God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing. Ephesians 2:10 (JB Phillips) During the next five weeks, when the opportunities present themselves in Russia, I’ll be teaching a Bible study on Living Out Your God-given Passion. I feel a special connection to this message, because my “doing” (in the verse above) will be what I’m doing! So as weird as it might seem that a sixty-something grandmother who could be snorkeling in Hawaii or fishing in the Sierras is, instead, sitting… 

I’ll be packed. I’ll be nervous. I’ll be excited and anticipatory. I’ll be squished into an economy-class airline seat for 12 hours (unless there is another divine intervention). But, I’ll be on my way to Samara for the 15th time. Wow. My schedule is more-or-less in place, always subject to change.  Seeing old friends, making new. Settling in familiar places, exploring new. Hoping to share words of encouragement along the way. Listening for God’s voice offering direction and wisdom. Today in church, a teenager prayed for me, that I would know who I am in Christ every moment of every… 

Happy “OLD NEW YEAR” everyone! Imagine my surprise when I found out that the winter holidays here in Russia extended all the way to Jan 14 – my final day here. It’s the “Old New Year” – which is another carryover from the change to the Julian calendar, which the Orthodox church does not recognize with regards to its religious holidays and observances. You can read more about Old New Year here. So, last night on “Old New Year’s Eve” – I celebrated with a lively, charming, and engaging group of people who are or have been students of Nina…