Yippee!!!

Yesterday morning, I was feeling stressed because we needed to leave tomorrow for Mongolia to renew our visas and were preparing to be gone up to a month. We hadn't bought train tickets yet because you're not allowed to until the day before, our plans to stay at a Christian guest house had fallen through, and every time Leif tryed to pay for a hotel for us to stay in for the first few nights, the travel agent was busy or out of the office and he wasn't able to. Besides that, Anneka still has a little bit of a cough and I'm still sick and my energy is just LOW. I hadn't packed a thing (other than throwing a bunch of Anneka's clothes on her bed) and it just seemed looming to try to remember everything that we wouldn't have access to for a few weeks. So when Anneka was down for her morning nap, I took a few minutes to just sit and read my Bible. And this really stuck out to me in Jeremiah 32:17, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you." I knew that God was telling me that He is way bigger than any visas or paperwork or government officials. And that if He wanted to, He could make it so that we wouldn't have to go to Mongolia. But even as this crossed my mind, I seriously doubted. For that to happen, it would mean that we would obtain our temporary residency in less than two months after turning in our paperwork- and I've never HEARD of that happening! It is supposed to take 6 months. (and in my experience here, everything always comes right down to the wire) But I confessed my doubt and acknowledged that if God wanted, He could definitely make things work so that we wouldn't have to leave the country. And if He didn't, I could trust that He wanted us in Mongolia for some reason and would give us the strength we needed.

Well, Leif went down to the immigration office today and they are giving us our temporary residency NOW and we don't have to go to Mongolia!!! This truly is a miracle. What's even more amazing is that our letters of invitation aren't finished (we would have needed these to take with us to Mongolia tomorrow to get our visas)... and they're going to give us our money back for the paperwork process on those. If we didn't have our residency, we'd have to wait for our letters of invitation to be sent to us in Mongolia and THEN wait another 2-4 weeks for our visa processing. We could've been there a couple of months!! And the only money we spent was on photos for our visas, but I think it was worth it because Anneka's is so cute- she's grinning from ear-to-ear in it. Some of our friends from Ulan Ude are trapped in Mongolia now and were declined visas. What's worse is that they can only stay in Mongolia for 30 days, and after that they have to go on to China or Thailand. They joke that they're banished from Siberia- the place that criminals used to be banished TO. They have five kids. Pray for them!

So, this has turned out to be kind of long, but I know that this was God showing His power and reminding us that He's in control of everything. I'm so thankful that we're in His loving hands!

Oh, and by the way, our balcony is the one right "under" Leif's hand.

Happy Birthday, Inka!

Yesterday was Inka's birthday, and she had a nice party at her apartment in the evening. It was SO great because Anneka was sleeping peacefully before the party, and I thought, "I wish we had a baby moniter so that we could hear from Inka's place when she wakes up". With her being sick, especially, I want her to get all the rest she needs... and I didn't want either Leif or me to miss the party. Well, a few minutes later, Leif came home with a package from my parents and grandparents... and there was a moniter inside!! It was so great. They also sent cute clothes for Anneka, including bigger socks and pajamas. She's growing so fast that the other day I realized she's almost grown out of her pajamas!

Once Anneka awoke and joined the party, she was immediately accosted by everyone. She liked the attention. I hardly saw her all evening, but when I did see her, she was happy. I loved the variety of people at the party- young, old, from different countries, ex-drug addicts, etc. It was great. And they were all there to celebrate Inka.

Guess what?! There is now a Mexican restaurant here!! Yes, we can hardly believe it ourselves. Inka and I were going to try it out for a birthday lunch, but the restaurant's phone was temporarily out of service, so we didn't want to go all the way there and find it closed. But we are very excited to see if it's any good!

A Happy First Mother's Day

I had a lovely Mother's Day. (In Russia, people celebrate Women's Day in March, but they don't have a Mother's Day.) Leif made me breakfast and dinner, Anneka made me a sweet card, and we had a nice lunch of cabbage soup with people from church. I'm so thankful for such a beautiful daughter and loving husband!

Anneka has had a cough for 3 weeks now. I started freaking out yesterday after reading in a couple of medical books and wrote to a doctor in the States. Then last night we had our friend, Ksusha (who is a doctor) come over and listen to Anneka's lungs. They sound good. I think her cough is getting better, but we appreciate your prayers! Thankfully, Anneka is still happy and has energy. She cut two new teeth in the last week, too... so now she has four! She's such a joy.

We Love You, Nellie!

It was both sad and sweet to hear the news recently that Nellie Long left this earth to be with Jesus. Nellie has been a part of Leif's life since he was a boy, and she and her husband, Shorty, were always such an encouragement to him growing up. Every time we traveled to Darrington, Leif and I both looked forward to seeing Nellie, and each time wondered if it would be our last time with her on this earth, as she was in her nineties.

Nellie told us that she prayed for us daily. She prayed for several people daily, starting geographically with those close to her and moving outward to other parts of the world. One day we'll know all of the ways that God answered her prayers. Nellie reminds us of the importance and power of prayer. We want to live a prayerful, faith-filled life like her.

The picture above is from our last time to see Nellie at her birthday party in August. This sweet, beautiful person will be missed by so many. We love to think of her dancing around up in heaven.

Busy Girl

Anneka loves her walker and has gotten quite proficient at using it. She loves to use it to get into things- watching her while she's in her walker is a full time job! She's very fast and likes to ram into your legs if you're not careful. She also has a special interest in the garbage can. We're thankful it has a cover.

Before we left for the States, last summer, we commissioned some guys from a Christian rehabilitation center to make these shelves for us. When we came back, the shelves were all made and standing in our hallway! Living in a small apartment, you have to find creative ways to make more space. I love these shelves, and think they're great for Anneka's toys and books.

A lot of times after men are in prison and/or have histories of a lot of drug and alcohol use, it's really difficult for them to find jobs. This rehabilitation center is so neat in that it provides jobs for these men through carpentry... and it's a great deal for us! The shelves were about $45. What is even cooler, I think, about this center, is that the guys spend months just reading their Bibles. That's it. Sometimes they do it in groups and sometimes alone, but that's the main part of the "rehabilitation". And you know what? These guys' lives are changed for forever. At first they hate it and think it's so boring/stupid/pointless to read the Bible so much. But then God's words penetrate into their hearts, and they are changed. It's really evident in meeting these guys that they are new men.

We've been sick this week and are still in the process of getting better. It's so silly, but I feel like it's my fault if Anneka has a cold because people here will tell me it's because I didn't dress her warm enough or I went outside with her when it was windy... and I start to kind of believe it. The last three days I've just kept her home, letting her sleep a lot. Today she was barreling around in her walker between coughs, so I think she's on the road back to health.

Jesus Is Risen!

Today we celebrated Easter, as it's observed according to the Orthodox calendar here in Russia. We had a nice church service, with a time to eat lunch together afterwards. I really like how people say "Jesus is risen!" and the answer is "He is risen, indeed"... even from people on the street. After church, Leif, Anneka, and I had a lovely afternoon and evening. We all took a nap, snuggled together and then we sang praise songs about all that Jesus has done for us, hid eggs around the house to find, and read verses about Christ's death and resurrection. It was a good day.



At our little store, they had little cakes that have "XB" written on them (Christos Voscres- Jesus is Risen), and you see this sort of thing all over.



Anneka slept through our lunchtime. We brought dyed eggs and fruit to contribute to the feast.



As we got ready to leave church today, we found little Vanya (who is smaller than Anneka), lying on the bed like this. All you could see was the tip of his nose! I'm sure he was suffering from a major case of heat stroke. Anneka thought he was really funny and kept poking at his lethargic body.

Goolyating

One of the most common questions moms ask me here is when I "goolyat" with Anneka each day... meaning, when do I go for a walk so that she'll sleep and get fresh air. Many moms goolyat twice a day. I think fresh air is good for babies, and often I goolyat simply because I have errands to run and have Anneka with me. But by no means do I gooyat twice a day! I'd never get anything done at home and Anneka usually wakes up as soon as we come back to the warm apartment (and I don't want to goolyat for two hours at a time). I like to goolyat with other moms and find it a good connecting point. And if Leif and I don't have evening plans, we like to walk together. It's a perfect time because Anneka often needs a "catnap" in the evening but doesn't go to sleep as easily as her other two daily naps. As soon as we exit the apartment, she's fast asleep on Leif, cuddled in the ergo baby carrier. It's so cute.

This is what she looked like the other day after goolyating. She was so tired, that she didn't stir when we entered the apartment and went on to sleep in her bed. A lady told me that I need to stuff paper in the pink hat so that it doesn't fall down over Anneka's eyes. I didn't realize it was still so big on her- I liked it because it covered her ears!

A Busy Weekend

We had a fun weekend, but a busy one- especially for Leif. Leif got a call on Friday afternoon, asking if he could share at churh on Sunday. This alone is a difficult thing to do in English on short notice but is especially hard in Russian. And he got the call right before he left for class. Directly after class, he went to a practice for a student spring performance that he was in and after that we had dinner at a friend's house.

We had plans to go on a picnic the next day with a Russian and Romanian family, and we'd all decided just to be gone between 2:00 and 6:00 so that we could do other things that day. Well, on Thursday and Friday, the weather was about 68 degrees, but on Saturday, it was 28 degrees and snowing. So much of Saturday morning involved phone calls from the two families working on a plan B. Also, Leif had to get some documents to a lady who's helping us get our next visa.

So, our plan B was to go to a dacha of a grandma in the church. (A dacha is a little cabin on a plot of land for having a garden). When we got there, the guys had to break in through a window because they couldn't find the key (apparently the grandma told them to do this!) We hung out and ate lunch, cooked potatoes in the inside stove and shishkabobs on an outdoor grill. It was windy and bitingly cold, but really fun to be with friends. We ended up not getting home until almost 10:00! Leif had written a rough draft of what he was going to share that morning and went over to Chingis' house to refine it that night, getting home after midnight. Chingis is such a good friend! The next day was filled with church, homework, and friends over. A full but good weekend.

I had a picture of a bunch of us at the dacha, but it was blurry. =( The last picture is all of us squeezed into Vitya and Sveta's van- 6 people in the back seat, 5 in the middle, and two up front. You can't even see all of us in the picture!!




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Did you say, "mama?"

Yes, there was a bit of a bittersweet moment for me this last week. For weeks now we have thought that maybe Anneka is saying, "hi," but we're not sure. It is really sweet to think that she is saying that and sometimes she will say it after we say, "hi," to her, but it certainly is not something she will do on demand. Well, that isn't the bittersweet moment. As papa, I get to take my turns with Anneka in things like comforting her to help her get to sleep when she is having trouble. The other night I was getting one of these turns and was happy for it as I had been away much of the day and was looking forward to a sweet moment like this with my daughter. Well, as I pull out my best soothing voice and gently massage Anneka's back, her cry got stronger and then she burst out with a full-lunged cry of, "mama-mama." Actually it was just a repeating of the sound, "ma," or maybe even, "am," I can't tell you for sure, but Jami heard this from the other room and is certain that it was, "mama." Of course she was very touched as our baby screamed out her "name". As her papa, I was excited to hear her say a word, but I have to say that as her papa trying to comfort her I felt a little bit sad. I asked her if she thought her papa was, "chopped liver," but she didn't answer the question other than continuing her crying with a few "mama-mama's" mixed in there. she has actually repeated this cry one or two times since so we feel like it's for real. It's okay though, I'm not overly sad as I've been trying to work on her first full sentence from the beginning--Papa, I love you! I mean it would be nice if she just said papa, but when I add the next part onto it I know it will just melt me. Keep checking and we'll continue to keep you updated on Anneka milestones.

Happy Half Birthday, Anneka!

Anneka is 6 months old today, and to celebrate she had her first meal of rice cereal. She seemed to like it- she just got a look on her face like, "My parents are subjecting me to something a little strange again"... but she took it in stride and especially liked it if she got to hold the spoon. She's growing so fast!

The horse pizza turned out pretty good, as long as I didn't think about it. I fried it up before I put it on, and our apartment stunk like horse afterwards. Leif said it was all in my head, but it's true!

Birds With Bar Codes and Horse Pizza

Okay, so at the store today, I had to get a picture of these birds that just sit in the chest freezer as whole birds... with bar code stickers on them. It's so funny. I felt really self-conscious taking a picture (with all the guards standing around), so I just snapped it really quickly and went on my way. But we left the store, I told Inka that it wasn't a very good picture and she said we could take a picture with her holding it. So we went back inside and took this picture...


... and we got yelled at. But it was worth it. Inka just sweetly replied, "Oh okay, now we'll know for next time". And we left.

Here's a question. Are onions any good when they sprout like this? This happened after only having them a week. I've been using lots of onions and potatoes lately, but I buy big bags of them and don't know what to do when they sprout.

You're probably wondering what "horse pizza" means from the title. Should I tell you about my blunder? Okay, I will. I accidently bought horse sausage today. It was right next to the normal sausage I get but it looked better (less wrinkly) and so I asked the meat lady for it by pointing instead of using the name (like I normally would do) and realized my mistake when I got home. But I've been CRAVING pizza and had planned on making it for dinner. And I'm a little embarrassed to say that it's still in the plan. We'll see how it goes. I told Leif and he was really sweet about it and said it's supposed to be healthier and leaner than other meat. What a great husband!

Another Store Picture

Anneka and I went to get eggs and milk yesterday at the little store in our building. The ladies who work there are so nice and are always so happy to see Anneka. The lady pictured said, "The little miracle girl has arrived". She was SO happy when I let her hold Anneka. She walked around with her, showing her all of the products behind the counter, and said several times to her coworkers, "I've never seen a baby smile this much". She kept squeezing her little baby body, and I almost thought she wasn't going to give her back! =) I like that I can connect with these ladies through sharing Anneka. I feel like more doors are open with people than ever before.
A sweet moment from today: On my way home from being out, a little boy offered to carry my bag for me, as I was holding Anneka. He carried it all the way up the stairs and stopped at our door. I thought that was so sweet! Someone trained him well.

Anneka With Her Papa

This morning Anneka hung out with her papa while he read his Bible. They were so cute together in their matching white shirts and jeans! She likes to hang out with us, but is content to play by herself, too. It's so nice. Yesterday I spent a lot of time in the kitchen, and I moved her between the johny-jump-up, her walker, and an infant chair, and she was so happy and talked with me while I worked. Yesterday and today there is a conference put on by local Buryat believers (and others) to pray for the Buryats, be encouraged by different speakers, and to talk about how we best share the great news of Jesus with the people of Buryatia. Anneka and I went for a little while yesterday, and I was so touched by the songs we sang (in both Buryat and Russian) about how people from every nation and tongue will one day be singing praises to our Father. Leif is there now and I look forward to hearing how today's time went.

This picture is a little more close-up so that you can see Anneka's little lower teeth. They came in a month ago, and I think her top ones are coming soon because she keeps biting everything and her mouth seems like it's sore.

Jami In Her Russian Lesson

A New Mentality In Grocery Shopping

I just got back from the grocery store, and I realized that I have a different mentality shopping in Russia. My nice neighbor, Inka, takes me shopping every week to a bigger grocery store, so I plan out a menu and try to buy everything we'll need for the next seven days. Upon first appearance, this grocery store isn't too different from a supermarket in America, but if you look further, it really is. When you walk inside, there are guards in policeman-like uniforms everywhere and in every aisle, staring to make sure you don't steal anything. (I just learned today, however, that the biggest problem is with workers stealing, and the guards keep their eyes on the store employees). Also, the store may have something one week and never have it again... or not have it for many months. This creates a "hoard-it-now-while-I-can" mentality. Last week, there were frozen peas and beans, and I bought many, many bags. The quantities of some items are often much smaller here. Today I bought eleven packets of powdered sugar, because each packet is only about 1/4 cup and many recipes call for 3 cups. This makes me feel self-conscious, though, when people are staring at the many many packets. My theory, though, is that most Russians don't bake. They just buy cookies. Each week one of the aisles is closed. You never know which one, and you are not allowed to go down that aisle. Today, the baby aisle was closed. Thankfully, we have everything we need in that area for another week. We've come across little free sample stands before for tea and beer. Lastly, I have to be flexible. Usually a few main items from my menu aren't available, so I have to have other options in the back of my mind. The last two weeks, the store didn't have chicken, so that threw off a couple of meals. You'd better believe that the next time it's there, I'll buy a lot and freeze it.

The picture above is of our friends, Marios and Adriana's kids, Ionna, baby Kristina, and Naomi. They're from Romania. We love them. Baby Kristina is 3 1/2 months. It's funny because when I looked at her, I thought, "she's about the same size as Anneka", and then I held her and she was way lighter... and then I looked at the two of them together and realized that Anneka is growing like a weed!

Our Mailbox But Not Really

This is a picture of the mailboxes at the side of our apartment building, and Leif is standing by ours. As you can see, they're not exactly safe... this is why we have another mailbox at the post office. Speaking of which, once I forgot the key to our mailbox and there was a lot of mail in there (we share with teammates). There's a slit in the mailbox, so I stuck my hand in and pulled out what I could. I couldn't reach the stuff at the bottom of the box. But then I tried one of my keys (to one of the seven locks on our front doors) and it worked! However, if we want to pick up a package that someone has sent us, the process is very secure. Nobody else can pick it up for us (unless we have a signed and notorized letter granting permission), and the process goes like this: Open the mailbox and pull out an addressed envelope. Open the envelope to find a package slip. Fill out the back of the slip (it's a little form), including information like your passport number. Go up to the counter and give the lady the form. She gives you another addressed envelope. Open the envelope and find a package slip. Fill out the back of the slip (the form again). Go to another post office. Wait in line (however, we've discovered which times to go to minimize the line). Give the lady your passport and the slip. Wait for her to fill out paperwork (about 3 forms plus recording it in a notebook). Watch the lady dump the package out of a burlap sack onto the floor. Sign another form. Go home with the package!
It's so nice because our teammate and neighbor, Inka, usually picks up our mail for us and gives us the second envelope. And the second post office is right next to where Leif has his classes, so this process is drastically shortened.
Speaking of classes, we've been taking them this week. My first class began with a long grammar test. Oh, my! It was hard. I missed 22 out of 114. I guess it'll just help us to know what to work on. But it made me realize how little I really know in the scope of the language. Yikes. It was perfect because Anneka fell asleep for her nap three minutes after my teacher arrived and woke up just as she was leaving. I had prayed that this would happen and knew that it was God answering that prayer. I need my full brain to focus on this difficult language, and it definitely helps if the little one is sleeping.

Babushkas and Babies

At church today, Baba Ira swiftly stole Anneka from my arms and held her on her lap until she got squiggly. I was thinking about how babas and babies can get away with a lot that other people never could get away with. If a Baba wants to sing a certain song in church, she'll say so in the middle of the service and everyone will accomodate. And if a baba wants to stand up and share something or go to the front to read a poem, she is much entitled. (I like this, by the way) And if a baby pulls on a baba's head covering or pinches her neck with strong hands, it doesn't matter. Babies can just do that. But nobody else would get away with it.

Speaking of church today, Anneka was so noisy! She's been babbling more and more. It's funny because she's not saying any recognizable words, but she talks as though she's a part of the conversation and her inflections sound like they could be a real language. But she was doing this in church, and there's really nowhere to go for a noisy baby. I put her in the baby bjorn and then stuffed her inside of Leif's coat and we went for a little stroll until she fell asleep.

Our language lessons resume this week. It's SO nice because Leif's teacher from last year will come to our aparment two days a week to give me formal teaching. I can learn while Anneka is napping and then on other days have Russians over to learn more conversationally. Leif will also have Alexandra Danielovna as his teacher, but he'll travel to her. We're looking forward to these lessons.

The Other Half of Anneka's Room

So, here's the other half of Anneka's room. It's a small room, so it's hard to really show how everything looks all together. I love the little cheetah shoes from my friend Erin. I can't wait until Anneka fits into them, but I love them as a decoration in the meantime.

We got all of our documents in on Monday! It felt SO good to be done with that part of the process. We'll know if we've been approved for temporary residency in no more than 6 months (and as early as three). The lady at the police station was so nice to us. She let me sign all the papers I needed to at the beginning so I could walk around with Anneka outside (she could see that Anneka was roasting with all of her warm clothes on). And we forgot to turn in one document, and she CALLED us right after we left to tell us... and Leif was able to go right back and turn it in. So nice.

I've discovered one of the main things that make people think that Anneka is either too cold or warm enough, and that's if every part of her ear is covered. If just a little part of her earlobe is showing, everyone will point it out to me. So, we pulled out one of her hats that has little ear flaps. You can't really see it that well in this picture, but I love how Anneka is cuddled up with her Papa, so I had to post this picture, too.

Our Ways Are Not God's Ways

Happy Easter to those of you in America. We’ll be celebrating Easter here in a few weeks.

We’re still looking for a little plastic piece to put up the valance over Anneka’s curtains, but here’s half of her room. (I’ll show the other half after the valance is up). Sadly, our wallpaper border won’t stick- even with the “best” glue. I think it’s because the wallpaper that covers the wall is textured vinyl. But I have plans to use the border to decorate boxes for storage in her closet, so it won’t go to waste. Our friend, Kadie, made the pictures of a hippo, giraffe, and bear directly above Anneka. I think they’re so cute. Incidently, the dress Anneka is wearing is also from Kadie. I love little girls in sweet dresses. The dresses hanging on Anneka’s closet represent the two cultures here: Buryat and Russian.

So we’re hoping to turn in all of our documents for residency tomorrow. This has been such a long process! But God’s been using it to remind me that His ways are not ours. I got to thinking about this when Leif text-messaged me on Thursday, saying that he was at the police station ten minutes before it opened and was already 12th in line. I started thinking about how in OUR minds, the goal is to get all of this paperwork and running around done so that we can get on with what’s “important”, but God is not surprised by any of this stuff and we can trust that He has purpose in waiting in lines and multiple trips to the translation office. When Leif got home, I saw how true this is. His seventh time to the translation office opened up much more conversation with the workers there… and then he ran into a girl from Arlington, Washington (30 minutes away from his hometown) who is looking into starting the process of getting her residency and was so grateful for help that we can give her. This process has also made us feel so loved and cared for by Russian friends who have offered help and encouragement. It’s a reminder of how God loves to show us His love and provision. So, anyways, I’m thankful that God has wonderful plans for us. They may not always include what we anticipate, but we can always trust that He is good.

Still in Process

Well, it was a little optimistic to think that we'd have our paperwork all in on Tuesday. We stood in line at one office and they told us we needed to go to the police station, but when we got there, they said they were only open on Mondays and Thursdays. In the meantime, we discovered that ALL of our documents that we've had translated and notorized have our names misspelled on them. And we've done A LOT of documents- probably at least 20. The translation place will change it all for free because it's their mistake, but we need to have them all notorized again. And poor Leif has stood in long lines at the notorization place for hours. (he's there again right now). And then once it's his turn, it's a detailed process of stamping, signing, being run by the head person, and then having the papers sewn together (with needle and thread). If it all is done in time, we'll go back to the police station this evening to turn everything in. If not, then we'll need to wait until Monday.

The funny story of the week was a taxi ride we took on Monday. We don't normally take taxis here, but we'd had to do a ton of running around downtown and we needed to get Anneka home to feed her (there's really no place to feed her downtown), and the taxi would've saved us 20+ minutes. So, we got in the taxi and the driver went about 6 blocks and his car stopped. He started it and went about one more block and it stopped again... we'd run out of gas! So he left us in the car and we didn't see where he went, but after a few minutes he came back with a water bottle filled with gas and poured it into his gas tank. We're guessing he syphoned it from another car. Then he proceeded to drive to the gas station to fill up and then he took us home. It turned out taking as long or longer than public transportation. The good thing was that I could feed her in the taxi since they don't have carseat laws here.

Today Anneka and I went to our little local store, and one of my favorite ladies was working. It's terrible because I've asked her her name twice before, but it's a name I've never heard and she said her full name, so my brain never grasped what she said... so I need to ask her again. But she was so happy to see us and said she thought we'd never come back. She held Anneka while I sniffed all the different types of deodorant (everything is behind the counter and she brings it to me). In the picture, she's giving me my change. She kept telling Anneka that she was such a little potato. All the store clerks wear uniforms... I think they're really cute.