Tomorrow is our last day with the students. Today was really hard this morning, I was feeling really purposeless and stupid because of how I didn't feel like I had connected with the students this year and my friend Masha from last year couldn't hang out like we had planned. I was upset too because I did not even know if I would get to see Masha before we leave and I was wanted to say a proper goodbye. It ended up that she was able to come by for a few minutes this evening to exchange gifts and say goodbye. I am so greatful to have been able to see her. It is sad that we only have a few days left, but I don't feel broken hearted by it. Please continue praying for my friend Ira!
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
ELP- He is my Defense
Our first Sunday here the church we went to sang the song 'He is my Defense' by Marty Goetz in Russian. This is a song that I have only ever heard in the Messianic movement and happens to be one I really like. My friend Katie really liked the song and asked me to help her learn the chords so that she can play it on guitar. I've been singing that song all week and it's so fitting that it's been stuck in my head.
Friday ends our ELP program and we will have a graduation ceremony for the students. This past week has been a roller coaster of emotions and interesting circumstances. I've been praying for clarity on what I'm to do when I come back after IHOPU and realizing that the pace of this program is extremely trying. I know that the next time I come back, I want to be here long enough to be able to feel like this is where I live. Last summer God revealed to me that I would be coming back here for a longer season and now I'm getting tiny glimpses of what that might look like. There is still a lot that I don't know and don't expect to know for a while, but any discoveries are comforting at this point. It's also been interesting leaning how my role and focus here is slightly different than my teammates. We spend almost all of our time with the students in our program, which is great, but since I've been here before I know other people that I want to pour into. I feel confident that this will not be the last time I'm in this city and I know it's going to be important for me to have those connections here. Also, I got to see Masha! Last year, I connected with a girl who is a believer and we spent a lot of time together last year. She had mentioned to me that her family would be moving back to Moscow this summer and I didn't expect to see her at all. So when she showed up at the school the day we did interviews, you can imagine not only my surprise but also my joy! She is a very dear girl and I also got the opportunity to see her mother as well.
This year I'm getting a chance to continue building a relationship with one of the assistants in our program. Every year there are around 3 Russian assistants for each class. The one that I'm connecting with was also an assistant in the class I taught last year. The other night, she came back to the dorm with us and told me about how she needs to know how everything works before she can believe it. This includes how she feels about God, she has read the Bible and has a lot of knowledge, but hasn't made a decision of faith yet.
Please pray for Ira to come to faith, for energy as we finish out the camp and go into advanced camp where we continue building relationships with the students we've really connected with.
Friday ends our ELP program and we will have a graduation ceremony for the students. This past week has been a roller coaster of emotions and interesting circumstances. I've been praying for clarity on what I'm to do when I come back after IHOPU and realizing that the pace of this program is extremely trying. I know that the next time I come back, I want to be here long enough to be able to feel like this is where I live. Last summer God revealed to me that I would be coming back here for a longer season and now I'm getting tiny glimpses of what that might look like. There is still a lot that I don't know and don't expect to know for a while, but any discoveries are comforting at this point. It's also been interesting leaning how my role and focus here is slightly different than my teammates. We spend almost all of our time with the students in our program, which is great, but since I've been here before I know other people that I want to pour into. I feel confident that this will not be the last time I'm in this city and I know it's going to be important for me to have those connections here. Also, I got to see Masha! Last year, I connected with a girl who is a believer and we spent a lot of time together last year. She had mentioned to me that her family would be moving back to Moscow this summer and I didn't expect to see her at all. So when she showed up at the school the day we did interviews, you can imagine not only my surprise but also my joy! She is a very dear girl and I also got the opportunity to see her mother as well.
This year I'm getting a chance to continue building a relationship with one of the assistants in our program. Every year there are around 3 Russian assistants for each class. The one that I'm connecting with was also an assistant in the class I taught last year. The other night, she came back to the dorm with us and told me about how she needs to know how everything works before she can believe it. This includes how she feels about God, she has read the Bible and has a lot of knowledge, but hasn't made a decision of faith yet.
Please pray for Ira to come to faith, for energy as we finish out the camp and go into advanced camp where we continue building relationships with the students we've really connected with.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Classes
It's hard to believe that our first week of classes is almost done. There have been some good days and some bad, but overall classes have been good. I'm teaching American Film 2 and we teach two groups of students every morning. The students in my first class is doing well and is good at discussing the questions we have, but my second class isn't as talkative. I think they are mostly just shy, but it's difficult to figure out what questions to ask when they aren't talking very much.
On Monday we got to walk around Catherine's park and yesterday we went to visit the Hermitage.
On Monday we got to walk around Catherine's park and yesterday we went to visit the Hermitage.
I think I enjoyed the decoration of the buildings better than most of the paintings we saw.
Please pray for: team unity and connections with the students. The school split the students up into personal groups and yesterday none of the girls in my group came to our excursion to the Hermitage. Please also pray for energy, we have a trip to Novgorod on Saturday and I'm already feeling pretty tired.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
From Russia with Love
My team arrived in St.
Petersburg at 2am on Thursday. On Friday we did
interviews with the students and I was able to see several students that I met
last year. We have about 60 students in our program this year. The two girls I
got closest to last year, Masha and Yulia aren’t in our program this year
because of studying for their exams, but they did come to the school to study
and I got to see them.
On Saturday about 40
of the students went with our team to visit Peterhof, which is a fountain park
that Peter the Great and Catherine the Great built. It was a bit of a long day
for me and I was a little discouraged by how little my personal group of
students talked with me, but I know that the first few days are the hardest.
On Sunday we went to a Russian/English church in the center
of the city after church my team went to the house of an American government
security man and his family. They are believers and have been in St. Petersburg for 6
months. My teammate Ben plays guitar and we sang a bunch of worship songs with
this family. They haven’t found a church yet and were really encouraged by our
visiting with them. Please pray for Charles and Ginger to find a good church
community here.
Classes start tomorrow; please pray for good connections
with the students and for my team to have energy.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Phoenix
Well friends, after a very hectic two weeks and only 36hrs in Lawrence to pack, I made it to Phoenix. I got in yesterday afternoon and was able to spend the evening with three of my teammates from last summer. I meet the rest of the team later this afternoon and we leave for Russia on Tuesday. We'll be spending the next couple of days getting to know each other and planning for classes. Please pray that our hearts will be knit together as a team, for good health as we travel, and for the rest of needed funding to come in (I am still not fully funded and neither are several others on the team). Thanks for your prayers!
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