Sister's Wedding PIcs

I woke up after having a really strange dream. I had finally got over to Russia and I told my ex about it and then I found out that she told me that her heart wasnt in Russia anymore. From there I proceded to let her know all of the things that she loved about it and why she told me that she went there for hours on end. Then I woke up. I was at peace with it when she told me about her decision, but I didn't feel like she was and that's what bothered me. It bothers me when somebody has an issue, or can't defend themslves when I was close to them at one time, or really close to them. In fact one of my biggest fears is not being there when people need me that I care about. I've always been very protective of people. So ya... weird dream. When I woke up I also had the verse Psalms 46:1-3,7 come to me. It states, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah." I was comforted it by that. God will always be there for you no matter what. In other news... MY SISTER GOT MARRIED!!!!!!! She was married on October 14th. A few pics that I took at her wedding can be found at the top of the page. Since my sister was married I'm the last remaining unmarried sibling. I'm not sure I like the tone to that, but I'm fine with it. In the past couple of years I've been asked out by six different girls and none of there are quite like what I want. I've also had random people in my church try hooking me up. I think it's kind of weird. I'm very picky though and I know what I like. I also feel that it's best to wait for the right one that God wants me to marry. A few things to mention:

I wouldn't marry a girl if...

1. She wasn't a Christian.

2. She didn't have a heart for orphans and troubled youth.

3. She was very worldly and stuck on having a ton of stuff

4. She didn't put God 1st above me.

5. She wasn't willing to go to Russia.

I could go on and on about this, but I think that I'm going to try to sleep. I'll leave you with a poem that I wrote when I was thinking about dating/getting married.

Heart Shaped Pie

Are you equally yolked? ~2 Corinthians 6:14~

A heart I have to give
For you the other one I live
As you gaze into my eyes
I have merely one piece left of my pie.

A piece saved for the one I love
That special someone whom God sent from straight above.
So please consider this piece of mine
For a lady with such a cool personality as thine.

Where are the other pieces you ask
I gave them to my Lord Jesus for it was my task.
I would give you my whole heart
But that wouldn't fit the part.

Because if your not for my Savior divine
Then I don't want you on my mind.
So please consider this
Does your piece fit this Miss?

Long Week

I've had a long and interesting week. I've been talking to different missions organizations, employers, etc. I've also been working on writing out stuff about my past and why Russia. I'm also including names about people that have influenced me along the way. It will be a first name basis just to be safe. Also in the past week my neighbors were busted for a drug house that I had told people about from recognizing stuff from my past. I was never a drug dealer, or anything like that but I had friends that were into that type of thing. I also hung out with a mix of jocks and druggies growing up. Some of my closest friends were killed dealing with that stuff, or abused the stuff. Some days I wish that I had spoken up more about it as a kid and maybe stopped some of the stuff before it happened. I was also involved with some gang related stuff, but the only time I would get in trouble was when I was protecting somebody that I cared about, or that couldn't defend themselves. Fighting to hurt is stupid! I also couldn't stand it when guys disrespect girls and don't listen to them. God made every women's heart in it's own unique way for one man to love and to hold. The same people with the drug house also got me with bear mace (it's used to take down a grizzly bear) and other stuff. On top of all of that my grandma died. I'll always miss her. She was always there for me when I needed her. Here obituary can be found at http://www.papefh.com/obits/View.aspx?oID=590 . I'm happy for her that she can finally be with my grandpa. She missed him. Please pray for my mom and our family. Oh yes and to top off the week my phone died. If anybody wants to know anything all you need to do is ask. I'm considering looking into finding some of the kids that I know that hang out in some of the drug hang out spots and see if they are getting any better, or if they are still there. The way I view it is to see why they take it first and then go from there. So if anything this week pray for my family, the kids, Russia, and so much more. Someday I would love to work with something involving counseling, addictions, street kids etc. in Russia and bring them into the church to show them to the true hope found in one thing and one thing alone. Have a great night!

Applying to Four Oaks

Four Oaks is an adoption agency and place where they help kids become sucessful adults and also find forever homes for kids in the system. After just finishing my application for it I have the feeling of super excited and super nervous. The same type of feeling I had so many years ago. 2 of the things that I absolutly love combined into one... Who could ask for anything more! Every kid deserves a forever home. I miss working with kids like that and I absolutly love it. Too bad it wasn't in Russia though. If you know me and my heart you would understand how important it is to me. I know that my past is a little hard with somethings, but God allows everything to happen for a reason. I've been changing little by little according to his plan. Please pray that God puts me there if he wants me there.

God's Calling

Lately I've been praying a ton about different things. Overall I seem to find myself praying more with people that I never knew even existed and I'm fine with that. I'm not afraid to talk to anybody anywhere, anytime. The last people I talked to were talking to me about the need for RSL (Russian Sign Language) in many of the churches in Siberian Russia. Also they seemed to point out that Russians would say that when I work in my -40 and have to go outside to 115 about every 10 minutes this past week that it is good for your health. Being the way that God made me I would strongly disagree and prefer to call it moo-ka (torture). 155 degrees is like touching a hot stove and then sticking your tongue to a flag pole in the middle of winter. Not suggested at all! You might even say but what about banyas in Russia and then jumping into the water? Not bad; but not something I would want to do for 8 hours off and on. Though throughout your life sometimes God may not put you in a comfortable situation, or you may have anxiety about that situation. In the long run God does everything according to his perfect plan. For instance a couple my the names of Alan and Juliann were looking into going to Russia and working in missions there, but Alan thought that he wanted to go with the old organization that he used to work with. After contacting them and going over a few things God untimely changed his mind. It just didn't seem to line up with where God had laid the burden on his heart. Eventually they found a great missions organization and have been working in the Buriyat region of Russia for the past several years. Currently he is a church planter. They work with the people there and draw in people to their church. Their church consists of a lot of deaf people. Currently this summer they have 2 other people staying with them on a short term missions deal. One girl knows ASL (American Sign Language) and is trying to reach some of the Russians there. She is noticing that a few of the words are the same, but most of them are not. There is always a need for people with RSL (Russian Sign Language) abilities. So pray that she is able to pick up the RSL better. In the long run if you are interested in the Buriyat Language, Russian, or sign language of any kind consider a place like Ulan Ude. Who knows maybe God God could be calling you there. Besides that God doesn't just use the word 'go' as in go sometime in Mark 16:15. He uses it more in a sense that not only are you going now but that you are always going towards the future. So where ever your at just remember that the missions field is everywhere not just in your own home. Also consider Russia. They need missionaries, but ultimatly go where God calls you and not ultimatly where you may want to be!

Proverbs 16:9 “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”

Thoughts

As I work on the seemlessly never ending thing called life and my project that I want to get done I look back and wonder about so much. I'll be the first to admit that God is changing me slowly as I listen to all of these different missions organizations that ask me questions and give me their answers. Alot of them are hard to find becasue they aren't technically listed. Overall I'm learning alot about opportunities in Russia. I can tell you this much that even though everybody may not fully agree with my beliefs I think that it's important to spread the gospel in anyway possible even if it means helping a group of people find an organization that I might not fully agree with. The only group that would bother me would be one that doesn't truly worship the one true God. Russia seems too have plenty of those people as it is. I know that I hear people at work tell me almost everyday that I'll never make it to Russia. I hear it from my dad practically everyday as he points out all of the things that hold me back and mocks me for the things that I do or have that bother him. I admit it that I still have way too much even though I've gotten rid of over half of what I own. For awhile I kept bringing more in with a bigger better mentality until the da investigated me and had me show them how I could manage to make so much more money then what I made at my job. Thank God they let me off with a warning and told me how they want me to document certain things I sell for tax purposes. I seem to have my room for misc storage purposes now and that's about it. Someday it will become a room again when I go to Russia. In the meantime I use it for sorting, building, and planning. I'll admit most of that stuff in there I don't need, but I have a lot of memories with it. At the moment I'm really open to where I go in Russia and I'm not going to say no to anybody at the moment. There is only one place that I can say not at this time and that is where my ex-gf is. I'm not saying never though becasue if God wants you somewhere he will bring you there. I have to say not at this time becasue the last thing I want to see is to see her get hurt/bothered by it. Other then that I'm completly open. In the long run I would rather be in a less reached area of Russia then somewhere where everybody goes. I'm open to going to a bigger city for now too. God will do things in the way that he wants them. I would love to learn more Russian so I can someday do something similar to what Hudson Taylor did. I'm a strong believer in the fact that ever kid needs a home, every kid needs a role model in there life whom they can abide in, and every kid needs God! True hope can only be found in Christ and Christ alone (Rom. 5)! If your not mentoring a kid stop and look around. You can find one. I'd try contacting a friend that is a social worker, your local boys and girls club or something like that.

The Project

As I prepare for this next year I continuously pray and search. I ask nothing less of God then give me a heart for those that I don't know, give me the challenge of a lifetime as I go to the place you want me to go in Russia, and above all else spread the truth found in Christ and Christ alone. I may not know exactly where I end up in the long run, but it's a work in progress. Currently I'm working on creating a list of different missions organizations and figuring out everything about them. I'm also looking into what places they are in in Russia and where they're not. As much as I would consider the places where they're at I would rather go to a place where none exist in the long run. I also wonder about and am contacting people of organizations to see where they suceeded, where they failed, and why they still exist/don't exist anymore. I won't be publishing the info on here, but I will keep it to help others if they truly need help. It's more safe this way. As long as the true message of Christ is spread within Russia, youth, orphans, etc. are drawn into the church and shown this true hope Russia will change one child at a time. I'm not afraid to talk to anybody anywhere, any place, or anytime. I may get a little nervous though if a gun, or something is pointed to my head like in the past, but I won't be quiet. If you know of any organizations that serve in Russia, solid churches there, people interested in serving there in anyway that arent there, etc. email me @ ajleggett@hotmail.com. Every child deserves a home, every person needs a motherly and/or fatherly figure to look up to, and true hope can only be found in Christ and Christ alone!

Thoughts

The other day was an interesting day. Other then the fact that I was frustrated in basketball. I made 11out of 14 shots, but didn't get the ball passed to me at all during the 4th quarter. The next game we have is against a team with 4 really good players. Two of them played D1 and the other 2 were great scorers in high school. I also found out that I qualified for the state figure skating competition. The neat part of the day was at work. While I was at work I ran into 3 different Russian people in the same hour. Two of them I've never seen before. I may not know all the customers, but I know the ones that speak Russian. The person that I met the other day was named Olga. She said that she was from the part of Russia that is right by the Black Sea and near the Crimean part . I think that it might be Ukraine. While I was talking to her I asked her what church she was going to. She told me that she was going to a Greek Orthodox Church which was kind of strange to her becasue it wasn't Eastern Orthodox like what she grew up in. Anywaysafter talking awhile longer I asked her if she would be interested in going to a Russian speaking church that I knew of in the area. She wasn't quite sure about it after she found out that it was a Baptist Church. She did tell me that she would think about it and talk to me more about it. I told her dasvdanya in Russian as she left and she waived. Pray she comes back and gets the other information. Also look around where you're at. You never know where there are people interested in learning about God and how you could help change a person's life forever. With God all things aare possible. Just think about it!