It's hard to believe that I've lived 23 years already, but it's true! On Thursday, I celebrated the 23rd anniversary of 1) my dear mother's 24 hours of labor on Labor Day in 1983, 2) my discovery of America, and 3) God's hand of love, faithfulness, and grace in my life. What a day it was! My students locked me out of the classroom in order to put some finishing touches on my surprise party!

I received many heart-felt letters, gifts, candies, chocolates, smiles, and hugs! It was my first surprise party ever!

To top off the excitement, the smoke from my birthday candles set off the fire alarm, and the entire school was able to celebrate with me at the beginning of the school day! I'll never forget that!

Here I am sporting many of my birthday items (a tie, keychains, cakes, cards, pumpkin bread, and much more)! After school, some of the new teachers threw a surprise party for me, complete with singing, cake, and a card.

Saturday, some of my closest teacher friends took me to Izmaelova, the most famous souvenier market in Moscow. I was able to buy many great Christmas gifts and a really cool chess set as a birthday present. I couldn't pass up the opportunity of getting a picture with these three singing babushkas who were standing on the entrance into the market. What a joy it was to hear their singing!

How cute is this dog? He went souvenier shopping with his master!

After Izmaelova, my friends took me out eat at TGI Fridays, and it was delicious! It reminded me so much of home! But they weren't done. Under the guise of having me help a fellow teacher set up a blog, I went with my friends to another teacher's apartment, only to find another surprise party with even more of the teaching staff! We had a good time talking and eating delicious smoothies. In this picture, I'm pictured with the adorable little rabbit, Baxter, who joined my surprise party on Saturday.

Once again, school went really well last week. We had many teachable and memorable moments in class again. While the Lord gave me all of the strength, energy, and ideas that were needed, I was still quite tired by the end of the week. There is so much that goes into teaching! I'm learning to find the balance with all the work during this first year of teaching, but it is difficult. I have to learn where to say "good enough," which isn't easy for me to do. Nevertheless, I have been receiving great feedback from all of the parents, especially in some of the conversations I had at the all-school picnic on Friday night. By the way...praise God! He has provided the remaining means for a couple of our teachers to return this year (they were waiting for support to come in)!

We had another great day of school today as well. The kids were really sharp, and they were riveted during our current events lesson on 9/11/01. I played “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning” by Alan Jackson, and we had a great discussion about that horrific day five years ago, the many children who lost fathers on 9/11, and the current state of our world. We ended the lesson with a minute of silent prayer for everyone involved with 9/11, including the terrorists (that provoked some questions of “Why should we pray for them?”)

A couple of thoughts have really meant a lot to me this week. First, I've been riveted by 1 Samuel 18:1, "...Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself." As I pondered this verse this week, a big smile crept across my face when I began to see the verse in new light. It seems to me that the reason Jonathan and David became one in spirit is because each man loved the other as himself. They had undying devotion for each other, and their unity for each other was not borne out of conscious effort to try to unite, but rather because they simply loved each other as they did themselves. They had a mutual regard for each other; as often as they would think upon their own lives, they were inspired by the other's. They were one because they had one love. The love of God is so pure and so lavishly alive that when it flows through us, it has a miraculous way of uniting us with God, each other, and ourselves. That simple. Love unites. That is just awesome! That helps me in my relationships with everyone. It simplifies the complexities of relationships when I realize that the key to unity comes not from my own effort but rather from the Love of God that can so transform my heart and mind that I will truly love my neighbor as myself.

Another thing that Jonathan and David had going in their deep friendship was a courageous heart. Jonathan, who (with his armor-bearer) had earlier spearheaded an attack on the Philistines and killed 20 Philistines in a half-acre area, was drawn to the courageous heart of David, who was still holding Goliath's head while he was talking with King Saul. It was immediately after David had finished speaking with Saul that Scripture says Jonathan and David became one in spirit. Can we picture that? Jonathan and David, best of friends, with the grotesque head of Goliath the giant accompanying their joyous occasion! But what's the picture mean? Battles that we fight together unite us. The courage from the Holy Spirit, through which God accomplished many awesome feats, was another uniting factor for these close friends.

These scriptures have challenged me. They have more practical application that in just one-on-one relationships. They have implications for the church. If we desire to be united for the cause of Christ, then we must love each other like ourselves! We must ask our God to pour His love through us, because without Him we will never be able to "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3). We must be still and allow that love to affect us. We must choose to let God BE in our lives, rather than just ask Him to DO in our lives. He so desperately wants to be the "I AM" in us, to define our being. He loves us as Himself! If we desire to be united, then we must be willing to fight battles together, battles which are fought in toil, tears, and prayer. In some of my hardest moments here, moments in which I feel alone, the Lord has quickly reminded me that there are many, many people who are fighting this battle alongside me, and that gave me courage to continue on! Are we willing to fight in each others' battles? Are we willing to love each other as ourselves? Most importantly, are we willing to let God's will reign, to let His love take its full effect in our lives? After all, any love for God, others, or ourselves, any strength for the battles we face, ultimately comes from the Source of Life, the Living Water.

The Russian language, with all of its complexities, has fascinated me since I've been here. I've especially been fascinated with the words for God, mister, and miss. In my beginner Russian class, I've learned that one of the Russian words for God is Gospode. The word for mister is Gospodeen (e.g. Gospodeen Hays). The word for miss is Gospoja. How cool is that? The words are so closely related! When I refer to another man or woman, I am regarding him or her as someone who is made in the image of God Himself and who finds their worth in Him. To see each face that passes by on the street is to see a glimpse of our great God!

Please pray for wisdom, love, and balance in all of my dealings. Pray that I would daily seek God's kingdom first, as that is the point from which the rest of life flows. Pray that I would trust God with all of the details. Please continue to pray that Hinkson would find a computer coordinator. Pray for the kingdom work that the parents of my students are doing here in Moscow and Russia. Pray for my students, that they would grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man! God bless you all!