I want to be strong AND contagious

All the pictures are of John-John from the recent AGM. Here, he is with his good friend, Emma Grace, who lives on the opposite side of Russia.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

I'm hoping to eventually get my schedule under control enough to blog more than once a week, but so far, Saturdays and Sundays are my only blogging days. It's a lot to try to get four of us out the door in the morning, especially since I'm trying to give them something hot each morning for breakfast--it has turned chilly this week, and we do not look to be warming up until the spring thaw.

The kids and I are loving school. Honestly, it's such a God-send to us to have them at Hinkson. They have friends, activities, and the academics are very challenging, which is wonderful. The verse above was John-John's verse for this week, and one day, when he was practicing it, he said, "Be strong and contagious." Of course, he's our baby, and we think everything he does is wonderful and funny, but when I started to think my way through it, I thought he might just have something there. (My Momma says he's a devotional book in the making, anyway.) I want to be strong, for sure. I have to be strong, frankly. Russia is a tough place, and the weak, well--they don't do well here. So strong I think I've got, because I've learned in the last year a whole lot about relying on His strength and not my own. With Him, I feel like strong isn't an issue. But contagious? I don't know about contagious, but I hope and pray that I am living a life that is contagious. I pray that I'm "living out loud," as the old Steven Curtis Chapman song goes. I think it's the reason we have had such success with our English club. God has put us in a position to just be ourselves, work with the things we are strong in (my teaching, Marc's people skills), and let Him use those things to draw people to Himself. That's the kind of contagion I hope I'm starting here in the land of the frozen tundra and the even-more-frozen-heart. And being contagious here probably looks different than it does where you are. I'm not handing out Bibles or tracts on the street corner. I don't carry a card in my pocket I can hand to people. But I smile at every child I see. I give directions pleasantly when I'm asked. I give my seat up on the metro to the older person who comes in after me. I push myself way beyond my comfort zone with my Russian friends, who insist on kissing me in greeting and farewell. (You guys who are my pals in the States...I'll try to refrain, but I make no promises...it's just habit now.) I open up my home more than I have ever in my entire life. I love my kids in front of my Russian friends. I adore my husband in front of them. In other words, I simply live my life in a way that, I pray, screams, "I'm different. Ask me why." And so far, it's helped me develop more relationships with lost people than I ever imagined.

On Sundays, John-John and Han are working their way through a book called The 21 Rules of This House. The rules are simple, and they come with coloring pages, and it's a good way to reinforce with them the general rules of life that I hope they will take with them when they are grown. We have their coloring pages hung up around the house, and the pages with just the rules are all over, too. Marc took one of them, the first one, and hung it on the front door over the peephole. He knew that our friends from English Club would have to look at it while they were retrieving coats and bags and shoes, and he thought it might spark some interesting conversations. I looked in the front hallway to see all of them clustered around it, reading it, and talking about what it meant. What did it say? "We obey our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." What was really interesting was that Marc didn't say a word. It is not a secret to our friends that we are followers of Christ. But the sign, and the conversations it sparked among our friends as they left, showed another way to live a life that's contagious.

Well, I must run. Marc and I are headed to Mega today, to Ashan and IKEA and Sportsmaster (Sarah Beth is playing soccer for the school, and she needs shinguards). Then we'll likely spend the rest of the day unpacking from our shopping trip. Sarah Beth has a neat thing tonight called Shindig, where the high school kids get together at a teacher's house for a worship and Bible study time. Did I mention how much I love this school? Honestly...what a HUGE answer to prayer for us. (Hmmm...friends for the kids, contentment, peace, even happiness...didn't we just chop down quite a few giants?) Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are living a life that is strong, courageous AND contagious, and that you are looking forward to a full day of college football, too. GO GATORS! Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye