The ballet

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light. Psalm 36:7-9

As I wrote yesterday, we took the children to see The Nutcracker at the Tchaikovsky Theatre last night. What a tremendous evening for us! As you can see from the pictures above, it was not only so fun to see the ballet, but we also had the chance to visit beautiful Triumphal Square, which was unbelievably lit up and gorgeous. If you know the history of Russia at all, you know that Russians have much to be proud of not only in their military history, but also in the absolute tenacity of its people. Beautiful places like Triumphal Square are devoted to memorializing the many times in Russian history when, by all rights, the Russians should have been defeated, but because of their refusal to capitulate, ended up winning the battle. After walking in the -20 Celsius weather, we agreed that some of that tenacity was borne of surviving the cold here. If you can survive the cold, Napoleon and his invaders don't look so daunting.

As we were walking in the city last night, and as I was enjoying the beauty of what I have come to think of as "our" city, I was reminded of something that happened at FPO. Ed, who leads the work here in Russia, was telling the story of Abram and Lot, of Sodom and Gomorrah. But he used a picture of Moscow from Google Earth to tell it. As he got to the part of the story where Abram looks toward Sodom and Gomorrah and sees smoke, he began to cry. I'll never forget it. He said that when Abram looked out and saw smoke, he didn't think about the sinfulness of the city, of how much they deserved punishment. Instead, Abram thought of Lot, whom he loved. As punishment was raining down on Sodom and Gomorrah, Abram wept for the people he loved. Ed added that when he looks at the vastness of Moscow, he does not think about the sinfulness or the lostness of the city, but of the fact that it is full of people he loves.

Almost daily, someone lights a campfire in the woods I see out my kitchen window. I always think of that story...of Ed reminding us that while humans can survive many things, they cannot survive smoke. As we settle into our lives here a little more each day, my constant prayer has become a Godly passion for this immense city, for its millions of people, for its lostness. When we first came here, I never thought I would feel a passion for this city. I was too caught up in trying to make a life here, of getting everyone settled, of choosing to be content in trying circumstances. But now, as we have figured out to some extent what life here is going to be, as we become accustomed to what seem to us the oddities of Russian life...I stand at the kitchen window every morning and pray for my city. I pray for its leaders, for its shopkeepers, for its schoolteachers...and I pray that God will hold off the smoke a little longer.

On a lighter note--one of the best moments of last night was when the music began for the ballet, and John-John got so excited. He said, "Mom, do you know what that is? It's the music for The Nutcracker! I know that music. I do!!!" When I explained that this was The Nutcracker, he literally jumped in his seat and clapped his hands. C'mon...what Mommy could resist that? When Marc took us to eat afterwards at Rostic's--a KFC-owned chicken place--John-John was equally excited that his snot froze in his nose. Hey--it's the little things in life that make it all fun. I'm hoping that wherever you are in the world this morning, your snot is NOT frozen, but that you are enjoying a restful day in God's house. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye