The Tale of Anna and Steve: Paradise Lost

The tale of Anna and Steve: The Fall from Perfection.

Long ago, a loving father placed both of his children into the Garden of College. He gave them all the software they would ever need, both Vista and XP. But of the Apple, they were not to partake. Under no circumstances were they to own one, or use one. But all other computers were theirs for the asking, and under their dominion. And the father would Skype with his children in the evenings.

One day, that dreaded and hateful of all creatures, the HIPSTER, saw Anna watching him and his iPad. Now the HIPSTER was more cunning that any student of the campus which the father had placed his children within. And he said to the woman, “Has your father indeed said, You shall not partake of the Apple on campus?”

And the woman said to the HIPSTER, “I have a Vista and my brother has a XP, and I’m going to get a Windows 7 soon, but the Apple on Campus, Father has said, You shall not own it, nor shall you touch it, lest you downgrade.”

And the HIPSTER said to the woman, “You shall not surely downgrade. For your father knows that in the day that you use one your eyes will be opened, and you shall be as Steve Jobs, knowing good and malware.”

And when the woman saw that the Apple was good for streaming video and surfing the web, and that the screensavers and toolbars were pleasant to her eyes, and desirable to make one wise, she bought an iPad and partook in its pleasures. She also showed her brother and he partook as well, both with their own iPad. Then the eyes of both of them were open, and they knew that they were exposed to viruses and malware on their Windows Systems. And they attempted to patch together Norten AntiVirus to cover and protect their software.

Then they heard the sound of their father calling them on Skype at the end of the day, and Anna and Steve attempted to act nonchalant and delayed answering the call. When they did answer, the father asked, “Where have you been? “

The son answered, “I heard your voice on the e-chat, and I was afraid that I might have a virus.”

And he said, “Who told you that you might have a virus? Have you partaken of the Apple which I commanded you that you should not?”

After admitting their actions, the father bowed his head with sadness.
To the HIPSTER he said,

 “Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all students,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your Civic you shall go,
And you shall eat soy
All the days of your life. 

And I will put enmity
Between you and the music world,
And you shall eat poppyseed cakes;
And everyone that you meet

Will want to crush your head.

 To Anna he said:

“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your paper-writings;
In pain you shall bring Word documents;
Your desire shall be for your PC,
And Steve Jobs shall rule over you.”

 Then to Steve he said 

“Cursed is the software for your sake;
In toil you shall work on it
All the days of your life.
And you shall struggle to work with NET technology or ASP.
Till you return to the Windows operating system,
For the rest of the business and professional world uses it for any job they do;
For PC you are,
And to PC you shall return.”

Thoughts on Russia.

Only a few more days in Russia. I was sitting here, thinking about the question I have been asked many times by Russians and I know will be the first on the lips of the Americans:
"What was Russia like?"

That is a question I am hard-pressed to answer. Three months is a long time, and at the same time, a short time. A week-long mission trip is not enough to share in people's lives, to see what they see, to feel what they feel. And yet, it seems like only yesterday I stepped into Krasnodar. It's far too short a time to dwell among such great people. I am not the same man I was 3 months ago, and yet I have only been here a mere 87 days.
What was Russia like?
How do you describe something as big as Russia in a single blog post. I can only try, but I know that whatever I'm about to write will only scratch the surface.

What have I seen in Russia?

 I have seen a once-proud nation reduced to chaos and confusion. I have seen the rejection of truth and the willful choice of ignorance. I have seen people choose what is convenient over what is right, the road most traveled on, rather than the road most true. I have seen the shepherds of the people, charged with the welfare of the flock, instead make deals with the wolves for their personal gain. I have seen a blinding cloud of darkness descend over the land, condemning all who dwell underneath it to enslavement and backwards ignorance.
But that is not all I have seen.
I have also seen a light in the darkness, proclaiming liberty to the captives, wisdom to the foolish, and hope to the despairing. A lighthouse standing in the midst of the storm and calling out, "Here! Here is safety, here is rest!" I have seen the weak made strong by Divine Power. I have seen the captive's chains struck off. I have seen the naked clothed in truth and the hungry satisfied in righteousness. I have seen courage, where once there was only cowardice. I have seen passion, where once there was only apathy.

I have seen vast and mighty strongholds built up to resist truth and imprison the hearts and minds of men, and have seen the same walls come crashing down to rubble and ashes. I have seen both a people content to wear chains, afraid of the idea of freedom. And I have seen a people standing up and casting off their rags and proclaiming, "We will be slaves no more."

I have seen the Cross proclaimed, and I have seen the Cross triumphant.

I have loved Russia, and God willing, I will return. I am excited for Russia's Future. God is working great things here, and the winds of change are beginning to swirl. This summer has radically challenged me in many ways, and made me rethink several aspects in my life that I had never questioned before and taken for granted. God's not finished with Russia, and neither am I, I believe. And I know God's not finished with me.
I could go on for days, and probably will when I get back to the states, trying to articulate what I've felt and experienced here.

But the best (and really, the only) way for you to truly know is to come back with me. Until that time,

до свидания, друзья мои.
Do Svidanya, My friends. 

Да благословит вас Господь и сохранит тебя, пока мы не встретимся снова.

Russia Post 7: English Camp in Krasnodar

Wow… how do I even begin to sum up the past 2 weeks? They’ve gone by so fast and so slow at the same time.

Well, to start, I’ll introduce the UTSA team that arrived in Russia at the beginning of August.

Josh Wheeler

Sam Isenhower

Marie Isenhower

Jessi Adcock

Bethany Powell

Kristen Armstrong

And Johnny Hauk

These guys have been the greatest. They spent almost 18 hours in a Russian airport getting into the country, arrived jet-lagged and worn out, and then jumped head-first into the barrel of monkeys that is Krasnodar English Camp.

English Camp is a project started a few years ago that takes older kids (16-25 were ages or thereabouts) and throws them out the middle of the woods, and takes them camping, hiking, bike-riding, rafting, swimming, archery, and all the trimmings of a summer camp. Complete with no flushing toilets and no hot water. 

Me organizing 4-Man Tug-O-War

We drove 3 hours into the Russian mountains, away from the vestiges of civilization and camped next to the White River in Adygea, Russia. Caleb and I had been there before with the Hayes’ in July and, yep, the water was just as cold.

The next 2 weeks went by in a dizzying blur. I have never been so exhausted and having so much fun all at the same time. Caleb and I were organizing games, heading out river-rafting, teaching archery, and making some wonderful new friendships with some amazing people. Those guys were great, speaking in English which was always much better than my limited and broken Russian.

We all divided into six teams: Black, Red, Blue, White, Yellow, and Green. All during the week, we would have competitions pitting each team against the other (Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, archery tournaments, dodgeball, and battles with swimming noodles, you name it).

The FOOD was amazing!! (Shout-out to Christine Hayes and the kitchen team, you guys are my heroes!) We had Russian verrimika (I KNOW that’s not how you spell it, but it was basically chicken-n-dumplings), and American hamburgers and TEXAN Mexican food! I wept tears of joy consuming enchiladas and chips and salsa.

At night, we roasted apples, bananas and smores to our hearts’ and bellies’ content, sitting around a roaring campfire, sharing one another’s company and an unsullied view of God’s marvelous creation. Stars shone brilliantly, especially since the light pollution in the mountains was almost zero.

^“But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. Who among these knoweth not that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind?” 

This verse was shouted by the very creation around us, testifying to the Lord Who is there and Who is not silent.
The farewells were tearful and hard at the end of the camp, and we came back to Krasnodar mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted, but enriched at the same time. So many new friendships and so many lives were touched in the short time we were in the mountains. A single word, a touch, a high-five in the kitchen, or something as simple as a smile can affect someone’s world in ways we cannot even imagine and will never know this side of heaven.
All I know is that God was at work this week, and that I want to be here next year to see these faces again.
Russians and Americans both, my life has been blessed beyond measure this week.

Do Svidanya, my friends.

Hiking on Fisht Video

(Actually, the hike was more like 15 miles, we came to find out later, instead of 9).
But yeah, this is from the trip to Mt. Fisht, and it's a shame on the one hand that we didn't make it, but then again, they were only recommending that groups with climbing and snow equipment make the attempt to summit (we had neither, btw).

Eating in Russia

Coca-Cola FTW.

Just a quick glimpse of life over here in Krasnodar.

Russia Post 6: Ice Inside Your Soul

Hey folks

Well, today marks the return from yet another camping excursion, again to the quasi-autonomous republic of Adygea, camping on the shores of the White River. Steve took the kids first of all to “The Screaming Rock” named so because of the 25 foot or so drop to the flowing river below. Apparently it’s been a really rainy season, so the river was about 12 feet higher than normal, and about twice as fast. So with this comforting knowledge given by Steve, his kids (Madi, Cady, and Aubrey) all jumped in, followed by Rachel Fisher, Tasha Wilson, and Analea Thielke. Now, we guys were off course being chivalrous in letting the girls go first (it had nothing to do with hesitating about jumping 25 feet into a fast moving glacial river, I assure you). Once everyone else had gone, Caleb, Steve, and I all braced and jumped in.

I have swum in a lake on top of a Colorado Mountain. I have splashed in the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of December. I have been buried in a snowdrift above my head. I say all this to explain to you that I’m no wuss and that I have a very firm grasp on the concept of “cold.”

THAT was cold.

For a brief instant, I’m almost sure that my SOUL separated from my corporeal form and I could see my own body in the water. Then it came rushing back, with this intense feeling like a thousand needles were being jammed into ever square inch of my skin. Then I erupted from the water, gasping for breath, and attempting to swim to shore, as the current was taking me downstream and my hands were clenched into fists that refused to release themselves. I heard a voice screaming a battlecry that would have done the Mighty Thor proud. I suddenly realized that it was my own voice. So within a few moments of jumping into this river, I lost all sense of feeling, my motor skills, my breath, and my voice (I was hoarse for the rest of day).

So we pitched our tents and the next day, Steve and the rest of us set off on the rafts to go along the river. They were not HUGE rafts, only big enough for about 3 people, so I think the term “inflatable canoe” might be a better one. But Caleb, Jonathan Fisher, and I got in one, and Steve, Mr. Fisher, and Timothy Fisher were in the other. We rafted with fair ease, until we came upon one tricky part of the river, that had it been any other, drier season would have been no problem.

But it had not been dry and this was a problem. 

Caleb with the two Fisher boys... looking Awesome.

We dodged certain and possible pointy death at every turn. Trees with branches sharpened by the rushing water stood on the sides of the banks, which the rocks and currents endeavored to throw us against.

Well anyway, that’s what it seemed like… :P but there about Class 2 rapids with about two choke-points in the river that I put as a Class 3 rapids. It was a LOT of fun and you really had to stay on your toes to keep from tipping over. And everytime you hit a bump, FREEZING x20 water sloshed into the boat, drenching all passengers and sending us into the throes of hypothermia…. But we loved every minute of it! 

Steve & Christine Hayes , Terri and Matt Fisher