Wilderness Girls

The day after our holiday fun we left by train to help with a summer English camp. We had an interesting train experience because our seats were actually beds, but after switching with some nice people we were able to get a table-bed seat together and practice our vocab for a while. In the A-town we stayed with the director and her husband for about two weeks total. They were such a sweet couple and so hospitable to have us in their home, feeding us lots of wonderful food and taking care of us with our tummy troubles. It was like we had the homestay experience that we actually should have had from the very beginning.
We ate all the time, all day long. It was a marathon: Coffee with sweets at 9am, lunch around 12 or 1pm, tea anywhere from 3-5 (with sweets), dinner around 7, and then lastly, tea again around 9 or 10pm. Basically any time of the day is time for tea with sweets and bread. The most interesting treat I had was a candy called zafere, which is very similar to divinity. Unfortunately, some fresh food products, like the whole milk babushka got for us, did not sit well with my stomach. A couple days I was pretty miserable but I took pepto, talked to papa a lot and was encouraged by his book. Since returning from the wild I am so much better. I’d like to think that maybe now I am getting used to the food.
We spent 5 days before camping preparing food and organizing supplies. This included buying things like a huge strand of kielbasa, two dozen loafs of bread, 2 pounds of cheese and lots of rolls of toilet paper. Gabi and I shredded numerous carrots, beets and onions. There were no hot dogs, potato chips, cheese wiz or s’mores. This was not your average camping excursion to Pome de Tar or Bennett Springs! I was expecting to stay in yurts, but we had only regular tents, eight in all. There were 10 students from ages 14 to 18 years old.
Our English teaching time was very good. The theme of the camp was “Safety,” so we tried to relate every subject back to that. Topics of discussion included fear, superstitions, peer pressure, substance abuse, CPR/first aid and even finances. We did other activities like hangman, word games, and campfire songs. There was some great theatrical performances as well, including the Three Little Pigs, a courtroom scene and even Gabi’s recitation of Hamlets’ “To be or not to be” speech.  The camp was a great time for them to practice English because it wasn’t just a one hour session for the day, but multiple sessions in the day. And there were two Americans available for conversations 24/7. We tried to stay up late with them around the campfire, but didn’t make it very long.
Every day I am learning new Russian words. We challenged the students at camp to give us 10 new words each day and quiz us on past words. It had helped a lot. Of course they gave us words we wouldn’t necessarily need in the city, like “pine cone,” “lake,” and “bonfire,” but it was very good practice. We learned more about the culture through language learning as well and they even taught us some slang! Getting to know the students was so great and I hope we can continue the relationships that we made throughout our stay in country. They are already planning for Gabi and me to come back at least once a month. We are asking papa to keep us in his favor with opportunities of traveling back often.
We were camped at the perfect spot. There was a lake which we swam in 5 times a day and also ate the fish we caught. I am not a big fan of fish anyways, so eating small carp that you had to pick the bones out was interesting. One morning we even had fish soup for breakfast. Yummo. I have to say I did not love that experience, but I tried it. It really just tasted like the lake, as if I just took my bowl down to the lake a scooped up some water. Our host had become quite the ‘economist’ in camping so we took advantage of the local food resources. In the fields grew wild strawberries, which were used in compote and the leaves infused in hot tea, and used wild mushrooms in stews and soups.
Mosquitos were ravenous in the wild. They were so sneaky and even OFF! couldn’t stop ‘em. There was very good weather our entire stay in the wild. Only the last two days did it get really hot. It was a great time to enjoy papa’s creation and give him glory for all the blessings he’s given me.
There was supposed to be a painting camp for disabled children after the English camp, but some plans changed and we weren’t able to do that camp. However, two different ch. groups came to the camp. The first was a group of 15 that stayed for two days and the second was a group of 55 that stayed for a day and a half. It was a lot of fun. We didn’t really have any responsibilities (no teaching English) so it was rather relaxing. This first group was that of the gathering that our hosts attended, so they were familiar faces. One of the leaders played the accordion and lots of time was spent singing and dancing around the camp. During a group meeting Gabi and I sang a worp song in English for them and of course they loved it J One of my favorite memories was with the second camp when all the women around the campfire started singing “Open the Eyes” in Russian and we were singing in English. It was a cool picture of how papa’s love stretches so far that it is not restrained by language barriers.
With these last two camps it was a struggle to know what was going on because not many people spoke English. I could sort of follow conversations by picking out a few words here and there, but most of the time I was lost. I had lots of opportunities to use the few Russian words that I do know tho! A group of little girls (maybe ages 10 to 12) ambushed Gabi and me several times asking us tons of questions.
We met some sisters about our age and became good friends with. One works in the city as a teacher and will be back here in a few weeks. She invited us to her group which is actually very close to our apartment. I am excited to see it!
After camp we rested and gathered with Nat’s (our host) group. It reminds me a lot of my home ch. (WBC), only in Russian. They have a big heart for families and restoring and maintaining broken relationships. In this culture substance abuse is a big problem, especially alcohol. It destroys families and hurts everyone involved. Affairs happen often and divorce is common, leaving the children to wonder what is wrong with them and why they are not a ‘normal’ family. Their hearts for families in their community was so big that they opened a rehab center on their ch. campus. It is maybe a few years old, but has helped numerous families. This center helps men and women with addictions, marital problems or family counseling needs. Their goal is to help people grow in the truth of papa’s book and to live, move and breath all to the glory of papa. This does not come without hardships and struggles, but the vision of life and min. that papa has given the people here is so huge. This area is also full of people in need of good, steady jobs. Unemployment is high and pressure/stresses of everyday life are part of the reason for substance abuse. Nat says the town’s poverty level is rising; not bad yet, but rising. Many kids live on the streets. Nat’s new vision for her organization is a children’s shelter that seems similar to Isabel’s House in Springfield, where children can go to sleep, eat some borsch or just come in form the cold. This is a cool picture of caring for the orphans in need (Jam 1:27).
After fellowship last Sunday, Sunny*, one of the sisters we met at camp, invited us to her house for lunch. They served bishparmak, the national dish, with chicken and horse. This was the first time since being in country that I had tasted horse. It’s like roast beef and actually not too bad. This started a marathon of eating while looking at her family photos, even some old ones from soviet times. By that point we had 3 cups of tea in our bellies but it was just the beginning. We decide to watch an Uzbek movie which Sunny translated into English for us. It was a very cute movie. About every 20 min or so, Sunny’s mom would pop us out of her chair and say, “You want more chai?!” {I have learned that although language is direct, usually when people ask “You want to go now?” it actually means, “Alright I’m ready to go now, so let’s go.”} Without even a mutter from our mouths of yes or no, the tea was already in our cups. How wonderful was their hospitality! They really made us feel at home.
Now we are back in the city and currently our building doesn’t have any power. It is not uncommon for short power outages every now and then. It would not be so bad except our apartment is on the 11^th floor. After climbing the stairs a couple times a day, I’ll be really fit for another marathon!
Yesterday we were able to visit an orphanage to give some notes and chocolates that another team had left for them. That is a huge step and a great answer of pr. from papa. Please talk to him about our relationship with the kids and the ability to have a continued presence there.

Celebrations..

Post #1 – Celebrations…
These last two weeks have been quite an adventure and I cannot believe we have been here 5 weeks already.  A little over two weeks ago Gabi and I took a train to another town to help with a summer English camp. 
But before leaving, we had a lot of great experiences in our city starting with Independence Day.  We celebrated by going from party to party. On the 4th of July, we attended a party at the US Embassy. There were a lot more Americans in the country than I thought! Some were familiar faces from teams who have been here during the summer, but most people I had never met before. With US flag decor and popular music playing, it was a little piece of home. There was so much good food including mountains of watermelon and hamburgers and baked beans cooked by the Marines. So delicious! Later that day we continued the feast by attending a friend's party. While there I met so many great brothers and sisters, including a couple from the UK. They shared stories of their time here. I very much appreciated their insight to Papa's plan for people here and how they were a part of such a plan. They gave us some insights into min. here, encouraging us to be great harvesters by sowing widely and talking to Papa constantly. Since talking with them, I have realized that I should practice my storytelling skills. Not only should I be able to contextualize stories of the book, but stories of how Papa has helped me in my life.
My 4th of July was not without fireworks this year. A national holiday on the 6th left the night sky glittering after a fun day of festivities.  This was the birthday of the city and also of the president. We met with a local friend who took us around the city to take in the sights. In the multiple parks around the city were carnivals with bouncy houses and rides. Music made everything come alive and stages were set up for musicians and dancers. I saw many different ethnic dances including Russian, Uzbek, Tajik and Kazakh. Food tents lined the streets and the smell of shashleek (kabobs) filled the air. On the river was a stage set up for a ballet performance. A local dance company teamed up with an American dance company to deliver an amazing performance that was more than 3 hours long. Once the dance had ended, the fireworks began. Lights and colors lit up the sky as flame throwers came up from the river with cakes going off from the opposite bank. Then the Roman candles, fountains and small artillery shells, followed by the 6's and 8's. The sounds echoed down the canal. The shear size of the show was amazing and it seemed the entire thing was a finale. (However, it maybe needed the choreography and computer-music programming effects of Porter's Pyrotechnics ;) After the spectacular display, the streets were packed and buses were even more packed. Finally after two hours of waiting we arrived home. I thoroughly enjoyed this night of fun and culture.
This day was also big because it was the opening of our cousins' new building in town. It is said to be the largest in all of Central Asia, able to hold 5,000 people. It was amazing. The marble work was gorgeous with blues and creams and gold lettering. The campus was very crowded and we had to push our way to get in. People were packed in the building all the way out to the fountain in the courtyard. I learned not to walk in front of people when they were gesturing to the West… they get real mad. I am glad we visited on the first day because we did not have to be dressed completely appropriately and women were allowed on the lower main level during prayer time. We were there right as the call started, which was very interesting. Of course it was hard to walk around and think that so many of these people are so far from Papa. Hearing the echoes of the MC broke my heart. I talked to Papa a lot while I was walking around. Mostly we talked that the people would be blessed in their lives, that they would have the knowledge of the son and that Papa would be honored through that. This building may bring a newness of faith of my cousins and may encourage them to step out past their nominal relationships with papa. (I think that is the aim of the cousins in the west, but not necessarily of the people here.) Or, this building may only be a pretty architectural structure hidden by the strong lure of materialism and secularism. Only papa knows and so we must keep talking to him about that asking for his mercy in everything.

Week One

It has been a great week of immersion into the new culture. I am continually challenged in my Russian vocabulary and have to ask how to say something about a million times. Eventually I get it and celebrate when I do get to use it while out with the locals. I am getting more and more confident in going into a restaurant or magazine and asking for something. I am recognizing more and more letters in words, especially if it is an English word spelled with Russian letters :) 
I have found sometimes that it is hard to find people who speak English, but when I do, they speak it very well. Everyone is just so friendly here that it is easy to make friends, even if they know no English at all!

We gathered for fellowship with some other expatriots this week. There are so many here right now that it would have been overwhelming for us all to meet with the local group, but it was still good to sing to father and spend some time talking with him.
The summers here are pretty chill and slow. With not a whole lot going on Gabi and I have spent a lot of time walking the campus and talking with father about the upcoming semester. He is moving here and I know he has great things planned for us! How cool it will be to see fruit from our walks too. I have met our Russian teacher for the fall. She is so sweet and kind and invited us to enjoy some sweets with her the day we visited her office. Her teaching style maybe very different from that of American teaching, so we'll see!

We have  also walked and talked with Papa around the savor and mosq. We asked a special blessing on those who gather there and that the veil would be lifted. There is a new mos. being built and after its opening this week, it will be the largest in all of Central Asia. I think it will open this Friday on "A-Day" (also the President's birthday). We have asked a special blessing for those who will go there as well.
I have met quite a few nationals this week even though most of the university students have gone home on holiday.  A couple in particular have been helping me with language. They patiently wait as I repeat words over and over and write them down. I have had some good conversations with them. The discussion questions from english lessons have helped with that and allowed us to talk about the son.
I have loved getting to know our supervising family. Their house is always bustling with excitement with four kids running around. Gabi and I have had a lot of fun spending time playing with them (and babysitting). Their oldest who is only 6 years old has the most precious attitude about the focus people group. She is so gentle with a servant heart and can translate better than some of the other workers here already. I am inspired by her genuine love for the people and willingness to serve at such a young age.
Yesterday we visited a coffee shop/bookstore owned by a sister who has been in country for quite some time (it's on Acts St. 18/3). We had great food, great coffee and great conversation. It's a great place to meet locals and share a 2-minute T. with people. Gabi and I loved it so much that we'd like to go there semi-regularly or take other univ. students there too. It is really the only place (besides the overly priced Gloria Jean's at the mall) to get an excellent coffee drink. No one really drinks coffee here except Nes-cafe.. no Starbucks.
 As I am writing all these things, I am reminded of Paul's words in his letter to Colosse: "devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that Father may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of the son, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of  every opportunity. Let you conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone" (Col. 4:2-6). I hope that you would remember those words as you talk with the father and intercede for us.