Kindergarten Graduate

     Anneka's a kindergarten graduate!  And boy, is it a big deal to graduate from kindergarten!  The parents have been meeting for months, collecting money and making plans.  Each family ended up paying about $200 in the end for the graduation and dinner that follows.  Anneka was blessed to have two of the same teachers that she did last year.  They have done a wonderful job of teaching her and caring for her.  We saw a huge difference from last year (preschool) and this year of Anneka assimilating into the class.  Several parents this year told us that they didn't know she was a foreigner.  It has been very positive for Anneka to learn and make friends in this environment.  We are so thankful for God's leading!

I love how all of the girls get all frilled up!  Our friend, Yulia, did Anneka's hair for her.

     They practiced for the last 3 months different dances, songs, and playing musical instruments.  They all each had lines, too.  Anneka, along with 2 other girls was in a skit.  They gave us the lines on a Friday and told her to have them memorized by Monday... and they were LONG!  We prayed about it, and I ran to the neighbors to have them record the lines so that Anneka could hear the lines without Leif or my accent.  She listened about ten times and had it.  We were thanking God!

So cute!

Here she is, receiving her diploma.

They all set off balloons into the sky.

Fly away!

     Then, after the ceremony, we proceeded to a cafe for a huge feast and festivities.  The kids had their own table with kid food (pizza, chicken kaboobs, fries, fruit, juice, cakes).  It's very cultural for kids to eat separately from parents (even at home) and for the kids to eat first.

Then a clown arrived with all sorts of fun games for the kids.

     We watched for awhile and then sat down at our adult table.  Our friend, Yulia, offered to watch Ike and Ella during the evening.  It would have been an extra $50 to add them, and we also knew they'd be pretty tired since we'd arrived after midnight that same day from our hiking trip.  It was nice to know they were having fun and not running around tired with so much commotion (they were at the program, though).

     It was nice to sit with other parents and get to know them better.  Some of the kids in Anneka's class live right by us, so it's especially nice to build that trust since the kids will come over sometimes (and the girls sometimes go to one of the girls' house, too).  Toasts are very common.  There were lots and lots of toasts.  We don't drink any of the alcohol.  I must have had eight glasses of juice!  We were happy to see that everyone drank responsibly and nobody got really drunk.

     There was so much food we couldn't possibly eat it all.  It felt kind of wasteful, but I also know that that's how they do parties here.  So we just enjoyed and felt very full by the end of the night!

     A face painter came.  The kids were SO excited!  I think this picture is so funny.  The girls are posing very seriously.  Anneka is trying to be more serious with her mouth closed, but she just can't contain her excitement TOO much!

And this is a friend who lives in the building next to us that both girls love.  

     The whole celebration was 7 hours!  It was an eventful and exciting day.  And very rewarding to celebrated all that God has done and how He's grown our little girl.  We're so proud of you, Anneka!

Shabur Hike (Part 2)

     The site where we spent our first two nights of the hike was of a concentration camp from WWII for Lithuanians and Japanese.  All of the buildings have been torn down since then, but this cemetary remains.  Lithuanian prisoners were buried here, while the Japanese prisoners were cremated and sent back to Japan.  It's sobering to be in a place like this.  Not only was this camp/hike a time of spiritual growth for the youth, but it was a time of growing in education about the history of what happened in WWII as well as a time to serve.  On two different mornings, the kids worked hard to put up a good portion of this fence around the cemetary.

     Ella decided to go on the hike on the third day, as it was only a little over a mile.  She wanted to be with Papa and joined him and his guys.

     But on this day, a HUGE rainstorm began about 15 minutes into the hike.  Adriana and I had our little boys, and we had parked the van and had a little picnic of really yummy salsa made from eggplant and spread it on bread.  We were happily enjoying our little feast when the first drops began.  Then it turned to torrents and even chunks of ice!  We began driving in search of the littlest hikers to see if they were okay.  We found Anneka with 2 of the leaders, taking shelter under her sleeping mat.

     And Ella and Kristina were camped out with Leif, sitting on their mat (not wanting to go farther).  So we piled the little girls into the van.

     With all of the rain and putting up/tearing down the campsite, the youth also learned a lot of life skills- getting and boiling water, how to put up a tent, how to dig a trench around a tent to protect from the rain pooling inside, how to make a fire with wet wood, etc.  

    Leif gave a devotional one night around the campfire.

     As we were chopping beets, potatoes, and onions, I couldn't help wondering what we would prepare if we were on a camping/hiking trip in the States.  I was pretty sure we wouldn't have soup and hot tea in the summer heat in the middle of the day, but I also couldn't really think of what we WOULD do.  It seemed like we would have a sandwich spread and lemonade.

     One day, Anneka helped by plopping big globs of mayonnaise into people's bowls onto their soup.  This is also something that I used to think was strange (and I avoided it).... but now I think it's yummy, too.

As we were preparing to pack up the last day, we had another rain shower.  We had an encouraging time of building up the kids through words of encouragement and gave out different prizes.  It seemed to mean a lot to them.

     It took us awhile to get back to the church, and the window of our van was broken out from some of the camping gear being pushed against it.  We ended up getting home after midnight (and they turn our elevator off at 10:00).  Adriana and the younger kids stayed the night, and we had to carry all of the gear and some of the kids up seven flights of stairs and then bathe them all.  It was really nice to have Adriana's help the next morning in cleaning and preparing for some guests that were coming.  And that very day was Anneka's kindergarten graduation, which I'll write about soon!

     We had an adventure and were again amazed by how God shows Himself in nature and through people.  We pray for these kids who came, that they will know God's great love for them and give their lives fully to Him!

Shabur Hike (Part 1)

     We had the privilege of going on a hiking trip for the second year in a row.  Leif led a group of teenage guys... they walked together, did activities together in the day, and slept in the same tent.  Most of the teens on this trip aren't Christians, but there were lots of opportunities for them to hear about Jesus and have conversations throughout the four days.  Here, Leif was gathering his group at the little church in Shabur and getting ready to start off on the adventure.

     I had a very fun job.  I got to be a cook with Adriana, my Romanian friend.  She took the lead with everything, so I just had to follow her orders.  And I drove us (and the little ones) along the route of the hike.  Here, you can see our van was very, very full (of food, firewood, archery equipment, tents, sports equipment, and musical instruments).  Thankfully, we drove very slowly and off of the main road.  We didn't run across any other cars. 

     The first day they walked to the site of an old concentration camp from WWII for Japanese and Lithuanian prisoners (more on this in the next post).

It's really fun to see our kids interacting with other kids.  Ella just loved Dasha!

   

     Our boys loved playing together.  They "helped" in the kitchen.  Here, Ike was trying out a potato (uncooked).  He soon discovered that raw potatoes aren't the best.  We got such a late start on the hike, and then the teenage boys had go get water from the river and build a fire.  So we probably didn't have dinner until about 9:00.  I would have totally been stressed about this, even a year ago.  But this year, it didn't I was able to take it in stride.  =)

     In the mornings and evenings, we had a time of singing praise songs to God and a devotional time.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy this time.

     Ella usually doesn't take naps anymore, but since we were going to bed at midnight each night, I made her take a nap each afternoon.  She would fight me on it, but then within 5 minutes she'd be asleep.  This day was really hot, and she slept in the cool of the shade of the kitchen screened tent.  She was so sweet curled up there.  

     

     Leif let different times of sports- soccer, frisbee, American football.  They had a lot of fun!

     One day the campers all had a secret friend.  Anneka's friend gave her these pretty flowers (it was a sweet teenage boy that drew her name).  Ella liked the flowers so much that she wanted her picture with them..  A group of boys picked some beautiful orange flowers for me and Adriana, and then someone said that they shouldn't be picked because they're an endangered species.  After that, I felt sad every time I looked at them.  We even brought them all the way home after the hike to enjoy every last moment with the rare flowers.

     Anneka got to be in her own group with her own camp counselor!  She loved being one of the big girls and sleeping in a different tent from Mama.  It was fun to see her interacting with her group and enjoying the week!

     There were so many dishes to clean!  Even though each person washed their own cup, bowl, and spoon, there were still a lot of  pots and pans and cutting boards to clean.  Ike really liked helping me with this job!

     The little ones and I shared a tent with Adriana and her littlest guy.  It got really COLD in the night.  A couple of nights, I shared a sleeping bag with Ella and Ike so that we could warm up.

Each morning Leif led the group in exercises before breakfast.

Singing praise songs to God!

     The kids also got to experience archery and learning how to shoot with a bow and arrow.  Anneka said it was hard work and took a lot of strength to hold the bow.

     Before lunch one day while the older kids were helping to build a fence around the cemetary of the concentration camp, the girls helped peel carrots for lunch.  They liked to be in their group, but they also liked to know that their moms were nearby! =)

Here's our group!

Busy Times

     The very next day after our family returned from our trip to Lake Baikal with Asya's family, Leif went back to Baikal with a group of pastors from across Buryatia for a conference on Training National Trainers.  They each had to prepare a short sermon from a passage of scripture.  They were timed and had to answer several questions within their sermon in 5 minutes or less.  Leif chopped and chopped his until it was exactly 5 minutes.  He spoke really fast and got it in just in time.  Everyone clapped!  =)

     In the background you can see the yurts where these guys slept.  When I asked Leif if he was able to get any rest that week, he said it was fairly easy to get to bed at a reasonable hour because it gets dark by 11:00 and there was no elecricity.  The guys were joining hands for a closing prayer time.  The week was filled with good relationship building and growing in skills that these men can pass on to others.

     

     While Leif was gone, the kids and I were busy.  Anneka still had school, and it was rainy several days, so this is always a huge feat to get everyone dressed, fed, out the door, and through the long walk to school.  We also had several guests.  One day a group of moms and kids came (10 in all).  We had originally planned to meet outside, but because of the rain they came over to our place.  I also spent the week helping plan meals with Adriana for our next camp and making a big grocery run for all of the food.  And I did a lot of laundry and prep for camp.  Leif returned Friday night, bringing 3 men home with him.  They were Americans who had led the training time and needed a place to stay before their flight back the next day.  We enjoyed time talking with them.

     Then the next day, I started packing and Leif led the Buryat Partnership.  Then he came home and we loaded up the van and left for Shabur for our hiking trip!  We arrived late that evening.

     The next morning, Leif was asked to preach at this small church.  He slept in the church the night before with a couple of other men.  The kids and I, along with Adriana and her kids slept at a very kind family's home, so Leif had a little extra time that morning to prepare without the distractions that our family can bring!  Leif told me to remind him to try not to have so many things crazy back-to-back in the future!

     After the service, we were all busy preparing for the start of the hike later that afternoon!  At one point, I hadn't seen Ike for anwhile, so I went looking for him.  I found him with his friend, Bogdan, sitting on this car.  They were both munching on cabbage.  Ike just loves Bogdan.  He calls him "My little boy" (even though Bodgan is 4 and Ike is 2!)  =)

So Fun To Be Four!!!

     We celebrated Ella's fourth birthday in some woods that are within walking distance from our apartment.  Our original plan was to go to the river, but our van was in the shop.  In the end, I think this turned out to be the perfect place to celebrate our little Ella!!  We invited our friends to join us, who have 2 little girls, Anya and Lina.  Our kids love them so much.  We had a picnic with fresh cherries and peaches (just now in season) and chicken wraps with different veggies and sauces.  And chips.  Ella adores chips.

It was so special when this butterfly landed on Anya's hand!

We got each of the kids a bottle of bubbles.  Here, Leif was helping Ella with hers.

     I made Princess Leia cupcakes for Ella. Anneka and I wore our hair like Princess Leia for the day, but Ella wanted her hair in braids.

Ella wanted a candle in each one.  How fun to blow them all out!

     Our friends, Angela and Culley, had sent us Hello Kitty party decorations.  We used them all around our apartment as well as at the party.  Something we recently discovered is that tablecloths are very important to Ella.  If the table has a tablecloth, then it's a real celebration in her mind!

Anneka spelled out Ella's name with some garbage and sticks she found on the ground.

     Our kids faces are ALWAYS dirty.  It's funny because people are constantly pointing out their faces to me, as if I didn't know.  (sometimes people will even wipe them off).  I actually do wipe them off often, but they are dirty again within minutes.  So then I kind of let it go for awhile before the next wipe.  The kids are happy, and we're happy.  A little dirt never hurt.

     Ella pulled her friends up the hill with her stick.

     And at the top of the hill was a little amusement park!  What could be better?!?

Sweet, happy girls!

     And, of course, the picnic wouldn't be complete without ice cream!  Ella likes ice cream so much that on her actual birthday, she had a plan all layed out in her mind.  We were driving back from Lake Baikal and we were SO dirty and it was getting late.  But she so sweetly asked if we could stop at the mall (it's just a little over a year old) and get the scoopable kind of ice cream.  And then sit on the green couch that's in the mall and eat our ice cream together.  This was so funny to me, as this is not something we've ever done before- "stopping at the mall".  It would have never crossed my mind that this would be her birthday wish.  We said we'd stop and see if they were open.  I think it was getting close to 9:00.  But they WERE open, and we got our scoopable ice cream and sat on the couch.  She was happy as a clam.

     After the picnic, Anya and Lina stayed the night.  Ella and Anya had matching pajamas and all of them watched a Tinkerbell movie before going to bed.  What a wonderful day!

We love you, Ella!   You are so thoughtful and loving.  You know how to speak works of love and encouragement and you are affectionate.  You are strong and express yourself clearly.  We can't imagine our lives without you!  As we often sing to one another, "We love you so much, we love you so much, we can't even tell you how much we love you!"  Enjoy your year of being four!