Beekeepers, Ministering through Sports, and Village Joys

       Last weekend we visited Pastor Oleg in the village of Shabur.  His wife and daughters were out of town, and we enjoyed a very full and interesting weekend together!  Oleg made us a cold soup out of kvas (fermented bread water), greens from the garden, boiled eggs, rice, and meat.  Leif's mom, Irene, is visiting, so it was special for her to eat such interesting foods and see our kids' love of farm life.

 

     Ike loved climbing on Oleg's motorcycle and pretending to ride.

      Anneka just loves farm life in general.  She worked so hard, continually asking Oleg what she could do next to help.  She said that one day she wants to own a farm...and we believe her!





     At 10:00pm the first night, Anneka was found out milking the goats.  It was dark and stinky, but she was in her element!

     Sunday Leif gave the talk at church.  The church family was very warm and inviting.  They were so glad to have us, and different people gave us fresh eggs, cows milk, and cottage cheese as a thank you for coming.  It was encouraging for Irene to see how welcoming they were and how happy everyone was to see us. 




     After the church service, we got to visit a beekeeper.  We went to buy honey, but the lady was so sweet and gave us a whole tour of the bees and showed us how the honey is made.  We got to wear these fun covers to protect our faces from the bees. 



     The kids stood very still and didn't seem fearful at all of the bees flying all around.

      She let us try honeycomb with pollen and honeycomb with honey.  Then she showed us the spinning process for getting the honey out.  She also let us all try it right out of the big pot with a spoon.  Often I don't like honey very much here, but this honey was SO good and pure.  Mmmmm!  This woman and her brother had such fascinating stories to tell of persecution their family faced in past years for their faith in Christ. 


 
     We all went back to Oleg's for another interesting lunch, and I made some zucchini cake out of some zucchini from his garden.  Then Leif and Oleg went to do some shooting with some of the youth.  Oleg has a real ministry with many of the young people of this village and really cares for them and pours into them.  He often will teach them archery.  On this day they shot pellet guns.

     I stopped in for a few minutes and they convince me to shoot one of the pellet guns.  I got it on the target!  =)

     All of the kids enjoyed eating different leaves and vegetables from the garden.  These leaves had a very tangy flavor- almost like lemon.  I couldn't find what they're called in English.

     Then in the evening, we all headed to the soccer field to connect with more of the youth for a soccer game.  Several of the boys there we knew from previous hiking trips that we've taken.  The guys were happy to have Leif visiting!  Quite a few people came!  (I didn't get any pictures of the whole group).

     Each of our kids joined in the game at one  point or another.  Ike was so cute and happy running around.

     And then for part of the game, Irene and I took the kids to a nearby playground.  All of the kids surrounded us and had lots of questions for us.  They all knew Oleg, too.  I don't think anyone in this village doesn't know him and his family!  We pray for this next generation, that they will grow up to know and love Jesus!

We passed the test!

Leif and I, posing in front of the university with our certificates.

     There's a new law in Russia now that all foreigners who live and work here have to pass a test in order to get/renew residency or work permits.   There are different tests depending on how long the person will be in the country, but the ones we had to take were Russian language, history, and law... and we had to pass with 80% or more in order to renew our residency.  I've been studying Russian history the past few months with my language teacher, and it's been really interesting.  I've learned a lot that I didn't know before, and I'm thankful for all that I know now that I wouldn't have ever probably learned if it weren't for this test!

     We took the test on the early side in case we had to re-take it.  After taking the test, I wasn't confident that I'd gotten 80% on the law portion.  There were a lot of big words that we normally don't use in our day-to-day conversations.   Imagine our delight and surprise when the university called to say that we both passed all portions!  When we went to pick up our certificates, we saw that we'd both gotten over 90% (Leif was in the high 90's) for our combined grade!  We thank you for your prayers for us.  We know that it was the Lord guiding our minds and giving us peace as we took these tests.  Praise to Him!

Day Camp

      Last week we helped put on a day camp for 5 days in our neighborhood.  We saw God's hand in so many details and are praising Him!  The day/evening before the camp we had wanted to invite people who we usually play outside with and there was a big storm (rain and crazy wind)!  We went through our address book and found the addresses of some of Anneka's friends from kindergarten and went to invite them.  Not everyone was home, but one girl ended up coming with her mom and really enjoying it.  If it hadn't been for the bad weather, we probably wouldn't have gone to her apartment.  Throughout the week Anneka found other friends outside and invited them.  The weather was nice each day for the camp- another answer to prayer!

      The camp was really well planned out.   There were different themes each day to share different attributes of Christ and how that applies to our lives.  The team put on many powerful skits to display these truths.  Each day our pastor gave a short message that went together with the theme, and everyone sang praise and worship songs.

    Each of the leaders had a red shirt, which on the front said, "I'm alive, and that means...." And then on the backs there were different answers that helped to stir up conversations.  Some examples are: "there is One who gives order", "there's someone that gave life", "there's a great purpose", "that means I'm responsible for what I choose", etc.  People walking by the camp all week would stop and ask questions.

     Leif was in many of the skits (sorry we don't have any pictures!)  They practiced really hard and there was a lot of positive feedback.  He was also the sports/games instructor.  The kids, of course, loved this time and really got into the games.  Over 100 kids ended up coming, with different ages.  You can imagine this was often a bit challenging to put everyone into even teams and to create games (and explain them well) for everyone!

     Each day there was a creative craft time, where each team of kids made something special like  animals out of newspaper and colored tape, flowers, houses out of boxes, etc.  This is Ella's team from the first day with their bunny. She enjoyed it, but it was also geared toward older kids, so she chose to stay home with me the next 4 days. 

  

     This was a house that one of the teams made.  It was neat how they worked together for a goal.

     Anneka loved the day they made clothes out of garbage bags.  She proudly displayed her shirt and shirt the second she came home!

     One of the requirements of us having the camp was that kids had to have written permission from their parents to come.  We prayed that this wouldn't hinder anyone.  Thankfully, kids came with notes, and several parents came and watched, too!

     The kids giggled as Leif caught them in one of the games.  Part of Leif's role was to help train up a young man to be able to lead in something like this in the future by himself.  Leif would patiently go  through the rules of the games with this guy each day for the following day and gave him chances to lead.

     Pastor Sasha's messages were also clear and well-thought-out.  He used big pieces of poster board with pictures to show Biblical truths and wrote the main message into the pictures.  It kept the kids' attention.

     The kids had a great time.  We hope to continue to connect with many of these kids in the weeks to come.  Several of them "won" (through a raffle we had at the camp) a trip to Baikal with our church next week.  We're praying that families will come and that we can interact with them all together.  In the past, we've seen kids's lives changed in the months following the camp as they've entered into our lives and our church.  We pray that God will do this again!

 
     I (Jami) got to be a part of the day camp by cooking for the team (and a few of the leaders' kids) each day.  We made up a little kids' table in the kitchen.  Lunch is the big meal in Russia, so I always made a big pot of soup along with a second course and some sort of drink or dessert.  I experimented with new Russian foods that I'd never made before.  I had planned on just using seasoning packets from the store, but my plans were foiled when I found out that one girl is allergic to red peppers, and red pepper is in EVERY seasoning packet!  It was a good way for me to be stretched and have to use my brain a little bit. Thankfully, I had someone to come and help me each day, and everything went smoothly!

     One day 5 extra people came (so there were 28 of us), but thankfully we scrounged up enough chairs and we had plenty of food.  The team hung around after lunch each day to go over the next days' plans before practicing their skits.  I was glad to be a part of the team in a small way.

A Special Opportunity

      Our friends who own a hostel on Lake Baikal invited us out as guests AGAIN to their place!  I ran into Ira at the grocery store, when she happened to be in town just for a couple of hours.  She was so warm and sweet and invited us out.  We, of course, were happy to have the opportunity to get more time with them... and in a beautiful place!  Before we went, we spent a couple of hours to celebrate Leif for Father's Day.  He's such a good Papa for our kids!!



      Even though our friends are very busy with their businesses (they own a store, too!), they took time to be with us and were so hospitable!

     Alexei even took us for a boat ride.  Normally it would have been very cold, but it was PERFECT during the time we were on the water.  Soon after, it turned quite cold.  We felt blessed by this window of time and how it all worked out!

 

        We ate meals together.   Alexei's friend from 1st grade was with us, too.  We had great discussion and enjoyed the time together.  Our kids played with two of the kids there, too.



     Before heading back the next day, we spent a few hours as a family on the beach.  It was quite a bit cooler this day!

     Anneka and I stayed on the beach and read a book together while Leif, Ella, and Ike went exploring.  They found a guy who worked in the lighthouse who let them go up to the top!  Of course, this was quite special!

     Then we headed back, as we had an exam to prepare for the next day- Russian language, history, and law.  The kids all slept while I quizzed Leif and learned along with him.  =)  More on that soon...

A Trip To A Little Village

     Recently we took a trip to a little village a few  hours away.  A family from our church is living there at least for the summer (maybe long term) and they are isolated from other believers.  There are only 100 people in their village and no churches around for many, many miles.  We decided to visit them and hopefully bring some encouragement and fellowship.  It turned out to be a great time!

     Leif helped Denis build a fence while we were there.  Denis was very grateful, as it would have taken him an extra week to complete all that the two of them were able to do.

Anneka helped a bit with hammering in some nails.  =)

     This family is living with Denis' parents.  They were very welcoming, having 5 extra people sleeping in their home!  While we were there, their first cucumbers of the season were ready for harvest... an exciting day!  Anneka loved watching the milking process of the cow and goat.  And, of course, we all enjoyed drinking the milk!

     In Ulan Ude that weekend it was over 100 degrees, and it was also hot in the village... BUT not quite that hot AND we were right by this BEAUTIFUL river!!  It's about 30 minutes from Lake Baikal, and I thought it was more wonderful than being at the lake.  At the lake, I'm often cold on the shore (even in the peak of the summer) and then the water is icy cold.  But this river was delightful... cold, but refreshing.  And we actually got hot enough to want to go in.  I didn't get many up close pictures because our friends' little girls often went swimming without their suits.  =)

     Leif and Denis enjoyed a break at the river to cool off from their fence-building work.  Ella loved playing with little Diana and all of the kids loved being outside constantly.

     I love watching Ike playing in the sand.  Every so often he would ask me to fill his bucket with water.  Then he would watch the water soak into the sand.  It was like he was doing little science experiments, watching to see what would happen in various situations with the sand and water.

     On Sunday we all had a church service together.  Denis and Yulia's moms joined us, too.  We sang some hymns, Leif gave a message from the Bible, and we prayed together.  It was an encouraging time.

     This little girl, Dasha, reminded me of pictures that I've seen of my mom when she was a little girl.  I liked to carry her around and think about her being my mom.  =) Anneka kept calling her "Baba" (which means "Grandma").  It was really funny and cute (and a bit confusing for Dasha at times, I'm sure!)

     The timing of this trip worked out perfectly.  The kids and I were able to meet Leif on our way to the village and on his way back from a training time at a camp. We had a couple of days before we needed to be at our next place (I'll share about that in our next blog).  And we all had a great time!

Who Will Ride With Us?

     I recently listened to a podcast in honor of Elisabeth Elliot and her amazing life of faith and service to Christ.  She passed away last week, but her legacy lives on, as she poured into those all around her and led by such an beautiful example.  As a 12-year old girl she prayed this prayer (written by Betty Scott Stam, missionary to China, who also has an incredible story): 

“Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my life, my all utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.”

 

     It is good to be reminded that to follow Christ means that we die to ourselves.  It doesn't mean that we live for comfort or for our own desires.  It means that we daily "take up our cross and follow Him", allowing Him to be our all and all... no matter the cost.   And amazingly, Jesus brings us blessing in the process!

 

     The kids were being selfish about something last week, so I used it as a teaching opportunity and opened up to them about selfishness in my own heart and told them how God wants us to not live for ourselves but for love of Him and for others.   I told them that a couple of people had asked to ride with us when we were driving to Lake Baikal on Saturday, and that I selfishly wanted it to be just us.  I wanted to talk in English and stop the car whenever we wanted and read books aloud and do our own thing.  I wanted to eat at a cafe for lunch and play on the beach while we waited for Leif to meet up with us.  These were my desires.  But we're not to make decisions based on our own desires.  We are to love God and others and die to ourselves.  The truth is that these other people would be blessed by a ride.  They would be grateful to not have to pay to take the bus.  To bring them into our van would be to show them the love of Christ and to set our own desires aside.  Of course, by my opening up to the kids, they all of a sudden realized that they, too, wanted to talk in English and stop when we wanted and to do all of the things I wanted.  So it was time to point them to trusting in God's good heart EVEN WHEN we don't see the reasoning behind it.  I told them that we could trust that God would do something good- whether it was something like our car breaking down and our guest helping us or whether it was just personal growth that we wouldn't immediately see... we could trust God for something good.

 

     It turns out that the original two people didn't ride with us, but a third lady did.  And WHAT A BLESSING to have her in our van with us!  This dear lady was bubbling over with excitement with what the Lord had been teaching her.  She's been going to our church for years, but just recently learned that Jesus died for ALL of her sins- past, present, and future.  She feels so free and is so obviously filled with God's Spirit!  Her unbelieving husband and son can't help but notice the changes in her, and she is growing so much as she studies the Bible and prays.  After we dropped her off, I couldn't help but thank God for the blessing He gave us by putting this lady in our van with us and the reminder that we can trust Him for good things... and His way is always better than our way! 

      Selfishness comes naturally.  But each day I pray that Jesus will help us to be more like Him, trusting Him for His blessings, even when we can't imagine what they could possibly be.  He always knows best.

Five Years Old!!!

     Our sweet Ella is five!  She didn't want to turn 5.  She wanted to stay 4 or even be 3.  She likes being little and doesn't want to grow up.  We, of course, enjoy her at every age and love to see how she is growing and maturing with her sweet, loving, fun personality!

     For her birthday, Ella wanted a pretty strawberry cake with a doll on top, and she wanted to have the cake very first thing in the morning- even before breakfast!  When it's your birthday, you get such special wishes granted.  It's so funny because she doesn't really like cake, so she didn't even eat a piece.  But she loved us singing to her and blowing out the candles.  They turned out to be trick candles... a surpise to all of us!

     Ella's birthday fell on a Monday, which is normally our rest day/family day anyways.  Leif had to leave at 4:30 that day for a conference, but we had the morning and afternoon together to celebrate!  Ella really wanted to ride on a ferris wheel for her birthday.  There's a little amusement park near the center of Ulan Ude that has a ferris wheel.  We went there, and it didn't open until noon.  Since we had a couple of hours to kill, we went to a nearby park.  The kids enjoyed playing around and climbing on some of the mosaic animals.  Ella had invited her friend Maria to join us for the day.

     This park had these rolling things that the girls ran around the water in.  This turned out to be Ella's very favorite part of the day!  What a blessing that the amusement park had been closed at first so that we could be at this special park!

 We love this little girl so much!!!

     Before we headed back to the amusement park, we had a little picnic on a bench.  With chips. (Ella's favorite food in the WORLD.  She would choose chips over something sweet any day).

     The kids enjoyed riding on the teacups.  Anneka was sitting by Ike as they spun around and put her arm around him when he got a little scared.

It was fun to see the sights from the ferris wheel!

The kids posed for a picture before a ride on a little roller coaster.

I got to be the lucky one to sit next to Ella for the ride!

We also enjoyed bumper boats.  Kids under 10 had to be with adults so we couldn't all do the boats at once.

     We wrapped up our celebration with ice cream in a park near home.  Ike was asleep in the car so I stayed with him, but Leif and the girls played around on the playground.  A kind lady from our church was passing by and bought Ella a toy phone for her birthday. 

     It was so cute how HAPPY Ella was the entire day, enjoying each moment.  Ella is so full of life and zest.  She's a brave little girl who gets along with people of all ages.  She's so aware of God and how He's all around us and working continually.  She prays for people to know God and has such a tender heart.  What a gift you are to us, Ella.  We love you!!!