We're Off To Camp!

We're leaving in the morning for English camp. So far, only 15 students have signed up for sure and we were hoping for at least 70. We know that it can still be an amazing time and that hearts are more important than numbers. We appreciate your prayers!

A team of four Americans from California came to help and teach English at the camp (pictured right). Also, Danae (far left) is here for the summer as an intern to help out and Justin (far back)is here for a year as an intern.

Yesterday was a briefing time for the team. I made dinner for everyone after the meeting. Leif was SO nice and made some spaghetti sauce the night before. It's funny because I was a little prideful and thought, "I can do this, you don't need to do this" and then before the meeting, he got fruits and veggies all washed and began cutting them and again I thought, "He doesn't need to do this". But let me tell you, with a very busy baby in someone else's kitchen, I was extremely grateful for his preparations!!

I'm better each day, and I've prayed and decided that going to camp is a better option than staying here. My biggest concern is not having drinking water, but I really feel that God wants me to trust that He'll provide this, so that's what I'm doing. We'll fill you in when we get back!!

Shashleek

We went to a BBQ at some friends' house the other night and had shashleek. This is like a big pork kabob, roasted over a fire. It's very delicious. The guys hung out and roasted the meat and shot a matchbox on a fence with something like a bee-bee gun (how do you spell that?) The girls hung out in the kitchen and cut up veggies and bread and cheese. It's funny because I've been really careful to give Anneka one new food every 3-4 days (so we'll know what she's allergic to if she has a reaction). Well, I'd just started her on eggs, which is one of the potentially more allergenic foods. And while we were there, a lady gave Anneka a big piece of bread to gnaw on. And then later another lady gave her a hunk of cheese. Eggs, wheat, and milk products all on the same day... oh well. What can you do but pray?

We got lab results back from Moscow and one of the cultures showed that I have haempohilus influenzae. I've still been achey and tired since we've been back, and the doc in Moscow wanted me to start on another antibiotic today. So, prayerfully I'll be at 100% soon! We have camp next week, and I really want to go. And I really want to be WELL and rested. I probably shouldn't have gone to the BBQ because Anneka and I didn't get home until 11:00 and Leif stayed to do a banya (a bath/sauna combo) and didn't get home until 2:00... and I couldn't sleep until he got home. So all I plan on doing the next couple of days is resting and drinking lots of water. This afternoon I watched a movie while Anneka slept on me. It was really nice. Leif is sharing at church on Sunday(so has been preparing a lot for that) and is planning tons for the camp... and taking on a lot more at home. He's a super star. He needs your prayers, too!

Train Pics and "Thankful Fors"

We returned today to Ulan Ude after our time in Moscow. My throat has healed and each day my body is less and less achey. God is so good! We didn't do any sight-seeing in Moscow. All I did was lay there and Leif took Anneka out a lot so that I could rest. We are so thankful for God's many blessings. We know that all of this is His doing.

We took the "fast train" back, and it took four days. It was a lot less expensive than buying plane tickets at the last minute, and we thought, "When else will we have the chance to ride this far on the trans-Siberian railroad?" Other than being really hot and Anneka starting to crawl all over, it was an enjoyable trip. The kids on the train loved Anneka and came by regularly to stare.

Here are a few of the many praises from these past 10 days:

* Shannon picking us up to go to the airport
* Yulia agreeing to stay in our place
* Anneka’s ears okay on plane- nursed well (little girl behind us kept her entertained while she nursed)
* Getting to pick out our seats on the plane- extra leg room
* The plane leaving UU after a rocky takeoff
* Ralph and Myrna’s friend, Lena, who called and hooked us up with a hotel and taxi
* Robertson’s friend Joel picking us up from the hotel and getting to stay at the school
* Not having to pay extra baggage weight
* Anneka being as sweet as can be!
* Escalator at airport not working and I was worried about the lady who’d sat next to us making her next flight (with our delay and her slow pace). I prayed in my heart that it would work and it started working immediately. Leif said it had a sensor, but I know it was God reminding me that He hears me.
* My throat miraculously getting way better!
* My flu getting better each day.
* Jesus’ peace
* Being moved to prayers for people and being reminded of Christ’s compassion… and realizing that I lack it and want it and need it.
* When I felt forsaken, I realized that God has NOT forsaken me, and the reason is because He forsook his son- in my place- by letting him die on the cross. Wow.
* My appetite coming back
* McDonalds in Moscow and high calories!
* Salad
* The prayers of many people
* Marty and Tom’s warmth and letting us use their phone
* Getting our bank cards activated again (these weren't working!)
* Washing machines and DRYERS! in Moscow to shrink all my clothes
* SMSes from Shannon and Juli- their encouragement
* The ENT in Moscow saying we could call him from Siberia
* God helping me to sleep
* A wonderful husband who takes such good care of me!
* Anneka getting her immunizations and well-baby checkup in Moscow
* Buying a stroller for 1/3 the price of Ulan Ude
* Meeting a lady at the clinic from Ulan Ude who gave us money to bring back for her mom
* James meeting us at the train platform in Krasniarsk and bringing us goodies
* meeting a lady on the train from Ulan Ude who has a two year old girl and wants to get together
* Coming home to a clean house
* Our neighbor rushing home with a key when we were locked out
* pizza for lunch from Shannon
* receiving many encouraging emails that I haven't even finished reading yet
* and many, many more!

Back to Ulan-Ude

We are on our way back to Ulan-Ude. This will be a short blog, but we wanted to let everyone know that Jami is feeling much better and her infection looks so good. We feel so blessed that God has brought this healing to her. We, especially Jami, will need to take some good rest time the next few weeks so we decided to start that on the train. We are taking the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Moscow to Ulan-Ude. Since we'll be on the fast train, it will only take 4 days. This is a picture of Anneka with a little friend that she made at the doctor's office. She was a bit rough as she wanted to pull his hair and ear, but they seemed to like each other. After we get back to Ulan-Ude we want to write a blog to share about all that God has done for us in relation to this infection that Jami and the trip to Moscow. Again, thank you to everyone for praying for us.

Time to heal in Moscow!

Praise God! Our time here in Moscow has gone really well! We arrived in Moscow on Thursday morning and went directly to the European Medical Clinic. We arrived early so they worked things out for us to get in to see the doctor early. He was very calming in his analysis, and took some blood and cultures to be run and set us up to see an ENT specialist on Monday. He also prescribed a local antiseptic spray and nasal spray to help in the meantime. Well, God is at work because the infection in Jami’s mouth is looking much better as of today. She is still pretty worn out, and not sleeping great but she is getting rest and feeling better than she did a couple of days ago. After Monday we should know better what is going on and what our next step is. We have been so blessed by other people as well. We were given the phone number of a lady here who knows our fellow SEND workers, the Alexanders, and she made some phone calls and found a hotel for us to stay at for our first two nights. She was so kind, and as soon as we mentioned the Alexanders, it seemed like she was ready to do just about anything to help us out. We feel like this is such a witness of the goodness of this sister of ours, and a testimony of the witness that the Alexanders have been with her. In a similar way, we have now been taken in to the facility that our fellow Ulan-Ude workers, the Robertsons, used to work at in Moscow. The Robertsons wrote ahead and gave us contacts and we will likely be able to stay here for the rest of our time in Moscow. This is such a blessing because it is so much less expensive than a hotel here. It is again a testimony of the Robertsons witness that we are able to stay here. I should also mention that through all of this, Anneka has been such a wonderful baby! She is so well behaved and gives us such joy. It is fun to see how everyone loves her too. It seemed that she was particularly popular at the hotel where people from all over the world were staying. There was constantly someone or another smiling at her, waving at her, or coming over and tickling her feet and telling her how adorable she is. We took this picture with a member of a dance group that performs in a hall connected to the hotel.

Biopsy Results

Good news: my "thing" isn't cancer. Hooray! Our doctor in the States even has a lead on what this could be.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the doctor from the hospital yesterday gave us his personal cell number to call him and get the results right away. Isn't that incredible?!?!

Waiting and Praying

Well, if you haven't already heard, I'm still sick, and things have gotten a little crazy the last few days. I sent a picture of a growth in my throat to a doc in the States, who showed it to two ENT colleagues. They were all quite concerned about it, as it's abnormal. So I went to an ENT here on Friday. He hacked of a piece of the growth (very painful!) and did a blood test. What we found out from that is that I don't have mono or dyptheria. Then yesterday, I went to the oncology hospital (there's concern that this could be a tumor)and another ENT took a sample for a biopsy. Thankfully, this guy used numbing spray!! We should know basic results from that today. I'm on my third antibiotic and none have worked so far. It's hard not knowing what this is, and I'm so ready to be better! It's both disconcerting and humorous how every medical professional makes a baffled face when they look at my throat. I feel like some sort of freak!

I know that God's hand is with us, though. Every antibiotic I've taken has been safe for breastfeeding Anneka. And yesterday's visit to the hospital was really miraculous how we got in! We couldn't make an appointment- we just had to wait in a line. We waited 2 1/2 hours, not knowing if the doctor would even see us because we didn't have a referral or any paperwork (which someone had told us was necessary). Then right before it was our turn, a mystery nurse appeared out of NOWHERE and handed us some papers to fill out. Then she was our advocate in the room with the doctor and he easily agreed to see us! The craziest part is that they didn't even charge us a penny!

I need to be reminded of things like this when I worry. I feel desperate for people's prayers and really weak right now. If things don't start to improve soon, we'll need to go back to the States for treatment. Obviously, this would be tiring, stressful, and expensive. So thanks for praying!

Oh, the pics are of Anneka on Leif as we waited for the bus yesterday. And the other is of our friend, Shannon, Leif and Anneka as we waited in the hallway of the hospital to see the doctor. Thankfully, there was a bench to sit on! Anneka was SO good the entire time.

Here, piggy, piggy!

On the other side of the outhouse at church are some pigs. I always think it's funny to go to the bathroom to the sound of oinks and grunts. I wanted to take a picture of the pigs today, but it was impossible to catch them on camera through the fence. So I took a picture of the outhouse instead. Whenever Americans come to Siberia, they take pictures of the outhouses. I'm not sure why, but this made me realize that perhaps you would want to see inside an outhouse. This is a very nice (well-kempt) one. There are two holes- one on either side of the divider... so you can take a friend with you if you want. I'm sure it'll be a challenge when Anneka is at the age where she's out of diapers but toddling. I may just have to hold her over the hole. Leif wouldn't let me post a picture of the outhouse from the college we helped at last year. He said it was just too gross. I think he's probably right. He's pretty wise.

Speaking of my husband, he's been taking such good care of me this last week. I've had a cold for seven weeks now! For the first few weeks it wasn't a big deal and I had energy. And then Anneka was sick and I was worried about her. But then I got pretty miserable. I've been on antibiotics for a week now. I think I'm getting better because my fever is gone and instead of feeling fatigued, I just feel normal-tired. My cough is still very strong and I have a really sore throat. But I do think I'm on the road to health. I pray. I appreciate your prayers, too. I'm sick of being sick.

The picture of Leif through the little window is often the view I have at church. I always start out in the main room with everyone, but usually Anneka starts making very loud squeals and gets really active after 30 minutes or so. So then we move into the kitchen that has this window, where I can see and hear through.