Fishing Season

(some of the sauna guys, Sasha, Yura, Yura and Volodia)


Well, we peaced-out of Kiev a few days ago. After a monstrous travel day we arrived in Kandern for Parker's grad. Grad is tomorrow and we've spent the last day and a half feeling like we needed to be doing SOMETHING, after all the activity of packing and goodbye-ing.

I hate goodbyes. That is, hands down, the worst part of the job- goodbyes to the kids going to boarding school over the years, goodbyes to pastors when we left Russia and now, goodbye to our really good, pre-believer friends from what may be our favorite place to live ever.

Once again I feel the way I've felt often over these years as an international worker: I get PAID to do this! There was a time when we were considering this calling that we wondered if it would be worth it. Now we know- most days it's not only worth it, it's an embarrassment of riches of excitement and fascination mixed with unbelief that this is my life. Ok, not every day, all day, is like this but enough are to make me ask the question, "What if we'd never done this? What if we just stayed in our own little world in that other place we loved so much, Wyoming?" Well, the happy answer is that we don't know but we're thankful that for us the truth stands proven and uncontestable: "He who loses his life will find it".

So, fishing season. I've never enjoyed fishing for fish as much as I've enjoyed fishing for men these past 1 1/2 years. Discouraging, exciting, rewarding, challenging, stretching, compelling. Pick any of these words, they all apply to the job we had the great privilege of doing. We have yet to see any outright conversions though friends like Galina now pray everyday, and Yura has made serious efforts to cut back on vodka drinking. These we take as signs that God is moving them towards final repentance and we keep our prayers up for them.

Sasha, our good friend, made 7 or 8 converts when he came back to the Lord after years of wandering in the gray. We got to work discipling him and this small group met at our apartment for a few months. We ask you to pray for the continued growth and development of Sasha and this group of new believers and most urgently for another place to continue this small group.

All these things are part of what made our time in Kiev so rewarding. Now we're on our way to Oregon for the year. Can't wait. I'm working the internet for info on fishing for finned fish and Kim and I are both trying to think of ways to keep the fish-for-men thing going, so much have we been thrilled by the chase. I see on-line that there are informal groups of anglers that get together for BBQs and fishing trips, maybe that will be a way in...?

Thanks for reading along.