Lessons from Lambie
Adam took Pasha on an overnight train yesterday to Kiev for a visa trip for Pasha. We're uncertain about how long it could take. It could take a couple of days, or it could be 5, depending on FedEx. When I picked Pasha up from preschool yesterday I discovered he had come down with a cold. I hated to send him off on an "international" trip being sick, but we had no choice. I fed him a good dinner and had packed a few activities and toys for him. Once they left, I found myself continually wanting to message Adam with suggestions or instructions on what to do with Pasha, like, "It's time to try to put Pasha to sleep now." I didn't send that message, but I'm sure I did give a few too many suggestions along the way. All that to say, I realized I was having trouble trusting Adam's parenting, although there is no reason for me to feel like that. I also realized that I needed to entrust Pasha to the Lord's care, since He is the One in control anyway, and can take care of both Adam and Pasha the best.
As I was understanding this, I also came to the realization that I hadn't put Pasha's beloved lovie Lambie in the pile of things to be packed. In horror, I went into the boys' bedroom and found Lambie on Pasha's bed. How could I send Pasha on a multiple night trip without his Lambie?! How would he sleep? Who would comfort him now without me? Never mind that he had just slept at preschool without Lambie that very afternoon. This was different!
I called Adam and told him of my discovery, and of course Adam was disappointed, but we decided that if needed, they could buy a stuffed animal once they arrived in Kiev. They would have to rough it through the night on the train but everything would be fine once they arrived in Kiev, hopefully.
Well, God showed me that He can take care of Pasha's every need, without my help. Later that evening, Adam sent me an SMS with a photo attached of Pasha sleeping with a stuffed animal! He said that in one of the towns where the train stopped, there was a stuffed animal factory, and workers were on the platform selling stuffed animals! Pasha even made Adam buy one for Jon, too. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever guessed that this could happen, even though I have seen workers from factories selling their wares...but it's usually crystal or light fixtures or other things like that.
God is so good to us. I really don't believe that a stuffed animal is what Pasha NEEDED last night, but God still chose to give him one in His mercy, perhaps for Adam's good. What a sweet Heavenly Father. Nothing escapes Him. I hope to trust Him more and more readily as I ponder His goodness and provision for Pasha and Adam on this trip.
Posted May 9, 2008 by Adam and Heather.
Dirty Knees and Clean Hearts
Pasha will be 3 years old on November 18, and Jon will be 17 months old this month. Just yesterday they were at the playground, which was muddy, and the boys were careening off a slide, one on top of the other. Jon likes (to try) to go down standing up! A Russian woman observed the boys, and upon learning that Heather is the boys' mother, she commented that she herself is a nanny, and that Russian mothers don't let their children get dirty on the playground. Heather laughed and told the nanny that if the boys didn't play like this outside, they'd be playing like this inside, launching themselves off the couch! She then had the opportunity to tell this young woman that it didn't concern her how muddy the boys got, but rather how they treated each other. Mud usually washes out in the washing machine, but sin is not as easy to get rid of! Please continue to pray that as Heather gets out with the boys, that they could be a light for Jesus at the playgrounds.
Posted November 10, 2006 by Adam and Heather.
Church Ministry in a Megapolis
As well as continuing to provide direction and leadership for pastor training in nine regions throughout Russia and counting, Adam has been serving on the elder board of our local church, Moscow Bible Church. He is specifically the elder of worship and works to help our worship service be a place where people can actually...worship! Here's the picture: Moscow is becoming more and more cosmopolitan, bringing with it the rabid pace of life that typifies megapolis life. Thankfully, a middle class is emerging, but the cost is a standard 60-hour work week (whether you're a plumber or an executive), making it difficult for professionals to serve in the church as lay leaders. So, as MBC can't (yet!) afford a full-time worship leader, we have 4 different volunteer worship teams who each serve once a month to lead worship, since no one team can commit to lead every Sunday. Adam has been discipling the 4 leaders of the groups in order to bring continuity among the teams, and to unify the philosophy and direction and momentum of worship at MBC.
Moscow Bible Church is a key evangelical church in Russia in the sense that it is a resourcing church. At the conference last August, while speaking with a minister from Belarus, he told Adam that his voice was familiar. When Adam told him he preached sometimes at MBC, he said, "That's it. I download and listen to their sermons each week." The sermons from MBC are downloaded all over the world, and that's only the beginning. The roots from MBC have already grown and sprouted in other places, and I believe will be a continuing and growing resource to the Russian church and beyond.
Posted November 10, 2006 by Adam and Heather.
08-23-2006 Back Home!
05-18-2006 Russian Intern!
05-05-2006 Blessings through Tanya
11-09-2005 What about you?
11-09-2005 Growth inside and out
11-12-2004 Discipleship
