Trains, Taxis and Autobuses
Yeah my title really doesnt have anything to do with my post.
Last night, the three Americans (that's us) were able to participate in an interconfessional group, which means that people from all sorts of faiths and relgions gather together. This group has been meeting for about three years, and Timur attends so we checked it out for the first time. I could write an entire blog about how cool the idea of the group itself is! A group of all sorts of believers gathering, eating and communing together . . . it makes me do a little squirmy excitement dance.
We talked about a subject I surpass all in knowledge about - children. So obviously, we were pretty clueless, but there was amazing insight and really interesting questions, obviously once again from a perspective I would have never thought about.
The most rewarding part of the night though was meeting Olga and Dennis' children who are 9, 7, 5, 3 and 1 I believe the youngest being their only daughter. The boys were crazy and anything but shy . . . it was AWESOME! Being around children is one of the ultimate life boosts and you don't even have to do anything. You sit there and watch them and be happy . . . that is until you have to be responsible for them I'm sure . . . but it made my night. Having 5 children in a Russian family is unheard of, and it was such a blessing to be around them. The least of these including children are taken for granted so much (espeically by me) and they truely are a source of new life and joy!
.........................................
Today we were able to go out with Alyssa and two of her friends who are both attending a local university. Anna just finished her first year and Dennis made all A's and was finished with his studies today so he was beyond excited today.
They are both not Christians and I could go on about how great today was, but here was an interesting point that Dennis made. One last thing, I believe that most of the world thinks that everyone in the U.S. is a Christian and that everyone lives by that as well. Dennis said,
"All Americans believe in God and all Russians do not believe in God. However, whenever something goes wrong the first thing Americans do is try and fix the situation somehow and Russians respond by going straight to God."
He was focusing his attention on the fact that the only time Russians believe is when they need help, which in many ways makes a lot of sense. I took a lot from that fact alone, but the other interesting thing that he said possibly without knowing it is that Americans try to control everything. I think that one of the main reasons we are on this earth is to realize that we MUST depend on God. This is part of the reason why I think Jesus says it is so hard for a rich man to enter heaven, because he leans only on himself, he can fix anything, he is his own god.
My eyes have been blessed once again to be in a different culture, where I can appreciate things I take for granted and see other things in a whole new way. I want to say thank you again for all of those who made our trip possible and who continue to pray for us!
Last night, the three Americans (that's us) were able to participate in an interconfessional group, which means that people from all sorts of faiths and relgions gather together. This group has been meeting for about three years, and Timur attends so we checked it out for the first time. I could write an entire blog about how cool the idea of the group itself is! A group of all sorts of believers gathering, eating and communing together . . . it makes me do a little squirmy excitement dance.
We talked about a subject I surpass all in knowledge about - children. So obviously, we were pretty clueless, but there was amazing insight and really interesting questions, obviously once again from a perspective I would have never thought about.
The most rewarding part of the night though was meeting Olga and Dennis' children who are 9, 7, 5, 3 and 1 I believe the youngest being their only daughter. The boys were crazy and anything but shy . . . it was AWESOME! Being around children is one of the ultimate life boosts and you don't even have to do anything. You sit there and watch them and be happy . . . that is until you have to be responsible for them I'm sure . . . but it made my night. Having 5 children in a Russian family is unheard of, and it was such a blessing to be around them. The least of these including children are taken for granted so much (espeically by me) and they truely are a source of new life and joy!
.........................................
Today we were able to go out with Alyssa and two of her friends who are both attending a local university. Anna just finished her first year and Dennis made all A's and was finished with his studies today so he was beyond excited today.
They are both not Christians and I could go on about how great today was, but here was an interesting point that Dennis made. One last thing, I believe that most of the world thinks that everyone in the U.S. is a Christian and that everyone lives by that as well. Dennis said,
"All Americans believe in God and all Russians do not believe in God. However, whenever something goes wrong the first thing Americans do is try and fix the situation somehow and Russians respond by going straight to God."
He was focusing his attention on the fact that the only time Russians believe is when they need help, which in many ways makes a lot of sense. I took a lot from that fact alone, but the other interesting thing that he said possibly without knowing it is that Americans try to control everything. I think that one of the main reasons we are on this earth is to realize that we MUST depend on God. This is part of the reason why I think Jesus says it is so hard for a rich man to enter heaven, because he leans only on himself, he can fix anything, he is his own god.
My eyes have been blessed once again to be in a different culture, where I can appreciate things I take for granted and see other things in a whole new way. I want to say thank you again for all of those who made our trip possible and who continue to pray for us!
posted by Heath at 3:28 AM
1 Comments:
Hey Heath,
What an incredible opportunity to get to go to the confessional group. I thought Dennis' comment was so interesting. What an insight into perceptions of God! I agree that we could use more of those groups across the globe. Keep on Keepin' on!
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