Russia- My Journey Thus Far

Moving half way across the world to a country you have only visited once for a short period of time can be a little scary.

However, the Lord truly gave me an excitement to move to Russia. I can't explain it, but knowing that this is exactly where God wants us was the most comforting thought.

The first few days everything was so exciting and new. It was fun!

But then reality settled in.

I started to feel so overwhelmed by everything...

Allow me to explain.

Here are some things I don't take for granted anymore.

Talking to family. Saturday, I wanted to call my sister and family, but couldn't because it was the middle of the night. It was hard to not be able to call them when I wanted to.

Running is one of my favorite things. It's relaxing to get out and go for a run. And I can't just lace up my shoes and go outside to run. I have to put on ten layers of clothes because it's cold. I have to dodge mud (which hasn't been too successful.)  I can't feel my face or hands at times. It's just rough! And this is just the beginning of winter here... 

Then of course there's the language barrier. I can't just run to the store and buy groceries.

I can't drive to the nearest Starbucks and get my favorite iced tall americano with one pump of classic and extra caramel drizzle. (Which by the way is in Moscow 5,000 miles away. Someone told me the distance from LA, California to NYC is closer than Moscow to Krasnoyarsk.) My Starbucks app can locate the nearest Starbucks but when I try pulling it up is says location unknown. Go figure!

And just when I've hit the bottom, Pandora and Netflix don't work in Russia.

Insert sad face. :( 

All of this piled over the last 10 days and just hit me on Sunday.

I couldn't talk with the sweet girls who were playing with my hair and kissing my arm. I couldn't join in the conversation with the adults, so I went in the next room to try and be alone and feel sorry for myself for just a minute and pray. 

Then walked in this sweet little bubbly 3 year old blonde girl, Angelina. She came in and sat down right next to me and started talking. Of course, I couldn't understand her and just smiled. She probably wondered why I wasn't talking back to her. She was the only kid there at the time ( the others were coming later) so she was probably bored sitting at the adult table too. After not being able to find any toys for her to play with, I found the balloons that I had used for Jacob's party. So I blew up a balloon and we played! We laughed and played and her spirits along with mine were lifted!

Insert happy face. :)  

The next hour was the teen and children's church service and she sat down right next to me and wrapped her arm around mine and another little girl, Veka, did the same on my other arm. Angelina told me not to worry that she would teach me Russian. It was like the Lord telling me, that everything was going to be okay and He was going to take care of me. I read in Matthew 6 this morning about "taking no thought of your life but seek ye first the kingdom of God." In other words, Don't worry, God will take care of you! And I sure needed that reminder. 

Matthew 6:33,34

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these thing shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

What a blessing it was that the Lord used Angelina to lift my spirits right when I needed it. And then to again encourage me in my Bible reading this morning. It is so important that I am daily in the Word. I can't do this alone nor am I suppose to! I'm so thankful the Lord has called us here and that He promises to never leave us nor forsake us. 

I truly appreciate the prayers as we adjust to our new home here in Russia! I know it's Satan that wants to discourage me and get my focus off of God and the reason we are here! Please pray that we can find a tutor for me so I can learn the language! 

          Isaiah 26:3,4

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust though in the LORD forever; for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

Stay tuned for more post about life here in Russia! This is just the beginning!  

My two little friends! Angelina is on the left and Veka on the right.  These girls just love on me and it melts my heart! They are so sweet! 

Before it's too late...

As I was out on my morning run, my mind reflected on all that God has done in my life this past year. What an incredible life changing year this has been. Who knew becoming parents to the most adorable little boy would be the highlight of 2012 for us! That little 7 pounds 7 ounces that was placed in my arms on October 31, has changed my life in the best way possible. I would do anything for my son! I would give my life for him in a second without thinking twice. Unconditional love, I believe is what they call that. As a parent, I desire God's best for his life and well being. I never knew my heart could hold such love. I believe I now know a small portion of God's love for His children.

Our finite minds will never know just how much our heavenly Father cares for us. I believe if we did, we would all be much more motivated to give our lives completely to Him. How could One give His only Son to such a wicked world. A world that was created by Him and for Him. I wonder how God could create a beautiful perfect world knowing that one day it would become filled with wickedness. God knew that His very creations would reject Him and yet He still created mankind. (If I were God, I think I would have left mankind out of the equation! What heartache that would have saved Him!) But God still gave each of us life and a chance to choose Him.

As Christmas has come and gone, may we not soon forget the true meaning of it all. God knew that mankind needed a Savior. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" Romans 5:12 Sin had entered into this world. The punishment for our sin is "death" not physical death but a spiritual death- separation from God. "For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 3:23a God can not let sin enter into heaven because heaven is a perfect place. God knew that a perfect spotless sacrifice was required. "...but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 3:23b That gift is the very reason we celebrate Christmas, Jesus Christ. The Bible says that eternal life is through  Jesus Christ our Lord. We can not obtain eternal life through our own good works or through church or through the priest but only through Christ. We are imperfect and nothing we do can take away our sins. That is why we need a Savior to save us from an eternity separated from God. (Insert God's unconditional love for us yet again.)

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16 

A very "familiar" verse to most of the world, but do those who read the reference "John 3:16" really know the truth behind it? I would hope so. Maybe they do but they choose to reject its meaning. They think if they choose to ignore the truth of God's Word that they will be fine. To many the story of Christ birth, crucifixion, burial, and resurrection is nothing more than a nice story or a fable. However, rejecting the truth won't change it. Truth remains true whether you believe it or not. There will come a time when Christ will return to this earth to call His children home. There will be a judgment day where we will give an account for our sins and our life.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Corinthians 5:10


God's gift of salvation and eternal life in heaven is simple. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:9,10,13

First acknowledge your sinful condition and need of a Savior. Next, confess your sins to God and repent. To repent means to turn from your old way of living and to put on a life lived for Christ. Believe  in all that He did for you on the cross of calvary. Put your faith fully and completely in Christ alone to save you. Simply call upon Christ to save you.  

What do you have to lose? Nothing in comparison to what you will gain- eternal life, hope, peace, true joy... Won't you accept His free gift of salvation before it's too late?


May those of us who know Christ as our Lord and Savior live each day for Him. Before it's too late, may we go and make sure thy friend. Our life is but a vapor that appeareth for a little time then vanisheth away. 

It is for this reason we are going to Russia. To spread the gospel of Christ to those who have not heard and give them a chance to accept or reject Christ. Won't you pray with us that God would prepare the hearts of the Russians even now before it's too late.

From the heart,
Amber

Seeing God on the Road

James and I have been on the deputation road now for five months. Time truly has flown! I wanted to share how we have seen God provide for us beyond our imagination since we have stepped out on faith. Living by Faith is the theme of my blog, and it is amazing how God has blessed us. It amazes and humbles me each time God does something for us. I feel so undeserving of His blessings and provisions.

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory..." 

Ephesians 3:20-21a

Before we started deputation, we took a survey trip to Russia (so I could see what I was getting myself into!) We booked our tickets and put them on our credit card. This was certainly a step of faith. I hated having that money sit on our card. So I prayed, that the Lord would provide the money for our trip that month. James didn't know I was praying this way, and about a week later he called me to tell me about this huge blessing. I had a feeling it was our tickets being paid for and it was! A pastor and friend felt the Lord leading him to take care of our tickets, and wrote James a check for the whole amount. I couldn't believe it! I had heard of stories like this happening to other people but never personally witnessed it. This was God reassuring me that going to Russia was indeed His perfect will for our lives and He was going to take care of us. I couldn't help but tearfully praise Him for taking care of us and giving me peace about this new journey.

Before we hit the deputation road, we really needed a new vehicle. We had an Isuzu Rodeo but it had just hit the 200,000 mile mark and we had just found out we were expecting little Jacob. So we began to pray and search. The Lord closed some doors, so we kept on the hunt. We came across a small dealership with two Honda Pilots (what we were wanting). The man was from Ukraine, so James closed the whole deal in Russian, which was pretty neat. The price was a little over what we had wanted to spend, but the Lord allowed us to borrow from some friends what we needed to pay cash for the vehicle. We believed the Lord had provided this car for us, and we could pay it off in a few months. As you know I hate debt, so I began to pray that we could pay this off within two months. Again the Lord amazed us. We had a man in our church who wanted to give us $3,000 towards our car. We were in shock that someone would be such a blessing to us. God's provision again amazed me!

About a month ago now, we were in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee for a week long meeting. James and I were out shopping for some maternity clothes (for me not him :) at consignment stores. Our last stop was a cute boutique called Feather Your Nest. As I was looking I could tell there wasn't a maternity section, but a dress caught my eye. It fit my pregnant self with room to grow (added bonus) so I went to purchase it. The shop owner, Sarah, was so sweet. I was telling her why we were in town and about us being missionaries. As I was paying her, she gave me back the $20 bill I had handed her. I was really confused because all I was suppose to get was cents back. She said it wasn't much but she wanted to help us on our missions journey and raising support. I was speechless and thanked her for being a blessing to us. This was yet another humbling experience for me- that God would show His love to me through this stranger. It was such an encouragement and reminder to me that God loves me more than I can imagine.

About a week ago as James and I were driving up to Alaska, we stopped at a tiny motel for the night. James was talking to the man (the owner) about our trip and why we were driving to Alaska. He shared with him our burden for souls in Russia. He said his church supports a lot of missionaries around the world and would be happy to pray for us. After our nice chat, we headed back to our room to unpack for the night and relax. We heard a knock at the door, and James went to check on it. At the door, his wife stood there with cash in hand and gave it to James. She said your stay is on us tonight, we want to be a blessing, and smiled and walked away. James was in shock, he couldn't believe that a complete stranger would show God's love to us. We just knelt down right there and thanked the Lord for taking care of us. I was really thankful that James got to experience the same kind of kindness from a stranger that I had experienced just a few weeks earlier. It was just amazing to see God provide for us.

There are many more ways the Lord has taken care of us, but these are the stories that I wanted to share. I have to admit before we got started on this journey, I was concerned with how it all would "work" out. From the very beginning, God showed me He was in control and would take care of us. His Word promises He will provide our every need. By the time we started deputation, I was so excited to see how the Lord was going to provide our every need. We don't have a physical home to go home to while we travel, but the Lord has always provided us a place to stay and has met our needs above and beyond. I believe this is only the beginning of things to come!

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:19

May I encourage those of you afraid to step out on faith to simply trust your heavenly Father. He won't call you to a place and then leave you there. He will only bless your faith in Him and take care of you beyond what you could imagine!

" If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?  And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you." 

Luke 12:28-31

The most important decision of faith is that of your eternal destination. If you have never placed your faith in God concerning eternity, may I encourage you to get that settled. God tells us we can know without a doubt where we will spend eternity. We can live a life of peace and comfort with Christ. If you have any questions or want to know more about how to put your faith in Christ, I would be more than happy to share that with you. It's the best decision I ever made!