Russia

Here's a picture of Karelia, a mini missions trip I went with a team.

I landed in Russia March 16th. It's almost been an entire month!

The students at the Bible College are only part time and are on fire for the Lord. There are Indians, Africans, and Russians all gathering together in the name of Jesus.

I really appreciate the Picketts for allowing me to come to their school and give truth to the lives of these people.

There is also a rehab center where some people have accepted Jesus and are trying to grow spiritually as they realize, some for the first time, that they have a purpose in life! I love witnessing to these people as well.

Life out here is great. I love it! My room mate is an awesome God loving person and he is nice company to have!

Lately at school, I've been teaching on the foundation of Christ. A foundation is the basis for which something rests. Therefore, we should rest on Jesus as we build our lives. Also, it is what we put our faith in, so to speak. We trust it to hold our weight and the things we build.

I have been talking to the first year students about how we should get to know the integrity of Jesus because it is He who we base our life off of. If not for Jesus, we couldn't hold our own ground in this world.

4 weeks here and I still believe God wanted me to come here. Some of the students are convinced I'll stay long term. :) God knows about that, but I sure don't.

I have decisions to make this year. Decisions that will dictate the conditions of my life for a while to come. So I have to think seriously and hard about some of them. I must weigh the fruits of those decisions and ultimately decide what God wants me to do. I know He will bless me.

So, I'm not just surviving, I'm thriving! In God's word and in the world of Russia. I can't wait for more of this ministry to unfold. I'm grateful God is using me for His glory.

Jesus is my truth search,

Darren

Searching...

big side note: If you're not looking for something you might not find it. If you become set into a routine day after day you might miss the unexpected thing that would have brightened your day.

I moved from Colorado but I haven't felt settled in yet. Granted most of my stuff is still in my car and that's not helping. I feel like this is the place t be right now so everything's fine there, it's just that I was so use to living a certain way, doing a certain routine that it's still getting to me that I can't go out for coffee with a friend or drop by for a visit and some ice cream.

Even people I wouldn't ordinarily go visit I'm itching to go see. It's strange living in Arkansas. The only friends I have out here are my brother and his wife and honestly, I don't know them that well at all. I guess my mind is searching for some kind of consistency: I've heard we're creatures of habit.

The triplets are adorable and I'm loving every moment with them, even though sometimes I feel at a loss on what to do. I didn't come out here to add stress to my brother's life, you know? :)

Sometimes I wonder what God is up to: I mean in my life personally. I'm trying to go to Russia and everything seems on track there, but that's far away. I am not use to being so goal less in my immediate life. I mean, do I want to be in ministry for the near future? How could I continue about doing that? If so, where to go? Why do I want to join the military? Goodness, I don't like typing so reflectively, it just makes me think of more questions.

There are too many questions to be honest. I can search and sift them the half of them. I felt God pushing me out of the Springs for some reason though. I'm still sure I was given the motivation to leave town. Maybe that was for another's benefit and not mine, lol. I can be annoying at times! Oh my, not very positive thoughts in this post.

I'll end it saying that despite all this, I'm keeping my wits about me. I am not necessarily "looking" for an obvious "Oh, that's why I'm here! God's plan makes sense now." Because there are times when you are an impact on your surroundings and you won't know just yet how important your actions were.

So any-who, Jesus is my everything. I love serving Him my affection and dedication and zeal. I can't get enough of Him, either :) I always have more to say, I just don't like crossing that personal sharing line very often so don't get too used to it! I'll save the more for next year!!! So have a happy and merry and blessed rest of the year of 2010!