The Sabbath PART 2

Well, on a more serious note...I bought peanut butter today and the stupid dryer ate one of my socks. The fan sounds like a typewriter at night, and I found myself standing in the middle of my room getting dressed 3:30 am in the morning....evidently sleepwalking. I sleep during class, and talk in my sleep. My knee cap is itchy, and someone stole my roommates ipod. Maybe I'll eat some Oreos, and a smiling goldfish too. hahaha. Couldn't resist. Why so serious? Do you know how I got these scars? hahaha

pete

The Sabbath

I did lots of reading today.
"Gods purpose is to enable me to see that He can walk on the storms of my life right now. If we have a further goal in mind, we are not paying enough attention to the present time. However, if we realize that moment-by-moment obedience is the goal, then each moment as it comes is precious." -Oswald Chambers

In this quote Chambers talks about God's purpose for me. We should never think that our dreams of success are God's purpose for us, but it might be just the opposite. What we see as only the process of reaching a particular end, God sees as the goal itself. God is not working toward a particular finish, His purpose is the process itself. What people call preparation, God sees as the goal itself.

I was reading Job today, and some of it tied right into this beautifully. For a while in Job, God allows Job to become completely "destroyed". Throughout all this Job wonders why God is doing this? Is there a reason? Is there a reason to all this madness? Why me? But he always seems to have a good outlook on the situation.

"Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but he binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole."

I read this today, and "Almighty" really stuck out. Who are we to despise anything the ALMIGHTY has to say. He created us, he knows best. All powerful - all mighty - all knowing - beginning and the end - Jesus - Savior - God - THE ALMIGHTY. There is so much power in that word. Wow. Sometimes I get worried about the troubles and challenges of going to Russia. Finances, visas, travel, packing, teaching, and ministry. But in Job....it says later in that same chapter...
"...and you shall not be afraid of destruction when it comes. You shall laugh at destruction and famine. And you shall not be afraid of the beasts of the earth...you shall know that your tent is in peace; you shall visit your dwelling and find nothing amiss."

As God prepares and molds me for my trip overseas I pray for him to keep me humble and focused on what God has called me to do.

"I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called." - Ephesians 4:1

Yes, I have almost 5 weeks of training here. Many of you have criticized or questioned what I am doing here. Ephesians 4:12-15 says it well.

"for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ "

I am here for His Glory. A man said once "I am a slave of Christ by choice." I firmly believe that. I will cast all worries onto him. Give up all my possessions, and become a slave. Becoming a slave means doing stuff that you don't necessarily want to do. But because of my commitment, I have given God full permission to guide my path, because he knows best, and make me do whatever he wants...whether I like it or not. This is a choice that I have made to BE HIS. To be owned by him, and fully taken care of. I put all my trust in him, and only him. A Slave of Christ by Choice....think about it.

As I go through this day, I reflect on the week. The good and the bad and the funny and the serious. In my feeble mind, I might only see an end goal or product. God sees the whole picture and is molding me through this process. He is the ALMIGHTY - Prince of Peace - Our Deliverer - Lamb of God - and my all in all. I give my Lord all the Honor, the Glory, and the Praise. Thanks for reading! God bless.

pete

the excursion of Pasadena

Fun times. We got up early, and did a scavenger hunt from like 8:45 - 12:30. We all split up into teams of like 6. And walked the streets of Pasadena for a while. It was really really fun! I'll just say that I know the streets like the back of my hand now! :) We all hung out for a while...went to dinner, and now I am home. I need to do some laundry, take a shower, and cut my hair. Nothing much else...just got to know my team mates better and better. Keep in touch. God bless. Thanks for reading.

pete

"a slave of christ by choice"

Today was good. I was able to get up early and run with some friends. I ran for about 37 min. We talked about politics and what should and should not be our agenda over there. We discussed spreading the gospel, and what we could and couldn't do. It was really interesting. I was able to tell my testimony to many of my friends also...that was fun. It was really cool to hear everyone else's story, and how God brought them here. I fell asleep a few times...yet again. Um,...I took a nap this afternoon then ate dinner. We then went and all watched a movie..."all is illuminated". I highly recommend this movie. It really showed Russian Culture...old...new...and from various perspectives. Very moving....WATCH IT. Now I am tired. I will be scavenging for food this weekend! :) Anyone know if there is a local soup kitchen? hehehe. God will provide. For those of you who are wondering...I am at "Wiliam Carey International University" in the dorms. Pretty dang cool...look it up. Thanks for reading. God Bless.

pete

First day of Teaching - and of discovery!

WOW. What a day. "Not as I will, but You will." - Matthew 11:28-30 I just need to remember that. Everything is in his hands. Ok, about my day... I really really wanted to get up early and run with some friends, but my will power was not great enough. I just kept on sleeping. Grrrrrr. I am committed to doing it tomorrow. We talked more about culture shock. We talked about how to present vocab. We talked about adjusting to the new culture. I fell asleep a few times in class. :) I then spent the afternoon preparing a lesson on "family" and "daily activities". JEEZ. I have taught in the past with students. But when you teach a lesson where your students have little to NO resources to use outside of class, and they speak a different language. When you are trying to explain words to them and they don't even know what you are saying...in the simplest terms. Then you start to realize the gravity of the situation. My class is the lowest level. SIMPLE. We just taught them words like "please repeat" or "slow down" or "both" or "entire" or "red" or "apple". I taught about the family tree - aunts, uncles, grandparents..etc. I was successful. However, I wanted to play some hypothetical games with them....they have no imagination nor do they have the ability to pretend. They are great students, but explaining how to play cherades...was impossible. ahhahahahahahaha. I had a great time...but I just need to be able to judge where my students are better...and talk slower...alot slower. Oh, I also showed them pictures of my family, and of my sister and I. They really really enjoyed that! :) The alumni are pressing on us to get more funds raised. God is gracious enough to have me gone this far. I am still needing around $4,000 dollars. If you could keep me in your prayers...that would be awesome! "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:11,13 Ok, well, I am tired, and still have hmwk to do. Keep in touch y'all. God bless.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Hey there again! I had a great day! Its starting to really get hot here! However, the air conditioned rooms always seem so cold. Brrrrrr. Got up at 7 am - ran to breakfast...like I was late! ha! There were like 5 others there. It seems like the morning crowds are getting smaller and smaller. Our discovery group talked about worse case scenarios and our reactions. We had a discussion in class today about keeping our class in order and how/when to punish. I think I am the strictest of all! :) We also went to a lot of culture stuff...and reactions to culture shock. What we can expect and what we can't. How to deal with a snapped team mate. Stuff like that. Really interesting stuff, and a real eye opener about yourself, and how I can expect myself to react unconsicously. I started developing a lesson plan for tomorrow with Carolina. Her and I got put together for the "tag team" teaching - seperate, but still related lessons. Tonight while we watched others teach I really had an oppurtunity to study the level of English my students are at. It was an eye opener, and now I really have to change up my plans...they are better than I thought. Soooo, tomorrow I'll be teaching a begining class. Should be fun! I'll tell you all about it. Well, I told some friends that I would run with them tomorrow morning at 6:30 for 30 min. I need my sleep. Thanks for reading! G'night.

pete

July 22, 2008

Well, I set my alarm for 6:00 am this morning. 6 am rolls around - heck no. I wanted to get up and go jogging and do some push ups and sit ups. Nope...sleep wins. 7 am I go to breakfast. 8 am we have our "discovery group" about team mate conflicts and problem solving in Russia. Then we were told how to make a lesson plan different aspects of that. Lunch. Lunch was so good. We had these burritos and they were yummy. Then we talked more about conflict and different personalities and the keresy temperament sorter...and other stuff like that. Then we had a break. Then at 7 pm we had our teaching session with the Chinese people. I was fortunate enough not to have to teach today, and got to watch some of my other group members try it. There were just not enough people to teach. I think I am signed up for Thursday night. Yepeee. Can't wait! These days are getting harder and harder as I am used to the active lifestyle of White water rafting. Sitting in a classroom for 7 hours plus discussions and eating...is killing me. I am getting so antsy. ahhhhh. I'll be fine, but I need to stay active. On one of our breaks today, I went for a ~3 mile jog, did some push ups and sit ups. Yeah, in the blistering heat....I was dead. I hope to sleep well tonight. I have also discovered that with 7 guys in my group and only a few girls...debates start quick. I like it! We have debated politics, creationism, guns, foreign policy, world power, Revelations, crime, poverty, immigration, salvation, and everything else you could think of! Yep, they have been heated, but all in good taste! Have had some really great conversations, and getting to know my friends really well. I have a book report to do tonight, and some other readings and crap. I am really tired. Thanks for reading! God bless

pete

The day of Introductions - Tuesday, July 21, 2008

Wow. Wow, what a day. Sometimes I feel I need two posts per day...so much stuff happens. hehehe. Well, I woke up bright and early for a big breakfast at 7 am. We then broke up into our "discovery" groups. We each went around and gave our testimony. So, for people reading this, and to fully experience my day, I will tell my testimony in this post!
Family and Friends,

Isn’t God great? I give my Lord all the Glory!

In the past couple of months, the Lord has been working on my heart. As many of you know, I was involved in a few life-threatening accidents. Through these, God has set some new things on my heart. But first, allow me to take you all back to the beginning.

As most of you know, I was born and raised in a great Christian home. I went to church and read the bible. As any young boy dreams, I wanted to join the military. My father had been in the Air Force, my mother in the Army, and my Grandfather in the Navy. Therefore, I saw it my duty, to also join. Soon, the Navy was all I thought about – the military life, the glory, the action, and the education. How could it get better?

At the age of 10, as I sat doing my devotions one midsummer day, I asked the Lord to help me join the military some day, because that’s what I wanted to do. But, unlike the other times I had prayed, I received a response. God told me, as clear as day, not to join the military. I begin to bawl. “Why not? Was this really God?” I was confused. Years passed by and I soon disregarded that message. I kept telling myself, “It must have been the devil – I was just hearing things – it was nothing.”

At the age of 17, I was still on track to join the military. I had just sent in an application to the United States Naval Academy. I aspired to be a mechanical engineer. Nothing could stop me. Because I was saving up to buy a car, I got a job as a janitor. Every night, I would mop floors for hours on end. In doing so, I would pray. What could be better to do while I stood staring at the dirty floor for hours? One quiet night, I just asked the Lord,” Lord, I am in the process of joining the military, is this what you want me to do? I remember what you said 7 years ago, but was that really you? I just need to know.” And I fell to my knees as God said, “You will not join the military. You will pursue a degree in mechanical engineering, and then go and live in Russia. In Russia, I want you to give a Church-building to a pastor who needs one.” I was horrified. My dreams were crushed. However, I knew this was God, and if God wanted me to do this, I would. But, wait. It gets better.

I wanted confirmation. I wanted to be sure. At the time, my dad was in Iraq, and had given me a number to call him. I immediately called him, and left a message stating, “ Dad, God just spoke to me, and I want you to tell me what He just said.” He called back the next day, saying he would pray. Later that day, he called me and told me that God told him that I was to go to Russia. I was amazed. Wow, God went along with that! I tested Him, and it worked. Wow. But, it still wasn’t enough for me.

My family and I had recently been attending a new church, and I saw this as another opportunity to test God. I told God, “God, if this is really you telling me to do this, then I want this pastor, who does not even know me, to tell me what you said.” That Sunday, as I sat there in the pew, the pastor walked up to me. My heart was racing at a thousand miles an hour when he said that he wanted to talk to me. I followed him back to his office. As we walked back, he said, “I don’t think I have met you yet, I’m Mike Walker, what is your name?” I thought to myself, “He doesn’t even know my name, this can’t be happening.” In his office, he asked me if I needed to tell him something. I said, “No, do you?” “Yep, the Lord told me this morning that you are going to start a ministry in Russia.” I almost fell out of my chair. How was this happening? God had just told me 4 days earlier. Wow, God spreads the word fast! At that moment, I knew. I knew that I had to go.

Finally, I was willing to go along with what I was told, and began pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering at University of Idaho. At the end of my sophomore year, I signed up for a one-month mission’s trip to Russia with New Tribes Missions. Soon after signing up, the trip was canceled. Russian President Putin had signed a bill ordering all non-profit organizations originating outside the country, to leave the country. So instead, I took a trip down to the Amazon River in Brazil.

In Brazil, I had a phenomenal time. I had the opportunity to assist missionaries with an awesome group of people. We built a school building for this very primitive tribe in the jungle and painted a boarding house for young missionaries. On the trip, I learned so much. I quickly realized that I could never live in the United States while doing nothing about overseas missions. I would look at the tribal children and it would break my heart, just to know that there are so many others that need to know the Lord. In America, we are blessed with a Church on every corner, but in other countries, there might not be a Church for a thousand miles. God gave us a purpose to go out and minister. What use are we, as Christians, if we are always huddled up in the safety of our Church? We should always be ministering to others, or sending others in our stead. Did you know that South Korea sends out more missionaries to the United States, than the United States sends out to other countries?

At the end of my junior year in college, I decided to turn down various summer jobs so that I could study the Russian language. I felt God wanted to tell me something through the language I was studying, or just in my daily devotions. After about one week, everything changed.

It had been a long day, May 19, and I had been studying Russian all day. I had just finished dinner, and I sat down to watch a good movie. Around 11 pm, I heard a ring of gunshots break the quiet night air. I knew by the sound that it was a high-powered rifle just down a few blocks, possibly near the high school. I knew someone was hurt, or someone had to be taken out. I grabbed my .45 pistol and jumped on my bike. When I arrived at the scene, I didn’t see or hear anyone. After about 2 minutes, I turned my back, and began to leave. An automatic rifle rang off into the night, and I began running.

Immediately, a bullet struck my back tearing through my rib, lung, liver, diaphragm, and taking out another rib. I collapsed there on road. My lung had collapsed and I had a hard time breathing. I looked side to side, and saw no one. Looking up and back, I could see the muzzle flash of the deranged man firing more shots at me from a church window. I looked down and saw myself covered in blood, and thought, I just might be able to get out of this alive. It was still unreal to me that I had just been shot by an Ak-47. Just then, another round tore through my upper right leg (quad). A few seconds later, a bullet tore through the front of my neck, skimming my collarbone. Another bullet hit my right shoulder tearing a huge hole through the front. I looked at myself bleeding all over the road, as bullets hit the concrete and cars near by, and wondered. “Lord, I thought you had wanted me to go to Russia.”

A lot of thoughts went through my head, as I lay there. Seeing that I was hit in many critical areas, I thought I was going to die. I was confused. I laid there alone, bleeding my life away, confused. Did I do something wrong? I appreciated life enough that I was scared to die, but at the same time ready to die. I cried out at the top of my lungs, “Lord help me, Lord help me.” The police officers one hundred yards away could hear me screaming. I just closed my eyes and prayed, “Lord I don’t know why the change of plans, maybe to get my attention, maybe not. But, whatever it may be, I love you Lord, and you will always be my Savior. Lord I can feel myself getting really weak – I’m coming home. Lord, I did my best, here I come.” I then closed my eyes, and everything went silent. I just lay there, repeating my prayer.

Suddenly my eyes popped open, and I felt a new strength. I looked over at my shoulder, and it looked like hamburger. My chest was drowned in blood, and my leg had a muscle hanging out. However, I felt like I could run. I looked down through the parking lot, and saw cover, behind the cars. I quickly stood up, and ran as fast as I could weaving through the cars, for about sixty yards, until I got behind a large command trailer. Upon arriving there, I lay down, and soon sought help from nearby civilians. Thirty minutes later I was at the hospital.

The entire shooting ordeal taught me many things. First off, I am bullet proof, until God is done with me. Second, I give God all the glory. For everything that I have, and will do, God is my sole provider, and I give him all the glory, honor, and praise. As I approach my last year of college many things have come to mind. How am I going to get to Russia? Who will I go with? How will I get the funds? And constantly I have to remind myself, that God is my provider, and I have no need to worry.

Haha, I see this is going to be a long post. Well, just bare with me, it'll be worth it. I pray that today you will see God's vision for me, and who I'll be working with.
The other people in my group had awesome testimonies, and it was just so cool to see so many other people having these "callings" to Russia like me. Wow, I am lucky to be with such a great group. We then all got together and learned the history of Teach Overseas/ESI. Real quick - They have been around for I think like 37 years teaching english and various other subjects in many asian countries that I mentioned before. This four week course here in Pasadena, CA is here to equip us and disciple us in preparation for our training. Over the next four weeks we will have a crash course on the Russian language, Russian Culture, how to adjust to Russian living, how to teach effectivly, English grammar knowledge, and devloping close relationships with our teammates. I will be teaching at St. Petersburg University, to about 20 college age students. I can't wait! The philosophy here is that in teaching English we develop close relationships with our students, and invite them to church, bible studies, and/or just let God shine through us in our servant-like actions. After this, we discussed some Russian culture then ate dinner. We then had a chance to meet our FIRST students! Over the next four weeks we will be partnering with local churches in teaching English as a second language to anyone that wants it. Around 7 pm we arrived at the church. I believe there were about 35 Chinese immigrants there. We then spent the next hour interviewing them individually and rating their English level. Tomorrow we begin classes from 7-9 pm. I can't wait. We had a chance to talk to "Bob", the Chinese pastor, of this church, and the one who started this group. He told us of times when he lived back in China. The Chinese government had employed him to oversee and spie on English teachers from America and report them of any wrong doing or witnessing of Christ. (this was before he was a Christian). Now he is a pastor here in Pasadena, and is working with English teachers. WOW, isn't God amazing? Reminds me of Paul! Kinda neat. We just had a late night discussion with my group on how the day went. And now I am back in my room...hungry...yet again. I am so excited for what God is doing here, and that I have this chance to serve him in helping others. Please pray for me for the strength every morning to do my devotions, and have a cheerful heart. Sorry if this is really long, but its alot of info that you probably want to know! So there! Well, thanks for reading. God bless.

Day 2 - Sunday July 20, 2008

Woke up early today and helped set up breakfast. They told us it would be a continental breakfast...haha. This "continental" breakfast included breakfast burritos, egg Mcmuffins, and the works. Yummy. We then we played some games getting to know our team members. In my team I have my one future room mate, and two girls - Allen, Rachel, Carolina. Jeff, my other future room mate is still teaching in Russia. After a few class sessions, we had worship and church. And of course those were great! We then had the chance to have a pool party over at a mansion that some guy let us use...yeah....kinda like the calm before the storm. I had a great time over there getting to know lots of people. Came back and I made a few phone calls to some friends and family. I found out that my coverage here is horrible...like 1-2 bars...but consitent. You are all welcome to call me! I then unpacked all my stuff, and kinda organized it into my room...into drawers and stuff. From here on out our scheduale is packed to the max! We start at 7:00 am every morning and finish at 9:30 pm every night. Yes...practically no breaks. eeeek! I already have homework, and should probably do my devotions. Soooooo.....I leave it at that, and I'll talk to you tomorrow! Thanks for reading.

Day 1 - Sat. July 19, 2008

I will be writing on this daily...or as often as God wills. I just arrived in California...and boy oh boy is it hot! Karen Gonzalez, my coordinator, was able to pick me up. I had a great chat with her about how everything worked and about St. Petersburg. I am staying in an old college dorm with one other guy. His name is Ken. Ken is going to China to teach business. Every time I see him I am sleeping, or taking a nap...haha. Saturday night, we had a great worship. I helped set up a barbecue, and we all sat down and got to know each other. There are about 60 people here from all over the country. The different places that we are going, include, China, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Russia, Slovakia, Vietnam, and Morocco. Their ages range from 20-55...very very diverse! This whole place reminds me of my trip down to Brazil two years ago. The people, the focus, and the atmosphere. The people are all great! Its amazing how mission orriented they are and focused on God. Worship is awesome! I could see myself doing this the rest of my life! Or maybe I am just on my first day high. hehehe. I got my stuff set up and off to bed. Thanks for reading!