This is Real Life

The washing machine

I never imagined that someday I would come to
call Russia home. That I would love the people of a city located in the very middle of Siberia. In the past few weeks since we have been back in Tomsk we have been readjusting to life in the city and it has been, yet again, quite a whirlwind. We have settled into our apartment and made it our home. This includes having filtered water delivered to us every couple of weeks (after we order it for ourselves off of the website which is completely in Russian) and paying for our very own WiFi. We also make a point to cook most of our meals and even try out cooking Russian meals. We were also able to buy a washing machine and have the appropriate tools to air dry our clothes. This washing machine is a supreme blessing because handwashing is a chore. Living in Russia is our reality and each day it becomes easier but we definitely still have our moments!

Air drying clothes

For instance, yesterday we went to the grocery store to buy more groceries and as we were checking out it dawned on us that we didn't have enough money to pay... oops. Thankfully there was an ATM in the store so we were good. Then there are still times on the bus when things can get a little confusing. Like if we pay and then wait to get off the bus it severely confuses the bus driver because you are supposed to pay right before you get off. There have been a few times where the driver will try to talk to us and we don't know what to do because we do not understand what he is saying. Sometimes we are able to convey that we don't understand but sometimes we leave the bus driver angry. These are appropriate times to utilize idioms such as shake it off, laugh it off, and let it go.






Before we came to Russia we were told time and again to learn to laugh at yourself. This is easier said then done but often times we can only turn to laughter. For my sanity I need to laugh when we are placed in awkward situations. Just the other night we were meeting with some brothers and sisters from the church about various activities that we could do to get people into the church building. One idea they had was having a banya night. If you know nothing about banyas maybe the word sauna might ring a bell. Still nothing? Okay..I'll explain. For Russians, the banya is a treat. The banya is where you go to sweat away your problems. People go to the banya to escape the stress of everyday life and escape their clothes. If you still aren't picking up what I'm putting down I'll now take the time to really break it down for you. The church has a sauna on their property and thought it would be a great idea to have us host a girls night. Because nothing says bonding like hanging out in a 120 degree wooden room, stark-naked with people you have never met before! I'm usually down for whatever this life throws at us but the banya is not my cup of tea. And bless the pastor. Bless him. He was trying to understand why we did NOT want to banya. We just had to laugh because, at the moment, none of us could work up the nerve to tell that pastor that we would rather make friends with our clothes on... [For the record: We did take part in a banya experience at English camp. The banya is completely normal in Russia but we were not enthused with the idea of doing it again.]


In that same meeting we were able to plan some joint events with the church. Most of them involve exploiting us Americans and our ability to speak English. But hey, God can use anyone and anything to bring glory to His name. This includes making us "teach" English to every human we encounter in Russia. I love Russians, I love English, and I love teaching Russians Enlgish but sometimes it is great to break away from the role as teacher. I love being able to be a student of the Russian culture and language. It brightens my day to actually learn something new instead of teach something. Two Sundays ago we were able to attend the general meeting of a house church network that meets here in Tomsk. It was so wonderful to be surrounded by such loving Christians and stand witness to their heartfelt worship. Many of them speak English very well and were able to translate the sermon for us. The man speaking preached a message that each Christian needed to here in this fallen world that is filled with strife and war. He taught on how the Bible commands us to love our enemies and pray for them. We should not let the atrocities of this world tear the Body of Christ apart. We should not give the power over to Satan. Christ has already won! Hallelujah!

It is so easy for me to get caught up in my own thoughts here and concede to the lies Satan is feeding me. I am asking for your prayers that I would graciously serve the great King on High instead of myself. Please pray that I would find joy in the small things and not be too hard on myself when I fail. That I would remember that it is okay for me to become angry or sad because even Jesus wept and flipped tables. but pray that I would not dwell on the situations that cause such extreme emotions. Pray that I would stay level headed and have a servant's heart towards the people of Russia as well as my teammates. Lastly, it'd be pretty rad if you could offer up some words about our English classes; next week we are teaching a class every night for 6 nights straight.

Also, we're going to the UK in a little more than two weeks. Talk about some cool beans! This will hopefully be a short trip but we'll see. If you would like to know more details about this don't be afraid to ask in a personal message or talk to my mom about it. Now for your viewing pleasure: some pictures of a park near our apartment. This park is a ten minute walk from our residence. Here there are plenty of hiking trails as well as the most beautiful view of the river. We had some friends take us and we got to play frisbee. Thank the Lord for people who want to be our friends!