The CEC Staff Christmas!

The entire staff of the Cultural Center (plus 5 Americans) gathered together to celebrate the reason for the season in style - wow. Look at this spread:

We talked, played games, sang karaoke (in Russian) and ate and ate and ate and ate. It was delicious. Amy & I contributed 8 lbs of Olivier (it's a traditional Russian New Year's salad - perhaps call it a very fancy potato salad). We wandered home hours later, very satisfied and in need of sleep, rest, and a LONG holiday.

Check out this incredible salad. Lena, our interpreter created it. She calls it, "Paris Fire"

Amy's Russian acting debut!

Yes, I was bursting with pride. On Christmas day, we had a Christmas Spectacular at ch^rch. It was really fun. Mostly the youth pulled everything together, but many participated. Amy even got to jump in and play the role of a snooty farm animal making fun of the lame sheep chosen to keep the baby Jes^s warm. Here's a photo of Amy and Nastya mocking Daniil.

didn't realize it was blurry - bummer. you get the idea though

Merry Christmas! My new Backpack!!!

Check out my sweet gift from Amy's parents! I got a new backpack. I'm gonna be able to carry all the books that I need to take to lessons and the CEC and to Russian lessons and D-Club, and interpreters, and and and... I know I'm the slickest dude in town now.... look how awesome it matches my coat!

rear view

front view

the World's greatest wife

Well guys, this isn't a knock on your wife - and ladies you're doing a great job, but I have the world's greatest wife!

I got home from work at 10:30pm. The house smells incredible. And then I realized what it was. Aunt Debbie's infamous Ricotta cookies! Amy found Ricotta here in Tyumen and made my favorite cookies.

They are incredible and still warm. We're in the kitchen baking and enjoying the holiday spirit.

G0d bless the Christmas!

It's finally beginning to feel a lot like Christmas! Here everything is already Happy New Year - so it's been a hard adjustment. We're keeping traditions alive and I've been sharing a lot with my students about the origin and reason for the holiday.

Merry Pre-Christmas - how about a flood?

So, our washer broke. Seems like it somehow broke two times. The first time, Amy came home to water ALL OVER the bathroom floor. Everywhere. Deep. It took almost every towel we have to clean up the mess. She's a champ though and had the whole thing cleaned up before I even got home from teaching!

We thought we had overloaded the washer... turns out:


not so much that we had overloaded the washer, but that it wasn't draining properly. You can see from this picture that we did have to drain it by hand.

A repair man did come over one week later, and uh - fixed it. The motor had burned out. Life is ever an adventure here. The key to solving any problem is pr@yer. A friend of a friend repairs washers and he was able to get a new motor for us and fix it in a jiffy.

Another day, another adventure.

Russians often say, "every day - something to overcome."

I'm glad we have the victory.

Hey all,

Several new posts, some dating back to 11/26/08 -- mostly just updated photos. So take a look back if you'd like to be completely caught up!

And even more funny occurrences

So today as Amy and I planned to take our day off and do some Christmas shopping - we set an alarm to get ourselves up and around. I went into the bathroom and realized that I hadn't taken out the laundry. So I opened the door.

And before I knew what was happening, I called, "Amy! Help me." And the flood began. Apparently, our washer is broken and no longer has a spin cycle. So... we stopped the water. We decided to deal with it later. It's our day off.

As we started to leave the apartment, we realized that we couldn't lock the outer door. We share this door with our neighbors. We have new neighbors and they apparently thought it was okay to change the lock on that door and not tell us... so we can't even lock all of our doors right now!

On my way to teach tonight, Amy and I waited for the bus for almost 20 minutes - and then when it arrived, it was VERY full. We tried to get on anyway, but we were literally pushed off the bus! I arrived with 1 minute until I was supposed to teach.

Yes! I was on-time! And able to teach with almost no preparation. Phew.

Medical encouragement

Yesterday Amy was speaking with our staff interpreter, Lena.  Lena is really busy with two jobs and the life of a single woman in Russia who doesn't live in her hometown.  (She rents a room from someone in their apartment).

Lena was mentioning that she needs to go to the doctor for some routine checkups.  Natasha, the camp program coordinator, also needs to visit the doctor...

...and then the phone rang.  It was a surgeon at one of the local hospitals who wants to provide medical services for all of the staff at the center.  So Irina, the director, went there yesterday to put their names on a list for free services.

Isn't G0d incredible?  We've already seen so many amazing blessings, the obvious, practical ones we seem to notice the most.  How many have we not noticed?

Gaming Addiction

Well, it's been another hundred years since I've blogged.  I can only claim intense busyness.  Sorry.  It should be better come January.

Anyway - I want to share with you about Discussion Club tonight.  I arrive about 15 minutes late every week because I come straight from teaching.  It's really inconvenient, but helping Amy have more direct m!nistry time.

Tonight at D-club there were several new people (at least 4 or 5).  2 of the guys were 3rd year students with limited English ability.  We were discussing habits (good or bad) and they said something about drinking two beers a night.  Well, that was a 'couple times a week' issue -- but the real issue was computer gaming.  They are missing school, missing apointments, etc.  Well - it's a problem.

So they're going to come back next week - just pr@y that they come back and that we have an opportunity to talk with them even more on an individual level.  Pr@y for 'Doom' and 'VIP'

Hosting

We really do a LOT of hosting at the house. It's an unexpected pleasure and interesting aspect of ministry. So we are learning how to cook LOTS of Russian dishes and many American dishes from scratch. If the ingredients are available... we'll try it.

Look at this beautiful table that we arranged for our ministry staff meeting.

And the result afterward...

Christmas Packages

Well, it is SO wonderful to receive packages. We feel loved, cared for, and blessed. Well, care packages rock in general. Christmas packages are really awesome filled with presents and packages filled with cooking supplies for Christmas are an amazing surprise!

We received 5 packages over the course of about 3 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We had decorations for Thanksgiving and now for Christmas. We've already baked the no-bake cookies, and tonight we made the peanut butter blossoms.

We played Christmas music and baked for a couple of hours. It really feels like home. Thank you so much to all who've sent something for us! It really has been a HUGE encouragement.

package arrival
Take a look at all of these goodies
The contents displayed

Amy cookingJeff boiling chocolate

S'mores!

Well, when you receive packages from home, besides the joy flooding your soul, the realization that you are loved deeply (it's not all that simple to send a package all the way to SIBERIA) - it does come down to the excitement of a young child and what's in the box.

Check out how fun this evening was! S'Mores!!!

making S'Mores - mmm mmmm good!

explosions

well, Amy and I just had a moment in our living room. It's about 9:30am on Sunday morning and Amy just flicked on the light in the living room. The bulb literally exploded. It didn't just go out - it made such a noise that Amy covered her head and I found my self cowering in a chair.

it's not the first time that explosions have been an issue for us. seems that fireworks are completely legal for ANYONE here. So at all times of the night fireworks go off... especially we know that new year's will be big. So sometimes we're asleep in bed and we just hear an explosion. Now, we're mostly used to it.

a week and a half ago, as I was walking back from work - Amy was walking to meet me. We'd been invited to the birthday party of an instructor at Lingvo (where I used to teach). Well, turns out that some kids were having a fun time and they had those silly pop bombs. There's nothing to them. The ones that you throw and there's a small flash of light and a . Well, these don't have a blinding flash, but doesn't come close to describing the sound. It's more like

I certainly had a moment where I was not only seized by fear of the exploding bomb, but fear that I would shame myself to no end by losing control of bodily function.

All is well, we're okay --> just a little jumpy.

the beauty of mud season

Well, although the season we're affectionately calling "mud" here (between Fall and Winter) is really dirty, it has it's positive beautiful side.

Mud

Well, let's just say that the mud season is in full swing. I had the most interesting day ever as I was literally SPLASHED with mud on my face. So it's been another one of those days. A new pair of pressed pants and freshly shined shoes... we do shine our shoes and boots here... shoes should be clean - you know?

Here is some photo evidence.

Shining the boots

The muddy shoes

The muddy pants

Christmas Tree

We've got a Christmas Tree!!! Life is SO cool! We received a gift designated to be a Christmas tree - we had to get an artificial tree and they're really quite expensive. From the US we received some ornaments and lights - so we got down to it and it's decorated and flashing and it's really WONDERFUL!

Without ornament hooks... make your own

It's our wedding anniversary photo frame!

Our tree is a bit crooked!

An idea of how tall the tree is!

The Dream Giver

It's a book by Bruce Wilkinson.  It's been selected as the theme for summer camp in 2009.  So we're excited to get to work, reading, planning studies and in general getting ready for interpreter training!  How cool is this?!  We even have the Dream Giver DVD.  So I'm excited, because I've been pumped about purpose for the past 15 years or so, and this is just up my alley.

Somedays life may be hard, but the next day G0d turns around and shows you a rainbow.

Teaching, a calling

I hope you all know that I've been teaching the last two months.  It's a really rewarding occupation and with the visa situation in Russia - it allows Amy and I to stay here without leaving every three months for three months.

It has been really tough.  My schedule changes almost weekly and it's been very hard for us to establish a pattern of any kind.  And I've been bucking and fighting it tooth and nail.

Which is certainly NOT what I'm supposed to be doing, nor has it been very obedient.  G0d called us here and called us to this for us to be here.  As I'm teaching, Amy is learning Russian, working with the staff at the cultural center, making contacts, building relationships, etc.

It has been incredible to see her flourish here.  I need to keep a better perspective about how G0d is working and that we're a team.  The past two weeks have been incredible.  We had guests from America (Kate & Sherry) who run a pregnancy center stateside.  While they were here, Amy visited several schools, a medical institute, and one of the local universities.  She was able to share with folks, have meetings, and just really really shine.  (She wouldn't say that, but I can). 

So it was a tremendous reminder to me that WE are here serving and that my teaching is good enough if only it serves as a conduit for Amy to be here.

But that's not all.

I'm having all kinds of opportunities with my students as well.

Just yesterday I was able to share about the crazy day I had (the students asked because of the goose egg on my forehead).  I told about how the car died on the way to the airport and wouldn't start.  Much to my personal shame, I am NOT mechanical - so couldn't fix it myself.  But, I was able to share that we pr@yed and that the car started.  I talked about how G0d is listening and how He wants us to talk with Him and that He hears us.

It was really quite cool.  Some eager expresssions, some chagrined, some disinterested.  Divine opportunities are waiting for us in every day life.

Our director of studies has noted that I'm the only teacher with frequent student cancellations.  My students all enjoy my classes - especially one-on-one students.  But my classes are cancelled often.  In fact, last week 13.5 hours were cancelled.  It's because of pr@yer.  We had guests for 2 weeks and I wanted to spend some time with them and the m!nistry... so G0d made that possible.  Isn't that cool?

So, I shared with her that we had been pr@ying for less teaching.  Voila!  Opportunity to share.

Here's another from yesterday.  I chose the warm-up topic of superstition yesterday.  It's a great conversation and really gets into some sp!ritual issues.  So three groups of my students discussed Russian superstitions with me.  It's double useful conversation: I learn about Russian culture AND it's a sp!ritual conversation.

So I learned a great deal about superstitions - one of my students invented the word stuperstition which we all thought was really funny.

I was asked by a student why Americans say "Oh, my gosh" instead of the British varient "Oh, my G-d."  So I was able to share about how our country was founded on Chr!stian principles and that respect for G0d is one of them.  Something I never imagined being able to ask in class, "Do you know what the 10 Commandments are?"  So conversation and opportunities abound. 

If you open your eyes wide enough, sometimes you can see what G0d is doing.  I'm not teaching just for our visas.  I'm not being pulled away from what we came here to do.  I was called to it.  It is where I am supposed to be.  I need to stop fighting against the time teaching.  I'm here for a reason, He knows what He's doing... struggling against G0d's calling... it's not gonna get me very far... 

Jeff and the no good, horrible, very bad day

Have you ever read the childrens' book about Alexander and the no good, horrible, very bad day? Well, my day wasn't that bad. It was so full of blunders though that it's worth a comparison.

We've had guests for 2 weeks. It has been wonderful! Sherry and Kate came to visit us and work with Victoria at the Pregnancy Resource Center. They had a ball and really have encouraged Victoria so much. One of the local universities wants to have Victoria back to speak with 3000 students over several months!

Well, they got up at 4am and we at 5am to take them to the airport. It's already a bad day, because they were leaving. In Russian you say, "встать не стой ноги" to get up on the wrong leg. Well, Kate was standing in the hallway and she said, "Dad, I don't know how it broke - I didn't do anything."

It's been so fun having them here, it really has been refreshing to see how honest they are and how dependent we all are on each other. This place feels pretty foreign at first blush, so the ladies were following on Amy's heels in the store, asking for permission to go and buy a coke, and they were so proud when they walked home together without for the first time.

And we were proud of them. It takes a lot of guts to go out alone when your vocabulary is: hi everyone, bye, thank you, yes, no. (Kate's vocabulary grew every day).

So anyway - I digress. The shower cord broke. Do we have an extra one? Actually, yes we do! G0d already provided in our early morning time of need. I felt like a jack-of-all-trades as I repaired the shower before brushing my teeth.

We all got ready and left the apartment to load up Jim & Sally's car.

No light. The hallway was dark, the stairway was dark... so we hauled six suitcases down a dark staircase - I ran back to the apartment for a flashlight! Just another funny stumbling block in daily life.

We managed to get all the luggage in the car, get the back of the car closed, and we were on our way.

As we neared the airport, the car stalled. No reason that I can think of. Just stalled. Now, I commented earlier that I felt like a jack-of-all-trades. This definitely ends at anything mechanical. So I was terrified and really trying to figure out what G0d had in mind for us. The airport was in sight - but probably too far for hauling luggage.

We pr@yed. The car started - no problems since. We made it into the airport, checked in, and got Kate and Sherry into security. As we waited in sight, we watched them pull Kate aside. They started going through her bags, I wanted to bust into security to protect here, when she came back to the security door.

"The ketchup! I can't take it on the plane!" Kate called to us. Oh, no! The gypsy ketchup (it's delicious). So, we have a few extra bottles of ketchup and America will be poorer for it.

(I know this is a long entry - sorry - at this point it's about 7:20am, and I have a whole day of calamity left to share with you).

We returned home in еле-еле (barely moving) traffic. It's actually our first snow in Tyumen that's stuck. So winter has arrived and you know how people drive in the first snow....

I immediately jumped into grading exams for my students and writing the end of semester report for three classes. Amy glanced at the clock and sent me off running to teach my first student (you'll remember I'm teaching English for both of our visas). So, I get to work at 9:57am just in time to teach at 10am when the call comes in that my student has cancelled.

I head to another firm where I teach to pick up some folders I need for writing my reports. I get the folders, head home, and realize that papers were at work the whole time. So I head back there. Mind you, this all required one hour on a bus and 30 minutes of walking. (Amy did accompany me on the walk to help talk me down from my frustrating moment of WASTED time. --> y'all probably remember that I'm a bit type A (yes, a bit) and that wasting time is hard for me).

So I got to work and took off my boots to put on shoes. Why would Jeff mention this in the tale of his day? Well, because I bent over to put on my shoes and WHACKED my head on the corner of the shelves. What was my initial reaction? Of course, to pull back. So I BANGED the back of my head on the underside of the desk. I kind buckled down to my knees and just started laughing. Laughing so hard I was crying a little bit. So, when the director of studies came on the scene, I'm on the floor with a bump on my head, a little bit of blood, and tears running down my face - what a sight!

So that was nearly the end of the whole situation. I'll just add that I made a great language mistake teaching and told students that a tea cup sits on an adultress (saucer is what I thought I said).

I hope you're laughing, I sure was.

Amy's first caviar!

Mmmm mmmm good.

She's a real Russian girl now!

My shedule

...is changing all the time.

I was reading in my B!ble on Monday morning and G-d shared with me about the lesson He wants me to learn. In order to lead , you have to be equipped to be a good leader. In America, I worked at UM for 13 years. I put in my dues, learned a lot about the system, and started my own personal career. I slowly moved into leadership and then moved up the ranks.

In Russia, I was mostly thrust forward into working with folks - although I did start out small at summer camp. Well, it looks like the current needs really outweigh my abilities to be a good leader here at this moment. So G0d moved me out of the possibility to lead. I'm so busy teaching, I hardly see Amy sometimes. Well, I think He really wants me to experience what it's like for the nationals to work and live here.

So, I have little control over my own time. I get home between 8pm and 8:15pm most nights. Amy and I have dinner - talk for a while - collapse and then sleep.

Well, we asked if you would all pr@y with us. So - it's working. My work schedule hasn't reduced, but my hours are better. I'm not home at 10:30pm, but 8:30pm. Now it's changed again.

I'm going to be finished by 7pm every day starting in 1.5 weeks.

All of my classes were canceled for yesterday. One of my individual students canceled today. Two students canceled last week. It's getting better.

I have been able to appear at the Cultural Center (CEC) every day so far this week. I'm going to be at two meetings and three functions next week. It is a HUGE answer to pr@yer. Thank you and please keep it up! It's so encouraging to know that you are all out there supporting us in so many ways! Thank you thank you.

In January my hours are supposed to reduce by 10 hours each week! This is gonna be huge.

I've actually studied Russian more this week than ever! And I can feel the improvement. I'm reading my B!ble on the computer in Russian as well. e-sword is a GREAT free program.

Disco Shower

So this morning started like any other early morning. Dark, feeling a bit groggy, and headed straight to the shower (via the tea kettle to get the water boiling... we're becoming a bit more Russian daily). I'm in the shower, slowly sorting through the fog of my thoughts when the light goes off.

and on.

and off.

and on.

and off.

and stays off.

I gently say, "please turn the light back on."

and on.

We have guests. They're great - but they're not used to our wonderful Russian apartment yet. So, the light switches don't all turn on by flipping them up. They don't necessarily correspond to the location where they turn on the lights. So I think Kate was trying to turn on the toilet light when I was in the bathroom (they are TWO separate rooms).

So I had my first ever disco shower. It was cool.

Sharing with the Orphans

It was great to hear Sherri & Kate sharing with the orphans about what is so important to them. They were talking about making the right choices in a future spouse, about purity, and about dating. It was funny - because the room had both boys and girls, aged 12 - 18. So it was a very WIDE range and seems as though many of the kids were quite shy to speak up about dating.

Apparently at the orphanage all the kids think of each other as brothers and sisters - so not so much happening in the world of dating there.

Sherri and Kate had a Q&A with the kids and shared about their lives and families.

Tomorrow they'll be sharing with a group of women from the medical college in Tyumen.

Uspenko - orphanage visit

Our guests, Kate & Sherry, along with Victoria, Lena (interpreting), Amy & I went to visit the orphanage today at Uspenko. It's about 40 km from Tyumen by car and houses about 42 children. The system of orphanages in Russia is different than you might think. This orphanage (children's house in Russian) used to be a home for hard of hearing children, but is now an orphanage. Most of the children do have living parents. They have been removed from their homes by the state, because of issues at home. Usually a single parent home or a home in which one or more of the parents is an alcoholic or drug addict. The children are allowed to go home and visit on weekends and holidays. Sometimes this is good and of course, sometimes not.

It was an incredibly clean and modern facility compared to what one might expect. The Tyumen region is really quite wealthy and many of the children have their own cell phones and they ALL have their own mp3 players. The players were a gift from a company in Tyumen (as were the exercise room and many other acoutrements in the orphanage).

The director is a really wonderful lady who seems to genuinely love the kids. Each and every one of them. She knows them all by name and knows their hopes and dreams. It was really nice.

Lena shared with us that she does not think it typical of orphanages throughout all Russia. The one in her village is not nearly as nice and the kids have many problems.

If you have time, please pr@y for these kids that:
- they would flee alcohol and drugs as a form of escape
- they would not be exposed to cigarettes, pornography, etc at such a young age
- they would feel loved at the orphanage
- their parents would be healed so they can return home
- they can hear the truth and accept JC

World Upside down

Well, when you’re not really an organized person, and you teach yourself over the course of your life to be organized, this usually means only one thing. You’re coping. You’re not really organized, you’ve developed systems and methods for fooling yourself and others that you’re really organized. Here’s how to tell if you’re really organized. Do you always clean up after yourself? Do you clean up after others? Does it drive you crazy when things are neat and orderly? Then you’re really organized. If you run out of organization steam or you just put things in the same place so you don’t lose them, you’re not organized. You’re coping.

I’ve been coping since my junior year of college. As director of Campus Information at UM, I stretched my coping skills to the max and really fooled a LOT of people. Well, I was pretty organized, but I did it through tools. A planner, a calendar, reminders… all tools that kept me on track. It was especially critical for me that these tools had backup possibilities.

I told my colleagues and assistants, remind me – I don’t mind. I forget as often as I remember. Especially with things changing so often. Well, it finally caught up with me. Not only has it caught up with me, but I’m in the center of a vortex of disorganization.

My work schedule changes every 8 weeks. I’m constantly meeting new people and having a meeting here a let’s-get-acquainted there. Without a calendar or organizer, I’d be lost. Well, enter the pocket pc. I’ve had one for YEARS. The current one is 2 or 3 years old now. It’s great. Somehow about 2 weeks ago, it stopped syncing with my computer though. I’ve tried to get it to sync, but after 2 hours of wasted time, I’ve given up for a while. It’s very hard for me, because it’s one of my coping tools. My schedule has changed 3 times this week already and I have 3 meetings that aren’t usual. I’m so nervous about messing up and not showing up it’s crazy.

Well, There’s another thing that’s not working. It’s my cell phone. At first it was a simple thing. The headphones stopped working. It was annoying, because I use them to listen to Russian radio. Without as much exposure to constant Russian, it’s really great and it’s just natural speech. Nothing specially recorded, just people talking to people. Well, I took the phone in (3 times before I actually saw a repair technician I might add) and then it died altogether. So, now I don’t have my phone. (enter Super Sasha who lent me his old phone to tide me over – alas I haven’t taken the time to program all my numbers in it, so I have no idea who’s calling or any phone numbers of who to call.) So I’m stranded without another of my pieces of technology. So, I use this tool to listen to Russian, as a calculator (we’re constantly converting prices), as a voice recorder, and a backup to do list and calendar. It also doesn’t sync (because I don’t have it with me now – they promised one week… it’s already the second week and I’m told it’ll really be more like 3 months… please pr@y).

Our internet is causing problems at home too… well, I’m not complaining. I’m really trying to do less of that. I’m trying to be really positive and just take what comes. So I’m using paper tools for a little while to keep things on track so I’m not falling apart.

Too much dependence on technology. Here’s how I use it. Laptop on the fritz, pocket pc won’t sync, phone died. There’s too much going on here and I use technology as my second brain. My pocket pc is the world’s most useful dictionary… ugh!!! My watch even died. What is G0d teaching me?

Cool gadgets and cooler friends

So our friend Angie got us this cool octopus. We use it all the time! Really, every time we do laundry. Yeah, usually it holds our socks. Isn't this the coolest thing that you've ever seen?

Speaking with Elementary Students

It's SO much fun to talk to students. They're excited to be learning and it's so cool to see their progress. Sometimes, really funny things happen.

Today Amanda (one of my fellow teachers) asked a student, "Is it cold outside today?" He answered, "it's dirty."

Well, it's true. It's dirty. We're stuck in between real winter and fall... so there's MUD everywhere. Amy's already wearing boots -- and I should be. Yeah, my shoes are NASTY. Have a look.

seriously, one day's worth of mud

Winter Gear

Well, when you live in Siberia, your outer clothing is really critical. It's VERY interesting that people invest in their outer gear, because they (we) all spend a LOT of time outside. It's sorta like the place to be seen.

It's frustrating how much some of these items cost, but it's a required necessity to survive the temperatures! Here's Amy modeling some of the clothes that will protect her throughout the approaching winter....

Her green hat! It matches her American winter coat
(which doesn't match the weather here)

A real winter coat. Amy picked it out with our friend Tammy

Check out the heel on these boots! It's crazy. This is a VERY moderate boot. Russian women teeter around in stiletto heel winter boots!

Here's a really happy moment about midnight last week. The first "big flake" snowfall!

Love ... it's such a great topic

So this week at Discussion Club, we had a couple of surprises. First, I had planned to talk about personality profiles as we continue to get to know each other... as we got ready to start the talks, Amy & I had a short conversation and realized that the language abilities of the group gathered probably wasn't going to make it through the conversation. Every week we have some different folks, and most of the strong speakers were not present this week...

... so we changed the topic at the last minute. To Love. It was a HUGE hit. We suddenly ended up in this amazing conversation sharing about the book: The Five Love Languages. It was really enjoyable. Next week we're going to continue our conversations with the Four Loves by C.S. Lewis.

Here's the quick recap on the Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman

Are You and Your Spouse Speaking the Same Language? He sends you flowers when what you really want is time to talk. She gives you a hug when what you really need is a home-cooked meal. The problem isn't your love it's your love language! In this international best seller, Dr. Gary Chapman reveals how different people express love in different ways. In fact, there are give specific languages of love: Quality Time Words of Affirmation Gifts Acts of Service Physical Touch What speaks volumes to you may be meaningless to your spouse. But here, at last, is the key to understanding each other's unique needs. Apply the right principles, learn the right language, and soon you'll know the profound satisfaction and joy of being able to express your love-and feeling truly loved in return.

Promises Promises

The Russians say, не бросай слова на ветер "don't throw words to the wind" unless you can fulfill your promises.

Well, I PROMISE there will be more blog entries soon (in fact, this already fulfills the promise - that's cool).

It's been a very busy couple of months. Here's some quick news to share:

- B!ble college finishes up today. Ehud and Neiva Garcia have been here teaching for two weeks and they are great friends and incredible instructors.
- we have snow in earnest and it looks like it's here to stay.
- Amy has Fall boots and finally a winter coat. I'll post special pictures too. She still needs more winter gear though - boots, winter hat, winter gloves. Funny that gloves aren't enough, but there there are fall and winter varieties.
- I interpreted for 5 hours on Thursday. My brain hurt until sometime Friday. It's SO difficult - especially when there are lots of the0logical terms and English IDIOMS.
- I think I'm getting an ear infection, pr@y it's not the case
- PRAISE - I have a verbal agreement that in January my teaching load will drop 10 hours (nearly in half!) This is an incredible answer to PR@YER. Thank you, thank you.

Off to Russian lessons this chilly Saturday morning!

D-Club - How full is your glass?

One of my favorite topics to discuss and get a really good discussion going. Draw a picture of a glass. It's a half glass of water. Describe it... It's half a glass, it's half full, it's half empty.

We had a GREAT talk. Because it was a holiday week, we had fewer people than usual - only about 10 people, but the conversation was GREAT. We had a good talk and really started to talk about what it is that make people who they are.

It's really fun to start getting to know all of the folks who are attending. Please keep us in your thoughts as we're hoping that these discussion continue leading deeper and deeper.

A food entry

Well, I'm really behind in the blogging, sorry all. Here are some food highlights from the past couple of weeks.

These are the chocolate chip cookies that we baked for the interpreters and the staff at the CEC. It was really fun to have a few moments this last week to spend together and to serve those that we love here!

Last week, Amy made this DELICIOUS Russian meal for us!

In a feat of incredible skill, Amy created this delectable chicken pot pie. Can you not see it's beauty? It tasted even better and had the flakiest crust --> I am SO blessed.

My Brains Are Boiling!

Yup, that's right. It's a phrase in Russian, and it's VERY true for me right now. I just met with a friend of ours who is helping us study Russian and I'm a little overwhelmed (which is really the goal-immerse yourself, and it will come!). She is such a good teacher-today we went over an essay I wrote, reviewed the parts of the book that I read, she quizzed me on the new words I learned, and she helped me continue to work on pronunciation (something I need a lot of practice with).

I'm really pretty excited about language learning-I think the key is to continue to bombard oneself with it. It's really easy to do if you just look for opportunities-if you're walking down the street alone, for example, you can read the signs, or listen to Russian on your iPod, or listen to Russian radio on your phone (something cool that they have here in Russia). You can watch movies or TV shows in Russian . . . and best of all, you can just talk to people! On Tuesday I had a CRAZY Russian immersion day-I studied with our helper, Irina, for over an hour, then walked around the city with my friend Tanya (one of the interpreters from camp) for THREE hours. It was great, and I was really thankful to understand more with her than I have before, I feel like. But I was BEAT when I got home.

Whew! Thanks for listening to my ramblings . . . it was nice to have an English break. :)

Эйми (my name (Amy) in Russian)

DONUTS!

Sometimes, a taste of home really is great. Well, Amy had an incredible idea... we made donuts. We used pre-made bread dough, made a vanilla glaze and then dipped them in cinnamon sugar.

Wow! They were delicious. We photographed the occaision.

just the dough

frying in the pan... mmmmm

the finished product

Our first snow!

So we just planned on heading to ch^rch like any Sunday and got this great surprise!

amy amY AMY!!!!!

She's in the air right now folks. She's on her way back to Russia. It's been tough to be apart these 13 days. She's been cranking away in America with family, friends and a VERY special project. We're excited that the ultrasound project has come together so well and we have visitors coming in November to work with the Pregnancy Resource Center here. It should be really awesome... I can't WAIT to pick her up tonight at 3am!!!!!

The ichthus conversation

So it's the last day that Denis will be staying the night, I'm whipped from my second week of teaching already. He's got all kinds of energy, because he's on vacation and slept for 1/2 the day...

So at dinner (which started at like... 9pm) he brings up the ichthus ring that I wear. What does it mean/ stand for. I shared about the origin of the symbol and why Amy and I both have one.

This lead into a very long 5 or 6 hour talk (until 3am) about f@ith, bel!ef and what it means to me, to him, to people, etc. It was a pretty high level philosophical conversation and I started to struggle with the language by 1am. My head was bursting and I was just pr@ying for the right words.

He is definitely in a place where he is seeking. Seems like in my year absence back in America, he's been reading everything he can get his hands on. He's read about eastern and western philosphy. He's explored factions of Chr!stianity and he had a LOT of questions. Especially about the nature of man and how we've messed so much up. And the nature of G0d and how He could allow His Son to die. I think the conversation is FAR far from over.

I'm excited to continue it. Let's hope for more opportunities to talk. He lives SO far away and he leaves on Friday.

Waking up in Russian / Denis

Well, on Sunday one of my old pals from Discussion Club 06-07 came to visit from up north. 36 hours by train!

Denis came about 4pm and is going to be able to stay at our place until Amy gets back on Thursday morning (the hours are nearly countable!)

Anyway. Denis gave me a book that he'd been re-reading on the train. It's called White Poodle and he suggested I read a story called Elephant. Well, the cool thing is, I can read it. Sure there are quite a few words I don't know... I have to guess... but I'm doing okay. I read 3 pages before I collapsed into sleep.

So the crazy thing is, I woke up in Russian. Yeah, that's good progress. Thanks G0d for the opportunity for some immersion.

D-Club #2

Talk about an explosion. There were 26 people tonight. Well, maybe 21 technically. 5 people really came just to see Amy and she won't be here for 4 more days (small break down and I'm back).

The only advertising right now is a small 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper on the window of the Cultural Center. I guess that's good, because I don't know how many more we can easily accommodate with only 1 native speaker!

I'm excited to be seeing folks and there were MANY familiar faces this week. Many of them are clambering for English lessons. We used to teach an hour of free lessons before club. I think we should start again as it's really good for a pre-ev@ngelical program like this. It's just a matter of finding the time...

The British Varient

Yeah, I'm learning my own native language... my supervisor for teaching is a Brit. He's got a GREAT sarcastic sense of humor. He keeps correcting my English pronunciation. Which is a bit tough, since that's sorta my linguistic specialty. Oh well.

I just downloaded a LARGE list of British English / American English equivalents... let's hope it helps our communication ;)

Chastised and Admonished

I've been told NO MORE English. Only Russian. Here goes...

So I had a lovely dinner with friends tonight. It's always a pleasure to hang out with Sasha and Zhanna. We had a great dinner and it was nice to just sit and chat, be bombarded with Russian, and just be in the presence of friends. And then it happened...

Zhanna and I were talking about teaching schedules and how it's hard to study the language that you need to... for her - English, for me - Russian. Well, she had a solution. No more ENGLISH. I have to read in Russian and listen to Russian as much as possible...

So here goes....

I've got some Russian audio books. I can listen to Russian radio on my cell phone, and I've got a few Russian books and some e-books from Sasha... please pr@y for me.

Gavin - our Nephew

Yes! We're excited to report that GAVIN is here! We have a new nephew. He weighed in at 6 lbs and 12 ozs. Amy thinks that he's about 20 inches long. We're excited he's here. I'm REALLY excited that Amy got to be there to meet him.

I miss her a LOT, but the joy in her voice as she talks about him is worth it.

I know that Amy's going to be a huge help to Sara and Ryan in the next week, so I'll be patient.

Welcome Gavin Cook!

Woman's Summer / Indian Summer

Wow! Fall is really here. The first day I arrived back there was a light snowfall, but now we're in full blown Indian Summer. The trees here mostly turn yellow or golden, but there are these incredible deep red berries on some of the trees that are really spectacular. It's nice to have a crisp feeling in the air and a spring in your step.

Indian Summer is called Woman's Summer here (бабелето). My students were teaching me today, that it's called that because of the woman's gift of birthing. One student used the word Renaissance. I was impressed!

I'm still suffering from jetlag a bit, but when the weather is SO beautiful, you just don't want to give in... plus I've got to get ready to teach.

I didn't realize that my teaching schedule would be so difficult. It's really spaced out, but with just enough time between most of my classes that I don't really have the time free. So I'm going to have to have to increase my scheduling skills to maximize my efficiency.

I also need to take into account that I'm jetlagged and it's my first week teaching 6 new groups.

First Day of School

me on the phone with Amy just before my first day

Phew!

I made it. My schedule is a bit crazy and I'm jet lagged. I taught for 6 hours at a local oil firm and then caught a taxi to teach at our school location. Another 1.5 hours and I got to walk back home.

It's great exercise here. I walk about 25 minutes to work on Tuesday and about 35 minutes home. I think the 'healthy' Russian Jeff will be back in no time.

Teaching went really well today. I give all credit to the L0rd, which is His due. One of my sp!ritual gifts is teaching and it really comes in handy as a teacher when you've got G0d as your source. I wasn't even a bel!ever when He established my education base in Linguistics, but he knew what His plans were for me before I had a clue.

I'm missing Amy more and more. Her encouraging words, quick smile, and comforting presence are not here with me. I'm hoping to hear news soon that our nephew or niece is born. I think it's going to be a boy.

D-Club #1

English Discussion Club has started!

It was really one of the biggest highlights of the m!nistry that I did in my first term, and I'm excited to have it start up again. I'm looking forward to seeing familiar faces and catching up with all the questions they have.

It was very interesting to come this week. Really, I've been back in Tyumen for about 36 hours and already prepping for this group is a crazy thought.

There were 8 people and there wasn't much advertising at all because I didn't get here until yesterday. So it was just the really diligent folks who have been calling EVERY week to find out when we start.

Everyone was new. No one came who I'd seen at discussion club before. That was a bit of a disappointment, but then again - how would the folks that I knew even know?

We had a great time of introductions and a somewhat difficult discussion loosely hedging around some political issues. I really don't like politics at all - so I'm not always up on the most current information.

Still no internet at home, so I'll be posting this later.

Life is different

I miss Amy horribly already. After my first morning of jetlag induced sleep, last night was a wreck. I was tired very early, stayed up as late as I could and then woke up before the light was shining. Alas.

I finally dragged myself to the shower and dosed myself with some lovely tea to jump start the day. I armed myself with the Word, grabbed a granola bar, and left the house to go stand in line.

I had to exchange money, pay the electric bill, pay the phone bill (which ended up being easier than all the rest - thanks to good friend Sasha who helped me out... again), get the internet reconnected AND drop off my passport to get registered in Tyumen.

All by 10am. AND the offices don't open until 9am.

So I was running.

Life just takes longer here. Regular errands and typical daily items take hours and sometimes hours and hours. So I was late to drop off my passport, inconvenienced our government contact, was subsequently late for another meeting at the school, and in general felt bad.

The good news is that everyone was really understanding and I need to remember that my sense of western timing isn't the same as the sense of timing that folks here have. It's okay to be a bit late (almost expected by many).

So, it was a successful day after all. I prepped to teach my first day tomorrow. I'm a bit daunted that it's 7.5 HOURS of teaching (literally standing up teaching time). Guess I should get some sleep!

...and ministry begins

So, jetlag woke me up earlier than I'd've liked. So I headed straight to our weekly Sunday service. It was really great to see everyone, and to LEAP back into Russian language. I'll admit there was a bit of a headache moment after the first 2 hours.

So, after the service, I was collecting myself to head home. Igor, one of the young guys that I've been mentoring, asked if he could follow me home. So on the walk he launched into a series of questions, dilemmas, and thoughts that were plaguing him lately.

I was tired, not ready to be speaking, and a bit unprepared for a min!stry moment after being back for only 8 hours.

All the same, G0d is ever faithful and I think the conversation, although hard, was beneficial for him and his walk. It's really hard sometimes to let someone know that they're not making the best decisions and to see their faces drop - but the truth is the truth.

Safe arrival...

It's September 28th, after 2 days of travel, I am back in Tyumen. Amy has a few great opportunities awaiting her in America - so after much thought, consideration and a LOT of pr@yer, we decided to come back separately. So far it's been about 48 hours and it's already tough.

I arrived at 5am this morning, with no internet, no phone, a notice that the power was about to be turned off and something else that escapes me... guess I'll be busy tomorrow (Monday) when all the utilities offices open back up. This is what happens when you leave the country for 10 days and it becomes 26...

Amy is going to help her sister and brother-in-law welcome their first child in about a week! We're really excited and we don't know if it'll be a nephew or a niece. We just know s/he'll be happy and healthy as s/he joins the Cook family!

Amy is also going to be working with two ladies who are coming to join us in November. We're really excited to have them come. They are almost as excited to come as we are to have them! They'll be working with Amy and Victoria (who runs our pregnancy resource center) with a special program for single moms and volunteer training. Amy's going to be connecting with them while she's in the U.S.

Ruth - great lessons in Leadership

So I've been reading quite a bit of John Maxwell's writing lately (I'm in my second book). Well, the cool news is Amy's friend Angie found a copy of the Maxwell Leadership B!ble at the 1/2 off bookstore... I've been reading in it for less than a week and my daily times with G0d have really been transformed. Not only am I enjoying it, but I'm learning so much from this different perspective.

I read through the Book of Ruth today during Amy & my 1/2 day sp!ritual retreat. We heard a serm0n about it yesterday and I was motivated to re-read it. Wow! It is packed with really great leadership lessons. Here are a few of them:

- Maxwell points out that an impeccable work ethic is noticed and attracts people to the leader. This is poignant because we want people to desire to speak with us to hear good news
- Sometimes we are required to leave our comfort zone to do His will. Ruth leaves Moab to serve Naomi and accepts here future there.
- the concepts of filling & emptying, are great to think about.

Visas!

Yes! We've been waiting for nearly 2 weeks and the day has come. As we left Sara & Ryan's to go to our 1/2 day retreat at Eagle Creek park, there it was. A FedEx envelope laying on the ground. Our passports and visas inside! Yes! We get to go back home to Russia.

I also received some incredible news. My classes in Russia aren't starting until 29 September! I've been so worried that my fellow teachers have been covering me for the whole time we've been here for visa renewal. It was such great news and really an answer to pr@yer. I have really been worried about this and am so thankful!!!

Make Today Count

So I'm reading a GREAT book (well, books) by John Maxwell. It's called Today Matters. I love leadership stuff that incorporates scr!ptures. So here's the 12 principles of this book.

12 commitments we should make each day and the Bibl!cal motivation behind them.

1. I will choose and display the right attitude. (Phil 2:3-8)

2. I will determine and act on important priorities. (Eph 5:15-17)

3. I will know and follow healthy guidelines. (I Cor 6:19,20)

4. I will communicate with and care for my family. (I Tim 5:8)

5. I will practice and develop good thinking. (Prov 4:5-9)

6. I will make and keep proper commitments. (Phil 3:12-14)

7. I will earn and properly manage my finances. (Ecc 5:10-20)

8. I will deepen and live out my faith. (Col 2:6-7)

9. I will initiate and invest in solid relationships. (Col 3:12-24)

10. I will plan for and model generosity. (Prov 11:24-28)

11. I will embrace and practice good values. (Ps 119:33-40)

12. I will seek and experience improvements. (I peter 2:1-3)

So that's an overwhelming amount to think about in any given day, let alone every day. So I'm going to try to think about them and maybe focus on one a day with some more emphasis.

I made the list a bit shorter to help me focus:

ATTITUDE
PRIORITIES

GUIDELINES

COMMUNICATE/FAMILY

GOOD THINKING

COMMITMENTS

FINANCES

FAITH

RELATIONSHIPS

GENEROSITY

VALUES

IMPROVEMENTS

I'm going to try to list an idea, thought, todo or commitment for each of these 12 items per day... we'll see how it turns out.

Needing to blog more

you know, I just don't feel like myself when I'm not blogging much. Sorry that things have been a bit busy and crazy of late. Details will be forthcoming about the missing weeks - we're still sorting all that our ourselves.

Wanted to share some cool stuff with you all - check the next post.

No we didn't fall off the planet!

Well, it's been a bit of a whirlwind. We're working on getting our visas renewed and it's been a bit of a hectic time. We found out on Friday almost 3 weeks ago that we were going to have to go to America to renew our visas... So within 5 days we were on a plane.

We were hoping to be here for only 13 days and get back to Russia in time to start teaching and jump into our official Russian lessons. Well, there was a problem with our invitations and they only arrived here in the US yesterday. So our visas will be ready and in our hands only tomorrow. And we've already missed our original flight (it was rescheduled in time for only a minor change fee).

So looks like there is also a slight change to our visa dates (we haven't seen them yet - so don't know exactly). But, they are supposed to be post dated about 5 days from the date of issue -- so we can't leave for home in Russia for another week!

the whispers of a child

we just heard from Amy's sister Laura. While she was pr@ying with her (almost) 2 year old son, she heard him mumbling under his breath. She listened closely and he was saying over and over, "Jeff and Amy." Is that the sweetest thing you've ever heard?

No more virus... stoopid Jeff

Well, the good news is, my computer is virus / spyware free again. The bad news is, I think the whole thing happened for me to learn a lesson. What lesson? Well, I think that G0d wanted me to have a little moment where I went through the stages of "pity-party," "poor me," "why?" and maybe others that I can't quite think of right now.

I had this HUGE issue to be in control of this situation and just to fix it (hmmm. Guys? Do you hear me here?) So I wanted to fix it myself. I didn't want to pay for software, I didn't want to ask anyone, I just wanted to do it. I think it's because of my need to feel successful.

I'm getting very little feedback now-a-days that I'm doing a good job, or that I'm getting something accomplished. It's not that things aren't getting done. They are. I'm just realizing that I have a need to 'hear' from people that what I'm doing is valuable and worthwhile.

I know that this is an aspect of my 'people pleaser' behaviour (whoa - did I just spell that in British English?) And I need to seek encouragement and affirmation from a more divine source, I'm human.

So anyway - the good news is, the computer's fixed, I'm enlightened a bit, and the day is begun. Welcome to Friday.

World upside down

I'm not much of one to write pessimistic or frustrating things. But today, I'm pretty low (for silly and stupid reasons) and I just needed to vent some of this out.

If you know me, you know that I lean to the type A side of things (organization, time oriented, focused on task, accomplishment, multi-tasking, order, etc) <-- this list itself is an example.

So there are things that are the tools of my life. I really dislike the fact that I seem to need a utility belt like batman to exist, but it helps me organize my life and with all that faces us on a daily basis with living in a foreign culture, accomplishing our work, language study, being a 'new' husband and desiring to do an incredible job, and everything else -- I sorta can't afford for things to not work.

I have a horrible temper. Most no one knows about it, because it's very rare and it almost ALWAYS is only directed at myself. It's funny how little things pile up and then I just can't deal anymore.

As someone who thinks of himself as civilized a civilized man, it's interesting when you have the caveman response... just when frustration mounts and suddenly you realize that your biceps are filling with blood so you can hit something. Just a natural response that I have to suppress - but all the same, I'm human.

So I am time oriented. This means I look at my watch at least once an hour (who am I kidding) Probably 3 to 4 times. My watch broke 2 or 3 weeks ago. It's not that I can't get another watch... it's that I want THAT watch. I know it's silly. But I like what I like. It's so frustrating when you know it's silly, but it doesn't change a thing. I use it as a tool. It beeps at set times to remind me to pr@y. It has alarms that remind me to go home or to a meeting. It's nothing fancy - just a timex...

So I use my computer to work, to think, to relax, to unwind and destress. It's my connection to America, family, Russian words, lessons, planning for teaching, meetings, blogging, reconciling reports, finances, etc. Basically without a computer, just cut off my right arm (yes, I'm right handed).

So I spend quite a bit of time with it and it is customized for my specific use. So using just any computer isn't the same for me. And I don't want to hog Amy's machine, because she also uses it for many of the same uses.

So I frequently run virus scanning software, anti-spyware, cleaning programs, etc. to keep it running well. Turns out that in my stoopid pride, I was trusting the anti-virus to notify me that the updates weren't working! It was 8 months out of date and I had to uninstall it and install a new version to update it. While it was uninstalled for all of 10 minutes I got a virus. It's basically shut my computer down. It's taking over half the memory and it's lodged in the explorer.exe file (basically the operating system)

It's okay. I found (after hours of work) a program that can get rid of the virus. I bought it online - very trusted - etc. And because I'm living here in Russia and I have a US Credit card and it's going through a third party German company, there's a hold for 4-24 hours. I mean, just cut me some slack!

It's really fine. It's no big deal, it's a mountain and mole hill issue. It's just because I use it for everything and usually can fix things like this so quickly.

Well, thanks for listening/reading. Please pr@y about the silly thing - it'll be fixed soon.

Plus it's just hard to get things done. Tomorrow I'm supposed to open a garage for one of our staff. I spent 3 hours trying to get it open one time and I had to call like 3 or 4 people for help. It's never fun to feel like a moron. It's not that it's the most complicated thing in the world. (It is complicated though) I just do it so rarely that I never remember how to do it... You can pr@y about that too.

Updates...

Just a reminder to take a look at the column on the right - we'll try to update it at least once a month... it got updated this morning!

white skies turn to blue?

looks like the sky might clear up today. Amy and I are hoping for a great time to connect with each other today. We're planning to listen to the Word in English and then take a long walk and discuss the lessons that we heard. I know, it sounds hopelessly exciting and romantic - and you're incredibly jealous. It's what we need too. Our time at ch^rch yesterday was another one of those amazing Russian lessons when you learn such words as 'share,' 'vision,' 'consolation,' 'suffer,' 'despot,' 'delusion,' 'persuasion.' Now if we can just keep them in our heads somehow.

We had a small shock last night on the way to pick up the car. IV needles. A WHOLE lot of them. They were in a little secluded place, about 10 or 15 of them. We know that IV drug use is a big problem, but to just see that someone would be taking them outside near a small shed... it made us sad, a bit scared, and just longing to make a difference here.

As we were driving last night to pick up some groceries, the 5 days of rain were apparent. Water has really collected in some places, and I kid you not, I literally played Moses when I drove through a puddle. The muddy, brown waters literally stood out on the sides of the car! It was kinda fun, and there were no pedestrians nearby, so I didn't feel like a heel.

Oh, we also invited all the young people from ch^rch over next week on Sunday. Please be thinking about this time!

Getting things done...

so today Amy and I took care of business!

So a couple of weeks ago, the battery was stolen from Jim's car while it was sitting outside our apartment They also tried to steal the headlights (tried! they were unsuccessful). Anyway, today we finally managed to buy the screws that we could use to hold the headlights in place. This was made possible through the help of our friend Sergei. He was one of the interpreters at camp this summer. It was really quite cool to spend a bit of time with him and to see his shop. Here are a few photos.

Sergei and I outside his store

Sergi inside his store

Thankful

The other day I was walking around Tyumen after meeting with some friends of ours and I felt so encouraged. I realized that it was because I am already able to communicate (imperfectly, mind you), but communicate all the same IN RUSSIAN! Last year I took 16 credit hours of Russian and honestly, at times I felt like giving up. Now that I'm here in Russia I am thankful beyond words that I had the opportunity last year to learn as much as I did. In the months (and years) to come I'm going to have to continue to study my rear off, but I'm so glad to have had a head start.

Getting to "Think" Out Loud

The other day I got to talk with a dear friend on the phone. We were wrapping up the conversation and I decided it would be great to "think" together. This is something that I've never really done before-that is, "thinking" with someone else without the use of certain terms, certain types of language. It did feel pretty strange, but was so encouraging, too. We talked about how it freed us some, to know that we don't have to use specific words because our Dad knows exactly what we mean when we think. So for all of you who are "thinking" about us here, know that your thoughts mean more than words can express-so keep it up!

And the rain rain rain came down down down...

I think it's only been raining for 3 days now... but it feels like longer. The whole city is wet and Tyumen is a dusty city. So, that means a MUDDY city when it's raining. We usually sleep amazingly well when it's rainy, but last night was a disaster.

We had a horrible time sleeping. We were exhausted after 3.5 hours of company (we had the past0r and his family over for dinner) and talked about plans for the Fall. We were exhausted when they left at 11pm. We got in bed to read for a bit, decided to just turn out the light and then didn't sleep until after 4am!

Amy's stomach isn't feeling very well and there were multiple trips to the bathroom (yay for new toilet seats!) -- So we were both restless and not sleeping. Around 3am we just got up and watched the rest of a movie that we had started a few days ago. By 4, we were ready to attempt what seemed impossible - and we finally crashed out after reading for a while.

It's about 5 in the evening on Thursday and we've been trying to get Amy feeling better. Fever (mild one) is gone, and she's finally resting well.

AND - we found pseudo-chicken noodle soup. So life is really good. I leave to teach in an hour...

We had a meeting yesterday with the teaching coordinator at CET and I'm a bit worried, because looks like I'll be teaching mostly in the evenings. Please pr@y that somehow my schedule can be more open in the evening for m!nistry purposes. I know it will work out for the best.

Guests at the apartment...

We sure have had our share of guests already this year. One of my favorite things about being married is that Amy and I can host people in our home.

This is our first time hosting someone from the ch^rch. And it's the p@stor and his wife and youngest son. Amy made her third chocolate cake since we've been here... and this one was INCREDIBLE. So delicious. Our meal was meatloaf, potatoes, cabbage and a few other lovely items... they were impressed! Amy has some MAD cooking skills.

Check out this cake!

Meet the Kurmangashinov's

Seriously in August?

I was walking home from teaching (about a 30 minute jaunt) and I realized something interesting... I could see my breath. I'm really not kidding. Look at today's date. Yes, August 19 at about 8:30pm. I can see my breath. Now, I have to give you that it's been raining... but seriously. Glad I've got an umbrella.

P.S. After living in Tyumen for 6 weeks, I FINALLY found a replacement for our toilet seat. It's even a matching color. It was much less expensive than I thought it would be. And it's already installed... took less than 5 minutes. And now when you sit (sorry if you're squeamish) the seat doesn't pinch your bottom! And it's CLEAN. Amy and I danced around the apartment a little in celebration.

stating the obvious

I guess it's obvious that we've been a bit busy lately. Thus the lack of posting here. So there are a few items to mention:

1) we are doing fine and we're safe. The war in Georgia isn't near us at all. In fact, it's closer to Italy than it is to us. Thank you all for your concern!

2) we just had an INCREDIBLY busy week. Several meetings with ch^rch folks, CEC staff, colleagues, etc... all in Russian. We are exhausted following these meetings and are brains are reeling. We are so blessed to have people speak with us frankly, honestly, openly and simply.

3) We spent 4 days last week from Wednesday to Saturday at ch^rch family camp - we'll post photos too. There were 26 of us. 3 others also spoke English, so there was a small amount of respite - but we wanted to practice. So it was up early, speak Russian. To bed late, speak Russian. Apparently I spoke to Amy in Russian in the middle of the night!

4) We've had a LOT of people over to our apartment. The fewest we've had in a week is about 3 or 4 people, with the numbers soaring into the 30's many weeks. We're really enjoying the opportunity to be hospitable, but it takes it's toll when the house should be clean all the time and there are that many people coming through. We're also shopping, cooking, baking, doing dishes (literally hours a day). And there's the difficulty of not knowing.

We spend a great deal of time just becoming familiar with the city and where something can be found. For example we need to get: a cord for the hard drive, a toilet seat, a bathroom door handle, a bolt for the headlight to Jim's car. They are all located in different stores in different parts of the city. I think (through the help of our friends Sasha and Zhanna) we've found stores where each item can be located. So now it's a matter of walking to these places and getting them all - then pulling a Tim Allen and making the Home Improvements happen.

Phew - more later and some pictures too.

Ch^rch Camp

We just returned from 4 days at Ch^rch camp with our friends from H0ly Tr!nity Presb!teri@n Ch^rch. It was such an awesome time. Amy and I were reticent at first to go, because we weren't sure we were ready for 4 days of Russian language immersion. It turned out to be WONDERFUL and we not only had the opportunity to serve, but we enjoyed ourselves and made some new friends too!

There were actually 4 other English speakers there (Russians of course). We didn't speak much English at all, but it was nice to know that there was someone who could fill in a word here or there for us! The highlight of the 4 days was meeting Andrei and his wife Natasha. We're hoping that they can become our friends! They have two darling daughters who are the feature of the first photo of this blog entry:Nastia and Sophia

We were at the same location as Camp Kovcheg, our summer camping program. It is just beautiful. Check out this canoe that the locals use for fishing.

Canoe

Amy and I were initially told that we'd be in charge of the kids program for the four days. Of course we were overwhelmed at the thought of being in charge of 13 children all by ourselves... especially when we have no discipline vocabulary. So, we eventually whittled our main task for the camp session to activities/games for the kids and adults -- and we threw in some homemade cookies as a bonus!

Leading games

In honor of the Olympics - we had our own Olympiad at camp!

We had daily B!ble studies, crafts, and evening meetings around the camp fires. The times were really good, and Amy had her first BIG language breakthrough at camp. Really just being immersed is so good for language. Well, I even started speaking Russian with Amy! And in the middle of the night too. That was a bit of a surprise.

Here's Amy & I studying Russian during the evening meeting. Whenever someone is speaking, it's a lesson for us. We're always writing down new words and looking up meanings in our dictionaries.

A few last minute shots to round out the entry:

Amelia as Cinderella -- she loves to mop!

Natasha leading the kids in song.

Russian boys in one of Russia's favorite past times - chess!