plan on your own. He is so good and true and faithful…and if you’ll just hand over the reins to Him, He will guide you down the path He has made just for you. Think of it…the God of the Universe, Creator of Everything, created a path just for you. Isn’t that amazing? I’m continually amazed at His goodness and mercy to me. If you’ll just trust Him, I know you’ll be amazed at Him, too. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
Well, you are all sound asleep (I hope, because it’s 1:30 in the morning where you are!), and it’s time for my day to start. Actually, my day started a couple of hours ago, but now that I’ve showered, had time with God, and fed my children, it’s time for my day to really begin. My friend, Cathy, will be here soon to go with me to buy John-John a coat. Since we woke up this morning to white building tops (ice), it’s time for the coat to be purchased. I really, really enjoy my time with Cathy, so I’m looking forward to shopping and eating lunch with her. Her son, Hudson, is coming over to play with John-John while we’re out. It should be fun all around.
Nothing earth-shattering to report. I went to the grocery store all by myself yesterday. It only took me an hour to walk there, shop, and get back home, so I was pleased with that. Our flat is between two metro stops, so we can either trek a mile to the metro or take a bus in front of our house. Because of construction, however, the busses don’t seem to be following anything close to their published schedule, so it can take as long as 30 minutes waiting for a bus. It’s getting cold, so that’s a long time to wait. At least if you’re walking, you’re generating some heat.
We had dinner with our team leader’s family on Wednesday. They have five children, and at least one for each of my children to be friends with, so it was a great night. We really love the folks on our team, and are enjoying the time we get to spend with them. It’s also nice that there are children on our team, because my kids definitely are missing the kids from FPO. So tonight, Sarah Beth and Hannah are spending the night at our team leader’s house with two of his girls, and their son is coming here to spend the night with John-John. It should be a fun night for all concerned. It’s John-John’s first sleep-over, and he’s pretty excited about it. I know…John, excited? Who’d a thunk it? :o)
We are really enjoying being here finally. Yes, there are some things we miss, and of course, we miss people very much. But what a wonderful thing it is to be in the center of God’s will. I have to confess, there have been many, many years when we were not there, and it wasn’t that life was terrible, but it wasn’t fulfilling like this is fulfilling. I am sad only when I think about the years I have wasted being who I thought I should be instead of who God created me to be. He IS the author and the orchestra of every song…including the song that is my life. He created me to be a specific person. Along with Paul, I would say that I haven’t yet attained that, but I’m running with all my strength to win the prize He has set aside for me. Some days I trip and fall on my own two feet, but I’m still running toward Him. He’s faithful to pick me up when I stumble.
Darling friends, have you trusted Him and His plan for you? I can promise you that what He has for your life is far better than anything you could plan on your own. He is so good and true and faithful…and if you’ll just hand over the reins to Him, He will guide you down the path He has made just for you. Think of it…the God of the Universe, Creator of Everything, created a path just for you. Isn’t that amazing? I’m continually amazed at His goodness and mercy to me. If you’ll just trust Him, I know you’ll be amazed at Him, too. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
Sunday, October 7, 2007
You are God alone!
You are God alone. From before time began, You were on Your throne, You were God alone. And right now, in the good times and bad, You are on Your throne. You are God alone. You’re unchangeable. You’re unshakeable. You’re unstoppable. “Not a god (God alone)” Billy and Cindy Foote
Prevyet from Moscow! As unbelievable as it seems to me, I am sitting on the bed in my flat in Europe’s largest city. How great is our God. If you have been on this journey with us for the last two years, I think you can appreciate my great joy at being here. If you have not, let me just say that it has been a long, arduous journey, but God has been at work every step of the way.
The trip wasn’t horrible. The flight from Dulles to Frankfurt was about 7.5 hours, and then we had a two-hour layover in Frankfurt for the 3 hour trip to Moscow. The kids did not sleep much, so we haven’t quite got their sleep cycle back on track—we were all up at 1:30 this morning watching Hogans Heroes and longing for sleep—but other than that, they’re doing fine. John-John has already made a friend on our team, Hannah and I went shopping with friends all day yesterday, and Sarah Beth went to a birthday party last night, so their social lives are already up and moving.
Some interesting ways God showed Himself (beyond getting our visas, which is nothing but a miracle):
1. At the airport, the lady who checked us (and our 19 bags) in studied our ticket, asked if we only were going one way and how long we were staying. When we said we were staying 3 years, she looked at us and grinned. She never weighed a single bag. In fact, the action packers we took—9 of them—never even went on the scale. So while we were charged for our excess baggage, we were not charged for our excess weight.
2. At Moscow customs, we could not get our bags through at once. Of course, customs was what we dreaded the most. Finally, Marc approached a customs official who had been looking at all of our bags. He said later that he just knew in his heart that this man meant us no harm. He explained that we were moving to Moscow, that our bags contained all of our possessions, and that we could not get through with all of our stuff on one trip. He asked if we could break the rules and he could come back to help get the rest of our stuff through customs. The guard asked what our two boxes were (our desktop computer), studied us for a moment, and then agreed that Marc could come back through customs to help me. We were stunned by the way God just worked out what looked to us (in our jet-lagged fuzziness) an impossible situation.
3. Our flat is amazing. It only has two bedrooms, but the kids’ room is large enough to split into two rooms with the finagling of some furniture. It was already set up that way when we got here by the IMB office here.
4. We have already made good friends with some of the folks on our team. They have blessed us in huge ways.
5. Hannah accidentally went through the wrong turnstyle at the metro and set off all kinds of alarms. Much to our surprise, the guard simply looked at us and waved her through.
Do you see how God is at work in every detail? I’m so amazed by Him. As I stood sipping tea this morning and looking out over the skyline of Moscow, all I could think was what a wonder He is. I am a girl from a small town living in a city of 15 million. For reasons unclear to me, the God of Everything has asked me to come alongside Him and work here, in this amazing place. How is that possible? All I know for sure is this—what He has for me is way better than anything I could dream up on my own. I was pretty content with my life in Florida. But maybe I was more complacent than content. When God used a series of events to get my attention, when He called me to this, He snapped me out of that complacency. And while life hasn’t been perfect since then, and it certainly hasn’t been easy, it’s also never been boring or dull.
Well, we are headed to the mall to eat lunch and buy some groceries—if you knew what I had in my house, you’d feel pitiful for my children. John-John had cheese crackers for breakfast! Oh, well…I’m pretty sure I forfeited my mother of the year award a while back. But we are practicing catching the bus in front of our flat and heading to where we need to go. I hope your day is as worshipful as ours has been. I hope that when you read this, you are encouraged that our giant God is at work where you are just like He’s at work here. And I hope that you know that you are loved beyond words by me! Blessings!
His,
Kellye
Prevyet from Moscow! As unbelievable as it seems to me, I am sitting on the bed in my flat in Europe’s largest city. How great is our God. If you have been on this journey with us for the last two years, I think you can appreciate my great joy at being here. If you have not, let me just say that it has been a long, arduous journey, but God has been at work every step of the way.
The trip wasn’t horrible. The flight from Dulles to Frankfurt was about 7.5 hours, and then we had a two-hour layover in Frankfurt for the 3 hour trip to Moscow. The kids did not sleep much, so we haven’t quite got their sleep cycle back on track—we were all up at 1:30 this morning watching Hogans Heroes and longing for sleep—but other than that, they’re doing fine. John-John has already made a friend on our team, Hannah and I went shopping with friends all day yesterday, and Sarah Beth went to a birthday party last night, so their social lives are already up and moving.
Some interesting ways God showed Himself (beyond getting our visas, which is nothing but a miracle):
1. At the airport, the lady who checked us (and our 19 bags) in studied our ticket, asked if we only were going one way and how long we were staying. When we said we were staying 3 years, she looked at us and grinned. She never weighed a single bag. In fact, the action packers we took—9 of them—never even went on the scale. So while we were charged for our excess baggage, we were not charged for our excess weight.
2. At Moscow customs, we could not get our bags through at once. Of course, customs was what we dreaded the most. Finally, Marc approached a customs official who had been looking at all of our bags. He said later that he just knew in his heart that this man meant us no harm. He explained that we were moving to Moscow, that our bags contained all of our possessions, and that we could not get through with all of our stuff on one trip. He asked if we could break the rules and he could come back to help get the rest of our stuff through customs. The guard asked what our two boxes were (our desktop computer), studied us for a moment, and then agreed that Marc could come back through customs to help me. We were stunned by the way God just worked out what looked to us (in our jet-lagged fuzziness) an impossible situation.
3. Our flat is amazing. It only has two bedrooms, but the kids’ room is large enough to split into two rooms with the finagling of some furniture. It was already set up that way when we got here by the IMB office here.
4. We have already made good friends with some of the folks on our team. They have blessed us in huge ways.
5. Hannah accidentally went through the wrong turnstyle at the metro and set off all kinds of alarms. Much to our surprise, the guard simply looked at us and waved her through.
Do you see how God is at work in every detail? I’m so amazed by Him. As I stood sipping tea this morning and looking out over the skyline of Moscow, all I could think was what a wonder He is. I am a girl from a small town living in a city of 15 million. For reasons unclear to me, the God of Everything has asked me to come alongside Him and work here, in this amazing place. How is that possible? All I know for sure is this—what He has for me is way better than anything I could dream up on my own. I was pretty content with my life in Florida. But maybe I was more complacent than content. When God used a series of events to get my attention, when He called me to this, He snapped me out of that complacency. And while life hasn’t been perfect since then, and it certainly hasn’t been easy, it’s also never been boring or dull.
Well, we are headed to the mall to eat lunch and buy some groceries—if you knew what I had in my house, you’d feel pitiful for my children. John-John had cheese crackers for breakfast! Oh, well…I’m pretty sure I forfeited my mother of the year award a while back. But we are practicing catching the bus in front of our flat and heading to where we need to go. I hope your day is as worshipful as ours has been. I hope that when you read this, you are encouraged that our giant God is at work where you are just like He’s at work here. And I hope that you know that you are loved beyond words by me! Blessings!
His,
Kellye
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
The baptism, packing, and FPO take-aways
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Romans 12:1
Well, my goodness! It certainly has been a big couple of days at quad 34! First, my parents arrived on Sunday, then my sisters and Marc's family yesterday, the kids had open house at school, and then last night, John-John's baptism. We are really flying down toward the finish line now, and we feel like we're going to be able to finish the race. There were days we weren't totally sure we were going to make it, but God is faithful. Over and over, if we've learned nothing else, we've learned that God is faithful.
The baptism last night was amazing. A local church let us bring John-John and Laini and baptize them there. It was so exciting. People just kept showing up! We had about 65 people there...most from our region (Central and Eastern Europe), but also some IMB staff members, John-John and Laini's teachers, some missionaries-in-residence from Egypt, and even some of the church members who didn't know us but wanted to support us. How awesome is that!? We had a great time, and it was a very special thing for us to get to be with our friends Larry and Melissa, Laini's parents, because they are just incredibly important to us. We'll be connected forever because our children's spiritual birthdays and baptism dates will always be the same. We are so thankful that God, in His perfect timing, put this together, because it was the perfect thing for us to do before leaving.
Don't ask about packing. It's not going well. We feel like we've culled everything we can, but we still have too much. Today is the day, though--after commissioning, we must finish packing.
I've thought a lot about what I'm taking away from FPO. There are so many things, too many to really get down on paper yet. But a few that are really important and obvious follow.
1. The Scripture is enough. Just like God is enough, His Word is enough, too. Bible studies are awesome, and I really enjoy them, but at the end of the day, we all need to grow in our ability to just sit with the Book and look for God's direction in it.
2. God made each of us a certain way. My personality makeup is no better nor worse than anyone else's...it's just different. I don't have to feel bad that I am a big weeper, nor does my friend Larry have to feel bad that he's cold and heartless and refuses to shed a tear...it's just how God made us. (I couldn't resist, Larry.) Seriously, it was a big epiphany to me that my personality is a gift from God, not a hindrance. I just have to be who He made me to be--but I also have to let other people be who they are. That may be harder.
3. My calling to international missions, though I can't understand how God could possibly use someone like me, is steady and sure. He has a plan and a purpose, and I just need to make sure I get out of the way.
4. There are people on the other side of the world who need to hear from me about Jesus. Why it's me in particular, I don't know. But I'm convinced that they are there waiting. I'm excited about meeting them.
5. God has a specific plan for every life that is far better than anything we can dream up on our own. Never, in a million years, would I have dreamed up a life in Moscow, Russia. I was leading a perfectly good life in Florida. But His plans are bigger and better than mine. I'm happier, more content than I've ever been in my life. I highly recommend following God's path for your life...I swear it's so much better than doing stuff on your own.
Well, it's time for me to get moving. We have so much to do today. Please pray for us especially as we say our goodbyes to our FPO family. It will be hard. We love them very, very much. But this is part of our life, and though we don't like this part of life, we're learning to be focused forward instead of backward. Pray that we will focus today on loving people and leaving people well. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
Well, my goodness! It certainly has been a big couple of days at quad 34! First, my parents arrived on Sunday, then my sisters and Marc's family yesterday, the kids had open house at school, and then last night, John-John's baptism. We are really flying down toward the finish line now, and we feel like we're going to be able to finish the race. There were days we weren't totally sure we were going to make it, but God is faithful. Over and over, if we've learned nothing else, we've learned that God is faithful.
The baptism last night was amazing. A local church let us bring John-John and Laini and baptize them there. It was so exciting. People just kept showing up! We had about 65 people there...most from our region (Central and Eastern Europe), but also some IMB staff members, John-John and Laini's teachers, some missionaries-in-residence from Egypt, and even some of the church members who didn't know us but wanted to support us. How awesome is that!? We had a great time, and it was a very special thing for us to get to be with our friends Larry and Melissa, Laini's parents, because they are just incredibly important to us. We'll be connected forever because our children's spiritual birthdays and baptism dates will always be the same. We are so thankful that God, in His perfect timing, put this together, because it was the perfect thing for us to do before leaving.
Don't ask about packing. It's not going well. We feel like we've culled everything we can, but we still have too much. Today is the day, though--after commissioning, we must finish packing.
I've thought a lot about what I'm taking away from FPO. There are so many things, too many to really get down on paper yet. But a few that are really important and obvious follow.
1. The Scripture is enough. Just like God is enough, His Word is enough, too. Bible studies are awesome, and I really enjoy them, but at the end of the day, we all need to grow in our ability to just sit with the Book and look for God's direction in it.
2. God made each of us a certain way. My personality makeup is no better nor worse than anyone else's...it's just different. I don't have to feel bad that I am a big weeper, nor does my friend Larry have to feel bad that he's cold and heartless and refuses to shed a tear...it's just how God made us. (I couldn't resist, Larry.) Seriously, it was a big epiphany to me that my personality is a gift from God, not a hindrance. I just have to be who He made me to be--but I also have to let other people be who they are. That may be harder.
3. My calling to international missions, though I can't understand how God could possibly use someone like me, is steady and sure. He has a plan and a purpose, and I just need to make sure I get out of the way.
4. There are people on the other side of the world who need to hear from me about Jesus. Why it's me in particular, I don't know. But I'm convinced that they are there waiting. I'm excited about meeting them.
5. God has a specific plan for every life that is far better than anything we can dream up on our own. Never, in a million years, would I have dreamed up a life in Moscow, Russia. I was leading a perfectly good life in Florida. But His plans are bigger and better than mine. I'm happier, more content than I've ever been in my life. I highly recommend following God's path for your life...I swear it's so much better than doing stuff on your own.
Well, it's time for me to get moving. We have so much to do today. Please pray for us especially as we say our goodbyes to our FPO family. It will be hard. We love them very, very much. But this is part of our life, and though we don't like this part of life, we're learning to be focused forward instead of backward. Pray that we will focus today on loving people and leaving people well. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
Monday, October 1, 2007
How can I say thanks?
For You, LORD, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. Psalm 86:5
Do you remember the old Gaither song, "To God be the Glory"? The first verse said, "How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me? Things so undeserved yet You came to prove Your love for me. The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude. All that I am and ever hope to be, I owe it all to You." As FPO comes to a close, I cannot find enough ways to say thank you to those of you who have loved us, supported us, prayed for us. I cannot express my gratefulness to the IMB who provides this training. I cannot possibly find words for the beloved family we have gained here. There are not enough words in my vocabulary for that. But you know what really, really brings me to my knees in gratitude? Our giant God. Every single day, He amazes me. Every day He shows me something of Himself that is new and fresh to me. Every morning, His mercies are new. As I stood in the room with my FPO family and listened to their hearts as they requested prayer, I was stunned by the way God is moving across the nations. And even more, I was humbled that He would call me to be at work where He is already moving like the wind. How is that possible? How can I say thanks enough for allowing me to be part of this?
The reality, of course, is that I cannot give back to Him what He has given to me. I don't have enough to give. But because I owe Him my life, I can give that back to Him. I'm not always good at that. I like to keep some stuff for myself. But I just can't. It's kind of an all or nothing proposition, this spirit-filled life.
How I love Him, and how I love you! If you're holding anything back, I promise you He can be trusted with it. He is imminently faithful, beyond our ability to even comprehend. He is trustworthy--I know because I've trusted Him. If you give Him your everything, He will abundantly give you more than you could even ask for. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
Do you remember the old Gaither song, "To God be the Glory"? The first verse said, "How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me? Things so undeserved yet You came to prove Your love for me. The voices of a million angels could not express my gratitude. All that I am and ever hope to be, I owe it all to You." As FPO comes to a close, I cannot find enough ways to say thank you to those of you who have loved us, supported us, prayed for us. I cannot express my gratefulness to the IMB who provides this training. I cannot possibly find words for the beloved family we have gained here. There are not enough words in my vocabulary for that. But you know what really, really brings me to my knees in gratitude? Our giant God. Every single day, He amazes me. Every day He shows me something of Himself that is new and fresh to me. Every morning, His mercies are new. As I stood in the room with my FPO family and listened to their hearts as they requested prayer, I was stunned by the way God is moving across the nations. And even more, I was humbled that He would call me to be at work where He is already moving like the wind. How is that possible? How can I say thanks enough for allowing me to be part of this?
The reality, of course, is that I cannot give back to Him what He has given to me. I don't have enough to give. But because I owe Him my life, I can give that back to Him. I'm not always good at that. I like to keep some stuff for myself. But I just can't. It's kind of an all or nothing proposition, this spirit-filled life.
How I love Him, and how I love you! If you're holding anything back, I promise you He can be trusted with it. He is imminently faithful, beyond our ability to even comprehend. He is trustworthy--I know because I've trusted Him. If you give Him your everything, He will abundantly give you more than you could even ask for. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
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