Our Ways Are Not God's Ways

Happy Easter to those of you in America. We’ll be celebrating Easter here in a few weeks.

We’re still looking for a little plastic piece to put up the valance over Anneka’s curtains, but here’s half of her room. (I’ll show the other half after the valance is up). Sadly, our wallpaper border won’t stick- even with the “best” glue. I think it’s because the wallpaper that covers the wall is textured vinyl. But I have plans to use the border to decorate boxes for storage in her closet, so it won’t go to waste. Our friend, Kadie, made the pictures of a hippo, giraffe, and bear directly above Anneka. I think they’re so cute. Incidently, the dress Anneka is wearing is also from Kadie. I love little girls in sweet dresses. The dresses hanging on Anneka’s closet represent the two cultures here: Buryat and Russian.

So we’re hoping to turn in all of our documents for residency tomorrow. This has been such a long process! But God’s been using it to remind me that His ways are not ours. I got to thinking about this when Leif text-messaged me on Thursday, saying that he was at the police station ten minutes before it opened and was already 12th in line. I started thinking about how in OUR minds, the goal is to get all of this paperwork and running around done so that we can get on with what’s “important”, but God is not surprised by any of this stuff and we can trust that He has purpose in waiting in lines and multiple trips to the translation office. When Leif got home, I saw how true this is. His seventh time to the translation office opened up much more conversation with the workers there… and then he ran into a girl from Arlington, Washington (30 minutes away from his hometown) who is looking into starting the process of getting her residency and was so grateful for help that we can give her. This process has also made us feel so loved and cared for by Russian friends who have offered help and encouragement. It’s a reminder of how God loves to show us His love and provision. So, anyways, I’m thankful that God has wonderful plans for us. They may not always include what we anticipate, but we can always trust that He is good.