The last few weeks have been full of
teaching English and activities with friends. Last Monday we went to
a smaller town outside of the city of Tomsk, called Melnikovo. We
went with friends from church to help out with a youth retreat.
Allie, Hilary, and I planned out some fun games, but for the most
part it was a night full of fun. We played a scavenger hunt game,
where some of our friends were abducted by angry men. We went out
into the bitter, Siberian cold and ran around for hours and hours. We
had to find a bag of weed, documents, and people. Even though I was
mostly clueless as to what was going on, it was still fun. Later that
night we watched “Freedom Writers”.
After the movie, we went down in the
church basement, and everyone was setting up for wrestling. I thought
for sure it would just be the guys fighting, but then they called
Hilary, Allie, and I's names. At first I refused, because the
fighting rink was a bunch of mattresses that a bunch of sweaty boys
had been fighting on. But then I agreed. (: For two years I did
kickboxing and I actually really miss it. So, Allie and I fought, or
rather danced. But then I got to fight a Russian chick, and she was
willing to actually wrestle. I had not done anything physical for
awhile, so it felt like a release.
You know how guys “bond” through
being rough with each other, well I believe girls can too. When I use
to do kickboxing with girls, I felt a bond with them. No small talk
could ever have gotten the walls to come down like pounding at each
other could. Or even running, climbing mountains, biking, or kayaking
with people causes a bond. Talking with people can only develop a
friendship so far. I appreciate the sincerity that develops in a
relationship, when you experience something fulfilling together. I
appreciate it when people are raw, and I think that doing these
things together helps, but a bond a sister has with another sister in
Christ must also depend on being active followers of Christ. Reading
the Bible together is so important. Reading the Bible out loud is so
powerful. I believe the enemy constantly wants us to believe that
these simple tactics are of no use and that they are mundane. But
they are not! They are powerful tools of which the Lord has given us. The Bible is a book, and you are not going to receive a miraculous message every time you read it. It is a book to be studied and read, just like you studied and read English Literature in College. But it is a book directly from God, it is a book to be studied unlike any other book. God's love becomes all the more apparent to me in all He does, the more I read and study. So, don't be discouraged, just simply open up to what the Lord has to say and store it in your heart.
The first Sunday of November we
attended the house church gathering service. Our friends, Emil and
Jenny, go to this church. I am so grateful for how God has shown us
His work in Russia. The way God makes people beautiful and how He has
planned to use them for His plans is beautiful. I know that we are a
part of that plan. Sometimes, the enemy wants us to focus more on our
problems, than on submitting them to God. Nothing causes us to become
more selfish, than trying to deal with all of our problems in a
self-sufficient manner. No matter how small a problem you think it
is, I have learned that releasing it to God by prayer is essential.
You have to bring it all to God. Just like in our relationships with
people, if you keep things suppressed and you don't share everything,
it hinders the relationship. The same thing happens with our
relationship with God, only on a more elevated level, because
everything in our life is affected by our relationship with God. I
have been very encouraged by God's people in Russia, in ways they
would never know. God is near, He is very near. Praise Him!
I have been humbled a lot lately in
regard to my prayer life. People's prayer is in God's plan. Resting
in His words and His spirit fills me, like nothing else can or ever
will. As I have been encouraged by people here, I hope to continue to
be an encouragement to people who attend our classes and people at
English club. Even though it can be hard with the language barrier, I
still know God is powerful. I am praying for all the different
Russian, Kazakhstan, Kirghistan, Uzbekistan, Korean, Chinese, and
Ukrainian people. Certain faces stand out to me, and Hilary, Allie,
and I hope to connect them with Russian Christians. I still can't
believe that we only have three weeks left in Tomsk before we leave
for Moscow and then to Amsterdam. But the reality of what God has
shown me here still weighs heavy on me. So dear friends, please pray
for revival in Tomsk. Pray for God's name to be magnified. Pray for
strength for the Russian believers.
We keep on keeping on! (:
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