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The LORD's compassions – they never fail (Lamentations 3:22) Thanks be to God for His faithfulness and grace! And thanks to so many of you for sharing in His work. Check out what's The Lord's doing here! On Tuesday (1/24), I went to teach Khetag, and also spent a good bit of time listening to and talking with his mother, Alla. (Khetag's younger brother, Timur, was killed in the school massacre.) God opened the door to again testify to Alla that He Is Faithful; God will judge, and His Word is correct. And yet, how awkward it is to sit with her and hear her say that she can't live without Timur. She talked a good bit about the guy in Moscow who can supposedly raise the dead children, and she asked what I thought. I told her that I needed to read more about the guy, for he's either the best man, or the worst man. Having since researched him more, I will have to talk with Alla and tell her the truth about that guy – pray for God's favor, and that I'll know how to speak the truth in love. (She so has her heart set on her son being back in the family.) What can I say? The guy is an antichrist, and has said some of the most crazy things I've ever heard. He has claimed to be both Jesus and The Father, and he said when he becomes president of Russia in 2008, he will ban death. Wow! He is so clearly antichrist, and yet - so sadly - some of the mothers here have put their hope in him. That's how much they want their children back. Pray that God helps me speak the truth with an abundance of love, and that people here will be willing to listen. After teaching Khetag, I visited the family that's basically adopted me here. God, once again, showed me His amazing provision. That morning, I had gone to the nearby store, trying to buy some jam – specifically wanting to find homemade jam. They didn't have any, and therefore obviously didn't buy any. When I visited my friends/family that very same night, the babushka (grandma) gave me a big ol' jar of homemade apple jam! What a reminder, even in such a 'small' thing, that God knows what's on our hearts and provides for us – so why do we so often fret? He is always in control. The next day I went and taught Madina (who lost her younger brother, Marat, in the terror attack). Her mom again served me a meal, and also gave me a new pair of warm socks as a gift; I tried to refuse them, saying that I didn't need them, but she insisted on my taking them. She (Zalina) was talking about how America is better than Russia and, glory to Jesus, He provided a good opportunity to speak with her about what my dear Russian brother had told me before going to Russia – 'Let the people know that America is great because of what Jesus had done for it.' I explained that we've obviously had bad history, but the beginning of our country/law was centered on The Bible... and that if America is good, it's because of how Jesus has helped us. Zalina agreed. She told me about her son, Marat – how he was a really smart kid. I told her that even being here, I wish there was more I could do. But what can I do to change what happened? Obviously nothing. But Zalina shared with me how excited Madina was when she heard about me and the opportunity to study English. (“Thank You, Father, for allowing us to touch lives that have been so hurt. Glory be to You!”) The last time I had taught Madina, I gave her a writing topic for homework; I asked her to write about her dream/s. She wrote one sentence: “My dream, that my little brother Marat come back home and stay here with us forever.” January 27th – Friday... I went to Vladikavkaz, trying to complete my registration; was frustrated to find out that I'd have to come back on Monday. But, I know the real reason that God had me there that day – they had questions about me, so I sat down with some higher-up guy as he fired them away at me. Glory to Yah, He gave me some awesome opportunities to testify of what He's done in my life! We talked for about a half an hour, and he seemed very surprised about why I would come to help in Bsln. I told him I'd come to help his people (he also is Ossetian, as most of the people in Bsln are). The topic of religion came up, and I shared some about how I was raised Catholic, but started to read The Bible for myself. Seeing differences between what Jesus taught and what the Catholic church teaches, I left Catholicism. I talked about how God has changed me, and he wanted to know what I was like before I was a believer. 'I was a thief, I didn't like people from other countries, I had a lot of pride and hatred... before I believed in Jesus, the idea of me sitting here talking with you would have been like a joke.' The official asked how I changed, and I told him it was God's miracle. He said, 'You just sat there?, and he then layed back in his chair like someone that was dead or like a mannequin. I replied, 'No, I had to try... but after I read how much God loves us, I wanted to be different.' (I'm obviously not intimating works-salvation or anything foolish like that... just with my Russian language limitations, I couldn't quickly go into deeper theological explanations!) He said to me, 'Other people are scared to come here. Aren't you scared?' I replied, 'I believe in God. I know it might be dangerous for me.' I told him that I loved his people (the Ossetians). Throughout our talk, he just couldn't seem to understand why I would have come here. I'm not taking credit in this, or trying to say 'Look at what I'm doing.' On the contrary, I fully give Jesus Christ all the glory for what He's done, is doing, and will do in and through me/us. I know what I was like before He saved me, and I know what an idiot I can still be. But praise and thanks be to our Great God Who uses the foolish to do His will, and glory be to Him for His grace! If there is anything good being done by me/us here, it's only because of Jesus living in and working through us. Period. The next day, little Mairbek stopped by my apartment. (He survived the Bsln school massacre, but saw his mother killed in front of him; he lives a few doors below me.) He asked why I hadn't visited them for a while, and I told him that I'd try to stop by this evening. He's so funny – a typical 9 year old, greatly loved by God. He asked me if I had anything to eat, and so I showed him what there was – cheese, ham/balogna, bread, etc.; he opted just to have milk. So, very representative of the culture here, he takes the carton and just starts drinking from it! I said, 'Don't you want a cup?,' and pour him some milk. He drinks it quickly, and shows visible signs of an ice-cream headache. Saying the milk is cold, he asks me to heat it up for him on the stove. No problem, I start to heat it up in a pot. He continues to drink from the carton as he waits. 'What's this?,' he asks. 'Myod' (honey), I respond – seeing he may want to have some, I slice some bread and pour honey on top. He agrees – delicious. We make an agreement... if I can, I'll visit his family this evening. We exchange our goodbyes, and he returns to his friend's apartment which he had left to see if I was home. Mission having been accomplished, he returns to his friend's. I was blessed to be able to visit them later at night, and Mairbek and his friend laughed immensely, having asked what 'zoob' was in English and hearing the 'th' sound in our word, 'tooth.' (Neither the Russian Language nor Ossetian has that sound.) They enjoyed saying 'THHHHHHH' back and forth as they laughed. After his friend had gone home, Mairbek and I played some tic-tac-toe. When I left later, he once again reminded me – 'Don't open the door at night.' On Sunday the 29th, I dropped by The Bsln Mother's Committee, and one mother that I had talked with before told me again that her daughter and another teenage girl want to study English, and so I jotted down my phone numbers (apt. and cell phone) for her. I then went to our Sunday service – Jambul taught on John 3:16 and other verses, and we also had some guests/friends from the city of Armavir (also in Russia). Two teenage boys that drop by the building every now and then told me that they really want to learn how to play the guitar, and I agreed to help teach them. Both Azam (10th grade) and Atsa (9th grade) were in the gym for the three days during the school massacre; Atsa's 12 year old sister was killed in the tragedy, and 8 people from Azam's class also died there. Monday afternoon I taught Ruslan English, and he helped me wih some Ossetian. Here, most people speak Ossetian as well as Russian, and often mix the 2 languages together. This can be both amusing and frustrating! Ossetian is much more difficult to pronounce... they have several guttural sounds which we don't have in English. I can't say I know a lot in the Ossetian language yet, but I've seen that mixing in a word every now and then goes a long way. If you know any foreign people, take some time to try to learn a few words in their language. You'll be surprised at how pleased they'll be. Most libraries have tons of language resources, and all it takes is some time. Pray, and try it. Sure, you'll make lots of mistakes... just like I do. One of the funnier ones I made here was when I confused two Russian words which sound very similar, but have quite different meanings – 'monkey,' and 'circumcision!' Go on – try to learn a few words. You'll be happy that you did. Glory be to our Wonderful Savior, jason jalazone7@yahoo.com
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