Sunday, August 3, 2014

Ya pony-mayo choot choot Roosky.

In case you don't know any Russian, the title of this post translates: "I understand a little Russian." It seems that I have not posted in a while and there is so much I have to share. On July 18 we left for the city of Kolpashevo to teach English courses twice a day for two weeks. Little did we know that the people of Kolpashevo, and our intended students would become dear friends. The family who hosted us in this tiny Siberian village consisted of Pastor Viktor, his wife Larisa, and their five children: Cyril-17, Leah-15, Sofie-13, Tihon-12, and Arsinia-8. They welcomed us into their family with open arms and cared for us as if we were a part of the family. Larisa cooked for us everyday and even taught us how to make a few traditional Russian dishes. (I cooked one all by myself, today!) The family loved on us, laughed with us, shared their life stories with us, and encouraged us as brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Lake

Karina

Old Military Base


Orthodox Church

Baptism

Tihon


Each member of the family brought so much to the table, figuratively and literally, and I miss them dearly. Pastor Viktor was hysterical and did the best impression of us Americans attempting to speak Russian, thus the title of this post. Each time he made fun of the way we speak Russian we all ended up in stitches and laughing til we cried. He helped us feel comfortable speaking in Russian and the whole family helped us to learn so much more. After practically living with the 7 of them for two weeks I can say with confidence that ya pony-mayo choot choot Roosky now. The eldest daughter, Leah, also taught me a ton of new Russian words and always made sure to slow down when she was teaching me pronunciation. She was great. Then there was the sweet baby child Arsinia! I may not have gotten to work with a million 8 year olds at CentriKid this summer but Arsinia made up for that. She was feisty, and funny, and became my best friend. Each day she greeted me with a giant manly sounding "HELLO" and we departed in the same fashion. And Tihon, oh Tihon. Talk about the coolest 12 year old boy who speaks just enough English to mildly understand your jokes. Also, his name. I will probably name a kid after him. (Pronounced Tea-hawn)

Teaching English is an interesting line of work. These last two weeks were filled with very successful classes and some classes that fell right on their face. I am learning so much about teaching and how to share my faith in the classroom. God uses my every breath to show Himself and it is so exciting to be a part of His bigger plan. He continues to prove His faithfulness in every situation. There have definitely been some trying times in the classroom and there have been many times when I have become so frustrated because I feel that no one is learning. I think that I am an awful English teacher in at least half of my classes but that I am reminded by the Spirit that it is not about me and it is not about English. The purpose of my entire life, all that I do, is to serve an almighty God who has invited me to join Him in the adventure of leading new people into His Kingdom. Wow. Ecclesiastes says again and again that everything is done in vain, it is futile, it is a pursuit of the wind; life is an endless cycle that gets us nowhere unless we fear God and keep His commands. I pray that what happens in my classroom is a result of this. That my love for the Father will create and overflow of love to those around me.

Speaking of love...we got to celebrate Christmas in July with the Russians! It was a special time because we got to share with the people why we (believers) this CHRISTmas is such a great holiday. Alissa read the story of Jesus's birth and we sang Silent Night. Russians really enjoy music and singing! Each song we sang provided a great opportunity to share the reason for the season! The reason for our joy. The reason for our lives. I love Christmas. By the way, I'm really excited for Christmas time in Russia. Can you say Chrsitmas cookies?!?!

Another thing that got celebrated in Kolpashevo was my 21st birthday! Oh heyyy. The day was filled with surprises and quite a few tears. I was so overwhelmed with emotions, especially thankfulness. The family and our friend Natasha surprised me at lunch with the birthday song in two languages, a skype call from my parents, and the most beautiful birthday cake I have ever beheld! It was huge, delicious, and covers in edible pink roses. Scrumptious. After our 2 pm class we all went to the most beautiful lake where we ate shashlik (sishkabob) and more birthday cake. By the by, Shashlik is the most delicious camping food you will ever taste. I'm sorry that you didn't get to eat with me on my birthday. I was given a plethora of great gifts for my birthday but the best one was the outpouring of love by those that I was with.

Kolpashevo stole my heart and I have so many stories I could tell but so little time. But I will try to cram a million things into one giant run on sentence. Let's go. In the last two weeks I have drank more black tea than ever before ever, I have eaten better food than I could ever cook for myself, I have sang worship songs around a dinner table, I have made friends to last a lifetime, I have been inside 2 Russian Orthodox churches, I toured an old Russian military base, I got abnormally close to quite a few cows, I have learned how to speak more Russian, I have learned how to speak better English, I have learned how to cook Russian cuisine, I have learned how to survive with minimal Internet, I have bonded with children in English class solely based on the fact that I can be a total goof and sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees, & Toes" in my best tone-deaf voice, I have baked 300+ homemade chocolate chip cookies, I have played "Duck Duck Goose" with tiny Russian children, I have fearlessly sang songs for Russians at their every whim, I have played frisbee in the middle of a Siberian forest, I have toured a museum, I have shared the Gospel, I have witnessed the baptism of three young believers, I have shared my love of chocolate, I have shared family stories, I have shared American traditions, I have gained new friends, and most of all I have seen a part of the world that God loves with a love that I yearn to have.

God is movin' and a shakin' here in Siberia and it is inadequate to call being here simply a blessing. Living life in Tomsk & Kolpashevo with such amazing teammates and fellow believers is indescribable. I'm in love. I am learning to love the people in a way that could only be from the Father. I am learning to love a language that I'd never even dreamed of learning. God is teaching me to love teaching and is guiding my every word. God's provisions are innumerable. His faithfulness is unwavering. His grace is never ending. I am in awe. I am so excited to settle back into life in Tomsk and join the brothers and sisters in Christ who have already been loving the people for centuries. I may only understand a little Russian but I know that God understands all languages. He is calling all, even the Siberians, to Himself. Hallelujah.


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