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.
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