Happy New Year!

Hello, friends! Happy and blessed New Year to everyone! It's hard to believe that it's already 2013, but I suppose I feel that way every time we reach another January 1st.

I apologize for my absence in writing as of recent. I have been very busy with my school life, and, honestly, nothing new has come up about Russia for several months! However, that has changed, and I have dates for my trip, I've started to write fundraising letters, and I'm back on the ball for trip number two!

This year, I will be traveling with Pastor John Reehl to the Saint Petersburg area, and we will also be visiting the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia). We leave on May 28th, and will be returning on June 12th.

Some people may be wondering why I want to go back, since it'll have been just a year when I return. At first, I wasn't sure that I was supposed to go back. Maybe I was just going back for myself, maybe it wasn't really God's plan to have me return. However, after prayer and consideration, I have decided to return, for many reasons.

First of all, I made many connections over there with so many different people. If I can actually learn a bit of the language before May, I hope to be able to deepen my conversations with these beloved individuals, maybe figure out correspondance, and, especially, strengthen my relationship with them in Christ.

Secondly, I'm considering full-time mission work in Russia. (That sounds scary to me, but at the same time, the scariness makes it seem more right, if that makes ANY sense.) If I'm going to be working in that culture and teaching the Word of God, I want to be more familiar with my possible future mission field. Last year was amazing, but I struggled to get past the initial culture shock and take everything in. I'm hoping that a second trip, especially one so close in date to the first one, will help me to gather more information, and to take in more fine details.

And third, if I'm going to be honest, I just really want to go back. My experience last year was fantastic! And if I have the opportunity to reach more people through a second trip, then I would very much like to use that opportunity to the best of God's glory.

That's about all I have that's new on the Russia trip. Prayers are always welcome, for successful fundraising, for open hearts and minds, for safe travels, for growing ministry, and for touched lives. Thank you, readers, for all you do for me, for reading my posts, for praying for me and the people who God will touch during these trips.

Just a final note, a request for your prayers: You may have heard that Putin, the president of Russia, recently signed a law that prohibits Americans from adopting children from the orphanages in Russia. Please pray for the kids over there! The conditions are already less than ideal, and as less children will be leaving the establishments, more will be packed in, or less will be taken in. Please, also pray that Putin stops there, and that we are continued to be allowed access into the orphanages on our trips.

Thank you so much, again, for all your prayers and support.

God bless you in all that you do!