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