The Great Outdoors

I am very privileged in that sometimes I get to do really fun things as a part of my job.  Just over a week ago I had one of those experiences.  Some of the guys in our church here have been using outdoor ministry activities like hiking and biking trips to do outreach and to challenge Christians to grow in their faith.  We have been talking for a while about trying to expand on that to possibly use activities like fishing, hunting and rafting as well.  So four of us from the church, and a friend of mine, headed out on a trial rafting/fishing/hunting trip, to see if this would be within our capabilities and to evaluate what, if anything, else might be needed.  

Directly after the church camp on Baikal we drove to a nearby village where one of the guys, Denis's, parents live.  We enjoyed a nice banya (Russian sauna) complete with a couple of 100 yard jogs down to the river to cool off in the middle, and the great hospitality of Denis's parents including some great fresh strawberries and vegetables from their garden.

The next morning we all piled into Denis's car and drove over 70 miles on dirt roads all stuffed in.  The car is small and we ended up taking out the back seat to have a little more room.  We were cramped and the roads were bumpy, but the weather was beautiful and we were all happy and excited about getting to the river to start our trip.

Here is a picture of the car.  The five of us and Denis's dad were piled in the car and all of our gear and the rafts were piled in the trailer.  Thankfully we stopped a few times to stretch our legs and get a break from the back of the car.

When we got to our launch site we cooked up a lunch and fed Denis's dad who graciously dropped us off and headed back for home with the car.  Please continue to pray for him as he has strong doubts that there is any life after death.  

After eating lunch, inflating the rafts, and arranging all our gear we gathered up and hit the river.  

The weather on that first day was ideal.  We did a little fishing on our way, but because we ended up starting further up river that we had originally planned (we ended up floating a total of over 50 miles) we decided to do more floating than fishing.  It was pretty fun too, as the first day we went through a number of rapids.  The only problem is that we didn't have our stuff packed the best and almost everything got wet.  Most of it wasn't a big deal, but the water did get into some of our food that we thought was sealed okay so we ended up throwing away some wet noodles and other things.  It also ended up being a bit expensive for me as I had my cell phone and car alarm in my pocket and they both got ruined.  I was worried that our new camera was ruined as the ziplock bag protecting it got a hole in it and some moisture got in, but thankfully it is working great after drying out.

We were in some beautiful areas of wilderness, and it was fun to get away from the city for a while.  There were a few logging camps and quite a bit of logging activity in the area which reminded me of growing up in Darrington.  

Here we are at a temporary bridge that was put up for a logging operation.  This was already the second day and the weather began to turn cooler and cloudy.  We pushed it hard this day, and didn't do a lot of fishing as we went because we had a goal of getting to a place down the river where Denis had fished before and where he knew of some old tree stands he hoped to use for hunting.  When we got there the fish weren't biting and the tree stands had fallen apart, but we had a great time floating the river anyhow.  

One of the best parts of this trip was having my friend Grisha along.  He and I shared a raft while all the others had their own.  I met him years ago when I was first in Ulan-Ude and we were both single.  Now we are both married and have children.  He has had connections to church over the years, but has never really dedicated himself to following Jesus.  We ended up having some great conversations about life and fatherhood and our childhoods and family and friends and I shared my testimony with him in a new way.  I hope that his heart will be ready to fully follow Jesus soon.

After the first 1 1/2 days of rushing down the river the plan was to take it slower and do more fishing for the next two days, but the weather turned on us and we had some pretty strong rain bursts that we went through, so we decided to cut the trip short and push our way down stream quickly again on the third day.  This was the best day for seeing wildlife though as we saw a small siberian roe deer before the rain started and a bunch of ducks with their ducklings too.  The crazy thing with seeing the deer was that I turned around and told Grisha that that was the first deer I'd seen in Russia, and he replied, "me too!"  There is a distinct lack of wildlife anywhere near civilization here in Siberia.

Here are the guys all ready to go on the third morning.  We feel like we learned a bit on this trip and are ready to do more with using these outdoor activities to develop relationships and create opportunities to share the good news of our Creator with guys here in Siberia.  In the midst of this wild land getting out into nature is so highly valued and enjoyed so we are happy to continue to see how we can use this draw to help people see the wonderful Designer of it all.

Ella's language

It's her own language... with some Russian words thrown in.  She cracks us up.

Around-the-World-Guests and Camping with People from Church

     We were so excited to welcome Don and Devon, as Ulan-Ude was one of their stops as they travel around the world (all boats and trains and buses... no planes!)  We met Don at Addy New Life Christian Center, as they are one of our supporting churches.  Devon is Don's nephew.  Don invited all 28 of his nieces and nephews for this 4.5 month trip, and Devon was the one who came.  Their train was to arrive at about 11:00 on Thursday night, but it was late (trains are rarely late in Russia), and with needing to do laundry, this meant that they didn't get to bed until 4:00am!  We left our place at 8:30am to join up with others from 2 churches heading out to Lake Baikal for the weekend.  The guys packed up their wet clothes and were troopers to come along with such a short night's sleep.  The van that we were caravaning with broke down about 45 minutes into the drive (on a pass).  Incidentally, Ike and Ella had recently fallen asleep... a dream when the trip is 3 hours long, but not-so-nice when we all had to get out.  Leif drove back into Ulan-Ude with Sasha to get a part while the rest of us explored.  I headed up the hill right away with the kiddos.  Some ladies yelled at us, saying that it was better to wait by the road, that there were ticks up there.  But after a few minutes everyone else came along, too.  There was a great field on top of the hill.  We set up camp with our picnic blankets.  Everyone shared snacks, and the guys hung their laundry out to dry.  And we went exploring.

We found this shrine in the woods to a Shaman witch doctor. 

     Then a little farther, there was this river of rocks!  There was no water, but many of the rocks had soft, spongey moss on them.  The kids were just fascinated.  And they enjoyed exploring with our new guests!

     After awhile, we heard people shouting that the van was ready to go, so we tried to get back as quickly as possible.  Don and Devon were champs to carry the girls on their shoulders.  Many of the rocks were wobbly, so it made for slower traveling.  I had my flip-flops on and Ike in my arms, so I was grateful for these strong guys!

     5 1/2 hours after we left home, we arrived at camp!  Amazingly, Ike fell back asleep and no one got car sick.  Also, when we got there, people who had been there earlier in the week had already made lunch!  What a happy surprise!

     After lunch, we took advantage of it being a sunny day.  It's never really "hot" at Lake Baikal, but when it's not "cold" then you take advantage of it and get on the beach.  The water was very cold, but we had fun anyways.  There were so many kids at the camp.  I just loved seeing all three of our kids playing and playing.  I had to constantly keep track of them, as they were happily going in and out of tents and playing with others. 

     Leif's friend, Greesha, came to the camp, too.  Leif met him 13 years ago when he first came to Ulan-Ude.  I took this picture of them talking behind my shoulder when they weren't looking.  =)

     Boy, does this boy love to be outside!  Ike's mind is always thinking-thinking-thinking.  It's so fun to watch him explore and play with sand and rocks and sticks.  And he's always trying out things to see what happens when he does this or that.  He's also really growing in his vocabulary.  Every day he says at least a couple of new words.  Today he said, "silly Mama" to me.  And after being with all of the Russian kids, he says several Russian words now.  But his favorite phrase (and what he says all the time) is "nye nada", which means "don't do that" or literally "no need".  Ella says that to him a lot.  And at camp it came in handy because he could use it to defend himself if anyone tried to take one of his sand toys.  

     Saturday Leif and I were in charge of the food (for about 60 people).  Both of us had made grocery runs on Thursday to get everything and there were others to help us make the food.  But I've discovered that meal planning and preparation over a fire for a bunch of people cooking food that's not what I normally make is definitely a stretch for me!  Here, Leif and this boy were scrubbing this big pot so that we could use it on the gas stove.  They eventually took it down to the lake and used sand to get the black off.  They did an amazing job!

      We made cream of wheat with apricots for breakfast, borscht and salad for lunch, buckwheat and pork for dinner, and apples and cookies for a late night snack.  Here I am cutting lots of meat. One of our guests was a vegetarian.  Poor guy.  He was a good sport about it, though!  It was fun to meet new people at the camp that were either new to the church or friends/relatives of people in the church. 

Anneka helped a little with peeling potatoes.  Then she fell in the hole that held all of the leftover food and slop.  Oops!

     Leif and Greesha did a great job getting the fire ready for the tea and the food...  

...and getting water from the lake for cooking, making tea, and washing dishes.

     Someone had set up this rope between two trees for people to try tightrope walking.  Not such an easy feat, but fun to watch people try!  Anneka made it across holding Leif's hand.

      And Leif made it a couple of feet!   The same people who set up the rope did a fire show for us one night.  We let the girls stay up to watch it (until midnight).  It's fun to see people using their talents.

     Anneka LOVED it when Nettie buried her in the sand!  

     And Ike loved the sand no matter where we were.  I love this picture because he was saying "Mama!" when I took this picture of him.  And then after a few pictures he said, "cheese!" (without me prompting him).  So funny.

     Every morning and evening we had a little church service.  I took this picture before everyone had assembled.

      The kids played and played during the services.  

     Sometimes Ike insisted on feeding himself.  When we're camping, we pack way more clothes than we should need, and it turns out just about right.  =)

     Some of the guys (Leif included) went on a fishing trip after the camp.  They got the rafts out to see if they were all in working order.  The kids enjoyed going for rides in them!

     We lost Ike's baseball cap before came and then during camp we lost his other hat, so he wore shorts on his head.  He really liked them, too.  If we were in the shade and I tried to take them off, he made it very clear that he wanted them back ON his head.  I love these two guys!

     On the last day, Nettie and Sasha took a bunch of the kids fishing at a pond a short drive away.  The fish were so plentiful that they caught them with pieces of bread.  Ella caught 2 and Anneka caught 5 or 6.  It was SO nice of Nettie to watch after our girls and invite them along!  They've been dreaming of fishing all summer!

     Devon made Anneka this little basket and headdress out of grass and flowers.  She brought them home (along with many other "treasures).  The kids and Don and Devon and I came home while Leif stayed on for his fishing trip.  We had a fun next day showing them around Ulan-Ude.  Unfortunately I left my camera in the car!  I'm so thankful that after the long cold winter, we have this season of being outside and connecting with others in fun ways!

Rain In Our Kitchen

     I got up in the middle of the night to get Ella some water and noticed that the floor in our kitchen was all wet.  I didn't even think to look up, as there were no dripping sounds (and I was groggy and it was 3:00am), but I looked under and all around our sink, trying to find the source.  When I didn't find anything, I just chalked it up to something I hadn't noticed before bed and went back to bed.

     This morning the kids and I were in the living room and all of a sudden we heard the sound of rain- coming down in our kitchen!  I grabbed some buckets and towels and cleaned up the mess.  Ike loved moving the buckets around when I wasn't looking.  (I really got the sense that he was trying to be helpful.  One he put back in the closet where it belongs and the other he dumped out into the bathtub.  But... NOT helpful!)  Just when I was about to go to the upstairs neighbors it stopped, so we went outside to play.  But shortly after we returned it started again!   This time we went to the neighbors.  Leif is gone on a fishing trip this week, so things like this take on a new flavor when it's just me and three little ones!  I'm sure we were quite the funny sight at their door!  The neighbors were really nice and said they'd look around.  It was good for awhile until it started POURING from our ceiling.  Back I went and the lady showed me how she'd totally cleaned out from under her sink and it was bone dry.  She gave me the number for a professional to come in.  I asked her if she would mind calling for me and explaining, and she kindly did so.

     In the meantime, the kids and I were stuck at home.  Our downstairs neighbor came to say that his kitchen was flooded, too, and that it had totally ruined their wallpaper.  We played karaoke on this great new player that our friends Kadie and Josh sent the girls.  And we watched a Tinkerbell movie.  And did our own little school, learning about "over/under/left/right, etc".  And we listened to a couple of chapters of The Secret Garden.  All the while Isaac played in the taisek (we like to say this, as the Russian word for basin is "taisek" and it happens to rhyme with Isaac.  When our hot water is out, we give Isaac a bath in the taisek, and it really seems like he likes it when we say "Isaac in the taisek").  And when I wasn't looking, he dumped a liter of milk into one of the basins.

     When the masters arrived, they first said they'd have to tear down our wall.  Then, as if a second thought, they said they'd check in on something upstairs.  They didn't come back, and we heard a lot of pounding and banging up there.  When the sounds stopped, I we went upstairs to see what was going on.  They'd opened up our neigbor's wall instead and had found a broken pipe that was down into our wall.   They showed me the pipe, and said the masters would come back tomorrow and put in a new one.

     By then it was 6:30pm, but we had cabin fever.  So we invited ourselves over to Nina's house and had a great time!  She fed us rice cereal, potatoes and liver, grapefruit, and ice cream.   Ike vacuumed her floor, and the kids got to play with her dog and cat, and Ike and Ella ate part of her plant, and she put curlers in the girls' hair.  We got home at 9:30 and five minutes later, Leif surprised us by coming home early!  A great end to the day, I'd say!

     Earlier on, when the masters said that they'd have to tear down our wall, Anneka was really worried.  I was able to share with her about how God is so good and He had a good plan and that He works all things together for good for those who love Him!  It was cool to see her face light up as she thought about it.  We reflected on how we got to meet two Buryat families in our building that we hadn't yet met.   And who knows what other good things God will bring out of this??  =)

American Independence Day In A Russian Village With Our German Friend

     We were so happy to spend the 4th of July with Inka!  We roasted hamburgers and even had tortilla chips and watermelon.  Independence Day is a special time to share with our kids what a privilege we've been given being born in America and having the freedoms that we do.  We were able to share how this is a gift from God, and our ultimate freedom comes through Him!  We sang a few of our national songs so that the kids can become familiar with them and hopefully know them well someday.  Anneka has been singing a song (a long song) about the Russian flag over and over.  It's actually a really cool song and it's fun to hear her singing in Russian...  but after a few days of hearing it over and over, I have to say it's time for a new song!!  We think it's good for her to know some American songs, too, and to know the meaning behind them.

     The weather was on the cooler side and rained a few times.  But that didn't hinder us from enjoying being in the village and having fun together.  Besides a man from the village stopping in for lunch one day and Leif working on his sermon for Sunday, it was largely a vacation time.  All of our kids love Emma (Inka's dog, pictured above) and playing with her.  Ike even shouted out "Emma, Emma!" several times.  And the other night he was calling her name in his sleep!

     We took advantage of having a fire outside, and Leif grilled chicken and pork on two other evenings.

   
     I just love how much our kids love Inka!  Ike and Ella and I had weird rashes last week, and Ella and Ike had conjunctivitis, and Inka came down with a really bad sore throat and fever.  There were times when we weren't at our best, but it was still nice to be together.  And it's nice to be with people you're comfortable with when you're feeling under the weather!

     One day we walked into town and Inka had made Anneka this dress out of one of her skirts.  She also painted the girls' fingernails.  They felt so pretty!

     As per Anneka's request, we got to help plant some of the vegetables in Inka's garden a few weeks ago.  It's fun for us to watch them grow, and it's really fun to eat some of them!  We had real salad (with lettuce!) every day.  What a treat!  All of the kids like to help water the garden.  Ike really likes to play in the water barrel and drop objects into it.  Leif spent an evening digging around the potatoes to protect them from light (or something... so they don't become poisonous).

      We found some sparklers at a stand before we left for the village.  The girls loved swinging them around.  Leif also got a few other small fireworks.  Ella was really scared, so we cuddled inside and watched from the window.   It gets dark so late that the kids didn't get to bed until after 11:00.  We've changed their schedule for the summer so that they're going to bed around 10:00 anyways.  It's a little crazy because this means that Leif and I don't usually get to bed until after midnight.  But it's also really great for connecting with people in the evenings.  Everyone (with their kids) is outside at 8 and 9 in the evening.  We decided that it was worth it to try it out and do the Russian schedule for a time.  We'll see how long it lasts!  The kids do sleep in later in the morning now, which is a definite plus!  Last week we had relatively free evenings so we prayed each day after dinner what God would have us to do.  We ended up calling lots of people and connecting with people (new and old) that we don't normally get to connect with.  And meeting more neighbors.  It was fun for all of us, and I think God used us to encourage others in the process.

   

     There's a great hill for hiking behind Inka's place, and our family went up on top one day.  

     Here are Leif and the girls on top of a big rock.

     And another day we washed the rug in our living room and the van.  It was a family affair!

     Busy, busy, busy!

     Right now I'm waiting in a quiet house (all three kids sleeping!) for Leif to come home with two American guys from one of our supporting churches.  As I typed that sentence, Leif called to say that their train is late and won't arrive until about 12:30am.  I feel bad for them because they want to do laundry and the cycle takes an hour and then the clothes have to be hung.  It's rainy today and they won't dry by 8:30 in the morning when we have to be leaving for a trip to Baikal.  I guess we can just put them in a bag and hang them once we get there.    But anyways, we're really excited for them to come.  They'll be camping with us and about 65 others from our church.  I'm sure it'll be an adventure!

Ella is 3!

     Our sweet little Ella is three!  We took a Monday (our normal family/rest day) to fully celebrate her.  She awoke to decorations and balloons throughout the apartment and opened presents from Anneka first thing while skyping with her grandparents.  She was so happy all day and could hardly believe that everything we did was all for her.  There was a reptile and monkey exhibit that came to town, so we went to check it out.  It was fun for the kids to see the animals up-close.

Some of the animals they could even touch.  These turtles' shells had a fun texture.

     We didn't get a picture of it because of the scariness of the moment, but Isaac fully opened the cage to a python!  It was on the floor, and the workers had recently opened it for cleaning.  We are so thankful that the python was sleeping in the far end of the cage and that Leif saw Ike right away... before he walked all the way in!  Leif told the workers that the cage wasn't locked and they didn't seem too concerned.  They just explained that it was cleaning time.

     One of the workers opened the cage to this type of porcupine for our kids to pet.  He felt SO strange!  I kept thinking that he was going to bite, but he just kind of sniffed the girls.

     After the exhibit, we all went to a new toy store and let Ella pick out her birthday present.  She picked out a little stroller and baby doll.  Normally these two items here would be very expensive, but she happened to like and choose the least expensive of the strollers and the babies.  And while we were there, Leif spotted this little bike that was on a super-sale.  So we got her a bike, too. She tried it out that evening on a family trip to the playground and liked it very much!

     After the toy store, the girls rode on this carousel.  Ella was simply delighted!  We ate out for lunch and then went to a newer European grocery store and let Ella choose the elements of our dinner (chicken nuggets, fruit, chips).  Since our oven is broken and I couldn't bake her a cake, she also picked out her very own cake!

     

          And here she is, blowing out her 3 candle!  Ella, you make us smile many, many times each day.  You are so affectionate with your words and with your hugs and kisses.  We love your grateful heart and how you appreciate so much- and tell us, too!  You are so aware of everything around you.  It is fun to watch you as you watch everyone else.  You are funny and fun and smart and sweet, and we love you so much!  Happy birthday!