Our Little Tradition

When Anneka and I go to check the mail, we have little traditions. Between the bus stop and the post office, we stop at the swing and after the post office, we stop by the slide (she's pictured on top of the slide here). Then we go visit some sweet old ladies with little stands from their gardens and buy veggies or berries... and sometimes lettuce! Then we go to a little bread store. Anneka gets very excited about this and says "booda, booda!", which is buluchka or "little roll".



After we get our buluchkas, Anneka finds a nice little place on the curb to sit and eat hers. (pictured scooting on the curb after eating her buluchka). Then we pet a few stray cats and walk to a different bus stop and head home.

Anneka Fun

Anneka and my new favorite game is Rock-A-Bye Baby. She gets herself situated on the center of a blanket. Then I gather up the corners and scoop her up... and then swing her back and forth and sing "Rock-a-bye baby..." to her. She thinks it's so delightful. Leif said that I now am playing with Anneka the games I used to play with my cat, since as a little girl I used to put the kitty in a sleeping bag and swing her around. But I assure you, it's different.


Leif tries to free up his schedule at least a 1/2 day a week so that he can have quality time with Anneka (and work on homework or office-type stuff while she sleeps) and I can run errands or get things done that are hard to do with a busy girl around. Today I visited a friend who works at the fish market and went out for coffee with Renata, our new teammate. It was lovely. I feel like this little chunk of time each week refreshes me (even if I'm "working") and really makes me appreciate my time with Anneka all the more. Today Leif printed off this Dora mask and Anneka colored it. This is a picture of Anneka interacting with Sasha. He comes over weekly to take a shower and wash his clothes. Anneka really likes him.

A New Teammate

Yesterday we welcomed a new teammate to our city! Renata lived in Krasniarsk for a few years and is now here with us. We are happy to have her and look forward to getting to know her more and more. I was very proud of myself making this cake. My mom sent me frosting tips. I will have to spread my wings and try even grander things for the next cake. =)



We had a team dinner together to welcome Renata. This picture cracks me up because I told everyone to smile. Kandid (back of head pictured) did a great job of smiling... he just didn't turn around. He's a funny guy (in a "ha-ha" way, not a strange way). His first language is Swiss-German and yet he still manages to tell lots of good jokes in English. I think that takes a lot of talent.



Anneka's new thing is to have us make a fort out of her bed before she goes to sleep. She used to cuddle nicely on my lap while I sang her a song. But now she just wants right into her bed so that we can put up her fort.



Anneka and I went to the outdoor market in search of a repair place for our waffle iron (yes, it broke! And it's so sad because it was a miracle to even find it in the first place. We haven't seen one since). Anyways, I asked Galina (this nice lady who sells hats and other stuff) for help and she thought that Anneka would look nice in a new red bandana-hat. She's given Anneka so many hats!! I really like this one. I'll have to get a better picture later. Galina is really nice. She's our friend, Katia's mom. I never found a repair place for our waffle iron. But we haven't lost hope yet.

A Glimpse Into God's Heart

"How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart?" As I read these words in Psalm 13, my heart resonated with them. Shannon's death has left an empty spot- in our hearts, in our team, in Buryatia. "Why do we have to feel such sadness, God?" I asked. And I believe He answered. We are not created for death. Death only has come into the world because it's fallen and broken... because of sin. But God created us for life. He, too, is grieved by death. And how much more, spiritual death. There are precious moments in life that God allows us to feel part of what He feels and to get a peek into His soul. I remember when I was engaged to Leif, feeling the intense emotions of love and excitement and anticipation and thinking what a gift it is that God allows us to feel that and to see a glimpse how He longs for His bride, the Church. And when we had Anneka, I was amazed at the deep, selfless love I felt for her. A sacrificial love that wants the best for her. And that's a glimpse into God's deep love for us. This is especially heightened when I think of Him giving His only Son because of the problem of sin and death in our world. And so, even though there are moments when I never feel that my heart could fully feel happy again as I grieve the loss of Shannon, I'm thankful for this gift right now. It's a gift to remember how much God longs for everyone to have eternal life! It's a gift to remember the seriousness and pain of separation from God. I pray that this will be a catalyst for sharing Christ's love with others. I'm so thankful that Shannon is spiritually alive. "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." Psalm 116:15 I'm thankful that she lived her life sharing Christ's love and life with many, many people.




We had two memorial services for Shannon in Ulan Ude. One was a smaller one with the Buryat Partnership (people who meet monthly). These sweet ladies made a feast for us to share after the service.



The second service was packed. People of all different ages, socioeconomic classes and races crowded in to remember Shannon and celebrate her life. It was really good to have these services and process together and share memories.

We're also thankful that we were able to listen to Shannon's stateside funeral via a live feed through the internet. What a wonderful invention of modern technology!

We are seeking to find a "new normal" as we live our lives here without Shannon. As I was walking the other day, looking down into the valley, I couldn't help thinking that there is a huge hole in Buryatia where Shannon belongs. But we move forward and cherish our memories and share the God of life and love in His power....

A Lifesong Sung to Jesus

We have very heavy hearts today as we grieve the loss of our dear friend and teammate, Shannon. I feel like I don't even have words to say right now. I know in my head that she is with Jesus, free from pain and sorrow... where there is no more crying or death. But our hearts still can't make sense of this, as we love her dearly and miss her already.


We have so many pictures of Shannon, and these aren't really the best for capturing her vibrance. This picture makes me smile because she convinced me to sing this really nerdy country song with her. And it was fun!



Leif and Shannon had such a fun brother-sister relationship. I loved watching them tease each other. I loved that Shannon was good friends with both of us.



Shannon was the one who welcomed us to Ulan Ude when we moved to the field, and she quickly became family. She was the one who heard all my woes as I dealt with culture shock. She has a way of making every person around her feel that they are the most special person in the world. We celebrated holidays together, as our teammates become a second family for us.



Anneka will never know her auntie Shannon on this side of heaven, which is sad for us to think about. Shannon's favorite song was Lifesong by Casting Crowns. She lived this out. She was adventurous, fun-loving, deep, full of faith, compassionate, giving, sensitive, wise, hard-working, always putting people before projects... and loving them well. She fit in here like no one else on our team. She truly became one with the culture and the people all around her. She inspired us all. There is so much more to tell that I can't even put into words. But we are so thankful for these three years of knowing Shannon. Our lives are much richer for knowing her, and we can't wait to be reunited with her again one day. I leave off with the words of her favorite song... one that she lived out well:

Lifesong

Empty hands held high
Such small sacrifice
If not joined with my life
I sing in vain tonight

May the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sign Your name to the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You

Lord I give my life
A living sacrifice
To reach a world in need
To be Your hands and feet

So may the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my lifesong sing to You

Green Grass

A few nights ago we were sitting in our living room and Leif said, "Do you know what sounds nice right now? A lawn." I laughed and thought it was a cute thing to say, but then I really started thinking about it. If we had a lawn, Anneka could play on it and run around and we wouldn't have to worry about garbage or broken glass everywhere. If we had a lawn, we could sit out there in the evenings and enjoy the coolness that it brought to a hot day. We could play bocci ball or throw a frisbee. We could set up a sprinkler and run around in it as a family. And then I started really missing green grass! But then I realized that I was longing after grass, and this is really ridiculous... and can quickly plummet downward into thinking of all the things we don't have and could have if we lived somewhere else. Because the truth is that God has brought us here and there are many beautiful, wonderful things here. I want to be content in any circumstance- whether in plenty or in want, etc.

Leif left today for time of long meetings and berry picking with pastors and Christian workers in the area. He didn't know he was leaving today until this morning and he doesn't know how long he'll be gone! I hope he has a good time. I'll have to think of some fun and creative ways for Anneka and I to spend our time.

After church today we had the Kerins and John over for lunch. Rebecca's parents are visiting and it was really fun to get to meet them. A lot of our teammates have had family visit this year, which is really neat.

Leif's Modeling Debut

Here's Leif pressing his shirt to prepare for his modeling debut (pictures and more explanation to come in the future). Anneka is also pressing her shirt so that she can be like Papa.

It's Raining, It's Pouring

It's rained so much this summer. I have mixed feelings about it. These are the things I love:
* Everything is green
* It feels like it cleans the air
* It's cozy

Here are the things I don't love
* It makes summer feel shorter
* Laundry takes forever to dry
* It's harder to go outside and play

Yesterday Anneka and I were standing on on the balcony while it was dumping buckets outside. We watched this little boy run home and call his parents on the domaphone and they wouldn't let him in. He waited awhile and then started running away. Leif knows this little guy, so I shouted down to him to come over to our place. He heard my voice but didn't see where it was coming from and ran to find shelter somewhere else. I feel bad for this boy. He's so sweet and polite. He's ALWAYS outside and it makes us wonder about his home life. So sad.



Our little puddle-stomper from last week.

The Old And The New

Leif snapped this picture last week, as a contrast really struck him. People who don't have running water come to this well to fill their big metal jugs... and yet on the well is an advertisement for satellite television. What an interesting world we live in!

Tonight at dinner, Anneka pointed to Leif and said, "Papa-man". "You're right", we said, "Papa is a man. What is mama?" "Lady", she replied. "What are you?", we asked. "Happy", was her answer. She also said "Happy girl" over and over today in her stroller ride along with shouting "Alleluiah!" really loud. I mean really loud.

Alleluiah!

Anneka has taken to singing lately, and her favorite word to sing is "Alleluiah!" It's so cute to hear her sing as she plays or lies in her bed. Here Irene and I prompted Anneka for this video clip. Normally she needs no prompting. =)

Baptisms at the River

This morning our church joined our sister church to celebrate one lady and two men getting baptised! It was so neat to gather and watch this public declaration of their faith in Jesus.




I loved watching the joy on each of their faces as they came out of the water.




This group of ladies sang hymns throughout the morning.



This girl, Lira, was one that came to the camp we had a few weeks ago. She's holding her little sister here. I got to hold her, too. So sweet!



And this has nothing to do with baptism, but I thought it was funny. Yesterday we grated zucchinis to freeze and later make bread out of. There's only a period of about a month that you can find zucchini here, and I'm always SO excited to see it! And now that we have a freezer, we can store lots!! Anyways, Anneka was chomping away at pieces of raw zucchini. And when I wasn't fast enough at giving her a new piece, she chomped into a whole one, peel and all. Yuck!