Back Home Again

Hi Friends,

Well I got back to KC a little over a week ago. The last days of classes were filled with many goodbyes as my team prepared to leave. We had a wonderful graduation ceremony for the students the Friday night before we left. Over the weekend we had the opportunity to hang out with a few students going around town and such. Then the Monday night before our plane left we had a tour with a bunch of the students around town for White Nights. The sun sets very late in St. Petersburg and the city is very alive at night in the summer, so we got to go watch this bridge rise and see the view on the river. This picture was taken after 1am and you can see how light it is still.It was very hard to say goodbye and I felt like it was too rushed. A piece of my heart is there and knowing that I would have to say goodbye to my team soon was hard as well. It's so hard to put into words how I felt about leaving. The only thing that made it a little bit easier was knowing that I will return to Russia. This trip has confirmed that I am called to Russia. I don't know what that will look like yet, but whether it be for 1 month or 10 years, I know I'll be back. It was especially hard to say goodbye to our friend Tanya. She really was a part of our team and she helped us in so many ways. Our too brief goodbye with her only added to my feelings of not being ready to leave.

Our team flew to Frankfurt to have a couple of days to debrief and hang out with each other before parting ways. Debrief was so helpful in processing all of the things that happened and all of the things that I began learning. I didn't realize the extent of all of the things that God gave me the strength to face until my teammates repeatedly spoke of all of the things they had seen me overcome with being the one not from their region and the challenges of teaching and interacting with the team. God was so faithful to me on this trip. Most of the things I overcame didn't seem that extraordinary when I was faced with them. Yes they were hard, but I knew that God would give me the strength to do whatever He asked of me. And having the team there was incredible support and I knew they would help me as much as they could.
Being back home has been much more difficult than I had anticipated. I miss my team very much. We all became so much like family that I almost feel that a part of me is missing with them not with me. Please pray for the Lord's direction and purpose for the rest of my summer.

Living by Faith

Hi Friends!
So many things happen everyday here. The first days of being with the students was good, but very stressful. I had an emotional break down the first night after we had met with the students. It was really God's grace because it was about how I always feel like an outsider in groups and most of the time I hold onto those feelings until the end of my time with people and then I break down when nothing can really be done about it. But this trip, God decided that I would break down at the beginning of the trip so that he could work on those things during the course of the trip.
The last couple of days, I've been struggling with thoughts of going home. This place feels so familiar, I look around and it's not weird to see Russian or hear people talk in Russian. There's something about this place that feels like home, it's strange and yet really cool.
I've really connected with one girl, Masha. She is really cool. She's a Christian and we've had a couple of really cool conversations.
I feel like this is the most disconnected blog post ever, but oh well. My teammates were having a dance party while I was writing some of this.
Here is a link to my teammate, Stephen's journal of pictures so far...
https://www.icloud.com/journal/#2;CAEQARoQdU81nfEb_n1Bx4sheP92Xw;9BD806F8-5F02-4329-90D7-2844541CC2C6

This is one of the fountains in Peterhof.

This is Catherine's Palace, where the first part of the movie Anastasia would have taken place.

Here is half of our team inside the gold ballroom in Catherine's palace

This is my Russian friend Masha. I went over to her house and her mom made really good food :)

We're staying on the 8th (top) floor of the dorms and this is the sunset view from the roof. It doesn't get dark until 12 at night and then rises again around 4 in the morning.

Thank you all for your prayers! I'll try to post again in a few days.

Russia!!!

I'm in St. Petersburg!!! The flights were very long, but it was nice to be in a group and much less stressful than traveling alone. We've had a few team members who have been sick already so prayers for health are greatly appreciated. We're interviewing students this morning to assess their English level and we start teaching on Monday. I'm teaching music with 2 others. I really like the team and it's been incredible the way we've all bonded already. We've definitely felt spiritual attach because of that though. 
I heard a sermon in Phoenix that changed my perspective on how I think about living someplace like Russia long-term. Last year I kept asking myself if I really could live here for an extended period of time and the answer I kept coming up with was no. Throughout this last year, I've felt an increasing call to Russia that I couldn't explain. Even going into this trip I've been nervous and afraid of teaching. I realized that the correct perspective was not to ask if I thought I could live here long term, but to ask if I could take one more step where I am. 
“If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest.” 
― Corrie Ten Boom

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
― Corrie Ten Boom, Clippings from My Notebook

Both of these quotes from Corrie Ten Boom remind me that no one can thrive in life by looking and thinking about the future constantly. God wants us to look to Him everyday and only then He can give us the strength to live for today. 

"I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2

Leaving for Russia!!!!!

Hi Friends!
I leave in 13 hours to meet up with my team in Phoenix and we all fly out on May 29th!! I can hardly believe that I'm going back to Russia. After getting back from my trip last summer I wasn't sure that I wanted to go back to Russia at all and certainly not for a few years. Well here I am, going back. I think the most incredible part about this is that I can't explain why I'm so excited! It's supernatural this love I have, this desire to go back. During the whole process of preparing for this trip, God has been showing me time and again how the things that happened last year were a foundation for this year. That I really did learn things and that it wasn't a waste of time; all things that I knew to be true and yet my trip last summer still seamed so pointless. It's funny to me that the things that others would be nervous about aren't bothering me at all. I'm not afraid of going to Russia. I've done that, flown all the way to Siberia and back by myself. What I haven't done is be with a team the entire time. I see how God orchestrated that I go on this trip second even though it's everything I had wanted for my first. This time I can focus more on connecting with my team than on everything about the country being so new. I know there will be vast differences between the culture in Southern Siberia and in St. Petersburg. I know that this trip will be a growing experience in being with people. I forget sometimes what a lone ranger I can be. Even just today as I was running errands around town, I didn't really think to ask anyone for a ride, I just got on the bus and went. I guess I hadn't realized how much I really do enjoy the power I feel when I can get to the places I want to go without any help. I feel so much more like an adult when I'm not trapped at home because it's dark and no one can give me a ride somewhere. Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever feel like an adult.....ahh but I digress. The point is, I know I need to learn more about being dependent on others and having others be dependent on me. I'm sorry if this post seems to lack enthusiasm, but I'm very tired and not done packing yet; therefore I shall sign off to get sleep and then leave for my trip!!!!!!
Please pray for unity in my team with so many of us, I feel like we are going to need extra grace to be unified. Also please pray that I won't let any feelings of "otherness" keep me from making the effort to get to know my teammates!