A Wedding Week!

     This June, our dear friend Lena got married!  She has been coming to help us once a week for several years now, so she feels like a part of our family.  We've been praying for God to bring her just the right husband, and it's so cool to see the man that He gave to her!  It really struck me how BIG of a deal weddings are here.... especially in the church culture.  (And they should be, as they mark the beginning of bringing two people together for life.) We had a bridal shower for Lena, and one of the games was to put in order the pictures of many different married couples from the church from longest married to most recent.  The fascinating thing to me was how people knew the years and months of these weddings so easily!

     Everyone who gets married in Russia has a civil wedding at a special courthouse for marriage.  Then many people have a reception as well.  We got all dressed up and went to the civil wedding.


     The officiant of the court house stood up front and said some flowery words about marriage, and then Lena and Sasha signed their papers with us all as witnesses.



     There's a special room in the marriage courthouse for taking pictures of the bride with her bridesmaids and with children who are present.


The registration all takes place downtown, right next to the city square, opera house and fountain.  It is also a tradition for the bride and groom to take pictures with family and friends at the fountain.
   

We got a little distracted along the way, as it was a hot day and the water felt so nice!

     Ahhh!  That feels much better!

Our family with Lena and Sasha

     Then we all headed out into nature for a picnic!  Everyone brought something special that they had prepared.  It was a beautiful place and everyone was in good spirits.

The kids tried their hand at fishing.

... and were so proud to carry around little fish in a baggie!

... or in a cup.

     Then, three days later was the rehearsal for the church wedding ceremony. Ike was invited to be the ring bearer.  He took this job very seriously and did an awesome job!  For the practice he carried this ring of wood.



     And the next day, he did an awesome job of sitting very still up front for the whole church service and wedding.  It was a very hot day.

Between the wedding and reception were pictures for the wedding party.

     Ike and I didn't have time to travel all the way back home and back to the reception.  Bruce lives right downtown and offered for us to rest a bit in his cool apartment.

     Then we took the tram together to the reception and met up with Leif and the girls.  

     The reception was beautiful!  There was course after course of amazing food.

All of the kids even had their own kids' table with kid-friendly foods!  Everyone was happy.

     The kids played both inside and outside.

     There was even a dance instructor who taught us a couple of dances as a group.  It was truly a lovely celebration of a special couple- a day that we'll cherish for a long time!

Altargana

     This summer Altargana came to Ulan-Ude!  It's a special festival that celebrates the Buryat people.  Altargana is every 2 years and travels around to different cities in Mongolia, China, and Russia.  This festival is full of the best of Buryat culture shown through sports, music, competitions, and art.  On the Saturday, our family went to the big stadium that was filled with Buryat artwork from far and wide.  We ran into our friend, Ira, who we hadn't seen for years.  It was fun to go through the exhibits with her.

There were so many amazing displays!

Ella and me, looking into a miniature yurt, complete with furniture and a fire pit!

     Ira overheard that there was a fashion show in the auditorium.  The girls were interested, so we went in to watch.  It was captivating to see the various traditional and modern designs of clothing.  One group of young girls modeled very TALL Buryat hats.  Our kids especially liked that!

     Most of the audience was at the front, but we sat along the side where there was more space.  Ella ran up to stand with the photographers to get a good view.

     We ate a simple lunch together at a cafe in the basement after the fashion show.

There's nothing like a pig in a blanket!

      The next evening Juli called us and offered for her boys to babysit our kids while we went to the closing ceremony of Altargana with her and Alan. We originally had had three different things planned for that evening, but two were cancelled and one was moved to earlier. Our kids were thrilled, and we were, too!  We had to squish Alan and Juli into the van, as we had just bought a new door and the old one was still inside. 

     We ate some pozi (traditional Buryat meat dumplings) quickly outside of the stadium before the start.  This was the first time I'd been to the new sports stadium.

     Athletes, artists, and musicians were awarded grand prizes and honored in front of everyone.  If I remember correctly, I think these men were winners in the archery tournament.

     There were also many beautiful songs and dances on the field.  I was overwhelmed and my heart was filled with such love as I thought of how God created this world and these beautiful Buryat people.  It was one of the highlights of my summer.

     The weather was perfect.  Warm summer evenings are a rare thing here.  We soaked it in and cherished it!

A Special Visit From the Jordans

     One of the gifts of living overseas in our context is the deep friendships we make with people from all over the world!  One of the sad things is that sometimes we have to say goodbye to these people that we love so much.   This summer we enjoyed a sweet visit from the Jordan family.  They lived in Russia for 15 years but have been back in the States for the past 3 years.  When they lived here, we had the tradition of celebrating New Years together with a fondue spread.  Even though it was summer, we had to do have fondue to revisit our tradition!

     Our kids just adore the Jordan boys and had a blast with them!  Ryan was so sweet with our Ike.  Even though their visit was 2 months ago, Ike still asks me when he'll see Ryan again.  "Ryan is my best friend", he declared.

     Ella, enjoying a piggyback ride on Darin  

     The family spent the night with us one night before going to the village of Shabur the next day. And the boys spent the night another time, too.  Ryan had a "sleepover" in Ike's room with him.  What fun!

     It's nice to be with others who understand our life here and share a love for the people and place.

walking next to the stadium near our home

     The kids performed for us adults, and Ryan made Ike the hero in the performance, making him do all sorts of exciting tricks.  It was really cute!

     This family will probably show their faces in other blog posts as I catch up.  We miss them and were thankful for this time to cross paths with them again!

Neighborhood Day Camp (and a squashed rat)

The kids were grouped into teams for a creative time. 
This day they made animals out of duct tape (above is a bird).

     In July we helped our church put on a day camp in our neighborhood.  Over 120 kids came this week, God protected the weather during the exact hours of the camp, and kids as well as parents heard a lot of truth and had a lot of fun!

 

     Each day we had a time for sports and organized games.  Leif was the sports instructor and he did a great job!

 
          This year I was asked to help sing songs at the camp.  I was a little hesitant, as I was also making lunch each day for the workers at our home and I wasn't sure how hard it would be to juggle both.  But it turned out to be a blessing to firsthand be a part of the camp and to see the kids' faces.  One day I was particularly touched when I looked out and realized that all of these kids were singing of God's great love and power. 

Acting out the parable of the Good Samaritan

    On this day, the kids were broken into groups and each group acted out a parable from the Bible.  They had about 10 minutes to practice together, and then one child was chosen from each group to read the passage while the others acted it out.  I was also really blessed to watch this, as I know that these stories will stay with these kids for many years to come!

     Each day, our team performed powerful skits depicting important spiritual truths.  I didn't get any pictures at the day camp, but this was the group practicing one day to the song "Set Me Free".

A Relay Race with Toilet Paper

Ella and Anneka were there each day, and they both really enjoyed it!

     Ike was with me at home for part of the time, helping "cook".  Then we walked to the sports square when it was time for me to sing and he participated in the program with the kids for the second half. Anneka did a great job of welcoming him into her group and leading him where he needed to go.  (one day he stayed home with Inka while I sang, and that was special for him, too!)

Ike, sitting on Leif's lap during the message time.

     Each day there was a short Biblical message for the kids, too.  Our pastor, Sasha was encouraged because he gave the kids homework each day, and they returned the following day, telling him that they'd done it... things like thanking their parents for giving them life or asking forgiveness to someone that they'd wronged.  It was neat to see them applying the messages to their lives.  

     Leif connected with the kids and enjoyed little breaks of being able to talk with them.

     Here's the crew that ate at our home each day for lunch (workers and their own kids).  We had between 25 and 30 people each day.

Ike ate on the floor in the kitchen next to me to save room at the tables.  He's my little buddy!

Doesn't his x-ray remind you of a dinosaur?

     In the middle of the week, we had a little accident with our rat.  Someone in our family (who will remain nameless) accidentally sat on him one afternoon.  Ratty Pie was in bad shape and we rushed him to the vet.  He was hardly moving and didn't eat or drink for 2 days.  He was kept alive through prayers and glucose shots.  Thankfully he pulled through and began perking up after we offered him some mashed potatoes.  What a relief!  Now he is doing well and back to his normal self.  For 2 vet visits, an x-ray, and multiple shots, we paid less than $10.  We asked Leif's brother how much that would have cost in the states (as he is a veterinarian himself) and he said easily as much as $500!  We're so thankful he pulled through.  We certainly weren't expecting that in the middle of everything else!

Here are a few more pictures from the day camp...

We thank God for a wonderful week and pray that the seeds planted will grow a hundredfold!