What an amazing God!

I'm continually amazed at the way I see and know God is at work in us and for us. Even in our heartache, tough situations and just life, I can look back and see that He has been there and that He is always faithful. I'm grateful for so much today but especially for who He is. What an Amazing God!

Praises for custody of my children

A reason to praise our father in Heaven! A family member of mine was not happy about my relocation to Utah and after making false accusations against me, my young children were taken from me and put into their custody for five, long weeks. There were many praying for my family and I. After finding Good Shepherd and meeting with one of the pastors we prayed more about this situation. Someone who had been on her knees praying much of this time, said she thought she heard God say "Don't worry, I'm taking care of it". Which gave me some comfort. I had been pleading, and praying to Jesus that he would not only have mercy on me, but give my lawyer the words she needed to have in court, and give the judge the knowledge to understand and make the right decisions also. Compromises needed to be made and I thank my Lord, Jesus Christ, first for helping me to compromise; and I thank him for showing himself in that courthouse, even though it was stormy both inside of the courthouse and outdoors. I thank Jesus that he gave my lawyer the words to speak, and he gave the judge the knowledge to be able to decide what was truly in the best interest of my children. Praises also for the time with my children, which now seem so much more precious. I also thank Jesus for making me stronger. He is a God of justice! THIS IS A CONDENSED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL STORY.

LCMC Gathering 2010

Pastor Jeff, Pastor James, Jen Cook, Kelli Kirk and myself have traveled to Golden Valley, Minnesota to attend the 2010 LCMC Annual Gathering at Calvary Lutheran Church. The Gathering opened with a wonderful worship service at Calvary with a wonderful message from the lead Pastor from Calvary followed be a tremendous time of altar rail prayer, totally felt like being at home. For me however God has really blessed me through the encouraging and challenging words of Efrem Smith on the entire chapter of Matthew 25. It would take too long to go into great detail however I will simply say that the LCMC is the right place for Good Shepherd to be. God began a wonderful work in the Good Shepherd family and He will continue to move is forward into His awesome plan. It is a deep joy to be serving amongst the people of Good Shepherd, a people that are not afraid to jump over the stumbling blocks and hurdles that we find along the way. I look forward to retuning home and being with Good Shepherd with a renewed sense of purpose and zeal for ministry in the Salt Lake Valley.

More will be posted from Golden Valley in the days and hours ahead. For those who want to see and hear more, you can watch a video stream from the gathering at www.lcmc.net .

Sunday 02/07/10 @ 7:00am/Rosalie

There's a fellow employee of mine that has a broken foot so she has this scooter she puts her leg on & pushes herself around the jail that way. She really struggles to get around & is very slow. This particular morning as I was getting off the graveyard shift she was having an especially hard time. I helped her through doors & as we headed outside she became very nervous about falling down. It had snowed during the night, not much but the sidewalks were slick and it was cold. Another gal that worked with her was also helping so when we got outside I thought ok she can help her from here. I headed to my car & watched her slowly inching her way to hers. I got in my car & fired it up to let it warm up. I grabbed my ice scraper & got out to start scraping my windows, still watching as Rosalie inched her way to her car. Then suddenly I sensed God saying go help her. I was thinking I already did help her, besides, her co worker was still with her. But I kept getting nudged to go help her. I knew it was God telling me to help her so as much as I wanted to hurry home so I could get some sleep I decided to be obedient. I went over & helped the co-worker get Rosalie into her car. While she was putting her scooter in the trunk of her car I proceeded to scrape off the snow & ice from her windows. Rosalie was almost in tears and she had her window down thanking us saying how she was worried about how she was going to push herself around the car to clean the windows. I told her it was no problem & asked her if she was ok. She said yes so I told her to drive safe and headed back to my car where I proceeded to clean off my windows. I got in my car & started driving towards the gate to exit the parking lot. I saw Rosalie's car still had not moved. Again I sensed God saying go back & see if she's ok. I was almost out the gate & I thought oh she's fine. She's probably just letting the car warm up so I continued home. After all it was my weekend & I wanted to get out of there. I didn't think much more of it until the following Wednesday night coming back into work when I ran into the other co-worker who helped Rosalie out to her car Sunday morning. She was in tears & asked me "Did you hear about Rosalie?" And I said who is Rosalie, because until then I didn't know what the persons name was we helped. The co-worker said Rosalie is the one we helped the other morning. I replied what about her? She said "She died that Sunday night"! I gasped & asked how? She said she went home that Sunday morning from work & later that day ended up in the emergency room. They had to do surgery on her & she died from a blood clot in her leg. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. We talked a little more then headed to our offices. As I thought about Rosalie throughout the day it became clear to me that God had used me to show Rosalie his love for her during her last day of her life. I felt honored to be the one He had chosen to do this for him & I thanked him that he placed it on my heart that it was him talking to me & that I needed to be obedient. As I thanked God I couldn't help but to wonder how else God would have used me that day if I would have gone back & checked on Rosalie one last time that morning... My apologies also for not sharing this story He said to share sooner. Jill Huston

High Seas Expedition-what a God Sighting!!!

If you weren't able to attend or participate in this years VBS at Good Shepherd, you really missed some amazing God Sightings. Children age 2-years-old through high school, working together and building relationships with each other and with God.

This year at VBS we had over 70 volunteers. Approximately half of them were junior high, high school and college students! What a great testimony to they younger children of God's great love for them. To see so many older kids get together to make VBS a great experience.

This past week, together we learned that God's Word is True, His Word is Comforting, Surprising, Life-Changing and for Everyone! Every day had a different Bible point that repeated over and over throughout the evening. Each time the kids heard the Bible point they'd shout "Let's Go!"

Because of the great staff I had this year, I was able to walk around and participate. As I watched the children really get into the story time, craft, game and even the snack, I was able to see God at work in their lives. I'd like to share a few of the comments the children shared with me during the week.

"Did you see that! God was here!" said a 6-year-old girl. "God is always with us," I said. "Yaw, I know, she said, "but tonight I really saw him!"

"Jesus died, but he's still alive?" asked a 5-year-old boy. "Yep, isn't that cool?" his crew leader replied. "Yaw, but I wish my dad was still alive," he said. "Well, that's the best part,"she said. "Because Jesus died for us and still lives, we get to do the same thing and see those who went to live with Jesus before us. What do you think about that?" "I think that is really neat," he said.

"Thank you for VBS! I didn't know God was fun!"

"Thanks for letting us make snack for the rest of the group! It was fun to serve."

"I can't wait to read more of this story about Paul. Where is it again?"

"So even when I don't do things right, Jesus still likes me?" asked an 8-year-old girl. "That is why God sent him to die for us," I said. "None of us ALWAYS do things right. Not only does he still like you but he loves you all the time." She replied, "that really makes me feel alot better." I said, "I'm glad. All you need to do is tell Jesus you're sorry when you don't do things right and he'll forgive you. Try your best but remember that he gave his life for your sin." "Thanks!" she replied.

There are many more comments I could share with you. I know the Crew Leaders (adults or teenagers who led a team of 3 to 5 kids through the stations this week) could share even more. If you know someone who served at VBS, ask them for a God Sighting. You'll be amazed at what you hear!

Thank you for your support. Please start praying for next years VBS, PandaMania, July 17-21, 2011!

Blessings,
Kelli Kirk

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Loki and the therapist

Our dachshund, Loki, had back surgery over Memorial Day weekend. He had improved slowly, but was not walking or standing at all. A pet physical therapist was recommended. I was skeptical to say the least. When the therapist walked into the room, Loki instantly took to her and was wagging his tail and kissing her (not his usual behavior at the vet). By the end of the session, Loki was standing for a short time and had walked in a shallow pool. The therapist has an obvious love for all living creatures and a true desire to make them healthy and happy. Bonnie Knudson

Russia Mission 2010

This blog serves three purposes: Principally, I am recording details to help next year’s Russia mission team. Secondarily, I am reporting to our Mission’s Committee at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, in Sandy, Utah. And then there a few friends and family who are curious about what I am doing in Russia. The first purpose means I am recording rather more than most people will want to read, and so I am including a very brief daily summary, and then a long report on “Details.” Thanks for reading, but most of all, thanks for praying!

June 9, 2010

Summary: All but the last flight was late. We arrived on time with all our bags.

Details: Kelsey and her roommate picked me up at o’dark thirty (4:30 AM). We were at the airport and in line by 5am. United's ticket counter opens at 5:00, and so there was already a long line. An hour later we had our bags checked and made it through security. United Flight 6608 to Denver was supposed to leave at 7:07. Our Canadair Regional Jet left at 7:45. We still had plenty of time for our long walk down Concourse B. United Flight 902 to Dulles International Airport also left 25 minutes late. Our Boeing 777 arrived at 4:10 PM -- almost 40 minutes late -- and this meant we had to push hard through the airport in Washington DC. Our flight to Germany was scheduled to leave at 5:15 PM. Of course the big question was about our checked bags.

United Flight 916 left at 5:30pm. We were flying on another Boeing 777 and the economy seating is 2-5-2. Kelsey was seated next to an older gentleman and seemed to be having a good conversation. I was seated next to a five year old boy from Ghana who had much too much energy and simply couldn’t stop moving. His dad serves in the US Army and the whole family was traveling together to Italy for vacation. Dad was exhausted by the time the flight began, and spent most of the flight sleeping with a blanket over his face. Need I say I didn’t get much sleep? As I write this I feel bad I didn’t even ask and use the child’s name.

One should mention the food was minimal, and there was no complementary wine with dinner. Aargh! I settled for soda water with lime. The stewardess must have sympathized with my situation next to the five year old, because she returned a moment later with some red wine. Glancing around she whispered, “Don’t tell anyone!” I think I can report her kindness here without breaking the intent of my promise. It was a long night. I watched the in-flight movie “Valentine’s Day” twice. Breakfast consisted of a small roll, 6 ounces of yogurt, and coffee.

June 10, 2010

Summary: Jet-lagged, we settled into our dorm rooms at the Lutheran Seminary in Koltushe, Russia

Details: Our flight arrived in Frankfurt at 7:25 (15 minutes late), and this meant the transfer to our 8:45 AM Lufthansa Flight 3216 to St. Petersburg, Russia was going to be tight. Frankfurt International Airport had been operating at more than full capacity for many years. Our 777 parked several hundred yards from a gate. We deplaned on very tall stairs and were bussed to the terminal. We asked our gate number, and tried to hurry to our next flight. We didn’t have to go through a Passport Control Station. We did have to go through another Security screening. The agent had given us the wrong Gate number, and Kelsey and I kidded each other about what we would have done in Istanbul, Turkey. Another hurried hike brought us to our gate. We had about 10 minutes to catch our breath, use the restroom, decide we didn’t have time to eat, and wonder about the number of dogs flying with us in people’s carry-on luggage. They called us to board, and we waited in line as Russian agents checked our visas and asked several questions about any previous visits to Russia. We were bussed to our Airbus A320, climbed another set of stairs, and took our seats. We were so late arriving at our Gate that we had to take the last seats on the plane. I don’t know where Kelsey sat. I had a window seat and a 65ish French woman -- one does not ask women of a certain age how old they are in France! -- with her grandson sat next to me. She spoke little English. I couldn’t find much of my French. We did manage to tell where we were from, that none of us had been to St Petersburg before, and that they were on a month long holiday in St. Petersburg and Moscow. I asked about the economy in Paris. She said it was awful and that especially young people like her grandson could not find work. I’m guessing he was in his early 20s. I sympathized with her and mentioned we had the same difficulties in Salt Lake City. Lunch consisted of 2 small rolls, two slices of cold cuts, a slice of brie, and orange juice.

The Polkovo Airport in St. Petersburg is small but recently modernized. The Passport Control Station was efficient. We were very glad to find our bags waiting for us. Well-done, United and Lufthansa! We passed through customs unquestioned. We were very glad to see Bill and Sally Moberly waiting outside the custom’s station. They told us we had to wait for two other team members. There is a small and expensive coffee bar in the airport. We decided to eat a granola bar and wait for dinner.

Greetings from Russia! Pat, a woman from near Isle, MN, arrived about 45 minutes later. We wondered where the other team member was. I checked for free wi-fi in the airport, and yes, if you make the right guesses on an all Russian screen, you can a pretty quick connection. Bill checked his email, nothing from Michael. Sally checked hers and learned Michael didn’t make his flight in Chicago. He would arrive a day late. Kelsey wanted to update her status on Facebook. When she tried, Facebook recognized she was not logging in from the USA, and made her type a twisted security phrase. She failed, and was locked out for an hour. It took both of us to recognize the phrase and identify random Facebook friends in photos on my account. They pulled random tagged photos from friends’ albums, and gave me a multiple choice exam on who was who. I couldn’t have done it without her. I updated my status and took time to write a brief email to Denise reporting that “All is well.” Our transport van from the seminary arrived at 3:45. There is a fairly new expressway that has reduced the time traveling to the seminary. Instead of 90 minutes, it now takes about 35 in light traffic.

Dinner was at 5:30. We had the Russian version of "Chicken Kiev" (ground chicken mixed with bread like a meatloaf, and then breaded again and deep-fried), macaroni noodles with no sauce, a delicious cucumber and tomato salad (spiced with dill), and bread for dinner. After dinner we had a brief orientation to the days to come and then a pleasant 1.5 mile (round trip) walk to the Koltushe town center. We bought some snacks, admired the small lake and war memorial, and discussed how the Russians believe they won the Second World War. Our walk back through the woods was plagued by mosquitoes. We all agreed that they are larger and more fierce than mosquitoes in Minnesota.

Kelsey, Bill, Sally and I sat in the parlor at the dorm and visited for a while. Bill warned us he was trying to keep us awake as long as possible to help us adjust for jet-lag. Kelsey teased me I was starting to doze. Finally, admitting I could not stay awake any longer, I turned in at 9:00 PM. I had to close the drapes, because the sunlight was still blazing in to my west-facing room. We are here for the first two weeks of what the locals call the “white nights.” It was good to be horizontal. Thanks be to God for a good bed.

Pastor James

Car broke down, but did it really?

We have been planning a road trip to California for some time now, planning on leaving tomorrow(saturday June 5th). Driving to Sacramento to drop the kids off at Nana's house, Kristi and I are driving to Napa and then to San Francisco and then back to pick up the kids and come home. We purchased a newer vehicle with more room rescently and have been happy with it. Well, today (Friday) Kristi was driving to "Raging Waters" for the kids school day and the car died and would not restart. Needless to say Kristi called me frantic and pretty upset the car died with the kids in it going to "Raging Waters" the day before we were to drive to California. This is where I feel our GOD sighting comes in. Kristi called a friend that happened to be going to also, she picked the kids up, took them to the park while Kristi called Jerry Seiner Chevrolet, a gentlemen answered by the name of Craig. Kristi explained what was going on about going to Raging Waters and he asked her what school our kids went to, Christ Lutheran, well his daughter is in the same class that Griffin is in. Craig expedited a tow truck, got Kristi set up with a rental car so she could get to the park with the kids and if needed we could use the rental car to go on vacation with. Like the subject/title reads: "car broke down, but did it really?" or was it GOD's way of telling us how blessed we are for believing in him and allowing wonderful people to fill our lives. I don't think there is any question that GOD spoke to the Shinall family today. Thank you God for every moment of every day.
God bless,
Robert Shinall