july 17-18

July 17 – 18

Thursday, we spent most of the morning packing up and saying some last minute goodbyes. Kira’s train didn’t leave until after our bus did, so the three of us and some friends went to the bus station to say our goodbyes before the 8 hour trek to Syvtyvkar. After a very long and sweaty ride, the pastor and his wife from the church greeted us and led us to where are staying. Sushka, a youth from the church who is studying at the university in Kirov, that we had met in the Pentecostal camp is letting us stay with her at her flat and will be our translator for the week, as she is studying to be an interpreter. We went to a small cafe last night for bellini’s (pancakes like crepes filled with meat or fruit or salad or some kind) and then unsuccessfully tried to buy our train tickets for Moscow. We decided it would be best to do in morning and called it an evening.

Friday we met up with some of the youth and the pastor to get our train tickets for Moscow (we leave in the morning on the 24th and will arrive in Moscow in the morning on the 25th). The pastor left us for the day and the rest of us walked around the city, visiting the main square, the center of the city, and some memorials from “the great patriotic war” as they call it and the war with Afghanistan. We had lunch at a small cafe in town before going to meet up with another member of the church. We visited with Dema, a young man in the church who is ill, and talked and had tea and cake and watched some videos from the church and got to look at a lot of pictures of their church. After a long stay, we parted for the day and got some groceries on the way home. we had some pelmini for dinner and have just chatted for the rest of the evening until making our way to the internet cafe in town. Keep us in your prayers as we are getting to know the people here in Syktyvkar!

july 15-16

July 15 – 16

Tuesday Brandon, Zena, and I went to the circus/park to meet up with some friends and ride some rides and walk around. We walked around the pond for a while and then some of us rode the Ferris wheel. The pastor’s wife and her daughter and Brandon and I rode in on car and I’m not going to lie, it was a bit scary to be on the quite old ride, but the view was well worth it. It was a great time to talk and relax in the afternoon and further relationships. The weather here is quite toasty, even for me. It almost feels like Alabama. While we were at the park, Michael and Kira went and got a pedicure because he had really been wanting one since Moscow so that was good for them to do that.

We all met up later in the evening at the children’s cancer hospital to do ministry there. I went through the story in Matthew about the birds of the sky and the lilies of the field and how if the Lord takes care of them, how much more will He take care of us? We made flowers out of paper afterwards and it was so great being able to talk with this small group of kids that are just longing for love. Some of the mothers and one of the grandmothers were there with their kids, but not all. The kids ranged from 2 years old to 10 years old and were just like all other little kids I’ve met; they just want to have fun and be loved. We sang “This is the Day” in English and Russian, and Kira even had Brandon and I sing it in Spanish to add to the international flair which was perfect for emphasizing that while we may speak different languages and come from different cultures, there is one God. We talked a played for a bit longer and it was just such a wonderful time altogether there.

Wednesday (today) we slept in and had pancakes for breakfast which was prefect. We spent most of the day at the apartment (because Kira had to meet with an accountant) cleaning and doing laundry. We had a small service tonight where Michael spoke a little of his experience with communion and what it means to him, and then we broke bread together as a church body. We sang some hymns and ended with the Lord’s prayer in both languages all together, continuing our theme of worshiping the same and one and only King and Savior who shed His blood for us on the cross.

After we had the service, we had a lasagna dinner while Kira went to a friend’s house. Tonight was Zena’s last night here and it has been a sad day of goodbyes and exchanging of gifts and letters. We have really gotten to know her and it is going to be quite different without her around. She has really made an impact in our lives in the short time we’ve known her! We took her to the train station tonight around 11 and it was sad to see her ride away.

Tomorrow Brandon, Michael, and I leave for Syktyvkar for the week and Kira will go to a conference about the Emmaus walk. We will all meet up in Moscow on the 25th for the youth camp there. I’m unsure of the internet options in our next location, so we will update as soon as we get the chance, so have no fear if it is a bit before an update. Keep praying for us as we are completely unsure of what is next to come in our journey!

On a completely unrelated note, we hear that Syktyvkar has the largest indoor cross-country skiing arena in the world…so this is going to be interesting…

pictures from russia!!

just a few pictures from our time in kirov, russia. see more pictures with the link on here under pictures or on facebook.

top to bottom:
* russian orthodox church in kirov

* at the children's cancer hospital with Ksusha

* making paper flowers at the children's hospital

* at the pentecostal youth camp...Brandon, Zina, Lauren, Kira

july 13-14

July 13 – 14

Sunday morning we had a church service/bible study at Kira’s apartment. Two gentlemen joined the five of us and we sang some hymns and Kira went through some scripture and we had a time of prayer. Kira did the lesson in Russian, so it was a bit difficult to follow, but we read the scripture in a circle and read in whatever language was our own so that was pretty cool and the same with prayer. After lunch Kira and Michael met some people to go see a movie, and Brandon, Zena, one of her friends Katia, and I hung out at the apartment for the day. After the movie, everyone returned to the apartment for a big group dinner where we got a chance to talk with some youth over tea and hang out with them so that was a lot of fun. The Lord is moving despite the language barrier for sure. We have created a language of gestures and sounds to communicate with Zena that has some Russian and English words but mostly just noises and it is so hilarious to watch from the outside but it make perfect sense to us. Pictures and diagrams are also frequently used. It’s kind of like playing a mixture of Pictionary and Charades to have a conversation.

Monday (today) we had some errands to do and bus tickets to buy so we spent the later part of the morning and early afternoon out and about town. We met up with some friends after a quick Russian fast food dinner to hang out for a while Kira went home for a bit. The place we went to was a billiards, bowling, restaurant, hangout place and was really quite nice. We played Russian billiards which is similar to pool but with all white balls and one dark ball and played on a much larger table with smaller holes. You can hit any ball with any other ball and you just count how many each team hits in to see who wins. The guys played (and I played a little as well!) and the girls talked over some cokes and we all shared some sushi and it was a great time of believers and non-believers hanging out together and us being able to share the love of Christ through just “being” and speaking when the opportunities come up. After billiards we came back to the apartment for tea and cookies to meet up with Zena and some other friends.

All in all our time here is going well, despite some difficulties in language. But the Lord is moving despite all of the barriers that come up. The only way to describe our time here so far is to use an often-overused phrase that a friend reminded us of recently. God works in mysterious ways :) and we are so thankful for that!

july 10-12

July 10 – 12
Thursday was a more relaxing day for us and most of the day was spent at Kira’s apartment planning for some of the things we will be doing over the next couple of days. We met up with Sasha again and walked around and met with the pastor from Zena’s church and walked over to the riverbank and the eternal flame (a statue with a flame that never goes out where couples who have just gotten married go to lay flowers) a talked for a while we walked along the edge. We went by the store and then back to Kira’s for a late dinner. Sasha joined us and is really open to talking to Kira, and us, which is really cool so pray that those relationships keep growing!

Friday was an early morning and a very late night. We left Kira’s around 7am to catch the train out to the woods where the Pentecostal Camp was going on. It was the last night of camp, so it was kind of interesting jumping in, but everyone really welcomed us. Right after we got there they had morning worship and we each shared a little bit about our testimonies and Kira spoke for a little bit as well. We played volleyball for a little while before lunch and got to talk to some of the youth. One of the little girls, who was around four, Sophie, gave Brandon and I each these stuffed animal key chains in between playing with the dog and running to hide because she was so shy. Another girl camp up and gave me a bracelet and little bead lizard she made during the games after we had only talked for a few minutes. And by talked, I mean I told her the Russian words I knew and she kept telling me how to say everything else in Russian. It was incredible to see how open and loving they were. The language barrier was rather difficult to overcome since Kira was really the only one who could translate, but we know the Lord speaks to us and though us regardless of language. Lunch and swimming took up most of the afternoon along with small group devotions. In the evening there was an outreach concert that the town had been invited to and a band played, other people sang, people danced, and there was a drama to the Lifehouse song Everything (which is so moving no matter how many times you see it). Some people spoke in between the different acts, and Brandon was one of those people so he spoke and Kira translated (and by the way, Kira is a wonderfully quick translator). After the outreach event we had dinner and then a bonfire where more skits and songs were done and lots of “thank you”s from the pastor to everyone who helped him at camp. Around 1:30 in the morning we had some sausage, bread and coffee (which was much needed to warm us up because it rained during the entire bonfire time) and hung out around the fire trying to talk to people. There was no curfew since it was the lat night so a lot of the youth wanted to stay up all night, but Kira, Zena, and I called it a night around 3am and headed to our tent for a few hours sleep.

Saturday (today) ended up being a day to recuperate. We got up around 7ish and had breakfast and such before saying goodbye to everyone a little before to come back to Kirov. The plan was to go to the children’s cancer hospital after we returned and cleaned up, but Kira was unable to get a hold of the hospital so we couldn’t go because she has to be invited to go so we are going to try again on Monday. Since that didn’t work out, it left the day open until around four when some youth that Kira had met came over to hang out because they wanted to improve their English. So we talked to while with two guys both named Arthon, whose English were great, and Mary, who was a bit shy, over tea and playing the guitar. We ended up meeting up with another friend of Kira’s who knew English and her boyfriend at a cafe for a quick dinner. Kira headed back to the apartment while the rest of us went for a walk around town and had a chance to talk and see some awesome but very random fireworks. I got to talk to Mary for a while and the Lord really used the time and it was so exciting to see Him open doors. Pray that these relationships keep being built and we make use of these opportunities and see them when they pop up!

more new pictures!!

Here is the link for some more pictures from wesley days at camp!! They are just a very small sample again but hopefully you'll be able to experience a bit of what we did!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2248509&l=d51d0&id=7001107

We also added a section under our profile on here that has the links for all the pictures we have uploaded for easy access. I hope that it is helpful in viewing the pictures!

Enjoy!

july 8-9

July 8 – 9
We walked around yesterday afternoon and Michael fixed dinner later in the evening for the two of us, Kira, and her roommate Zena, who 18 years old and an art student and is hilarious. We are slowly learning some Russian and Zena is doing a great job of teaching us the language. She always gets so excited when we say the word correctly and it is so precious! Kira, Michael, Brandon and I went walking around some more after dinner, played some air hockey at the movie theater, and ended up getting some tea and some snacks at a small cafe and talking for a while before coming home to call it a night. Kira’s flat is great and very spacious, s we are all staying there during our time here. Kira is sleeping in Zena’s room (she has two beds in there), I am sleeping in Kira’s room, and Brandon and Michael are sleeping on the fold out couch in the living room. We prayed together and hearing Kira and Zena pray in Russian is quite moving. I can pick up a few words, but the passion behind them is what makes all the difference. You can tell just by their tone their urgency and love for the Lord. I’m excited to see relationships grow with them while we are here.
Today we had scrambled eggs for breakfast and the five of us staying at Kira’s had a bible study after breakfast about obedience to the Lord. Kira has such a strength and a heart of obedience that her example is such an encouragement. Zena took the guys and I around to a couple of second hand stores (thrift stores basically with clothes from Europe and the states) before we met up with Kira for lunch. We walked around and ended up eating at a small cafeteria type restaurant for students and workers that had traditional Russian food. Some of us had borsch, a hot vegetable type soup, is a local favorite and was quite delicious. Cabbage is also very popular and this drink, kompot, which is common and that looked like there were nuts floating at the bottom of water, but that tasted pretty good. We met up with a guy, Sasha, that Kira had talked to before but never met, in the plaza under the statue of Stalin and talked for a while and watched the skateboarders before grabbing some ice cream and walking around downtown. We went to the movie theater to play some air hockey, and got some dinner at a vegetarian friendly restaurant (Sasha is one), and found a place to go play Russian billiards together another night since it was getting late. Sasha is not a believer, but we think a path has been opened up to share the Gospel which is so exciting! Relationships are beginning to form and we are thankful for that.

june 26

June 26

After a full of day of traveling, we relaxed for most of the rest of the day.  We put our stuff in the church in Riga and walked to a little restaurant near all of the fishing boats for dinner before Gatis picked up us to go back to camp.  Little did we know we were in for another adventure.  Gatis had a small car, and a full trunk.  Since there were four of us and all of our luggage, we had to pack strategically.    By that of course, I mean that we had bags between our legs, behind our heads, and in our laps.  Saying it was a full car would be an understatement.  So as though we had plenty of space, we stopped at the store on the way back to camp for some stuff.  All three of the guys went in and then packed even more stuff on top of us and in any open space we could find in the car.  Pair this with pumping euro trance music and you have one interesting ride.    We watched the last semi-final game of the Euro Cup (Spain vs. Russia – Spain won) before heading to bed.  It seems that travel days just seem to leave us whipped out.  Tomorrow begins the leadership retreat so we are excited for more people to show up!