Ella's Birthday x 2!

     Our dear Ella is 11!  Having a June birthday, we often do something exciting or are in a unique place on her special day.  This year was maybe unusual in the sense that we all had covid and were quarantined at home, but it wasn't so exciting.  Ella, in her very Ella-way, was very sweet about our little home celebration and expressed much appreciation and joy.   

     We had a little surprise party for her on Nettie's side of the house (as Nettie had covid, too).  

     Then we had a little picnic lunch on the floor and watched a movie.  

     In the evening, Leif made barbequed hamburgers outside.  It was so cold!!  My sense of smell had come back, and I couldn't handle the smell of cooking food, so everyone was very sweet to agree to eating outside!

     Ella and Leif's normal tradition is to make apple pies together, but we didn't have the strength or the ingredients, so they decided to do it together when we were all feeling better.  So ice cream cake it was for her birthday.  ;)

Getting the decorations and food ready before Ella arrived.

     Several weeks after we were all recovered from covid, we had a real surprise party for Ella at the sauna/swimming pool!

Anneka made a bunch of fun shapes out of balloons.

Waiting with baited breath for Ella's arrival.

Ella was truly surprised!

She's always wanted a surprise party.

 

     Ella's friend, Esther, came with us.  Ella was very happy to see her.

     We all swam, played, ate good food, and enjoyed a fun three hours together.

I'm so thankful for this sweet daughter!

     Martina and Matty made an apple pie for Ella (her favorite).  She and Leif still made pies together after the suprise party, too.

     We love you, sweet Ella joy!  You are kind, thoughtful, wise, fun, beautiful, and we are so proud of you!!

Sagaalgan and Seeing Friends

     We arrived not too long before the beginning of Sagaalgan (White Month).  During this month, we were able to visit several neighbors.  It was really special to have time with these special people- especially after having been away for 5 months.  I didn't get many pictures myself, but our friend, Natasha sent us these photos from our time at their house.  She made delicious salads, buuzi (Buryat dumplings), and some delicious fried dough in beautiful configurations.  Our kids had been CRAVING buuzi for months, so it was a special treat.  

     Leif shared a special blessing from the Bible and presented it along with a gift.  Anneka wrote it out ahead of time in beautiful writing in both Russian and Buryat.

     Tea and towels are traditional gifts to give.  We gave each family member a gift, and they gave each of us a gift, too.  

     The covid numbers here have gone way down.  While in public, we wear masks, but this was our first time to be with people inside without masks for many months.  It felt both strange and wonderful to have a "normal" feeling gathering with people once again!

     We visited other neighbors on another evening.  They gave us very nice gifts like soap, body wash, craft supplies for the kids, chocolates, and tea.  

     The girls hung out together in a separate room and ate their food (chicken, vegetables, fruit, cake) together there. 

     It's also been wonderful to reconnect with friends since we've been back.  The kids have been wanting to go ice skating all winter, but it felt complicated and expensive in the States with needing to register online ahead of time and not having our skates with us.  Here, they have limits of how many people can be on the rink per hour, but we didn't need to sign up ahead of time.  And it was -25C outside, so it felt safe as far as outdoor covid spread.  =)  They did take our temperatures at the door and required masks upon entering the building.  

Skating in a Line

Frozen Eyelashes!

Ella has been looking forward to ice skating more than anyone.  =)

One evening after English Club, we visited the city square and enjoyed the ice sculptures and lights.

 

Smooth Travels Back to Siberia

 

     Once again we're back in Siberia after a wonderful home service in the States.  With covid, it certainly wasn't a typical home service, but it was still very good.  We had times of rest and times of connecting.  Our hearts are full, and we feel ready to enter back into life in Siberia.  

     One of the most popular questions people ask us is what route we take when we fly to and from the States and Russia.  This answer is always different, depending on fares (right now, fares are in general very low, so our decision was based on which countries are open!)  Considering that we had to go the long-way around the world, we had an awesome flight plan this time.  We started from the Spokane airport (after teary goodbyes and hugs with my parents at the curbside) and flew to LAX.  A very fun story is that we had travel credit from Alaska Airlines.  The credit covered tickets but not bags, so we planned on paying an extra $30 per bag.  I texted with a representative from the airline and discovered that we could upgrade to first class (because this was included in our flight credit) and not have to pay for bags!  So it was cheaper to fly first class than to have regular seats!  The kids were over-the-top excited!!

This was the view behind us on that flight.  The plane was practically empty!  

     One of the requirements for flying to Russia right now is that you have to have a negative covid test within 72 hours of arrival.  We had the day at LAX, so were able to get rapid tests done at the airport.  Everything was very organized and the sunshine felt so nice on our faces!  

     We soaked in the sun's rays and stayed outside, away from other people, for most of the day, while we waited for our covid test results and for our evening flight.

     Both of my parents wrote each of us special letters and included money for us to spend on special food items at the airport.  Most of the food stands/restaurants were closed, but one Starbucks was open, so we got special drinks.  We also had a last wonderful Mexican meal before leaving the country.  

     Anneka was trying out new filters on her camera and took this picture of me, jumping in the outdoor seating area.  At about 10:00 pm, our direct flight to Moscow left.  We purposely avoided Europe because of the various border closures and the new strains of covid.

     At the Moscow Airport (Sheremetovo), we had less lines than we've ever had before!  Our whole family was allowed to go through customs together (usually we cannot do this).   It was also very smooth turning in our paperwork for our covid tests.  And all of our bags arrived!

Ike, our energizer bunny.

     The flight to Siberia is in the evenings and the timing of our arrival made it so that we needed to get a hotel (because we were there for 22 hours).  We drove 1.5 hours through a snowstorm to get to a hotel near the other airport (Domodyedovo).  Our taxi driver needed to stop for gas, so I was able to grab us some food at a little store while he stopped.  The place was a little funny (and the pipes broke while we were there, so they had to shut off the water for awhile), but our room was perfect for us- a bed for everyone!  We rested and walked around in the snow until our final flight.

     It was still snowing pretty hard when we left for the final airport.  Thankfully our flight wasn't delayed or affected.  I think Moscow is used to snowy weather.  They just sprayed our whole plane down with deicer right before taking off.

     We were all feeling pretty tired as we waited in this last airport.  The lines here were also very fast (for checking in and security).  We found our favorite food (shaurmas) to eat for dinner while we waited.  

We found a section of the airport that was completely empty!

Sleeping Beauty

     The last flight is about 6 hours and is the toughest of them all.  It was so fun to look out the window and see Buryatia!  The weather was cold when we arrived, but not as cold as it has been recently.  I think it was -23C when we landed.  When we entered the airport, it was all under construction, so no one was allowed to come inside to greet us.  We had to carry all of our bags up stairs.  But we did it!  Nettie and Dima were waiting outside to help us and whisk us away to home.  It's so nice to be back and settled in!  We're thankful for the many ways God showered his mercy and love on us as we made the journey home.

A Few New Things

     I mentioned in a previous blog that Nettie has been a volunteer during this lockdown, delivering medicine and food to people 65 and older (who need to stay home to be safe).  The way the program is set up, she has a partner that she goes with each time.  As things have begun to open back up, her partner has started going back to work and wasn't available to help one day.  I jumped at the chance to leave home and go with her!  It was very interesting for me to see what she's been doing these weeks.  We had a long list of addresses.  Each person had a number next to their name that corresponded with a bag of medicine that nurses had already prepared.  Everyone was very kind and grateful, even if they needed something to be corrected.  We helped by relaying their messages to the nurses.  Nettie said a blessing over each person as we left them.



     I took this picture outside of the local clinic once we had finished.  This bin had been full of individual bags of medicine.  While we were out, everyone had to sign a paper to show that it was delivered to the proper person.  We had to use antiseptic on our gloved hands between each home and disinfect the pen between each person, too.  Inside the clinic, a guard took our temperature at the door and sprayed everyone's hands.  There was someone cleaning surfaces and floors with bleach constantly.  And, of course, everyone was in masks.  I was thankful for this opportunity.



     One exciting new thing from the past weeks is that Leif has been a part of leading two groups of men (over Zoom) with the Training National Trainers (TNT) program.  He went through this program several years ago, and is now able to share the things he learned with others!  Because of the lockdown, these guys have more time to commit to something like this and are really soaking it all up.   TNT helps men learn how to study and teach the Word of God to others.  Right now they are studying the book of Jonah.  A couple of them have already given sermons from Jonah in their church services (also over Zoom).   It's been encouraging for Leif to see the excitement of these guys and to hear how helpful the materials have been for them.



     Another new thing we've started this month is a neighborhood English conversation group (over Zoom).  It's really been on Yulia's heart for us to do this.  She asked us, and we decided to do a trial month to see how it goes.  So far we've met some new people.  One lady has a daughter Anneka's age, and she and Anneka are on a bike ride together right now as I type.  We're not sure where this will go, but it's been fun to get to know some new people from the area and to speak in our native tongue.  =)  One lady commented that she appreciates how we talk about valuable things that make her think.  It's gone well enough that we've decided to continue into July.

Garbage Be Gone!

    Even though things are opening back up more and more after the lockdown, we still have restrictions on what we can do and how we can meet up with people.  Large gatherings are still prohibited, and we try to meet with anyone outdoors (instead of indoors) as much as possible (and usually with masks).  This causes us to have to be very creative in ways to meet new people!  Nettie had the great idea to pick up garbage around our neighborhood playground and to invite people to join us.  We posted the above picture in our neighborhood Viber group as we were starting, to let people know they could join us. 

     I snapped a few pictures along the way, but we were all spread out so I didn't get the full perspective.  But lots of kids grabbed garbage bags and helped!  

You could tell they felt a sense of pride in making their neighborhood look nicer. 

      It's cute how all of the kids call Leif and Sasha "Dya-Dya" (uncle).  It's valuable for them to have good male role models.

People just throw garbage out the windows of their cars as they are driving!

     We prayed we would meet new people, and we did!  One lady (not pictured) stood around, directing everyone where to go and what to do.  She and I got into a conversation and she said she comes out every evening and would love to talk more.  I love how God answered that simple prayer.

Cleaning out garbage in the playhouse.

     One lady got came home from work when we were about halfway through.  She asked if we could help nail some boards back onto the ice skating rink.  Sasha worked on that while we picked up more trash.  It was amazing to see the huge difference in such a short amount of time!

We collected this much garbage in just a little over an hour (from 8:00 to 9:15ish)

     Some of the helpers had already gone home at the end, but we took this picture to put in the neighborhood Viber group.  People were very positive and said they would like to join us next time.  I'm sure we'll be doing it again soon!