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THE LATEST NEWS FROM "T"

Sent: Friday, June 27, 2008 4:07:27 AM

Subject: some thoughts

I recently read this....

"Every soul he [Paul] came in contact with was an opportunity; and all his life, so far as active service went, was poured out in the doing of this one thing: the bringing of men who had never seen J into a place where they might see Him; and the building up of those who had seen Him in their most holy faith from height to height, and from glory unto glory. the whole aim and influence of his life was J."

Wow!!! What an impact Paul left! This is how I want to be, this is what my heart desires. All of Paul's life was about showing others Dad and encouraging those who knew Dad. Wow! This is how I want people to remember me. At the end of my life when I am old and gray, that people would say... "There is a woman who exhumes Dad in all she does." Not meaning that I will EVER be perfect in this life, but that I, just like Paul, would be able to say, "Follow me as I follow Him."

I do realize this is a HUGE statement! But that is my desire. I often think about Romans 12:1-2. This passage reminds me that we do not automatically become like Him. It takes time and TESTING! Personally, I really do not like this word. It scares me!! I start thinking of all the ways I MIGHT be tested and that doesn't sound like fun at all! HA! BUT... if I truly believe the Father is good and His promises are TRUE, this allows me to walk blindly in His goodness and mercy.

A few days ago, at our retreat, one of the head men with our organization came to speak. He told a story about a shepherd and his sheep. (When he began I though... o great... another Shepherd story.. Sometimes my heart is so hard.) Anyway.. he said when many sheep are drinking from the water sometimes herds mix together. The shepherds are not worried about this at all... they have no outward markings to show ownership, they simply all drink intermingled with one another. Well... when it is time to leave.. all the shepherd has to do is... walk away from the hole and talk. Just talk.. not yell... just walk and talk. And one by one, the sheep know which shepherd to follow. The sheep are so "in tune" to the shepherds voice, in the midst of what appears to be total chaos... the sheep know who to follow. hmmm..... That I would be that in tune with Dad's voice.

Side by side,

Tara Leigh

 

Mon, 02 June 2008 06:41

Well....
 
It is extremely hot here.  At 9:00 the other morning it was 96 degrees!!!  That is too hot!  HA!  They said it is very unusual for this time of year.  I just know, with no air conditioner, the inside of our apartment feels like a suana!!  WOW!!
 
Language is going well.  My teacher says that I am way ahead and catching on fast!  So, that makes me feel good.  It has been very difficult for me lately not knowing language.  There are so many people I want to communicate with, but I simply can not.  And this fact breaks my heart.  I love talking with people and getting to know them on a more intimate level, but here it is very difficult.  The vast majority of people I come in contact with on a daily basis do not know English.  That will be different when the Universities begin again August, but for right now it is very difficult. 
 
However, Dad did remind me that just because my words are chained, it doesn't mean that He can not speak through me.  I have decided that if I walk the same route everyday to Russian class, that I see the same people.  As for now, all I can offer is a simple, "Hi" or "How are you?", but here that is salt and light.  And the most important thing I can do is "think" for the people I see on a daily basis.  It occured to me that the people I pass everyday have probably never had anyone think for them.  Wow!  I maybe be the first person that has ever lifted them toward the Father.  What a priviledge!!! 
 
We do, however, invite girls over to our house that Tammy, my roommate/team leader, has been building relationships with over the past year or so.  The other night we got into a long conversation with her.  We were talking with her about Dad and J.  We were telling her that J is standing there knocking at the door and all she has to do is invite Him in.  Ra said she understood all of this.  She said she knows J is knocking.  And she thinks that she has opened the door and she can see Him standing there, but she is not ready to invite Him in.  She said it would be easy to say yes and not be whole hearted about it.  Ra says she understands the call and when she decides she wants it to be something she is COMPLETELY sold out too.  This so much reminds me of the passage in Luke 8:9-15. 
 
Wow!!  These is HUGE!!  She realizes that J is the ONLY way!  This sometimes takes people many years to realize.  Dad is doing an amazing work in her.  Please think for Ra.  Think that Dad would press on her heart that the time of decision is now.  I feel the harvest maybe soon! 
 
Learning to be Salt and Light in a dark world,
 
T

Mon, 19 May 2008 11:32:37 -0500
 
Well, for those of you who do not know, I had lots of plane problems on the way to KZ. These delays rerouted me from Germany to two other cities in KZ. It was a long, rough flight!!
 
I ended up flying Air Astana, which is a KZ airline. On this flight they did not speak ANY english over the intercom only Kazakh and Russian. It was very interesting! Well.. Dad was very good to me and put a guy from Almaty right beside me named Olzhas. Olzhas had been studying in Ohio, so his English was really good! This was awesome for me because I now had a translator! It really helped a ton, when I got to Almaty, because I was missing one of my boxes. So, he was a great help in getting all of that figured out.
 
Well... today I was able to hang out with him most of the afternoon. He has strong roots in the faith here. He goes to the place of worship every Friday. But I think he is open to listening to other things. Think that Dad would move in his heart and give me opportunities to share the Father with him. Also think that Dad would bring a believing guy in his life. I really think, in an ideal situation, the best way is for women to work with women and guys to work with guys. But I will not waste an opportunity that may be open to hearing the Word. There is such a shortage of workers here. Just as Scripture says... The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. My heart breaks for this country and these people. Please think more than ever for KZ.
 
Also, Wednesday night at 7:00, that will be 8:00 Wednesday morning your time, I will be hanging out with Inessa. Inessa is a girl I met last June when I was here. Her English is slightly broken, but we communicate pretty good. She has such a sweet spirit and I am so happy to be able to invest more in her life. I was able to share a good bit with her the last time I was here. Just ask the Father that I would continue to have opportunities like this and that He would reveal Himself to her in ways we would never expect.
 
Thank you all for everything!! And if you know of anyone who would be interested in getting these emails, please feel free to pass them on. I do not have many email addresses of people who are thinking for me.
 
Laboring with you,
 
"T"
 

Sat, 17 May 2008 02:45:25 -0500
 
Greetings from KZ!
 
Just thought all of you would be excited to know that I do not have aids. :) I am. Not that I thought I had aids, but it is just good to know that I don't.
 
As most of you know, I have been having a lot of trouble with my visa. It seems that to apply for a year long visa in KZ, you must be tested for aids. When I first heard that I had to be tested, I really didn't feel good about it. I mean.. being tested in a developing country for aids, does not sound like much fun at all!!
 
However, it did not turn out to be that bad of an experience. Here they have a clinic that is devoted to only testing for aids. So, it was a little weird walking in somewhere that you KNEW what everyone was being tested for. (Yeah.. I still don't like the thought of that.) So, they called my name and this lady came out smiling (which is REALLY weird for this country) and just started talking to me in Russian. Tammy was with me and she said they lady was just being really nice. As we were walking back to the room, I started internally freaking out a little!! I mean.. I have super small veins in the first place and I did not like the thought of some Russian woman digging in my arm because she could not find the vein. Well.. I sit down in the little chair and put my arm on this table. She takes this strap and puts it around my arm. She did not like the looks of my right arm, so she moved to the left. This made me feel like she at least knew what she was looking for.
 
Then.. I hear.. adeen, dva, tree (1,2,3) and she sticks me! Yikes!! But she got it!!! I felt real good about that!!! She got my blood. We waited for 30 minutes, found out I didn't have aids, and got a certificate saying I don't have aids. Maybe I will frame it and hang it on the wall. :) So.. all is well!
 
Now to the visa. Those people in Bishkek only gave me a visa that has about one week left on it. AArrrrgggg!!!! So, that is why I had to get tested for aids, so that I can reapply for a year visa. I hope all of this goes well. Otherwise, I have to renew month to month and that is just a huge hassle of waiting in lines and dealing with unfriendly people. Not fun! So.. if all of you will be thinking about this that would be GREAT!
 
Oh.. I have also been building my Russian vocabulary. Although my local roommate, Salta, says that I should never say bread here. I am not good at making the "huh" sound at the being and then making the rest of the word roll off my tongue. hmm... it is not good!! HA! She said I should just point to the the bread I want and pretend I can't speak. Hee hee!! But she says my other words are good, so maybe there is hope!! HA! According to my sister, Codi, I don't need to eat the bread here anyway, because it goes straight to my butt. Maybe this is just Dad protecting me from my own weakness... KZ bread!! yum, yum!!
 
Okay.. much love to you all!
Laboring with you!
 
"T"