5.30.08
Well today it was in the high 90’s for most of the day…I can’t seem to drink enough water to keep hydrated! It doesn’t feel like it should be the end of May, but rather the end of July! And yet even with the oppressively hot weather life still goes on at its normal pace and with no air conditioning.
Wendy and I got a call this morning from Melanie about a ballet recital in town and wanted to know if we wanted to meet her…after the phone getting cut off several times (the phone lines are very bad here in Kyrgyzstan), we took a Taxi using the broken Russian we had and giving him the names of the streets we thought we heard…we knew we were in for an adventure. After spending a 100 som on the Taxi (which is expensive here, but only 3 dollars in the US), we arrived at what we thought was our destination. We walked one block in each direction before coming to the conclusion that we didn’t really know where we were and were probably not going to find Melanie. So we began to walk in hopes of figuring out where we were (and this is what my day often looks like…hoping to go to a destination, only to find myself walking several blocks before I figure out where I really am…the reality of figuring out a new city in Central Asia where I speak very little of the language…it’s good training :o).
We ended up on one of the main roads in the center of town. We grabbed some stuff from one of the stores in town for lunch (Beta is one of the higher end stores and sells a lot of American groceries that you cannot find anywhere else, but often at VERY high prices…Peanut butter for $7 a jar, Philadelphia Cream Cheese for $40 for a large block, boxed cake mixes for $10 a box…needless to say we get our food from the Renock – Bizarre, and eat what the locals eat – lots of bread, rice, beans, cucumber and tomato salads, fresh fruit like cherries, strawberries and apricots are really cheap and in season now - $1 for a kg = 2.2lbs…also lots of dried fruit like Kiwi, mango, and apricots…their raisins and nuts are amazing and super cheap too). After eating their amazing yogurt and drinking Cactus juice (so good!), we headed back to find a Marcuka to take us home.
Marchukas are one of the main means of transportation throughout the city. They are little buses (like a 10 seater van), but hold most of the time up to 35 people! It is crazy! When you get on you pray that the people you are standing with have taken a shower as you are pressed up VERY close to them and that you can have some sense of where to get off because there are no formal “stops” along the way and it is often too crowded to see out a window to figure out where you are and if you have arrived at your destination. And then imagine all of this in 98 degree weather on a Marcuka with no AC and one vent in the ceiling! That is when the prayer that you do not pass out is said. Thankfully we arrived home, ready to take another shower, but home safe none-the-less :o)
The Orphanage
This afternoon we went back to the orphanage and spent time with the kids we met last week. It was more low key, but such a blessing. So many smiling faces and little hands reaching out to be touched and held! Many of the kids were not there today as some of them were being moved to other orphanages or stayed inside because it was so hot.
We found some shade and sang songs and played games with them. While we cannot overtly share the gospel with them, we can tell them things on an individual level and many of them know the Bible songs that Katie sings with them. A lot of them have issues with their clef pallet and are there because their families do not want them because of their deformities. It is sad because most of them are not even being taught how to speak Russian properly and many on the team find themselves correcting their poorly spoken Russian, even though it is their second language….the workers just don’t care to take the time to work with the kids. There is also so much inaccurate myths that the kids are told, like the fact that if they get cold water on them (even though it is in the high 90s), they will get sick…so many did not want any water to get on them as we tried to play with the kids in an effort to keep them cool.
Through it all, we pray that they would see the love of Jesus in us as we play with them, sing with them and give them lots of love that they are so starved for! You can’t help but hug them and kiss their dirty little cheeks…and are often rewarded with lots of giggles and smiles! I don’t want to think about saying goodbye….
6.3.08
Wendy leaves today…*sigh* It has been great to do the first two weeks with her…it will be hard to do the last two without her! It has been a great past couple days as we have crammed in so much in her last few days….crazy food experiments with apple crepes and lava cake, buying dresses as the Renock, sharing pictures and music, taking pictures, watching a movie and just enjoying the time together fellowshipping…it has been so much fun!
Amidst it all, we had a full day on Saturday, with worship practice in the morning, helping the team from Ukraine make Boarch, and then Women’s Bible study and fellowship. I was encouraged as I listened to Renee teach in Russian and was able to identify words and phrases before Tracey had translated it for me! Little by little….
Sadly, Saturday night we had to say goodbye to the team from Ukraine. It is amazing how close you can become despite language barriers and cultural distances….in Jesus it just feels like family…I will miss them!
Sunday was a busy day of church….we leave the house at 7:45am, head to the hall to clean it and set everything up, have worship practice (this morning the electricity was cut off until 9:30…church begins at 10am), and then church and fellowship. I helped out in the nursery during worship and then jumped over to the older kids once the service began. Katie and I had planned a craft the night before and I was thankful I was able to bring some fresh game ideas to play with the kids. I’m often finding myself trying to think back to when my church was fairly small with only one service…when all the ages of kids were in one class together (Mrs. Z’s class :o). It is helpful to draw from those experiences as I find myself helping out in another church plant with similar challenges…only this one is half way around the world :o).
Sunday night and Monday was our time of rest….
I don’t think I realized how important that time of rest can be or how draining a day of serving and pouring into the lives of others can be…without really resting in the Lord what we have to give is often from striving in the flesh and not God’s best. Our time with Him is more important than the “job” we think we have to do for Him…and when we lose sight of that, He is faithful to remind us, sometimes by allowing us to get so run down that our bodies get sick. Last week ended up being that time as almost everyone came down with some type of stomach bug that landed them in bed for 24hours. Thankfully everyone seems to have recovered from it, but we are all a little more cautious in our cleaning and resting.
Well today it was in the high 90’s for most of the day…I can’t seem to drink enough water to keep hydrated! It doesn’t feel like it should be the end of May, but rather the end of July! And yet even with the oppressively hot weather life still goes on at its normal pace and with no air conditioning.
Wendy and I got a call this morning from Melanie about a ballet recital in town and wanted to know if we wanted to meet her…after the phone getting cut off several times (the phone lines are very bad here in Kyrgyzstan), we took a Taxi using the broken Russian we had and giving him the names of the streets we thought we heard…we knew we were in for an adventure. After spending a 100 som on the Taxi (which is expensive here, but only 3 dollars in the US), we arrived at what we thought was our destination. We walked one block in each direction before coming to the conclusion that we didn’t really know where we were and were probably not going to find Melanie. So we began to walk in hopes of figuring out where we were (and this is what my day often looks like…hoping to go to a destination, only to find myself walking several blocks before I figure out where I really am…the reality of figuring out a new city in Central Asia where I speak very little of the language…it’s good training :o).
We ended up on one of the main roads in the center of town. We grabbed some stuff from one of the stores in town for lunch (Beta is one of the higher end stores and sells a lot of American groceries that you cannot find anywhere else, but often at VERY high prices…Peanut butter for $7 a jar, Philadelphia Cream Cheese for $40 for a large block, boxed cake mixes for $10 a box…needless to say we get our food from the Renock – Bizarre, and eat what the locals eat – lots of bread, rice, beans, cucumber and tomato salads, fresh fruit like cherries, strawberries and apricots are really cheap and in season now - $1 for a kg = 2.2lbs…also lots of dried fruit like Kiwi, mango, and apricots…their raisins and nuts are amazing and super cheap too). After eating their amazing yogurt and drinking Cactus juice (so good!), we headed back to find a Marcuka to take us home.
Marchukas are one of the main means of transportation throughout the city. They are little buses (like a 10 seater van), but hold most of the time up to 35 people! It is crazy! When you get on you pray that the people you are standing with have taken a shower as you are pressed up VERY close to them and that you can have some sense of where to get off because there are no formal “stops” along the way and it is often too crowded to see out a window to figure out where you are and if you have arrived at your destination. And then imagine all of this in 98 degree weather on a Marcuka with no AC and one vent in the ceiling! That is when the prayer that you do not pass out is said. Thankfully we arrived home, ready to take another shower, but home safe none-the-less :o)
The Orphanage
This afternoon we went back to the orphanage and spent time with the kids we met last week. It was more low key, but such a blessing. So many smiling faces and little hands reaching out to be touched and held! Many of the kids were not there today as some of them were being moved to other orphanages or stayed inside because it was so hot.
We found some shade and sang songs and played games with them. While we cannot overtly share the gospel with them, we can tell them things on an individual level and many of them know the Bible songs that Katie sings with them. A lot of them have issues with their clef pallet and are there because their families do not want them because of their deformities. It is sad because most of them are not even being taught how to speak Russian properly and many on the team find themselves correcting their poorly spoken Russian, even though it is their second language….the workers just don’t care to take the time to work with the kids. There is also so much inaccurate myths that the kids are told, like the fact that if they get cold water on them (even though it is in the high 90s), they will get sick…so many did not want any water to get on them as we tried to play with the kids in an effort to keep them cool.
Through it all, we pray that they would see the love of Jesus in us as we play with them, sing with them and give them lots of love that they are so starved for! You can’t help but hug them and kiss their dirty little cheeks…and are often rewarded with lots of giggles and smiles! I don’t want to think about saying goodbye….
6.3.08
Wendy leaves today…*sigh* It has been great to do the first two weeks with her…it will be hard to do the last two without her! It has been a great past couple days as we have crammed in so much in her last few days….crazy food experiments with apple crepes and lava cake, buying dresses as the Renock, sharing pictures and music, taking pictures, watching a movie and just enjoying the time together fellowshipping…it has been so much fun!
Amidst it all, we had a full day on Saturday, with worship practice in the morning, helping the team from Ukraine make Boarch, and then Women’s Bible study and fellowship. I was encouraged as I listened to Renee teach in Russian and was able to identify words and phrases before Tracey had translated it for me! Little by little….
Sadly, Saturday night we had to say goodbye to the team from Ukraine. It is amazing how close you can become despite language barriers and cultural distances….in Jesus it just feels like family…I will miss them!
Sunday was a busy day of church….we leave the house at 7:45am, head to the hall to clean it and set everything up, have worship practice (this morning the electricity was cut off until 9:30…church begins at 10am), and then church and fellowship. I helped out in the nursery during worship and then jumped over to the older kids once the service began. Katie and I had planned a craft the night before and I was thankful I was able to bring some fresh game ideas to play with the kids. I’m often finding myself trying to think back to when my church was fairly small with only one service…when all the ages of kids were in one class together (Mrs. Z’s class :o). It is helpful to draw from those experiences as I find myself helping out in another church plant with similar challenges…only this one is half way around the world :o).
Sunday night and Monday was our time of rest….
I don’t think I realized how important that time of rest can be or how draining a day of serving and pouring into the lives of others can be…without really resting in the Lord what we have to give is often from striving in the flesh and not God’s best. Our time with Him is more important than the “job” we think we have to do for Him…and when we lose sight of that, He is faithful to remind us, sometimes by allowing us to get so run down that our bodies get sick. Last week ended up being that time as almost everyone came down with some type of stomach bug that landed them in bed for 24hours. Thankfully everyone seems to have recovered from it, but we are all a little more cautious in our cleaning and resting.
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