Sunday, June 15, 2008

The Little Things





6.12.08

Today was an exciting day! After looking up several words in our Russian/English dictionary (and writing them on the back of Crystal’s hand..haha), Crystal (one of the missionary’s sister who is visiting for 2 months) and I headed down to the Renock to fend for ourselves. It was so much fun! There were def some laughable moments…but for the most part we did well…trying different foods we were contemplating buying, asking for the amount we wanted, and finding the best deals. After our first success of communicating what we wanted and how much, we did the very American thing to do by giving each other a high five, beaming with the excitements of accomplishment. When we came back to the apartment, carrying our many treasures (almonds, dried Kiwi, apples, raisins, apricots, and plums) Katie gave us a look and asked if we were hungry. We were happy girls :o) It is the little success here that sometimes mean the most :o) To be a part of the culture, to be caught up in the flow of life here is such a great feeling. And it seems like it is coming just in time for me to come home.

6.13.08

The time has come to say goodbye…I can’t believe my four weeks are already over. It will be harder to say goodbye than I had anticipated. When I arrived here a month ago, it was a difficult time for me…I missed my family, I felt every day of my absence very deeply, and I was ready to head home. But God remains faithful and knew that even that was a part of His teaching me the deeper lessons of what it means to follow Him and to yield to His leading. I have been faced with so many emotions and different situations; I have experienced the frustration of a language barrier, the sorrow of watching the lost die, the joy and ache of playing with those who are without parents and rejected by the world, the excitement of working along side the team as God grows the ministry here, the accomplishment of idea gathering and watching the children of the church grasp onto God’s truths, the successes of functioning in a city where I once felt alone and lost, the need to see and touch my family, the peace in knowing that God has placed a desire in my heart for His purposes, an anticipation of waiting for Him to show me, a sadness in saying goodbye. In all of this I saw Jesus, I felt His tears, I looked in His eyes, I touched His face….He was in the laughter and the giggles of the children, He was in the desperation of the homeless, He was in the room of the dieing….I experienced Jesus during this trip like I have never before! Each moment and memory I want to cling to, each face I want etched into my heart and across my mind…I do not want to forget all that He showed me…I do not want to forget all that He spoke to me….I do not want to forget!


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