Updates from Kathryn

These were all sent to my old email address, but wanted to be sure I shared them with you all so you can keep my “sister” Kathryn in you prayers as she’s just returned from Uganda and arrived in Russia over the weekend.

I was in an earthquake!! Ok…well, it was actually a small earthquake with very little repercussion. It was definitely a new experience for me and, in a way, it was symbolic of what was happening in the hearts of the people of Rakia and those in
surrounding villages. The people were ready to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and by the end of our time there, 87 new believers were born into the Kingdom of God. Hallelujah!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for your prayers and financial support. We were kept safe, everyone stayed healthy, and most importantly, seeds of the Gospel were planted. I wish I had time to relay all that the Lord was doing while we were there.
juliet.JPGI do want to tell you about one little girl named Juliet and ask for your fervent prayers. Juliet is between seven and nine years old and she is the head of her household. Her mother and father abandoned her and her four siblings.
When we visited her hut, two of her siblings were at school and two had gone to look for food. All they had was four or five golf ball-sized Irish potatoes for five growing children. They shared a two-room mud hut with a thatched roof (that surely leaks when it rains), with no windows, no electricity, no furniture, and dirt floors.
After we provided a few gifts of water, food, a mattress, and other needed items,
Juliet asked us to pray that she would be able to take care of her family. (When I was her age, I prayed for a pony.) Our hearts broke as we knelt by this courageous little girl to offer her needs up to the Lord. I ask that you would join us in continuous prayer for Juliet and her siblings for the Lord to meet their basic needs, and most importantly, for her to know the realness of His love.
It’s easy to look at Juliet’s situation and feel that the Lord has forgotten her and so many others like her. However, we know that He hasn’t. God’s love for her is so great that HE used you and me, all the way from the USA, to bring provisions to Uganda to meet the needs of Juliet and others like her. We were just blessed to be the vessel HE used.
I’ll be sending you another email shortly as we prepare to leave for Russia on Friday. Thank you for your continued prayers. I can feel the difference its making!!

~Katya
“Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

This was just before she left for Russia on Thursday:

Tomorrow we will be leaving for Russia with plans to visit about 6 different orphanages. Our main focus will be on Vacation Bible School (VBS) and forming relationships with the children so that the Gospel can be shared. Please keep us
in your prayers for

  • safety in travel
  • physical, mental, and emotional strength
  • the Lord’s anointing on everything we do as His servants

I look forward to sending you update emails over the next month until my return on August 4th. You can also read the intern blog on Buckner’s website http://internsatbuckner.blogspot.com.
Thank you so much for your prayers! You are vital to this ministry and our team!
~Kathryn “Katya”
“Let us not love with words or tongue but with action and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

And after arriving in Russia on Sunday she sent this:

Our team of seven fantastic ladies has safely made it to Russia yesterday with all of our luggage. Praise the Lord! This morning we enjoyed a contemporary Russian church service and then a nice Russian lunch of chicken crepes…delicious!
This afternoon we will prepare and pack for a week of vacation bible school at an orphanage called Lopoohinka. The interns last month were the first Buckner group to visit this orphanage. We will stay there for six days, coming back on Saturday.
Please pray the Lord will direct our planning and packing for this orphanage of all ages and that the hearts of the children and caregivers will be open and eager to hear the good news of the Gospel.
I urge you to continue in fervant prayer! They are making a difference! I look forward to updating you on how the Lord is working and moving in the hearts of those at Lopoohinka.
~Katya
“Let us not love with words or tongue but with action and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

Thanks for your prayers, I’ll keep you as updated as I can.

Nine out of 10 candidates support preemptive war?

A video on YouTube claims that nine out of 10 GOP candidates support preemptive nuclear war.
The video asks the question, “is this the moral Christian response?”
Watching the video you only see three or four GOP candidates, including several clips from Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, in which he opposes war to expand America’s ideals.
I’m wondering what source the video’s maker uses to say nine out of 10 GOP candidates support preemptive war.
I’m not saying it’s true or not true, just wanting more sources (a.k.a proof) before believing the stat.

How fair is fair?

Greg Cruey reports that Rudy Giuliani was booed in Daytona over the weekend after he said he would not support a “flat tax.”
Cruey goes on to explain his thoughts and concerns with the “fair tax” and asks, how is the fair tax is really fair?

I’ve always struggled with the definition of the word “fair.” I can’t give you a definition of that term that satisfies me. Most people think of everyone being treated the same.
We don’t treat all kids the same at the school where I work:

  • Some of them we make pay for their lunch; others we give lunch to for free.
  • Most have to take their math tests in silence and have half an hour; a few, though, get 45 minutes and some help reading the test.
  • Some students at my school we make read their books without any sort of devices to help them; others we let wear glasses.

What’s “fair” mean?
I do know this: poor people (and many in the lower half of the middle class) generally spend every penny they get just to make it from month to month. Rich people don’t have that problem. So under the new “fair tax,” a couple in their thirties raising two point four children in the burbs will pay taxes on almost every penny they make just because they spend it while the doctors and lawyers in more affluent neighborhoods, even if they pay more in actually taxes, could get by with paying tax on half or less of their income. Then when you look at the government’s money and you talk about what portion of it came from the wealthy and what part of it came from the average American who’s just try to make ends meet while they raise their kids, you’d find that the “fair tax” reduced the percentage of the Federal budget that was paid for by the more well to do. Rich people will be happy about that.
I’ll ask rhetorically, “how is that fair?” And I expect that someone will explain it to me whether the question is intended to be rhetorical or not…

Thoughts, explanations – I’m interested in an answer as well. Maybe someone from the Mike Huckabee campaign would drop us a note and fill us in. He appears to be the “voice crying out in the desert” when it comes to the fair tax.

Michelle Obama sees election as test for America

From NPR:

With the presidential race building early momentum — and with campaigns stretched thin by an early primary schedule — candidates’ spouses are taking on star billing and traveling across the country to try to woo key voting groups.
One of those high-profile partners is Michelle Obama, wife of Illinois senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. She recently swung through South Carolina, visiting a church and a community center in the Upstate area.

Listen to the story

Get a hobby

Looking to find more energy in your day, Lifehacker suggests getting a hobby.

All work and no play do indeed make Jack and Jill a wee bit dull – and it also has quite an effect on your energy level. If you carve some time out of your life for something you look forward to, whether that be swimming, quilting, volunteering, etc., you’ll find that you have something to look forward to when the drudgery gets you down.

Lifehacker points to a post by Life is a Journal, which highlights five reasons why hobbies help give you more energy.
I know for a fact that the day seems to go by faster and I don’t get down as much when I know I’m planning to go geocaching or work on a new video for church.