RE: IFR/Ukraine update

Good afternoon friends and family!

 

Despite my best intentions last week, I never composed an update to you on our activities in Ukraine.  Since my side trip to Oxford was important from the standpoint of planning but really only a precursor for the real work in Ukraine, I certainly want to circle back and tell of the Lord’s hand at work there as well.

 

I left Oxford recharged after a great time of fellowship and planning with Bruce, my ministry partner, and we traveled together back to London and then onward to Kiev.  We arrived in the afternoon on Monday and then got our bearings in the city.  If you’ve followed my participation in this work at all over the past many years, you’ve heard of the emphasis we place on divine appointments and providential moments.  They are often the best indicators we have of how He is guiding and directing.  It didn’t take long for us to experience just that in Kiev.  After getting settled, Bruce and I ventured out in the city on our own to find a place to eat.  The hotel staff recommended a place near to the hotel that served typical Ukrainian food, so we made our way there.  It was your typical bar and grill type restaurant with a live music stage, and it was called the ‘Gogol Ukrainian Music Pub’.  Think dark wood, Cyrillic music posters, and lots of advertisements for Guinness Ale!  The restaurant is known for their music apparently and advertised that they present “rock ‘n roll, jazz, and country” music.  We stumbled through ordering food in a mix of English and Ukrainian and sat back to relax and talk.  While we were waiting for our food, Bruce and I suddenly recognized a song over the restaurant speakers, in English, by the bank Lifehouse.  The band is comprised of Christians, but they’ve found more success in mainstream music than in Christian radio per se.  To hear them played in this restaurant was interesting but not completely unheard of, I suppose.  However, that song was followed by two more songs, again in English, by artists that are distinctly Christian and would only be played on Christian radio.  Then for the next hour, while we ate (a delicious meal, by the way), the restaurant played Christian song after Christian song by an artist that you would only hear if you listed regularly to KLOVE or other Christian radio stations back here in the US!  It was wild, encouraging, and a definite providential moment.

 

Our real purpose in Kiev was three-fold: 1) to participate in the Eastern European Leadership Forum; 2) to continue the work with our Belarusian partners (who traveled to Kiev for the Forum) in the work we’ve been doing there these past several years and plan for the future; and 3) to explore any new partnerships that might be open to us for future ministry.  The Lord was gracious, and we ticked all three items off the list.  We had a wonderful meeting with our Belarusian partners where we were able to get an update on events on the ground in Belarus and pull together some ideas for how we can continue to support them going forward.  Perhaps most significant was a mutual decision to likely steer any future teaching seminars and events to Kiev, Ukraine, rather than in Belarus itself.  Ukraine is wide open for missions and overt Christian work as opposed to the continued persecution and closed environment in Belarus.  Americans don’t need visas to enter Ukraine and IFR can operate openly.  Our Belarusian friends can come to Ukraine without trouble (generally), and we wouldn’t have to work with them secretly.  Furthermore, there is a vibrant Christian media environment in Ukraine that we could use whereas in Belarus that is not an option whatsoever.  If we do move events to Ukraine, our future visits to Belarus could simply be to encourage and fellowship with believers there and would not be in environments that would put them at risk after we leave.  This shift was a big breakthrough.

 

The Forum itself was amazing to observe.  There were 300+ people in attendance from Russian, Belarus, Ukraine, Norway, Hungary, and other areas of eastern Europe.  There were ten topical tracks with more than 100 different seminars for the participants to choose from and all were related to how Christians can transform society in every sphere from media, politics, education, apologetics, even how the church can minister to those with mental illness, and many more!  It was so encouraging to see that many people gathered together to discuss these amazing ideas that fall under the ‘Biblical worldview’ umbrella.  The keynote speaker for the conference was John Lennox, a Professor of Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at Oxford University who has debated Richard Dawkins and Peter Singer among others, so this was no second tier event.  We were honored to be invited to participate and present three seminars on Christian education, homeschooling in the Christian context, and the role of the clergy in America’s founding.  Perhaps the most fulfilling part of the Forum, though, was watching our Belarusian partners, who we’ve been teaching and pouring into for years now, act as co-organizers of the Forum and watching them actually teach these principles themselves in many of the seminars.  What a blessing!

 

We were also pleased that the Lord led us as IFR to new connections with other people as well.  We had an excellent afternoon meeting with the Rector of the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary.  The seminary is the largest in Ukraine and draws students from many area countries.  It is theologically conservative and very much focused around a reformed worldview and missions training.  Right up our alley!  We were able to hear of their vision and offer our own for these areas.  It is very likely that IFR will be able to connect with the seminary going forward and provide resources such as teaching materials and even professors who might visit and teach a week-long course at their invitation.  Again, a divine appointment!

 

As you can see, the week was immensely profitable, and the Lord has once again proved Himself faithful.  We go on these trips with a plan and objectives, but the Lord always guides and directs in ways that are so much better.  Again, I want to express my sincere appreciation for your prayers, spiritual warfare on our behalf, and financial support.  You are the reason I can go as the Lord calls, and I am forever humbled and grateful.

 

Scott

 

From: Scott B. Walter [mailto:scottbwalter@gmail.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 18, 2012 1:18 PM
To: 'Scott B. Walter'
Subject: IFR/Ukraine update

 

Friends and family,

 

I love to read.  I don’t have nearly the time to devote to reading that I’d like, but I really like to find a good book and dig into it.  A men’s breakfast group I belong to is currently going through Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey.  (If you’ve not read this book yet, I highly recommend it.)  The subtitle is Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity, and that is both a remarkable assessment and goal.  The gist of the book is that our unbelieving culture has succeeded in separating Christianity from “truth” and pigeon-holed religious belief as distinct from rational thought.  The discussion then becomes how do we as believers embrace once more a comprehensive Biblical worldview and once more make Christianity relevant to a spiritually dying culture.  It even goes so far as to say that many of the traditional witnessing and missions strategies of the past aren’t effective anymore because many (most?) people don’t even accept that there is A Truth based upon The God of the universe, let alone see a need for personal redemption from sin.  Very compelling stuff.

 

As I was re-reading parts of the book today, I began to think about it in the context of the work in which I’ve been able to participate in Eastern Europe.  In particular, the word ‘worldview’ was swirling around in my head.  I’ve used that term innumerable times in my emails to you and conversations around this ministry.  “We teach the Biblical worldview of government, economics, education, etc.”  Today, though, I had a different thought.  A worldview is, by definition, a comprehensive way of viewing the whole of the world.  Perhaps better said, it’s an outlook on all of life.  As a culture views life, they then produce art and institutions and structures and everything that reflect that view.  That’s when I realized that perhaps my use of the word worldview was not necessarily improper but incomplete.  A worldview is not a strategy or even a set of guidelines upon which to build a society.  Instead, it is to be based on deep spiritual character and the character of our lives.  And that character comes only from spiritual growth.  So, what does the Institute for Reformation actually do then?  IFR is not, therefore, teaching government or law in Belarus or Ukraine from a Biblical perspective.  We are helping to nurture the spiritual lives of people groups in Eastern Europe who have been oppressed for decades.  We seek to do that in practical and academic ways by teaching specific subjects and how certain institutions or structures might be formed when based on Biblical truths, but our job is not to rebuild those societies.  Our job is to do whatever the Lord leads us to do in order to rebuild the spiritual lives of those people to which we’re sent.  Then, they will deepen and grow in the Lord and He will illuminate for them the principles of His Word and law that apply to the society they seek to restore.  Powerful.

 

I have good news.  My support continues to come in , and I now have a confirmed ticket for travel to Ukraine in three weeks!  It’s so exciting, and I am very grateful for your gifts of prayer on my behalf and funds in support.  As of today, I have raised more than half of what I need overall.  That’s fantastic, and God is good!  I look forward to sharing with you soon that I’ve crossed the goal line.

 

As always, you are a blessing to me and I am humbled by your support.

 

Scott

 

From: Scott B. Walter [mailto:scottbwalter@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2012 9:03 PM
To: 'Scott B. Walter'
Subject: IFR/Ukraine update

 

Hello all,

 

Over the past six weeks, the Holy Spirit has been doing remarkable things at my church.  Every Sunday has seen freshly passionate worship of the Lord, timely and penetrating words from our pastor and other congregants, and testimonies of incredible things the Spirit is doing in people’s lives.  It is remarkable and encouraging, and each week seems to get deeper and deeper!  As I also talk with other people and read various things online, there is no denying that the Lord is bringing revival and doing altogether new things all over our country and in all the nations.  Psalm 46:10 says that the Lord “will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  How can we not then see His hand at work in all that is happening in the world today?  It is exciting!

 

I cannot wait to go to Ukraine in October and see what the Holy Spirit is doing in Eastern Europe in this year and to visit again with our beloved friends from Belarus to hear what is stirring in their churches and ministries.  Can I be candid with you, though?  For the first time in several years, I am having a very difficult time raising support to make this trip possible.  There is a peace that comes from knowing that my calling to this ministry is firm, but it’s only natural in our humanness to get a little anxious.  Would you please commit to praying with me for the necessary funds to come in?  I need about $1500 in the next few weeks, and the God who meets all of our needs will surely provide for this.  I simply would ask that you help me to pray fervently for its completion and even participate if He leads you.  Thank you so much for your continued demonstrations of love and support for me and my family.  We are blessed by you again and again.

 

Yours,

 

Scott

 

From: Scott B. Walter [mailto:scottbwalter@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 8:26 PM
To: 'scottbwalter@gmail.com'
Subject: Institute for Reformation update

 

Hello good friends and family,

 

One of my favorite memories of childhood is gathering around the TV with my family every four years to watch every possible second of the Olympics.  Not only did I enjoy the sports and imagine myself as an athlete, but I was always fascinated by other countries.  I imagined what life in those different lands was like and how different they must be from America and what I knew.  How exotic they all seemed!  The 2012 Olympics kick off in London tomorrow night, and I still haven’t lost that fascination with other countries and other peoples, their cultures, and the mystery of seeing new places.  As I’ve matured, however, I now can count the tremendous blessing of the Lord actually taking me to many countries and giving me an opportunity to see firsthand other peoples and cultures.  Though I always dreamed of traveling to distant places as a child, I really never thought I’d do it!

 

By now, you all know my story and the call I received from the Lord almost ten years ago to be a part of ministry in Eastern Europe (and beyond!).  My first trip was in 2004, and our little group of short-term missionaries teaching biblical worldview has now morphed into a full-fledged ministry as the non-profit Institute for Reformation.  We’ve felt the Lord leading us to concentrate on Belarus for several years now, and the fruit that is ripening there is tremendous.  After many years of planning and work with the beautiful believers in Belarus, we are now at the active planning stage for a Christian university and curriculum development.  The program will have undergraduate and graduate courses in biblical worldview studies with the goal of full accreditation in the next couple of years.  We are so excited to watch our Belarusian brothers and sisters bloom despite severe hardship and persecution.  It is a joy to partner with them in this continued walk.

 

To our great delight this year, however, the Institute for Reformation has been invited to participate in the Eastern European Leadership Forum that is to be held in Kiev, Ukraine, the second week in October.  The forum will be attended by 350 Christian leaders from Belarus, Ukraine, and throughout Eastern Europe.  As taken from their website, “The European Leadership Forum seeks to serve and equip national Christian leaders to renew the biblical church and re-evangelize Europe. The Forum’s strategy to achieve this involves identifying, uniting, mentoring, and resourcing evangelical leaders…”  It is a natural fit for our Institute’s work!  Among the speakers will be Christian leaders, pastors, and academicians from across Europe.  We are quite humbled to be invited to speak as well, and our topics will take us back to the formative days of the Institute’s work in Eastern Europe.  We will be presenting seminars and a workshop on: 1) Homeschooling; 2) Christian Education; and 3) Reformational Worldview.  Very exciting stuff!

 

We are beginning to prepare now for the trip, and there is much to be done.  Would you please partner with me in prayer for this opportunity?  My primary prayer request as always is for my family while I’m away.  They need the Lord’s Hand and protection as I travel.  I would also appreciate your prayers for financial support of two thousand dollars, logistics, spiritual insight, and the Lord’s clear direction in our preparation.

 

Before I close, I wanted to share something that struck me as I find out about the invitation to Ukraine this fall.  The last time I was in Ukraine was Election Day, 2008.  Our Ukrainian friends were so eager to know our thoughts about the election, the change in leadership in America, and what we thought about President Obama.  Isn’t it now interesting that we’ll be back in Ukraine just a few short weeks before our next election and with an opportunity to share that no matter who is elected to office and what changes our nation undergoes as a result of shifting political winds, the message of the Cross and God’s Word are timeless and our true compass for every single part of our lives!

 

Thank you for your continual love and support,

 

Scott

Bizzaro world

Kiev, Ukraine – Monday, October 8, 2012 – 8:39pm local time

 

Have you ever had one of those experiences where you felt as if you were hovering above the scene, watching yourself, and wondering what is going on?  I just had one of those.  After arising this morning at 3:30 (ugh), Bruce and I have flown to Kiev, Ukraine.  We checked into our hotel, dropped off our luggage, and went out walking a bit to stretch our legs and find someplace to eat.  The hotel staff recommended a place not far from the hotel and said that it had traditional Ukrainian food.  I like that cuisine, so we found it and got a table.  (hint: this is where it starts to get bizarre)  The restaurant is called the Gogol Ukrainian Music Pub and they advertise that they play “jazz, blues, country, and rock ‘n roll”.  There are pictures of Guinness Ale everywhere and advertisements for beer on tap all over.  There is some Russian or Ukrainian pop music playing quite loudly.  One song ends and then I recognize the next song.  It’s You and Me by Lifehouse, song that’s played on mainstream and Christian radio.  Bruce and both kind of cocked and heads, listened, and thought, “Hmm.  That’s kind of cool that they’re playing that here.”  So, we go on talking, that song ends and the next one starts.  It’s Going through the Motions by Matthew West!  “Okay,” I thought, “Lifehouse is one thing, but Matthew West is definitely only a Christian radio type of artist.”  That song was followed by Toby Mac and then a mixture for the next hour of Russian pop and the remainder of Matthew West’s latest album.  Here we are in some traditional style Ukrainian pub in Kiev, Ukraine, and they’re blaring Christian music that I would only typically hear on my local Christian radio station back home.  It was completely bizarre and very cool at the same time!  And the potato and mushrooms dumplings were quite tasty as well.

 

I mentioned that we got up at 3:30 this morning to leave Oxford and head to Kiev.  That ungodly hour brought an end to a wonderful time in Oxford.  Over the course of the two days I had there, Bruce and I covered over twenty-five miles of the city through walks, a great, long Sunday morning run, and a ten-minute bus ride up to C.S. Lewis’ grave and house.  After lunch at the Eagle and Child Pub on Saturday, we visited the old stone church that has been converted into the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies where Bruce is doing his doctoral work and made our way back to Christ Church College Cathedral for the Evensong service.  The church is an Anglican church, and they did the full liturgical service with Scripture sung by the all-male (mostly boys) choir, readings, congregation responses, and the like.  It was fascinating.

 

The next morning, we got up early and did a ten-mile run together around Christ Church Meadow and Port Meadow, along the River Thames (much more narrow and shallow in Oxford than in London!), and through parts of town before getting cleaned up and going to St Aldates Church for worship and to here Ravi Zacharias.  What a wonderfully, humble and obviously brilliant man.  He spoke 90mph, but I could have listened to him for hours.  My only disappointment was that he never once opened the Word during the sermon.  This week is the first week of the term for Oxford colleges, and it was Student Sunday at the Church.  The intention was for him to address them and speak in a more apologetic vein, but I was still a little disappointed.  Nonetheless, hearing him in person was an absolute treat!  In the evening, I asked if we could try one of the Catholic churches as I’ve never been to a mass before and was curious.  We went to the Evensong service at St. Aloysius Church.  This one also had an all-male choir who sang the Scriptures.  There were some congregation responses but not direct readings.  Everything was sung…in Latin!  Much of the terminology and even some of the Scriptures and prayers were the same as the Anglican church but much more “woe is me; reach down to me God” than “great are you Lord and I am blessed because of you.”  Again, fascinating to watch and compare.

 

Tomorrow, we get started in Kiev.  We’ll be meeting our Belarusian friends who are also here for the conference and gathering with other participants.  The conference kicks off on Wednesday, and we’ll be doing a couple of sessions on Christian education and homeschooling.  You can see more about the European Leadership Forum and this conference at www.euroleadership.org and www.forumeast.eu.  There will be 300+ people here from all over Europe with some heavy hitters in Christian leadership and academics.  Just pray that God will use us to deliver the message He wants delivered, and we’ll see what it goes!

 

More to come…

Off we go!

Oxford, United Kingdom – Saturday, October 6, 2012 – 7:26 pm local time

 

What a day!  I’ve just arrived back in my room after attending a beautiful Evensong Service at Christ Church College Cathedral, complete with choir and the whole lot.  An hour of scriptures and hymns.  What a wonderful way to close a wonderful day.  I arrived in London a little later than scheduled this morning after some flight delays but made it to Oxford without a hitch.  I took a very comfortable coach bus from the airport and was here in the city within an hour.  Bruce, my ministry partner who’s studying here at Oxford, met me on High Street.  We carried my luggage back to the room and then spent the better part of four hours walking around the city.  It is absolutely stunning here and just what you think it would look like when you think “academic, old Oxford”.  Lots of stone buildings, green English gardens, and cobblestone streets.  It’s remarkable to see all the different colleges whose very foundations were Christianity—Christ Church College, Corpus Christi College, Jesus College, Magdalen College.  There are 38 colleges in all that make up Oxford University.  The oldest date back to the 1200s!  We went up in the highest church tower in the city to look at the view from the top.  We walked through the courtyard of the world famous Bodleian Library.  We walked through Oxford University Park.  We even ate lunch at the Eagle and Child Pub, the “Bird and Baby”, where C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and their university friends/fellow professors met every Tuesday as “the Inklings” to discuss literature from the early 1930s through 1949.  That was a special treat!  It’s amazing to walk around Oxford and think of the notable people that have studied here over the centuries.  It was equally gratifying to walk in that little pub and see the very corner where men like Lewis and Tolkien met to eat and drink.  Very, very cool!

 

Tomorrow, I will be attending St. Aldates Church where Bruce attends when he’s in residence here at Oxford and where Ravi Zacharias will be the guest speaker for the morning.  That should be very uplifting.  It’s so very intriguing to me to be in such an academic setting that is producing some of the serious neo-atheists of our day and the most anti-Christian scientists and philosophers yet those who study and teach at colleges that were very obviously founded in Christianity and in most ways haven’t turned from that.  What a world!

 

I am so thankful for you who continually lift me and my family up in prayer.  The week ahead will be a tiring one as we travel to Ukraine and participate in the Eastern European Leadership Forum in Kiev and for Karen as she balances five children and the demands of homeschooling and keeping the house by herself.  My financial support came in in full two days before I left, so I know that God is answering prayers for this trip!  I trust that He will continue to do so!

 

More to come…

IFR/Ukraine update

I love to read.  I don’t have nearly the time to devote to reading that I’d like, but I really like to find a good book and dig into it.  A men’s breakfast group I belong to is currently going through Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey.  (If you’ve not read this book yet, I highly recommend it.)  The subtitle is Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity, and that is both a remarkable assessment and goal.  The gist of the book is that our unbelieving culture has succeeded in separating Christianity from “truth” and pigeon-holed religious belief as distinct from rational thought.  The discussion then becomes how do we as believers embrace once more a comprehensive Biblical worldview and once more make Christianity relevant to a spiritually dying culture.  It even goes so far as to say that many of the traditional witnessing and missions strategies of the past aren’t effective anymore because many (most?) people don’t even accept that there is A Truth based upon The God of the universe, let alone see a need for personal redemption from sin.  Very compelling stuff.

 

As I was re-reading parts of the book today, I began to think about it in the context of the work in which I’ve been able to participate in Eastern Europe.  In particular, the word ‘worldview’ was swirling around in my head.  I’ve used that term innumerable times in my emails to you and conversations around this ministry.  “We teach the Biblical worldview of government, economics, education, etc.”  Today, though, I had a different thought.  A worldview is, by definition, a comprehensive way of viewing the whole of the world.  Perhaps better said, it’s an outlook on all of life.  As a culture views life, they then produce art and institutions and structures and everything that reflect that view.  That’s when I realized that perhaps my use of the word worldview was not necessarily improper but incomplete.  A worldview is not a strategy or even a set of guidelines upon which to build a society.  Instead, it is to be based on deep spiritual character and the character of our lives.  And that character comes only from spiritual growth.  So, what does the Institute for Reformation actually do then?  IFR is not, therefore, teaching government or law in Belarus or Ukraine from a Biblical perspective.  We are helping to nurture the spiritual lives of people groups in Eastern Europe who have been oppressed for decades.  We seek to do that in practical and academic ways by teaching specific subjects and how certain institutions or structures might be formed when based on Biblical truths, but our job is not to rebuild those societies.  Our job is to do whatever the Lord leads us to do in order to rebuild the spiritual lives of those people to which we’re sent.  Then, they will deepen and grow in the Lord and He will illuminate for them the principles of His Word and law that apply to the society they seek to restore.  Powerful.

 

I have good news.  I now have a confirmed ticket for travel to Ukraine in three weeks!  It’s so exciting!

 

More to come…

Conflicting thoughts

Sunday, November 21, 2010, 7:45am local time – Minsk, Belarus

Sunday morning, time to worship and fellowship.  The heavy lifting of teaching is done, and we’re on the down hill side of the trip.  This is always kind of a bittersweet time for me, as I realize that my time here is drawing to a close.  I was reading an email from my sweet wife this morning and had such an odd feeling, a twisting argument deep within.  How can I so enjoy being here and doing this work, so live for the opportunities to walk in this part of my calling, and yet miss my family and want to be home with them?  It’s such a dilemma.  People have often asked me if I could see myself here on a long-term basis, even living here.  I’ve always answered ‘no’ and still feel that way.  God is not calling me to be a full-time missionary.  And the same time, I feel like I could do this, in this short-term model, every month.  Then, there is this fact that I think of my family constantly and long to be home with them.  I can’t imagine being apart from them on a regular basis, and I’m eager to be home soon.  It’s an interesting dilemma that I’m sure people who have served on the mission field or in ministry for much longer than I have wrestle with.  More to come…

Heroes

Friday, November 18, 2010, 7:15pm local time – Minsk, Belarus

I talked to a hero today.  Very rarely does one have the opportunity to meet a true hero, to talk to one face-to-face, and see the spirit in their eyes.  Today was such a day for me.

Picture yourself at 18 years old.  You’re a rising star on the junior national soccer team and known by many across the nation.  Unlike most of your friends, you have the ability and occasion to travel widely and enjoy the perks that come with semi-celebrity.  Your story hardly ends there, however.  During this time, you become a Christian and begin to drink deeply of the cup of Biblical worldview and discipleship.  This leads in turn to a burning desire to protest the current political situation in your country and lead other youth in these protests and activism to affect changes in religious freedom.  If your country is Belarus, you are now headed for deep trouble.

The person I talked with today has just such a story.  Because of his public profile, his conversion, and subsequent involvement in reformational political activism, the authorities were infuriated.  He was arrested numerous times and his belongings were searched and seized.  He was summarily dismissed from the state university and stripped of his athletic position.  These intrusions and arrests were accompanied by beatings so severe that he was hospitalized on more than one occasion.  As a final insult and an attempt to bring him fully to heel, the state forcibly conscripted him into the army and  stationed him in a remote outpost reserved for troublemakers and those soldiers needing severe discipline.

That might be enough to break one’s spirit, wouldn’t it?  It certainly might break mine.  This hero didn’t break, though.  Even from his military isolation—which once again included beatings so debilitating they required hospitalization—he wrote of his faith and his vision for a free country built on Biblical models for law and respect for human rights.

If anyone has earned the hero moniker, it is he.  He endured and even thrived under repression as he kept his eyes on the hills from where he knew his Help came.  He is out of the army now, but bears permanent physical scars as a reminder of his dissent.  He continues to struggle with the government and their perpetual harassment.  Yet he eagerly involves himself in this reformation movement and seeks to learn so that he can more effectively lead in the future.  It is an amazing and humbling story.  Did I mention that this man, this hero, is still in his very early 20s?  He is quiet and unassuming with an unnerving shyness that belies his inner strength and conviction.  He is a miracle and gift of God to his nation.  I talked to a hero today.  …and, oh yeah, my teaching on economics went fine, too.  More to come…

Themes

Friday, November 18, 2010, 3:13pm local time – Minsk, Belarus

Each time our teams travel to Belarus and Eastern Europe, the Lord seems to give us a theme.  It’s not something we ever purposefully seek or collectively talk about.  It just tends to be something that emerges within a short time of arriving.  Last night after we arrived and I pitched my hammock at the hotel (see previous post), we attended a prayer meeting at the church of our regular partners.  It was a time of worship and prayer and similar to those meetings we’ve attended upon arriving for the past several trips.  The pastor invited us to feel free to share any word from the Lord that we felt we were given during worship.  I am not typically one who receives a direct communication from the Lord in situations like these, but the worship was just so good that I couldn’t help get lost in it.  I was worshipping and praying when I was drawn to Psalm 116:7.  Be at rest, o my soul.  For the Lord has been good to you.  This short verse was such an encouragement to me!  I had been struggling still with my teaching time, what to cover, if I was truly prepared, etc.  The verse and others that came along with it and were referenced in the footnotes of my Bible just crystalized things for me.  The fantastic thing, though, was that the Lord was speaking similar things to the rest of our team and other members of the church that were in attendance.  Within the space of 45 minutes, several people spoke words of encouragement and exhortation that God was providing a paternal covering to the people of Belarus and that they can be at peace as they continue in their spiritual and political struggles.  The final word was from a women who encouraged the church here to provide a covering for the needy in society in a tangible way through meeting their physical needs.  My heart absolutely leapt, because that was the theme that I felt the Lord gave me for my economics teaching just before we left home to travel here!

My writings here can never capture the experience our team has as we travel and minister here.  Reading back over this post, I can easily see that I have failed to communicate what I really intend with this post.  Rest assured that your prayers for us are being effective, and that God is already moving.  We’ve been here only 24 hours now, and He is revealing His message for this people at this time.  I’m up to teach in a couple of hours.  I’ll let you know how it goes.  More to come…

Camping

Friday, November 18, 2010, 08:11am local time – Minsk, Belarus

Part of the thrill of travel is trying new things.  Always one for a travel adventure, I had a brand new experience here in Belarus last night.  I went camping for the first time.  After so many hours of travel and activities our first afternoon here, my team and I were ready to turn in for some sleep before starting the heavy lifting of teaching this weekend.  Things were to be a little different this trip, though.  My bed was a hammock last night.  With enough blankets, I figured I wouldn’t be too cold, and I was sleepy enough that any old bed would have been sufficient.  So, I folded myself in thirds, tucked the blankets up under my chin to keep out the Minsk late November cold, selected a position that in which I thought I could be comfortably locked for about seven hours—I certainly wasn’t going to be turning from side to side in a hammock—and slipped quietly off into the land of hazy dreams and magical refreshment as crickets chirped happily outside.

My alarm chirped at 7:00 this morning, and I awoke to realize that I was in fact in a hotel room and my hammock was in fact a cot.  You see, when we checked into the hotel yesterday afternoon our reservation had been messed up.  Instead of a double room and two singles, they had listed us as needing two doubles…and no other rooms were available.  When you have three guys and a single women on the team, that obviously isn’t going work out comfortably for everyone in any combination.  It ended up with we three guys bunking up in one room with an extra cot for the lucky third occupant.  In reality, the cot was plenty comfortable, a little saggy perhaps, but comfortable.  I slept solidly all night and awoke with my back intact and functioning fully this morning.

 

Even getting back to the hotel from the prayer meeting last night was an adventure as our car battery died while on the main ring road (like our interstates).  We waited for a while in the dark and cold for another ride but everyone was comfortable and the conversation was wonderful.  Really, any journey is bound to turn into an adventure when you’re going where the Lord sends you, especially when it’s eastern Europe!  (The prayer meeting was absolutely wonderful, and I have much to share about it.)  More to come…

Not a self portrait…

Wednesday, November 17, 2010, 7:24am local time - Virginia Beach, Virginia

I suppose one is comfortable traveling to a somewhat hostile foreign land when the thing you’re most concerned with is the security screening at the airport!  I leave today for another trip to Belarus, and I’m very excited at what the Lord has in store.  We will be putting up some framing on the foundations that we’ve laying over the past few years.  Going to Belarus is always a bit of the adventure, but I really am not nervous about it.  I’m not nervous about airport security either.  That’s just about the only thing that I’ve thought twice about.  I am so eager to get back in the game overseas!  Remind me to tell you about the t-shirt I might have to get.  More to come…

Home

About 15,000 feet above and west of Vienna – Wednesday, November 4, 2009 – 11:31am local time

I’m on my way home.  It’s been another wonderful time in eastern Europe with effective ministry and work, and I can’t believe that God has called me to a work so special.  What a blessing and privilege.

 

The day in Vienna dawned cold but dry and clear.  After the wetness of yesterday, I was disappointed.  By the time we took off from Vienna a short time ago, however, the rain had returned.  Not much of a better chance for photography today than yesterday.

 

A couple of weeks ago, I started feeling an urge from the Holy Spirit that some changes were coming my way.  I’m not sure if those will be vocational, educational, or something entirely different.  There continues to be upheaval at work, and I’m not convinced the general health of my employer is solid.  Perhaps it’s time to make a change there.  Then, there’s the educational front.  A couple of years ago, while traveling to eastern Europe as a part of our team, a professor told me about a doctoral program in Vienna.  The program is research based, would be self-directed, would not require full-time residency in Vienna, and would be fairly brief in comparison to many other programs.  I’ve had that in the back of my mind since that time, and I wanted to come to Vienna to pray about these changes I feel are coming.  So, yesterday, while walking the streets of the charming city, I spent some time in prayer.  Every so often, I would talk to the Lord, just thanking Him for His goodness, praising Him for His greatness, and asking Him for direction about my future and that of my family.  It made my time in Vienna special, to be sure.

 

So, did I hear from Him?  Yes and no.  No, I did not get a clear answer to my current struggles with my job and immediate direction.  That will have to wait, I guess.  I did get an answer, though, on something I need to do immediately as I seek His direction.  At one point as I was walking, the Lord did speak to me that I need to seek Him more on a daily basis.  I’m not to seek His direction right now as much as I am to seek Him right now.  To really know Him is the highest and best calling I can have anyway.

 

I’m now heading home—home to my family, home to my job, home to everything I know and love.  If I can also really seek Him and know Him more there, I will be even closer to my true home—His will—than I can ever imagine.  Thanks for traveling with me this last week.

 

More to come…

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain

Vienna, Austria – Tuesday, November 3, 2009 – 8:40am local time

…unfortunately, in Austria, it falls mainly on me!  Yep.  Rain, sleet, snow, any other form of precipitation has been falling since last night!  I’m going to breakfast and then out to brave the downfall.  As long as it’s not too rainy wet, I should be fine.  Not sure about pictures, though…

 

The snow was more expected in Minsk, but all we got there was cold.  Very cold!  When we left our hotel on Monday morning, it was 20 degrees outside.  It was also deep into the 20s most evenings and during our late night walks.  I enjoyed it, though.  We never had to be outside for more than an hour or so at a time, and it just contributes to the overall atmosphere of the city.

 

More to come…

Moving on

Vienna, Austria – Monday, November 2, 2009 - 8:56pm local time

It’s Monday night, and I’m now in one of my favorite places in the world—Vienna!  Austria was the first place I ever traveled overseas—on my honeymoon—and I love being here.  There is something so special to me about Austria and Vienna that I can’t really explain.

 

I arrived earlier tonight from Minsk and determinedly took the train into the city center.  Then, I stealthily checked my map, got my bearings, and did my very best don’t-look-like-a-tourist tourist walk…a mile in the wrong direction.  I finally righted myself and made my way back to my room for the night.  I’m staying in the most interesting place.  The Deutscher Orden Guesthouse is attached to a Catholic order/convent a literal stone’s throw from Stephansdom, the huge cathedral that marks the center of old Vienna.  The cathedral is the heart of Vienna is many ways, not just geographically, and I can hear the bells from my room. The room is great, even better than the hotel I just checked out of in Minsk, with a private bath and full breakfast included.  I can’t wait to do some exploring and picture-taking tomorrow.  That is, if it stops raining.  The forecast is for rain tonight and snow tomorrow.  Great for touristing.

 

We finished our time in Minsk with with some great experiences.  Our team visited Smargon, a small city near the Lithuanian border on Sunday morning.  There is a Calvinist church there dating from the 16th century.   It was a Calvinist Protestant church, then a Catholic church, then an Orthodox church, then a warehouse during the Soviet times.  Now it’s a Catholic church once more.  The exterior architecture was fairly standard, very simple Calvinist style with hardly any decorations and simple curves and lines.  Inside, though, it was completely different.  The church is a functioning Catholic church, so there was an altar and stations of the cross.  However, the most incredible thing was the ceiling.  From the outside the building disguised a huge interior rotunda that rose approximately 75 feet to its peak.  There were a variety of paintings around the circumference that depicted the life of Christ.  The style was unlike anything I had eve seen!  The type of art and the colors reminded me so much of American southwestern or American Indian artwork.  It was fascinating, and I’ve never seen anything quite like it in eastern Europe, certainly not in Belarus!  I only wish I could have taken pictures inside.

 

From Smargon, we drove the Zalesse to visit Auginsky’s palace.  Auginsky was an early 19th century Belarusian composer who did much to try and restore the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Belarus’ historical boundaries and political alliances.  Auginsky was a personal friend of Napoleon and Tsar Alexander, so his property was quite the impressive place in his time.   It is fairly well preserved now with a the main palace, stables, chapel, and summer theater building still intact.  A river and woods run through the property, and it was beautiful.  We had an enjoyable visit and a great narrative from our friend A, a professional historian.

 

We closed our Sunday and our time in Belarus as we usually do.  Security reasons keep me from giving any details, but those of you who have supported me these years know what I’m referring to.  If not, please ask me.  I’d love to tell you about it privately.  It’s a powerful story!

 

I’m eager to tell you about one of the reasons I chose to spend a day in Vienna on the way home.  Pray for me and the Lord’s direction for my family, would you?

 

More to come…

Vienna

Vienna, Austria – Tuesday, November 3, 2009 – 6:07pm local time

I’ve had really a very enjoyable time here in Vienna today, the weather notwithstanding.  There were a couple of disappointments.  First, I had planned to go by train or bus 30 miles away to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.  Vienna and Bratislava are the closest capital cities in the world, and I wanted the chance to tick another country off the list.  The bad weather here was worse in Bratislava, so I decided to skip it this time around.  Ah well, maybe next time.

 

The bigger disappointment was not being able to take my camera out as I walked around the city for seven hours today.  All the wet weather would have made it virtually impossible to get any picturesque shots, and I really didn’t feel like fooling with keeping the lens dry and free of water drops or snow flakes all day.  So, I had to content myself with my cellphone camera.  That means you get to look at shots like this:

Not terrible, but the Vienna Visitor’s Bureau is certainly not going to be chasing me through the airport to get a copy before I fly away.

 

I got to see a little of the Spanish Riding School and snapped one of the famous Lipizzaner as he poked his head out of the stable to catch a flake or two.  I thought of my mom, as she’s always wanted to see them.

 

Whenever I travel, I love to look inside any old church I come across, be it Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, whatever.  There are more than a few of those in Vienna, so I’ve been to many an altar today.  Fascinating!  The Capuchin Church here was probably my favorite today.  As purposefully simple in design as it can possibly be, I almost walked right past it.  It is very simple and very small, but almost all the rulers of the Hapsburg dynasty are buried (en-crypted?) there.  A Mass was in progress, and I stood and watched and listened for 15 or 20 minutes.  The general emptiness of much of Catholicism aside, such peace.

 

Most people think of Mozart when they think of Vienna.  I saw his house today.  Did you know that also he stayed one time at this very guesthouse where I’m staying?  Maybe we shared a room.  Probably not.  I also saw a house today where Beethoven lived for many years.  Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin.  That’s Vienna to me.  Forget Freud!

 

Home tomorrow.  I can’t wait to see my wife and children.  This has been a short trip compared to some others I done, but I’m ready to be home.  Thanks for your prayers along the way.  They’ve affected much.  Before I put the wraps on the blog for this fall trip, I’ll post about why I chose to spend a day in Vienna.

 

More to come…

We are tourists, right?

Minsk, Belarus – Saturday, October 31, 2009 – 10:08am local time

Over all the times I’ve been here in Minsk, one of my favorites things has become the late-night walks.  One of my teammates and I have gotten into a routine of finishing out each day by walking around the city, talking over the day’s events, and just digesting everything together.  I love the camaraderie, I love the exercise, and I love the brisk, cold night air.

Minsk is really an interesting city with an attraction of its own.  It most definitely has that staid, oppressive Soviet feel with blocks and blocks of big, heavy buildings.  Oceans of concrete must have been poured to re-build the city after WWII.  Yet, there is a character.  All cities have a feel and a character of their own, and in Minsk it feels like a struggling teenager—so proud to have its own identity and thoughts, growing up, maturing, while at the same time living under the shadow of its older brother who every once a while steps in to smack it on the head to remind it who’s boss.

Last night, about 10:15, we walked along the river and into the city center.  It was about 30 degrees, and the cold air stung our ears and faces.  But, we had a great time of talking about the day, assessing our work, and discussing plans, philosophy, and theology (I know.  You wish you were with us for that part.  Admit it!).  It was a rich time.  These walks I’ve come to treasure as experiences God gives me to learn much.  I learn about myself.  I learn about my teammate.  I learn about the Lord and His plans.  In the midst of our going and our serving, our teaching and our mentoring, God is always teaching us about His Kingdom.  It can be a difficult but so rewarding place to be.

 

More to come…

Peace continued…

Minsk, Belarus – Saturday, October 31, 2009, 7:32am local time

…picking up from where I left off…

 

I had spent my time in preparation for my lecture on biblical economics focusing on an overview of the subject…and trying to cram 50 pounds of potatoes into a 20 pound sack.  How can I possibly cover the topic of biblical economics in short time, including translation?!  Nevertheless, I was set to talk about the ideas of God’s ownership of all, the dominion mandate, scarcity, private property, division of labor, etc.  Then, Thursday night, after the praise and prayer service, I accidentally left my notes at the church when the team went back to our hotel.  I realized it about 10:30pm.  I fretted for about a second, and then it was as if the Lord tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Why don’t you let me take this one?  Peace is not just for you.”  You can hardly imagine the relief and release that came.  The mighty hand of Providence was steering my ship of thought!

 

So, on Friday, after I was re-united with my carefully planned out notes, I figuratively threw them out and stepped before these people that I've come to love so much.  I greeted them and tried to express a little just how much being among them is a blessing and honor for me and our team.  Then, I simply tried to bring peace and encouragement.  Romans 8:19 says, “Creation eagerly awaits the revealing of God’s children.”  Can you imagine?  All those people shuffling down the sidewalks of our towns.  All those politicians from both sides of the aisle that frustrate us to exasperation.  All those Hollywood celebrities who produce the culture-shrinking drivel that passes as entertainment.  All those churches that are shriveling and dying from the spiritual dryness that has invaded them…or that they’ve embraced out of a desire to escape from the world.  All of creation is just waiting for us to reveal to them the Lord’s plan for their lives in all areas.  Economics isn’t some arcane field of science that people can’t understand or hope to grasp.  It is the every day.  How do I feed my family today?  Why do I get up early and go to work again and again?  What is the purpose of these giftings and abilities I think I have?  Why does there never seem to be enough of this resource to meet society’s needs?  That is economics and God gives believers the keys to understanding.  He also gives the ability to rise above the muck of this world when we follows His principles.  Economics is simply another way to show the love of Christ and bring peace by restoring man to right relationship with God.

 

Boy, did I learn a lot yesterday.  I wonder what today will bring!  After all, this corner of God’s creation is eagerly awaiting the revealing of God’s children.

 

More to come…

My peace I give to you

Minsk, Belarus – Friday, October 30, 2009 – 10:43am local time

It’s an interesting thing that happens when you attempt to really discern the will of the Lord and try to walk it out. Prior to my departure, a few people asked me how they could pray for me and my family while I was away. As I thought about it initially, the word that kept coming to me was ‘peace.’ When peace reigns at home, my children are calm and my wife can function each day. I can leave in peace knowing that Lord is taking care of my family. So, I responded that way to the people that asked.

We arrived yesterday afternoon and then attended a worship and prayer service last night. While at that service, I really felt the Lord impressing upon me this idea of peace, and He began to expand it in my mind to go so far beyond my concept of peace for my home and peace of mind for myself as I was away. Our team makes these trips out of a sense of call. And that call is not just to bring a message of some sort but to serve. Last night, the Lord showed me that my service this time is to be an instrument of peace here.

It has been a really tumultuous year back home in the States. In many aspects of public and societal life, Americans have been struggling. There is a real lack of peace and a real sense of tension. I arrived here yesterday, and began to feel the same is true of the believers here. Imagine if you can, a society that lived under a brutal and repressive system for 70+ years. Falsehood after falsehood was piled upon them until they simply broke. There was no hope in daily life. No hope that a change would be possible. Then, to everyone’s shock and amazement, the powers that had been in place all those decades went away overnight. “Freedom” rushed to fill the void and the people caught the faintest glimmer of hope for the first time in their lives. Now, fifteen years later, much of that promise and hope for a brighter future has not materialized. Economically, they haven’t succeeded as they thought they might. Politically, they don’t have the freedoms of most other nations and can’t choose their representative leadership. Spiritually, believers are repressed and consigned to the fringes as ‘sects’ and ‘cults.’ No wonder there is a little anxiousness and a lack of peace here!

…interrupted by the day… More to come…

We're here!

Minsk, Belarus – Thursday, October 29, 2009 – 3:53pm local time

 

We made to Belarus without a hitch.  All of our luggage arrived with us this time (it helps to only have carry-on luggage!), and all us got good rest on the flights over.  Our good friends B and V were there to meet us at the airport as usual, and it wonderful to be with them once more.

 

After a bit of rest this afternoon, we’ll jump right into things.  I’m looking forward to seeing all of our friends here tonight and being a part of a great worship and prayer time to kick things off.  Good to be back!  More to come…

 

We’re here

Minsk, Belarus – Thursday, October 29, 2009 – 3:53pm local time

We made to Belarus without a hitch.  All of our luggage arrived with us this time (it helps to only have carry-on luggage!), and all us got good rest on the flights over.  Our good friends B and V were there to meet us at the airport as usual, and it wonderful to be with them once more.

 

After a bit of rest this afternoon, we’ll jump right into things.  I’m looking forward to seeing all of our friends here tonight and being a part of a great worship and prayer time to kick things off.  Good to be back!  More to come…

Hard to believe…again

He will post watchmen once more on the crumbled walls…

I’m sitting alone at my kitchen table this morning.  It’s still dark outside, and everyone else in the house is mercifully still sleeping.  I didn’t have to get up early today—no work today for me—but I decided to anyway.  Today is a big day, you see.  Once more, I’m suiting up and getting into the pitched battle that is eastern Europe.  Time for the annual fall trip “over there.”  Because of what has transpired both here and there over the course of this year, I have to be even more cautious than before about identifying where I’m going and who I’m going with.  Those of you who have been such faithful supporters and friends know, though, and  continue to be amazed by the Lord’s grace and your generosity in enabling me to continue in this work.

 

Please pray for our safe travels today.  One of our team members will take his wife to surgery this morning for a broken elbow…and then scurry to the airport to join the team while his wife is tended to by friends and family.  Another team member has a son with a suspected touch of a mild strain of Swine Flu.  A third team member has never been to eastern Europe and is in for shock, I’m sure.  Then there’s me.  God has protected me and my family in the lead-up to today, but you just know that the enemy would love to see that come crumbling down.  I know, though, the my God is more powerful and will overcome!  The word that has been on my heart over the last week of preparation has been ‘peace.’  I ask for your prayers for peace—for our travels, for our friends that we’re going to see and work with, for the country we’ll be visiting, and especially for my family while I’m away.  This will be Karen’s first time with me away when she is juggling four kids (sometimes literally) and homeschooling.  A normal day is a challenge.  My departure, if only for a few days, won’t make that any easier.

 

God continues to do great things, and I look forward to sharing with you what He has knitted together this year.  It’s very exciting.  Let’s talk soon!  More to come…

Love of life

Somewhere over the North Atlantic – Monday, March 9, 2009 – 8:41pm Minsk time

 

Whenever we’re in Belarus, we attend church on Sunday evening.  That leaves the morning free to spend some time with our friends and tour a historical site or two.  This has become our tradition and has taken us to a variety of incredible places like old castles, 10^th century ruins, and churches that are hundreds of years old and significant to the Protestant history of Belarus.  This year, we enjoyed something completely different.  Our friends picked us up at the hotel at 10:00am.  From there—and after I fell flat on my tail on the ice—we drove to the industrial part of Minsk and did a drive-by of some of the primary factories in Minsk.  If Belarus is known for any manufacturing at all, it is known for the manufacture of heavy transportation machinery.  We got to see a Belarus tractor factory.  Belarusian tractors are used all over Europe and Russia, and not a few plow the fields of the U.S., too.  Because of the economic crisis sales have all but stopped, so there tens of finished tractors parked on the factory grounds waiting for buyers.  They are beautiful pieces of machinery, if one can call a tractor beautiful.  Impressive at least.

 

After the factory detour, we drove about 30 minutes west of Minsk to a small town called Rakov.  It rests in what used to be the Polish part of Belarus before WWII.  It was also overtaken by the Germans at various times before the Soviets made it Belarus and a part of the USSR.  In Rakov, Felix Yanuskevich owns and runs his own private museum.  The man was quite the character.  An artist by trade, Felix is a trained painter and ceramicist with a thousand stories to tell about Rakov and the history of the region.  He is also a short barrel of a man who greeted us amidst the snow and ice wearing jeans, a button-up shirt, and a cardigan sweater.  That’s it!  No hat, no gloves, and no jacket, and he never changed to anything else.  His lack of eyebrows or a single hair on his head only made his blue eyes stand out that much more, and his smile could probably light up the entire village.  After vigorous hand pumps all around, he proceeded to spill forth with story after story for four hours, pausing only long enough for some quick translation in English for our benefit.  We could just see his delight at having us there and having someone to listen to his stories.  Felix was born in Rakov in 1954 to a Polish mother and Belarusian father.  He has four brothers, one of whom is a sculptor who has pieces of art in galleries throughout Europe.  Felix himself has paintings in a gallery in St. Petersburg, Russia, and has exhibited throughout Europe over the years.  His real love is Rakov, though, and he decided several years ago to take it on himself to preserve the cultural history of the area via a private museum.  We started outside and laughed as he showed us ancient clubs and sticks used by husbands of the time to “keep their wives in submission, but only on Thursdays.”  We saw boxes for keeping and transporting gold, old farming implements, military hardware from Napoleon’s troops as they marched through Rakov on the way to Moscow, and myriad pottery with all sorts of uses among other things from the past several hundred years.  Throughout his narration, our Belarusian friends were dying laughing.  Felix’s eyes would twinkle, and we could tell he was thoroughly enjoying our company.  Our interpreter laughingly apologized and said there was no way she could accurately translate everything he said.  He used so many proverbs and innuendos that only a native would understand.  After a couple hours’ tour, he led us into his house where he served us a terrific lunch of homemade village-style food.  We had potatoes (of course), locally smoked meat, cheese, bread, cabbage salads, meat crepes, and the most delicious fresh cottage cheese with fruit jam that you could ever find.  Other than the homemade birch tree juice (yes, tree juice), everything was delicious.  Felix barely sat down for a bite before he was jumping up to serve us something else and encourage us to eat all we could because we’d “never eat food like this again.”  He was probably right, in one way or another!  J

 

We left after another hour or two in mid-afternoon with full bellies and giant smiles.  It was a refreshing change of pace from the academic seminars, and we got to experience real Belarusian culture outside the capital city.  Felix was a delight with a real love for life.  We couldn’t tell what sort of faith he had.  There was a lot of Catholic imagery in his art, but he talked a lot about the pagan history of the region.  Then again, he insisted that we pray before sitting down to lunch.  Who knows!  I do know this, though.  He loved life, and his passion about his life was contagious.  It made me think about the whole of the experience in Belarus this time.  We in the west would look at the culture of Belarusians and the daily life of the believers there, and wonder how we could be satisfied in that context.  We probably couldn’t because we’ve grown comfortable in material wealth.  If you know me at all, you know that I love my technology and American heritage, and I’m in no way saying that we should give that up to be happier or in right standing with the Lord.  But, if there’s one thing that the Lord has been impressing on my spirit this week, it’s that this current crisis is being used by Him to strip away the “fluff” in the lives of believers.  He wants to ground us back in Him and to truly value what He values.  The believers in Belarus aren’t perfect to be sure.  They fall and struggle as we do, as any human does.  They have something we often lack, though.  They are content and take shelter under the wing of the Lord.  They are working hard to change their country and to realize true freedom and godly prosperity.  While they work, though, they rest on the fellowship of believers and the Lord’s provision.  We in America would do well to do a little more of the same.  As evangelicals, maybe we’ve grown a little too comfortable with our programs, our church formulas, and our daily comforts.  Could we give them up if God called us to or if He stripped them away?  Would I give them up if He simply asked me to?  These trips are always time to deepen my faith and serve others in a context where I don’t normally operate.  This time, I come away having felt the great love of God and seeing in a new way the great love of life we can have when centered directly in His will, no matter our setting or circumstance.  Thanks, Felix!

 

More to come.

 

Scott