Movin in

We've been in Moscow for a few days now and after a warm welcome from our friends and teammates we are preparing to move in with our host family for the next six weeks. We are excited for this time and are praying that it's a memorable and productive time for us. It's the first time for us that we've lived with an actual Russian family so it should be educational. There are so many things one can learn just from observing the day to day habits of a family and the way that they operate. Various cultural habits and insights are what we're hoping to learn about in this time.

A friend of ours who has spent several years overseas gave us some great advice the day after we landed. She said that often we make daily and life decisions based out of fear. For example "I'm afraid I'll get mugged so I just won't go out very much", or "I'm afraid I'll get lost so I won't go somewhere I haven't been before." Thinking and making decisions based out of fear isn't what God calls us to "it is for freedom he has set us free" and "God has not given us a spirit of fear or timidity...", rather God calls us to joy and adventure. God has not called us to be safe, he has called us to bold. In light of this we are asking ourselves and praying about what bold things God would have us do with our new lives in Moscow. What do we want to do? Which decisions would be made out of joy and which might be made out of fear?

We're still exploring these thoughts and welcome yours as well.

Honestly, it's not ideal for us to live with a four person family in a one bedroom apartment for six weeks. But it's going to be an adventure, and while there are silly things to be afraid of, and circumstances that may annoy us there are plenty of more things to experience and grow from. Plus, I'm sure plenty of Jesus' circumstance might have been more than annoying to him, but he set the example and we're trying to follow it.

Thanks for joining us and we'll be in touch soon.

-Dave