Here's a photo down the hallway. That's the door into the apartment. To the left immediately is the kitchen. To the near left is the living room. To my immediate left is the guest room to my immediate right is the bedroom. To the rear left is the bathroom and the rear right is the toilet.
Talk about amazing - we just love this part of the year. Sure it's below zero... in fact, the other day it was -5F and we were thinking, "It feels so warm!"
Well, when you live somewhere when it's this cold for so long.... you realize that the beauty of snow and ice can really be exploited in ways that amaze....
Yes, we have 2 separate rooms for the bathroom. There's a toilet / bathroom split that's pretty common here in Russia.
Enjoy the pics.
This is the bathroom sink.
This is the towel rack that we must be VERY careful of. It actually HEATS the bathroom as well and it's usually scalding HOT.
This is the washing machine/ airplane simulator. When it's in the spin cycle, you're ready for takeoff! Dryers are really rare in Russia... And the throne.
Jim & Sally won the Christmas door prize at our special dinner party. It was marshmallow peeps from AMERICA! Thanks to all who sent us gifts for the holidays. It really made us feel special and loved!
Yeah, of course I had to play chubby bunny. Actually, it was a part of a game that Amy thought up. We had a present wrapped up about 15 times, and in each layer was a task to be accomplished. Well, poor Sally got "Chubby Bunny" So in a gracious act of insane mercy, I exchanged with her and did the chubby bunny on her behalf. There aren't really marshmallows in Russia, so I had to do it with strawberry favored zephyr... mmmmm.
Here's a picture of S and I cooking. You know, at Christmas, you simply must have cookies. It the ministry of the stomach. We made 5 different kinds of cookies for the various Christmas dinners, pageants and parties. S had never made cookies before! Amazing.
We have a new table!!! This now allows us to have more folks over for dinner and to move from the kitchen to the living room for dining! Jim & I (Jeff) worked for FIVE hours to put this table together. There are some 130 screws just in the table top hinges! Phew. Like any home improvement project, we made several trips to the hardware store... and there aren't Home Depot staff around to help you find what you need... and maybe it's not available. But we still managed to build it in time for the Big Christmas Dinner that we're hosting this weekend!!!
As we prepare for our day here, we usually take the time to look at the temperature before we leave the house. It's pretty much a smart and required move. For example: this morning. I'm in the kitchen getting a cup of tea when I hear Amy exclaim from the living room, "whoa! it's minus 27!"
guess the long underwear are on for the day today...
I'm really excited to write this post and let you all know that on Saturday the Christmas Craft seminar was REALLY successful. There were only 20 spaces for the seminar and they were ALL filled. The staff, along with Amy and Sally planned the whole seminar and they raised enough funds to cover HALF of the rent for the month! We're really pleased and proud of them. It's really their first endeavor in trying to fund their own rent here in Russia and we're really proud of their efforts.
I've posted a LOT of photos for you all to look at, here the LINK.
We're feeling the Christmas spirit now which is really nice. It's been a long and somewhat muddy fall so far. The temperature has dropped to -20F (so we read) and Amy is still outside running with Tammy. I'm a bit concerned to be honest.
For the past two weeks we've been having an amazing time with Mike, one of the past0rs from our home ch^rch, Knox. We've had a great time hosting him, going for walks, attending his lectures at B!ble college, consulting, chatting, etc.
A few really fun stories that have helped make his experience truly Russian:
1) he arrived and his luggage didn't. It took a full 6 days for his luggage to find us here in Tyumen. 2) at Discussion Club we celebrated Thanksgiving by candlelight, because the power was off at the Cultural Center. 3) Mike went swimming with some DClubbers. Yes, they had to break through the ice to go swimming. 4) Our hot water and heat were turned off for two days while Mike was here visiting with us. 5) Mike attended a hockey game here in Tyumen to really experience what hockey is supposed to be like... and the temperature inside is as cold as it is outside... just no wind. 6) the black ice here is as dangerous for pedestrians as it is for drivers, so Mike has had to negotiate treacherous sidewalks daily.
we're gonna miss him. It's been really encouraging, uplifting, and just plain fun to have him around.
Meet the kitchen table. Isn't it cute? Everything is cute. It has to fit in this small kitchen. It's that size where if there's one of you, it's fine --> but two people get in each others' way... just provides opportunities to dance in the kitchen!
Here's the view from the hallway into the kitchen. You can see the door to the loggia (balcony) and the few cupboards that we have. We have NO drawers.Here's the view from the loggia into the kitchen where you can see our sweet wallpaper on the cupboards and our rather narrow fridge.
Check out our sweet dish rack. We use it more than you could ever imagine.
Here's the water filter. Don't freak out. The filter was black when it was brand new! This is Bertha the tea kettle. Bertha holds 3.2 liters of water and can serve tea for about 10 people! Handy when you've got more than that in a given sitting on Saturdays Check out of Soviet stove. It's a bit scary, the temp isn't really adjustable, usually it's just HOT. On the left you'll see the burning starting on the door of the cabinet.
This week I'm filling in teaching a couple extra courses. I've got kids! Usually I teach 20 and 30 somethings. So it's a real treat (and a completely different methodology) to teach these guys! I had them working at the board and it was so crazy how much they loved being able to write on the white board.
Here's a picture of the building where I teach at the oil company. I teach at a company called Schlumberger (shlum-ber-zhey). The building is new and it's really nice. Here's my classroom (it's a meeting room). My desk is always piles like this... seems like piles follow me everywhere I go!
I was thinking the other day, we never posted photos of what it really looks like where we live now. So I thought maybe I'd put together a small series of photos and descriptions of Our Tyumen.
Let's start with our apartment from the outside. So you've seen a few photos of the outside if you saw the pics of us breaking into our own place!
This is our entrance to the building. #6. There are 13 of them. The building is 9 stories and has 4 apartments per floor per entrance. So 4 x 9 x 13 = 468 apartments in our building. The room with all the windows above the door is actually us. This is our loggia. It's a big balcony where we actually have dinner until the weather is too cold. Directly to the right in the photo is our balcony. This is really just storage and where we hang our clothes to dry.
On September 22, we wrote a blog entry about one of our dearest Russian friends who needed to have an operation to remove a tumor. This is an update to that post.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in pr@yer! She is doing great. Just days after the operation, she was up and about and really back to her old self! G0d is faithful and He has restored her! She's feeling much better and already restless that she's not back to work full time.
Continue pr@ying for a good and quick recovery and for continued encouragement for her!
I got a strange call from Amy today. She was locked out of our apartment.
We have FOUR doors to get into our apartment. The first is from outside inside. So everyone in our building has one of these.
The second is this outer cage type of door. We share this door with one neighbor. So we both have this key.
The third door has two locks and only Amy & I have these keys.
The four door is the inner inner door & there are NO keys to the lock. We never lock it. Our landlady never locked it either. Not for 13 years.
So how was this door locked? We're not sure. We think that someone maybe played with the lock on Saturday during interpreters... then the door just didn't get closed thoroughly until today. So, we had to break into our apartment. Here's the photos.
here we are with the ladder strapped on Jim's car.
The big climb...
Ripping open the screen!
Pulling myself into the logia (big balcony)
and finally in!
Thank the L0rd that we're only on the second floor.
up up up it goes! we really can't believe how much has happened with the ch^rch building in the past year. Right now we're hosting our second building team (Tom & Chuck). The first team left last Thursday (Char, Ron, and Malcolm). It's so wonderful to have teams willing to come and help out with such a HUGE project.
Team 1 was working on the container out in the yard. They converted it into usable space for storage and a section of it will be used for a small soup kitchen for feeding the homeless! (that's the plan anyway). There were a few difficulties with getting the container ready (namely some leaks in the roof) -- but they've been fixed and we're good to go for completing the project.
Team 2 is already at it moving at 110%. They've already laid new linoleum at the Cultural Center (to replace the ruined linoleum from the sewage flood in August). They're working at the container today!
Here are some recent building photos!
Here's team 1 working on the container's roof!
team 1 & Jim planning the container project
amy sweeping the sidewalk in front of the new fence!
the new fence is in place in front of the building!!!
I think if we all explore deep inside, we'll find addictions in all of us. When life is crazy (which for all of us it seems to be) I find that there are certain things that I cling to for my sanity.
Some of these 'things' are good and some maybe not so good.
Well, I'm in serious need of organization. I'm a to-do list junky. Yet, I'm always breaking one of the cardinal laws of to-do lists... I have them everywhere... you're only supposed to have one. And when you make a to do list... you're supposed to look at it. And then you get to check the items off.
Yeah, when I make a to do list, I almost always include a few items that I get to check off immediately (because they're already completed). So the list is always at least partially finished... well, I think one of my goals today has to be to round up all the lists (electronic, paper, scrap, emails, etc) and make a master to do list and hit it hard.
It's our day off and there's all this stuff buzzing around my head that I'm not going to enjoy the day without shooting down some little check marks swimming around my head.
Askar, one of our regular attenders at Discussion Club, was home this summer in Kazakhstan. He brought me a gift to show his appreciation for our time at discussion club!
It's called a Chapan'. It's the traditional dress of Kazakhstan. How cool is that?!
It's getting much colder here although we haven't seen a frost yet. Amy and I are taking every opportunity that presents itself to enjoy the turning of the leaves (mostly yellow, because there's birch everywhere). There's a large park about a 25 minute bus ride from the center of the city. So we're enjoying a few walks to just bask in G0d's creation.
When it's chilly, Amy's even ready with a Russian scarf a friend gave her to wrap up her head and be a 'real' Russian lady!
Hey everyone. I've finally managed to sort through several hundred summer photos. Take a look at the amazing time we had in the US this August. Short, sweet and full of love from family, friends, and supporters.
Hey everyone. One of our best friends here in Russia is going to the hospital tomorrow morning. She's scheduled for surgery on Thursday. The situation is really frustrating, because she's been to the doctors several times throughout the past 3 months and all analyses, tests, biopsies, etc. have come back inconclusive.
Yet, she is scheduled for surgery on Thursday with no conclusive information to guide the surgeons.
Please pr@y that G0d would: - guide the hands and minds of the surgeons - give wisdom to all doctors, nurses, technicians, and medical staff - calm her feelings, fears and frustrations with the medical system - surround her with supportive friends and family - make the tumor that exists is benign and completely removable. - and most of all make His presence known to her throughout the whole process
This summer when Amy and I had a chance to really just sit down, and talk out of the pressures of life and think and pr@y about how G0d would have us invest our time and live our lives. It's really important to sit down and spend some time planning to live life so that life doesn't end up just living you.
I recently read in a John C. Maxwell book (Today Matters) an M. Scott Peck quote from the Road Less Traveled - "Life is Difficult". So many of us think that life is easy and that's it's supposed to be easy. I'm not becoming a pessimist, don't worry. It's just nice to realize that life, if we're living it to the fullest and really realizing our potential, is hard. It's requires effort and hard work.
Well, that means a lot of things. One of those things is prioritizing the things that really matter. For Amy and I, the last year took control of us. Our work schedule, ministry schedule, and trying to please everyone made us both exhausted and unfocused.
So, we're learning how to say "no" to many things and to refocus on what's most important for us. Family, time for us, time with G0d, time with friends (our co-workers, Russian nationals, etc) has really been at the forefront for us.
We're also learning to say "yes" to living a healthier lifestyle. We're trying to exercise more, we're eating healthier, and we're getting more sleep and it is truly wonderful. We're probably a little embarrassed to say that the Biggest Loser has inspired us both. Yeah, cheesy American reality tv. But to see folks completely turn their lives around (from such unhealthy places), let us know that it wasn't so much for us to get on the right track and choose to be healthier.
Yes, I miss lots of junk food. But, we're just doing this slowly and the right way. Just a few calories a day makes a big difference. So we're still having dessert, we're still drinking soda, but we're losing weight and controlling our consumption of junk.
Amy and I really love going for walks together. Especially in the Fall. We just love how incredible the leaves smell and being out in nature. We actually went on two walks today, and frankly - I just like my wife as a person. We had a great time talking together and touching base about life together.
Today we ran a whole lot of errands. About 4 miles of walking worth to be honest. And it was GREAT! We saw so many beautiful flowers in Tyumen. We touched base with my teaching job and found out that FOR SURE I'm only teaching part-time this year.
but the reason for this post is my incredible wife.
When we got home from America, our phone was disconnected. Of course, we didn't pay the August bill we were in the US.
So we used one of these cool electronic kiosks to add money to our phone and pay the bill. But it didn't activate within 24 hours.
So Amy CALLED the phone company and spoke with them on the phone and got it activated!
The phone is a pretty dreaded device to us, because there is no opportunity to see facial expressions, to ask for people to repeat themselves, etc.
We arrived in Tyumen at about 3am on Monday morning. Our baggage was retrieved, moved to the house, and we were settled back at the apartment around 4 or 4:30.
For some odd reason the exhaustion of travel fled us both and we were fairly awake until about 6am...then we crashed with our tylenol pm. HARD.
The key to getting good sleep after travel is making sure there are no disturbances. Block out light and sound. Oh, and drink lots of water.
Well, we did pretty well. We turned off all the phones and our doorbell (just in case). So it was a big surprise when someone started to ring our intercom. We didn't answer it (we wanted to sleep), but someone rang several times... alas.
Then, our neighbor continues renovations on her apartment. So there was drilling for about 5 minutes... just 5 minutes, but it was still quite funny.
At around 1pm we both were awake from the drill, but decided to fall back asleep anyway and we finally woke around 4pm.
I checked my cell phone for the time and lo! 9 MESSAGES. Yeah, and some urgent. We had to turn in our passports, visas, migration cards, plane tickets, and 3 photos to get registered with the city by Tuesday! Yikes... so we ran to get our photos (no shower, no make-up, um - we did brush our teeth though).
That taken care of we went shopping, got internet activated again, put some funds on our phones and unpacked.
We went to bed around midnight and I woke up at 4am. Wide awake... I laid there until 6:30 or so, and finally gave in and got up.
It's going to be a beautiful day here - the sun is streaming in through our windows and I'm about to grab my B!ble and my Russian reader and start the day off right.
so maybe you already know that my knees and back hurt me almost all the time. if I weigh less, both problems are better... ... america and weighing less don't go together. But, the good news is the doctor game me heat to fit orthotics for my shoes... just baked them and formed them to my feet.
We leave for the airport and Russia in 1 hour... guess I got it done just in time!
Yes, we did go straight home, look up a recipe online and try it out. It was the bruschetta from the movie.
I may be the most emasculated guy around writing this, but I gotta be honest. If the movie, “Julie & Julia” is a chick flick, I’m a man who likes them. It was a really inspiring movie. I feel as good as I did after I saw the movie “Marley & me.” Turns out that there are at least a few really good movies being made in Hollywood.
Really the key thing with these films is that the portray life at least to some extent, like it really happens. There are authentic marriages where the couples really love each other and where it’s not just a couple of people who met in the first scene and hopped in the sack.
After “Julie & Julia” I actually feel inspired. I’m not sure what the key factor is. Is it because the couples in the movie actually love each other? Is it because the whole movie is about really delicious food? Is it because the movie’s about a woman who blogs and my secret identity as a blogger brings me great joy? Not sure – but I really miss blogging more often and you’ll be seeing me online more.
Rails to Trails – a brilliant idea. The park service has started turning old railroad tracks into mountain biking paths. So the Carew family banded together and saddled up for a 15 mile ride. All downhill. At a nice 3% grade. We just coasted the whole way – gorgeous. We went through 10 tunnels and over 7 trestles (railroad bridges). The first tunnel was 1.7 miles. Cold, damp, dark and disorienting.
The drip, drip of water, the rush of air, and sloshing of the runoff as it flows through the gutters on the right and left surrounded as the light abandoned us. My battery powered spotlight beam wasn’t helping much. Couldn’t see my own nose let alone the path. There was a small red flashing reflector about face level – that was the back of Hannah’s helmet. I followed.
But the ceiling was so beautifully illuminated. A rhythmic white light was passing from right to left and back. It imitated the swaying of my bike. It was as if my light was shining on the ceiling. My light was shining on the ceiling. I adjusted the beam to point forward. And everything went completely black.
The culprit? A loose power cable – kinda difficult to fix in pitch black darkness – so… I followed the floating red dot for 1.7 miles back into the light.
About 1.5 hours into our journey, the heavens opened and dumped on us… Frozen hooked hands gripping the handlebars, I could feel the mud splattering my face and climbing up my back… by the end of our journey we looked like we had survived a horrible bout of diarrhea.
(Let me preface this entry with a request that you comment with your favorite two player game
Amy and I have a small problem. We LOVE to spend time together. We really enjoy so many of the same things, it’s incredible. Our favorite entertainment is probably popping a big bowl of popcorn and watching a movie together. But sometimes that gets too comfortable. So, we’re seeking other alternatives.
The first idea, of course, is to go to a movie. But that’s a bit counter-productive, since we’re hoping to curb that addiction. We love to go on walks together, cook together, entertain, etc.
Somehow around November, I focused in on the idea of 2 player games. Sure there’s some great card games: war, speed, crazy 8’s, old maid, fish… But we’re looking for some really cool and interesting stuff.
In December, Laura, Amy’s sister, came to our rescue with Mancala. It’s only considered the oldest game in history. It’s wonderful. We also love Blokus (but it’s for 4).
So the quest began. We figured, “when we’re in America, we’ll find some cool games.” And we have.
#1 Lost Cities. Thanks to Matt & Juli Bressie, we’re loving this game. Turns out it’s an international game and they gave us a Swedish copy to try out. It’s really fun. Basically you’re trying to complete 5 expeditions to exotic places like Atlantis. Here’s more information about Lost Cities.
#2 Farkle. It’s a really strange name for a fun dice game. It’s easy to play and all you need is the rules and 6 dice. This was a flashback to Sunday evenings with the Robinson family. I used to get together with the Robinsons and the Boehrs and play… you can play with only two people!
#3 FLUXX. Found this game recommended online and in stock at a store in Indianapolis. It’s got all kinds of awards and turns out that it’s recommended by the MENSA society. So… maybe we’re just not smart enough to play. It’s really cool, because the rules and the goal of the game are constantly changing. Also… two or more players!
#4 Treehouse. Recommended by the guys at the game store. You have to enjoy spatial puzzles and have a good brain to play this one… I think. We haven’t had a chance to check it out.
#5 Guillotine. This game was recommended by all the staff in the game store. They said that when they go to a friends to play the game... they always have to leave the game behind... I'll let you know how great it is after we have a chance to play.
#6 Five Crowns. Just got this one as a gift (early Christmas) and am excited to give it a try. Comes from the makers of SET. Oh, yeah, Set! (see #7). Haven't played yet, here's more info.
#7 SET. Another one of those games that requires good brain power. Once you’ve started playing, it gets easier and more and more addictive (I hear they make it for pocket computers too… hmmmm. Playing games like SET actually make you smarter. I found this game in 2005 or 2006 after reading an article about how to sharpen your mind. There’s some medical study about how older people who play games like this are less likely to have mental problems as they age.
We have been dreaming about an ocean vacation for quite a while. In the snowy days in Tyumen we dream about exciting places where the sun shines. G0d knows our needs and desires and sometimes He provides in the most exciting and surprising ways.
Just 1.5 weeks before we were scheduled to come back to America for our document run, We realized that we could come back to the US a week earlier and have some down time. The in the style of Emeril Degassi – G0d just kicked it up a notch by providing free accommodations in Daytona Beach! We jumped online and immediately looked up our good friend priceline.com and William Shatner helped us find a good deal on a flight.
Incredible isn’t even a good enough word for our time in Florida. We actually slept, ate, rested, read, slept, napped, watched TV and just caught up on being human for the first three days. On our fourth day, I had this interesting feeling creep over me… it was relaxation. Such a strange sensation… A tension I didn’t know was there released from my muscles, I was sprawled out on the couch, drinking lemonade and I just knew – I was thinking about nothing.
What a great feeling – just nothing. I was focused on trying to learn to draw a fleshed out stick figure (that’s a pathetic thing, huh?) and I just leaned back into the couch and looked out at the waves crashing against the shore…
Just a photographs can’t capture the real moment, this entry can’t capture how wonderful it felt to rest and relax, but I’m thankful for the reminder.
There’s nothing like a beautiful sunset when you’re on a beach vacation. You know the romantic notions that you have when you’re planning for the holiday. We’ll sit in beach shares with our toes dangling in the ocean spray, sipping some lovely fruity beverage, while the sun warms us to the core of our being. We’ll play paddle ball on the beach and go for long, loving strolls hands linked together. For Amy, being near the beach (and anywhere else) involves fantasies of running the length of the beach.
Amy loves to run, it makes her more herself. You know, like how salt makes food taste more like itself… and better. That’s what running is like for Amy. She was made to run and she enjoys it tremendously. (see the scene in Chariots of Fire when Eric Liddle talks about how he feels God’s pleasure when he runs).
Anyway.
Amy was off running the beach, and her creaky-kneed husband was walking the beach to get his old fogey exercise. Evening was coming on and I thought that a beautiful sunset might be in order for our evening. I looked to the sky and instead of a sky decorated like orange sherbet and raspberry sauce, I was greeted by bread mold.
Green tinges in the clouds and very still air. Now, I’m a northern Michigan native and I know what air like that means. Get your butt back inside. That’s bad weather sky.
Indeed. 2 miles north of us there were waterspouts over the ocean and 1 mile south… tornadoes.
We weathered out the evening with a wonderful, older lady in the lobby.
You know the stick figures that everyone can draw? Well, I can’t really even draw those. I’ve always wanted to be able to draw. Nothing amazing or realistic really, but just some cartoon figures that I can use when I’m teaching or facilitating or something like that.
So, I’ve got two books about cartooning and I’m finally going to do it. I’m going to learn to draw. The advice from my paper tutor encourages me that I need to practice, practice, practice.
No wonder children can pick up new hobbies so quickly. They really have such patience and the ability to hyper focus themselves on anything. We’ll see how well I do and if I can stick to it. I’ll scan and post a few things sometime…
I just had a really encouraging talk with my buddy Ashley. He and his wife, Heather, are on staff with Campus Crusade and they are at training in Colorado right now. We just chatted, laughed, and had a great conversation. It's just nice to talk to old friends and it's like not a moment went by between this conversation and the last.
Heather and Ashley have two daughters (Sarah and Kate) who are awesome and adorable. Well, turns out that Aunt Amy and Uncle Jeff are 'out of touch' with the world of American pop culture (which in some ways is okay and in someways isn't so great). So, Heather and Ashley have volunteered to be our American Pop Culture Ambassadors and keep us up to speed on what's happening in America!
Now, we'll have to get on the political band wagon too...
I'm reading the book, "the life you always wanted" by John Ortberg (thanks Angie) as a part of my daily quiet time. It's really a good read and today's chapter is very fascinating. You know, so often in our sped up world - we want everything NOW. We have quick rice (normal rice takes only 20 minutes you know?), we have microwaves, instant oatmeal, instant boiled water on taps, you can have clothing delivered to your office, etc. We don't have patience or the desire to wait for anything.
I'm just as guilty as the next guy. I want to be fluent in Russian... now. I want to lose some weight and be healthy... yesterday. But it isn't just about wanting. It isn't just about waving some magic wand.
It is about trying. Some days I really fall off the horse. Yeah, I walked for an hour (and made a batch of double chocolate fudge brownies... or peanut butter cookies... or a 'fruit smoothie).
John's point is that it's about training. Amy is a good inspiration for me when it comes to what is training. She's a runner. Each week she runs several short runs (maintenance) and then she adds time or distance to a longer run. She's already up to 11.5 miles!
The hard part is it's easier to be motivated and to train when you are training for something. Especially if it's concrete. When we ran a half marathon, we had a specific goal and we trained (probably not the best training regime ever as we did only the long runs). But we had a goal in mind.
So John Ortberg's point is that faith is also an opportunity for training. We always want to achieve and have instant success (welcome to the American way!) But we need to buckle down and train for the journey of faith... the difficult question though? What's the race? What's the end result? I think this is the reason so many folks avoid faith and spirituality altogether. We can't wrap our brains around the finish line... It seems so far away, so we just don't bother running at all.
We had a very interesting session of camp this year. Just one week prior to the start of the camp session, we lost the physical camp location! We've been going to Gurino for the last 8 years. They had a water issue and just got it fixed in time for camp to start... and then they started their OWN session of camp and just told us that we'd share the campground with them....
Well, that wasn't going to work, because our camp program is very scheduled and packed with activities for the children. So, we had to find another location at the last minute. Galina, Natasha and Sveta did a wonderful job and found a camp to work with us. In fact, they found TWO camps. So our pr@yers were answered and we were off to camp.
Amy & I really enjoyed getting to know the American Team this year. They were very organized and helped to run a great session of camp. The AT ran sports, English lessons, crafts, sang songs, performed skits and shared with the campers about how their lives have been changed through their relationships with Jes^s.
We spent a LOT of our time as go-betweens back and forth between the AT and the Russian team. And of course, our main focus was training and working with the interpreter team. We had a great time with them and discussed the 'love verses' from 1 Corinthians 13 with them.
Amy's relationship with our friend Masha is really going great and she truly feels like she has a close friend! Praise the L0rd. We've really been pr@ying for a friendship like this for a long time!
Of course, everything didn't go perfectly. We did have a couple problems with a few of the interpreters who didn't want to follow all of the camp rules, and we had to send one of them home on the 6th day of camp. So that was really hard for both of us, because we care deeply for all the interpreters and we are such people people that we don't like to disappoint anyone, but rules are rules and this wasn't a really bendible one.
This is a direct quote from what I'm learning right now.
So what happens when Russians want to say something like "We talked about what you were reading?" First notice that a pronoun like what is required. The problem is that what plays a role in both the main clause and the subordinate one, where different cases are required. Because of the rule above, however, if two cases are required in Russian, two pronouns are required, and that is precisely Russians resolve this problem. The first pronoun is a demonstrative pronoun (usually beginning with 't') and the second is a relative (interrogative) pronoun (usually beginning with 'k' or a related sound), e.g. Мы говорили о том, что вы читали. These constructions are called 'T-K Constructions'.
If I didn't have a linguistics degree, this would probably sound like Greek to me. Now, Amy and I just have to figure out how to incorporate this kind of construction into casual speech.
So today is technically the longest day in the year. At about 12:30 is was finally dark. Amy and I were up for father's day calls back to the States. And we were still up at 2:30am when the sun started coming up! Isn't that crazy?
As I was laying there trying to sleep (mosquito bite between two toes keeping me awake) - I couldn't believe that it was actually LIGHT outside at 4 in the morning.
Amy told me last night that I was to spend the entire day in our living room. She told me to do whatever I wanted, to avoid work, home finances, etc - but to read, watch, sleep, rest, organize and otherwise do what I love. She said that she wouldn't enter the room and would avoid speaking to me even!
I guess it's become really apparent that I needed a bit of time to pull myself back together. Sometimes I just get myself too busy (add to to do list - must learn to say 'no').
It's been great. It's about time for dinner. Our friend/language tutor/pal Masha is over and we're having Thai Green Curry. Amy can cook my friends...
You know, I've decided as an ex-pat living here in Russia, that facebook is awesome. It helps me to stay connected with the lives of those I love and care about...
We've also posted about 200 photos of our year in Russian on facebook. So, if you're on facebook and you want to see pictures, but you're not already one of our friends... facebook us and we'll add you so you can see a year in pictures!
This morning we gathered together for the weekly brothers' meeting with H0ly Tr!nity. There are usually about 2 or 3 guys gathered, but this week there were 10! It was really interesting to see, because we were half American and half Russian. I wasn't expecting so many folk and I definitely wasn't expecting to translate...
Well, seems like I did okay from Russian into English, but I make tremendous and horrid mistakes when I try to translate from English into Russian. The grammar is so complicated... everyone always tells me that the important thing is if the message is communicated. Well, that's true. But a child of 3 can communicate a more complex and detailed message with no grammar errors, better than I can...
If I'm able to choose what is said, it's really okay, but interpreting for someone who uses their college level education, SAT, 70 years of life experience is a different story. It's so good to be humbled.
I was really excited to see an unexpected familiar face in the crowd. Our fried S. came. He's one of the interpreters and I was pleased that he accepted Jim's invitation to come AND that he shared a request with the group.
Please life S. up in pr@yer. He is a business man and had two stores in the market where he sold tools. One of the markets has a new owner who basically raised prices too high and S. had to close one of his stores. So there is a tremendous loss to his income and to his investment in that store.
Well, turns out that I'm not the best leader in the world. We were headed home from a great evening with the Israti family from Ekaterinburg, crossing the street just like normal, when we realized that the two cars coming at us weren't going to stop for the pedestrian crossing.
They were racing each other up the main 'drag' of Tyumen and we were caught in the cross hairs... So we clung to each other, said a quick pr@yer, and they blew past us. I know that I tend to the dramatic and exciting when I tell stories, but this is the real deal. There was wind and real fear.
Then, I got mad and just pointed at the next car that was coming and yelled 'hey!' It stopped and then the rest of the traffic followed suit.
I just don't get it... a cross walk and the drivers didn't even consider stopping. They were so far away when we started to cross the road, sometimes there's something to be said for good traffic law.
Our topic this week for English Discussion Club was really awesome. We talked about the biases and stereotypes Russians have of Americans and vice versa. We built a chart together and talked about the peoples' opinion, what the media teaches and how the government portrays us. The talk was very open honest and we talked about how these stereotypes impact how we think and behave towards one another.
This theme was so hot that we added a special D-Club this Friday welcoming Jim and Sally back to Tyumen along with George and the Istrati family. Our Scottish buddy Dan made an appearance as well. So we had 10 native English speakers with us!
As we talked about stereotypes of men/women, young/old, etc. as well. And the topic got really good as one of our D-Clubbers said, "religion is for old people." This started a pretty good conversation that we're going to continue next Monday.
Please lift this up in pr@yer as many believe that spirituality is just religion, that religion is just for the old, that it is only the concern of those who are close to death and has no application for the present moment, especially for the young, healthy and vibrant.
Couldn't be farther from the truth. (aside: is it farther or further? Do you know the difference? Farther indicates greater distance, further indicates advancement of degree.... so with truth which is it? I chose farther - it's more distant)
Well, it really is the greatest. Today one of the interpreters, Z. asked Amy if they could meet together. Z. said that she didn't know anything about Chr!stianity or the B!ble so they met today for about an hour for Amy to fill her in on the basic structure of the OT and NT, how it was put into canon and what Scr!pture means to Chr!stians.
It was really cool to see how interested she was and what a cool opportunity for Amy.
First off, I'd like to thank G0d for answering all my pr@yers for this long teaching year to end. I'm thankful to my mom & dad for their support and how well they trained me to be a people person and good teacher. I'm thankful to my beautiful wife for her support, encouragement, teaching tips, for all the late night talks and late night dinners, for walking me to and from classes so often and for her never ending patience with my ever changing schedule. I'm thankful to my language teachers. To Peg Comfort and Natalie (Nolan) Hebden for giving me a strong grammar foundation and a love for language. To Frau Bethke, my first language experiences with German and Spanish. To Pam Beddor and Andre Cooper for my linguistics training and strong phonetics background and....
Amy and I just returned home after walking our friend Tammy back to her flat. It's 12:15am. I'd say now it's almost dark... but when we set out - it was still light out at 11:30pm. Isn't that cool?
Summer is in swing - I feel like it should still be spring. The apple blossoms are everywhere and some evenings the wind blows them in little swirls. I came home two nights ago to a little flower shower... honestly it was pretty miraculous.
The good news is that it looks like I didn't have a hernia. No surgery needed... Apparently it's quite a bit similar to the pain from passing a kidney stone...
a KIDNEY stone?! Are you kidding me? Well, looks like I should be getting more hydrated.
Today I made a pot of chili to go with our recent snow fall. (That's right! It's May 3 and it snowed about 4 inches last night -- welcome to Siberia!)
Well, as you know cooking is really just advanced chemistry. So, I was making the chili and it wasn't sweet enough and of course, I had to add some brown sugar.
Well, we haven't found brown sugar here since ... maybe February. So, we don't have much left and it's been around for a while. A magic piece of bread, isn't going to soften this sugar...
so I took a hammer to it.
That's right, I just hammered until part of it fractured off... and then I added it. So it was a bit too sweet, so I had to spice it up a bit. Turned out okay -> just thought it was a funny story...
We woke up this morning to head off to ch^rch and pick up Svetlana Viktorovna and as we unlocked Jim's car to get going - I noticed that one of the tires was flat.
Well, Amy just filled all of the tires with air (with a foot pump I might add) on Saturday (it's Sunday today) - so there's no reason for there to be no air in the tire...
And then we saw it. The inch long incision in the sidewall of the right rear tire. So, changing from winter tires to summer tires is a bit more difficult as we'll have to get one of the tires replaced or repaired...
Life is more complicated here... where is Discount Tire... or Belle Tire?
Why are hernias called HERnias when most of them happen to men? They should really be called HISnias.
Anyway, on Tuesday (today is Friday) I woke up with a slight pain in my lower right abdomen. Of course, we had a moment of worry that it could be my appendix - but our Scottish friend Dan assured us that the pain would be more intense if it was appendicitis.
So as the pain has decided to move a little bit more to the south --> it certainly is hurting more.
I'm not so interested in having surgery here. So, I'm hoping for it to be minor enough to not need surgery, for it to be postponed until we're back in the States, or a healing (really I think the later is the best option).
After a short two month wait, Amy and I were able to visit our friend Sergei's swimming club - the Walruses. We're here to tell you that standing out in the winter in your bathrobe is tolerable... standing on the ice in your bare feet is painful, diving into the freezing cold water... well, let's just say that it does more than take your breath away. Your legs get really heavy and you can feel every inch of your skin... and then you can't feel anything - you can barely feel your own limbs moving.
The best part of the whole thing, aside from the fact that we actually did it, was being out - getting back into our bathrobes and then into the VERY warm clubhouse and drinking a hot cup of tea.
Our friend Sergei has been inviting us for months now to join he and his friends (моржей - walruses) for a winter swim.
That's right - a winter swim in Siberia. Michgian Polar Bears - eat your hearts out... this is the painful true story of two Americans who took the plunge and not only lived to tell about it, but enjoyed the experience immensely.
Sergei invited us for the first time in November sometime. By February we actually managed to visit them and help cut through the ice... we weren't prepared to jump at that time, but here are the photos of the preparation.
Here's a photo down the hallway. That's the door into the apartment. To the left immediately is the kitchen. To the near left is the living room. To my immediate left is the guest room to my immediate right is the bedroom. To the rear left is the bathroom and the rear right is the toilet.
The Guest room in all it's cleaned glory!
This is the bathroom sink.
This is the towel rack that we must be VERY careful of. It actually HEATS the bathroom as well and it's usually scalding HOT.
This is the washing machine/ airplane simulator. When it's in the spin cycle, you're ready for takeoff! Dryers are really rare in Russia...
And the throne.
Jim & Sally won the Christmas door prize at our special dinner party. It was marshmallow peeps from AMERICA! Thanks to all who sent us gifts for the holidays. It really made us feel special and loved!
Yeah, of course I had to play chubby bunny. Actually, it was a part of a game that Amy thought up. We had a present wrapped up about 15 times, and in each layer was a task to be accomplished. Well, poor Sally got "Chubby Bunny" So in a gracious act of insane mercy, I exchanged with her and did the chubby bunny on her behalf. There aren't really marshmallows in Russia, so I had to do it with strawberry favored zephyr... mmmmm.
Here's a picture of S and I cooking. You know, at Christmas, you simply must have cookies. It the ministry of the stomach. We made 5 different kinds of cookies for the various Christmas dinners, pageants and parties. S had never made cookies before! Amazing.
We have a new table!!! This now allows us to have more folks over for dinner and to move from the kitchen to the living room for dining! Jim & I (Jeff) worked for FIVE hours to put this table together. There are some 130 screws just in the table top hinges! Phew. Like any home improvement project, we made several trips to the hardware store... and there aren't Home Depot staff around to help you find what you need... and maybe it's not available. But we still managed to build it in time for the Big Christmas Dinner that we're hosting this weekend!!!
Meet the kitchen table. Isn't it cute? Everything is cute. It has to fit in this small kitchen. It's that size where if there's one of you, it's fine --> but two people get in each others' way... just provides opportunities to dance in the kitchen!
Here's the view from the hallway into the kitchen. You can see the door to the loggia (balcony) and the few cupboards that we have. We have NO drawers.
Here's the view from the loggia into the kitchen where you can see our sweet wallpaper on the cupboards and our rather narrow fridge.
Check out our sweet dish rack. We use it more than you could ever imagine.
Here's the water filter. Don't freak out. The filter was black when it was brand new!
This is Bertha the tea kettle. Bertha holds 3.2 liters of water and can serve tea for about 10 people! Handy when you've got more than that in a given sitting on Saturdays
Check out of Soviet stove. It's a bit scary, the temp isn't really adjustable, usually it's just HOT. On the left you'll see the burning starting on the door of the cabinet.
This is our entrance to the building. #6. There are 13 of them. The building is 9 stories and has 4 apartments per floor per entrance. So 4 x 9 x 13 = 468 apartments in our building. The room with all the windows above the door is actually us. This is our loggia. It's a big balcony where we actually have dinner until the weather is too cold. Directly to the right in the photo is our balcony. This is really just storage and where we hang our clothes to dry.
here we are with the ladder strapped on Jim's car.
The big climb...
Ripping open the screen!
Pulling myself into the logia (big balcony)
and finally in!
Here's team 1 working on the container's roof!
team 1 & Jim planning the container project
amy sweeping the sidewalk in front of the new fence!
the new fence is in place in front of the building!!!
This photo is inside on the third floor
View from the street.
The club house location
Breaking through the Ice
Jeff helping break through
Sergei with the saw
Sergei diving in...
