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| So, I may not live in Florida anymore, but I think we may have you guys beat temperature wise. These past couple days have been crazy hot. And the heat doesn't usually bother me. Alan was looking at the weather report and says it is supposed to start cooling off after today. I hope he is right.
This unexpected heat wave, however, has not kept me from using my coffee grinder and press. I make a full press in the morning and drink hot coffee, then I pour what is left into another cup, add cream and sugar and stick in the freezer for a frapichino come mid afternoon. yeeeessss.
Speaking of which... | | |
| Michelle is all about people keeping up with their bolgs…and I’ve been gone for so long that I have no clue where to pick up from or where to start…but, for Michelle (and anyone else who reads my blog and has been missing me during my absence) I press on.
This summer was the hardest yet, and still, as things so often seem to work out, it reaped some of the best rewards.
Summer highlights: (in no particular order)
• Igor’s graduation
• the “Stars” song sung under our window
• hundreds of new brothers and sisters
• Man with Umbrella
• Max’s face as he asked for mac and cheese 3 times a day
• Being taken care of by the Magdych’s when I was sick
• One really great phone conversation with Calyn
• Ninja Night
• Worship with Sergey
• Gretchka. And his mad drumming skills :o)
• Team 1’s amazing creativity
• Something about complete sentences
• A tea party with the Zychinko’s
• Baby Pasha confidently coming in (without knocking) just to hang out with us
• Kolya (known to some of you as “my name is Nick”
• The most amazing festival director ever.
• REAL coffee from Daniel (aka ‘sound’) at a time I desperately needed it :o)
• Flowers from a girl in Lauren’s English Class
• Futbal
• Bible Studies with American teams (ya’ll taught me a lot, thanks!!!)
• Visiting English Classes…and getting to play every now and then :o)
• Communion with Ukrainian and American staff
• Morning stretch in my pajamas :o)
• “taking the stage” during worship at the last BOOM—with Valera!!!
• Pax2
• Collations
• Grading English tests with Pasha, Laura and Andrey
• Sverchok’s surprise appearance on Roma’s birthday.
• Gena’s birthday song as preformed by Max while playing the Jim Bay (as opposed to the accordion)
• Praying with Madison
• Really great AP time concluded as Pax came and entertained Lauren and I
• I hesitate to write this, but alas, feel it must be included, “the naked music.”
• A cup of tea Roma brought me while I was doing English testing one day.
• City days with Andrey
• Spending time with Rel and knowing that soon I will get to do life with her all the time
• The most amazing day off ever: Ice Skating, Harry Potter 5 and a double birthday dinner
• E-mails from ‘the would-be homeless kids’ (you know who you are)
• Tacos at Roma’s
• Dancing with RAS at Lauren’s party
• Oleg’s “phrase of the day” from Lauren
• A missing “d” in Rel’s Happy Birthday sign
• Camp Dance
• Interpreter Katya V talking to me in Russian instead of English and confusing other interpreters :o)
• Sharing “camp life” with Mom
• Reciting a verse of the day in English, Russian and Ukrainian. I even got a giant pixi stick.
• Banana Pudding.
• Night at the V’s before RAS went home.
• HP7, one of a kind, read 4 times over, complete with notes and bookmarks
• Dr. Pepper Jelly Beans…not to mention the real thing!!! (thank you to all who kept me in stock throughout the summer)
• Skateboarders who hung out with us in the city after camp.
• Wes getting potatoes from the lady in the kitchen
• A note on the back of an English test with nothing more than a cell phone # and instructions to call if I wanted to find out how good his English was.
• The day the RAS spent too much time trying to figure out the next orientation schedule and we all went a little crazy
• Helping Sergey sell CD’s…dressed as Ninja’s
• The night Max shared his testimony with his sisters
• The sword fights (except that one where Sergey almost lost a finger)
• A tear drenched floor after one repentance night
• My RAS ladies.
This is a very incomplete list. I sure have a lot to thank God for this summer. If you have a highlight from the summer, I would love for you to leave it as a comment on this blog :o) And hopefully my next blog won’t be quite as long in coming as this one was.
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| Ok, so yesterday I wrote this blog post about boxed beef for Mrs. Debbie, but alas it is lost in cyberspace and I haven’t the energy to recall my thought on the subject now. Instead I will leave you with a commentary about the joy that is Tanya and Zhenya.Better known to some of you as “the Twins” or simply “Twins.” This post is quite fitting today being that this is the day they will board a plane and journey to your side of the ocean.Look out America, T and * are taking over, and that’s not just babble.Tanya and Zhenya are two of the most encouraging people I know and magnificent prayer warriors.Their individual hearts are MUCH bigger than this great country of Ukraine can contain.Energy is something they never seem to lack.Creativity oozes from the center of their being and is reflected in their never ending projects and presents.Pictures take on new meaning when you are with these girls and joy abounds.Love for life and discovery surrounds them.America, take care of these precious ladies. And Ladies, this is no flattery. Only truth. “You must believe in God.” Make wise choices. Hug our boys. And know my prayers are with you. “Mom and Dad, I’m fine, how are you?...” | | |
| *note to the reader* this post is very sporadic. Just some things I was thinking about as I was getting ready to go to bed tonight. Feel free to continue reading, but consider yourself warned. Gosh, God has blessed me. I was talking to Jake and told him that if I were to die today, I would feel like I have had an INCREDIBLE life. But, chances are I will not die today, which means there will be MORE to my life than I have already experienced. AMAZING. I want to make it count. I want every moment, every action, every decision (this one is hard for me), every breath, to bring GLORY to His name. I have been meeting many of the people who will be coming to Radooga this summer and it has been a HUGE encouragement to me. I really can not get over all the WONDERFUL people God keeps walking through my life. We were also talking about how being on Summer Staff makes you family. But, thinking about it now, I really think it has less to do with the fact that we are Summer Staff and more to do with the fact that we spend time with each other working together the way the church was designed to work—being on summer staff doesn’t MAKE us family so much as us working together the way we do reflects the fact that we ARE family and the more we are able to experience that the more it becomes true in our relationships with each other. SO GOOD. I got word that Radooga has a campsite for the summer. (we are unable to use the one we have used in the past because they are housing construction workers there all summer). We still really need some people to come work camps 2 (June 25-July 7) and 4 (July 11-23) and have openings for camp 5 (July 19-31) so if you’re interested or know someone who might be let me know or register at www.servantlife.com :o) И все. Я очень устала. Споки ноки. | | |
| Ok, so, if I sound a bit incoherent at the moment, it would probably be because I am. It is 11:42am Saturday morning (Kiev time--i think 4:42am Tally time) and the last I slept was from 1:30-4:30am Thursday night before going to the airport. For some reason I usually can't sleep on planes. Nonetheless, all my flights went well...aside from some CRAZINESS in Memphis. (Daniel, if you are reading this I am SO sorry and I will call you at some point this week and tell you of my 'adventures in Memphis') I have no idea what all I will be doing this week--i'm kinda leaving my itinerary up to my mom and Calyn for now. Which so far consists of helping with some sort of breakfast that Four Oaks (Calyn's new church) is doing in about an hour and going to hear a guy representing Voice of the Martyrs speak at Northwoods tonight and somewhere in between trying to get my visa stuff sent off. Beyond that...I haven't really thought much...I will need to finish some stuff for work and see my uncle who drove over from Jacksonville to see me (which pretty much floored me when I head that he came mostly because he wanted to see me)...all that to say...anyone in Tally who has something exciting planned (and trust me...exciting to me doesn't usually involve too much), call m.y mom or Calyn and they will be with me or know how to reach me (they're good like that) Ok, I guess I should get ready and head to the Reber's...I will (quietly) bust in the kitchen door. (I love you Mrs. Debbie) Peace out. | | |
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