Life With One Spoon

Hi friends!

I hope this finds you well early on this wonderful Monday morning! I have officially hit the half-way mark of living in Central Asia. It's been a great ride so far, leaning on his unfailing love, and it is hard to believe that I only have just a short time left! 

Well, the past two weeks have been exciting ones.  Many times throughout the weeks I found myself in awe of Papa’s blessings and the favor He has shown me here.  He is moving in the people here, I just know it. I ask Him all the time for His Kingdom to come here, and slowly but surely, it is.

Last Monday I started language class at the university.  We went there in the morning and with it being the first day of classes for exchange students, all of the classes met together.  We were greeted by the director of the department and the entire staff.  After only being in class for about 10 minutes, our teacher tells us it was time for us to move into our dorm rooms! Oh, we were so happy!  So, we rushed to move our things over (with the amazing help of our supervisor) in order to get back for the rest of our class time in the afternoon.  The remodeling of the rooms that were originally intended for us was not complete but they had a couple other rooms available.  Our commandant and housekeepers were so sweet and helpful.  The rooms are spacious, especially considering that local students are bunked with 6 people in rooms the same size as ours.

I found out recently that a new director of dorms was hired and he changed the rooming assignments to be arranged by faculty.  The first 4 floors in my dorm consist of students studying economics and the last 5 floors are a mixture of engineering, international relations and architecture students.  Also, it seems the majority of the rooms on my floor are guys’ rooms, which is a little different than my experience living in Leslie at SBU.  Quite the crowd of neighbors I’ve got!  I have met or seen most of them in passing and have really begun to ask Father for blessing in their studies.  It is one of our teams' goals to individually for each dorm room throughout our stay there.

My supervisors just celebrated 10 years of marriage! PTL. Their love and faithfulness to each other, especially here on the field has been a great example for me. I have learned a great deal from them and it has been so good to see how they unselfishly serve one another daily. I have really enjoyed being a part of their family and playing with their children. Even when the kids are cranky or the house looks like a tornado zone, it is always nice to know that their door is open for me anytime. (Even at 11:01pm after missing the dorm curfew!)

Language (sigh)… It is definitely a way that you can be praying for me.  Learning Russian has been very interesting.  Our teacher (“prepadavatyelnetza”) is a fiery little lady who loves to intimidate you by making you stand in front of the class and write in cursive on the chalk board.  I have not yet figured out exactly how to prepare for class and what to study, which reflects my understanding in class the next day.  I do like class, but it is very difficult with all of the cases, grammar and rules.  We are on case 3 of 7 during week two and our teacher says we are learning so slowly.  I am so thankful for all of the language that I learned in the first few months of being here.  It is a good mix of having learned some conversational Russian and now having some grammar.

English club is in full swing. I really like being creative in teaching and leading discussions with students.  So far, the topics have been about CA culture and popular culture.  During one lesson I even had an opportunity to share my story, which was a little unusual for our method, but it led to a really great discussion.  The topic was 'Celebrities' and I don't know how, but Father used that to bring glory to Himself and allow me to tell people about what the Son has done for me.  I am amazed to discover how much the Father yearns for people to become His child and how He can use me in any situation to share of His love.  

I have begun some really great relationships with students, including a few from my dorm.  A couple of my Sisters also live in my dorm, so it will a great encouragement to meet with them and talk to Father together.  When I was moving in I met a cousin named Oreh* who is an international student from Cardamom*.  He was very excited to hear people speaking English, even though it is one of the six languages he knows.  Much like any other university, the international students stick together here.  He has told us over and over that if we need any help with anything, he would be available whenever we needed him.  I ask that you be talking with Papa about him and the chance to share.  Last evening he joined all of us girls for tea time and I would venture to say he is a great person of peace (luk.10).  Considering his people group, it would be such a joy for him to become a brother.

Well, I must sign off and practice some more language before class! Blessings and love to you all.  до свидания! пока, пока! До следующего раза!

*The title of my blog came from the simple life realization that I am living with only one spoon. It was a scramble to outfit our tiny dorm in so quick a hurry, which has resulted in having to eat our cereal in shifts some mornings. Fun times!

Back Home...

I have made it back to the city once again.  My my, so much traveling has taken place these past few weeks!  It was a good trip and a successful trip, as I so gladly hold a new visa in hand.  It expires two months earlier than we needed them to, so be praying as we figure out how to approach that.  I think the university office can extend it, so we are hoping that is true.  On the train ride back I got more and more excited to get back “home.”  I began to realize how much I missed the city and how much I longed to be back on its streets where everything is familiar - the people, shops, food and even smells.
Since being back we have started to prepare for language class.  We paid tuition, signed contracts and worked on moving into the dorms.  Through many conversations this week, we are still NOT moved into the dorms yet.  They keep giving us the run around and have finally said that they were remodeling our rooms, so they would not be ready until next week.  Please be praying that we’ll be able to move in soon and get settled well   . 
I don’t know if I have expressed it enough, but I am so blessed by the father to have such wonderful teammates. I love Gabi. She is so happy all the time. Music is what drives her and she sings all the time. It makes my heart so happy to always live in a place filled with joy, which I know is a product of the son because of our hope that we have in him. Her passion for the people here is so encouraging day after day. It is so beautiful that father created us so similarly, yet so different that she makes connections with people in ways that I don’t. What a great picture of the Body.
Sometimes I don’t listen or tune out Gabi and I don’t even know it. Example:
Gabi – “Callie, I’m buying this nesquik for you because you do not like plain boxed milk.”
Me – smile and nod or sometimes do not even acknowledge it.
(A couple minutes go by…)
Me – “Hey Gabi, I think we should get some nesquik.”
Now, this may seem like it is not a big deal and maybe that is not the best example I could come up with (actually that happened just this morning!) but father has really been convicting me to attend to it. I have been reading in James to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. In that time, wise men spoke a lot and to be quite and listen to them showed great humility. Not that anyone of us is wiser than the other, but I’m praying that I will be quicker to hear my teammates and hear them well. Also, I pray that the spirit would help me to discern how I can best serve them on a daily basis.
My other teammate Sara is wonderful as well. She is like a little sister to me, (mostly because she is the same age as Clara!) Her love for the father and his people is so genuine and inspiring. It has been a process for her to adjust to the culture and life here because her hearts’ desire is to be working in Africa in a rural community. (It’s funny how father works because he brought her here to a large Asian city!) She has told us time and time that He wants her here to gain a new perspective of this side of the world. Already her faith has been such an encouragement.  For a while when we were going to meetings and changing visas she thought our final destination was just a dream; that A-town was not a real place.  Since being here a week I think she has grown to love it and be comfortable here.  I ask you to keep her in your conversations with Papa that He would continue to break her heart for these people and show His purpose for her here.
My teammate Meg is a blessing.  She is a Jgirl who I see as my older sister.  She has graciously taken us under her wing and showed us the ropes, teaching us the secrets of sharing with people here.  Her heart for Central Asian UPGs and UUPGs is very genuine and is a great motivation for me.
This week we are also preparing for our service project, which is teaching English club.  We have already been approached by some students who are anxious about the club starting next week.  We have been prwalking the campus asking father to prepare the field for new seeds to be planted.