A Poke from God

Greetings and blessings, dear friends!

Well, I have details for this year's trip! Things are on a roll again as I begin to prepare for Russia, Part 2. I received my itinerary for the trip, and things are a bit different this year. We're going to be starting in Latvia and traveling through the Baltic States before we go into Russia, and then we'll be leaving from there. So, in a sense, we'll kind of be doing it backwards, but that's only because the "forwards" way is the only way I've experienced it.

We're going to be leaving from Omaha on May 27th and flying through New Jersey (which is weird... Who routes through NJ??) and then going through Frankfurt, Germany, and finally landing in Riga. On the way back (and this is possibly one of the most exciting flights I'll have been on yet,) we're going to be flying through Munich. With a 9 hour lay-over, we've been told that we can possibly get out and walk around. IN GERMANY!!! This girl's pretty excited!

That being said, I have a really cool story to share with you guys. Sometimes, I wonder if I'm supposed to be a teacher, or if I'm supposed to be a missionary, or if I'm even supposed to be going back this year. But then God sends some pretty cool nudges my direction, and my faith in my decisions is renewed.

Story:
I'm part of an improv-acting troupe at Concordia, and I'm one of three students who helps to organize and teach the group. We had a professor at the school contact us about his daughter, who was adopted from Russia. She lived in the orphanage for a long time, and because of that, doesn't deal with conflict very well. She would prefer to run from it or fight out against it. Her dad thought that her coming to IMPROVables meetings and working with no script would help her learn to address conflict instead of burst out against it.

Last night was her first time to join us, and she's a very sweet girl, and very willing to participate. I enjoyed having her! The God moment came when she and her dad came in, and I introduced myself to her. There's a member of the troupe who has been the bridge of communication between the professor and the group of student leaders, so she also came to welcome our visitor to the group. As I was introducing myself to our new friend, the "bridge" was telling the professor how I've been on mission trips to Russia, and am planning on going again. This caught our friend's attention, and she asked if I had gone over for pleasure or to visit family, and when I told her I had been on mission trips to work in orphanages, she broke into a huge grin, probably the biggest I saw all night.

That's it, right there. That's why I go over to Russia, that's why I want to go back. I may never be able to understand the language that the kids use to communicate with me; I may only ever get to the point where I can look into their smiling faces and shining eyes and accept that as my proof that I'm doing something that affects them. But when that affirmation can be voiced in English, and can be talked about without a language barrier or a translator, it's a whole new level for me. Seeing that girl light up and understand that she and I had a connection, that we've seen the same things, that she would know exactly what I talk about as far as experiences, it was a wonderful, wonderful moment.

Thank you all for reading this, for supporting me, for praying for me. Cheers to Russia 2013! I pray these experiences will be just as rewarding as last year's, for all involved.

Blessings on all that you do!