Devotionals
As some of you know, we’re facing some hard times over here these days (in Russia, inspections and investigations; in Belarus, upheaval and difficulty; financial shortfalls everywhere). I sent an email to our team and thought I’d share it with you – ———– Recently I’ve been contemplating Hebrews chapter 12 and want to share a [...]
Ten years ago, I left the U.S. on November 2 and arrived in Russia on November 3. I did not know how long I would be in Russia. All I knew is that I was to be part of a team to start a Russian charity (now known as MIR) and help run it for [...]
This was recently posted by friends of our, Charlie and Miki Chastain. I’ve known Luba for many years. She faithfully serves women in prison in Ryazan (in picture below). I was a schoolteacher of history and a strong atheist. I taught my students that the religion had been a deception and that exploiters had devised [...]
A friend recently sent this. It expresses well our attitude towards service: True Service In his classic book Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster devotes a chapter to the discipline of service, modeled after the radical example of Jesus. In the following excerpt, he contrasts a self-serving version of service with God’s version, urging us to [...]
Yesterday I had to run some errands down town, and decided to walk part of the way back home. Just before the New Year we had a record snow fall since 1881, so much that the city almost came to a full stop for a few days. Things are a little better now, but it [...]
Here is the story of a young woman from our church in St. Petersburg, Street Cry: I am presently 26 years old. I come from Novorossiysk – a port on the Black Sea, but I have lived and traveled all over Russia. Together with my brother, I grew up in a family where our father [...]
This was recently posted by some friends, Matt and Hope Hunt, who are currently in Morocco – —————– U2 was in Morocco last year to write some of their newest album and here is a music video that was shot here in the city where we’re studying Arabic. I couldn’t help but see the symbolism. [...]
This is from Liz Hulley, a friend and co-worker here in St. Pete. She has a great blog; I encourage you to visit it. ——— Who likes to get up on a cold, dark morning? Not me…although in the summer I would probably find another excuse. But as I was going about my morning routine, [...]
Here is another encouraging post from Liz Hulley, a Stoneworks missionary in St. Petersburg – —————————– Looking back at previous blog posts, I noticed that I often post something from Oswald Chambers in October. I wonder why that is. Perhaps the autumn brings about a kind of desperation that makes me reach for something uplifting. [...]
A friend recently sent this to me. Her marriage just about fell apart, but at the last minute she and her husband agreed to reconcile: I had been thinking recently about the past two years and all the pain I have been through. I started feeling sorry for myself and a little angry at the [...]
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