Semi Summer

     Summer is kind of here!  It's not completely here, as the weather is still cold some days.  At the end of May, Ella prayed before bed that winter would come.  The next morning we woke up to a blanket of 3 inches of snow!  And Anneka still has Russian kindergarten until the end of June.  (it's late this year because there was a quarantine this winter... I don't really understand because she still went to school during the quarantine.... something about her not having special classes like music and all of the regular lessons).  But there are also a lot of days that are sunny and beautiful.  And all of the school-aged kids (older than kindergarten) are out of school, so it makes for fun times on the playground.  A few weeks ago, we met these sweet little girls on the playground.  They come from a Christian family (which truly is amazing to find here!)  and they come over to play pretty much every day. All 3 kids just LOVE them and ask every day when they get to play, and they make plans about how  long we'll play outside and how long inside and what they'll do, etc.

     I've really noticed a jump in Ella's Russian since playing with these girls.  It's fun to see.  Here they are playing Polly Pockets.

     One thing that's really interesting about playing with Russian kids is that most of them go to bed sometime between 10 and midnight.  Our kids go to bed between 8 and 9.  When I ask the girls to get on their pajamas at 8:15 and tell their friends it's time for them to go home, they simply can't comprehend WHY our kids would be going to bed so EARLY!  One evening "K" came to the door at 8:45.  Anneka was already in bed (but not asleep).  She asked if Anneka could play and I told her she was already in bed.  I said something about how she had to do her homework in the morning before church (because we had plans for after church) and she needed her rest to be able to get up.  "K" offered to help her with her homework.  I was a little hesitant, but I thought it may be interesting to see and told her "okay", but just for a short time.  Anneka was thrilled to get out of bed, and it was truly fun to watch them together.  Anneka had to write 5 different sentences using question marks.  Those were the only rules.  But Kristina wouldn't let her start any sentences with the same word (such as how, why, when, etc.) And she wouldn't let her write about the same subject matter for any 2 sentences. (like a cat, for instance).  It was truly comical.  Anneka did great with the strict rules, and Leif and I were happy that her homework was done!  Afterwards, Anneka said, "That was SO FUN doing my homework!  I never knew doing homework could be so fun!"

     Another indicator of summer is that Anneka completed her lessons in English this year with Art and Lisa.  They threw an end-of-the-year party at their home with great kid foods for lunch.

     They all had a fun time playing outside.  It was a beautiful day!  Even with just one day a week, Anneka has really grown in reading and writing in English and in her math skills.  We're so thankful for the Blakers and their help to our family.

     It's hard to see in the picture, but Matty put dandelions in Ella's hair.  She felt so pretty!

     Leif was gone this week in western Russia, and after the party, we headed downtown with the Brubachers.  Nettie met us there.  It's such a beautiful sight to have the fountain running!!

     Another day that Leif was gone (in the Siberian city of Chita), we went to the ethnographic museum with friends.

     We got to feed carrots to most of the animals.  I love that about the zoo here- you can feed the animals!

I couldn't help snapping a picture of these fun ladies dancing!

The kids ran and ran in the woods, played with sticks, and climbed trees.  

     We also were invited to Nathan's 9th birthday party.  The kids had a great time celebrating together!  It's such a special thing for our kids to have these friendships on our team.  They all understand what it's like to live as a "third culture kid".  They love each other dearly.

       I had to add this, because it's such a big part of our life right now that I don't want to forget.  Ike just LOVES puzzles.  He puts together several puzzles a day.  Often when the girls go to bed, I'll sit with him and do puzzles.  I never really liked puzzles growing up, as I'm not very good at them.  But I like watching Ike do puzzles.  It's so fun to watch the little wheels spinning in his mind and his little hands turning the pieces just right.  So now, I suppose, I love puzzles, too!

Back to the top of Buryatia

Some of you may remember that I took part on a hiking trip up Munku-Sardik, the tallest mountain in Buryatia, a couple years ago.  I was asked to participate again as we led a group of twelve people, a mix of believers, including some very new Christians, and non-believers, to the top of Munku-Sardik.  This picture is at the trail-head and shows the height of the mountain, 3491 meters (11,453 feet).

Much of the "trail" is actually a frozen river.  I guess in the summer everything melts so you do have to find an actual trail, but we have been told that the spring is the very best time to hike there.  It certainly is interesting to have the majority of a hike be uphill on ice!

I loved getting out of the city and into nature.  The scenery was beautiful and the weather was really nice.  Actually if anything, the weather was too nice as it rained on us one evening, though it turned into a nice blanket of snow by the morning.  The bigger problem with the warm weather was that the ice got weak and we had to be very selective on how we went across the ice.  I did have a few times of having my foot fall through the ice into the water below, and others did too, but thankfully no one was hurt and we were well equipped and able to avoid getting too cold.

On the first day we hiked a few miles and set up a base camp, then on the second day we went out to acclimate some to the elevation and to do some training.  Everyone had to learn how to fall correctly.  Well, I guess it was more how to stop falling, but during training you have to start falling first.  Some of us decided to hike up a ridge from there to get a view of Munku-Sardik.  I decided to go along and am glad I did as the view was amazing!  You can see Munku-Sardik behind us in the picture above, or more clearly by itself in the picture below.  

The mountain ridge is the border between Russia and Mongolia.

  As we started up for our ascent day we were hopeful, but uncertain if everyone would make it to the top as many in the group had little or no experience with hiking.  It really was wonderful to see everyone pull together and help and encourage each other.  It was certainly a major physical and mental challenge for most of the people in the group, but we were all able to make it to the top.  I really felt like this was an amazing witness of the community that Jesus gives us, and I was thankful for everyone who came.

 Here I am at the top.  In the background there are a lot of prayer flags that are common both in Buryatia and Mongolia.  It is another reminder to pray for the people here as often high places and natural features are seen as holy places.  I'm so thankful that God is with us everywhere and that we can turn to Him from any place and at any time.  On the way down I paired up with one young lady that had a really difficult time with fear.  She was afraid of falling and had panicky tears on the way up, then said she wasn't going to go back down the mountain!  Thankfully we were able to help her along.  About half way down she stopped worrying about herself and started worrying about the group that was behind us as we broke up into three groups.  I could tell at that point that she was doing better.  It was great to see her work past her fears and come through victoriously.  I hope that all in the group grew in their understanding of God and were blessed by the time like I was.  We had a follow up meeting with people a week or so after getting back and hope to continue to build relationships with the new contacts.  Please pray for us in this.

Here is a picture of me on the way out.  I was really excited to be heading home to my family after a few days on the mountain :)!

Team Project in Zaigraevo

Each year our team likes to do a special project to bless a local community (and Russian pastor's family) and to grow in our relationships with one another.  This year we helped the Ratinkov family in buiding their house in a village about an hour away.

     This family moved here as a huge step of faith and dream of starting a church here.  One man has already come to know Jesus through their witness.  It's neat to see this man as he grows and changes.  The Ratinkovs are expecting a baby boy in September.  My friend, Tara, is helping us to collect baby clothes to send to them soon.  Let me know if you'd like to contribute to the cost of shipping!

   We put up insulation in the floors and walls and built enclosures for water tanks.  Everyone had a job, and a group of Russian friends joined us for one day to help, too.  

     Ike simply LOVES going to Zaigraevo, which is where Inka lives.  Several times a day he asks me, "Mama, go see Inka, go Zaigraevo, right, Mama?"  And every evening before bed, he prays, "Pray, God- go see Inka, Amen."  Every night.   Only once did he expand his prayer to pray, "Papa come home" after Leif had already been gone 8 days (good thing he came home the next day!).

     Leif and Dave sawed these boards to make the ceilings (I'm sure there's some better way of saying that, but I only know it in my limited building lingo).

     Valera organized a neighborhood cleanup on one day while we were there, with the hopes of making a positive impact on the community and making new connections with people.  Nobody besides our group came, but people saw us cleaning up the garbage, and it DID make a huge difference!  It's always shocking to me how much trash and litter is all over.  I don't talk about it a lot, but it really bothers my kids.  They are always asking why people throw garbage on the ground.  The other day I picked off a tiny piece of my fingernail that had broken and dropped it.  Anneka got on her hands and knees and FOUND it so that I could put it in the garbage.  A little overboard!  But this shows how much the garbage bothers them.

     One night a few of us stayed up to play a fun game called UDog.  It was my first time to play, and Nettie was very gracious with me when I ruined all chances of us winning!

     The weather was really nice most of the time, with just a little rain one of the evenings (the first rain of the year!)

     Another evening, some people played a game called Kubb.  This was done in the sports square that our team built a couple of years ago.

     We had times reading and reflecting on Romans each day together, praying, and singing praise songs.  One evening, Nettie led us in a discussion about evangelism.  She's been taking an online evangelism course, and has been learning some really great stuff.  It was great to talk about different ideas of starting up conversations about Jesus and how we can make this culturally relevant to where we are living.  It was also good to hear the insights of some of the Russians who were with us.

Some of the guys poured a foundation for a garage.

     The food was great!  Inka was so gracious to open up her home to all of us tromping through, sleeping, and eating everywhere.  

     One day we found out that a family with 5 kids was coming.  The people cooking were flexible to stretch things, and the kids all enjoyed playing with one another outside.

     Unfortunately, Ella was sick, and I had to come back to Ulan Ude with her and Ike halfway through the team project.  Here she is, watching Tinkerbell with Olga, a wonderful intern who is here from Germany.  A lot of people have been really sick this spring with a yucky flu bug.

     Another help to the Ratinkovs was repairing the fence around their property.

I'm so glad that our team has these projects, and it's so fun to see how God uses it to encourage others as well.

A surprise in the bag!

     Ella, Ike and I met a friend and her kids at the playground recently while Anneka was at school.  My friend was carrying a bag, and I didn't think much of it.  After awhile, she motioned to the kids to come over.  She opened up her bag and this little piglet was inside!!  What delight!  We all loved him, of course.  He and his sister were runts out of a big litter and weren't getting enough milk, so my friend brought the two of them back to the city to bottle feed them at home.  They live in the kitchen of her apartment!  

     We are excited to go to their village in a couple of weeks and see their piglets and calves.  We praise God for how He's formed friendships with this family, and pray that He'll show them His great love through us.

     Leif has been traveling a lot this spring.  I saw this picture on our teammate's blog and thought it was so funny.  Leif's in the blue sleeping bag in the front. (he doesn't get much sleep at these things, but thankfully he's used to that with having three small kids!) He went to Shabur for a meeting with regional pastors and leaders and enjoyed his time talking with different guys.  He's encouraged about the excitement that several pastors are having about holding a missions course here in Ulan Ude.  Leif has been working to get it up and started, and imagine his joy when this group decided that this would be an emphasis in the churches this upcoming year!  We desire to see people from here raised up to share the gospel all over the world!

     Our last weeks have been very busy, and I find it so hard to keep up with blogs.  I feel very grateful for the ways God has cared for our family as Leif has been gone.  The kids and I have met a few new families in our neighborhood and have enjoyed playing and talking with them. 

Easter

     We enjoyed some special times as a family this Easter season.  One evening,we washed each other's feet.

     Leif read from the Bible about how Jesus washed his disciples' feet and how he came to serve and to teach us to also serve.

 

     We also made unleavened bread one evening and learned more about the Passover and the significance behind the bread.  As the kids grow, they ask more and more good questions.  Ella has several times in her prayers these last couple of weeks thanked Jesus for dying on the cross for us.  I love hearing the different things that the kids pray about.  

     Something very encouraging and surprising happened the Friday before Easter.  We were in the grocery store, and there was music playing over the sound system.  The song (in Russian) had the words: "Jesus is risen from the dead. Hallelujah!  He was and is and is to come."  I loved this, and the truth of it seemed to ring out so loudly, as it is rare to hear anything like this in public.  We pray that this message will reach people's hearts.

     The Friday before Easter, all three of our kids spent the day with the Blakers.  They dyed eggs together and did other special things, and the girls even stayed overnight.  It was so nice for Leif and I to have a whole day date together!  Leif has and will be gone a lot this spring, so it's especially valuable to have these times together.  It's also really special

     We hid eggs around our living room Sunday morning.  They kids enjoyed hunting them down.

     Some of the eggs had candy inside, and 12 of them were resurrection eggs with special symbols (together with verses) that share the story of Christ's death and resurrection.

     At church, the kids put on a performance with a couple of songs.  Anneka and Ella shared a poem together.

    We're so thankful for the wonderful people who pour into our kids and teach them these songs!

     Anneka was in a play that used fun colorful scarves to show the story of Jesus taking away her sins.

I don't have any pictures from this, but the week after Easter, our church put on a play.  Several new people came, and many people were touched.  One husband seemed to make a decision to return to God and has been coming to church since then.  And one young Buryat mom prayed a prayer of repentance and has also been coming to church since then.  A cool little sidenote is that God crossed mine and Ella's paths with this lady when we were doing medical tests a couple of months ago.  Before that, I hadn't seen her for probably 5 years!  I love how God works and I love that He is drawing people to Himself!

Spring

The first buds of spring bring great excitement!

     Spring has taken on a whole new meaning for me since living in Siberia.  While it doesn't quite look the same as spring does in Washington, it is still glorious because it comes after a long and cold winter.

     Spring is a reminder of God's faithfulness.  He sets the sun, moon, and stars in motion.  He brings the sun each day, and he brings the seasons- spring, summer, winter, fall- every year.  We have hope each winter because we know that it won't be winter forever.  And we see the consistency of the seasons- it's a reminder that God keeps His promises.

     It is so fun to see our kids' excitement over spring.  Each day on the way to school, Anneka and I inspect the bushes to see if any green is pushing through.  The first day we saw buds was a truly exciting day!  Anneka broke out in praise to God, saying, "Thank you God for spring, for the birds twirting (yes, she said "twirting"), and for the green on the trees."  Ella also shows great excitement in seeing the green around us, and we even saw the very first flowers that pop up from under the snow (they look like crocuses) this past week.  In some moments, I feel a little sad when I see the kids' pure joy over these tiny buds when I know that in other places in the world, spring means bursts of color everywhere- vibrant green grass, daffodils, blossoms on trees... but at the same time, I can't help but share the joy because ANY life where there has been grey really is a beautiful thing.  And just as I know that this is just a tiny glimpse of spring in other places, it reminds me that heaven is so much more glorious than anything we can imagine!!

     Anneka has her own special tree.  We walk by it almost every day.  She likes to climb it and talk about it and dream up plans for what she'll do in her tree this summer.  It still has leftover leaves from last fall and basically looks dead.  But each day we inspect to see- is there any green yet?  Any hope of life.  And in faith, we trust that one of these days the green will come.  And this tree will burst forth in life and beauty.  Today she even prayed that God would bring green to her special tree.

     In the same way, we look at special people around us. People that we see frequently, that we spend time with and think about often.  We wonder, when will their hearts come to life?  When will they know the hope of Jesus and put their trust in Him?  Spring reminds me that there is hope.  Spring reminds me that God is the giver of life, even when everything looks dead and grey.

     I'm reminded of the first time I ever came to Ulan-Ude, in the summer of 1999.  I was here with a summer team, and a song that we sang went like this...

One Name under heaven whereby we must be saved,

One Name under heaven whereby we must be saved.

Forgiven of my sins, baptized in the water, filled with the Holy Spirit, washed by the by the blood of the Lamb,

 Forgiven of my sins, baptized in the water, filled with the Holy Spirit, washed by the by the blood of the Lamb.

Free, really free my friends, freed by the blood of the Lamb,

Free, really free my friends, freed by the blood of the Lamb.

God's gonna move in this place, God's gonna move in this place, God's gonna turn the whole world upside down,

God's gonna move in this place, God's gonna move in this place, God's gonna turn the whole world upside down.

     As we sang that song that summer, I knew that God was speaking.  He will do an amazing work here.  He will free people from darkness and despair.  He will bring life.  I feel blessed that He would use us as a part of this. And just as Anneka prayed for green to come to her special tree, we pray for eternal life to come to these special people.

  

Ella is Officially a Preschooler!

           A few weeks ago, we discovered that there was an opening for Ella to go to preschool two mornings a week at the same school as Anneka (in a different room).   We jumped on this opportunity, as Ella has been showing signs of readiness for school, and we've seen how it's helped with Anneka's Russian like nothing else.  We want to give Ella this chance, too.  This meant that we had to to a battery of medical tests.  (You can click here to see what all is entailed).  Ella doesn't love doctors like her sister, but she was very sweet about everything, and I discovered that she loves gum so much that if I bought gum and gave it to her each time we headed to the clinic (I had to stock up- there were MANY visits!), she was happy as a clam!!  I tried to make it into a special mother-daughter time (as much as trips waiting in lines and going to a bizillion doctors can be).  We always packed books, and while at first I wouldn't read if we were actually IN an office with a doctor, by the end, we just did whatever to make things fun and smooth!!

    One day Leif asked me how our doctor's visit went, and I said something like, "well, first we started on floor 2 and then they sent us up to floor 6, but they sent us to floor 3, but that doctor was in the hospital, so they said to call back next week.  And then we went to floor 5 and waited in a long line, but we didn't make it in time before we had to leave to pick up Anneka from kindergarten".  And after I said this outloud, I realized that I'd left out a couple of floors and it seemed completely nuts because we hadn't accomplished anything!  The first half of filling our our medical card, was pretty much like this for over a week.  I really felt that God wanted me/us to praise Him in the middle of it and to keep our eyes open for His goodness and His opportunities.  One day, as we were leaving the clinic with no stamps in our medical book because of time, we ran into our friend Masha outside.  She sweetly volunteered to take Ella for me and when I came back an hour later, she had seen TWO doctors!  Another time, we met a really nice mom and her son and had a good conversation with them.  God provided fun things like this slide (pictured above) in the hallway of floor 2.  And the second half of the medical card process went very quickly!  Once we got three stamps in one day!

     After we got our final stamp, Ella and I were so excited!  We asked a lady to take our picture outside, and we told her that we were celebrating because it was like a holiday to get our medical card filled out!  She gave a knowing smile, as it is not easy for people here either!  I had one friend say that the next time they buy an apartment, they will buy one next to the clinic because they have to go there so often.  And she was serious!

     The very next day, Ella had her first day of school!   Ella was excited, and Anneka was so excited for her, too!  Ella walked right into the classroom without even looking back.  And since she's begun I already hear her using more Russian with people.  

     I made a special lunch for Ella that day and we had a special "first day of school cake".  

     Ella's regular teacher has been sick, so she's had substitutes.  One day it was a mom that I've met on the playground and have talked with several times over the past couple of years. (her daugher is a friend of Anneka's)  She said that Ella had played really well with the kids and did great!
   
      I am also amazed that there's one teacher for sixteen 3-year-olds and they all get totally changed out of their clothes into outdoor clothes (this is very cultural- you wear different clothes outside than you do at home or at school) and into their coats, hats, and boots.

  By the second week when Ella's teacher returned, she got really sad as I was dropping her off and cried really hard.  Leif was out of town, and that morning I'd had to get all of the kids up and ready and out the door pretty early (and Ike dropped a glass on the tile floor right as we were leaving that I needed to clean up really fast so no one would get hurt).  When we got there, another kid's clothes were in Ella's cubby and her clothes had been moved.   I'm guessing that all of these things added to her feelings, but it was SO SAD leaving her.  Ike and I could hear her crying all the way outside.  She was okay when I came back to get her 3 hours later, so I'm praying that it was just one of those hard mornings because of all of the abnormal circumstances.  Ella is so brave.  I'm so proud of her!  I love her love of learning and watching her interact with both kids and adults.  She is a treasure.