We have offically been in Russia for over 2 weeks! It still feels like it was just yesterday that I was weighing my suitcase 5 times a day trying to get it under 44 lbs ... Time sure does go by quickly! Which means that we need to be incredibly intentional in sharing Christ with everyone around us in every single situation we are in. We may never have these opportunities again....
Eileen shared with Shannon and I once about how important it was for her that they celibrated the small victories when they first moved to Russia. I have been trying to do this each day. Here are a few of the victories Shannon and I have accomplished recently... Last weekend, we went to KFC and Shannon and I (with a little help from Eileen) were able to order our food in Russian! The lady that took our order was so nice and patient with us! That same day, Eileen gave us her recipe for, helped us go shopping for, and then helped us bake the most delicious chocolate chip muffins. We were then able to bake some for the Bible discussion group the next day. These muffins are SO delicious and I can’t wait to bake them for everyone when I get back to the States!
We are continuing to build relationships with everyone we’ve met so far. We have walked around town and through several parks in Ufa with between 7 and 10 of our new friends here nearly every evening. We are getting to know them better, and they are getting to know us. We get to learn some new words in Russian, and they get to practice speaking English. Shannon and I have each had a couple of opportunities to share at least a little bit about what we believe and why. God is laying certain people in this group of friends we’ve met on each of our hearts to pray for in specific ways and attempt to share with. We are both very excited to see where God is planning to take these friendships!
We still have not heard from the university about when we will start classes. Shannon and I have mixed feelings about this. We both are glad to have some free time without the burdens of classes and homework and such, but we are also ready to get into a set routine and have something to do during the day. It has been nice to be able to hang around our apartment, sleep in a little, and get more acclimated with the city, but we are feeling a bit lazy and bored at times as well. I know I will miss this free time when school actual does start though.
It has been rather warm for about a week now. By warm, I mean that it has been in the high 70s to low 80s. I realize that for most of you reading this, that doesn’t sound warm at all, but when you have packed clothes expecting much cooler weather and don’t have very many short sleeve shirts or anything other than jeans to wear, and do not have air conditioning, low 80s can be very warm! But early this morning, we had a cool front come through! Right now, Shannon and I have several of the windows in our apartment open and are letting a nice cool breeze blow through our rooms, and it feels so very wonderful!
I am realizing more and more that finding rest in Christ is going to be essential for me. I cannot depend on my normal relaxation methods (working out, watching a favorite movie, reading a good book at a coffee shop, playing BananaGrams :)… etc). When something happens that could be stressful for me, I have to be able to give it up to God and find peace in knowing that He can and will handle it perfectly.
Prayer Requests:
· Opportunities to share with the friends we’ve made
· That Shannon and I would be able to hear and follow the Spirit’s guidance in how to approach opportunities
· That I would be able to continuously find rest and peace in Christ
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