Happy Birthday Aaron!!

Aaron with Joshea. She just made him this "Happy Birthday" card.

We're playing "signs". It's a really cool group game. (I'm sitting behind the guy in the middle so you cannot see me :)

Joshea and I were playing connect-four

Emily playing Manacala with Mrs. LajeanaMs. Joetta playing Manacala with Willie.

Aaron and Joshua playing chess.


Emily and I had a "surprise" birthday party for Aaron. It was a surprise not so surprise because 1. Emmy has a surprise party every year for him and 2. the night before we ended up telling him about it. It was real fun . At first we were all playing different games and then some of the Starrs boys came over and we played group games. More later.

Nija and cupcakes

Nija and Anna

Nija , Shanique , and Anna

Emily and Shanique mixing up cupcakes

Nija melting chocalateHere sister try the chocolate. It is good!

Here are a few pictures of making cupcakes with Nija and Shanique for Nija's birthday.

Young Disicples

girls painting

Unique

Forget how to spell her name?

More, Girls painting

Nija building with blocks

Emily helping Trinity put together a Bible verse at Young Disciples

Brianna on the other side putting the same verse together - it's a race.

Young Disciples is one of my favorite parts of being here. Young Disciples is a Bible Study for children ages 6-12 from kids from here in the 'hood.

Last week , twelve kids came. I'm not talking about 12 "homeschool " kids but 12 hurting, needing attention kids. This last week I could see a clear connection between the kids behavior and home life. The ones with relativly "stable" homes vs. not at all.
Children are easy to reach out to because all they want to attention. So they are easier to connect with but I'ld say that is generally true anywhere.

The last few weeks Emily has been teaching them about ways of praising God. So far they have learned about : lifting hands, shouting, kneeing, singing, instruments ... I love Emily's Kids. ( I noticed I have pictures of only girls - it makes it look like we only have girls come. But we do have boys to.)

Dare 2 Share

Here is the theme of the conference.
Jonathan practicing witnessing with Aaron.

Milton looking on.

Carica and myself (my "first" friend here)

6,000 teenagers and youth pastors

The first weekend here RXN went to this huge D2S conference. This conference was geared to encouraging youth to share their faith.The theme was "InVinsible" about putting on the full armor of God as written in Eph. 6 . About 6,000 attended ( youth and leaders) ... We had 13 tickets. The first night we had 1o teens come from RXN. The next day on 3 came. The kids around here just go with whatever is going on at the time , never mind the planning ahead. Emily didn't know how many were coming until she went to pick-up kids ...2 of the 3 that did come the second day were ones that did have to plan because they were spending the night. I learned a lot about the kids hanging out with them.

A lot of stuff at this conference was culture shock to me and wasn't something I would choose for myself. For instance, the music was so LOUD I couldn't even hear myself ; there was lights flashing all sorts of colors all over ; and what gets me the most was the head singer ( a man ) looked like a woman ... I think a man should look like a MAN and a women like a women. ( Well, I'm sure you agree too)

Anyhow, to look on the bright side, I did like how they made people get out of their "comfort zone" ... One time the speaker asked everyone that had a cell phone to lift it up. Lots of people did. Then on the spot everyone who could was asked to call a friend who wasn't a Christian and talk with them about God. The night before we had all thought of a person we would commit to sharing our faith with - that was the person we were supposed to call.

All the different group were also assigned to neighborhoods to collect cans for Salvation Army and most importantly witness. We kinda cheated and went to our own 'hood. It was a great opportunity to talk with and pray for the neighbors. Emily and Aaron were pleased with the opportunities we had.

Milo- Grogan

We have made it to Columbus. The first day or so there was kinda a snow/ice "storm?".We got about 12 inches of snow and a bunch of ice. Some of us went on a walk, as seen in the picture. Mama, Ethan, Daddy,Jonathan and Susanna

Hay there Jonathan. Kinda cold ride...hu?

Snow in the city

Playing catch-phrase. Here's the it-er trying to describe a phrase to...

...yelling guess-ers.

Milo-Grogan, here at last. I posted some pictures first of the beautiful snow up here. There isn't that much all the time but at least it's more than Kentucky. The second were a couple shots from last night's playing games. Emmy turned 26 yesterday. A few of "her" boys came over for supper and we played fun games.

Monday night was RXN ( youth bible study). Four kids came ... It was ... can't think of a good describing word. Here's how it goes. Play games - eat junk food. Then Daddy shared about wisdom . In talking about wisdom, he mentioned how cheating is wrong. For cheating is lying and lying a sin. Explaining to one boy that just didn't get how cheating was a sin. Later when asked to share what he(different boy) had learned 12 years old, Jonathan said, "I learned that lying is a sin" Emmy told us later that he wasn't joking. His only exposure to church has been Emmy and Aaron's. Which has been about the last 6 months or so. They hadn't gotten around to telling him that lying is a sin ... These kids don't know some stuff we would consider basic knowledge. Aaron shared that they had one girl here that thought God was dead. "God's dead. Right? I thought He died on the cross.?" Then they could share "NO, He's Alive and will be forevermore." But how can they know unless someone teaches them?

I love the kids around here ... and the Starrs.

Good-bye Kentucky

Myself in Janurary

Irina and Susanna reading/posing for Sveta

Jonathan and Susanna doing dishes the day before we left

Can you find the faucet?

Here it is . Mama pumping water. (She looks like a Russian here)

As of now, we are in Cincinnati staying with some friends for a couple days on our way up to Columbus where my family will leave me. (This week is also special in that my parents will be celebrating their 19th wedding anniversary ... )Today is Sunday ... by the end of this week I will have said my good-byes to my family, at least for a time. I am excited and "ready" for it to get "started". I really don't know what to be expecting ... So I have my thoughts and wonderings in my mind. If that makes any since. I'll share an exert from my diary :

1-18-09

My greatest fear is that I would be a seed unwilling to die so that much life would be produced. One of those seeds that lay in the cold, dark earth laying dormant. Unwilling to let go of the little life I hold - to die in order to live ... " Vanity of vanities, "says the Preacher.'Vanity if vanities, all is vanity" ' that is how Ecclesiastes starts. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

" Fear God and keep His commandments. For this is man's all. For God will bring every work into judgement, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil." The words of Solomon. A man in whom God has bestowed Wisdom - in abundance...My Spirit is befuddled within ... conflicting thoughts... paradoxes... confusion... passion...
Then I proceeded with many questions of life. In the end , I wrote ..."God is sovereign and truly His Yoke is easy and burden light. And I don't have to figure out this madness. All I have to do is lean on His never- failing arm and obey His commands."

Anyhow, many thoughts... I ask for your prayers. That I would learn true servanthood/selflessness as I attend this Pilate program at the school of Servanthood. And also that I will be able to develop good relationships with the youth in Columbus as that also is one of my fears. For some reason in my mind, I think since I grew up in such a different culture then the inner-city that I won't be able to relate with them as well as some people. So please pray with me about these things.

Christmas

Regina , Elizabeth , and I - after the Christmas Eve mass

Andrew . What kind of look is that ? Too much coffee ?

Or a see how long I can-stop-blinking contest ? or maybe it's

just really late at night? Any ideas?

We had a nice Christmas Season this year. Humm. Christmas seemed to start with writing Christmas cards. One Sunday afternoon, back at the end of November, Sveta and I addressed and stamped about 60 envelopes. Then leaving Mommy and Daddy with the fun job of writing to the friends and relatives.( Unlike most, we like to write a personal little letter in each card which makes it no small job) So we sent out a record maybe 90 - that would include local ones too. Then their was the Christmas play. We had 3 weeks and about 6 practices. I personally enjoy practicing for our play because of the excitement of working together to bring this joyous message to people. This years play was tittled "the Shepard's Tale" . Ethan acting as the Shepard is relating the story of the Savior to his great-granddaughter. We act scenes as he remembers them ... Fr. Bob and Jerome wrote the script. It really turned out well. Sveta was the narrator and did a good job. She posted some pictures of it on her blog http://www.svetasstation.blogspot.com/ . Their was also the Christmas caroling , the gifts, the manger, the hot Chocolate and cookies, lighting the Advent candles each Sunday ... But what is Christmas to you? What are these things we do mean? What are they pointing to? It started so long ago when God chose the foolish things of this world to put to shame the wise, when God chose the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty (1 cor.1:27) When God chose to become incarnate and enter this world as a Babe, the lowliest of all states. In order to bring the hope of salvation to all the world ... mere words cannot explain the love of God toward people He showed to us in sending His Son into this world. Anyhow, this Advent season the example of Mary kept replaying in my mind ... After the Angel had spoken to her bringing her this message from God She responded, " Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to Thy word ". She "embraced surrender" then look at all the LIFE that resulted from her submission. Those two words "embrace surrender" have challenged me ... I want to like Mary also say " do unto me according to your word (your will).