The Year in Review

How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, before the sons of men! You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues. Blessed be the LORD, for He has made marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city. Psalm 31:19-21

Before I talk about the year 2007, I wanted to tell you about the wonderful night we had last night. Ed and Teri Tarleton (he leads the IMB's work in Russia) invited us to attend a concert at Second Baptist Church in the center of Moscow, so we took off about 4:30 yesterday afternoon for church. It took a good hour to get there, but it was well worth it. The choir and orchestra did an amazing concert, complete with readings from the Nativity Story (we could pick up most of what they were saying, which was exciting) and a couple of Christmas carols we recognized (the rest were Russian Christmas songs, none of which we'd heard before, but all of which were quite beautiful). Let me say that you have not heard "O Holy Night" until you've heard it sung in Russian. Chilling. Honestly, it was a great night. We were greeted warmly at the church, which was very nice. We also met our friends, the Jarboes, there. After the concert, we went out to eat with them--that's six children and four adults on the metro. We were definitely outnumbered. Tonight, we'll be with several IMB families at the home of Chris and Frances Courson, who work with the deaf in Moscow. (Yep--they had to study spoken Russian and signed Russian.) It should be a great night. We are really looking forward to it.

Okay--on to 2007. I can't imagine a harder year for our family, nor one in which we experience more change than we did this year. Let's see: we went to Russia for the first time in March, where Marc did a video project on the work in Russian mega-cities. Sarah Beth lived in Prague for six weeks and went to MKR in Poland--solidifying her desire to come here and live. In April, we attended our candidate conference, where we were interviewed and found to be viable candidates for the mission field (no one was more surprised than we!). In May, we attended my niece Amy's wedding to Jason Burroughs, where we got to see our family altogether for the first time in a while. In June, we sold our house--in four days. We also sold our earthly belongings (those we aren't storing in Marc's parents' house) and went to live in a mission house owned by San Jose Baptist Church in Jacksonville. In July, we left our church for the final time, and then we left Florida for good. After a week at Marc's parents' house in Maryland, we left for Richmond and two months of training at the International Learning Center. We made tremendous friends there, people we're so thankful for on a daily basis, and learned how to survive on the mission field. In October, we left the United States and came to Russia. The last three months have been trying, hard, gut-wrenching change...and some of the best times our family has had. Not everything this year was easy. In fact, looking at this list I can't find anything that was easy. But more than any other year in my life, I can clearly see the hand of God in every single thing that has happened. He has pruned and cut away so much of me--and more and more He is leaving me with the parts He wants me to have. He's not finished--not by a long stretch--but I can say with confidence that He began a good work in me, and He's definitely going to see it to completion. That doesn't mean it's going to be easy, but I'm starting to believe that easy is way over-rated. Rather than easy, I'd rather be more like Him. If that takes some pruning by the Vinemaster...so be it.

Well, Frances just called, and they're going to pick us up tonight, so that revolutionizes what I'm going to take to the party, so I must go look at my recipes. (If I don't have to carry stuff down the street or on a bus or metro--I can make just about anything!) Wherever you are in the world, I pray that as you reflect on your 2007, you can also say that the One who began a good work in you is daily continuing that work. You are loved and appreciated by me. Thank you for your love and prayers and encouragement throughout 2007--you are part of God's plan to make me into the woman He designed me to be. Blessings to you and yours--and Happy New Year!

His,
Kellye