Back at it.

Okay, when I started this blog I knew it was going to be a challenge for me to keep it current. I thought if I put pressure on myself by giving the address out to people that I would have better follow through. Well, it's been 7 months since my last post so I don't know what to do about me.

Many of you know the big missions news for me right now is that I'm preparing to go back to Russia for another one-week adventure this August. (12 days total, including travel) This time we will be teaching English classes and through these will be sharing our testimonies of what God has done in our lives as a witness to those attending, most of whom are from a nominal Muslim background.

I'm reading a book right now called "The Missionary Call: Find Your Place in God's Plan for the World." I recommend it to anyone who's given any thought to missions. I like his balanced approach, recognizing that missions is the whole Church's job, but also that there are many legitimate ways to be involved and not everyone is called to go. Even those who are called to go may not be called to spend the rest of their lives doing it. Another thing I really like about it is how he emphasizes the sovereignty of God. People (like me) stress out about finding God's exact will and suffer from the "paralysis of analysis." The author doesn't deny that God has a very specific plan for a person's life but insists that God is completely capable of leading His children into the way He has planned for them without their having to understand it all ahead of time. He includes practical advice about preparing for missions and some of the challenges involved. I'm not finished with it, but I have found it very helpful so far.

I took the summer off from classes and I still seem to have more to do than I have time to do it. I guess I'll wrap up for now and hope that I'll get around to writing something more before another half of a year goes by.

Grace & Peace