Welcome to the party!

I have no clue as to why Sarah Beth and Larissa appear to be petting their uncles, but I thought it was funny. I also think Marc and Larry are taking it pretty well.

It was nice that John John and Laini could act as chaperones for Kurt and Sarah Beth.
John John and Laini build forts out of the linens in the house EVERY TIME THEY ARE TOGETHER!!! Why this is their favorite activity, I haven't a clue. At least they're consistent.

"...do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34

I am feeling pretty well-rested this morning, since I slept all the way until 6:15 today. I have been up an hour earlier every day since we got here (a combination of a lot of sun coming through the windows, my body being on Moscow time, and just generally being a horrifically bad sleeper), so that extra hour was pretty nice. Sarah Beth is up and getting ready to go babysit "her babies"--the children of the family she lived with for six weeks a couple of years ago. Hannah and Marc went with Larry, Larissa and Zachary to another part of Czech Republic all day yesterday to video something for a team there, so Hannah and Marc are still asleep. John John is playing gameboy quietly on the couch while he waits for Laini, who stayed with us last night, to wake up. I am sipping coffee after a nice quiet time, and contemplating the things I think God is telling me right now. All in all, a pretty ordinary life I lead, isn't it?

Of course, it isn't really a completely ordinary life at all. I'm an American living in Europe. I struggle daily with a language that is not my own--and here in Czech Republic, I am struggling with a language that sounds like my second language but isn't. I struggle to have God's eyes and heart for a place that is difficult, whose people can seem difficult--though my perception of that has changed quite a bit the longer I live there. And while I am rarely homesick for the place of the United States, I often long for the people who were such a comfortable part of my life there. I miss my family. I won't get to see the new grandbaby in my family until he's walking. I missed my cousin's wedding. I will miss another cousin's wedding in May, and I would love to attend. I miss church so much that if I think about it for very long, I cry. It would be nice to go some place to serve and minister where everyone spoke my language, where I was asked to sing, where I took more home with me on a regular basis. I listen to my pastor's sermons faithfully, but it isn't the same as being there. And I miss who I was in that life--someone whose opinion mattered to more than just Marc, someone who was an expert in something, someone whose future looked pretty secure and predictable. I miss her. I miss her a lot.

So welcome to my pity party, because I'm throwing a pretty big one this morning. A friend posted pictures on facebook of the St. Johns River from home, and I cried. I am dreadfully homesick this morning. And more than anything, I am homesick for a life that made sense to me. And while I am trying hard to concentrate and focus on those things about this life that are wonderful--I'm in Prague, the most beautiful city on earth, I have tremendous friends here and in Moscow, I am doing what God has called me to for this season of life--I am really not succeeding at all. But that's okay, I think. I know that I serve a God who knows that this life is hard. I am pretty sure He's bigger than my pity party. I know He is on His throne. I know tomorrow (and even later today) I will likely feel a lot better. These times of longing for the familiar are generally pretty fleeting. He knows the big picture, while I'm struggling just to see this afternoon. And He has it all under control. And while that doesn't end the pity party for me or the intense longings for home and the life I led there, it does remind me that this moment isn't forever. This feeling is just an emotion--and it's okay to miss the many blessings God showered on me in that life, as long as I don't overlook the blessings He's showering on me in this life.

So it's time for me to forge ahead with the activities of the day. We are finishing school in preparation for the kids and I to head back to Moscow on Sunday. We have an important second birthday party to attend tomorrow. We have packing to do. There is comfort in those things. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that the God of Everything is comforting you in the small things, and that you have just enough creamer left for a second cup of coffee, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,

Kellye

Understanding Father Abraham

Lucas and Kurt were nice enough to help John John with his Lego car he got for his birthday. Kurt is Sarah Beth's boyfriend, and Lukas is his friend from school. They came from Germany and spent a few days here in Prague, and we had a great time with them. Really great young men!
Hannah taking pictures in the mountains of Germany. We went to Munich last Sunday, then drove down to near the Austrian/German border to see a famous castle. I thoroughly enjoyed watching Hannah thoroughly enjoy her experience.
This one's for Poppy. John John is definitely his grandfather's boy--he LOVES airplanes. This is at the Moscow Airport before we left for Prague. He literally stood there for about ten minutes staring at that plane. I know my Daddy will enjoy that.

Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace. Genesis 19:27-28

It is a gloriously beautiful morning here in Prague, Czech Republic. If you've not had the chance to visit Central Europe, you really should try to come here. It's an amazing and beautiful place. We are enjoying our time here, though it's not too different from how we spend much of our time in Moscow--Marc is working hard every day, and I'm working on school with the kids. We have enjoyed a nice visit from Sarah Beth's boyfriend, Kurt, and his friend, Lucas. And, of course, we love spending time with our friends here in Prague. We are still waiting on our visas, and we are praying they arrive asap so we don't have to sweat making our plane next Sunday. If you would pray with us about that, I'd really appreciate it.

I am especially looking forward to tomorrow night, when our FPO group stationed here in Prague--us, Larry and Melissa and their kids, and Johann and Stacy and their boys--will get together with our missionary-in-residence from FPO, Ed. He is in town for a meeting, and I'm thrilled to have the chance to all be together again. I read the verses above and thought immediately of Ed--of his talk at FPO about Moscow, of his love for the city, of the fear and mourning Abraham must have felt as he looked out at the smoke rising from Sodom and Gomorrah, knowing that Lot was there, someone he loved. It made an incredible impression on me. I have to confess to you that I don't love Moscow. It is a hard place, and my family has not been particularly happy there. But when I think about smoke rising from the city, and I think of the beloved friends we have there--both Americans and Russians--I realize a little of what Abraham must have felt to see the smoke rising like from a furnace. No, I don't love Moscow, but I love the people God has given me there. And as I grow more mature as a believer, I realize that what God has given me by showing His lovingkindness to me in a besieged city is a priceless gift, one I could not have experienced in my comfortable life of a few years ago. And so, this morning I am grateful for a God who took me out of the life I had envisioned for myself and into a much better (though harder) life that was His perfect plan for me.

Well, I just got invited to breakfast across the hall with some colleagues, so I'm going to run. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are grateful for the hard places God has put in your path, and that you had a date with your spouse last night in a beautiful city. Blessings to you and yours!

His,

Kellye

Forts in the living room

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10

Some day, I am going to write a book, and I'm either going to title it Dinosaurs in my bathtub or Forts in my living room. This morning, I am writing amidst the fort that John and Laini built last night before going to bed. It makes me smile, because I know the days of fort-building in my family are coming to an all-too-swift close (though Marc does love to make a good fort now and then). It's been a big week for us. We left Moscow on Monday, flying to Prague on what can only be described as the best Aeroflot experience EVER--pleasant from start to finish. (If you've never flown the official airline of Russia, you cannot appreciate the joy of a truly good experience.) We settled into the guest apartment here in Prague, which is so nice. Prague is a beautiful city--I cannot imagine a more beautiful city anywhere--and the weather has been incredibly warm (until yesterday, when we had showers and things cooled off a bit). Also on Monday, we waited with great anticipation for the birth of our first great-nephew--Jason Andrew Burroughs Jr. (we call him JJ). He was born about 6p.m. Monday night (Missouri time), and in my completely unbiased opinion, he is a truly remarkable baby. I have to admit that there were some tears because I am a world away and will not see him until he's a year old, but the joy of his safe arrival overshadowed that pretty quickly. I hope you're all thinking that I look way too young to be a great aunt. You ARE thinking that, right?!

The rest of the week has been school for me and the kids and work for Marc. We sent our documents to the States for our visa renewal, so that is in the works. Please pray that everything goes smoothly. We have also spent a great deal of time with the Lewises, some of our closest friends in the world. They are here in Prague for another couple of months before they move out to western Czech Republic to begin their job there. We haven't done a single "touristy" thing--no walking around Old Town or anything like that--just enjoyed the time to be together and relax a little, at least when Marc isn't working (this is prime time for him--lots of time to finish those projects that he's had the parts to but no time to finish until now). Sarah Beth got the chance to see her friend, Jacob, one night, because he happened to be in town helping his parents move, and this morning, her boyfriend, Kurt, and his friend come in from Germany to spend some time with her. She is going to thoroughly enjoy that time, I promise. She and Hannah went to Youth Praha last night, a youth group experience for all the mks in Prague. Then Hannah went home with the Lewis kids to spend the night there and Sarah Beth came home here, where Laini was spending the night with us. I say all of this to tell you that we're having a wonderful time, getting a lot of work done, and enjoying time with friends.

I came upon the verse above this morning during my quiet time, and it made me smile, because it's one of my all-time favorite verses. Just His name is enough to be my protection--isn't that a comfort to you? It is to me. One of the things I like to do when I feel down or discouraged is to go through my prayer journal, which is contained in a really neat notebook that my Daddy received as a retirement gift from Aeroflot. On the front it says "Aeroflot" in Russian, and my Daddy thought it would be cool for me to have, so I have chronicled my prayer life in that book since coming to the field. Over and over again, I am encouraged when I read through those prayers, because so many of them are about His answers. Peace? got it. Contentment? got it. Light in the darkness? yep. Friends for the kids? uh-huh. All answered. Do I have everything in life I could possibly want? No, of course not. But I have everything I need, and every single thing is a gift from God. I know some missionaries worry about the experience their children are having growing up in a land that is not their own. And I can understand those concerns--what parent doesn't want the absolute best for their children? But when I look at my children, and I see the friendships they have made and the unbelievable experiences they have had...I am amazed. Tomorrow, I am taking Hannah to Munich, Germany, with a friend. She is twelve years old, is learning Russian, has been on a trip to the middle of Russia to minister to others...I wouldn't trade that for her. John has charmed every Russian he's met by speaking to them in their own language. It's his ministry. He's going to smile in the metro at every person he sees--and miraculously, they almost all smile right back at him. Sarah Beth spent ten days in Uganda ministering to orphans--and it changed her life. She went to Udmurtia, a republic here in Russia, and came back a different person. She has been to Budapest, Greece, London, Entebbe...and she's 17! She has gained a view of the world that is so big and broad, something that we could not have taught her in our small town in Florida. My kids have made sacrifices to be here, to be sure, but what they have gained...all gifts from God, all answers to our prayers that their experiences in Russia would change them forever into the people God has called them to be. What better thing could God do for us than to give us a front-row seat to the work He is doing in the lives of our children?

Well, I have downed what can only be described as a vat of coffee this morning, so I'm thinking it's probably time to make some breakfast to accompany all of that caffeine. One problem that I am having here is that my body cannot make the transition to being two hours behind Moscow time, and so I am up at 5:45 every single morning. It does give me the chance to listen to the church bells as they ring every morning at 7. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are enjoying the view of the work God is doing in your life, and that you have a cool fort in your living room, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,

Kellye

A day of prosperity

Some men have jobs that require suits, some have jobs that require uniforms, mine has a job that requires cold weather gear. Here he is, all decked out for the cold.
Marc working from his favorite spot--his side of the bed. I have no idea what kind of food is in the container, but he does like to snack while he edits. Oh, wait...I think those are red and green peppers...particularly good here in Russia.

In the day of prosperity, be happy, but in the day of adversity consider--God has made the one as well as the other...Ecclesiastes 7:14

The only reason it appears that some people are "more called" by God than others is that they were expecting the call and answered it. Just Enough Light for the Step I'm On, Stormie Omartian

I could quote lots of scripture this morning about waiting on God, how good He is to those who wait on Him, how faithful He is...but this verse from Ecclesiastes struck me this morning. We have had many, many days of adversity here in Russia. Sometimes, they are days of not fitting into this culture. More often, they are days of trying to figure out what God is doing and how to live with one another in such close proximity. And I have blogged and blogged and blogged about those days, about overcoming adversity, about holding on and enduring. So it's pretty nice for me to be able to blog for a morning about a day of prosperity. You need a little background first, though.

When we came to the field, we were focused completely on media. How do we use media to both reach backwards to churches in the States and reach out to people here in Russia? That was our question. That was our focus. We even said, "We're media. We're not church planters." So imagine our surprise when we found ourselves thinking like missionaries--instead of asking how media reaches the people, asking how we can reach the people with the love of Christ. Hmmm...that's interesting. And then came Sergei, who started showing up at English club every Thursday, getting closer and closer to our family every week. And then came "the list"--what are the top ten priorities in the different sections of Russia? And then came the Chuvash, number one on the list for European Russia. And then we discovered that Sergei was Chuvash. And then Marc and Tim began Engage Russia, and started traveling around Russia, with Marc making a couple of trips to Chuvashia, where he fell in love with Pastor Sasha Franchuk, his family, and his wonderful church. And suddenly, Marc was the Chuvash guy, and we found ourselves in unknown territory. Yes, we continue to be media people. But we are also a family totally, deeply burdened for the Chuvash People, the largest, non-Muslim unreached people group in Russia. And then came the trip to Chuvashia this week.

You should go on a mission trip. If you've never been, and you're able, you should go. It's a life-changing experience, and you get to fellowship with brothers and sisters from a different land, with a different language, but with the same heart for God that you have. That's pretty sweet stuff. The team from Allen, Texas, Marc and Hannah left for Chuvashia on Monday, and they will return on Wednesday. They have done seminars on cooking and scrapbooking and provided a VBS experience for children. The number of people attending was way beyond what they had expected. (Part of that is because Pastor Sasha told his young congregation that they each had to bring two unbelievers with them to the seminars.) Last night, they held a banquet, after which they did an evangicube presentation and Pastor Sasha preached. At the invitation, five people, including two Chuvash, chose to follow Christ. Is that the most amazing thing you've ever heard? Marc was ten feet off the ground when he called to tell me. (Unfortunately, he was really sick early this morning. Maybe too much McDonald's?) When you have prayed for a people group, when you have prayed over and over for an event, when God has given you a burden to see a particular group reached for Him...what a privilege to be there when there's some harvesting to be done. So today, we are basking in a day of prosperity. Yes, there are hard days ahead, just like there have been hard days behind. But God is so good to us...a front row seat to see Him at work. There are no words for my gratitude for that.

So here's my question to you. If you read this blog, you are likely believers and followers of Jesus Christ. So who are you burdened for? Who are you praying for daily to come to Christ? If the answer is no one, I challenge you to ask God to give you a burden for the lost, for a particular group of lost people. They don't have to be in Russia or Brazil or any other foreign land. They might be your neighbors across the street. Or that kid in your history class. But whoever it is, God intends for you to be burdened for them. I rarely make blanket statements about what God wants, because I'm pretty sure He doesn't need me to do that, but I know for sure that the Great Commission wasn't just for "missionaries"--it was a call to every believer. So wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are burdened for the lost and crying out to God on their behalf, and that today you are celebrating a day of prosperity, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye

waiting and waiting and waiting

Hannah and her friend, Chrissy. Can you believe how much Hannah has changed in the last two years? Yikes!
Hannah with her Caring Community Group from school. She loves and treasures these girls.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. Isaiah 40:28-31

I am alone this morning. Isn't that weird? John has been at different friends' houses for the last two nights, and it has afforded me some quiet and time to think. I also had the chance to spend three hours of non-stop, uninterrupted time with a friend here who is priceless to me, someone I love and adore, but who I rarely get to spend time with because she lives in another part of the city. I am so grateful for my friends, Lori and Frances, who invited John John to their houses for a part of spring break. What a blessing to me!

It occurred to me yesterday on the metro ride home that there is a theme in my life right now. I have been reading about it in my quiet time, it has come up in conversations, it is a theme in the lives of many of those around me as change continues to come to Moscow. And as I told an old story to my friend yesterday, a story of old hurts, a story of God's incredible goodness to me, the theme popped its head up again. Right now, my life seems to be all about waiting and listening. Listening to others, certainly, but mostly listening to God and waiting on God.

I am a Type A person if ever one was born. I like to be busy. I don't like to relax. I want to know the five-year and ten-year plan. And right now, I don't know those plans. God has not let me in on those, yet. I know the one-year plan: move to Prague in July. Live for a year. Go back and put Sarah Beth in college. I know what WE plan after that, but I am not clear on what God has planned. And though there are parts of me, somewhere in my innermost core, that desperately want to know what's next, one thing I have learned in the last five years of my life is that waiting on God is never time wasted. He is always at work. I may not know how He's at work. I may hate the things going on around me. But I no longer doubt that He is in control, that He is at work, that He is constantly changing and growing and maturing me into the person He sees when He looks at me.

So what does my old story have to do with waiting? While there is no need for details here, I can say that this was the deepest, darkest night of my life. I felt abandoned by friends and by God. I can remember being face down on the floor, crying out to God, asking for relief. And it didn't come. I begged Marc to change our circumstances. He quietly, but firmly, refused. We were going to wait until he had a firm word from God that it was time to change those circumstances. And so we waited. And waited. For a really long time. Slowly, I started to realize that God was at work in my life, that He was doing amazing things, wonderful things, because I was waiting on Him. I wasn't waiting on other people to change. I wasn't waiting on people to suddenly like me again. I was waiting on Him. And things started to become clear to me that had been cloudy before: His faithfulness; His perfect timing; His insistent, persistent call on my life and the life of my family. And you know what? When I stopped demanding that He do something about my situation, when I told Him He was enough for me and really meant it, when I surrendered every relationship in my life to Him...our situation improved. It was slow. It took time. But relationships healed. They weren't the same relationships we'd had before, but they were free from bitterness and anger. And then we came to the field and discovered some of the best friends we've ever had or will ever have. We waited on God...and again and again and again, He showered us with His grace and compassion and love.

So what's the moral of this story? Wait on God. Take courage and wait. I don't know your circumstances. I don't know what doubt or fear or loss is dominating your life right now. But I know how big my God is, because I have trusted Him, and He has never failed me. Not even once. Whatever your situation, He is enough for it. I promise. I know.

Well, I'd better run. I am meeting Frances and the kids at the metro in an hour, and we are going in search of the first Burger King and Gap to open in Moscow. There will be pictures! Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are waiting on the Lord and finding the courage that only comes from Him, and that there is a whopper jr. in your immediate future! Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye