Back together again

Lucy has arrived safe and sound. It is great to have her here with me. Life feels much more balanced/complete when she is around. Today we went to church and listened to a good sermon on how a husband and wife can deepen their relationship with each other. Afterwards we gathered with old friends for a "Pizza Gathering" A tradition that I started about 15 years ago. I make Chicago style pizza, everyone gathers, we fellowship together and enjoy the blessings that God has given us.

One of the main topics that has been coming up over and over again is the financial crisis. It has touched people all over the world, even here in Yekaterinburg Russia. People ask me all sorts of questions from "How did this happen?" to "Where do I see God moving/acting in during these times of stress and difficulties?" Although at times it can be tiresome answering the same question over and over again, I still enjoy the Chance to dialogue with people about how they can find God in times of trouble.

Last week I taught a class at a local Bible school for adults who want to further their spiritual knowledge. It is run by the Living Word church here in Yekaterinburg, aimed primarily at lay leaders in the church. One question I was asked at the end was one I was familiar with but always have a hard time answering. A women asked me "I feel like God has given me certain spiritual gifts to be used in a specific ministry, but my husband is against me getting involved. He is a non-Christian and is against me being involved in anything religious outside of Sunday morning services. What do I do?" As we further discussed her situation, I encouraged her to continue to be faithful to God and her husband. This might result in her reexamining some of the assumption she has about what kind of ministry God is calling her to. She works full time, has friends, neighbors, and a home she can invite people into. There are people she interacts with all the time, people that her husband can not stop her form meeting, talking to, and caring for. Sometimes when a door seems closed, we need to see what kind of opportunities God is presenting us and pray that he will gives us the gifts an ability to respond to the needs around us. There were no specific answers or directions that I could give her, just principles and truths form the Bible that I could share, plus my own knowledge about how God has worked out these types of situations for others in the past. Often we want specific answers, but in the wrestling through the issues we learn so much about ourselves and about God. I truly value the chances I have to be a small part of helping people to work through some of the difficult questions that they face in life.

Tomorrow morning(Monday)we are off to visit a ministry that reaches out to street kids in Yekaterinburg. In the afternoon we will be catching a bus to the city of Chelyabinsk, where we will be spending the next three weeks.

Dan