Let there be tea or the day Jeff conquers the Estonian market

So I know this is really silly. But I've really been missing a cup or two of tea each day. It's something that's just become a part of living in Russia… and I really wanted a cup of tea.

So I went to the market today - found out how to make tea without a tea kettle (you use this cool thing called a spiral -- which I'll take a picture of and show you) and then boil water in a mason jar. So now I can not only make tea, but I can make instant noodles in my room too -- which helps to save money!

To find out this information, I struck up a conversation with a nice woman in a market stall who looked like she would have the "spiral." Well, she didn't, but she told me what it was called and then gave me directions how to find it. The exciting thing is that I didn't even have to ask her to repeat her instructions, because I understood them the first time! So, now I have a spiral, a cup, tea, sugar -- and I just need to find out if I can drink tap water or if I need to buy bottled water. Tonight there will be tea AND ramen noodles (or vermicelli if you don't know what ramen noodles are -- that's for you Zhanna, Ramen are a brand of noodles in the US that basically every college student knows).

So I'm excited that I've got tea and that I had a real conversation with someone. It's my first real conversation since Monday. Okay - so I read that there's a way for me to get free wireless internet access. The problem is you need a cell phone. So I'm going to try and do this via the internet… we'll see if it works.

But that'll help me stay occupied. I found a WHOLE bunch of websites for teaching English as a foreign language - so I thought I'd continue building my syllabus for teaching. Did I mention that I found out when I'm teaching? Wednesdays and Fridays from 6:00 - 8:30. 4 classes total.

Galatians 1:10

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Wow. This verse just kicked my fanny. As a lifelong extrovert and people pleaser, this threw me for a loop. I'm going to be thinking about this all day I'm sure. I think perhaps that I am still too much of a people pleaser - is this the inate customer service nature in me? Not that I need to be the kind of person who ticks people off either - but really thought provoking.

Nothing much happening in Estonia yesterday or today. Studying Russian grammar, reading, and doing some more prep work for teaching. I got my teaching schedule yesterday. Looks like I'll be teaching from 6:15-8:30 on Wednesday and Friday evenings. Bummer that I'm teaching in the evening right through youth group on Fridays... there must be some purpose in that...

Day 4 in Tallinn

a view of Tallinn from the Sea

It's raining again today. Just a nice slow steady drizzle. Makes a craving from Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup a little bit.

I'll be honest that I'm a bit discouraged and disheartened that my invitation didn't come today. It's just that now I'll be here for 6 more days because of the system of how visa applications work here in Tallinn. So I kinda don't want to write in the blog, because I don't want to be a downer.

But the upside is that I want to be honest with you all, and so I'm writing anyway. And there is good news on the horizon.

So the first and biggest bit of the good news is that there was space in my hotel through Wednesday next week, which means I don't have to move. It's the cheapest hotel in the city that I could find open space in and it's halfway between the bus station and the old city center. So the location is really great. The room is basically clean (many of you would NOT want to stay here), but I figure I just came off a hiking trip in the mountains, so this is a huge step up from making a fire to cook.

Today I had an amazing QT up on the Toompea plateau here in Tallinn. It's the highest part of the city and where the fortress here was built. There's a lot of history here and I'll try to get some pictures online to show you some things (I didn't bring my camera cable, so I can't use mine yet!)The old city wallAlexander Nevsky Cathedral

Romans 2 was a real thought provoking read today about judgment. I realize how self-critical I am and wonder if I’m not in trouble for how I deal with myself sometimes. For example: I'm really hard on myself about language learning. I'm doing a good job with no formal instruction -- but I want to be doing better.

My watch just beeped that it's 6pm in Tyumen. So that means the OVIR office has just closed and if it's possible that my invitation came today - this is the last moment -- let's go check email! I'll let you know if there's good news. (nope. same.)

The day in which I discover: the market, downpour and patience.

Safe to call this: POURING rain

So this morning I got up and immediately got ready to go and check internet and see if my invitation had arrived. As I was leaving the shopping mall (where the internet access is) I saw what looked like a cool store with strange and interesting stuff. So I went in. They had a sale on umbrellas. Yesterday someone advised me that you should always carry an umbrella here because the sea brings strange and sudden weather changes. So I bought this little $8 umbrella.

I am very happy now. In fact, I think ecstatic. I was about 15 minutes from the hotel reading in the Book in a park. I felt a little drop and thought, "oh, I'll get my umbrella ready…" and I reached my hand into my backpack and THE HEAVENS OPENED. I barely got it open in time.

So now I'm back at the hotel and mostly dry! The bummer is I was just getting ready to go shopping for food… so now I'm waiting out the storm and hungry. But it'll clear soon.

--- later ---

I attempt to discover the market. I've already seen it, so I know it's out there. I was there yesterday morning and again in the afternoon. Although I do think that the streets of Tallinn are a bit confusing, I also think it's safe to say that I shouldn't go anywhere without a map and a compass. I don't think I could find my own feet sometimes if they weren't attached. So I walked around for 2 hours today getting the lay of the land (that's what I tell myself in my head so I don't have to write that I just didn't know where I was). I can't say that I was lost, because at all times I knew how to back track to the hotel, but I was sorta on my own there.

Tallinn, Estonia: Day 1

Mostly today was a make a to do list and get it done kind of day. Tallinn is a really beautiful old city (with its old towne and new town totally intermingling). It is VERY confusing with lost of winding, swirling, where the heck am I streets. I was lost several times today. With a map.

To all my CIC staff past, present and future. You are the most wonderful beings on earth and you have counterparts in Tallinn, Estonia! There is an information center here and they speak foreign languages. I talked with one of them in Russian and another one in English. And they've got German, Italian, Spanish, Estonian (of course) Finnish and probably 7 other languages covered too.

I'm really looking forward to leisurely strolling about the towne tomorrow and really enjoying its beauty. I'll be enjoying it more after I get my invitation. But I'll just be practicing patience as much as I can.

I'm very sleepy as it's been 2 days since I've really slept more than 3 hours - so … I'm going to bed now. Yeah, it's only 9 pm.

The longest day

I arose on this wonderful Sunday morning at 3am. I went to bed at 1am after packing… and I think I slept for maybe 2 hours. The morning started off with several highlights. Amy called first thing and we were able to talk just before I got the call that Zhanna and Sasha were on their way to pick me up in the taxi.

And we're off! Oh, and I had melon for breakfast… mmm. We don't have this melon in America. It's called Dinya. It's delicious.

So everything went great with getting me to St. Petersburg. The flight was on time (in fact I got there pretty early in the morning). The food on the plane was minimal, but a nice supplement to the Dinya (melon).

So I'll give you the quick overview of the day in St. Petersburg and more details about interesting stuff in additional entries.

Arrival + 2.5 hours	Finding where to buy the bus ticket
1 hour	Buying the bus ticket
2 hours	Finding internet to email all that I made it
8 hours	Waiting and exploring (broken into several chunks call it recon if you will)
2 hours	Visiting really cool sites in St. Petersburg
1 hour	Picking up my baggage
7 hours	Bus to Estonia
Day transition here somewhere
2 hours	Waiting for luggage holding to open
forever	waiting to go to the bathroom because I didn't have a small enough bill to pay
2 hours	Finding the center of Tallinn to wait for information to open
3 hours	Searching for a place to live

And now I have a place to live, internet access, a rough idea of where I am in the city, a book about the city, and plenty of items to keep me focused on Him and Russian studies.

Please please please please keep pr-ying that my invitation comes quickly. In order to make my flight home, I need to get my visa by this Friday (unless there's some bigger miracle planned). Thanks

Don't eat garlic on an empty stomach

It kinda hurts. And immediately too. The good news is that eating garlic last night, lots of pr-yer and lots of sleep seem to have done the trick. I'm feeling a whole LOT better. I thought that maybe I'd have some more garlic this morning to keep me feeling better… it's like fire in the stomach without other food in there. So I quickly scarfed a piece of bread and drank a bunch of water… it's getting better, but whoa! I even felt lightheaded… that's some strong garlic.

No worries about vampires here.

Well, I ended up lying down for 1.5 hours after the garlic. I don't know if it was the garlic or just my cold trying to resurface. But I've got things to do now to prepare for St. Pete's and Estonia.

I'm in the preparation zone today. Packing, cleaning and getting my photos for my paperwork.
Let's Hope that they let me take my computer with me. Because without it for 10 days I might not be able to be responsible for my actions! ;)

I have friends!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen - I had guests tonight for dinner! It really was fun to cook for someone and to have guests in my new "home." Sasha and Zhanna came over for pesto pasta with chicken, green beans with mozzarellaand salad (which didn't have lettuce 'cause I couldn't find any).

I'll try to upload a picture of our dinner later.

It was fun. My Russian in improving thanks to their continued help and
diligence.

They're also going to help me get to the airport on Sunday. At 3:30am I might add. Because of the recent activities, I have to be there 2 hoursbefore my flight. Phew. That's early.

I'm getting sick. So like a good little Russian boy, I ate my two cloves of garlic. I'm getting ready for tea and a really hot shower. Then I'm going to curl up into bed and sleep as LONG as I can tomorrow. I really don't want to fly with a head cold, find a place to stay in St. Pete's, take a bus
all the way to Estonia, and then find a place to stay there. UGH!

I'm going to be better tomorrow. Please pr-y about this, okay?

Okay - the tea is ready and Susan is calling (that's the name printed on my teapot - Jen, no joke. My teapot came with a name).

My first Drug Deal

So I was walking to the store today and I literally saw a drug deal. I
guess that's it. I was just really surprised. Broad daylight. It's scary
where our world is headed, huh? This is happening all over the world.
People just don't know where to put their faith...

I had an AMAZING conversation with the director of the cultural center
today. He actually lived through the Checnyan war. Whoa.

water

it's such an important thing. Second morning in a row that I've awakened to no water. The cool thing is that it's back on in the afternoon sometime. Bummer is that I want to brush my teeth and shower now. I'm glad that they're working on the water so that in the winter it'll be hot and working and there will be a warm start to my chilly mornings.

I just wish they had posted a sign - they did that when the water was out for a couple weeks back in the summer - so I think that means it'll just be out for a few hours.

This is very normal and typical here... But I want the toilet working! (sorry to be so frank and honest, but it's true).

email blog post

This is cool.

Typical Days

I guess today is a typical day. I think maybe the water is turned off for
atypical reasons. Maybe someone is having a repair done.

Today I've studied for about an hour already. I've been learning an
exciting set of words today. Cleaning words, such as dust, vacuum cleaner
(dust sucker), mop, to mop, etc. So while I'm cleaning the apartment today,
I'll be able to practice these words.

I've also read the Word already today and it's so great! Everything seems
so applicable here. Reading Acts rocks because it's all about the first M
journeys, which is exactly what I'm doing.

I'll then be purchasing an internet card. Turns out that I use about 100MB
a week - if this week is a normal week. I think that talking through the
computer is GREAT, but it uses a lot of megabytes and here you pay for what
you use. Which in a way is a great system, but for those of us using the
internet for calling home and conducting our work... it's a bigger expense.

Then it's off to the market to pick up a few things. It really seems like
it's better to buy food at the market for the most part as it's SO much less
expensive. A loaf of bread was 9 rubles (remember 26 rubles to the dollar)!
So almost 3 loaves of freshly baked, delicious bread for a dollar.

Then I'm off to the Cultural Education Center (CEC), that's our home base
turn check out a few books to read on my Visa trip to Estonia. I'm trying to
read one book in English and Russian, but it's really hard!

I'm hoping for another long walk today as I feel SO wonderful and healthy
when I do this. It's good to concentrate on physical health as I'm
constantly being reminded here. Eat garlic! It's useful for health! ;)

Then I'll study some more Russian and if the water is back on, it's time to
do some laundry (by hand) and mop the floors). Oh, and a shower of course!

Natural Remedies

Something that I hadn't really thought about moving to another country is what I would learn about medicine. Today while I was at the cultural center I learned about the power of garlic. 2 cloves before bed in the winter will help me avoid the flu. Zhanna also suggested a flu shot… We had fresh garlic with lunch from Victoria's garden. I've NEVER had garlic that fresh before… fire in the mouth!

But tasty.

Igor' is here for a visit and I'm excited about talking to him and starting up our mentoring relationship. He took me around to a couple of markets and to the region where he lives in Tyumen during the school year. This is the region where I'll be taking Russian classes and teaching English, so it was nice to become a bit more familiar with the region.

Then he taught me about the healing properties of iodine. I've always thought of iodine as an antiseptic or sterilizer or something like that. He says that if you feel a chest cold coming on you should smear it across your chest. And if you feel like you're getting a cold you should smear it across the bottom of your feet. He says it works and that he never takes tablets (medicine).

I really find this very interesting - we'll see how healthy I can keep myself this year!

PS I learned how to pay for my electricity today.

And the rain rain rain came down down down

So yesterday I learned about the Russian Winnie the Pooh movie. It is apparently hugely popular and everyone knows it. There was an instant and HUGE down pour yesterday and I learned the phrase, "tut tut, I think it's gonna rain" which Piglet always says in the Winnie the Pooh movie. Well, here Piglet says something like, "seems like the rain is gathering." It sounds really funny when Zhanna says it in Russian.

And today I had the opportunity to say this phrase with Igor! So funny. He recognized it and we both got a laugh until the rain really hit us in earnest… seriously - it blasted us.

We went to three different markets today to find various things and I'm proud to report the following projects are completed:

- the toilet is completely fixed. Two days already there's been a seat on my toilet, well now I don't have to turn the water on and off every time. We bought a new float and fixed it!

- I installed the new showerhead. I'm not only pleased that I installed it and it works great, but it's a WONDERFUL showerhead. It actually projects the water further into the tub so I don't have to stand next to the wall anymore. I can stand in the middle of the tub! Woo-hoo.

- We bought bolts so that I can attach the knobs on my closet drawers.

- and I finally have a salt shaker. I know that's a really silly point. But I've been looking ever since I got here and finally I found one that I like and it wasn't too expensive.

Igor' is going to teach me how to cook a Russian meal tonight. As best as I can tell - it's meatloaf and mashed potatoes - but it's called Cutlet and Potato Puree here.

We must have walked 5 miles today, which is great. I gotta try to keep in shape now that I've lost some weight. It's crazy that I've dropped 25 lbs in two months.

Sasha stopped buy today (Zhanna's husband) and now I've got a computer program to teach me to type in Russian! I'm excited about this. It'll be one more thing that I can occupy myself with while I'm in Estonia getting my visa.

Please THINK about the following: my invitation has not come yet for my second visa. It should have been here by now, and they're saying they should have it by Sunday. Well, I fly out on Sunday - so it's really going to be late. But I can get a copy emailed to me, so I'm not freaking out. Just mildly worried.

Mr Fixit?

Well, I’m not the handiest guy in the whole world as anyone in my family would attest (since most everyone in my family is a Mr Handyman genius), but I get along okay. So the toilet seat broke off the toilet. And I managed to not only remove the pieces that were all over, but I bought a new seat and managed to attach it. The saga goes like this:

• 1 hour walk to the store where I bought the seat. (I did choose to walk instead of catch a bus).
• 1 hour shopping about the store – I had to end up buying a universal seat, because they didn’t have one that matched the exact measurements that I took.
  
• 1 hour taking the bus home and then walking from the bus stop. Ironic that walking an hour or taking the bus takes the same amount of time – but I was carrying porcelin.
  
• 15 minutes attaching the seat.
  Total: 3.15 minutes. Life just takes a little longer here.

So the showerhead broke after I fixed the toilet and showered ‘cause, well, fixing the toilet – no matter how clean it is – just feels dirty. So I guess tomorrow I’ll fix that!

I also bought knobs for my closet drawers. I can’t open the drawers very well because there are NO knobs. Well, I found out why there are no knobs. The screws aren’t long enough to fit through the front of the drawer. Guess I’ll try to find longer screws the right size tomorrow too.

Dad, you’d be proud.

PS I got invited to an ev-angelist-c bike tour gathering tonight. But I went where I thought the person told me to go... but I guess I didn't know enough of the directions. :( Alas. So I'm home now and making dinner and then blogging the rest of the hiking trip

A day of errands for the skinny guy.

So I walked about town today getting some errands done. And I mean walked. Lucky I’m in hiking shape. So, I just did some calculations and I lost 16.5 lbs in my first month here and the second month (with all the hiking) removed an additional 9 lbs! Can you believe it? I’m 25 lbs lighter already. I’m guessing that the weight loss will slow rapidly now, because I don’t have nearly as much to lose now… I feel great though.

So I waited at 8 bus stops today and wrote down all the busses that stop at them. I’ve been wanting to do this… for all my information center friends – you just can’t get the information assistant out of you. They don’t actually have bus route schedules or maps like we do – so I’m making my own!

Oh, and I found roach traps! I used Lingvo to look up the word for roach and found the traps all by myself… let’s hope I read the instructions correctly.

Leaking Pipes, Toilets and Roaches

Welcome home! By the amazing providence of G-d, there was a basin sitting on the bathroom floor directly under the spot where one of my pipes started leaking while I was gone for two weeks! Yes!

The toilet seat broke off when I, well, sat down on it. And that’s a real joy. Y’all will be really proud of me – I actually figured out how to remove the remaining pieces all by my self and I plan to buy a new seat and repair it first thing tomorrow. Now if I can stop the toilet leaking and the leaky pipe…

And the final quick and fun thing is that there are cockroaches in my apartment… in the kitchen… I turned on the light tonight and thought I saw movement… but then realized it was the reflection off a pan. Then it happened again… only the pan wasn’t on the counter anymore. I’ve only seen 2. But when there are 2… there are a 100.

I’ll have to figure out what passes for Roach poison here.

On the train again…

Hours on train: 17

So it's another early morning and the trip is coming to it's end. I'm sorta sad as I have no idea if I'll ever see any of these people again. Except for Sasha, of course. The train ride was longer on the way home for me. I kept thinking that we were almost there, almost there, almost there… and I didn't sleep as much as I'd hoped. I did sleep for a couple of hours though. Here's some highlights:

I sat across from a Kazakh woman who is a Russian teacher. I had several lessons and she actually graded parts of our conversation. I got all perfect marks too.

I picked up the book I've been reading on and off for months, Hinds Feet on High Places. It is really incredible. I think it's a great book for any xian to read, especially if you're involved in M work. Phenomenal.

In summary: I am so glad that I went on this trip and it has been an TREMENDOUS language opportunity. I've really learned a lot, I understand a LOT better and I've been told that my skills are increasing. Let's keep the learning going!

Novosibirsk

We spent the whole day today in Novosibirsk. Mostly today is a wash. Not much happened. There was a random point of confusion today when I was the stupid foreigner again. I just assumed that we would be staying with Kostya until we leave tomorrow. Well, that's not the case. He didn't really ever say that we weren't, but he did ask us to collect our things. I thought he meant just make sure all your stuff is in one place… I don't know what I was thinking.

So all of a sudden (to me) we're up and leaving. Sasha was prepared… I wasn't. So I felt really dumb. It wasn't the first time though, that Kostya had assumed that I understood. I guess I'm just not quite as good at Russian as I'd like to be!

The final day of hiking

Hours Hiked: 6
Craving: steak
Pity parties: 1

So I had my first pity party yesterday. It was our last evening actually camping and everyone was talking about what they wanted to eat, who they wanted to see, etc. We had quite a bit of time to sit around and just talk and, well, I just got totally left out. All the smokers went off to smoke the rest of their so carefully rationed cigarettes, even the two quietest ones paired up to go pick berries.

The worst of it wasn't really that. Because that's normal that groups split up. I just had my QT and a final opportunity to really enjoy the creation and nature all around me.

It was later on when we were all going to play cards. Then we ended up playing contact again. It just takes a LOT more language skill. And then people just kinda started ignoring me. That was the hard part.

So when we were talking about what we miss - after people, I want Outback. I want a big, juicy, delicious steak. And a bloomin' onion. With a really cold coke.

The hiking today was blissful. I can't even describe what the last day was like. After all the up, up and more up… this was flat, descent, and down ALL day. It was really nice. My feet hurt a little. The going down, of course, makes the tips of the toes hit the boots… which for me isn't the MOST pleasant experience right now. Overall - the easiest day of hiking by a LONG shot.

When we arrived at Visotnik, it was like a reunion. Andrusha, Lyosha, Sonya, and Marina were all there waiting for us. Sonya was running around hugging everyone, she was so excited! Then it was off to the river for our final 'natural' bathing experience and off to pick up Lena.

We were 2 days early by Lena's recollection so she was incredibly excited. She hadn't expected to see us so soon. So that was really fun. 15 more hours on the bus and we're back in Novosibirsk.

Bus ride highlights: Kostya gave special toasts to everyone in the group, we stopped at a roadside dance club for one of our pit stops (so funny to see Lena and Andrusha dancing together -- broken ankle and wrist!)

And Back Again

Pictures
Hours Hiked: 7
Hours slept: 3 or so

So, we tried to sleep 6 in a tent last night. It didn't work out so well. I was on the far side. So my face was PRESSED against the side of the tent. And it was really cold. I couldn't turn over either because there were too many of us. I started to get claustrophobic too, but then I figured out that my old gymnastic skills would come in handy and I flipped myself head to foot to make more room for my shoulders - and I slept a little.

We left early this morning to head back to our stationary camp. We took a different route back, because we didn't have a real route that we followed to the lake. We headed up the steepest path (seems like that's what we always do). And it turns out that we got up to the peak and Kostya realized we were headed in the wrong direction. So we turned away from the path and struck out down the mountain to find the other path.

Marina (the younger) turned her ankle on the way down, but turned out fine. The hike was uneventful with the exception of a waterfall that we saw on the way home.

To the Lake

Hours Hiked: 6

Russian Word Learned: helicopter

Today we actually achieve our end goal! We see the lake!! It's very exciting. It is a beautiful sight to behold… a lake at the foot of the mountains. Gorgeous. We left so early this morning that we arrived at our campsite by lunchtime! We actually cooked lunch today! Yes! That's right, a meal in the middle of the day. I wasn't even really hungry. I took a nap in the sun and let my feet air out. And I bathed in the lake too. Freezing cold, but it's delectable to feel clean.

We are only 6 at this point in time. Katia and Natasha stayed behind with the bulk of our things. It was really incredible to hike with just a few items in my rucksack. It was so light having 15 lbs that I forgot I had a pack!

We saw a few helicopters out and about today. They were doing rescue reaches for lost hikers. That's how I learned the word for helicopter.

The Blistering Pace

Pictures
Hours Hiked: 5
Kilometers Hiked: 15

Our team is smaller now. Lena has already left us. Andrusha cannot hike with his broken ankle, Sonya is sick and Marina is staying with her and we're 9 when we set out.

So I now understand the phrase, "setting a blistering pace." We hiked so fast today, with my little legs I was practically running to keep up. It was very interesting hiking too as we were along the river for part of the day and there were lots and lots of rocks to navigate. I liked that part.

Lyosha didn't make it today. About 1/3 of the way, he turned back because his foot was hurting too much. He hiked back to the others and joined them in convalescence.

My feet started hurting about half way through the day, but I really just did my best to ignore them. Turns out that's not the smartest move. I had 5 blisters! I've never seen blisters like these before either… 3 of them were under my toenails.

So my toenails were all sticking virtually straight up and we're a little afraid that I might lose them (3 of them). The other two blisters were on the backs of my heels - painful, but no big deal. The really really rough part, was my right foot, middle toe. The blister was quite large and I knew that hiking on it wouldn't really be very simple… so - I had a little operation. Kostya sterilized a needle and some thread with Iodine and then lanced the blister. The thread he left in the blister overnight to help it to continue to ooze the puss out. It stung, but I took it well. The most painful part was actually the next morning when I pulled the string out.

So most everyone was really tired out from the 'blistering' pace and Katia and Natasha actually refused to keep going. My blisters were a good excuse to stop. So we set up a stationary camp. I went to bed not knowing if I'd be able to go on for the next day or not. Turns out I keep going.

Pictures

Stationary Again: In the Village

Hours Hiked: 0
Skill achieved: shelling sunflower seeds

Today was mostly a very calm day. We got to sleep in, rest and recuperate from the first 5 days of hiking. Highlights from today include:

□ incredible and beautiful sunshine, views like I’ve never experienced – it looks like paradise here.

□ I practice what seems like a lifelong skill for all Russians… shelling and eating sunflower seeds.

□ I spent HOURS reading the Book and pr-ying. (Isa 40:31 had a special impact for me) As I was reading it - no joking - and eagle was soaring

□ Potatoes. Can I tell you how delicious potatoes are? Worthy of drool.

We're headed back into the mountains tomorrow. We found out today that Andrusha broke his ankle hiking yesterday. Lyosha's foot is okay, just sore.

Did I mention the chafing? Being wet all day yesterday and hiking through the mountains doesn't go so well with skin... So there's some serious chafing on my left thigh. It hurts too. PTL that I have A&D ointment with me.

The Rescue & The Escape

Pictures
Scots Rescued: 2
Hours hiked: 5
Bones broken: 1
Ankles turned: 2
Banyas: 1
Word learned: storm

So today was a very eventful and exciting day. In the middle of the night I levitated off the ground because of the sound of thunder… the whole sky was lit up with lightning from a storm trapped inside the mountain range. Whoa. It was seriously intense. Rain, rain, rain. So by the time we got up in the morning, the river had seriously flooded over and there was actually water FLOWING across places where there was land the day before. It was like one river had become 3.

As crazy as this sounds, Kostya’s plan was to continue forward and cross the river and head back up into the mountains. So 4 of us were chosen to scout out how to cross the river. The bridge was still accessible after crossing two of the new rivers in knee deep water. So we made it to the other side. But there matters became more intense.

You see, there was another new river on the other side of the main river… and it wasn’t so little. In fact, we used a rope stretched across the little river (tied to two trees) to make it safely across because the current was so strong. Well, initially Kostya was the only one who crossed and it was our expedition to figure out how to get backpacks across the river.

But it became instantly apparent that the Scots thought that we were there to rescue them! Kostya tried to communicate with them, but eventually I got called in as reinforcement interpreter. So – we helped them to cross over the river. It took quite some time to convince them that they needed to leave their things behind and move quickly. (Funny that it took time to convince them to move quickly).

So we had a problem develop. All of these HUGE logs started coming down the river and barraging our bridge. A bridge further upstream had already collapsed and it’s parts were destroying our bridge back across the river. So we lit the hot seat and got out of there. Turns out that 2 hours later our bridge completely collapsed!

So we hiked out all day through mud and rain and it was very steep and very cold going. The amazing thing was that I was in great spirits for having helped the Scots. On the way down, Andrusha slipped in the mud and broke his ankle. Lyosha lost his sandles in mud and hiked all day in socks, which resulted in an injured foot/turned ankle. We were all cold and muddy and gross by the end where we had to cross another river.

That bridge was out too, but it was on the edge of a village and with some good old fashioned cash, he ferried us across the swamped over part of the bridge.

We paid for lodging in a local woman’s house and even had a Banya (it’s a Russian Sauna). It was great to be clean and hot after all the mud and cold.

Base Camp

Pictures
Hours Hiked: 0
New Games Learned: Duraka, 101, Contact, Cities
Hours of English Spoken: 1.5
Word Learned: Scots

Well today was an interesting day. We spent the whole day waiting. Kostya and Lena hiked out today and we waited for them to return. Turns out that the arm was in fact broken and Kostya came back alone. But he brought back meat and sugar coated hard tack! Oooo. Tasty. The day was completely rainy and most of us took naps, played cards, and just talked.

The game contact is really cool and was great for my Russian language experience. So someone thinks up a word. They tell the group the first letter, let’s suppose it’s A. Then the others ask questions like. Is it a kind of food? No, it’s NOT an Appetizer. It’s not a type of peace? No, it’s NOT Amnesty. If the person who thought up the word can’t think of one that starts with A…then they have to provide the next letter. Like AP. It isn’t a kind of fruit? Yes, It’s an Apple!

So Natasha and Katia were out wandering across the bridge and they met some foreigners. They couldn’t really talk to them, but they tried anyway. Turns out they were having a lot of problems starting a fire (it was a little bit too wet). So Natasha and Katia came back across the bridge to get a couple of guys and me as an interpreter.

So that’s how we met Helen and Terry – two Scots who were hiking in the Altai before Helen got sick and they had to hike out. Part of me wanted to stay in Russian language isolation and part of me was so relieved to speak freely. It’s amazing how much my personality is affected by ease of speech. All the team who were there talked about how funny I am and animated and how ‘beautiful’ my smile is.

So strange that they hadn’t really seen that in me before, isn’t it?

Backtracking & lost

Pictures
Hours Hiked: 4
Percentage of hiking hours slid: 2.5%
Time Lost: 1.5
Falls: 0 (yay!)
Russian word learned: wind blows

Lesson: don’t nod your head when you understood 60% -- it’s NOT enough.


Yesterday was supposed to be the new toughest day of hiking. Well – it’s even harder on the way down. And because I’m carrying 1/2 of Lena’s group weight & we’re sliding down the mountain.

The day is very focused on helping Lena & we are all full of purpose behind our movements.

I hike with Marina the younger the whole morning & I suddenly realize she thinking that I’m leading her! (from behind?) and no one else is around. I’ve been following her for an hour in the wrong direction.

Prayer, prayer & prayer. We’re found. Balalaika! (It’s our group call if you’re lost or just checking in with the group across the mountains…)

Fire, Falling, and Fellowship

Pictures
Hours hiked: forever. 6
Bones broken: 2 (none mine)
Clothes changed in 4 days: 0 (I stink)
Russian word learned: accident

It rained all night. The tent I’m sleeping in doesn’t breathe & I’m soaked, cold & frustrated. It’s my job to achieve fire for breakfast – so I’m up an hour before everyone else & literally praying for a miracle (which is granted when I find a dry birch tree to use as fire starter – thanks dad & the boy scouts).

It’s like climbing up a river of flowing chocolate. The mountain is incredibly steep & the rain keeps coming. It takes all my energy to keep from falling – so I memorize verses while I hike (thanks to the Navigators’ B-ble memory system). And I see my first cow cross a bridge on it’s own volition.

So we’re at the top of our first peak with an INCREDIBLE sunset tonight. About 1/2 the group climbs further up the rocks for a better view & we have our first team accident. Lena fell 10 meters and broke her arm in 2 places.

Turns out that boy scout first aid comes in handy again (and so does a master’s in counseling). Lena went into Shock from the fall and needed warming. Thanks to a Nalgene bottle, a fire and a nearby spring – we warmed her up, got her arm splinted and she slept through the night – that part was due to pr-yer I think.

The 3 days of solid rain begin.

Wrong Turn

Pictures
Hours hiked: 5
Hours hiked in the wrong direction: 1.5
English words spoken: <50
Russian Word learned: useful (This means that it doesn’t taste good, but you should eat it anyway).

Today was supposed to be the roughest day of hiking in the whole 11 days, but we made a wrong turn and hiked 45 minutes in the wrong way.

So camp was early and we had B-ble Study on Revelation 13.

We’ve been drinking the water without purification. I worry, but it turns out that all is okay and the water has been fine the whole time (I’m actually typing this after the trip. Of course, I didn’t hike with my computer)

The Start :: Meet the Team

Pictures

Hours of Hiking: 3.5
Gradient: steep
Russian word learned: Steep

Being a man has some good and bad perks. Macho society doesn’t totally agree with me and being that I’ve hiked a bunch I packed really light. Which means that I’m carrying double group weight.

I packed the following for 11 days:

2 pairs of pants
4 t-shirts
4 pairs of undies
4 pairs of socks
2 long sleeve shirts
1 pair of long underwear
1 jacket
Boots
Sandles
Sleeping bag
Bible
Devotional (Daily Light)
Um… and the toiletries

So my bag has extra space which is now filled with more team supplies. I feel like a mule, but my spirits are great. Hiking is really good time for prayers. It’s so beautiful here.

Meet the team:

Kostya – team leader, stud, but somewhat absent minded
Lyosha – the ‘king’
Katya – the ‘queen bee’

The Court
Andrusha – (1/2 of the brother sister pair that we have)
Natasha – (court princess)
Marina – the ‘quiet, sweet’ one
Peytya – the ‘nerd’ (seriously -10 vision, but doesn’t wear the glasses)

Sonya – the youngest (only 13) who wants to be 30
Marina – the ‘elder’ – the team nurse
Sasha (the guy) – my fellow Tyumenian.
Lena – the ‘helpful’ one
Sasha (the gal) – team philosopher (and the other 1/2 of the brother sister pair)
Oh, and me – I’m the foreigner

Preparations

T Minus 1 Day and Counting…

Sasha and I got to sleep for several hours finally! I didn’t get much sleep on the train ride here. After we got up our host and team leader, Kostya, gave us several assignments. Then he disappeared for 6 or 7 hours.

We got our return trip tickets for the train – a huge relief – although we won’t be sitting together. We did score the last two seats on the train! We shopped as well for a bunch of the team supplies and sorted out the food into different packets.

Apparently Russians hike a LOT heavier than we do in the States, or at least Kostya does. Looks like I’ll be carrying an extra 8-10 Kilos (like 18 lbs) of group weight. I packed lightly on purpose – oh well. It looks like we’ll be eating hot cereal for breakfast and dinner everyday – cheese with breakfast and sausage/salami with dinner. Tea two times a day and no real food for lunch: 2 pieces of candy and a handful of peanuts and dried apricots.

I see no water purification filters or tablets!

Oh by the way, there’s a 15 hour overnight trip by van in my future. With 15 people & 6 of them are smokers.

Lesson today: expectations can be the enemy. Flexibility is your friend. And being patient is ALWAYS a good skill to practice.

Departure

The big day has arrived & it’s off to the Altai Mountains in South-Central Russia for 2 weeks.

I was up late packing which isn’t like me, but as I’m learning – planning ahead is okay as long as your expectations aren’t SET on the things that you’re planning.

Today’s update is a big boring. 15 hours on the train from Tyumen’ to Novosibirsk.

Stay tuned – I’m hoping to show you on a map where I’ve been

Click here for photos

Lingvo 10

Yes, I have the coolest computer program in the whole world on my laptop now. It can translate anything from English to Russian and back. Thank you Sasha and Zhanna! Yippie. It also works on Palm PC and Palm OS for you computer geeks out there.

Basically, the translation of the above paragraph is that I can quickly and easily look up the hundreds of words that are flying around me all day. I’ve been trying to look up as many as I can each day, but this way I can look up more words and MUCH faster. I’m also learning to type in Russian this way. I wonder if I’ll ever type in Russian as fast as I can type in English?

Language errors … gotta laugh

So my language errors continue. In 2002, I asked a little boy to pee all over a little girl because I messed up stress. oPEEsat vs opeeSAT. Earlier this summer I said a vulgar word for pee instead of full (meaning I’d eaten enough) SSeet vs seet. Today I said another vulgar word (can’t really explain here and be PC) because I tried to create my own word for something and the stress was in the wrong place! Eegads. Why are all my mistakes vulgar? I guess that’s not true. I make LOTS of mistakes with grammar on a moment by moment basis, but it’s really odd how many of the bigger blunders are about bathroom issues.

Friends in Russia!

I’m so excited!! I just got off the phone (a 7 minute conversation no less) with Sasha! He’s Zhanna’s husband and a fellow computer geek at heart. He works for the regional state government as a computer dude and he helped me get connected today with Russian keyboard stickers for my laptop! He called to see if everything was working out ok and to give me some advice about leaving the apartment for a few days. He walks by my building on the way to work and he wanted to make sure that I securely closed my balcony window as it’s not safe to leave it open while I’m away. Incredible. It was so fun to talk to him and in Russian! Sometimes I don’t understand everything, but he explained it a different way and I got it!

Such blessings abound!! I’m excited about the possibility of a friendship with him. He’s the one who recommended and helped me get connected with high speed internet too. It should be connected here at my flat within 10 days! It’s so wonderful.

Expect the unexpected in Russia

So this morning I got 2 phone calls from America. The first at 5am and the second at about 8am. I’m SO excited to hear from America, it doesn’t even matter if I’m wakened from deep sleep!

So once I got up, I headed to meet with Zhanna to conclude our agreement with the local internet provider. I was nervous, because everyone kept telling me to prepare for them to say no. Turns out that someone had internet installed nearby and the high-speed cable is actually already on the roof of my building! How rockin’ cool is that? So then with the help of Olga – we set it up! They even called today to set up the installation. Unfortunately (which I hear is a very common phrase here), they called back to say that an emergency arose and they won’t be able to come now… Zhal’ (that’s the Russian word for pity (meaning too bad)– it’s the first thought in my head). So it’ll be sometime in the next 10 days.

It’s kinda cool. Once the internet is installed (no need for a modem) – I buy these little cards (pretty much anywhere in the city) and that’s how they charge me. It’s nice because you only pay for what you use here. It’s not a set fee per month. It’s just like how my cell phone works. You only get charged for what you use. So awesome. And the cell phone only charges you for your outgoing calls… not incoming. Isn’t that sweet?

SIDE: just read an email from a friend of Amy and she was talking about Abraham before the destruction of Sodom. Abraham was ‘convincing’ G-d to require fewer and fewer uncorrupted people in order to save the city. I never thought of it before, but really there was no convincing. It was the original plan all along. How often do we think that we’re bargaining or convincing G-d of something different, when really we’re just realizing the original and best plan all along. Cool, huh? Thanks Angie.

Check for photos - high speed.

I just posted several photos (finally at the inet salon where there's high speed inet)

The following posts have photos now:
7/29 My man purse
7/29 Money
7/26 Changing a Light Bulb
7/26 Mosquitos in the Cul-de-sac
6/27 Escaping the Pink Bathroom

The good news... maybe. Tomorrow at 10am I'm meeting with the internet folks to see if they can install high speed in my apartment. Please PRAY!

I'll keep you all posted.

At the Train Station

Vok-zal. That’s the Russian word for train station. I was just there with my new friend Sasha (or Sasa as Amy likes to call him). He’s a second year University student and right now he’s thinking of being an interpreter. Mostly we speak Russian together – which is great for me, but his English skill definitely surpasses my Russian right now.

Anyway – we’re going to the Altay Mountain trip together. We’re supposed to leave on Thursday this week. The problem is when we talked about getting tickets like 3 weeks ago, they said it was too early to buy them. So we waited until today. We went to the Vokzal and

Well, now they’re saying that there aren’t any tickets available. And that we should check back on Wednesday.

Amy’s gone

It’s pouring rain in Tyumen today and that’s just fine with me, because it actually suites my mood. Amy left this morning for America (via Moscow and London) and I’m really sad. I’ve been keeping myself really busy today which has been good for me. I really struggle with letting myself experience lots of sad emotions. Amy and I cried together quite a bit on Tuesday this week and then again on Friday – actually I don’t remember ever crying that much in my entire life. I cried when my parents drove away the weekend before I moved to Russia -- it's so hard to say good-bye to those you love. Sheesh. I can’t imagine what it’s like for Jesus to love all of us so much and to be separated from us (John 19 – He leaves His mother).

America!

My second phone call! But this one was for longer than an hour! Yippie. Thanks for calling Todd. It was so nice to just talk and know that everything I said would be completely understood. I’m going to be completely out of commission as far as the phone is concerned for about two weeks in August and then again in August for some time after that. On August 3rd I head to Novosibirsk on a hiking excursion I’ll be back on August 17th and then sometime after that I’ll be headed to Estonia to renew my visa. I haven’t decided yet if I’ll fly to Moscow or St. Petersburg to take the train/bus from there or if I should train it all the way. Jim & Sally recommended a flight with a train – I’ll keep you posted.

My man purse

Guess who has a ‘murse’? That’s what Amy and I call the man purse almost every guy in Russia has. They call it a soom-ka. It simply means bag, but I’m telling you - it’s a man purse. You gotta carry one though. Your keys couldn’t possible fit in your pocket. Oh, yeah – just realized that I don’t have a picture of my keys for you to see yet. I’ll take one – I promise.

This is me and my murse

Here are my keys

420 years

Tyumen is 420 years old today. It’s a BIG celebration. Last night there were fireworks and tonight again. I couldn’t see any of them from my flat because I live on the second floor and they are higher than the angle I can see from my apartment. It’s crazy to live in a city that’s older than my country. Whoa.

It’s crazy how big the celebration is. Yeah – it’s been raining all day today, but the people came out in droves and stores even closed early (yeah – I showed up at one store 3 minutes after they closed). Bummer.

I wish I’d taken some pictures of the crowds today – but I wimped out to protect my camera.

Money

You never really think about how easy it is to make change or to buy something at the store. I’m almost finally to the point that when something costs 1872 Rubles I can actually hear the number only once or twice and be ready to pay… but then you’ve gotta figure out the actual money. I mean the coins and the bills. You see all Russian coins have only 2 different backs. The Rubles (1, 2, 5, 10) and the Kopeek (1, 5, 10, 50 -- it's pronounced ka-pay-ick). So tonight – I sat down, poured a handful of change on my desk and started just making change. I’m pretty good with the bills as only the 10’s and 100’s can be easily confused. Living in a new culture really is like they taught us at PILAT. Becoming a child all over again.

Some Russian money

Changing a light bulb

How many M’s does it take to change a light bulb?

The correct answer is two. Both Amy and I were required to change the light bulb in the study in my flat. You see, the light has never worked in there since I’ve lived here. I turned off the power for the entire flat so that I could use a pair of pliers and my leatherman tool (thanks Todd! Christmas 2003). The woman who lived here before me apparently cross threaded the light bulb. So when I was attempting to remove the dead bulb, the glass part separated from the metal part. So then a month went by without light in that room. Well, I’m ready to clean it and make it my study so that I can start studying Russian in earnest (all seven boxes of books that I shipped here have arrived (thanks Ashley)).

So Amy was shining a flashlight up at the ceiling (it’s a bit overcast here the past couple of days) and I’m using a pair of leatherman scissors and a pair of pliers to remove the light bulb. Well, with a few prayers muttered and some patience… it’s DONE! There is now light in the study. Now to clean it. Dust, vacuum, clean out the desk and mop the floors. The place is dirty – but we’ll tame it.

The light socket in the bathroom that also needed fixing

Mosquitoes in the cul-de-sac

Did you know that I’m a light sleeper? I guess it’s something that lots of folks just don’t know about other people -- our sleep patterns. Well, I’m such a light sleeper that I routinely travel with ear plugs and an eye mask. Wow, that’s like a secret confession or something. Any way. Mosquitoes are really bad in Russia – even in the city and it’s actually incredibly common for people to have anti mosquito repellant stuff in their homes. I’ve got this little contraption that I plug into the wall at light that lasts for 30 nights to kill mosquitoes while I’m sleeping… somehow they still manage to buzz in my ear though. (yes, with the earplugs in – and yes, the windows are closed too…)

Oh, my flat has an awesome location too. It’s on the second floor (so nice in a building without an elevator). And it’s on the end of the building (called a house here). So I’m on the end of the building where they pick up trash every other day at about 5:30 in the morning. And it’s also near the park in our yard where the young people hang out until 3 in the morning. Which is really great for my Russian practice as I’m listening to them talking sometimes.

Please know that I’m writing all of this with a smile on my face and sarcasm. Everything is really great! I’m getting enough rest, although I’m thinking that the custom of napping in the afternoon for a bit is a really, really good idea. Did I mention that language learning and acculturation are both really exhausting? It’s going great though.

Here's me and Amy taping my bed cushions together so I can sleep through the night

They separate in the middle of the night and I wake up when my butt sags!

Time is Ticking Away

Everything seems to take more time here. Let me tell you about grocery shopping. First there are LOTS and LOTS of little shops everywhere. You can pick up the basics really easily. Bread, milk, butter, tea, cookies, etc. It’s a bit scary to comment that usually an ENTIRE wall is taken up with beer and alcohol. I’m really not kidding that it’s easily a third of most stores. Anyway. So, Amy and I went to this store nearby called Passazh. It’s a really convenient and wonderful grocery store (with carts and everything). It’s a bit more expensive I think though – but I’m just starting to do comparison shopping. The first issue is just deciding what we’re going to eat. I’m trying to make sure to try something new every day – and then to continue trying something new at least on a weekly basis… probably more frequently, but small goals first. And I’m allowing myself to eat one meal every week that’s just straight up American feeling. So – we were shopping and we found several items. Then you realize that you just bought a can of vegetables. And you can’t open them without the can opener. So you go in search of that. Then you want some salt and you realize that you don’t have a salt container (still don’t have one of those). The bread is incredible, baked fresh every day – but you cut it yourself at home, and I just don’t seem to have the skill perfected yet to cut it very thin. (like just under an inch – but it makes MARVELOUS grilled cheese). So you finally go to the checkout counter – freak out that you can spend just as much money buying food in Russia as you did in America and the clerk really doesn’t make change… she wants you to search through every single coin that you have to find a single kopeek coin that’s worth about 1/30th of one cent!

Then you have to carry all of it home… on foot.

Oh, and you haven’t started cooking yet! I’m really loving it to be honest. The pace of life is just really different and my multi-tasking self is really being stretched and I’m learning so much about patience. With myself as much as with the new culture.

Thanks for all of your prayers.

Text Messaging

Text Messaging in Russia. I must have arrived to some extent right? I was about to go to bed last night when my mobile (mow-BILE, that’s what we call cell phones here) made a strange beep. Took me a second to understand that the screen message meant that I had a text message. Sweet! It was from Igor’ (the almost 19 year old that I’ve known since 2001). So I’ve started to enter into the youth scene already by being a text messaging dude. I’ve gotta be honest though… T9 in Russian is hard. No spelling errors allowed. I can’t type so to speak on my phone in Russian. I can type in English, but to do Russian I have to use the smart phone feature and use T9. Basically, T-9 is this sweet feature of cell phones (in the US too) that allows you to press each key only once and the phone tries to guess what word you’re typing. So… it’s strange to be here with so many of the advances of home. Just two years ago when I was here it was all so different. I’m not sure yet whether I think it’s a good thing or not. Western culture is invading everything. Seriously – technology is making our world so much smaller.

At the Children’s Home

That’s what the Russians call the orphanage, the children’s home. There’s a second name too, which ironically enough is only one letter different from the Russian word for Internet (it sounds like Intranat). So you can easily see why I was confused that we were going to spend our afternoon at the Internet with a bunch of kids.

The second session of camp was packed with 100some kids and 1/3 of them were orphans. One of these orphanages just happens to be in Talitsa, so Amy and I had the opportunity to go and visit.

The system is so strange to us in Russia. Not all of the kids in the orphanage have no parents. In fact of about 150 kids, only about 40 have no parents. So 110 of the kids go home for the summer. Their parents want them home to work on the fields and help out. About another 1/3 of the kids have parents who are alcoholics or who are in prison. They have been sent to the orphanage by the government. Then there is the last 1/3. Their parents either can’t afford them or don’t want them. So they drop them off at the orphanage. It’s really tough to know that these kids remember (most of them) that mom or dad dropped them off, because they didn’t want them anymore.

So when the opportunity came to go and visit with about 12 kids who were at camp who live in an orphanage, Amy and I jumped at the chance. About 30 or so of the kids at the orphanage actually came to spend time with us. We sang songs from camp, played games, gave them some candy and shared our testimonies with all of them.

This is gonna blow your mind: I talked for about 15 or 20 minutes straight in Russian. And everyone understood. I didn’t even really make any mistakes for the first half of it either! It was really cool. I could tell that G-d was helping me to communicate, because words were just tumbling out of my mouth that I didn’t even know that I knew! I told them about growing up, about losing my mom, about the joy of a second parent. I talked about Our Father and how He loves us. I talked about how I was called to come and work in Russia and that He has a plan for all of our futures (Jer 29:11)

Puke Flavor

I’m really not kidding. Puke Flavored medicine. You see, most everyone that I know is sick right now. We’ve all been at camp together for the past 20some days and I guess that we’re all a little too run down. It starts with just being a bit run-down, then progresses to sore throat, hacking up … stuff and feeling just yicky. Well, I had the great blessing of living at camp next to a Russian who told me the name of a good throat lozenge. So I knew what to ask for at the Pharmacy when I got back to Tyumen.

So that really helped for a couple of days. And then the razor blade feeling started in my throat. So, while I was walking home from Jim and Sally’s on Friday night – I stopped at the 24 hour pharmacy that is so conveniently located about 1 block from my flat. Seriously - Tyumen is a different city now… 24 hour pharmacy. So I just told the pharmacist that I needed something stronger to fix my throat. I told her that I was an American and that I didn’t know what medicine I needed – but that my throat hurt badly and that the lozenges weren’t enough.

That’s how I met the puke flavored medicine. It’s a mist that you spray in your mouth (which is awful too, because it mists… so you can’t control that it goes straight to the back of your throat). Anyway – the first dose actually brought tears to my eyes and I ran to the bathroom (either to spit it out or to heave). I spit it out, you can all feel safe. So then I steeled myself for another dose and tried to take it like a man.

So, I’m getting better now – but it’s rough. All of you at home in the US - please enjoy the tasty medicines that you have. I appreciate it SO much more now!

So your prayers for physical health will be greatly appreciated by Jim, Sally, Amy, and myself! Thanks.

Location Location Location

Well, isn’t there just humor in this world of ours? Turns out that the University where I’ll be taking classes and teaching has multiple locations about the city. The one that’s closest to my house turns out to NOT be where I’ll be teaching/studying. Instead it’s a 40 minute walk. In a way, I think I’m going to appreciate this. I’ll think of it as a built in exercise regimen. I am disappointed though, as I’d hoped to be able to easily invite students over to my flat for tea and start making friends and start an English club. I’m still hoping to start a Bible study – and the location of the campus where I’ll be teaching is closer to the Cultural Center.

Eavesdropping

Did I really just listen in on someone else’s conversation? That was exciting. And I didn’t translate everything in my head either. I just got it. Yeah, so they were just talking about something really simple – but you gotta celebrate the small stuff! So here’s a small party at my flat! I think I’ll have a second cup of tea to celebrate. Yeah – we drink LOTS of tea here… I’ve even got a tea set now. Look out kids – uncle Jeff can through a mean tea party now.

Camp Blog 3: acting

There's a guy here named Igor'. We call him Papa Daring. He's the boys coordinator, 22 years old, full of energy, dancing, singing, and acting. he's in charge of the ongoing camp drama based on Bill Bright's Child of the King.

I have a medium sized roll in the camp drama and I'm telling you it's drama I'm stuggling just to learn my lines, let alone deliver them with the appropriate feeling. And I have to almost die in one seen and I become a child of the king in the last scene. Yikes!

It's been really fun though in reality and i'm connecting as a camp staff member in a different way. I'm truly being viewed as a co-worker and not as an american helper.

Camp Blog 2: orphans

There are several orphans here at camp which is of particular interest to Amy as she's felt called to work with orphans and widows in the past. It's really interesting to see how typical and atypical they are of what we think of for orphans.

Sergei: he's the daddy of the bunch. the tough guy. don't mess with me. He worked on establishing right off that (for some reason) I should be scared of him. He acted like he couldn't understand my russian and spoke as quickly as he possibly could to make it hard for me to understand him. super competitive and sports and with a HUGE chip on his shoulder. I had to talk to dad about dealing with him - but he's come around. He lives in the orphanage in Tyumen' and has promised to stay in touch.

Zhenya: whoa. the worst of it all. screetches, runs around, doesn't obey, smokes (seriously addicted) and in general a bad kid. On the third or fourth day, his counselor asked me to 'babysit' for the morning and it literally started off with me running from one end of camp to the other. Then we went 'berry picking' which was really an excuse to try and get cigarettes from people who work at the camp. When that fell through, he was seriously hurting for a nicotine fix and wanted to get kicked out of camp so he could have a cigarette. He was a problem throughout the session to the point of 'threatening' to run away from the bus so that he could stay for the second session.

pasha: crazy - went swimming in 40 degree weather. says he likes it

lena: a really tough girl who beat most of the boys at sports. a loner a bit, and a deep seeded lonliness. didn't have much interaction with her because she's a girl, but if you think of her say something nice to dad.

pasha: gosh, what a cute kid. he's probably 8 or 9 years old and really wants to be a good kid. he's just had a lot of bad examples set before him.

Camp Blog: 1 the beginning.

We're at camp and really enjoying getting back into the swing of things. Kids have arrived and it's so cool to be with them singing and enjoying themselves. I especially love singing a few new songs that are accompanied with many motions and this year we have an LCD projector! Can you even believe it?!

It was also really wonderful to be able to help out. I know that sometimes being the resident geek isn't the best because you end up fixing everything. But there's another resident geek (more like the sound board man) but he didn't know how to set up the computer to be both on screen and on the computer and I do - so it was an easy fix and solved a huge problem for him.

There are only about 60 kids at camp which is really lower than what we usually have. The camp has only one american team coming to visit and therefore we're short on money so the kids all need to pay full price (except orphans who are paid by the state).

Studying Russian...

Well, the language is definitely starting to come back. I just exchanged some emails with the directory of the English Language Department at Tyumen Oil and Gas University. Looks like I'll be teaching 8 hours of English in exchange for Russian lessons.

Should be really neat. I can't believe how amazingly orchestrated this whole thing seems to be. This University is one of the two main universities here in town and is literally 3 blocks from my apartment! Amazing!

I've also got another really cool opportunity to go on a camping trip with several adults and some youth who are all from our Family. How awesome is that? Looks like I'll be headed for Novosibirsk mid august to hike for 12 days somewhere in the moutains and then off to Estonia for a renewed visa.

Off to camp in an hour! See you online in 10-20 days.

Cold Food

My phone rang. I answered the phone, “Da” and then the torrent of Russian started. PTL that I caught what was happening. It was the drivers of the truck bringing the new fridge. They were asking me to tell them how to get to my apartment. Well, seeing as it took me 4.5 HOURS to give in and go for help the first time I was trying to find it… I told them to two streets on the opposite sides of the apartment building (I’m sorta in the middle of a square – it’s literally the Russian word … squarelette). So hopefully they’ll arrive soon. I’ll keep you posted. I can’t wait to STORE food in my apartment.

I don’t know how people survived without a khaladil’nik (fridge).
More later on this saga. Turns out I have a fridge now, but one of the bolts was crossthreaded and when Jim and I tried to switch the door from left to right… it broke the bolt…. No cold food.

Escaping the pink bathroom

For all of those who have been to my house in the US – the bathroom is pink and really it’s the only thing that I didn’t love about the house. How’s this for Dad’s irony… my apartment has a pink bathroom! It’s not quite as pink as at the house, but it’s still in the pink genre. Sally and Zhanna, the CEC interpreter, spent a good deal of time on Wednesday last week cleaning the kitchen and bathroom for me. Zhanna scrubbed on the toilet for hours it sounds like. We all just can’t believe the squalor that the owner used to live in. The kitchen has been cleaned numerous times already and today they’re delivering my new refrigerator. I know – can you believe that? The one that was here is broken and I can tell you it is one of the nastiest things that I’ve EVER seen… and smelt. It’s in the spare room right now waiting for the land lady to come and take it.

Here are some pictures:

Here's the bathroom - note the lovely toilet

The tub - I've already scrubbed more than an hour

Probably the most disgusting room you've ever seen - clean here

another kitchen shot

the view from my balcony

Take a Deep Breath or Why do I know the Russian word for enema?

Turns out that this year in order to attend camp at Gurino (pronounced Gooreena) we have to prove that we don’t have TB. So Jim, Sally, Amy and I all had to get chest x-rays. We were told that we’d have to strip down from the waist up and wait in a room with others until it was our turn to be x-rayed. So of course, Amy was immediately nervous ‘cause it’s strange enough to be in a foreign country, let alone parade around naked over half your body. We started to make a joke of it, and asked Dad if He could do something about it.

Turns out, that we not only didn’t wait three or four hours, but that we were done with the whole procedure in about 40 minutes. Yes! All four of us! Here’s the basic procedure of Russian hospitals.

1) go into the hospital and buy little booties to keep the floor clean (it was raining)
2) climb stairs to fourth floor to wait in line to get slip for x-ray
3) go back to first floor with slip and wait in 2 different lines (one to get your hospital ID number and one to pay) We were with Zhanna, the CEC interpreter – so we were set because she knows the system. We had people waiting in both lines!
4) go back up to fourth floor and wait in line again for your x-ray. Turns out it was a fluoroscope.
5) go wait for the guy who looks at the x-ray and says everything’s ok
6) go get your car and drive about 1/2 mile to another building to get a stamp on your x-ray that proves it’s yours
7) you’re done!

I’m still in the honeymoon phase, so the extra time and extra lines are all okay. And I keep learning new words and phrases along the way.

So why do I know the word for enema? Because Jim was telling us about an American who had come here to visit and ended up a little too constipated and had to get an enema. Jim decided that he’d make sure he didn’t have to go to the hospital for that, so he learned how to say the word so he could purchase one at the pharmacy if he needed one… I don’t think it’s quite as funny written out – but four Americans talking about an enema openly in the hallway of a Russian hospital really is a funny sight.

Chunky Milk

Mmmm. Chunky milk isn’t as good as chunky peanut butter. Seems as though my refrigerator is more like a microwave than a freezer. Everything in the fridge that Sally had purchased to get me started is pretty much spoiled. It’s totally broken. (not to mention that it’s kinda gross – yes, Sally cleaned it for a couple hours first – but not really possible to remove rust inside it). So it’s leaking water from the freezer on my floor, and I can’t buy food that needs to stay cold.

Looks like cereal in the morning requires shopping for milk first! This has an upside… I have to keep practicing my Russian by shopping for food pretty much every meal!

So on Saturday Jim took Amy and I shopping again. This time – it was for a fridge. Another amazing example of father’s provision… a 3000 Ruble discount! On Tuesday I’ll have a new fridge, as long as the delivery guys can find my apartment…

Red spots

I woke up on Friday morning covered in red spots. On my hands, my face, my legs, my shoulders, my back. Yikes. Do I have bed bugs? After consulting with Victoria – whose father-in-law had bed bugs once, we determined that it was mosquitoes. Little, baby, tiny mosquitoes. Ugh! So on Friday night we installed some screen on my bedroom window and I bought a mosquito repeller for my room too. Let’s hope that it doesn’t cause cancer or something like that!
I’m pretending that they don’t itch. But they do.

Loneliness: the first surge

I just woke up for the first time in my new Russian apartment. I slept 5 uninterrupted hours prior to jet lag waking me at around 2am. I managed to force in a couple more hours after that for a grand total of 8.

And then I got out of bed.

Loneliness hit me like a power surge. I can’t remember the last time I felt alone or this isolated. It’s really a strange sensation for me, I guess I’m around people a lot and if I’m not, I know that I’ve got plans of when I’ll see people next.

Well, I knew I’d be seeing people at 10am today – only 4.5 hours to wait… what’s the big deal? I’m not sure how to describe how different it was for me today. I was really filled with longing and sadness… so I let it sweep over me. I never do that. I always push tough emotions like sadness away and distract with something else – listening to music, watching a movie, hanging with others, diving into work. Stuff like that. I’m so glad that I went to 5 weeks of mission training (besides meeting Amy) I learned so much about healthy emotional transitions. If I don’t experience these feelings fully – they’ll overwhelm me in the long run.

So I sat down with My Favorite Book and read for a little while. I know who I can always rely on to be there for me and to empower me. It was really great. I read about the HS and how he comforts and encourages. He even teaches us how to Think! So cool.

Then I decided to leave the apartment and go exploring for a while. The refrigerator doesn’t work, so the milk that Sally bought for me was spoiled. I didn’t think about that fact that I was awake before anyone else – but I managed to discover the location of the closest post office, urgent care clinic (I think), the apothecary, and the police station.

I’m about to go back out and buy some milk for breakfast and then I have an appointment today about securing language schooling.

Lost in Translation

Jim and Sally took me to my apartment to drop my things off and then we all headed back to their place so that I’d know where the live and so that Amy could get some shut eye.

So I started back for my apartment. It’s only 15 minutes walking from their house. Turns out though, that I really didn’t know where I was going. I was determined to find it on my own though – so I just kept looking. After about two hours not finding it (I’m not lost mind you – just can’t find the apartment!), I finally broke down and bought a map from the local hotel (which turns out to be just 2 blocks from the apartment).

My address is 57 Sverdlova #49. So I found Sverdlova street on the map (about two blocks from the hotel and got moving. Turns out though that Sverdlova street used to be longer than it is now. I was heading in the WRONG direction. My apartment building (called a Dom or house here) is actually located on Xoxryakova Street. Can you believe it?! I ended up after 4.5 hours at Jim and Sally’s apartment to have them bring me back. I was a hot, sweaty, muddy, rained on mess of a lost puppy dog at that point.

The really amazing thing though was that I wasn’t mad about being lost or that I couldn’t do it. I was really more just a time to be thinking about how dependent I am now. It’s like being a child. I had to ask people for help, deal with the rejection of the ‘general’ unhelpful nature of the stranger culture here, and finally come to grips that I’m ‘not all that.’ It was really a humbling morning (not to mention that I’d only slept for about 5 hours of the last 36). But I’m glad for the experience – plus I know where to find the grocery store and the local fruit stand now!

The Travel Log

It took a grand total of 26 hours to get from Detroit to Tyumen. Only one leg of the journey is really interesting, so I’ll tell you all about it:

We arrived at Moscow and needed to pick up our own tickets to head off to Tyumen. Went off without a hitch and I even managed to pay the excess baggage charge without too much embarrassment.

Here’s where the story gets good. We’re coming in for a landing in Tyumen – only a little behind schedule at 1am local time. Amy and I are looking out the window to see if we can see the ground when – FLASH lightning strikes the airplane. No joke. The whole thing shook. I looked back at Amy and really couldn’t see a thing. My retinas were scorched!

So we ended up circling the airport for about an hour because of the storm until they finally close Roshino (that’s the Tyumen Airport). So we were rerouted to Ekaterinburg. I was clearly delirious with the need to sleep by the time we landed in Ekat, so I just crashed out for a bit… you know that fitful sitting up kind of sleep?

Well we made it and all of the luggage made it through as well! The only issue was that the folks picking us up from the airport weren’t there. So (I was so proud of myself). I went and bought a phone card so I could call Jim and Sally. But it didn’t work. Looks like the phones at the airport only take one kind of phone card… and they’re not sold at the airport! At least that’s what I gathered from the VERY unfriendly lady at the information desk. Campus Information Center staff – you make me so PROUD.

the house is rented!

In another amazing feat of God's intervention in my life - renters have appeared for my house! The situation is really uncanny. They are college students who are related to a friend of mine from church (the niece, Sarah). Her husband, Brian, is from the town next to my hometown (Central Lake and mine Bellaire) AND they were married in my parents church!

Brian was talking to his mom about the house and he mentioned that I'm a missionary in Russia and she said that there was a guy that spoke at her church about the same thing... anyway - they figured out that I'm the same guy! How cool is that?

AND they're cool with me leaving my furniture. It just gets better and better.

God is good and the details are settling in...

Alex and Gregor find a home

Incredible news... less than 24 hours after the notice appeared in the Knox News portion of the church bulletin, my cats have found a new home! Some dear friends from Chelsea have decided to adopt both Alex and Gregor! I can't even express how excited I was to hear that not only will they have a home, but that they'll be staying together.

It's just another testimony to how God has things planned. I'm all in a panic about how my best laid plans aren't turning out and all the while He was preparing a place perfect for them!

A big house and new parents that LOVE cats! Yes!

Now, how to tell them... they're moving on Friday this week. I wonder how they'll respond when I tell them...

<-- photo soon -->

the stress level begins to rise

just a quick update as the stress level mounts. i don't have a home for my cats... i don't have renters for my home... i leave the country in 12 days regardless. it's a great opportunity to trust God to provide, but that doesn't mean that the human in me doesn't start to SERIOUSLY stress out. i'm still sleeping okay, so that's a good thing.

today is my going away party at work. i'm excited to see everyone, but it is surreal that they'll be saying good-bye to me and me to them. i'm a little stressed about the HIGH level of emotion that will likely seize me!

Please pray with me about the cats and the house. And healthy transition out of the US and into Russia... and that I don't forget anything super important.

playing cat and house

That's right, not cat and mouse, but cat and house. I'm in a bind! mostly my own fault for waiting too long on some much needed detail work. i need to find a home for my two awesome cats... and people to live in my home.

please join me in prayer to get this worked out. i'm looking for some miracles here.

to meet the cats or the house, just click.

Visa update!

in order to go and visit the Russian Federation, one must be 'invited' to come to the country. i've been invited. so has amy. then, one takes the invitation, one's passport, a bunch of forms, and sometimes even more money and you send it to the Russian embassy. They then choose to either issue you a visa or not. thank the Lord, once again, i've been issued a visa to go. i don't know why it's such a crazy experience, but it is.

my last formal day of work at the university of michigan is june 9. i leave the country on june 20. i just started a to do list yesterday, it's 4 pages long so far... and i've not even TRIED to think hard yet. whoa. glad i like to do lists and getting things done (which coincidentally is the name of a book i'm reading.

a language helper

just found out that for sure this summer that i'll not have an interpreter again. instead i'll have a language helper! i hope Pavel is ready for this language student - let's hope that i don't scare him off. i've already started making a list of the types of things that i hope to study while i'm at camp (food, flora/fauna, gospel terms, unidirectional/multidirection verbs of motion, and im/perfective verb tenses). Whoa - what a language geek. it is exciting though

efficiency, productivity and geekiness

i found an entire community of people like me online. check out http://www.43folders.com/ it's all about being effective, efficient, and multitasking. i know that this officially labels me as a geek, and i'm okay with that. it's where i learned there are other people in the world who use index cards and cool pens to coordinate their lives and that spending an hour to figure out how to print on an index card is not only okay, but can bring great joy.

yes, i do have quadrille index cards, blank ones, printed ones, color ones (two sides) and a fisher space pen. i know - pitiful

Blessings...

looks like as of today I'm at 95% of my goal. I'm really excited that it looks like June is a reality for me to head off to Russia. Whoa. There's a LOT of planning to do!

a great russian adventure

i had a conversation today with amy that is really exciting. amy's going to be able to come to russia for 5 weeks this summer! it's going to be a great opportunity for us to continue to get to know one another, look to the future, and ministry together in the field. i'm thrilled.

it's also difficult because it comes on the heels of amy being delayed in her departure to her mission field in Kenya with the Masai people. it's really tough when sad/glad things happen at the same time.

i'm excited to introduce her to russia, tyumen, russian, kasha, sala, markov' po koreskij, and gurina (where we have summer camp).

when the rubber meets the road

monday I got an oil change for my car... a much needed oil change. sometimes i wish that i had the desire and the in-born ability to do things mechanical. paying someone else to get dirty isnt' really my style, but then again - it is reality. my sink has been broken for almost 4 years and it's still not fixed... it works just fine - if you know how to shut it off (now i'm embarrassed... but honest i guess). when i got the oil changed they suggested that i get new tires... interesting how i'll notice the most insignificant detail of a conversation or the lyrics in a song, but not that i have NO tread on my tires!

I've been putting a lot of miles on my car lately. Seems that a beautiful, young lady has caught my attention and I've been driving from Ann Arbor to Indianapolis twice a month for the past several months. so i thought i'd introduce you to Amy.

Amy is also in the process of becoming a missionary. she's headed to Kenya to do AIDS education with the Masai people. (Kenya is in eastern Africa, but she'll be about 2 hours west of Nairobi). Amy comes from a great family with 4 sisters and is a junior high science teacher (she'd correct me and have me tell you that she's a substitute teacher right now, because she's in process to go to the mission field). she has a very deep Christian faith and has invested herself for several years mentoring junior high and high school girls. Amy is fun loving and very active. on thursday last week she decided to run the Indianapolis mini marathon (13.1 MILES!) and ran it in under 2 hours. i'm amazed... i would likely puke by mile 2!

we met in Colorado at mission training with MTI. ironically, our rooms were across the hall from one another! our personalities are excellent compliments and we really enjoy one another's company. we have excellent conversation, enjoy being outdoors together, and we have VERY similar life goals and dreams. certainly becoming missionaries in different countries is going to be a tough, but we're excited to be on this adventure together.

i'm sure you're all dying to meet her and i hope you have an opportunity soon (or that you've already met her for a few of you!)

keeping your head above water...

Life has such an incredible way of moving faster than we do. I'm starting my fifth day in a row in Ann Arbor. It's so strange that this is the longest I've been in one place in the past 2.5 months. I've literally been around the world and back since December 21! I've really enjoyed all the travel, meeting people, deep connections, and building relationships, but honestly - my spirit is just tired. (It's also 6ish in the morning... so of course, I'm tired!)

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. There's nothing huge planned. I'm going to wear sweatpants, be comfortable, and clean the bathroom sink! I know it sounds like such a simple mundane task, but I just know that getting some of the daily things taken care of this weekend is going to help me feel purified.

There are so many things that I'm thankful for right now though. I'm still riding the spiritual high from being at mission training for 5 weeks, I'm really enjoying new relationships that have started in 2006, I've started losing a few extra pounds (a wedding in Jamaica is a good instigator for wanting to look healthier), and I've been reading some great books too.

The busyness subsides

Wow! what a whirlwind. sorry i've not posted for a while. i've not been home (ann arbor) for more than 4 days in a row since december 21. my cats are starting to get awfully needy! but now i'm home for 3 weeks in a row!

i just returned from a weekend in Indianapolis for a wedding, followed by an overnight return trip to michigan, 2 hours of sleep and then sharing a sermon with community epc church in Owosso, MI. What a phenominal church they are! an incredibly friendly place and i very much enjoyed sharing with them about Russia.

last night i got home, took a two hour nap, was saved from sleeping until 2 am by my brother who called on the phone and then i wore sweatpants for the rest of the night. yes! can't wait to put them on again today. i might even sit in front of the television for an hour tonight. the joy surges within as i think of doing a little bit of nothing...

and then - the cleaning must begin. my house is in need and my car literally looks like i've been living out of it for several weeks... which i have.

Back for a spell stateside

(attention reader - this is a boring post with only factual information - sorry if you fall asleep reading!) Just a quick post to say to y'all that I'm back in the U.S.A. and I'll be here to stay at least until the end of April. I'm pretty sure that I'll be around a bit longer than that. I'm still working on raising support. You can keep checking the support meter at the right. You may have noticed that it was at 93% and now it's back in the mid 80's - well, I had a fairly significant change in support from a major ministry partner. I'll keep y'all posted. Initially it was an emotional shock and my mood really dropped. I was sad, depressed, and I didn't understand. But, I've had a chance to get my head straightened out (amazing what prayer can do) and I'm okay with the delay that it'll cause. Just think, I'll be around in the States a little longer!