The following is written by one of the members of our team, Anya Gandy, who has been helping lead on of our core classes: Real Talk.

At one of the online Real Talk classes put on by the Novo Russia team, I was facilitating the practice of the so-called Cycle of Understanding, and this was the moment when one of the participants had a break-through. In this course, we learn that listening is really a spiritual practice, for our ability to listen reflects our openness to receive the Kingdom, which is really what God is doing through everything. Therefore, if in conversation we listen only to ourselves, our own thoughts and agenda, we miss out on something valuable that God is doing through the other person. That particular conversation in our Zoom room hadn’t been going too well, with the guy playing the Expert and not really trying to hear his counterpart, and the other person getting visibly frustrated. Our suggestion to follow the Real Talk principles and repeat back what the other person said and confirm that he has heard correctly seemed too simple. But he did it, albeit without much faith in the result. Imagine the surprise when the other person exclaimed, “Wow, that did make me feel heard and understood this time!” Through moments like this our students discover how their conversational habits reflect their beliefs about themselves, others and God and start the transformation journey – ultimately exchanging their orphan identity for the true son’s or daughter’s identity in Christ.