Journaling has become a revolutionary way for me to get in touch with the heart of God for me, for circumstances, and for ministry. Here is a recent example that touches on the heart God is giving me for orphans in Russia. The context is work I was doing this summer on a broad vision statement…

The blessings that came during our time of rest and refreshment in France were tremendous. It was an amazing time of total rest for a full month in a setting the could not have been more to our tastes and needs. The ins and outs of what we did are here, and some of the great…

Yuri, our long-time former orphan graduate from the Harbor, turned up again after a few months absence.  We have always had an open-door policy with him, and he usually comes once a week for mentoring and dinner. The kids were thrilled to see him. We were happy too, but we had to understand what was…

Inna shared this testimony with me recently about a breakthrough in the life of one of the people she ministers to. Kate is a young Christian woman, who lives most of the time in another country. She attended our church recently, and a friend advised her to contact me. After a serious illness she became…

Our new program “Orphans Reaching Orphans,” and our small team of three (me, Nastya, and Inna) is off to a good and promising start. Today I translate Nastya’s first letter about what she is doing and why it is important. I think you will appreciate hearing it first hand. What is my job? Our focus…

One of my main goals personally while on vacation in France this summer was work on an independent study project I’ve started to learn how to hear God’s voice better. The material I am using comes from Communion with God Ministries, which I have known about and promoted for years, but never actually did their…

We had not taken a real and serious vacation since moving to Russia, so we were overdue. Ministry colleagues offered us a place of theirs in the small town of St. Aignan, France, so we took it, though not sure of all we were getting. With no Internet, TV, or phone our lives were definitely…

After a year (for many in our counseling training group) of learning, practicing, and growing together, we decided it was time to get really serious, so we took of for 3 days for some intensive practice in the specific method of prayer ministry that we have been learning – theophostic prayer. Although not strictly counseling,…

Through my work at MIR that I have often written about, I got to know a ministry out of England called Love Russia. Their heads, Alex and Jacqui Cooke, have been a real blessing to us in St. Petersburg through MIR, and more recently to our family. I’ll tell you how. Most of their work…

Just as the weather starts to turn tollerable for being outdoors each year (late April) a Soviet-era tradition kicks in. It brings the city back to life after the ugliness of “muddy season” when winter is melting away, leaving the accumulation of months of littering behind. We’ve participated in the last two, and it’s really…