English Camp

The last part of June took me to Siberia to help with an English Camp.  Earlier in the year Layna, Janet and I had been asked to go to a city in Siberia to help with an English Camp.  A group of Americans were coming to teach English and help the local church hold an English school and asked if we would like to join them.  Now up until the time I left I always knew that Russia was a massive country, but I soon understood just how large.  We traveled 28 hours by train to Novosibirsk (the third largest city in Russia) and then four hours by car/bus to the city where we would be having camp.  28 hours by train and we had only covered a small portion of land.  The landscape of Russia is gorgeous and while the part that I saw was mainly flat land and rolling hills, birch trees made up the majority of the trees and endless fields with wild yellow and purple flowers scattered the horizon.  As the train made its way through different stations we passed through small villages.

We arrived in the city and met up with the Americans we would be working with and we were able to attend the Sunday service at the local church.  Unlike the English camp I was a part of last year, this camp was planned and handled by the members of the local church. All we had to do was show up and teach English, which made for a really relaxing and more enjoyable time to just sit and get to know the people there instead of having to worrying about having to lead and plan the camp.

The main building we met in for large group

Learning about different Worldviews

Janet and I co-taught the beginners English class and we were very fortunate to have Olga translate for us.  It was a lot of fun and we had some really sweet people in our class and it was an enjoyable and growing time.  Our days were spent teaching English, talking with people, playing games, listening to Ray teach about worldviews and using every opportunity to share the gospel.  We also spent almost every minute swatting away mosquitoes, but even they didn't put a damper on our fun.  Also in the stereotype of Siberia, it was cold/cool most of the camp.

Some of the girls from my English Class

Olga, she translated for us during class

I was reminded once again of God's glorious creation while there.  The camp which was situated on a river made for some of the most wonderful evening/night sunsets that I have seen.  I am continuously being shown the beauty of Russia, whether through the people, a song, or a beautiful sunset there is much beauty here.

One of the many colorful evening/night skies

My cabin for the week

Христос воскрес

Христос воскрес!- Christ is risen!

On May 5 we celebrated Easter.  The Lord blessed us with a beautiful day and great weather.  In russian tradition it is customary that when you greet a person on Easter you say (all in russian of course) "Christ is Risen" and they respond "Christ has risen indeed".  It doesn't matter if people are atheists, orthodox, lutheran or whatever they will say this to you on Easter.  It is interesting that in country where the percentage of believers make up less then 1% of the population everyone will tell you that Christ is risen on this day.  Thus leading into a great conversation about what that saying is really about.

We started off our Easter celebration with an dunking, followed by a service and a picnic by the river.  This was a great time of fellowship and time to worship by the river.  This past year has really shown me what it means in Acts when it describes the chrch.  It isn't about the building but the body of believers and the studying of the word.

Things I learned during the winter

Since winter is almost over I thought I would share a just a few things that I have learned this winter. With the changing of the seasons also comes a new learning curve and this winter brought a new wave of weather and learning.  Here are a few things that I have learned so far this winter:

1. You have to learn to walk on the constantly changing terrain of packed snow/ice on the side walks and roads.
2. Breath through your nose, not through your mouth.  Apparently it is better for you.  Some days your nose hair does freeze when you breath, but that is better then the coughing that happens when you take a deep breath of cold air.
3. Your scarf will also double as a face mask and yes you will look weird with only your eyes showing but at least you are warm.
4. Somehow the women here still look really fashionable in their winter outfits and their high heel shoes. I just look like the Michaeline man.
5. You will slip and slide as you walk.  Sometimes you will fall but you just get back up and keep on walking, just at a slower pace.
6. At the right temperature the snowflakes look unreal and are so vividly beautiful that you can see every tiny detail on each unique snowflake.  Just a reminder of how awesome God is.
7. On some days your legs and face will go numb after five minutes, that is ok, you will warm up later. Just keep moving, you will be fine.
8. It will not snow once the temperature drops below a certain point, but this means that it will be sunny with blue skies.
9. Don't walk close to the buildings.  Some of the icicles hanging from the buildings are massive and are known to kill people every year in Russia.  So take the warning from the mom in A Christmas Story when she says "Those icicles have been known to kill".
10. Not all thermal pants are created equal.

The Funeral

We stood in the back, squeezed between six other groups of families and friends mourning the death of their loved ones. The candles in our hands lit,  our heads covered in scarfs, and the priest reciting different prayers from a book (chanting then followed each prayer) and performing the traditional funeral ceremony.  The caskets lay in the front as the immediate family surrounded them.  Our friend Angela's grandmother had died last weekend and we went to support her at the funeral.  This is the first funeral that I have attended since being here, and this was also the first non-believers funeral.  What do you say to someone who's loved one just died and they weren't a believer?  All the encouraging words or sayings weren't appropriate.  So we told her we loved her and were praying for her, because that is all we could do.  We couldn't tell her that her grandmother was no longer suffering or that she was in a better place, because her grandmother wasn't a believer.

Funerals in this culture are different.  In a culture that values the group above the individual I shouldn't have been surprised when the priest was doing a group funeral for Angela's grandmother and six other families.  Being at Angela's grandmother's funeral was a reminder of just how many lost people there are here in this city and country.  Not only here but around the world.  So be in pryer for Angela and her family as they go through the grieving process and that during this time their hearts would be turned to the Father.

Storying

A year ago if you asked if I thought we would use storying here to spread the word I would have said no.  Storying can be used anywhere and is a great way to spread the word.  A couple weeks ago we started to story here.  Our group isn't big, in fact we only have two locals coming.  Small yes, but we know that they need to hear the word and so we share.  We are praying that as time goes on more will come.

Happy New Year!

Let me start out by saying that I have never really been a big fan of New Years.  Crazy, I know.  It's just a holiday that I have never really liked or see the big importance too.   So naturally the Lord sends me to work in a country where New Years is the biggest holiday that they celebrate and is considered to be the majority of the peoples favorite holiday. Yes, New Years trumps Christmas here, in fact Christmas isn't really celebrated.   Which I find very depressing. I am looking forward to being able to celebrate the birth of Christ twice and share about that with the people here.

This year I celebrated New Years with some people from church.  The second I left my apartment I heard what would be the constant sound of fireworks that would go on through out the night.  It is customary to have a big meal on New Years Eve and eat a specific type of Russian potato salad.  We passed the time afterwards with games and a time of prayer.  All while catching glimpses of the fireworks being set off all throughout the city.  New Years isn't celebrated until 2 am here, as we celebrate the New Year on Moscow time and they are two hours behind us.  So a little before 2 we made our way down to the city center to the ice city.  The whole city seemed to be gathered.  We watched an amazing fireworks display and different performers were performing through out the night. Children enjoyed the ice slides and games and everywhere you looked someone was setting off some sort of fire work or shooting off what seemed to be a flare guns.  The whole area smelt of black powder and cigarette smoke.

For someone who isn't a big fan of New Years, this was a really great celebration/festival.  Happy New Year!!

The question

Let me just start by saying that this question is now asked on a daily basis.  What question would that be you wonder? No it has nothing to do with my work here or questions I ask the people I meet, but it does have to deal with living here and some days you just have to laugh.  The question is:

How many layers do I need to wear today?

Now this is a complicated question and I find myself now spending minutes pondering the answer.  A few friends came to visit last week and we had a whole discussion on this topic.  We all agreed that getting dressed in the morning takes longer and that preparing to leave your house takes an extra ten or more minutes and that when you are visiting other people they all stand around as you awkwardly layer up in their doorway. Nothing is fast.

Deciding how many layers all depends on the temperature.  If it is hover around freezing or even a few degrees below you can get away with no layers under your jeans or just leggings, but if it gets any colder then -10C you need thermals.  Now I have learned that not all thermals are the same. Some are better then others and give more warmth or let your legs breath more, some make you feel as cold as if you weren't wearing any. Layering on top can range anywhere from 2-3 layers to wearing a fleece jacket overtop of your sweater and under your parka.  The hat, scarf and gloves are always a must.  When the temperature gets into the -20'sC and lower, pretty much the only skin showing is my eyes (partially because my face starts to go numb and because breathing hurts and it is easier to breath if I breath into my scarf and the rebreathe warmer air. I was told in the cold that I should start breathing through my nose.).  The question of how much do I layer is also influenced by the activity.  If you I am just going to the store or to someones house and won't be out walking around I can get away with less layers.  The whole process of layering and figuring out what to wear is a process.  By the time I am walking out of my door I look Randy form 'A Christmas Story', although I can put my arms down.

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into living in Russia during the winter.  These are the things that I never thought I would have to think about, or thinking that temperatures ranging from 25-32 degrees Fahrenheit would be considered warm in the winter.