Well, the madness is over. Actually I would have to say that people were overall pretty respectful during Christmas this year. I mean, I didn't have one case of an old lady trying to beat me up for the perfect stocking stuffer. Last year the blue haired gang was out in full force and they were vicious. But one good thing about those ladies is that they have a pretty high turnover rate. Their life expectancy is not very high if you know what I mean. Anyways, for those of you that got only coal for Christmas (or nothing at all), this is probably why. Poor Santa!

Well, it's that time of year again. Actually it is past that time of year and I am running behind a bit. It is budegeting time. Everybody say YAY! So I am sitting here with a cup of delicious Russian tea. I have come to love tea. It is so relaxing and yummy. Anyways, I have been working on this budget for about a week now and I have come to one conclusion: I want a whole lot more than I did last year. I know God has all the money in the world, but I also understand that God is no sugardaddy. XBOX 360, PS3, more of this and more of that. Gimme, gimme, gimme. Me likey this and me likey that. I want to go here and I want to go there. Ministry costs money.

I actually have had people say that we are wrong for having video games in our youth room. "The Holy Spirit draws people, not video games." I agree 100%, now let's give them a reason to make the decision to show up. I mean come on, that freedom to chose thing gets in the way all the time. I'm a pastor and I have to die to my selfish wants every day. Are ya getting where I'm coming from?

So here I sit...sipping tea and plotting my plan for ministry domination one dollar at a time. Spending it is alot more fun than planning how it will be spent. I guess it's good that I have to ask for it first. I could see it now. "Pastor Larry, what need do you have for a private jet?" Reply: "Have you ever tried to charter a bus!"

Today I feel kind of "BLAH" There are things that weigh heavy on my heart and I am feeling worn out. I know that these things shall pass. I haven't lost my joy by any means but I am feeling kind of tired. It might just be a lack of sleep as well. I just need to rest. Jennifer and I are planning a trip to Pittsburgh here soon. I am looking forward to that. It is work related but we will stay over a day or two and relax. That will be nice. IKEA here we come...lol. Russia was great but it wasn't exactly a break. I am the type of person that needs down time. I go and go until I crash. The problem is that I feel like I can't go as long as I used to before I crash.

I wish people could hibernate. Yes, I think that would be great. We just crawl into a hole and go to sleep for a month or two. Wake up in the spring refreshed and ready to take on the world. I could just hang a sign on my front door that says " Do not disturb. In hibernation. please do not wake until April." Yep. That sounds grand...

Josh R. has been on the edge of his seat wanting to hear about our trip. I haven't posted since we were in Frankfurt Germany. I have so much to say that is almost overwhelming and I don't know where to start. I guess I will start with the relational stuff.

I would have to say that this trip was better than the first one...and we came back with all of our cameras. I really missed Sasha so it was good seeing him again. He is so funny to watch. He gets so fired up during service. I saw some of the people that I met last year. Nastya, one of the girls that came to our youth conference last year was one of our interpreters this year. Jennifer got to know her pretty well and they became good friends. We held a couple youth services while we were there and we had a blast. Rachel even spoke at one of them. She did an awesome message on anger. Way to go Rach! I recieved an email from one of the students that was there and it was so encouraging. I know that going over there is fun but it is nice to hear when you make a difference in someone's life. Here is part of the email he sent.

"You know, the week you were with us, changed my life and my heart! It’s really! I don’t know what is going on, but I’m sure that God is doing something with my heart. I don’t know, but I feel it. Larry, thank you very much for this visit to Russia! I hope that you were glad to be with us."

That makes it all worth it! I already can't wait to go back. Jennifer and I are talking about staying for a few extra days just to visit and travel. Hopefully by then my Russian will be better.

I will post a couple more times on this trip. I didn't want to make one long post. I am compiling a list of things I have learned from the Russians. Should be informative and amusing...

Well, I am bitterly dissapointed because I wasn,t able to do an audio post from St. Petersburgh. But other than that the trip was awesome! We are in Frankfurt Germany right now waiting for our flight to Washington. I will post again when I get home. We had a great trip that I will have to wind down from before I can post all that happened. Till then, see you when I get home...