A Little Bundle of Joy

Yesterday we got the meet Chingis and Ksusha's new baby, Daniel (Danya). He's so cute! Even though he's 3/4 Buryat, he has light hair. It was so neat to see Chingis and Ksusha with their little son. Babies are such miracles.

We're really happy because Chingis, Ksusha, and Danya will be moving to our neighborhood soon. We're especially excited because we're expecting a little bundle of our own in about 6 months!! It'll be so nice to ask Ksusha questions and have them within walking distance of our apartment.

We'll keep you posted on news with our baby. So far he/she has developed all the major organs, has fingers and toes... even fingerprints. It's amazing to think about. We appreciate your prayers for our growing family.

NOT ЗАСУХИНО!!!

We're all familiar with no smoking signs and no parking signs that have a picture or a letter or a word with a diagonal slash through it. Well, an interesting use of that here is city signs. Instead of having signs that say entering or exiting such-and-such city, they have signs like those above. This sign happens to be for ЗАСУХИНО (Zasukhino) which is a very small town between Ulan-Ude and Lake Baikal. When I think about it it makes a lot of sense, but because of the context I associate it with it feels harsh like, "this is Zasukhino," and, "this is NOT Zasukhino," or, "we are anti-Zasukhino." I feel like I can't really put in into words, but hopefully you enjoy another little taste of Russia, and can laugh with us.

Siberia Impressions from Erin

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(Jami writing) A common question that people ask here is: "What are your impressions of Siberia?". Since Erin has fresh impressions, we're giving her this chance to write about them on our blog. If you come to Siberia to visit us, you can write on our blog, too.

(Erin writing) It's been a long time since I've even been able to think about Siberia without a smile. Places that friends love, I start to love. That's especially true now. When Jami first told me (in our dorm room @ CWU) that she was going to Siberia for the summer I couldn't imagine it at all. 8 years later, here I am. Here are a few of my impressions:

• It's not that cold. : ) (At least in April)
• The birch trees outside the city gleam in the sunlight; it's just beautiful.
• The fruits and vegetables here are lovely.
• They serve fish to you here with the head still on.
• The Marshrootkas (mini-busses) are a fantastic & efficient way to get around town.
• Ulan Ude is much more casual than Moscow (fewer polished-looking women in heels).
• It's poor; people seem to live just fine with what they have.
• The babies here are very very bundled; the kids are adorable.
• People don't smile as much as people generally do in the States; the Christians smile more.
• The roads are bumpy (ie: I will never again complain about the potholes in Seattle).
• There is a lot of paperwork, for a lot of things...and it's copied & re-copied by hand.
• Sometimes the shops and Post Office close in the middle of the day.
• The tea, piroshky, salads and soup here are delicious...and a great deal!
• A person can buy just about anything here, but maybe not consistently at the same store.
• Locals are nice to non-English speakers after a short while.
• The music is unlike any I've heard in the States; I like it.
• Most people live in apartments; the older (wooden) apartments remind me of Dr Zhivago.
• There are not flowers yet in the city in April, but there's hope it'll start to turn greener soon.
• The painted window shutters on the houses all over are a favorite thing of mine.
• It doesn't feel like Europe or like Asia...maybe it feels like its own continent.

You should come. : ) The travel is an adventure. The food's yummy. Leif and Jami's apartment is beautiful & comfortable. The company's great (Jami and Leif are awesome, as you agree) & their friends here are quite wonderful.

Erin

Happy Day

Today two very exciting things happened. The first (and most exciting) is that our friend, Erin, arrived for a visit!! It's been SO fun to catch up today and to have our close friend here. The second exciting thing is that we saw our first flowers of the season! What a welcome sight after a long winter. Spring is officially here. Erin says the flowers look like crocuses with fur on them. Leif says that the fact that the river is completely unfrozen is also a sign that spring is here. I say "howdy do".

j

We Live in Hollywood!

There's something we failed to mention, when we told you about our new neigborhood. It's really quite a special neighborhood because it's "Hollywood"! We definitely feel like movie stars living here (just kidding). We're not really sure what this building is (it's empty) or why there's a Hollywood sign, but it's fun. And it's what you first see when you enter our area.

There are English signs all over the city, and many of them are perplexing. Sometimes people will have strange English sayings on their clothing and we wonder if they really know what it is saying. It definitely adds humor to our days, though.

Christ is Risen!

Happy Easter!! Something I LOVE about this holiday in Russia is that many people say (in Russian), "Christ is Risen"... on the street, in the stairwell, on public transportation.... and the reply is, "He is risen indeed!" It is so interesting to me because most people here don't have faith in Jesus. Many people don't even know what they are saying. But I love hearing those words all around me, and I pray that people will come to know this Christ that they speak of once a year.

We had a lovely Easter. Our church had a social after the service, where we drank tea, and ate different treats. We brought colored eggs to contribute (most people bring sweet things, and it's nice to add something not-sweet to the mix). The pastor held up the eggs and told everyone the Christian symbolism behind them. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the meaning. But apparently, a few years ago, there was great debate within the church of whether colored eggs should be allowed because they are associated with paganism. But they found some religious meanings, too, and it was all okay. Phew! I'm glad we didn't cause an uproar!

In the afternoon, Leif and I delivered cupcakes to different store workers in our neighborhood. The response was mostly positive, although one sweet lady felt badly that she didn't have anything to give us. I didn't realize this, but culturally people feel like they need to return a kind act. We need wisdom to know how to reach out to people without them feeling indebted.

In the evening, we had some of our teammates over for dinner. I had read online about "resurrection eggs", where you hide 12 eggs, and each has a symbol inside (along with a Bible verse) that shares the Easter story. Of course, they don't sell plastic colored eggs here, but we bought some chocolate "Kinder Surprises" that have a plastic egg inside and used those. Us girls hid the eggs in really hard places and the guys had to find them. It was fun to watch them search! Then it was neat to reflect upon all that our Saviour has done for us. It really is amazing that He would choose to suffer and die in our place. It really makes no sense... but I am so thankful!

We pray that your Easter is filled with God's goodness.

Our View

People have asked to see our "view" from our new apartment. This is it! We live in a region of town that's not as congested. And actually, our rent is about half of what it would be if we lived more in the center of town! We see kids playing outside a lot. In the back are "garages" for the people who have cars. Everyone tells us that we will eventually want a car. I don't believe it!! I LOVE not having a car! I think cars are stressful and expensive (especially in Russia). I feel like more time on public transportation keeps life from moving too fast. It gives us extra time to pray and to think. For this season, I'm enjoying being "carless".

Last night I was encouraged in my language. The Wickers had us and a Russian couple from church over for dinner, and the whole time was spent talking in Russian. Even though it is still effortful to compose sentences, I realized that my comprehension of the language has grown leaps and bounds! I found that I understood almost every conversation. This was especially encouraging after a difficult week in class (where I felt stupid 60% of the time). I feel like I'm more able to relate with people and understand their hearts. This helps so much.

Of course, we still have a ways to go. We heard a statistic that if a non-English speaker wants to learn English, it takes about 600 hours of study... but if a non-Russian speaker wants to learn Russian, it takes about 4,000 hours!!! I believe it! I've started reading Russian outloud because I heard that this is supposed to help. I feel kind of silly (and only started this week), but already I feel like it's helping some. Of course, the best way to learn is to talk with people.

20 Minutes of Terror and You're Home

This sign was posted in a marshrutka recently, and it adequately describes what it is like to ride in one of these vans used for public transportation. Whenever I ride up front next to the driver, it becomes all the more clear the miracle it is that we are alive and that we can get places so quickly. Here are some of the driver's job descriptions:

- He keeps an eye on the side of the street for people who are flagging him down.

- He keeps his ears open inside the van for people who tell him they want off at the next stop.

- He collects everyone's money.

- He makes change for their money (or sometimes he just receives a lot of change that he counts out).

- He dodges potholes and obstructions in the road (these are numerous).

- He dodges people who are in the middle of the road (also a common occurance).

- He avoids other marshrutkas and cars that are also darting and weaving.

- He listens to loud music.

- He drives very fast.

It really is impressive to see a marshrutka driver in his element. However, it can also produce this kind of terror that the sign talks about. You should come and visit us in Ulan Ude and go for a marshrutka ride!!

Our New Home

We officially moved into our new apartment this past week. After cleaning the floors multiple times to get rid of wallpaper glue and dust, it now feels liveable.... and sooo nice to be in our own place! We couldn't have asked for a better apartment. We see God's hand all over finding this place. We're still getting furniture (so that our clothes and belongings won't stay in piles on the floor). But we have a kitchen table and a couch, so we now feel that we can invite people into our new home and develop relationships with people from our new church and neighborhood. What a blessing!

Speaking of blessings, our teammate, John, and his son, Matthew, came over this week to help Leif assemble our bed and nightstands. They were delivered in tiny little pieces! I think the guys had fun doing it, though, and it saved us the cost of assembly. We will post more pictures as our rooms are more in order (and our clothes are off the floor!) I think our kitchen is the nicest kitchen in all of Ulan Ude! The landlords really did a nice job with the cabinets, tiles, and flooring. The only thing we still need for this room is curtains.

Extreme Picnic

We have some pretty crazy people among the students that come to Compass, and that is where the idea of an "extreme picnic" came from. The youth club at our church thought this was a great idea and they joined in too. The centerpiece for this "extreme picnic" was the set up you see in the picture. Three good sized innertubes anchored to the back of Shannon's car. Actually Shannon was afraid she may drive too extreme and so Gardner and his son Andrew did the piloting for our little expedition. Things have been warming up so we were a little bit scared that things might melt and we would be sliding around in the mud instead of on the snow, but as you can see, our fears were unfounded. After everyone took a few rounds on the innertubes we cooked up hotdogs and everyone shared an extreme moment from their lives. Everyone enjoyed being whipped around behind the car, the conversations around the fire, and the giant soccer game we all played at the end. I can see this "extreme picnic" idea catching on.

Dancing the Yohor

Thanks Yulia for correcting me on the Yohor thing. I put the wrong thing, but I really did think that is sounded like people were saying yolka. Actually a yolka is a small pine tree like a Christmas tree and sometimes people do dance around those. For those who haven't read this blog yet, forget what you just read and enjoy what we share below.
The Yohor is a sort of Buryat national dance. We had another one of our meetings to learn about the Buryat culture today, and we learned the Yohor. It is a dance that traditionally the Buryats did often for fun and relaxation. You danced hand in hand with everyone in a circle, which worked well in the yurt which is the traditional housing for the Buryats. A yurt is a sort of large, round tent. Buryats will do this dance anywhere though, and so that's what we did. We danced the Yohor in a Russian Baptist church, which for those who are familiar with how traditionally conservative that church is, know that this is a good step of openness and effort to reach out to the Buryats here.
Also, just to let you know, the re-wallpapering project in our new apartment is almost done, so we should have some pictures coming soon.

We're Back!

It's been so good to have some time away from the daily routine and to be reminded of God's incredible love for the Buryats and Russians. God's been impressing on both of us to trust Him in praying for big things- expecting Him to work in powerful ways. It's exciting... we serve a great God!

We heard rumor that the winter will end soon, but we will believe it when we see it. The above picture depicts a common scene every day on almost every street: workers pick-pick-picking away at the ice. The mystifying thing is that the ice continues to build up... even when it doesn't snow! We can't figure out why, but I do have one theory. I think it's from spit. Everyone spits everywhere. That would make a lot of ice.

The above street has been newly done in the past few years. It's called "Arbot Street" (like the famous one in Moscow) and is a walking street designed to show off the best of Ulan Ude. In the summer, flowers and fountains line the street and people just "hang out" all around.

Our aparment could be ready as early as next week! After we finish our homework today, we're going to go bed shopping. We saw one yesterday that had a big cabinet for storage behind the headboard. We've come to really appreciate storage, living in tight quarters.

"White Month" has Begun

On Friday, we had a wonderful time with Buryat, Russian, and foreign believers. In lieu of the beginnig of the White Month (Buryat holiday of cleansing), we sang ate white foods such as posie (see women making it above) and other white foods such as apples, salamat (sour cream mixed with flour) and pancakes. We sang worship songs in Buryat, and a couple of men shared scriptures about the cleansing we can experience through the One True God. We pray that many people here will come to know the cleansing that comes through Jesus.

Also, this weekend, we met with our new landlords to sign official papers for our new apartment. We were there for a few hours, ate with them, sang with them, and declined a lot of alcohol... but we never signed the papers. They want to be sure that the bathroom is remodeled before we move in. Of course, we appreciate this sentiment, but we are also anxious to sign the papers!! All-in-all, it was nice to get to know our landlords more. They are very warm and hospitable. The above picture will be our new living room! (minus the furniture and curtains).

On Saturday we moved out of the apartment we were in and are now in an interim apartment. We are thankful to have a place to stay. Tomorrow we are leaving the country to renew our visas. We have to do this every six months. Because of this, we will probably be away from Internet access for awhile. We'll update you on more when we return!

The Singing Duo

Last night, Leif and I sang in a talent show at Compass. Leif translated the worship song "Before You" into Russian. Talent shows are very popular in Russian... and usually very long. There was singing, dancing, dribbling a soccer ball and basketball, the showing of a drawing, the tasting of different treats, and humorous antidotes. It's always fun to see people in a different light and to learn more of Russian and Buryat culture.

The White Month

Sunday marks the start of Sagalgan or "White Month" here in Buryatia. This holiday is deeply entwined with Buddhism (and originates from the Chinese New Year) and is very much a family holiday for Buryats here.

The picure above is me with my language partner, Ira. She is so sweet and so helpful in talking with me about life and culture... and correcting my grammar along the way. Yesterday she shared a bit about her thoughts with the White Month coming. It's always been such a part of her life growing up, but now she is a believer. She said she's thought a lot about what is right as far as celebrating this holiday. She wants to honor her family, but she doesn't want to dishonor God. She knows that the meat in the posie (Buryat dumplings) is sacrificed to idols, and she simply wants to do what is best. She must decide by Sunday, when the month-long holiday begins. I pray God gives her great wisdom and love in these next few days.

Please pray for Buryatia during this time. It is often a dark time when believers here feel discouraged and oppressed. We want to live as children of the light!

On The Train To China

SEND International has a ministry in Russia to the Chinese population here. Many of these people don't speak much Russian (or English!) so it is difficult to reach out to them. Last week, a group of Chinese Christians (who live in Russia) along with two westerners, took the train from Moscow to Ulan Ude to share Jesus (in Mandarin) with the Chinese passengers. They booked tickets all the way to Bejing (even though they got off before) so that they could be in the same train cars as those who were heading to Bejing. This was a strategic time, as the Chinese New Year begins next week, and many travel home to be with their families.

There were 50-60 Chinese passengers on board, and after 4 days and nights of traveling and sharing with them, 15 made decisions to follow Christ with their lives (many in the last hours of the trip). It is hard to follow-up with these people, as the nature of the ministry is while traveling, but the exciting thing is that many people who've made decisions for Christ from past train trips are still strong in their faith. In just a few years, a Chinese church in Krasniarsk grew from 5 to 70... plus many of the believers have since gone back to China.

And then, after they arrived in Ulan-Ude, this group met with some of the Chinese population here, and 4 more made decisions for Christ! Many Chinese people are hungry to hear the good news of Jesus and respond readily. It is neat to think of how they are being reached in Russia!

The picture is of three of these Chinese Chistians singing a song at church on Sunday. The picture behind them is one of the chalk drawings from the VTI team that was here a few weeks ago.

Leif's Birthday

Thank you to everyone who sent cards, emails, and gifts to Leif for his birthday!! We had fun bowling with our teammates and then came back to our apartment for German chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. John gave a big speech upon presenting Leif with his gift (a wonderful tool box). This speech followed Russian tradition and was very wordy and lengthy.

The first picture is of Leif blowing out his candles. Elisabeth (from Germany) had never heard of or tried German Chocolate cake before. And incidently, it's much sweeter than any cakes in Germany. The second picture is the applause after the speech, and the third pic is at the bowling alley. I think it's funny because only Leif knew I was taking the picture and gave a huge grin for the camera.

Thank you, Mama Irene and Papa Eric, for having such a delightful boy!! =)

Toilet Soap

We ran out of hand soap the other day, so Leif picked out a bar that had nice packaging and said "milky". Of course, he thought that sounded nice and so he purchased it. Well, when he got home, unwrapped the soap, and began to use it, he made a horrible face with a wrinkled nose. I asked him what was the matter and he said that the new soap was really stinky. We looked more closely at the packaging, and below the "milky" part, it says "toilet soap". What is toilet soap? This is a mystery to us.

We haven't been good about taking our camera with us places lately (hence, more pictures of "items" than "people" the last few blogs). Right now, Leif is cross country skiing with an old friend from when he lived here before. This guy is a Buryat and used to call himself a believer and went to church frequently. Sadly, in the last couple of years, he's fallen away. It's really neat because he continually pursues Leif and their friendship. I'm praying that God is giving Leif love and wisdom as they're together today.

The family whose apartment we're living in will return in 1 1/2 weeks, so this next week, we'll be packing, organizing, and cleaning. We've also been having different people over for dinner, seeking to develop closer relationships with the people here. We were both encouraged with language classes this week. God truly is our help.

Alcohol

This morning on the way to church we had an interesting interaction in the Marshrutka (those vans that run bus routes). There were a couple of guys that guessed pretty quickly that we were foreigners and started to talk with us. They asked what we were doing here in Ulan-Ude, and we shared a little bit with them. Then I asked them what they did, and they simply said, "We drink vodka." That was it! Of course then they tried to pass me the open beer they were drinking on the marshrutka so that I wouldn't be left out. I declined, as I've had to do often here, and then asked if they did anything else and they said, "no." I'm sure they actually do work because of how they were dressed, but it was another reminder of the stark reality of emptiness that consumes so many lives here. So many people live in a state of hopelessness and alcohol becomes their reprieve. Vodka helps them forget about anything else. And it's not just a physical hopelessness either. Alcholism is affecting all strata of society here from the richest to the poorest. It just reminds us that without the knowledge of a good and loving God, there is no option but hopelessness. The above picture, from the stairwell just outside our apartment, is a common sight and one of the least ugly reminders of alcoholism here.

XL-XXXXXL

It's a little hard to see what this picture is, but it's a tag for my ultra-thick tights that says XL-XXXXXL. Yes, that is seven X's total. And the worst part is that they don't pull up all the way. But they are warm!

Remember back to when I said I'd broken 4 chairs in 4 months? Well, today in the cafeteria, I broke #5. All I could do was laugh... what else is there to do?

On to more exciting news, we looked at an apartment today that is a dream come true!!! It's right across the hallway from Elisabeth, it's clean and in good shape, the owner said we can pick out our own wallpaper, she'll move out all of the gross furniture (no bed bugs!), and it's inexpensive! And it's in an area of the city where there's less pollution. And it's on the third floor (my floor of preference... not so low that it's easy to break into, but not so high that it's a burden to walk up and down all of the time). We have a verbal agreement with the owner, and need to sign papers next week, after she returns from a trip. So, basically we just need to make it "legally offical" and wait on them to finish up some remodeling with the place. If all goes well, it should be ready for us by March 10th.... Yippee!! We are praising God for His goodness to us. This really is a miracle to find this place.