10/11/2023

Privet (Russian) or hello there!

We are officially in Central Asia! It took us around 20 hours of flying to get here, but we made it haha. We are all still recovering from jet lag but we're adjusting well, even if this is how we feel inside haha.

We have been able to meet the national staff and explore the city in the short time we have been here. The team here is very nice and has been super helpful in our adjustment to their culture. It has only been a couple days, but the adjustment is going well. We got to see the language center we will be working at while we are here, and we also got to hear a testimony from a new student believer, we'll call her Sarah. Sarah shared about how she had a dream and how God used that dream to reveal himself to her. It was really special to hear about how God has been moving here already and I can't wait to start working with the students soon. We've also learned a couple new Russian words since we have been here such as: spassibo (thank you), and YA lyubblyu vas which is pronounced yellow blue bus (I love you). With all that said it has only been a couple days, so I should probably catch you up on our last two weeks in Orlando.

In our last two weeks in Orlando, we spent more time training as well as having some fun at Disney World and Gatorland. We had lots of fun riding all of the rides and spending time with the team in Disney. We went to Hollywood Studios and met up with some close friends from home who were there at the same time. It was really sweet seeing friends from home again before finally heading overseas.

Below from left to right is: myself, Bailee, my friend Emi, and my friend Nate.

And our whole team at Disney minus Lucy who was in Colorado at the time.

Speaking of Lucy, she is now with the team again. The doctors decided she needs surgery, but she doesn't have to have it immediately. She decided she wants to tough it out and be with the team so she'll get surgery in May. But on another note, while we were at Gatorland, some of us faced some fears and some of us fulfilled some dreams. Myself, Emily, and Bailee all sat on alligators. Emily and I fulfilled some dreams... and Bailee faced a fear.

You can scroll right using the arrows.

But aside from all of the fun we had in Orlando, our last several weeks of training were really good too. We worked on classroom presentations in preparation for our trip. Emily and I were tasked with giving a presentation on forgiveness without spirtualizing it. It wasn't as hard as we thought it was going to be, but it was a little weird not talking about how our sins are forgiven through Jesus haha. We talked about how when we don't forgive others for hurt that they have caused us or the hurt we have caused them, we end up building a wall between us and the other person (evident by my beautiful wall on the whiteboard😏...)

Below is our presentation.

We also talked about how as we travel the world we are called to be the aroma of Christ. If we are not spending time with Jesus or walking with the spirit then we won't be the aroma of Christ. Our Trainer compared it to flowers and sardines. When we are being the aroma of Christ we smell like flowers. Otherwise we smell like the world, or sardines as Jaden modeled for us... it smells terrible.

With all that said, our time in Orlando was very sweet and has prepared us well for the adventure we are now on.

Prayer Requests...

• Pray that our team would continue to adapt to the to the time change and new culture. Some of us have gotten sick already so please pray for healing and energy physically as well as strength emotionally.

• Pray for our time connecting with the students. The language barrier is difficult but in the short time we've been here, we have already been able to connect in some special ways with the students.

• Pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to move in us and through us despite the cultural and lingual differences.

• Pray for the national staff that are over us and that the Holy Spirit would continue to give them patience and grace for us as we adjust to their culture and schedule.

• Pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to give Bailee and I wisdom, patience, and energy as we continue to lead our team and also learn the culture for ourselves at the same time.

Thank you for all of your prayers,

Do svidaniya! (goodbye in Russian)

-Micah