Conference In Thailand

  Whenever our long winter can be broken up, even just a little, it lifts our spirits soooo much!  We had the privilege of going to our SEND Russia conference in Thailand this year.  It was so nice to have time with people from our team, leadership from America, and to get to know others serving in Russia more closely.

 

     It's also a breath of fresh air when we can hear good teaching in English and sing praise songs in our heart language.  It was also very encouraging to hear reports of what God is doing- not only in Russia, but all around the world!

 

 

 

     One very special gift is that Leif's mom, Irene, came to the conference to help with the children's program.  The kids loved being with her (and not just our kids!), and it was fun for her to see us in a beautiful place, enjoying flowers and interesting animals together.



 

      The kids program far exceeded any of our hopes or expectations!  They had a whole super-organized and fun program on what it means to stand strong for God.  The teachers had costumes and acted out Bible stories and the room was made into a castle.  Here, the kids were building a wall.  They still talk about the time and the lessons they learned.  It's so special when third culture kids can have these times with other kids just like themselves.  They really bond.

 





    Anneka and Lina were inseparable the entire week!  Their common language is Russian, so at any given moment you could hear little girls chattering away in Russian.

 



     It was really special to have Anna Blaker come and help with the kids program.  She lived in Ulan Ude with her family a couple of years ago and is now grown up and living in the States.  Ella and Anya also just love to be together.  They call each other "My Ella" and "My Anya". 

     The kids got to act some things out, too!

 

 

     The place where we stayed is a service for missionaries and Christian workers.  It was a lovely property.  In the afternoons we had time to talk with others and play fun games like this one where you throw blocks of wood.

... and we spend a lot of time swimming!

 

 

I just love these snuggly guys!

 

 

     Kelsey (in the middle) is 16 and joined her mom at the conference.  Her mom is in charge of caring for SEND Eurasia missionaries and led a very special time for the women.  Kelsey also worked with the kids, and these two girls just LOVED her.  They would sneak up to her window in the mornings and follow her around.  She was very sweet about it, too!

 

 

     On two of the nights, they set up vans for anyone who wanted to go to the market.  On the first night, Irene stayed with the kids, and Leif and I enjoyed a date together.  We went to this place where hundreds of little fish bite off little bits of your feet and legs.  It was so crazy!  I can't believe we did it and actually sat there with our feet in the water for 15 minutes!  They eat off dead skin and calluses, so our feet were soft and smooth afterwards.



 

     The other market night, I went out with Irene while Leif stayed back with the kids.  We had a nice dinner with John and Sharon and did some Christmas shopping.  It was very fun to have this time together!

 



 

 

     The flight back is 6.5 hours, from Bangkok to Irkutsk.  The kids did great.  It's really nice not having to change time zones too much.  We don't have to deal with the jet lag like when traveling to Moscow.

 

     We waited in the middle of the night at the train station, before our final leg of the trip back home (an 8-hour train ride).  The kids were playing some sort of game, and the security guard came to watch.  We all slept almost the entire train ride!

 

      After the conference, we also had a week of family vacation time with Irene.  I'll tell about that in a blog post soon!