Teaching Resources International

Wisdom (Needed!)(March Update, 2011)

So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 (NASB)

Ready to Teach… Again, and again, and again, and again, and again!

I am still working on lectures for my next class and it is fast approaching.  The class is for the Talbot Master’s program, “The Theology and Practice of Prayer.” This is the first time I have taught this class so I am working very hard to get everything together.  I am excited about a class that integrates both practice and theology.  Be praying for me as I teach it and for the students in the class.  Pray that we will all grow in our prayer lives through this course.

At the same time, I am also putting together an online-class World History class at KTS for some graduating students who need this class to be able to study in US and European programs.  This is much more difficult that I imagined.  I’m not the most computer-savvy person so my learning curve has been pretty steep!  I have to get the online materials all posted before Wednesday (March 2) because we have an orientation meeting that day.  Then I will be grading and interacting with this class for the next 6-8 weeks.  Pray that I can be efficient in my use of time while teaching this class.

Finally, I am working on Contemporary Issues in Theology that I will be teaching in Belgium at the end of April and I will be working with one of my students in the Talbot program to co-teach the Critical Thinking and Writing 1 that I designed last year.  We will be teaching this class in May at KTS.  I also just learned that I am needed to teaching Critical Thinking and Writing 2 at the end of May too!  So April and May and early June will be very busy!

Decisions, decisions, decisions!

The last few weeks have been a scramble to make some decisions about classes that I will teach.  I am still in the decision making process because I am trying to teach less so I can work more on Russian.  I missed about half of my lessons this year because of time conflicts and I’m trying to protect some of my time for language studies.  I wanted to avoid teaching any new classes (which take 3 times as long to develop), but the need for teachers is also great.  So I’m probably going to be teaching some new ones too.

Here is what I am tentatively looking at for next year … Exposition of Genesis (September; new class for me); Church History 1 (November) and World History (November).  This will mean teaching back-to-back classes in November which is very tiring.  Then in the spring, I will be teaching Theology and Spirituality (end of January; new course for me), Homiletics 2 (March; new class for me), Theology 4 (March; new class for me); and Critical Thinking and Writing 1 (May).

As you can see, there are a lot of needs.  Please be praying for me as I make some decisions about these classes in the coming weeks.  I’m also going to need to work on alternative ways to do Russian for the next few months.  Because of my schedule, I will only be able to make 9 out of 32 lessons.  So, Katya and I are going to work through some Russian textbooks together.  Pray that I will stay disciplined so I can work on Russian.

Home in March … Short time, but I’m excited!

I have been praying about getting back to Arkansas this spring for a short visit.  I really need to work on taxes (both personal and corporate) and I have a number of other Teaching Resources tasks that I cannot do from here.  Johnnie Baker (The Bible Church of Cabot) has set up a VPN (I think) to my home computer so I am able to do a lot from Kiev (amazing—Thanks, Johnnie!).  But there are still some things I need to set up while I’m there too.  Also, Joy is working and needs someone to watch her kids during the day.  So, I will get to come home, get some work done, pick up some books to bring back, and get to spend time with my grandchildren.  The only negative is that Katya has to stay and work at the seminary—a reminder to me of how important she is to the seminary!

One concern was finances for the trip.  But God supplies in amazing ways!  A couple of weeks ago, we received an email from the Albrights and the International Church of Milan in Italy—they provided a gift to cover the cost of flying back for that week!  Without us even asking!  Wow!  God’s people are so amazing!!!

I will be home the week of March 18-26.  I will be teaching at the Men’s breakfast on March 19th at the Bible Church of Cabot and then with a group of men in North Little Rock at Jim Boles’s home on Saturday morning, March 26th. In both groups, we will be looking at theology and prayer (How Our View of God Affects our Prayer).  Be praying for me as I teach these two times.

And on my flight through DC, I will get to spend the night with Joel, Alyssa and Lucas!

Prayer Needs

1. Wisdom about time usage…  Continue to pray for me about this.
2. Class Preparations… I have five (!) classes that I am preparing for right now.  I also have papers that I am grading from the last class in January and will soon have papers from the Talbot class and the World History class.  Pray that I can complete everything quickly.
3. Russian … Continue to pray that I can find more time for my Russian.
4. Our Church … Open Hearts Church in Kiev is really a wonderful blessing for us.  We love the worship, the teaching and the small groups!  Pray for Pastor Sergy Bochko and his wife, Natasha, as they led this new church.  We have ESL clubs on Sunday mornings before church that have over 40 non-believers coming!  Pray for these to build relationships and to hear the gospel.
5. Finances … It is amazing how being a missionary teaches you dependence and gratitude!  We are so grateful for each of you who support us each month!  Please pray that a few more can join our support team.  We have all we need but things are tight financially here.  Also, pray for the Seminary itself.  Finances are the lowest they have ever been and we have about one month’s worth of operating funds.  Ukraine has had nearly double inflation in the past few years and this has had an impact on the school’s finances.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support … we could not be here doing this ministry without your help!