`

In the Garden

Wendy — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 02:13:55 +0000

I love living in Utah, where we actually have 4 distinct seasons. This year I have spent a lot of time working in the yard, digging, planting, weeding, etc. and I have actually ENJOYED it! A miracle in itself, as I have never liked to garden. But last spring, I was weeding an area of the yard and caught a glimpse of beauty which resonated in me so deeply, as I felt a joy in co-laboring with God to bring forth the loveliness that had been hidden. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, we were landscaping the entire front and side of our house. It has been a long, laborious process, but so rewarding. For the first time ever, we have seen butterflies and hummingbirds in our yard, and our eyes get to feast on the beauty we see every day. So through the last 3 seasons, I have been working the soil and listening, planting and praying, thinking of the first Garden where it all started…and the Garden yet to come where all things will be made new.

And…here it is, already the end of autumn, and what do you know, I am still digging in the dirt! One more thing to do…this week, I am planting spring bulbs: daffodils, tulips, crocus, and thinking about how they are planted deep into the soil, only to wait through many long months of below freezing temperatures, thick blankets of snow, and the darkest nights of the year until they finally emerge as the first lovely hint of spring. How does this happen?! I’m pondering this mystery, along with that of…oh…butterflies. Did you know that when a caterpillar enters its cocoon, it disintegrates until it’s only a formless, gooey mass? Yet written in its DNA is the fullness of its identity, and somehow in the tight confines of its cocoon, a butterfly is formed. But the process doesn’t end there. It has to fight its way out of the cocoon, stretching and pressing its wings until finally it emerges into the open air. There are no short-cuts. If the wings aren’t strong enough when the butterfly emerges, it will die. And it’s only in the struggle that the wings are strengthened for flight. What an amazing God, who created all things and said, “It is good.” Even the process is “good”, for He has ordained it all: the seasons, the growth cycle of all living things, and…the journey of the heart. Yeah…flowers, butterflies, human hearts. Just some things I’m pondering these days, in the “garden enclosed” that belongs to my King. Seasons visited and revisited, in cycles meant for one purpose: to bring our hearts forth into a Love that soars on wings of faith and hope, strengthened in the process of becoming. Because it’s encoded into our spiritual DNA, and during these transitions of the heart-journey, only He knows just how to complete the work He began in us. There is no greater security than leaning on Jesus. So for all who are in a season of darkness and doubt, for all who are discouraged and have no strength, for all who are in the middle of a huge struggle, be encouraged!

Those who sow in tears will reap in joy. Psalm 26:5

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD! Psalm 27:13-14

But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Holy Spirit, breathe Your life into all who are feeling the weariness of the “dark night of the soul”. I pray for the Light of Your grace and mercy to pour over, into and through them, encouraging and strengthening them for all that’s in store in this next season. For You are good and Your Love endures forever.

In His Love,

Wendy

Spasiba! (Thank you)

Wendy — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 02:11:28 +0000

Thank you, once again, for praying for my Russia mission trip. It was truly a life changing trip, and I am so grateful for the opportunity and the ways God provided for me to go.

I returned home with a heart full of memories, miracles and new friendships. The faces of the children are especially imprinted on my mind and heart…faces filled with hope and remarkable resiliency in spite of life’s circumstances.

This resiliency is pretty awesome in a country where the vast majority of the people are living in hopelessness. You can feel it in the air, it’s almost tangible, and seems to suffocate any chance of joy and life and peace. We especially felt the oppression in the village of Gubanitzi, where the Communists once used the church building as a holding place for prisoners before executing them or sending them off to Siberia. I had an amazing opportunity to sing over that land and people. The team and I felt especially that “Beauty for Ashes” was a special gift to the people of Gubanitzi, and I can’t describe the moment when the words were declared in Russian by one of our translators! It was humbling and exhilarating to be a small part of what God is doing in Russia. Oh, what a privilege to carry the good news of God’s love to a people beaten down by atheism and torture under Communism. He is truly breathing life into the Russian people, one by one. I am praying into a return trip next June!!

To all who donated toward the guitar, thank you!!! There was enough for a super nice Takamine acoustic with on-board tuner, a TSA standard hard shell case, 5 sets of strings, picks, a strap and a humidifier. Guitar Center helped out too…I got it all for less than half price. God is truly into answering prayer at the last minute!!! I had seen some needs throughout the trip, but didn’t feel prompted to give it, so I trusted the decision to Holy Spirit. So, on THE VERY LAST evening before we headed home, I went with Eric Debelak (team leader) to the church in Koltushe and found Pastor Ivan, with the intent to ask him to give it to the missions coordinator, who we figured would know best who to give it to. I was feeling disappointed, and second-guessing my earlier decisions to wait, thinking perhaps I had missed an opportunity. With Eric translating, I told Pastor Ivan about the guitar and how so many people had donated towards it. He started to cry as he told me about the group of musicians in his church who want to start a worship band for the purpose of evangelism, but they had no guitar. He was filled with gratitude and we were stunned at how perfectly our amazing Father had answered the prayers of His children in Koltushe. Yay God!! What a beautiful end to the trip, and a lesson to me about trusting God because at that late hour, you can imagine how stressed I was becoming. Oh me of little faith!

A few days after I got home, I had a dream about Pastor Ivan. He was playing the guitar like a master, his fingers flying over the fretboard, releasing a glorious sound. Then he began playing and singing, “I’m trading my sorrow; I’m trading my shame; I’m laying it down for the joy of the Lord!” Once again, it hit me that rich beauty is springing forth from the ashes that have suffocated the Russian people for too long. So thank you all for your generous giving towards releasing the sound of true worship in Russia, that the Lamb will receive the full reward of His suffering!

In His Love,

Wendy

Russia Update #18 – Week 2 Day 3

admin — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:07:45 +0000

Thanks for your prayers. I could feel a difference within two hours of sending my blog yesterday. All of us are back to our normal selves today. We only have two days left.

Brooke’s class is very active, but she is enjoying them — all 12 of them. They pay attention at their own 8 year old level. And they bring out imaginary swords at the mere mention of drama.

Wendy’s class went well until lunch. And after lunch, they got rowdy. Her drama time is also more difficult. We did some problem solving with her and she will have a new strategy for the afternoon on Thursday.

My class was quite different today. The four girls with no English went home during Tuesday evening. I was praying for them yesterday afternoon. I feel a little frustrated they are gone. Two of our boys were also gone for a birthday party. The five kids who were with us today were very engaged and really pleasant to work with.

Jim’s class is very challenged. He has kept 10 students and they don’t know enough English to sound out words. But his translator, Lorina, is working hard and keeping them engaged.

Crafts went very well for Jennifer and her team today. The children are really enjoying her help.

With Wednesday done, we are turning our attention to finishing well. Pray for our stamina as we serve these children.

Pastor James

Russia Update #17 – Note from Wendy

admin — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:05:59 +0000

Hi Everyone,

3rd day of camp and we are settling into our schedule. Those who weren’t feeling well are responding to your prayers with better health. My class was manageable until after lunch, when we practice our drama skits for the last day. The kids got a little wound up and it was a challenge to calm them down enough so we could focus on everyone’s parts. Our skit is about David and Goliath. I chose the smallest boy in the class to play David. He was excited until he found out he would have the most lines. He is the quietest boy, and has also been the most hesitant to speak English in class. But he has taken the challenge and is doing really well. Today he was able to read his lines smoothly and also with some conviction. He may just be the first one to memorize his lines!!

My class is very energetic but they are all very sweet kids. The girls take turns huddling around me so they can hug me, and one girl keeps trying to get on my lap. Today we had a great discussion (through a translator) about hopes and fears. Tomorrow’s lesson is about David’s sin with Bathsheba, and the mercy of God. Then tomorrow night we are planning a concert where I will sing a few songs, and the congregation of the church will be there, as well as some parents. Please keep praying for the seeds we are sowing to be received in fertile ground…thanks and God bless you.

Thanks for all the notes of encouragement!!!

As a side note, the crows have finally stopped their noisy Caw-ing…at least for now.

In His Love,
Wendy

Russia Update #16 – Gubanitza Camp Day 1

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:35:32 +0000

Wow! We survived our first day. Eric began in our team meeting this morning with a caution: “Don’t expect this week to be like last week.” It wasn’t.

Jennifer isn’t teaching a class. She has crafts the whole time. It was really fun to watch her take charge of a room of 24 kids. The oldest class has 11 students, ages 13-16. Last week Diana and I had six 13 year old students. This week, we have 11 children, ages 10-12 year olds. Wendy has 11 students, ages 8-9. (Oye, are they ever rowdy!) Brooke has 10 boys, ages 7-8. So we had 43 kids on the first day.

The level of English is much lower than last week. Some of the kids cannot even read the English alphabet. The non-English speaking/ reading kids are mixed through all of our classes, and this makes it especially challenging.

There are no showers at the church, and so while we are having our afternoon team meeting, the girls are waiting in line to use the shower in the old parsonage. The boys will do this tomorrow.

We will eat dinner with the children at 6 PM, and then sit and watch the Chronicles of Narnia (BBC version) in Russian.

We have our first team meeting at 8:15 AM. Our day will finish at 10 pm. We need your continued prayers for stamina, patience, kindness, and health.

Thanks for praying!
Pastor James

Russia Update #15 – Photos

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 05:46:02 +0000

Here are some photos of the team in Gubanitza and the church in the village.

Click on image to see larger view.

[Show as slideshow]

Russia Update 15 – Gubanizta Update & Prayer

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 05:45:02 +0000

Dear Prayer Partners,

Tomorrow we start our second week of our St. Petersburg English Bible Camp. This week we are working in a small village, Gubanitsi, about 100 km from St. Petersburg. We arrived Saturday night and are staying in a parsonage, which is otherwise unoccupied. This is the first time we have held a camp in Gubanitsi and it is an exciting opportunity. Pastor Ivan, pastor of the church where we did our first week of camp, drove us out in a very full van (see photo gallery). The trip took about 2 hours. The church in Gubanitsi has a very long history. The current building is their third and it was built in 1861! The first two buildings were wooden and burned down, so they decided to build their current building from field stones and brick.

In the 1930′s the communists took the building over and at first it was used as a temporary holding center for political prisoners, then it was used it was as a storage facility and eventually abandoned. The building was returned to the Lutheran church in the late 80′s and we restored and opened by 1991, right after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The congregation here is small and struggling. They asked us to hold the camp to help bring more children into their Sunday school. From their side, a lot of the last minute details are still being figured out, like how many children will come and how they will handle transportation. Things in villages are generally pretty disorganized and the local people are used to working this way, so we are practicing being flexible and being ready for the unexpected.

Things are hard in Russian villages. During the Soviet time, the government took away the land from rural farmers and organized collective farms or kolhozi in Russian. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the government didn’t return the land to the farmers, leaving people in villages with nothing to do. Alcoholism is rampant in rural Russia, so we can expect some very hurting children in our camp.

We attended the Russian church service this morning and Wendy Jepsen was able to do special music. Then we had a very special team service that was led by Pastor James Wakefield. The team is in great spirits and is ready for the new camp to begin!

Please pray for:

Jim Morrison who has a persistent cold.
For all the details that we’ll need to work out tomorrow morning when we see how many children show up and what ages they are.
The people at the local church that they will continue the work we start with the children.
The team, that we will have wisdom in dealing with the children and that we will have good discipline for the camp.
That God will fill us with His joy, love and peace so that all the parents and children who meet us will see and experience God’s love through us.
Pastor Leif Camp, missionary in Russia, and his children, Karl and Anastasia, who will be helping with the camp.

We praise God for:

The safe arrival.
The beautiful church and area.
The joys of five women in one bedroom with the giggles. (The men are not so thankful about this.)

With love from all of the SPEBC team,
Eric Debelak
EEMN Russian Ministries Coordinator
eric@eemn.org
www.eemn.org

Russia Update #14 – Gubanitza Prayer Focus & Photos

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 04:37:42 +0000

We had a good Saturday. It rained hard in the morning. We enjoyed going out for a late lunch to celebrate Jennifer’s birthday. We transferred at 7 PM by minibus to the village of Gubanitza.

We are all staying in an old parsonage. The three men are in one room. The five women are in the other room. Our host and his two teenagers are sleeping downstairs. We have one bathroom. It would be impossibly hot without the windows and doors open… can you say mosquitoes?

We attended the Lutheran service this morning. It gave us much to think and pray about. I want to be generous here, but at least this congregation really needs help breathing life back into their service.

After dinner this evening, we learned what we will actually face here. There will be 42 kids sleeping in the church and another 8 from the village. We thought we would have 35, but the new total is 50. It is going to be interesting, and we really need your prayers for endurance and patience.

One team member has a cold and cough. Please pray this doesn’t spread in our very tight quarters.

Christ have mercy!
Pastor James

[Show as slideshow]

Russia Update #13 – A Note from Wendy

admin — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:55:36 +0000

Hello again!

Russia is a special treasure in the Kingdom! I am so blessed to be with this team sharing the Good News with people so dear to the Fathers’ heart.

Thank you all for prayers…we finished the first camp and are changing locations tonight to prepare for the next camp. Please continue to pray for Holy Spirit to have His way.

Yesterday was the last day of the camp in Koltushe. What a busy week this has been. We are all very tired but overflowing with joy! The kids were all so cute in the skits they did for the final assembly, which their parents attended. I was so proud of my class for saying their lines in English! The ones who haven’t been to church before (5 out of my 6) were invited to come to Sunday School, and the families stayed for tea afterwards and were invited to church as well. The pastor here in Koltushe was very grateful and are looking forward to following up with the families and children who attended the camp. It has been a full week, very challenging to communicate acrosslanguage and culture barriers, but many seeds were planted and watered. Saying goodbye was as expected, sincere hopes all the way around that we would see each other again.

While I was cleaning up my classroom, one little girl searched for me to tell me goodbye with tears in her eyes. I wanted to pack her up and bring her home with me!! I took pictures of each of my students, behind the “Door of Hope” we made out of construction paper and yarn and hung in the doorway of our classroom. The “Hope” theme verse was Hosea 2:14, which just happens to be my life verse Every day we would add a new memory verse and the kids loved watching hope “grow”. Even the boys were very gentle walking through it.

The highlight of the week for me? Thursday I had an incredible opportunity to pray for my translator. I had brought the guitar to class to sing with the kids, then sang “Beauty for Ashes” for them. After class, Nadya told me she was very touched by the song and wanted to trade her ashes for beauty. I prayed with her and we both felt God’s presence in a very sweet way. Jeremiah 29:11 came to mind and I prayed it over her, and she said she has been hanging on to that verse for the past year. She was overwhelmed with God’s love for her, that He would speak it personally to her again.

We are enjoying a more relaxed pace today, doing laundry and packing for our trip this evening to Gubanitza, which is on the other side of St. Petersburg. We had planned to take a sightseeing trip today but it has been raining, so we have had time to just hang out and catch our breath. I am relieved and think we will be glad we had today to rest.

Today is also the birthday for one of the team, so we took her to lunch and celebrated with some cake, after a few of us went to a nursing home to sing to the residents, in English, Russian and Latvian. God blessed us with His sweet presence.

Thanks again for your prayers. I hope to write again during the time in Gubanitza.

In His Love,
Wendy

Russia Update #12 – End of Week One

admin — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:41:38 +0000

Week One is complete. At least our part of the week is done. We had a full class schedule and then a program for the other students and parents.

The kids felt the excitement of the coming program. This was balanced by the sadness of knowing they are soon parting from their teachers. It is possible to have children act out in this scenario with a little separation anxiety. It didn’t see this with my kids, and I didn’t hear of it from the other teachers.

The program was wonderful. We started with some songs. Each class presented a drama from David’s life. Six classes, six dramas, and lots of really cute kids. Wendy sang two solos and people were quite amazed. We recognized our translators, teachers, cooks, camp directors, and everyone who participated. Eric sang a solo and it was time for tea. After tea, it was good-byes. These can be hard, and there are always a few tears.

Here is the exciting part: About half of the children in the camp were not from the church. About 25 parents came to the closing program, and most of them are not from the church. Pastor Ivan spoke to them after the program while the children were having tea. He is very glad for the opportunity we have given his congregation. They will have much to do and so pray they reap good rewards from this camp.

We had dinner at six and said good-bye to six of our team members. Eight of us are going on to Gubanitza for a second camp next week: James, Wendy, Jennifer, and Brooke from Good Shepherd; Jim from California; Eric from New Mexico; Lorina from Latvia; and Diana from Izhevsk, Russia.

Pray that we get some good rest before we celebrate Jennifer’s birthday tomorrow evening.

Pastor James