Class of 2013
Teaching English in Russia Track: Teaching
Region: Europe

Easter: Sunshine and Rest, Meat and Wine
Posted on May 29, 2014
Among all the annual Holy Days (holidays) celebrated by Christians, none is of greater import than Easter. The Grand Miracle of the Incarnation which begins with Christmas reaches its fulfillment here, and even the incredible sacrifice which God the Father made of His own willing Son on Good Friday is ultimately meaningless, says Paul, if Death had been allowed to keep His prize – but Jesus broke forever the power of sin and Death and if that isn’t worth celebrating, nothing ever has been. Not the Super Bowl, not your birthday, not a new bicycle or a baby or anything. Unlike Christmas, which... Read moreOne Holy Saturday: The Moment I'm Here For
Posted on May 28, 2014
The word ‘holiday’ only means ‘holy day,’ and even if sometimes what it really means is that schools and post offices are closed and there are sales on cars and mattresses, sometimes holidays really do retain some holiness. This Saturday was Holy Saturday, and it was. Saturday was beautiful. Saturday was why I’m in Russia. Saturday was holy. If you haven’t yet read the previous post, about Good Friday, you can do that now; this one will still be here when you’re done, and it will be easier to understand. And: because I am, simply, the worst at getting the pictures I need, I don’t have one of... Read more
Good Friday: School and a Party and the Father who Loved
Posted on May 27, 2014
In trying to do some justice here to the past semester, I have a lot that should have been posted long ago, including several posts, of which this is the first, written a couple of weeks ago but not until now seeing the light of internet. Of these, I really need to start here, in mid-April, with an epic trilogy that really shows bits of most of what I’ve been doing all year. Easter weekend, in all its glory, is far, far too good to be left unshared. Easter often falls on different dates in the Western and Orthodox traditions, but this year it is on the same Sunday for both. The whole weekend... Read more
Unexpected New Directions
Posted on May 14, 2014
It’s really a terrible shame that updating this has fallen off my radar to such a degree that I haven’t been seen here since February. It’s really full spring now, and the semester which fast approached when last I posted is now waning to its home stretch. This second semester has in many ways followed the pattern of the first and found its routines, but it has been by no means boring. I have every intent now, though, of throwing up several posts soon to throw some light to you, the curious, about how the last months have gone. They’ve been less excitingly brand new than the first... Read more
Tiny Blessings
Posted on February 4, 2014
This Sunday was a team meeting, where we got together, all six of us in one place for the first time in a couple of months, to study Bonhoeffer and talk about God and life, and eat muffins and chocolate, and laugh, and celebrate our little community while studying a book about Christian community. It was good, as always. (A note on 'the team,' for those who may be confused: I live with one other guy, who is 'my teammate.' There are three girls living in a suburb of Saint Petersburg, at whose house we were meeting; one teaches at the same schools I do, the other two teach in their city. And a... Read more