Unfortunately, I messed up because I had so many seats to use. I left the book that I was reading. It wasn't even my book! I borrowed it from Sally! So I took a little time at Domededova and got her book back! Yippie! (plus I get to read the ending AND my last card from Amy was inside it!)
I'm okay, just sad. Tears are easy to come and painful right now and I feel stupid about crying in front of strangers. I hope that Amy's okay.
I hated how today started. We headed off to the airport and they wouldn't let Amy into the airport! Only ticket holders are allowed inside. :( I can't believe it. It was so unexpected. We were robbed of 2 precious hours.
About 20 minutes into the park, we were stuck in the mud. Seriously. Not moving, no hope of moving, and really no alternatives to getting out. Being a hopeless optimist -- I can't believe that I really felt a small amount of despair, like we weren't going to make it out. We thought that if we waited long enough - the mud might dry out in the sun and then we'd get out.
Turns out that 20 Maasai men were out and about in a truck helping trucks that were stuck, and then came over and helped us too!
Their ring leader, Simon, then volunteered to be our guide for the day in the park and this was an EXCELLENT decision. Because he was with us we were able to see: elephants, giraffes, hippos, a crocodile, Thompson's gazelles, warthogs, ostriches, lions, wildebeests, zebras, really cool birds, and so much more. We even got to stand on the border between
There are several things about the Mara that are really cool. It is in the Rift Valley which extends from the Mediterranean Sea all the way to
Anyway - over half of the trip was on non-paved roads. We literally had moments when non of our bums were on the seats in the truck because we were airborn!
And - we got stuck. The cardinal law of the Mara… don't go off the main roads. No matter how bad they look - stay where other cars are driving. So we went off the main path, because it looked really bad. And the black cotton soil - grabbed our tires. Luckily, we'd just been trained by Joe how to winch and tow the vehicle. So another car pulled us out!
The bride and groom don't see each other before the ceremony. The men about 15-20 of them - march slowly into the church. It was a church wedding & the legal ceremony both. The men move into the church to a shuffling, step and sing a chant. Then while the men are entering the church the older Maasai women - the mamas - surround the bring and sing songs too. Once the men are all in the church, the young women respond to their song inside the church & they start marching to the church as well.
The bride is carried to the end of a line of women where she is set down on a shawl - she doesn't touch the ground, but only walks on the scarves.
It takes about an hour for the men and the women to all enter the church. The bride looked miserable. It was all show. She chose her husband and they are both very much in love, but it is Maasai custom for the woman to be sad because they used to be young and they married much older men, leave their families and often move to another location.
The wedding all total was 5 HOURS long. It was officiated in both Swahili and then translated into Maasai.
Today I discovered my next favorite thing from
I actually have no idea if it's really Kenyan or African, or from
We went shopping at the Maasai market today. I found a few knickknacks to remember the trip here and buy a few gifts. We accidentally overstayed our time here in
They are ruminators, so they don't have upper teeth in their jaws, which comes in handy when you get to FEED them! That sure was a treat. Here are some pictures of Amy and I feeding them, hugging their heads, and yes, even KISSING them. I'll admit that wasn't the kiss I was most looking forward to when I got to
It was such a wonderful and blissful day together. Giraffes are really special to Amy and I - and it was an incredible start to our holiday together.
I arrived earlier today & waited until the fourth to the last bag off the plane to exit baggage claim. My bag was one of the first on because it was a transfer and I had a layover in
Amy and Helen were there waiting. I had this big grin on my fact that I couldn't remove. It was glued on! What a sight for sore eyes! She's so beautiful and I couldn’t wait to give her a hug!
We're staying at a place called the Mennonite Guesthouse in
I'm really excited to be here and I've got a few small blogs that I'll type in later. Some interesting observations from the travel.
I laughed, I was disappointed and now I'm reflecting.
There was honestly some good humor. I really hated how Ann Hathaway's character had casual sex when she really was in love with another man. And then it was glossed over and not processed by the characters.
But I'm thinking more about image and popularity which is the intended message of the film.
It's a 1988 flashback in
Click click click click … a Russian woman dressed to impress or seduce someone… How do they walk in those things? And don't tell me that they're comfortable. Habiba, the director of Lingva (my University job) HAS to wear heels now because her feel can't deal with flat shoes!
Jingle jingle jingle - a man's keys as he nervously ticks waiting for someone. Is he excited or nervous? Is it love - now that's my own life entering the story, but isn't that how it always is? We can't hardly help, but interject our own lives & history into what we see and experience.
Presents just went by. It's Dec 11 & New Year isn't for 30 days - but giving is here - talk about a holiday that's been moved - Christmas is on New Year's and isn't about J-sus anymore. I digress.
A mom just walked by with her baby strapped on. How do parents choose how to carry their babies? Front or back? Carriage or stroller?
I like imagining their lives. I think
That's right. Today I spent the early afternoon at my professor's apartment. Vicki, who is a British woman who also studies with Tatiana, was also there. It was really nice because we got to meet Tatiana's husband and younger daughter. Her son lives in another city, so he wasn't there. It was a downright groovy celebration. Food enough for me to feel nearly sick after eating.
It was exciting to take this medication though, because it means I'm two weeks away from being with Amy.
Do you ever have one of those moments when dread passes across your heart? When you hear a noise in the bathroom, you rush in there and the toothbrush cup is on the floor? Where's your toothbrush?!
Well, I just had that moment. And my toothbrush fell into the sink. Isn't that great. That's what my life is like here. Even when something really difficult happens, there's protection, comfort, and a silver lining.
I think I'm just going to run hot water because I can.
BTW - even though we've been without HOT water for quite some time, it's been the best possible time to be without water because it's been WARM outside. It's barely below zero (so for
The
Examining my inner mood, I've decided that a big part of my feelings today might actually be because I'm dirty. My hot water has been broken for 9 days now. So I've had 2 showers in the last week (thank you Jim and Sally!) I'm preparing a sponge bath as we speak (water is boiling in the kitchen) and I'm going to be clean for communion Sunday. I do have heat in 4 rooms of the house, but not the main room and the second bedroom. So we're still using an electric heater for the roommates.
Walking is a big part of Russian culture. I think, 1 because it's good for you, but 2 moreso that apartments are small and to find some private time with someone you go for a walk. So I got a phone call from Dennis last night and we went for a 3 hour walk! It was great! One, it's awesome for me, because I really feel like I'm developing friendships here. Two, I spoke Russian for 3 hours (after 5 hours earlier today already). Three, our conversations are about real things. It's SO nice for me to not only have the opportunity to touch the lives of others, but to be able to communicate on a real level and not feel like language is a huge barrier. So that was great!
How to find your purpose is 5 minutes or less. Write down what you think your purpose is. Something you care about. Do it again. Do it again. Do it again. When the thing you write down makes you cry - you've figured it out. Pay off all your loans and all your debts (hopefully you don't have many) and pursue what you were made for! I've not regretted a second here in
Miss y'all. PS. Jen, they asked me to pr@y for your plane flight in
There is a consistent pattern in Scr!pture of what happens in a life that G0d wants to use and improve:
- there is always a call
- there is always fear
- there is always reassurance
- there is always a decision
- there is always a changed Life
Those divinely appointed defining moments will come to you and me. ... And if you're not looking for him, you just might miss him.
Before Peter gets out of the boat, he had better make sure Jes^s thinks it's a good idea. So he asks for clarity, "If it is you, command me...."
If you Want to Walk on the Water, You have to Get out of the Boat. What's your boat? Your boat is whatever represents safety and security to you apart from G0d himself. Your boat is whatever you are tempted to put your trust in, especially when life gets a little stormy. Your boat is whatever keeps you so comfortable that you don't want to give it up eve if it's keeping you from joining Jes^s on the waves. Your boat is whatever pulls you away from the high adventure of extreme discipleship.
Want to know what your boat is? Your fear will tell you. Just ask yourself this: What is it that most produces fear in me - especially when I think of leaving it behind and stepping out in faith?
Good stuff, huh?
Just disappointed at the perception the world has of us.
Here are the blogs that I'm currently reading:
Get Rich Slowly
http://feeds.feedburner.com/getrichslowly
43 Folders
http://feeds.feedburner.com/43Folders
LifeHack
http://www.lifehack.org/feed/
Our Daily Bread
http://www.rbc.org/ourDailyBread.rss
LifeHacker
http://feeds.gawker.com/lifehacker/full
The Motley Fool
http://www.fool.com/xml/foolnews_rss091.xml
New York Theatre News
http://www.nytheatre.com/nythfeed.xml
Hack-A-Day
http://hackaday.com/rss.xml
He's studying computer programming to work for an oil company (and English on the side) and my background has lots of computer stuff in it too. So we're able to communicate on this level really well. Here are a few of the more specific things that we talked about:
* He programmed for 7 days to create the world
* He also programmed lots of sub routines (smaller programs) that run on their own -- like an auto pilot. These programs include things like time (days/nights), gravity, and other laws of science that keep things moving along.
The Players
- The Programmer, is of course, G0d.
- Adam was the first program that was able to not only run and monitor itself, but to also reprogram itself and to be aware (the first artificial intelligence -- although it's real intelligence, not artificial).
- Eve was a copy of the Adam program, that was then modified to work well together with the Adam program. So for the ladies out there - you can always claim that man was the Beta program and woman the improved model!
- The snake program, or Satan, was created for good (like the internet), but was corrupted with some bad code that replicates itself into other sentient programs (translation: Snake is the first computer virus from which all other viruses stem).
- The anti-virus software (which works on all platforms, and requires no internet connection for updating), Jes^s, works for anyone who chooses to install it onto your hard drive (which is a hardened heart, until you allow G0d inside).
* The B!ble tells us that we're created in the image of G0d, who was the original programmer. What does it mean to be created in His image. Well, I think it means that we are eternal just as He is. The biggest difference is that we're an image. In computer terms a disk image is a computer file containing the complete contents and structure of a data storage medium or device. So we're like the original in some ways, but NOT the original. I think that this means we're eternal. But in a different way than He's eternal. We have a definite starting point. Once we exist, we continue existing. For a short time here on earth, we have a corporal body, and then that body dies, but the spirit continues to live. G0d on the other hand, has always existed. He's eternal in both directions.
So this is our conversation so far… it's so interesting to discuss such deep philosophical things in this manner.
After the bread, I made the dough for the cookies and made them as I continued cooking. I started shredding what felt like 1000 carrots (only 2.5 pounds) to make a Russian salad (so simple, yet delicious - shredded carrots, minced garlic, and mayonnaise).
Then I decided since the kitchen was already a wreck, that I'd keep going. So I made borsch. I learned how on Monday - so I wanted to reinforce my learning with immediate practice. It's pretty good too! I think I should have used more beets though as the soup is a bit 'oranger' from the carrots than it should be!
Maybe I need a few more lessons on how to spice it best, but I've made my first VERY VERY Russian dish and I'm pleased with myself!
Direct to the second floor to the room where we were told to get the shot. We waited for about 10 minutes until we bumped into someone who had already paid. So we went down to the first floor to pay at the cashier. We didn't have the right type of bill though, so we had to go to the second floor to get that one. But the person wasn't in their office, so we had to go to the third floor for her and then back to the second. There we waited for her. And she wrote the bill. Then it was back to the first floor to pay and then back to the second and the third and then the second. Then the certificates were filled out and we headed to a different office to get the shot. After the shot we went to a third office on the second floor to get stamps put into our immunization record booklets.
So today I woke up and I wasn't feeling very well. I checked my temperature and it was up, but nothing to be really worried about. I had a headache too, but these were possible symptoms that the nurse told me to expect. So I drank a WHOLE bunch of water and tea and went back to bed for 2 hours.
Temperature is still elevated a little bit, but I'm feeling a LOT better! AND I get to go to
I'm getting REALLY excited about my trip to
Isn't my apron just gorgeous? Guys where them here without protest. I especially enjoy the extra frills around the neck. That's me on the left wrapping pirogies and below stirring borsch. I'm doing what I can to be a 'real' Russian man. This also includes putting sour cream in my soup and mayonnaise on my bread.
After making borsch, I went with Zhanna to her sister's English class at the University as a special guest to speak English. It's so great to do something so easy and really be able to help people. They were so interested in hearing my speech sounds and talking about English grammar and especial vowels. Interesting, huh?
Jim and Sally have had special guests for the weekend and the wife and I have a very unique and strange thing in common… a love for phonetics. We talked about sounds and sentence structures and silliness for a long time today. The others were looking at us like we were freaks or something. It was really fun.
How do I know this… well - it happened today. I wasn't out long the second time, but I can't do this again. I'll get in trouble with my beloved Russian friends. So I'm hoping to find some on Monday.
I'm really missing Amy though. I'm going to ever endeavor to not take surplus time with her for granted. Only 4 weeks until I head to
On October 28, 2 American professors arrived here in
Both classes were phenomenally interesting and packed with dates and so information that I could hardly contain it all in my head. Especially when you take into account the meanings of prophets names, their contemporaries, where did they prophesy, etc. Whoa. But I'm not afraid of reading in the prophets anymore (in fact, the opposite -- I'm thinking of doing a special study in them) and then there's
I've been interested for a couple of years in maybe going to the
One of the professors, James, decided to not live at the hotel the whole time they were here, so he became my roommate for about 2 weeks. And he inaugurated the opening season of Chez Jeff (that's the name of my apartment as a hotel). So he was here for 2 weeks, next week a visiting Russian will be moving in for 2 months, and in January I'll have a roommate for 3 months from the States who's going to be here working with our ch^rch. Crazy, huh?
My only big worry about the January roommate is that I can't speak too much English or it messes up my Russian. After two weeks in the B!ble college, my Russian teacher reprimanded me for messing up my accent and speaking too much English! She could tell the difference in my Russian after only two weeks!
I did learn a TON of new words at the college though. I mean, I listened to parallel English and Russian lectures on the prophets and the history of
Okay - this entry is too long. Sorry about that. Oh, and I did get two 5's! Yippie
Dennis (sounds like Denise) is my new buddy who I met through our Monday evening English Discussion club. He's great. He's quite the philosopher, so our conversations are interesting, but really difficult for me. We speak mostly in Russian and not English - so the philosophical conversations are really interesting, but difficult. I'm having dinner with him this coming week, plus discussion club (we're talking about the differences in American / Russian Culture - - should be interesting). Thanks for your pr@yers.
Zhenya (short form of
Tatiana is my Russian teacher. She's really a very good instructor and is constantly worrying about whether or not Russians are treating me well. She's afraid that someone is going to try and take advantage of me, because I'm a hopeless optimist and I see the world through rose colored glasses. She keeps mentioning how I'm a unique person and there's something different about me.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a dog lunging at me! So I jumped up (about a meter!) and then turned to face my attacker head on…The tail wagging was so severe I realized that I might need a real weapon to respond to this level of aggressive affection…
It was a puppy in the midst of a pack of street dogs. The other dogs didn't take all that kindly to my sudden movement, but after I backed away a bit, they ignored me. (phew)
Then they proceeded to go to the cross walk, wait for the green light (seriously - I think they were waiting for a break in traffic, but it looked like they were waiting for the light. And then they crossed… with the puppy following the pack running amidst the cars looking like a little kid stomping puddles on a rainy day.
I just felt really badly about it, and decided that I would pr@y for him. I know that it's not much, but I felt like it was all I had to offer. I'm glad that the weather isn't too cold, but after some conversations today - I'm worried that people get frostbite and worse when they fall asleep, because they're either drunk or homeless… it's dangerous to be unconscious here at night.
When you're cold this winter - think of us here in
The blessing came in the form of cancelled classes though. My class was cancelled on Friday for a holiday and I got a reprieve so I can try again to do the homework. And the professors of the B-ble college cancelled class for Saturday morning too - so I get to catch up on a few things (most importantly would be sleep!)
So anyway - she scared Zhanna and I both pretty good about how serious Yellow Fever is and that I might even feel sick for 3 or 4 days after just the shot (which is a live, but weakened version of the virus! I'll be fine of course, but it's just scary. She also said that I could be sore. I need to check, because I thought maybe I needed to get a shot for Meningitis too… sounds VERY painful.
Then we started a chase to find a down coat for me that will help me to survive the winter here. My coat isn't good enough to cut it in the winter here… I think I literally tried on 20 different coats before we found one that fit, looked good, and meet with Sasha and Zhanna's strict requirements. Down, cuffs, butt flap long enough to cover my rump, deep pockets, fur lined hood, and pockets on the inside (for cell phone etc). We did it! My coat was made in
On December 11, I'll leave
I've got to get shots before I can go, so please pr@y that we'd be able to find all of them that I need. Looks like everything should be a go (although it's strange to get that many shots here in
Amy already found an inexpensive Safari we can go on where you drive your own vehicle and it looks like I'll get to meet up with a few friends from MTI (it's the training agency I went through) while I'm there in Africa! How awesome, huh?
I'm so thrilled that I get to visit her AND we'll be together on Christmas!!! I'm sad that I won't be with family and able to carry on the traditions that we've had for so many years, but Amy and I can start a few new traditions this year and I'm excited that we can be together - okay, so I'm getting teary actually thinking about all this, so I guess I'll sign off - but I just wanted to share the awesome news with all of you!
I had to buy chocolate bars and crush them up, but the chocolate is actually better here. The vanilla is powdered, so we just guessed and used the whole packet - so that worked great too. I used real butter (Russians don't have margarine or shortening that I know of) and they were SO DELICIOUS! Or I should say are. There are still some remaining.
The intention of making cookies is so that I can share them with my students. We're having a competition this week in class to see who can tongue twist the letter 'w' the best. The winner gets cookies.
"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck would chuck wood?"
"Why do you cry, Willy? Why do you cry? Why Willy, Why Willy, Why Willy Why?"
I think they're learning to hate me. Seriously, tongue twisters are an excellent way to learn and practice language. I've already learned three in Russian (although one of them I keep messing up).
I've been surprised how much I enjoy teaching English here and the ministry opportunities that are provided are really awesome. One of my students has already started coming to the center to our D-Club (English discussion club) and others have asked if we can start another D-Club on Thursday nights. I'm also looking into starting an English movie night on Fridays, but I think it'll have to wait for the turn of the new year.
I like it. It's a dry cold, so it's refreshing and makes me feel alive. I definitely need to buy a different coat and some boots here. I don't think that what I have will cut it (suffice). So, I'm going to have to quest this week I think. (Oh, I learned how to say adventure this week too - I like that word a LOT. I don't like the adjective for everyday though… try this on for size: pofsyednyevniy)
Looks like I'll be shopping in the next couple of days for a 'real' coat and 'real' boots. The stuff I brought from
I have some exciting news in the life of my American friends to share with you. My dear and long-time friend Heather Holleman wrote a manuscript for a book about a year ago. She sent it off to an agent this spring and has been waiting very patiently for news. Well, due to a really cool twist of some circumstantial events (and maybe some serious G-d intervention), her book is being read by the head editors at Zondervan!
Here's the story. Heather and Ashley were at a book signing for Phillip Yancy's new book. As Heather approached the head of the line, she told Phillip Yancy that she's working on getting a book published and asked for some advice. Then blink blink blink, he points out the vice-president for marketing at Zondervan who's standing in the room and suddenly Heather is introducing herself. Next thing you know, they're reading her book to check it out! Isn't that cool?
Here's the selfish request. If all goes well with the book and there's a cash advance, Heather's going to send Ashley to
It's just rough. I miss Amy something fierce. We've figured out that we can send SMS messages though! It only costs 2 rubles. The hard thing is that we only get to talk max 15-20 minutes a week if that. She does have access to email about once a week, but it's hard to not be able to communicate more. I'm hopefully going there to visit her in December. I'm working on getting plane tickets, but the prices are OUT of control.
Last Week
This morning had a really interesting start. I've become a bit of a night owl since I was in
I have no antiseptic in my house. No alcohol (to drink or to rub), I have no iodine, I have virtually nothing. I have no cologne (sorry Amy - what kind of man am I anyway?) So we used eyeglass cleaner… I have no idea if that's really helpful or not. But anyway - we shot up in the kitchen.
So now I've got my Russian flu vaccination. We'll see if I get the flu or not!
We made homemade pilmeni and blini (pilmeni are the traditional food of
They had lots of questions for me (we spoke in English for the first couple hours and then I broke down and started speaking Russian with them -- they really wanted to practice). They wanted to talk about politics, education, American teens, music - and they were especially surprised to learn that Americans are not like the movies. I asked them if Russians were like Russians in American movies (of course not) so why would Americans be the same? It was a good talk.
They gave me some Russian music to listen to on my computer and they all were REALLY excited to meet with me again. I hope that it has potential to develop into a relationship where they might start coming to our center. They're really cool kids. They want to show me some classic Russian films. One of them is called something like the 'white desert'? I think anyway.
It was really interesting to meet some brand new people and to have a chance to just listen a lot. I learned a lot of new words (but I did refuse when they wanted to teach me a bunch of curse words). They kept it clean for me. And they already knew that I wasn't interested in drinking. Word travels fast.
