Years ago we went to see an exhibit called Treasures of the Czars which displayed priceless artifacts of incredible beauty - gem encrusted crowns and jewelry, gilded icons and sculptures - each of which had its own story and historical weight. That tour is the closest image we can come up with for what our life has been like for the past 5 weeks. Each leg of our journey was filled with the treasures of immersion in relationships with incredible people and in beauty that awed us.

Just like each of the Russian treasures deserved to be appreciated on its own, instead of just glanced at on the way to the next one, each of our experiences deserves to be savored, to have its story told and have its images shared. But since I don't want to write that much, and I know you don't want to read that much, I won't go there :-) But the attached document (click here) will give you a glimpse at a few highlights as we went from winter to spring to summer to fall in 5 short weeks (includes lots of photos).

Two days ago I received the following from Karmen. It made my week and it made me cry for joy. She was one of my favorite kids from my youth group in Florida 15 years ago. She's been struggling for a long time and life has been hell. This is what she wrote:

It is a beautiful and maddening fury, falling in love. The way you want to know anything and everything about the one you love. You want to like the things they like, do what they do, enjoy what they enjoy.

Like some sort of love confetti floats down from the sky, making any event a celebration of your love. Every moment seems orchestrated to ignite passion within the two of you, every occurrence is so special and symbolic and meaningful. Everything makes sense.

When you are in love your heart and your brain and your soul become this all powerful chemical producing trifecta that inebriates your entire existence and even stirs the souls of perfect strangers who pass you on the street.

And though most of the times I've fallen in love I felt more confused, insecure, broken and valueless, I found out that falling in love for real, for keeps is...

Mom, Dad, me and steak on the grill

My parents just just sent me this amazing story from their trip to Eastern Europe where they were visiting colleagues who train pastors and other leaders all over the world with a group called BEE (Biblical Education by Extension). Mom and Dad are counselors/pastors to BEE staff members. Here's Mom's account of what happened:

A week before our trip, I had bad back pain. An MRI showed a bulging disk, one disc senosis and a deteriorating disk. The doctor prescribed pregnasone, which helped with the pain so Dad and I left for Europe.

We had a great flight and I had no problems. The first night in Prague I awoke at 3:00 in the morning with jet lag. I leaned over to look at the clock and pop went the back and I couldn't move. I had to wake Dad and say, "Can can you help me get down to a chair?" My whole hip area on both sides was tightening up and I was could not move without pain. I thought, "Oh no! We still have a whole month to go...can we continue the trip?"

In the morning Dad had a meeting and I didn't want to be left upstairs all alone, so I got dressed very, very carefully made my way to the elevator and down to the first floor. The one thing I could do without pain was sit in a straight back chair.

Three girls from the BEE office staff heard about my dilemma and came to see me. They said "We are going to pray for you for healing." Now I believe God can heal, but would He? As they prayed I felt a total relaxing sensation from the waist down.

A few minutes later I gingerly lifted myself out of the chair to make my way to the bathroom...it was then that I realized all the pain was gone and I could walk naturally. A month later and I have not had any more back pain. Thank you God.