I know many of you have been waiting for some updates, and we thank you for your patience as God continues to work in us. As we ease more back into things, this will be just one post of many to come as we get back into the regular blog updates. A famous quote by Robert Burns was “The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” I can say that these past few months have not gone exactly how we would have planned, but we know that when we follow in obedience to God, anything can change. Though our plans have not gone exactly how we thought, God has been gracious in doing what is best for us. We did not know that we really needed more downtime than we thought, but more so I think that I myself needed more time to get refreshed. It was finally just towards the middle of March that I started to feel normal again physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually.

These past few months, I have spent much time reading several different books. If you are curious then the books that I have read so far are:

360 degree leader - John Maxwell
Prodigal God - Timothy Keller
Crazy Love - Francis Chan
Forgotten God - Francis Chan
Boundaries - Cloud & Townsend
Celebration of Discipline - Richard Foster
Irresistible Revolution - Shane Claiborne
God, Marriage & Family - Andreas Köstenberger

A long way gone - Memoirs of a boy soldier - Ishmael beah
A member of the family - Cesar Millan
Cesars’s Way - Cesar Millan

Along with these books I have been spending much time in Acts, I & II Timothy, Titus, and Galatians. I have been spending time looking at the early church and how they followed God in obedience. In Africa, God revealed the local church to me in a new way. He gave me new experiences that I had not had before. He renewed a passion of the local church in me and I see why God put the local church in place. I am seeing just a glimpse of what the bride of Christ could look like. Along with this, one of the most influential books so far has been a Celebration of Discipline. I can admit that I probably only practiced a few disciplines and I don’t know how well I even did with those. This book has been a breath of fresh air in understanding the disciplines that are needed to help enrich my relationship with the God that loves me more than I will ever comprehend. I am sure that I will write about these more in the future as I continue to practice these new disciplines in my life.

Also, I have been trying to practice another missing discipline in my life, physical exercise. I was lucky to meet a new friend Christa in Africa who wanted to do physical training and running every morning. She was a great encourager to me to get started training more and doing it more regularly. Since back in the states I have been doing a DVD program which has helped me stay really consistent with weekly exercise. I know that this has really helped improve my health though my blood-pressure continues to fluctuate, but lucky for me God gave me a doctor for a wife. Liina has been a great support and encourager to keep eating healthy and making sure my health does not go up and down so much. She does more than she knows.

We don’t want you to think that we just sit in a small room and read books all day. Yes, we do get out of the house a few days of the week. Also in a spontaneous way, we got to go to the big NYC. It just so happened that Liina’s god-mother from Kazakhstan came to states for a month. We were able to go up and meet her since she knew her way around NYC. It was a great experience and I know that Liina really enjoyed her time there. You can see some of the pictures here. Also a couple of weeks after that trip her god-mother came to Columbus to visit us for a couple of days. It was great to have her in Columbus and show her around. It was a couple of years ago that we were in Kazakhstan with her and now her with us. I know that Liina enjoyed not talking english for a few days.

We also have been so thankful for those that we have had a chance to meet and spend time with. Thank you for opening up her your homes and sharing your life with us. Time with you has been a refreshment to us along with your prayers over us. We know that we have not gotten to everyone yet, but hopefully soon. As to when we will return to Estonia, we are still praying about it, but it may be in June depending on Liina’s visa. We will let everyone know for sure when we know. Thanks again for your e-mails, facebook encouragements, and phone calls. Will share more soon as God continues or reveal.

Chris & Liina