But who are you?

I just think this is a cute pic of John John. We'd just arrived back in Moscow, and he was happy to be on the ground again.

But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches." Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Acts 19: 13-15

Okay, so some days you get up, and you just know--it's going to be one of those days. This entire week has been one of those days. We had company stay with us a couple of days. We had language. We had fifty thousand things at school for the kids, meaning I had to do the four-mile walk twice-a-day for two days. But Thursday took the cake. On Thursday, I went to school, rushed home for language, had to figure out where the driver was who was trying to pick up our houseguests to get them to the airport, and get Marc and S.B. ready to leave for a trip to Udmurtia (in the western Ural mountains). As I was talking to a friend, the phone went dead. And then the internet went down, because it's attached to the phone. And we had to leave right then to get to school so Marc and Sarah Beth could leave and I could walk the two younger kids home. So I was without phone and internet for about twenty-four hours, which is no big deal, except that it's my main means of communication with the outside world, so I'm not thrilled about it being down and being isolated. Luckily, it was a pretty easy fix--they had placed our payment under another account, but Marc had kept the receipt, so they apologized and fixed it pretty quickly (at least by Russian standards). Marc and Sarah Beth survived (and even enjoyed) the 14-hour train ride to Udmurtia, and they are having a great time. Sarah Beth is working in one of the villages today and spending the night with another MK and some volunteer women. Marc is headed to the banya tonight with some men (don't ask--just imagine a sauna plus freezing cold water plus a branch of really hard sticks--it's an uniquely Russian experience). All-in-all, they are thoroughly enjoying ministering in rural Russia, which is, as my teacher always says, the REAL Russia. Moscow is Moscow, sort of its own country. But I read a statistic recently that said that 70% of the rest of Russia (outside the major cities) still doesn't have indoor plumbing. Isn't that amazing? Russia has many different faces, that's for sure. And for those of us who live in the mega-city, it's refreshing to go out to the village and realize that our perception of who Russians really are is decidedly one-sided.

I'm studying Ephesians right now, hence the passage above. I know, it's in Acts, but I'm reading in Acts about Paul's time in Ephesus. It's really an interesting study for me, because Ephesus was a huge commercial center, and they were especially known at that time for the temple of Artemis, which I believe was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. There are many parallels to Moscow. So it's really interesting and encouraging to me to study how Paul ministered in a mega-city of his day. And I really believe that a reality of this city is evil spirits. Now, I'm not really well-versed in this kind of stuff, so don't mark this down as coming from some theological scholar. But I can tell you this--when you land at an airport in Moscow, you can feel the spiritual oppression come on like a heavy, heavy coat. We have, as a family, struggled with this oppression for a year. We see it in our relationship with one another, with our struggles with sadness and "the blues," in disappointment after disappointment in ministry. I have no doubt whatsoever that we have been under attack again and again. So far, we've survived, but only by the grace of God. Only He can take anyone through the kind of spiritual warfare we've been through in the past year and bring them out on the other side intact. And I hope that no spirit would say, "I know about Jesus, and I've heard of Ed (or Buck or Andy or whomever), but who are you?" I don't want to just survive this time in my life. I want to thrive and be victorious. I want the evil spirits that I know inhabit this city to cower, because they know exactly who I am, who we are. I don't totally have a grasp on thriving here, but I know that nothing happens to me or to us without first being sifted through the fingers of the One who loves us most. And so I don't think thriving is impossible. Maybe we aren't there, yet, but it's not impossible. In the meantime, I'm content with just being content.

Well, I should run. I'm trying to get some things done today as a surprise for Marc when he comes back. Things like having everything clean and together, having the laundry done, and finally putting away all the spices that have been sitting in a box in the breakfast nook for...well, let's just say longer than they should have been sitting in that box. I just talked to Sarah Beth--they sound like they are thoroughly enjoying their time together in Udmurtia. Pray for their safe return, and for a great time of renewal for both of them. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that your name is on the enemy's ten-most-wanted list, and that you are looking forward to a day of getting things done. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye