1.     God cares about the details. Principle numero uno. I cannot tell you how many times I repeated this phrase to myself while being here. Things that normally shouldn't be hard were so emotionally taxing. For example, in America going to the store is second nature and normally takes only one trip. In Russia, it’s stressful because everything is foreign. You almost can never find what you want when you want it and when you do find it you have to decipher the Russian to make sure it is exactly what you want. Or walking. Walking is a hard task here, too. Every step is a risk of falling on the slippery, cold ice (in the winter). I was even fearful of the airport security upon my arrival. But through it all, the Lord reminded me that He cares about the small things. The things that are out of my own control are perfectly controlled by Him and in the palms of His hands. All he wants me to do is come to Him. He delights in my helpless prayers of “help me get to the store” or “help me walk to class” or even “help me to finish this Russian homework.” The point is my dependence on Him is growing and He wants that for all of our lives! In the Beatitudes, Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matt 5:3). Being dependent, or “poor in Spirit,” was the first thing on Jesus’ list as He was talking to the disciples. So it should be first on ours, too.