Surprise!

     This month we got to be a part of surprising our friend, Denis, for his 30th birthday.  The 5 and 10 year marks are very significant here in Russia and are called "jubilee" years.  It's important to really celebrate your loved ones on these years.  Denis and his family live a few hours away, in an isolated village.  There are no other believers in their village, and gas is too expensive for them to travel far from their village too often.  They didn't have money for gas to come into the city for Denis' birthday, so we came to him!     His wife, Yulia, told Denis that they would go for a family walk at Lake Baikal (a 30 minute drive from their village).  She was in touch with our group, so she knew when we arrived.  When her family got in the car to return home, we blocked the road with this "Happy Birthday!" banner.  It was worth the long drive to see the pure joy and shock on Denis' face!

     The weather was amazing!  And the trees were so beautiful with their oranges and golds.  We found a perfect spot in the woods along the lake and set up a nice little area to barbeque shashleek (meat on a stick).

     Someone brought their guitar and a songbook from church, knowing that Denis would want to play and sing.  We had a great time singing praises to God together.

     The kids enjoyed playing together, too.  It's amazing how adept little ones are at climbing up large rocks!

      We all sang "Happy Birthday" to Denis, and Leif gave a short devotional/Happy Birthday wish to pass encouragement and wisdom as he enters into the same age that Jesus was when he began his earthly ministry.


    Natasha and Dima were the masterminds behind the whole surprise.  They have a brand new baby, and I know it must have been a big effort to plan the celebration and to travel with little Yan.  Anneka adored holding him. 

     This summer a kind family sent us a package full of party supplies, including these great paper plates and matching napkins.  It was such a blessing to have them, as this was a last minute trip, and disposable plates here are quite flimsy, small, and plain.  I loved seeing how God provided for Denis, even by providing festive plates for us to use!

     We all enjoyed talking, sharing, and laughing around the campfire.  I love how we can share joy with one another!

     This picture is blurry, but I had to include it from our ride home.  Yulia has told me before that our kids all have the same face.  I've always thought this was a funny thing to say.  But in this picture, I can totally see it!  =)

Mushrooms!

     In the fall, after the rain, there is a mad rush of people from the city into the woods to pick mushrooms.  It is all the rage.  The weekend that Leif went to the village, he was shocked by all of the traffic leaving the city on a Saturday morning.  He soon realized it was everyone going to pick mushrooms!!

      This is a page from Ella's kindergarten workbook.  The kids have to learn all the names of the different mushrooms.  Leif and I don't even know these in English!  It makes helping her a bit of a challenge.  Ella gets very excited when she sees babushkas selling mushrooms on the street.  And she has made several mushroom  paintings, baskets, and clay pieces in class, too. In America if they mention mushrooms, it's only to tell kids to NEVER pick them!

     This week I was in a meeting with others from our church who are working with kids.  We're praying about ways to better reach out to the kids that we met through our day camps this past summer.  Anyways, our pastor had picked up some materials in Moscow and was showing them to us for possible lesson ideas.  There was a whole set that was mushroomed themed.  I thought this was very cute and funny and everyone else thought it was really funny that I thought it was funny.

      Ella had her very first real school program.  (In preschool she was in a program, but it wasn't really one that she'd prepared for.)  This one was filled with songs and dances.  Ella was SO cute to watch- she just jumped and skipped and bounced with a wide smile the whole time.  She knew the words to the songs and had such fun!

     As you can see, the boys were dressed as mushrooms..  Because a fall kindergarten program is not complete without mushrooms!

 A song where the girls ran around the boys

  Getting on a boat to "Africa"

      They have little competitions in every kindergarten program.  Ella competed against another girl by picking mushrooms (of course).  It was hard to tell who won, as they were both very fast, but Ella is sure that she was the winner (which she very likely was).

     The teacher asked the kids questions from lessons that they'd had.  In this clip, Ella's answer to the question, with much excitement, was "Mushrooms!"  The teacher's answer was "What a smart and good girl!"

This 'n That

      This past Saturday, our friend Erdeni got married!  Leif first met Erdeni 15 years ago when he was here doing student minstry.  Back then Erdeni wasn't yet a believer and now he loves the Lord with his whole heart and is married to a woman who does to.  What a day to celebrate!  It was so fun to see his excitement and to be a part of this special day.

     A couple of guys from CRU came to do some research and connecting for catalytic ministry with college students.  It was encouraging to meet them and to hear a bit about how God is at work and to share with them, too.

 Ella and Ike, chasing cows through the neighborhood.

     Anneka made a past/present/future storyboard for a 2nd grade project.  Her past includes me holding her as a baby, her playing with potatoes as a toddler (and a symbol of Russia), and her lemonade stand last summer (symbol of America).  Her present includes her love of gardens/farms, swimming, and reading.  And her future is all about the animals she wants to have one day- a horse, dog, and cat. She had a lot of fun making this and was motivated to do other work more quickly so that she'd have more time to work on her storyboard.

      Leif and I recently made a short video for our home church on the grounds of the Buddhist temple.  Nettie came with us to help with filming, and afterwards we took some time to pray.  At one point, I remember praying an odd prayer- it came to my mind/heart for the Lord to bring Buddhist monks into the doors of the Christian churches here.  That Sunday, TWO MONKS came to our church, dressed in their traditional orange garb!!  I was pretty much in shock.  Our family had to leave right after the service, as we needed to drive 2+ hours to our friend's surprise 30th birthday party.  But others said these monks stayed afterward and talked and even played ping pong!  It's a reminder to me that God is at work and that He wants us to pray... and to pray in faith, trusting that He will do great things.  Prayer breaks down strongholds that we can't even see.  It always feels so heavy and dark to me at the grounds of the temple.  We could hear the haunting chants of the monks reciting their mantras.  Prayer flags hang everywhere, on poles and trees.  And small cabins are all around the grounds for people to come for advice, fortune telling, and spiritual direction.  People spin prayer wheels and bring their tiny kids to do so also.  It makes my heart heavy.

      Speaking of Nettie, she came for lunch one day and walked with us to take Anneka to her theatre class.  Ella and Ike showed her their favorite play place (the skateboard ramp) and they just LOVED it when she played with them on it!


     After that we went to a playground.  The local little boys were very interested in talking with Nettie, and our kids loved having her there, too.

      Our little Ike has been sick, and it turns out it's probably Scarlet Fever (he's has had almost all of the symptoms and follows the timeline exactly).  We put him on antibiotics today, and he's definitely on the mend.  We love our Ike!

      Leif continues to lead the Buryat Partnership each month (a time of prayer and sharing what's going on in the various regions of Buryatia.)  He's also recently started a Buryat course that not only teaches language, but culture, too.  He's been studying, and it's always interesting to walk into the room and to hear him speaking Buryat (which I don't at all understand!)


     Ella LOVES math.  She's does addition problems constantly- at the table, in bed, walking to school.  She just loves it.  Sometimes Leif will have her give him a math problem.  She'll solve it and he'll say it in Buryat (it's good practice for his language).

      We recently started up a life group with our friends, Vitya and Sveta.  (Here, we were meeting to discuss details and to cast vision and pray).  We've decided to begin by going through the gospel of John.  It's a place we can invite believers and as well as people who aren't Christians but are interested in the Bible.  This week we discovered that our Wednesday evenings might not work for both families after all.  Prayers are appreciated for us to find a good time to do it, as both of our families are busy and our schedules don't seem to go together so well.

      This picture is a little blurry, but it's cute of our girls with Vitya and Sveta's girls.  They have a lot of fun together.  Our first night of the home group was at their home (we're switching off each week), and they had some neighbor kids staying with them whose parents were too drunk to take care of them.  Overall there were 9 kids there, and they were all so happy and quiet and good- a real blessing and answer to prayer!  We pray for these neighbors and their parents to come to know that there IS hope because of Jesus!

Harvest and English Club

     This is a nice time of year, when the babushkas sit outside and sell amazing vegetables and canned preserves from their gardens.  It's also a time that we celebrate the harvest at church (a type of Thanksgiving Sunday).  This year, some ladies made this great tree, and everyone in the church wrote several things they were thankful for onto the leaves.  The kids sang a couple of songs for the special day, too.

 

We all enjoyed a feast after the church service of foods that everyone contributed.

 
     Leif has begun a series of talks on the book of Ruth, as it's not just a book of the Bible for women, but for everyone.
 
     Dima and Natasha dedicated their new baby to the Lord.  He is so tiny and precious!  They thought they were having a girl at first, as this is what the ultrasound technician had told them.  What a fun surprise!  It is always such a blessing to see young families who are honoring God and living for Christ.


     We've had a good first few weeks of English Club!  We have had some new people come, and I've been impressed with the lessons that teach both about English and about the Bible.  We're working methodically through the Old Testament.  We do some fun things in between lessons.  Recently, I've been doing little kid lessons with the sons and daughters of English Club members who come. On this day, we had the kids set up a little store. 

     Those in English Club were divided into two groups and given recipes.  They had to go to the store (one at a time), purchase their items, and follow the recipes.

     By the end, we had a delicious salad and some no-bake cookies.  One new lady said that she was just "delighted" at the end.  She said that she learned English AND how to cook in one day!  =)  So cute.

     We're looking forward to good things with the English Club and are praying for God to work in mighty ways!

Our Little Team

     Most of our team is gone right now, on home service.  Because of this, we are small, and for team meetings we've taken advantage of the nice weather and the ability to all travel together in one van.  Last month, we went to a beautiful overlook called Sleeping Lion Rock.  John was visiting.  We loved the beautiful view, climbing a bit together, and enjoying one another's company. 

 Unfortunately, Inka was sick that day.

     Ella had a grand time collecting money that tourists had thrown everywhere for good luck.  By the end of the day, her cup was full of change.  We later washed it three times in both soap and water and vinegar (in the jar for 3 days) and got all of the obvious dirt off.  But when Ella went to the store to buy gum with her change, the lady wouldn't accept it.  We had it counted out in neat little piles, but she was really rude.  Ella said that it was maybe Mean Store Lady Day.  We then went to our fruit stand where gum was half the price, and the lady gladly accepted Ella's money.

     At the end of August we BBQ'd hamburgers (a rare treat!) out at Inka's.  It was also nice to enjoy this time together.


     Speaking of Inka, I forgot to say in our summer blog that one of her friends came by when Irene was visiting.  She was going through a hard time and we all prayed for her.  Later that day she called Inka, amazed, as a specific prayer had been answered!  She wanted us all to know that our prayers had worked!  Since then, she's had more hard times.  We are praying for her to know the love and truth of Christ and continue to share with her.

     Lately, moments like this seem to be happening more and more frequently, where we see God answering prayers and showing His power and love to people.  And at the same time, we can see that there is a battle going on for people's souls.  I love how when we pray for opportunities to share and to serve that God graciously provides those opportunities... and He also gives the wisdom and strength we need for the moment.

Little Actress

     Anneka's been practicing to be a part of a skit for a couple of weeks now as a part of her theatre class.  We weren't sure when the show would be, but were pretty sure it was awhile still.  Well, Anneka came home on Tuesday and said, "It's tomorrow!!"  She was BEYOND excited about it. (For the sake of grandparents, it's posted here for your viewing pleasure.)  It was funny because we found out that we needed a white shirt, white tights, black shoes, and white hair bows... all the day before the performance!  Thankfully, we didn't have to adjust too much in our schedule for it to all work out.  =)

 

Here's a still picture if you aren't able to see the video.

      The skit was a part of a special holiday here for the older generation (I'm not even sure how to say that in English).  Different kids danced, played the piano, and recited lines for the event to honor these people.

     Anneka invited her friend, Kristina, who came and brought her flowers.  What an exciting day!!
 
     We had Kristina, Bogdan, and Adriana over for dinner afterwards to celebrate Anneka's debut in her acting career.  It was the perfect way to spend the evening.  =)

The School Year Has Begun!

     Fall is here, and so is school!  Our sweet Ella is now a kindergartner.  She goes 5 days a week and comes home tired, but she is doing so well!  Already she has homework and has to memorize riddles.  She seems to understand much of what is going on, as she'll tell us what the days' lessons are about.  She has friends, and the other little girls are always sweet to greet her each day.  We're so proud of how well she's transitioning, as it's not easy to do everything in a second language!

Ike likes riding his bike to school

     Ike has a new school, too.  His preschool class from last year was simply too crazy to put him in again (32 screaming two and three year olds and one exasperated teacher).  There's a private preschool less than a block from our home, and they agreed to take him two mornings a week.  He goes for 4.5 hours each time (this includes breakfast and lunch), and it is a long time for a little guy.  One day last week he said he didn't want to go, that he didn't like school.  We all prayed together, and when I went to pick him up, his teacher said he was so happy all day.  He told me, "I got used to it!  I like school now!"  They have little classes like music, drawing, math, and even English.  We are thankful for this opportunity, and it's helping him to better understand Russian. 

     Until Anneka's teachers return from the States, I get to have time homeschooling her.  We had a little back-to-school lunch out together.  She's a hard worker, and a good sport about having Mom as her teacher.  She's also going to a Learning Center for Russian lessons once a week.  This way she can grow in her reading and writing in Russian.

     We try to integrate fun activities into our days.  She loves to paint.  Right now she's working on a past/present/future storyboard with paintings to tell the story.  This picture is one that she made especially for Heidi. 

     We have a book of science experiments you can do with kids.  This one was more science and art combined- structures made from beans and toothpicks.  We had fun as a whole family making them.

     Three days a week, Anneka is in a theatre class.  We originally thought we'd enroll her in an art class, and then she found out about the theatre program, and she REALLY wanted to join!  I was a bit hesitant about it because to me, that seems hard to learn lines in a second language!  But we prayed that God would lead us to just the right thing, and so far this has been wonderful!  There is one other girl who is new to the theatre program who is Anneka's age.  They became fast friends.  There is also another boy their age, as well as 20 or so other kids their age and older who have already been in the program at least a year.  They do all sorts of exercises from playing charades to doing cartwheels, to memorizing poems and practicing reciting them with motions, to impromptu acting out what the teacher whispers into their ears, to acting like animals (and studying more about the animals) to finger exercises to stretching, to mime work, etc, etc.  We're really impressed.  We are thankful for this door that the Lord opened that we didn't even know was an option!

     Ella and Ike love to go and drop Anneka off at her theatre class because there are usually other kids to play with outside.  There's this monument that the kids slide on, as well as a skateboarding ramp that they run around on.  This day we ran into a girl who's Grandma goes to our church (and she sometimes comes, too). 

     One weekend Anneka went with Leif to the village, and Ike and Ella and I had fun with playdough.

     Ike is our buddy while Anneka and I have school.  He likes to join in with as much as possible.
He often prefers to color the water with paint than to put the paint on the paper!

     We go on little field trips as exhibits come to town.  This was at the Tropical Animal Exhibit.  Anneka must have held 4 or 5 huge and scary snakes among other crazy animals and huge lizards that day!

     A butterfly exhibit came to town.   The kids all loved having the butterflies resting on them!  It was so interesting watching them hatching out of their cocoons and the drying their wings before flying and eating for the first time!

Feeding a monkey a cucumber!

     May we always love learning and use what we learn for God's glory!