AS IN ENCOURAGEMENT
The past few days have been a whirlwind of activity and emotions for me. Tuesday morning I woke up at 3:45 a.m. drove to Michigan and picked up my friends the Lebedevs (Vladimir and Tonya) who I worked with in Russia almost 20 years ago.
It was a wonderful trip culminated by taking them to Chicago and going to the top of the John Hancock Building. It was also a stressful trip. The kids were well behaved much of the time, but the long trip and the early hours did seem to be getting to everyone. After a fantastic dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, on the first floor of the Hancock Complex, I drove the Lebedev's to where they would be staying for the night and Amy (who had met us at Hancock) drove the girls home. Since the family they were staying with lived in the polar opposite suburbs than us, I did not get home until 12:30 a.m.
After such a long day on Tuesday, I was wiped out physically and emotionally on Wednesday. Wednesday night I was supposed to again travel about 50 miles to see Vladimir speak. This would be their last night of their trip and my last opportunity to see my dear friends for some time. Yet, I was still very weary and not looking forward to the meeting as much as I had one day earlier. Still I went and am very glad I did.
Vladimir shared about his work in Russia as a church leader and Bible College teacher and gave an excellent talk on Colossians. It was so encouraging. It was especially amazing that he gave this talk in English which is his 2nd language.
While I was there, I saw Dwayne King who was a missionary in Khabarovsk, Russia at the same time I was. Dwayne is a missionary pilot from Alaska and a book was written about his life recently. Dwayne gave me a copy of his book, which had this inscription:
"David, I have great memories of working with you in Khabarovsk. They remember you and still appreciate your ministry."
That inscription, Vladimir's message and time spent with all 3 of my fellow co-workers meant an awful lot to me. Words (written or spoken) and acts of encouragement are so vital and important in thriving in this life time.
In future posts I hope to share more about my visit with the Lebedev's and also to review Dwayne's book
Come back tomorrow for some fragments about my first week of Blogging from A to Z.
8 comments:
Everyone needs encouragement so I encourage you to check out my E at GAC a-z.
Great post! The top of the Sears Tower makes me nervous with all that glass (*shudder*). Although I was a flight attendant for 10 years, so the height part of the equation never bothered me........
found you on the a to z, and will definitely be back to read more!
feel free to check out my blog to if you have time:
http://mothersofbrothersblog.blogspot.com
best,
MOV
acts of encouragement are so vital in today's life when every third person in the world is ready to throw in the towel.
I love that E word! And I'm from Michigan. Lansing area. Its a small world. Thanks for stopping by earlier today.
Great post. We do need encouragement! Good job in persisting when the moments get tough.
Awesome blog. The show must always go on.
You had me at Cheesecake Factory...yum!
What a great word! I have enjoyed very much hearing about your trip and your good friend.
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