Raise your hand if you love spring? I can't believe it, some of you actually allow your runny noses and watery eyes to dictate your dislike of spring. Shame! I love spring. Taxes are filed (and money is owed!), my birthday (May 1st), my dad's & brothers' birthdays (April 28 & May 13 respectively), flowers, allergies, sunny evenings, seeing Zachary in short sleeves (I get to gnaw on his bear arms), and all things new. Spring rocks. And Easter. The reason for it all. No Easter, no Christmas (it would have been just another kid born in a barn). Know Easter, know Christmas! Did I say I loved spring?
Another reason is because it is time to return to doing what I truly love - being overseas. Not overseas, but being on the pointy end of ministry. There are many pointy ends in Amarillo, but there is something about being away from everything that we depend on, everything that we know and trust, and love and allowing ourselves to find a deeper dependence on God. All the things we do here are more difficult there, so it follows that as we practice faith here, we survive by faith there.
A new year. A new Russia trip. Some new folks, some old-timers. What I see in this team is what I saw last year -a unique group of people that God has great plans for. I have seen the list of kids at the orphanages and there are some names missing, which means there are still parts of my heart that I will never see again. But there are many names I know, and many new names as well. What is truly Godly is that God knows all these names. He knows their struggles & successes. He knows the hair on their heads, their personalities, their dreams and their fears ... and He knows us.
Luke 12:35 tells us to "Be ready and keep your lamps burning." Okay God, make us ready. Light our lamps. Give us the fuel we need, the direction, the leadership, the challenges and the grace and heart to see the orphans as you do. It's a new year in Russia, but thankfully, it's still the same God.
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