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November
2003
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Dear friends and family, I pray that this update finds all of you doing well. It has been two months since my last update so I thought I would take a few moments to bring you up to speed and share about life in general and, more importantly, what God has been doing in Vladimir, in our church, and in my heart. In my last e-mail, I told you that it was already pretty cold and that I thought I saw a snowflake fall. Well, it didn't snow right away, but four weeks ago we had our first snowfall. It was a huge blessing to wake up and look out the window to see the streets and trees covered with a blanket of white. I took a walk early that morning and it was so quiet and peaceful. I definitely prefer the early snow to the rainy fall and winters I have experienced in Seattle the last few years. The first snowfall has since melted, and it has been very Seattle-like for the last three weeks. The temperature has finally dropped below freezing again and I'm desperately waiting for another snowfall. In mid-September, I started teaching a series of Christian history lessons for the youth group. I get about 20-30 minutes to teach after worship and before the Bible study. It's quite a challenge for me considering the fact that I am a biochemist and not a historian. Additionally, I only have three texts to draw from: the Bible, and two history books, one of which is more of an overview than a detailed view. One thought that has really helped me in preparing is that I don't need to be an expert, I just need to understand what I do have to draw from and explain that clearly and help the kids apply it to their lives. I could throw a bunch of names, dates, and facts at them and give a good overview, but if it doesn't challenge and encourage them in their walks with Jesus, it's all in vain. Please keep me in your prayers regarding this project. I want to make it interesting and meaningful. On September 25th and 26th we had a men's mini-conference at a hotel just outside of the city. God had really laid a burden on the hearts of our pastors to challenge the men of the church to serve. In the last few years, the number of men ministering in the church has declined. During the conference, many of us were convicted at our complacency. We love to attend services and talk about computers and cell phones, but there hasn't been a strong desire to love and serve each other. As a means of encouraging each other, keeping one another accountable, and learning about God's direction for us in the Bible, we began meeting at 7:30am on Saturday to study the Word, fellowship and pray. Please pray for the men of our church. There is a good core of men who love the Lord and desire to give of themselves for strengthening the church, but there are still many others who are slow in giving up their time, their plans, and their comforts. During the men's conference, we were asked if any of us would be willing to lead a home Bible study. I felt a desire in my heart to step up and commit, but I wasn't sure if it was the Lord's desire. I prayed about it and talked it over with one of the Pastors here and decided to go forward. So I've been leading the discussion and Olya interprets. Olya and I lead the worship time together. She leads the singing and I accompany her on the guitar. It has also been a time of tremendous stretching. It is not a comfortable thing for me, but I'm learning to lean on the Lord through it and I have the pleasure of seeing Him grow me in my gifts and work through my imperfections. God is good. During the weekend of November 6th-10th, the church held their annual conference at a hotel on the other edge of the city. This year, as in years past, there were a few teams from the States that flew in to join us: one from Virginia, one from Florida, and four from California. Four pastors taken from those teams taught during one of the four daily sessions. There were also groups that came from various other Calvary Chapels here in Russia. You probably don't know where all of these cities are, but we had groups from Kovrov, Moscow, Murom, St. Petersburg, Sobinka, Crystal Goose, Perm, Smolensk, and Ryzan. There was some good teaching, but the thing I enjoyed most was time spent in fellowship with the Russians and Americans that came from different cities. I was so blessed and encouraged to talk about life, about how God brought us here, and about the work He is doing in different places. Though the schedule of the conference wore me out (we were away from home from 7:45am to 10:30pm for four straight days), the fellowship was worth it. Olya continues to teach at the University. It has been a very difficult undertaking for her. It's hard enough to be a first year teacher, but when you are a recent graduate, teaching at the university level to girls on a few years younger than you, it can be overwhelming. She has more good days than bad and generally enjoys it, but she would appreciate your prayers. We actually see that God is already answering our prayers for this as Olya is starting to relax and get the hang of things. Praise the Lord! I will be in the States from January 8th to January 16th to renew my one-year visa. Olya and I had originally decided to take a train ride to Latvia and spend the week in Riga while renewing the visa, but she discovered that she does not have any time off until after the 20th. Unfortunately, my current visa expires January 8th. The best alternative was for me to make a quick to trip to the US by myself. I am excited to return for a few days and see some of you, but it will be difficult to be apart from Olya for a week. We have God's peace in our hearts as He has guided us in this decision. Please pray that all will go smoothly during this trip and that we will continue to trust in Him. That's it for now. Sorry that this update was so lengthy. Much has happened in two months and there were many things that I didn't include in this e-mail. I hope that all of you are doing very well. You are in my prayers. If anyone is interested in meeting with me during my brief trip back to Seattle and Wenatchee, please email me and we can set something up. Have a great week! Shalom, Dave |