Home again!

I apologize for how quiet my blog has been lately! The exciting news is that we're back in Russia again!! It feels like we were gone for months although it was only weeks. I'm so thrilled to be back! = ) The flight over went fine. I always breath a sigh a relief and thank the Lord when the last bag shows itself on the carousel. It's only stuff, but it sure is nice to have! = )

There are two airports that we can fly into here in Moscow. There is the Domodedovo Airport and the Sherametovo Airport. Domodedovo is less than an hour from our home. Sherametovo is 3 or 4 hours depending on traffic or train times. We usually fly into Domodedovo since it is so much closer, but this time it was $500 cheaper for us to fly into Sherametovo. Since no one was able to pick us up and a taxi from there is ridiculous, we took the public transportation. This mean two trains, the metro and finally a taxi from the last train station to home. It was definitely a challenge with 3 bags around 45 pounds each and 3 carry-ons. I'll admit there were times I felt a little exasperated! haha The next day my arm muscles were sore. I think I need to get in better shape! = )

As many of you know, the majority of people here in Moscow can be rather rude at times. I've been pushed, yelled at, and most commonly glared at. Honestly I was expecting the worst as we traipsed across Moscow with all our luggage. I knew we were going to be in the way of the common flow of busy Moscow. When we were walking through crowds, walking up and down stairs, going through doors difficult to open with people trying to squeeze around instead of help, going through narrow gates with one bag being pushed in front while the other was pulled from behind so we could fit through... at moments when I thought, "this is nuts", I found myself surprised 3 different times, when some kind Russian soul reached out and helped. They didn't ask for a "tip", and they didn't expect anything in return. They were just being nice! It overwhelmed me and I felt welcomed back into this country. Thank you, Lord!

From Kansas with Love

Well, the visa process is moving along. We would really appreciate your prayers for everything to be approved without any more bumps in the road. Lord willing, we will be departing for Russia May 14! Yea! :) It has been really wonderful spending time with family. Right now I'm up in Kansas spending time with my parents. Joel needed to stay in Oklahoma City to take care of some details. It is hard to be apart, but we just didn't have a choice this time. My parents live in a very small town called Mapleton. Dad pastors a small, country church in Xenia, Kansas. Mapleton is about 200 people, and Xenia is about 20 people! Xenia Baptist Church has been around for about 65 years and has seen many ups and downs, but has remained a faithful, Baptist church the whole time. The church has started seeing revival in the last month! It is so exciting to see!! Praise the Lord!!

Not all of Kansas is flat and treeless. : ) This is on the other side of the road by their house. Right before I took this picture, a turkey came out of the bushes. It flew into a bunch of trees before I could get a good picture.

My parent's house is the white building on the right side of the picture. The country life may not be for everyone, but they love it!

The two closest, slightly larger towns are Fort Scott and Iola. During my stay here, I have been reminded what I love about small town country livin'! : ) The weather has been just perfect lately, and I took a walk yesterday down the "highway" in front of my parents house. They get maybe 2 vehicles every hour that pass by. One of those that passed while I was walking was a nice old man in a truck. He stopped and asked if I was just walking or needed help. I told him I was just enjoying the beautiful day and we bid each other good day. That's true country folk! I love it! When we went into town (Fort Scott), I needed a few things from Walmart. I was shocked at the almost empty parking lot at around four in the afternoon! But Walmart is no place to be on a perfect spring day! Dairy Queen and Sonic were packed out! : )

I hope you all are enjoying good weather and the beauty of God's creation! I'm so thankful for what God has given us to enjoy hear on earth while we serve Him and wait expectantly for our home in Heaven! It is impossible to fathom how beautiful Heaven will be!

The Visa Situation

Well, we are back in the states for a few weeks to renew our visas. Due to the type of visa we must get to do mission work, we can only get 3 month visas right now. It is not easy to travel this much, but the  blessing is the opportunity to see family. How thankful I am for the wonderful family God has given my husband and me!

Our flight here went well. We were supposed to arrive here on Thursday night, but our flight was cancelled due to a strike in Germany. We were able to reschedule for the next day with no trouble. Praise the Lord for that! :) After 13 hours in the air and about 24 hours of travel time, we enjoyed a good nights rest. It was interesting how many people we met during our travels this time. Between cancelled flights and long lines, we met some very nice people. Some were on a business trip, others visiting family, while others were also involved in some type of mission work. While visiting a country that is not your own, there is a unique bond between complete strangers that share the same citizenship.

We are excited and praying about the possibility of improvement in the area of visas in the next year. We recently got a new American Ambassador in Russia who wants to make a treaty between Russia and America that will allow longer visas both ways. It will improve things for both Russians and Americans. This would be wonderful and we are praying for the Lord's will in this.

Spring in Moscow

Happy Spring! Can you believe the first day of spring is here? There is a certain excitement and newness that comes with the dawn of spring. What makes spring so wonderful? I think it's because it comes after a dark, cold winter. So without the cold, dreary days of winter, how would we know to appreciate the sunshine and new growth of spring. Let's remember to be thankful for those dark days and appreciate the bright days that much more. 



So what does the first day of spring look like in Domodedovo, Russia? Here are a few pictures I took this morning. I wish I would have made it out with my camera a little earlier because the day started out bright and sunny like a good spring day, but then a snow storm blew in seemingly within minutes. The sun is starting to back out again now. Ah, yes, spring in Russia! :)

The snowmen are actually melting! Poor things...they will be missed.

We can actually see the road! :)

And then there's the enormous mounds of snow that will most likely be there still in May or June.

So with the snow slowly melting now, the ground starts to reveal all of its dirty secrets. Trash is everywhere. The whole no littering thing isn't quite the same here. There are also many stray dogs here. They leave their "droppings" all winter long. It freezes and gets covered with another layer of snow. As the snow melts, all the nastiness gets revealed. 



Here's hoping you all are enjoying the new season!

Every Christian has a very personal responsibility to grow in their faith. Yet there are times when we seem to stand still. That is when God touches us like the earth in the springtime, bringing new growth and warmth for the faithful souls dedicated to His service.  - Ed Price

Little Blessings

While we were here last summer, I made friends with a Russian young lady. She taught me fitness in exchange for English lessons. When we were on our way back here, I wrote and asked if there was anything I could bring her from America. Everytime someone in the family goes back to America, we all bring back small things for each other that we can't get here. She was so touched that I would bring her something. She said that no one had ever done anything like that for her before. Seeing the gratitude in her eyes was so special for me. Being a blessing is always fun, but this time was different. Thank you, Lord, for little blessings!

One of my favorite Russian dishes is called a blini. It is basically a really big crepe. They are filled with many different things from honey to fish eggs. :) I've yet to try the one with the fish eggs! lol My absolute favorite of the few I've had is apples and caramel. Joel has been having me order for myself to make me use my Russian as much as possible. I've gotten fairly confident about it and with some effort can usually order without anyone around to help me. They usually smile and will try to correct my sad accent, but are usually always patient with me. Today I got a different girl than I usually get. She heard my accent and didn't even want to try to understand what I wanted. She left and went to get what I thought was an English menu so I could point to what I wanted. (This is how I ordered by myself last summer.) When she came back though, she handed me a RUSSIAN  menu. I smiled to myself, and pointed to what I was trying to order. (thankfully I can read Russian) Later when I told my family what had happened, they informed me that was a good thing. It means my accent sounds Baltic, an apparent improvement from an English accent. Praise the Lord for His help! I'm improving! :) Thank you, Lord, for little blessings!

Line drying in the winter

While I was packing to come, I made sure to bring dryer sheets. They are next to impossible to find here because most people don't have dryers. The dryers that do exist are very different from the states because the houses and apartments don't have dryer vents. We are currently living with Joel's parents and will be for at least a year while I learn the language and adapt into the Russian culture. They brought over a dryer on a container many years ago. All these years they've had to find ways for the vent situation. Well, yesterday the dryer gave out. It was a trooper for many years. If it was summer, this would be slightly easier. Hanging clothes on the line outside would result in frozen clothes! :) The other option...hang them inside...anywhere you can find a place. I have clothes on every chair, closet door and many other random places. :) I'm not quite sure what I'll do with the dryer sheets. Oh well, I've heard they are great mosquito repellents. I'll have to give it a try this summer.

The snow is SO wonderful!  It's not been too cold either so the snow was wet and stuck to everything. My icecycles are back and longer than the last ones. These ones are at least a foot long! It is weird getting use to all this darkness. In the 6 hours of sunlight we're suppose to get it still stays pretty dark because of the clouds. They said the sun has only shone itself twice in the last month.

Joel, Jed and Allen had a great time in Kolmekii. They have plenty of stories to tell. :) It's never dull to travel in this amazing country! Joel was able to preach on little to no sleep after travelling from the states for over 24 hours, then another 15 hours in a car. He didn't sleep at all on the trip down there because the driver kept falling asleep. It's interesting how survival kicks in with situations like that.

Always check the label

We have arrived safely. :) I always love the feeling when that last luggage shows itself. Praise the Lord the travelling is done and we are well...and so are our bags. Joel has gone to Kolmekii in southern Russia for a few days with a couple of guys who are visiting from our sending church. I feel bad for Joel though he didn't even have time to rest before leaving. Jet lag is in full swing for me. A huge chunk of snow fell off the roof last night and scared me to death. It woke me up from a somewhat restless sleep. I had no idea where I was and when I reached beside me to find Joel he wasn't there. Needless to say I was pretty shook up. Once I realized everything was fine, I fell back asleep until about 3:30 in the morning. Then my eyes popped open and try as I might I couldn't sleep again until 8:00...yes I slept until lunch time! :) LOL I must stay away awake until 10:00 tonight. I will not let you win, jet lag!

Funny story...I walked down to the store today with my sis in law. I needed chocolate and a few other not as important items. As we were getting ready to check out, I saw a 2 liter water jug and thought that would be nice to have in the room. The kitchen is two flights of stairs away and I'm feeling a little lazy at the moment...As I picked it up Hannah got this weird look on her face. "What do you need that for? You don't have a car," she says. I looked a little closer to realize I was planning on drinking window washer fluid . Even better, window cleaner here has a high content of vodka. Oh goodness, I'm starting off well. :)

January 3 has arrived

We've said this date over and over. Talked about it, prayed about it. And now it's here. In a few hours, we'll be Russia-bound. The last weighing of the bags is done. I'm a little concerned about the old scale we had to use. Hopefully it was accurate. If you are a fan of Tim Hawkins, maybe you've heard his thing about suitcases in airports. Who really comes to the airport with grasping and dropping clothes wishing they had some kind of container to put it in? Why do they sell suitcases at the airport?? Last time we flew I got a better understanding. A couple in front of us thought if they paid enough money they would allow them to have overweight bags. It was entertaining to say the least as they had to get out of line and yes, go find that store with the suitcases. They surely paid extra money, but not in the way they thought. I wonder if we, as Christians sometimes think that if we give enough tithe, offering and missions, God will overlook how we're not following his commandments like we should.

May God bless you all in this exciting New Year. My next post will actually be from Russia...and of course with love! :)

Packing, Packing, Packing!

Packing has gone well. Really better than last summer. Trying to keep our bags under 50 pounds can be challenging. This time I'm taking over some of my kitchen stuff and a view extras to make our room feel somewhat more like home. Last night Joel and I went through our stuff we have stored with my parents. I had not seen it in a couple years and it was so fun to go through. We only had room for a few things though so most of it went back in the boxes. I must remind myself...it's only stuff. :)