Kiev 2006

Kiev 2006

This week has flown! The team from Calvary has been busy with school visits, orphanage presentations, working in the Village of Hope, and a medical clinic. They are all serving whole heartedly and doing a great job. We've had a lot of fun spending any extra time we can manage to find visiting with them. Yesterday we got to visit a local school and orphanage with them. It was great to see the whole team, ages 8 - 40 sharing the gospel with a skit and then speaking to the children. I was reminded of Romans 10... "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news..."

This week I started teaching my missions overview as well as English composition. Both are challenging and will hopefully serve to be rewarding at several points throughout the semester. Today while chatting about holidays I shared with the missions class how strange it will be to teach on Thanksgiving. Maybe we'll have to have a cultural party on that day and I'll invite them all over for turkey! :) We'll see.

We also started Russian classes this week. Hmmm. Where to start. For my friends who have struggled through learning another language, you feel my pain! It has been intense. I know it will prove to be refining and rewarding, but today it was just plain overwhelming. When my teacher and the other 2 students in the class are waiting for a response and there is simply NOTHING there to regurgitate, it's stressful! Oh well, what doesn't kill me will make me stronger, right??? I'm trying to smile...

And, speaking of smiling, the mashrutka fiasko. On Monday we were getting a little haughty on our way home, proud of all the maps we've read and metro stops we've manuevered successfully. I cautioned that it was only a matter of time... and then within minutes we got on a mashrutka that went the opposite way of where we needed to go -- home. So, now we joke that we are making friends with the public transportation workers, who speak no English, but now are very concerned everytime we get on one of their little busses that we are heading in the right direction. And, yes, we see them every day, so our mistake is a constant reminder to be careful. I think the other riders in the mashrutka are jealous of our newfound friendship with the drivers and their assistants. The story of the two crzay American women has traveled quickly.

I hope I've adequately conveyed that there have been tears of frustration and a lot of laughter this week! Thank you for your prayers!