I'm really here!

Y'know, I'm kind of starting to not like this blog thing. It seems like the only time I write, it's to give a quick review of stuff I really wanna go on and on about, but either don't have the time or the ability to do so. Then, when I do get posts up, they're all the same 'sorry I don't have more time, look at these few pictures and wait some more' story.

At any rate, here I am - and, believe it or not, I do actually have time and a computer in front of me! As you can tell from the little blurbs I've shared over the past 7 months, life has been oh-so-interesting, and oh-so-good. Tough. Intense. Challenging and exhausting, but then, I really, honestly, wouldn't want it to be any other way. If there's anything I've learned over the past few years, it's that tough times are the best times - in retrospect. When I look back on the first year we spent in Russia I always grin and get this fire in my eyes (or, so it seems to me...I don't generally look at myself when I'm thinking or talking, but you understand) and have memories that bring up absolutely every emotion - from being in situations so frustrating they were actually funny, to being more heartbroken than I thought a girl without a boyfriend could be, to having one of the best days of my life, simply because the lady at the store actually understood my broken Russian, and gave me exactly what I needed. Y'ever get that 'on top of the world' feeling, when you're almost sure that nothing short of an earthquake could ruin things?
Well, yes. In application to the past 7 months, I think it's safe to say that it's been anything but boring. :o)

When we arrived in Russia this past January, I was thinkin' life would pretty much be the same as it had been (logistically speaking) the past 2 years. I really couldn't have imagined that, between then and now I'd have been on numerous trips within and without the RF! God is amazing - He decided to send us first up North - about as far as you can go and still be in Russia, actually. When we went to Kirovsk, it was an adventure neither of us had really expected. It was interesting, too, from an eternal perspective. What kind of eternal impact can 2 weeks of skiing with a Russian miner have? You might be surprised. It is a wonder to me, that this guy (known to everyone in our village as 'Uncle Yura') so openly invited us to come stay in his home, with him, his wife, and grand-daughter. His twin sister is our next-door-neighbor, and he was born & raised where we now live. It's also interesting to me that somehow God gave us the push to go get train tickets, pack up our long johns and wool socks, and head North early one frosty Tuesday morning.



Two months later, back in our village and knee-deep (literally) in garden work, I happened to get this 'wild idea' (it was planted by our all-knowing God, and He, in His infinite humor sent random kids from the orphanage to water that seed of an idea until it grew big enough for me to realize it was from Him) of going to camp with the kids. They go to camp every year, but this year they got to go to a camp run by Christians and funded by Americans, intead of the regular government-run camp. A chat with the director assured me that he was for it, if I could get permission from the right folks. So, a few phone calls later, I had been 'hired' as a translator, and a couple days before camp started found me in a medical clinic getting tests done to prove I didn't have anything nasty or catching that I'd give the kids while at camp. And there I was - for 18 days of awesome challenges and excitement, and I even got paid $360 for translating!
Oh, what a joy, to draw pictures, and swim, and read the Chronicles of Narnia during naptime (in Russian, of course), and cut hair for kids the way *they* want it cut, and so many other great moments. I coulda stayed all summer, even in the midst of crazy challenges.

2 short, terrible weeks after arriving home from camp (terrible 'cause they were so short), Shawn and I realized it was really time to pack our bags and leave the country. It's silly, really, to even try to describe what it's like to have to leave Russia.
They were a really great 2 weeks, as well - which, to be honest, didn't really help our hearts in regards to having to leave.

God, in His incredible knowledge and plans, though, knew exactly what He was doing. He took us to the Czech Republic, to help out with an English Camp. It was awesome!!!
Now - here we are, back in the states, working on getting back to Russia.

For those of you who have the time and wanna hear, I'll be writing about all of the things i just mentioned above in detail, and posting pictures of skiing, orphanage camp, life in general, and English camp.

Thank you, once again, for your prayers. Life is incredible!