January 2002 Archives

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Though it was my day off, I couldn't stay off the phone this morning taking care of business. Eventually things quieted down and I was able to spend some time in the Word. Today's reading encouraged me to be humble like a child and to depend on Jesus for everything.

After lunch and a workout I headed down to the church for a meeting with our church administrator. We're discussing some details concerning future church planting. We met in the fellowship hall as our tile guy was finishing up laying the tiles in the office. Volodya, our tile guy, also heads up our ministry for those struggling with dependancies. The Lord delivered him from alcohol through this ministry a few years ago and now he has felt the Lord calling him to help others be set free. The Lord has transformed him into a joyful servant!

After my meeting, I remembered that this was the day I was supposed to shoot some pictures of the "Beware of Dogs" rehersal in our church basement. Beware of Dogs is a christian band made up of guys from our church. They recently changed up some of their members, so really, they're almost starting over again as a group. Pasha is the leader of the group and also lead vocalist. Caleb and Ilya play guitars, Losha plays base, and Pasha (#2) plays the drums. They are a neat group of guys and have hearts to minister in Christ's name and for His kingdom. Today's rehersal took place in our recently converted basement where the guys turned part of it into a makeshift rehersal room. If you're interested in knowing more about this group and seeing more photos you can check out their web site at www.bewareofdogs.net

After the photo shoot (I took 56 pictures! - this camera is great!) I was on my way out of the building and the youth group meeting was just about to begin. Some of the girls saw my camera and asked if I'd take their picture. It was so funny, I had barely gotten the word "yes" out of my mouth and they all jumped into a group pose, clinging and giggling as girls do. Their love for eachother and the Lord is so evident.

At our worship planning meeting this morning we invited the youth worship leader and his sister to record one of their songs to use in our main services. Caleb and Sarah are the pastor's children and I've had the priviledge to watch them grow up here in Russia. It's so neat to see them using their musical gifts for the Lord!

After church, my friend Valera and I stopped off at the grocery store in my apartment building for some vittles. The photo here is actually one section of the store. I wanted to get a photo of the saleswoman too, but she was shy to have her photo taken. Probably partly because they make them wear a funny little outfit with a tall cone hat! Maybe one of these days I'll surprize them and be able to post a photo.

Valera and I had lunch back at my flat and then spent some time cruising the web. He's looking for some sort of speaker for his guitar amp. We found a neat site where you can push a button and hear how various speakers sound. Of course, you're hearing them through my little 10 dollar pair of computer speakers, so I don't know how helpful that really is to the serious shopper!

The prayer meeting was great tonight. It's always a battle to pray collectively - so many distracting thoughts. But the Lord gave us victory! Our pastor asked us to pray specifically tonight for the Lord's guidance regarding future church plants. It seems He may be guiding us to start a new work!

This morning I got to share God's Word with the folks at the helps ministry. I was a little nervous to do it in Russian, but once I got rollin it went great. I shared with them of God's kingdom and what a precious treasure it is to those who find it. I think it's easier for those who have very little to put their hope in God's kingdom. Yet, even still, everyone has something that they hang on to for satisfaction, comfort, or just because it feels good. But God's kingdom in comparison is so much more precious than any pleasure this life can offer. If we can only catch a glimpse of this it would be so much easier to let go of things that distract and weigh us down.

I did a little shopping on the way home and then spent most of the rest of the afternoon working on e-mails. Someone lent me their Rachael Lampa CD - wow, that girl can belt it out! I've been enjoying listening and worshiping with this CD.

I ask for your prayers as I may be taking a trip later this week to a city located several hundred miles from here. We will be doing some scouting there in preparation for a possible church plant. I'm excited, but realize how much we need the Holy Spirit to guide us on every step of this trip.

God blessings to you!

Today was catch-up-on-e-mail day. It felt good to clean out the ole inbox. Normally, I try not to let them stack up or else it just becomes too overwhelming.

In the evening I visited one of our church's home Bible study fellowships. Home study's (as we refer to them) are groups of people from our church who meet in homes each week to study the Bible, pray, and fellowship in a more intimate and homey atmosphere. We have about ten such groups spread throughout the city. The Abramovs host this particular group. Pasha and Nadezhda are the parents (in their 50's). Also living with them are their daughter, son-in-law, and two granddaughters. The whole family works in full time ministry, except for the son-in-law who is a police officer. I was almost caught off guard when Pasha asked if I would share with the group from God's word. It wasn't that I didn't have anything to share (I've been telling everyone about Matthew 13 and God's kingdom during this last week!) but that there wasn't an interpreter present! Well, I tried not to think of how horrible my broken russian sounded and just went for it. God was faithful! They were really encouraged and almost everyone chimed in at different times with their thoughts, feelings, and experiences regarding the verses we read. We concluded the evening with prayer and fellowship around the tea and goodies table.

I was reminded tonight how important it is for us as christians to be involved in the lives of other believers. We strengthen, encourage, and build one another up in faith and love. Without fellowship our love grows cold. It's not always easy or convenient, but after we take that step and meet and share with people, we're so glad we did.

Dima came by again this morning. I was able to give him some "fatherly" counsel concerning his studies. God wants us to do the very best we can in whatever life situation we find ourselves in. People are always watching us to see what "christians" do.

At the boy's prison today we had the opportunity to share the gospel with the director in his office before our time with the boys. He was very open and we spoke for almost an hour. He believes that what we are doing is good for the boys and said many of them look forward to our visits. That was encouraging as sometimes it's hard to tell what those boys are thinking.

The time with the boys went well. We were able to meet separately with two of the boys, who had prayed to receive Christ on our last visit, to teach them in the essentials of Christianity. We will continue to meet on each visit with these boys and any more that make decisions to follow the Lord. At the same time, we'll continue to meet in the larger hall with the rest of the boys who just want to come to listen. Two more in this group stood to publically confess Christ today. So, God's kingdom at the boy's prison is growing little by little just like the little mustard seed.

In the evening I stopped by my friends apartment to say hello and ended up staying for dinner. We had a nice time of fellowship. (and the food was great too!) After dinner one of their kids and I ran to the store for some ice cream and cookies. Yum!

OK, I think I got this photo thing down. I'm having a blast!

This morning I took the trolley downtown to find a battery charger. I was so excited to be able to find both the charger and two sets of batteries. Now I won't worry about using up expensive batteries and can take as many pics as I want. The first one is my living room - thought you might like to see where I live. The second is "The Golden Gate of Vladimir" - which is a landmark in the center of downtown. This building is over a thousand years old!! Originally it was the main gate into the city when the city was walled in to protect against enemies.

Then it was time for worship rehersal down at the church. Valera, our worship leader, and the two female singers enjoyed being able to be the subjects of my experiments with the camera, as you can see by their faces. Valera (that's a man's name) is one of my best friends here and I so much appreciate our friendship.

After the evening service I had my first "Iron Sharpening Iron" accountability meeting with the guys. We decided to meet in our church basement as we figured it would be the only place in the church on a Wednesday night that would have a little privacy and quiet. It was great! We spent time getting to know eachother, having tea and cookies, reading God's Word, and praying for eachother. We all agreed that the basement is so cozy. (though it might not look that way in the photo!) And best of all it's low maintance - we just brush the cookie crumbs on the floor when we were done! Now THAT'S a man's room!

I have one photo for you today! Just click "today's photos" above. Sorry the photo is so large. I'm still learning. One thing I can say though is the camera works great! Though I will HAVE to buy a battery recharger - it eats batteries super fast.

Today we had the prayer meeting, planning meeting, and board meeting down at the church. Then the pastor and I had lunch together before the pastors from our other church plants arrived for their meeting with the pastor. I had time to hurry home for a few hours of rest before heading back to the church for our men's meeting in the evening. Tonight, the pastor shared with us the importance of humbling ourselves before God and man. The Bible says, "God gives grace to the humble, but resists the proud." (James chapter 4) Being proud is when we live and make choices as though we don't need God, His help, or direction. Being humble is when we call out to God, admitting our weaknesses, and ask for His help.

Tonight we also met with our small groups and set times and dates for the new "Iron Sharpening Iron" men's accountability groups. My guys, Roma, Anton, and an american, Peter, decided to meet every other Wednesday after the second evening service. I'm excited to get to know these guys better!

Well, I better get to bed...I had a late one last night playing with the camera. God bless!

I was roused out of bed this morning by the door bell. It was the electric man come to put in my new meter. Oops, I forgot that was today. :) He says sarcastically, "What, did you just get out of bed?" I wanted to say something just as dumb back to him, but decided to be kind. He and his assistant put the meter in while I woke up.

Later, Dima showed up at my door. I wasn't expecting him and honestly was a little bothered that he didn't call first. I like spending time with him, but today I had planned to spend a quiet day off at home alone. But then I remembered that Dima and I haven't spent any time together lately and so I invited him in for a visit. We ended up studying the Bible together, which was really a blessing. Matthew chapter 13. Here Jesus explains what the kingdom of God is like. I was mostly encouraged realizing that God's kingdom begins small and unnoticed, so I shouldn't get discouraged when I don't see the whole world coming to Christ. Also, how wonderful it was to realize that I am part of the greatest kingdom that has ever existed - God's kingdom!

After Dima left I spent the afternoon reading the instruction booklet for the digital camera - so far so good. Tonight I'll read the manual on how to interface the camera with my computer. Later, after my workout with the dumbells, I showered and made a dash to the market while dinner was on the stove. Boiled chicken, rice, mix vegetables, and milk. Yum!

The temperature is dropping again and today a fresh snow fell. Beautiful! I love the winter and how the snow covers all things dull, broken, and dirty with a thick blanket of velvety snow. Everything is bright and sparkles. Just like God's grace covers our sins!

How wonderful it was to have our pastor back this morning at the Sunday morning service. He shared with us all the many ways God had blessed his trip and we were all encouraged at the testimony of God's care for Him. We were also encouraged by the word he spoke from 2 Corinthians chapter five where Paul exhorts us to keep in mind who we are (ambassadors for Christ helping to reconcile man to God) and where we're going - home to be with Jesus! I love the illustration he used of our homecoming. Just as a nation calls it's ambassadors home when war breaks out in the country where the embassy is located, so will Jesus call us home when the final days of tribulation break out on this earth.

After church a few of my buddies came over to my flat for a time of fellowship before heading off to the evening prayer and praise meeting. It was so good to gather as the body of Christ once again to worship and seek God's help tonight. I can't tell you the peace and joy that flood my head and heart when I lift all my cares before the Lord, knowing He will answer.

Well, I better sign off. I still haven't had time to figure out how to use the camera. The peace of Christ to you! Ron

What a day! We drove to Moscow and picked up our pastor who returned from his trip to the states. What a joyful reunion. He was only gone a few weeks, but with the love of Christ between us, we christians know how to have a reunion! Imagine what it's gonna be like when we are reunited with our loved ones in heaven!

On the way home we stopped for lunch at McDonald's, which is always a treat as we don't have anything like that in our town. They had something new - strawberry pie, so I bought one to take home for later. (I just ate it - yum!)

When we got to the pastor's home we had a fun time opening gifts and things we'd ordered from America. I got the digital camera! Just the one I'd picked out from the net. Thank you, Lord! And thanks Dad and Barbara for pitching in and doing all the leg work. The pastor also brought the master CD of our new worship album. Praise God, it turned out pretty good! Now we'll move on to the next step of getting it replicated in Moscow. It's called "Alleluia Live!"

Another treat was a special gift from my friends the Easter's in Yakima, Washington. They are both singers and I had asked them if they would make a recording of some of the songs they sing and send it to me. I hadn't heard a reply, so I was so thrilled and surprized when I opened the package they'd sent and there it was! I'm listening to it for the first time as I type this and it's beautiful. Thank you, dear friends!!

Along with other gifts from family members, the pastor gifted me with some new kind of breath fresheners that are in the form of little sheets of thin candy that melt in your mouth. We had fun trying to figure out how to do it and were getting them stuck all over the inside of our mouths. A new invention from the homeland!

Again, I am overwhelmed with God's goodness toward me. I know my heavenly Father is rejoicing seeing my excitement for these gifts. I'm so thankful.

Well, I better get to reading the instructions for the camera so I can hurry and start putting some photos on this web site. Stay tuned!!

Today was kinda low-key. I spent some time in the morning catching up on my Bible reading - the main thing God spoke to me was that I need to be careful about speaking idle words.

In the afternoon I exchanged some money at the bank and then headed over to the church building to take a peak at how the remodeling is going in the new kitchen. The cabinets are in and they've begun tiling the walls.

I had a few more errands to run on the way home - market, hardware store, and pay the phone bill.

Tonight I did some reading on the topic of exercise. I've noticed an improvement in my health and energy ever since I've been exercising regularly and eating more nutritionally. I don't want to put too much importance on it, but at the same time I see how physical fitness gives me more motivation and ability to get out and about to serve the Lord and take part in various ministries that require physical endurance and strength. Just living in Russia in the winter can be strenuous and being fit can make the difference between staying home nursing colds and getting out to serve.

Tomorrow I should be receiving a digital camera! So be on the lookout for photos very soon!

Today one of our assistant pastors and I took a ministry trip to one of our church plants about an hour and a half from here. We went to meet with the missionary team there, so that they might be encouraged and built up in faith.

We arrived and were greeted by the pastor and his wife. What a joy it was to see them standing on the side of the snow covered road waiting for us after our long trip. At the apartment we found the rest of the team busily preparing lunch for after our meeting.

The meeting went so well! First we had a time of worship, which then led into a time of Bible study. We read from Matthew chapter 11 where Jesus encourages all who labor and are weary to come to Him and find rest. This seemed just the medicine the team needed as I could sense the Holy Spirit working in their hearts. We had special time of prayer for those team members who have been struggling with sickness. Finally, we wrapped up the meeting with a time of questions and answers. "How do we increase our team unity?", was one of the questions. The answer? Pray together often. The team that prays together will be together. Secondly, submit. It's so vital to the unity of any team that they know who their leader is and that they submit to him. When we humble and submit ourselves to those God has put in authority over us, we are really humbling and submitting ourselves to Him.

Then it was time for lunch. Wow! Mashed potatoes, fish salad, crab salad, bread and salami, and chocolate cake and tea for dessert. What a blessing it all was! We continued to fellowship around the table and each team member had the chance to share about their ministries and prayer requests.

I believe the Lord was faithful in answering our prayers and used us to bless and encourage our brothers and sisters on the mission field. No, things there aren't perfect. They have their problems like all of us. And we certainly can't solve them in one visit. But I sensed that God didn't send us there to fix them, but rather to comfort and encourage. He will do the fixing in time as they continue to seek His face.

God has impressed on me this week how much He loves His children. He isn't harsh or critical, but rather takes joy in our efforts to serve Him. He's our proud Daddy!

I guess I was too tired (lazy?)and woke up late this morning...but I will not be moved from my goal to retire and rise on time this week!

The Lord encouraged me so much in my morning devotions. It was all about Jesus trying to get the religious leaders to understand that people are more important than rules and that love is the essence of God's law. I was encouraged to "lighten up" on myself and others and make sure I'm putting love before doing things "right".

We're getting down to the wire with the CD project. Our artwork guy and I have been feverishly writing back and forth to meet the deadline. I write, he posts changes, he writes, I reply, more changes...it's all very exciting but also a little stressful. Our pastor wrote tonight and said he just heard the final cut for the first time. He said it's great!

We're also getting down to the wire with the final remodelings down at the church. Finally we'll have a kitchen for the employees lunches and church functions. I love helping with the designing and planning...

Time to hit the sack...sweet dreams! Ron

Well, praise God, I didn't hit the snooze this morning! However, I did hit the floor running in order to get to the prayer meeting on time. The rest of the morning I helped the guys down at the church move all the kitchen cabinets up to the second floor where our new kitchen will be.

After a quick lunch at home and an even quicker nap (I couldn't fall asleep last night till around 12:30) I was off to our bi-monthly american missionary meeting. It's always refreshing to be able to worship the Lord in english with our team! Then we listened to a Bible teaching tape all about rooting out the little sins before they can really take root in our heart and cause big damage later. After the tape we discussed the teaching and our impressions. We ended with a time of prayer. A few on our team are going through difficult times of illness and so we anointed them with oil and lifted them before the Lord. All He wants is that we ask!

By the time the meeting ended it was time to roll again to get to the worship fellowship down at the church by 6pm. I was a little late. We spent much time in prayer and worship tonight. Probably because I was tired and hungry it was a little hard for me to not think about when it would end. I wonder what God thinks about that? Well, it's no surprise to Him and He knows that sometimes I'm far from perfect. I'm sure glad His love for me doesn't hinge on me.

Well, it's already 10 pm and I'm still just eating dinner, so I better close if I want to turn in at a decent hour. God bless!

I had a nice day off today. First I caught up on my thru the Bible reading. I'm in Job in the evenings and Matthew in the mornings. Job is in a dither trying to figure out why God has allowed all this calamity in his life. Jesus is trying to build faith in His disciples and prepare them for the persecution they'll suffer for His name's sake. Interesting, both are focused on the reality of suffering in the believer's life. I'm not really suffering at the moment, but perhaps God is preparing me...

I spent some time surfing in the afternoon. (the web not the waves) I visited Harvest.org which is the site for Harvest church in Riverside, Calif. Wow, what a huge ministry! The Lord is doing great works all over.

I got a knock at the door today. It was the gas man come for his yearly inspection. He put soapy water on all the pipe joints to check for leaks. He gave my apartment a thumbs up. I happen to look out the window in time to see he and his four co-workers walking away from our entrance. They all had the same identical black briefcases which hold their instruments. If you didn't know you might think they were five secret agents on a mission!

Later I took a walk to the bank to exchange some dollars into rubles and then on to the barber for a haircut. It's up to 30 rubles to the dollar now. A haircut cost 40 rubles - just over a buck.

On the way home I bought three pairs of underwear from one of the street venders. 50 cents a pair. (here it's totally normal to buy underwear on the street and have the vendor hold them up and pull on the seams for the whole world to see.) I also stopped at the grocery store and bought a big bunch of bananas - one dollar, an ice cream cone - 30 cents, and a tub of margarine for just under a dollar. Just thought you might be interested in the prices here.

I've been working on a revamp for my web site. As soon as I get the digital camera I'll be launching it. I like the look and hope it will make it more interesting for you to read.

My prayer this week is that I can get myself to bed earlier and no hittin the snooze button in the morning. So, I'm off to bed. Goodnight!

I had an unexpected and pleasant surprise at the Sunday service this morning. I got to interpret the teaching into english for one of the americans who attends our church. I love doing this as simultaneous interpreting allows me to stretch my russian language skills. It's neat too when I can help someone hear the Word of God. I hope I get to do this more in the future!

The teaching this morning asked the question, "What is the most important thing we can do in life?" The answer? - fulfilling God's will. What is His will, you ask? We were taught from the scriptures that four main aspects of God's will for us are 1) Hearing of Jesus and receiving Him into our hearts by faith as Lord and Savior. 2)Submitting ourselves to those who have been placed in authority above us and humbling ourselves before man and God. 3)Keeping ourselves pure and free from sexual immorality. 4)Being thankful in all things. If we will do these four things we will be fulfilling God's will. Doing these things will also influence all other aspects of our life as our desires and ambitions are changed and conformed to God's. This is the only way to true peace, joy, and contentment.

My friend, Valera, and hung out at my flat in the afternoon. He and I have fun talking about the Lord, worship, and church life in general. He also helped me move a couch and bed into different rooms for which I was thankful.

As I look back on the week I am very thankful. Thankful that God allows me to regularly hear the teaching of His Word, that He is changing me by His Word and through the power of the Holy Spirit. I am thankful for His forgiveness for mistakes I have made and for His patience as He completes the work HE began in me. I am thankful that He provided me with anti-virus software to deal with the worm I got. I'm thankful for the work He's doing at the boy's prison and for the boys there who have begun a journey in following Jesus - thankful that I can be a part of that. I'm thankful for the new men's accountability groups we will soon be starting. (I spoke to the first guy in my group today and he is excited too!) I'm thankful for the work that God is doing among the poor and needy at the helps ministry. I believe by faith that He is changing lives from the inside out. And I'm thankful for my friends. For birthday parties and times to just hang out and encourage one another. I am SO abundantly blessed! Oh, and I'm thankful for you!

Well, tomorrow begins a new week. This week I hope to begin work on writing the play I want to produce for Easter. I know, it's kinda late to start writing - so if it's gonna happen it better happen quick! I also want to make it a goal to get to bed earlier this week and get up earlier. Ever since the holidays I've been struggling with that. We'll see how it goes!

At the helps ministry this morning one of the first timers kept interrupting by calling out commentary and questions during the Bible teaching. No one seems to mind, including the teacher. Sometimes he'd answer him, sometimes ignore him, or sometimes one of the other grandmas would tell him to be quiet. I like the raw edge in this ministry, that people have freedom to say the wrong things, misbehave, or act up. Don't get me wrong, I know that God loves order. It's just that at the helps ministry there is so much grace for people to be themselves and still be loved and accepted. It's a big lesson for me on how God wants me to be accepting and loving toward all people everywhere.

In the afternoon I went shopping for yet another birthday of a close friend. The party in the evening was a neat time of eating dough dogs (remember those?), making Banana splits, playing games, sharing in God's Word, and praying for the birthday boy. Friends are such a blessing. What would I do without them?!

I actually was able to sit myself down today and do a russian language lesson. Miracles never cease! ha! Yes, I already speak Russian, but still with many mistakes. I want to clean it up.

I also got quite a bit of e-mail business done today as well as some phone business from my office at home. Around 3:30 I couldn't sit any longer and had to get up and do some exercises to get my blood flowing.

Tonight I went through and cleaned up my e-mail address book. I had the automatic function on and so many addresses had piled up in there. It always feels good to clean something out, yes?

Lots of friends at church have come down with colds and flus. That's a bummer. But, it gives us a chance to pray for one another and serve eachother. :)

This morning we had a meeting with the leaders of a new men's ministry we're beginning called "Iron Sharpening Iron". It will consist of several small groups of men that will meet regularly for a time of Bible study, worship, prayer, fellowship, and overall accountability. I'm looking forward to meeting with my group.

Over 200 boys showed up this afternoon at the boy's prison ministry! We were especially excited that five of the boys made public confessions of faith in Christ and came forward after the meeting to meet us. We hope to start a separate meeting with these boys in future weeks.

I wanted to encourage those of you who may be struggling with an illness. Please read Matthew 8:1-17. It tells how Jesus healed people. He may not always heal us when and how we want, but our job is to ask and keep asking. God bless, Ron

Last night I received a worm and trogan on an e-mail and I opened it! Duh! It was my first experience with the world of computer germs in 8 years of computing. I guess my day had to come. Of course, I didn't have any anti-virus software on my computer. Thankfully, a brother from the church led me to a Symantec (Norton) web site where I was able to download a trial anti-software program. It took me all night to download and I only slept off and on because I kept getting knocked off line. Finally by morning it was all done and after breakfast I got it installed and the worm and trogan were purged.

I had to meet with a friend today and help him through a difficult situation he's found himself in. He might have to choose between his job or his convictions. Such a hard decision. Honestly, I'm praying God might change his convictions as I'm not %100 his current ones are in agreement with God's word. Tough stuff.

One of pastor's russian assistants taught at the services tonight. He did a great job! Actually, it was the same brother who usually interprets for pastor, so it was kinda neat to see him up their by himself. He taught from Mattthew 24 and encouraged us to not be troubled by the terrible events we will see happen in the future. Jesus said it must be so and then comes the end. As believers God wants us to not put our hope in an earthly government or look for a utopia here on earth, but rather set our hearts and minds on God's kingdom that is coming and spend our time and energy preaching the Gospel so others can have the same hope and eternal life. Awesome stuff!

This morning I led the staff devotions. We read from Matthew 6 where Jesus instructs on how to give, pray, and fast. He desires that we first check our motives. Am I doing any of these so as to receive approval or glory from man? This kind of reward is hit and miss, and at best, temporal. Jesus exhorts us to strive to do these things in secret, as unto the Lord, thereby guaranteeing that we will receive a much better and lasting reward. "...and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."

A large part of the rest of the day was spent working out the details for getting the church praise and worship recording reproduced in Moscow. It seems we're getting very close to having this project wrapped up. It will be so great when we finally have the cassettes and CDs in hand. This will be our third album. We recorded it live back in May of 2001 on the ninth anniversary of our church. It's called Alleluia! 3 - Live Praise and Worship.

I had a nice day off today. In the morning I had an extra long time with the Lord. It was much needed. In the afternoon I caught up on my e-mails and had a great work out.

Yesterday the temperature was plus 30 degrees and some of the snow on the tree limbs was beginning to melt. This morning it had dropped to -14 degrees! Talk about extremes! I kept a burner going to cut the chill.

Well, I gotta get to bed. Tomorrow is Tuesday and that means an early one. Good night!

What an awesome day! Our second Christmas celebration at the church this morning was again packed out. Though there were fewer first timers than at the service two weeks ago, there were still many who came forward at the end of the service to ask Christ into their heart. I was especially excited about two teenage boys who were among that number. You see, one of them was one of those whom we visited yesterday when we went door to door inviting! As most people I invite never end up coming, I counted it a gift from the Lord that he and his buddy came and even a bigger thrill that they went forward to receive Christ. We exchanged e-mail addresses, which is great cuz I can drop them a line of encouragement. If you can, please lift them up in prayer today - their names are Sasha and Pasha. (nicknames for Alexander and Peter)

Oh, by the way, my debut playing the role of a demon in the sunday school play this morning also went well. I remembered all my lines in russian (thank you, Lord!) and had a blast doing it. It stirred up the drama waters in me to think about doing more drama in the near future...

After the service, one the american missionary families had me over to their place for lunch. They have three adorable children that are so much fun to be with. From their apartment I went straight over to another friend's apartment where several of the single folks from church were gathering for a night of dominos. We had so much fun laughing and accusing eachother of cheating! (all in fun) After dessert and tea we sat around the living room and watched some home videos from when we first came to Russia nine years ago. Wow, all those memories came flooding back - dear friends, many grown older in the Lord now, some moved away, some fallen away. I left the gathering with a mixture of feelings. Joy for what the Lord has done in our lives here over the years but also pain realizing that some are out there somewhere not walking with Jesus. So, we keep praying and trust in the Lord.

We had 18 folks show up at the helps ministry today. True, some may come only to receive free food, but God can use that to draw them to Himself. Who of us came to God out of pure motives anyway? Not me. I didn't really get to minister with anyone today - just made the bread run and put the chairs away at the end. I want to trust God that He's using me even when I don't see it.

In the afternoon we went out to hang posters and pass out invitations for the Christmas service tomorrow. (Remember Christmas in Russia is on January 7th.) The apartment building we went to had locks on all the entrances, but they were all open! Many of those we spoke to showed an interest in attending. Lord, draw them by Your Spirit!

I spent most of the evening at the computer composing my monthly newsletter, church newsletter, monthly mission report, and monthly expense report.

How's the weather where you're at? Here it's been fluctuating between cold and colder. Anyone like snow? We got it!

Today I made a trip to bring back the furniture of a returning missionary. This involved renting a truck, driving two hours to where the furniture was, loading the furniture, driving back to our city (we got three flat tires simultaneously on the return trip!), and then unloading all the furniture at two different apartments. All this and a snow storm to boot! Thankfully, apart from the flat tires everything went well. Oh, along with the furniture we also brought back a dog. It was fun to have it on my lap for the return trip. (Fur and slobber included. :)

I jokingly told the other missionaries that from now on all future missionaries would have no furniture and sleep on a rug! Seems good to me.

Today I worked in the office at home all day catching up on e-mails and taking care of church business over the phone. Three of our guys on staff are sick, so there was lots of extra stuff to take care of, problems to solve, ministries to organize, etc. Praise the Lord, it was a fruitful day!

By the end of the day I was ready for a 20 minute aerobic workout in my living room. Hey, you get the exercise where you can when it's 20 below outside. After dinner I took a walk and bought some groceries. I also treated myself to a Mars ice cream bar. Yeah!

It's so cool outside right now. All the trees are laced with white frost and stand out starkley against the back drop of a clear and pitch black sky. It gives the illusion that the trees are made of fine crystal that could shatter in the slightest breeze. O, God's wonderous beauty!

I took the pastor's kids to the internet cafe for the afternoon as a New Year's gift. They had a great time - I played waiter bringing them popcorn and drinks - they didn't know it, but while they were surfing I was around the corner eating a pizza! ha!

The service tonight was all about counting all things as trash compared to knowing Jesus. Two things that steal my Jesus time away are the internet and sleep. I hope the new read thru the Bible I started will help me hang with Him more.

Are you recovered from New Year's? I felt like I had a hang over today! No, I don't drink, but the interruption in my sleep pattern sent me for a loop. Let's get up early tomorrow and seek the Lord!

I ran around all afternoon on the 31st buying last minute New Year's gifts. (remember they do the gifts on New Years here?) Then it was off to rehersal for the special New Year's Eve service at the church. We actually had two services. The first one from 6pm - 8pm and the second from 10 pm to 1 am. Both were a great time of worship, testimony (folks took turns testifying how the Lord had worked in their life during 2001), Bible teaching, corporate prayer, and then more worship and praise. I was flying high! I felt so thankful for so much God has done in my life this year - for both the trials and victories He has used to increase my faith and trust in Him.

I decided to leave the second service early since I needed to drive pastor down to the airport the next morning at 5:30 am! I didn't realize I still had many cards and gifts to prepare to send back home with pastor and so I ended up not getting to bed until 2:30 am. Ugh. Even then, I never fell asleep because the neighbors were partying LOUD. And I mean REALLY LOUD. Imagine trying to fall asleep on the dance floor of a discoteque and I think you'll get the idea. So the 31st of December and the 1st of January really became like one very long day to me. Allow me to combine two days of entries here since it's already evening on the 1st. Basically I spent New Year's day driving to Moscow and back. (eight hours round trip plus two hours at the airport.) But don't feel sorry for me! It was a blessing. I had great fellowship with pastor and the Lord gave me strength and kept me awake (thankfully, since I was driving!) the whole way. On the way home I was able to listen to a teaching tape from our home church in California and some music tapes too. The snow in the countryside was beautiful! There were hardly any cars on the road so the whole trip was quite peaceful. I'm so thankful for my little car and the time I can spend with the Lord while driving.

Well, I'm gonna have a little dinner and then I'm sure I'll collapse into bed. I hope you had a blessed New Year. No matter what you do, when you belong to Jesus He makes it all fun!