My mother says, "Patience is a Virtue!"

Unfortunately I don't think patience is a virtue that I excel in modeling. God knows this, and this last week I've been learning the excellent practice of a "long obedience in the same direction" as Eugene Peterson calls patience.

I took Good Friday off from work, I guess this started it all! I think my computer decided that the long weekend was not long enough and has been running in snail speed since Monday morning. It's taken me twice as long to do my work all week. The most frustrating part is the waiting! I wouldn't mind if I was busy, but sitting waiting for a computer to do it's thing is incredibly frustrating! If only I understood what was going on inside this big piece of machinery! Alas, computer technology is also not one of my strong suits!

So, what am I learning from my long week of waiting?
~ Patience (sometimes just waiting is a good thing)
~ Self-Control (while throwing the computer through the window is VERY tempting, it obviously would not accomplish anything!)
~ Reliance (team work is necessary, especially since I don't know the first thing repairing and compacting data bases and the like!)
~ God's faithfulness (even though my work took twice as long, it was finished in the end and I'm still alive and well, maybe even a little more chilled than at the begging of the week)

I can't wait to see what next week brings!

Waiting in our Savior!
Kristen

Photos from Kyiv

I thought I would post some photos from our vision trip to Kyiv last year.



An English club with some Ukrainian students. It was fun!




Lots of snow! This was the view from an apartment in Kyiv.

The law and grace

On the support-raising front, Kristen and I are still sending out information to Churches in the area. I was able to talk with people from five different Churches this week and will be sending our portfolio to them . Not too much else to report in that area. Today is the first day of Spring and I'm looking forward to warmer weather although I feel a little slighted by the lack of snow this winter. Next winter!

So I decided to take up the 2008 Puritan Reading Challenge, and I am currently reading The True Bounds of Christian Freedom by Samuel Bolton. This isn't the book that I'm supposed to be reading this month but since I am already halfway through it I decided to switch things around a bit. I thought this passage encouraging and helpful:

The law and its application to all believers. "Lastly, under this head, let me exhort you all to judge of the law aright, and then let it be your care to maintain it. Let not Moses take the place of Christ; but, at the same time, make a right use of Moses. When works and obedience take their right place, when the law is rightly used, then it is holy, just and good. But if we use it as our life, then we trample the blood of Christ underfoot, and make His life and death in vain. Let the servant follow the Master; let Moses follow Christ; the law, grace..."

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Grace
God's grace to us in this time of support raising has been so amazing! How wonderful to see his hand intimately in involved in every detail; knowing he is orchestrating our lives for his glory and our good.

My token Russian phrase is: "Oh moya slova!" (Oh my word!)

Living in His Grace,
Kristinka

Добро пожаловать!

Welcome! Since Kristen and I are learning Russian I've decided that I need to use it as much as possible so that it really sinks in. Did you know that:

Святой корову means "holy cow"?

It is pronounced like this, "svya-TOI ko-RO-voo"

I don't think that Ukrainians would actually ever use this phrase since it is an American phrase. But, you would definitely get some looks if you said this to someone on the street in Kiev. Again, welcome to our blog! Kristen and I will be posting about our life here in the States and in Ukraine. The goal is to move to Ukraine in August but that depends on our support coming in before then. Thanks for stopping by and we would love to hear from you!