"O Happy Day!" or "There is light at the end of the tunnel...oh wait, that might be a train!"

The day that many of you have been praying for has finally arrived...this morning we received a phone call informing us that this was our last week of full-time language study!

So, what does this really mean?  Does it mean that Marc and Kellye are fluent in the Russian language and can speak as the natives do?  Hardly.  Does it mean that our language lessons have ended and we are left to figure out the rest on our own.  Of course not.  However, what it does mean is that we now have the flexibility to include ministry activities into our weekly routine and we are now able to serve alongside our team members in reaching the lost of Moscow.

While this news has invigorated us mentally, it is bound to exhaust us physically, so please don't stop praying!  In very practical terms this switch in our status will keep us very busy because I will continue to study four days each week and Kellye will study language two days a week while incorporating ministry into our weekly routines.

Well, it is taco night and while they do make me think about Jesus, they also make me think about how long it has been since I have eaten today!  We will try to keep you updated with more news as often as possible.  Thanks again for praying for us and we hope that you will celebrate this milestone with us.

Blessings,

Marc

Russian Exams (Thankfully not mine)

Many of you have heard Kellye and I talk or write about our language teacher, Irena.  She is a wonderful teacher and we really can't say enough about how patient and kind she is.  You may have also heard us talk about her son, "Erik" and the problems he is having with his exams at the university here in Moscow. 

Now, I won't pretend to know all of the ins and outs of the Russian university system, so let me just say that you need to continue to pray for him.  After successfully passing the test he needed to in order to be eligible to take his battery of exams, he is struggling with the exams themselves.  He has another today and another later this week and yet another next week.  If he performs poorly on too many of these tests it is possible that he will be removed from the university and compelled to join the Russian Army.  And you can only imagine what kind of life that could mean.  

So, please join our family in prayer for Erik and Irena this week and next as he studies for and takes his exams.

Thanks!

Blessings,

Marc

Photo Essay-Part 3

I am entitling this portion of my photo essay "Ironworks." You see, I love bridges, statues, and have a strange affinity for lampposts. So here are some things made out of metal. :-)

This is the footbridge leading to Christ our Savior Cathedral. If you look closely you can see the hundreds of padlocks left there by newly-weds.


The same bridge and cathedral.


This is more a photo of one of the Kremlin towers than it is a bridge, but I used the ironworks of the bridge to frame the shot.


Another Soviet design carved wrought into the frame of this bridge which crosses the Moscow River and provides an excellent view of the Kremlin.


A statue of three horses located in the Alexander Park adjoining the Kremlin grounds.


I loved this lamppost, especially with the new snow topping it off.


One of the many lampposts on the grounds of Christ our Savior Cathedral.

This mini-statue depicting the the cathedral is in between each of the lamps on the post.


More lampposts at the cathedral.


This bronze relief nativity is one of many relief statues on the outside walls of the cathedral.

Photo Excusion--Part Two

These padlocks are several of the hundreds of locks attached to the foot bridge near Christ Our Savior Cathedral. Just-married couples will lock a padlock to the fence, and together they'll throw the key into the river - as a symbol of the strength and "unbreakable bond" of their marriage. Many of the padlocks have the names of the newlyweds and their wedding date engraved.


Moscow does an incredible job when it comes to snow removal. This is one of several photos that I took of a crew clearing the courtyard outside of the cathedral.


The view across the Moscow River of the monument to Peter the Great. The statue is 94 meters and is built on the riverbanks.


A typical Russian man. (This photo was taken on Red Square just before he spent five minutes chatting with me and then begging me for money.)


Winter in Moscow is a rather magical time, especially when there is new snow on the ground. In January an ice rink is assembled in the middle of Red Square (seen in the background.) I just love Russian children. These sisters were having fun playing in the snow while their parents posed for photos in front of St. Basil's Cathedral.


The obligatory St. Basil's in the snow photo.


This little fellow was posing for photos in the courtyard outside of Red Square. Who can resist monkeys...especially ones with their own snow suits and boots!


This statue of Marshall Zukhov, hero general of WWII, is located just outside the entrance to Red Square. Zukhov sent over 30,000 soldiers to their deaths trying to break through to Berlin.

Photo Excursion - Part One

Kellye and the little kids were at school today and my lesson finished at noon which left me with an afternoon to kill. It was actually the kind of day that I have been waiting for. Over the past few days the city has been blanketed with around 5 inches of snow and we continued to have a light snowfall when I left the apartment this afternoon. My goal--a photo excursion in the center of the city. I tried to capture some of the "essence" of living in Moscow and to do that I shot close to 200 photos of places, people and everyday life. So, since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is part one of my latest photo essay.





This is the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, one of the largest Orthodox cathedrals which was constructed by Tsar Alexander to commorate Russia's victory over Napoleon and was dedicated in 1883. During communism Stalin had the cathedral blown up and the foundation was used as a public heated swimming pool for several decades. It was reconstructed in the 1980s and restored to use in 2000.


This soviet hammer and anvil is one of many cast into the ironworks of a bridge that crosses the Moscow River. From the bridge you can see a breathtaking view of the Kremlin and if you look closely you can see one of the Kremlin spires in the background.


These mounted soldiers were patrolling the outside wall of the Kremlin in the new-fallen snow.


One of Moscow's many "babushki" (or "grandmother") taking a rest on a snowy park bench just outside of the Kremlin.


This is Russia's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, dedicated to the Soviet soldiers killed during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. It is located at the Kremlin wall in the Alexander Garden.


A statue of Lenin which sits outside of the Lenin Library in Moscow. It's size and importance are comparable to the US Library of Congress. It is the national library of Russia.


This statue is located in the garden outside of the Christ Our Savior Cathedral and is officially called the Monument to Emperor Alexander II, the Liberator Tsar. An inscription at the base listing his accomplishments says that he "freed millions of peasants from centuries of slavery." The 16-foot statue sits atop a 16-foot pedestal. Alexander was assassinated in St. Petersburg in 1881. The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was built on the spot where he was murdered in memory of the Tsar.


Sometimes there is nothing better than curling up with a good book. This is one of the many bronze reliefs adorning the outside of Christ our Savior Cathedral.


The view of the Kremlin, Kremlin Palace and Red Square from one of the bridges crossing the Moscow River.

Facts and information contained in this essay are taken from Wikipedia.com.

"My Family" Essay

Life here in Moscow has become rather mundane in the early part of the new year. We have language lessons every day and spend much of the rest of the day doing homework, going to the store, or trying to do things with the kids. Frankly, that does not make for much of an exciting blog. This week I began studying the last of the six grammatical cases in the Russian language. (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, and prepositional for those of you who are keeping score!) One of the hardest things about learning Russian is that words (and even names) change depending on what case they are. And, depending on how it is constructed you can even have several cases all within the same sentence.

As Kellye has mentioned in her blogs, as a general rule I am rather fearless when it comes to speaking Russian to people outside of the home. I have found that it is the best way to practice what I have learned and I learn so much from my many mistakes. And there are many, but they usually don't stop me from talking to folks when I can. I have fairly decent pronunciation and my vocabulary is growing each week (though not nearly at the rate that I am being taught). However, I just hate to read and to write in Russian because, like in English, I do not spell very well and it is harder to cover grammatical errors when they are in print. So, as we finished learning the ins and outs of the instrumental case, my homework last night was to construct a short essay about my family. Now, rest assured that after three months of study we can do more than talk about our family. However, this essay was supposed to contain certain information about each person to make sure that throughout the essay I used all six of the grammatical cases. So, since I really have not done much each day other than study Russian I thought that I would share my essay with you. I have provided the translation at the end of each paragraph. I hope you enjoy seeing what we do each day and I ask that as you read this you continue to pray for our language acquisition skills and for stamina and endurance.

Blessings,
Marc


СЕМЬЯ ХУКС
HOOKS FAMILY

Меня зoвyт Марк Хукс. Мoя семья живёт в Москвe недолго. Но мы из Америки. У нас троe детей –– один мальчик и две девочки.
My name is Marc Hooks. My family has not lived in Moscow long. But we are from America. We have three children -- one son and two daughters.

Mне тридцать девять лет. Я работаю видео продюсером и миссионером в ИМБ. Раньше Я был журналистом. Сeйчас Я занимаюсь русским языком дома с препoдавателем. Потому что у меня хороший препoдаватель Я гoвoрю неплохo пo-pусски.
I am 39 years old. I work as a video producer and missionary for the IMB. Before, I worked as a journalist. Now, I study the Russian language at home with a teacher. Because I have a good teacher I speak Russian not too badly.

Мне нравится смотреть Американский фyтбoл и Я интересуюсь командoй «Оклаxомa Сунерс.»
I like to watch American football and am interested in the Oklahoma Sooners.


Этo моя жена. Её зoвут Kелли. Я люблю жену. Раньше она была препoдавателем, но сейчас она работает миссионером и занимается pусским языком. Она тоже учится дома с препoдавателем.
This is my wife. Her name is Kellye. I love my wife. Before, she worked as a teacher, but now she works as a missionary and studies the Russian language. She also studies at home with a teacher.

Eй сорок лет. Она интересуется литературой и истоpией. Ей тоже нравится петь.
She is 40 years old. She is interested in literature and history. She also likes to sing.



Это моя дочь, Сара Бет. Ей пятнадцать лет. Она учится дома.
Ей нравятся мальчики и магазины. Тоже, Сара Бет интересуется музыкой.
This is my daughter, Sarah Beth. She is 15 years old. She studies at home. She likes boys and shopping. Also, Sarah Beth is interested in music.








Эта мои дети Ханна и Джон. Ей деcять лет и ему шесть лет. Они учатся дома но занимаются спортoм в Хинксоне. Джон интересуется биологией и Ханна интересуется Американским фильмом «Ханна Монтана».
These are my children Hannah and John. She is 10 years old and he is six years old. They study at home, but study sports at Hinkson. John is interested in animals and Hannah is interested in the American (rv show) film "Hannah Montana."

Oh what a year it has been!

I have taken much of the last 10 days to reflect on the year that has past and to plan and dream about the year that awaits us.  As you can well imagine, 2007 was a year filled with change.  In 12 months our family took our first trip to Russia, had our final interview with the IMB, sold nearly all of our belongings, closed my business as Kellye finished a successful teaching career, said goodbyes to friends and family in Florida, moved into a mission house, spent 10 days in Baltimore with my parents, moved to Richmond, VA where the entire family had 8 weeks of classes designed to prepare us for the mission field, were commissioned as IMB missionaries, said more goodbyes to family, moved to Moscow, started learning the Russian language, spent nearly three months without reliable internet connections, and celebrated our first Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's in Europe's largest city...our new home.  Wow!  That makes me tired just thinking about it.  The past year has surely been one of those landmark years that you spend the rest of your life looking back on.

This morning I was reading from the 14th Chapter of Luke where Christ is teaching about the cost of discipleship.  The Message reads this way: 

25-27  "One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, "Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters -- yes, even one's own self! -- can't be my disciple.  Anyone who won't shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can't be my disciple.

28-30 "Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn't first sit down and figure the cost so you'll know if you can complete it?  If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you're going to look pretty foolish.  Everyone passing by will poke fun at you:  'He started something he couldn't finish.'

31-32  "Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other?  Ad if he decides he can't, won't he send an emissary and work out a truce?

33  "Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple."

I share that passage with you not to elevate our family or to call attention to what was left behind, but to bring specific attention to verses 28-30.  This has been a difficult year.  It is one thing to stand up in your home church and profess your love for Jesus.  It is quite another to turn your back on a profession that you have spent your adult life building, to tell family and friends that Jesus is more important than they are, and to count the cost of discipleship with your spouse and children.  My friends, we did not get to Moscow without first counting the cost.  And that is ok.  My largest fear is that we will be like the man who gets the foundation of his house laid and then runs out of money.  I do not want to be the man of whom people say, "He started something he couldn't finish."

So that brings me to the present year.  While 2007 was filled with change, 2008 will be a year of running the race.  And, as races go, it will not be a sprint but a marathon.  Come to think about it, it will probably be more of a steeplechase or triathlon with courses that change and many obstacles to overcome.  When Kellye and I married 18 years ago we decided that divorce would never be an option and therefore no matter what problems we may encounter so therefore it would not be something that we would discuss.  We have had to take a similar approach to the thoughts of going home.  It is not an option.  Jesus has called us to Russia for this season in our lives and the cost has been counted.  Going home is not one of the options at this point and therefore we have had to ban that vocabulary from our lives.  No matter how bad our days feel the suitcases must stay in storage.  So, my friends that is my prayer request for the upcoming year.  Pray that we would be faithful.  Pray that we would continue to build the house that God has asked us to build here and that we would build it to completion.  As I have shared with you before, life here is not always easy.  As a matter of a fact, it is typically more difficult than the life that we left behind.  And, homesickness is a real thing.  We all struggle with it, the girls in particular.  Please pray that in 2008 that we will not look foolish.  Pray that we will be able to finish what we have started.

As for the year ahead, here are some of the things that we are looking forward to:

~ Learning enough of the language to have conversations with those around us.

~ Traveling our new city and country to see things we never thought that we would ever see or experience.

~ Working with the missionaries of Russia to help them produce the media pieces they need to support their work here.

~  Hosting volunteer teams from the States who will join us in our work here.

As you head into the new year please continue to remember our family in your prayers.  Pray that each day will become easier than the day before and that we would be able to share the light of Jesus with the Russians that we meet.  Pray for the children as they continue to adjust to their new home and pray that Kellye and I would be the kind of patient understanding parents that we need to be.

I look forward to see what the new year will hold not just for our family, but for you and yours.

Blessings,

Marc