Testing

Today we got unlimited internet! This is the first time it's come to Ulan Ude. I'm so excited because it means we can use the video cam with our families and post video clips on the blog. It's Anneka's bedtime, but I was so excited that I had Leif make her laugh so that we could get a little clip to try and post. This is an experiment. Yesterday we wanted to buy a gift certificate to a pizza place for the guy who invited us here for our guest visas. Leif went down the the restaurant and they didn't know how to do it. But they wanted it to work out, so they said they could call our friend and tell him about the "gift certificate" and then he could come and claim it. Great, we thought. But on the phone, the lady working told him that he had to come that day while she was working. And then after she got off the phone, she made Leif order the pizzas, beverages and types of salads for him and his wife! How embarrassing! So much for letting them have a nice dinner of whatever they wanted! They seemed thankful, but we feel a little bad about it. Okay, I'll close the post and see if this video clip works!

Little Tidbits

I just got a text message from Leif that says "I just saw a guy with a big beauty queen type ribbon, you gotta love Russia!". Pageants are very popular here in the spring- for everyone, guys and girls.

We went to a children’s choir concert to see our friends’ kids last weekend, and it was SO GOOD! It was kind of humorous how professional it was and how the kids opened their mouths funny-wide, but they sounded really good. It was neat because they sang “Silent Night” and “Joy to the World”. Of course, it’s not the Christmas season, but the words to these songs are being instilled into the childrens’ minds. A difference between American and Russian culture that we've noticed is that American kids are typically encouraged to participate in many activities- sports, dance, music, etc. If Russian kids do something, it is one thing and it is taken very seriously. We talked with a high school Canadian exchange student last night who's here. He wrestled in Canada and thought it would be fun to do it in Russia, too. He made it until January and then he stopped because he was exhausted. It took up every evening and he never saw his host family because wrestling became his life. He said he could hardly lift his arms anymore, they were so weary!

Something here that I sometimes think is nice and sometimes is frustrating is that most places sell things individually. If you only want to buy one battery, they open the package and just give you one. If you only want 5 thumb-tacks, your wish is granted. But it can be annoying when you want to buy a whole package. I wanted to buy a package of straws, but it had already been opened. The lady put her fingers on every single straw (there were 95!) to count them. Also, a store near us sells disposable diapers, but they sell them individually. I would feel funny asking for 30!!

Anneka is very fascinated with her teeth. She has five now. (well, the fifth is poking through). She grinds her teeth together and it drives me crazy! Any ideas on how to get her to stop? Also, she ATE part of her book the other day! She took a big chunk out of it right in front of my eyes. Oh, dear.

Yippee!!!

Yesterday morning, I was feeling stressed because we needed to leave tomorrow for Mongolia to renew our visas and were preparing to be gone up to a month. We hadn't bought train tickets yet because you're not allowed to until the day before, our plans to stay at a Christian guest house had fallen through, and every time Leif tryed to pay for a hotel for us to stay in for the first few nights, the travel agent was busy or out of the office and he wasn't able to. Besides that, Anneka still has a little bit of a cough and I'm still sick and my energy is just LOW. I hadn't packed a thing (other than throwing a bunch of Anneka's clothes on her bed) and it just seemed looming to try to remember everything that we wouldn't have access to for a few weeks. So when Anneka was down for her morning nap, I took a few minutes to just sit and read my Bible. And this really stuck out to me in Jeremiah 32:17, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." I knew that God was telling me that He is way bigger than any visas or paperwork or government officials. And that if He wanted to, He could make it so that we wouldn't have to go to Mongolia. But even as this crossed my mind, I seriously doubted. For that to happen, it would mean that we would obtain our temporary residency in less than two months after turning in our paperwork- and I've never HEARD of that happening! It is supposed to take 6 months. (and in my experience here, everything always comes right down to the wire) But I confessed my doubt and acknowledged that if God wanted, He could definitely make things work so that we wouldn't have to leave the country. And if He didn't, I could trust that He wanted us in Mongolia for some reason and would give us the strength we needed.

Well, Leif went down to the immigration office today and they are giving us our temporary residency NOW and we don't have to go to Mongolia!!! This truly is a miracle. What's even more amazing is that our letters of invitation aren't finished (we would have needed these to take with us to Mongolia tomorrow to get our visas)... and they're going to give us our money back for the paperwork process on those. If we didn't have our residency, we'd have to wait for our letters of invitation to be sent to us in Mongolia and THEN wait another 2-4 weeks for our visa processing. We could've been there a couple of months!! And the only money we spent was on photos for our visas, but I think it was worth it because Anneka's is so cute- she's grinning from ear-to-ear in it. Some of our friends from Ulan Ude are trapped in Mongolia now and were declined visas. What's worse is that they can only stay in Mongolia for 30 days, and after that they have to go on to China or Thailand. They joke that they're banished from Siberia- the place that criminals used to be banished TO. They have five kids. Pray for them!

So, this has turned out to be kind of long, but I know that this was God showing His power and reminding us that He's in control of everything. I'm so thankful that we're in His loving hands!

Oh, and by the way, our balcony is the one right "under" Leif's hand.

Happy Birthday, Inka!

Yesterday was Inka's birthday, and she had a nice party at her apartment in the evening. It was SO great because Anneka was sleeping peacefully before the party, and I thought, "I wish we had a baby moniter so that we could hear from Inka's place when she wakes up". With her being sick, especially, I want her to get all the rest she needs... and I didn't want either Leif or me to miss the party. Well, a few minutes later, Leif came home with a package from my parents and grandparents... and there was a moniter inside!! It was so great. They also sent cute clothes for Anneka, including bigger socks and pajamas. She's growing so fast that the other day I realized she's almost grown out of her pajamas!

Once Anneka awoke and joined the party, she was immediately accosted by everyone. She liked the attention. I hardly saw her all evening, but when I did see her, she was happy. I loved the variety of people at the party- young, old, from different countries, ex-drug addicts, etc. It was great. And they were all there to celebrate Inka.

Guess what?! There is now a Mexican restaurant here!! Yes, we can hardly believe it ourselves. Inka and I were going to try it out for a birthday lunch, but the restaurant's phone was temporarily out of service, so we didn't want to go all the way there and find it closed. But we are very excited to see if it's any good!

A Happy First Mother's Day

I had a lovely Mother's Day. (In Russia, people celebrate Women's Day in March, but they don't have a Mother's Day.) Leif made me breakfast and dinner, Anneka made me a sweet card, and we had a nice lunch of cabbage soup with people from church. I'm so thankful for such a beautiful daughter and loving husband!

Anneka has had a cough for 3 weeks now. I started freaking out yesterday after reading in a couple of medical books and wrote to a doctor in the States. Then last night we had our friend, Ksusha (who is a doctor) come over and listen to Anneka's lungs. They sound good. I think her cough is getting better, but we appreciate your prayers! Thankfully, Anneka is still happy and has energy. She cut two new teeth in the last week, too... so now she has four! She's such a joy.

We Love You, Nellie!

It was both sad and sweet to hear the news recently that Nellie Long left this earth to be with Jesus. Nellie has been a part of Leif's life since he was a boy, and she and her husband, Shorty, were always such an encouragement to him growing up. Every time we traveled to Darrington, Leif and I both looked forward to seeing Nellie, and each time wondered if it would be our last time with her on this earth, as she was in her nineties.

Nellie told us that she prayed for us daily. She prayed for several people daily, starting geographically with those close to her and moving outward to other parts of the world. One day we'll know all of the ways that God answered her prayers. Nellie reminds us of the importance and power of prayer. We want to live a prayerful, faith-filled life like her.

The picture above is from our last time to see Nellie at her birthday party in August. This sweet, beautiful person will be missed by so many. We love to think of her dancing around up in heaven.

Busy Girl

Anneka loves her walker and has gotten quite proficient at using it. She loves to use it to get into things- watching her while she's in her walker is a full time job! She's very fast and likes to ram into your legs if you're not careful. She also has a special interest in the garbage can. We're thankful it has a cover.

Before we left for the States, last summer, we commissioned some guys from a Christian rehabilitation center to make these shelves for us. When we came back, the shelves were all made and standing in our hallway! Living in a small apartment, you have to find creative ways to make more space. I love these shelves, and think they're great for Anneka's toys and books.

A lot of times after men are in prison and/or have histories of a lot of drug and alcohol use, it's really difficult for them to find jobs. This rehabilitation center is so neat in that it provides jobs for these men through carpentry... and it's a great deal for us! The shelves were about $45. What is even cooler, I think, about this center, is that the guys spend months just reading their Bibles. That's it. Sometimes they do it in groups and sometimes alone, but that's the main part of the "rehabilitation". And you know what? These guys' lives are changed for forever. At first they hate it and think it's so boring/stupid/pointless to read the Bible so much. But then God's words penetrate into their hearts, and they are changed. It's really evident in meeting these guys that they are new men.

We've been sick this week and are still in the process of getting better. It's so silly, but I feel like it's my fault if Anneka has a cold because people here will tell me it's because I didn't dress her warm enough or I went outside with her when it was windy... and I start to kind of believe it. The last three days I've just kept her home, letting her sleep a lot. Today she was barreling around in her walker between coughs, so I think she's on the road back to health.