We need help

Imagine what it would be like if your pastor didn't have a car.  Obviously getting to work would be a problem (unless of course you're Pastor Jeff, but we can't all live across the street from church now can we!), not to mention visiting people across town, giving people rides who need them, picking up and dropping off people at the airport two hours away, going to nearby towns to give disaster relief...you get the picture.  Imagine if your pastor lost his car and didn't have any insurance.

Here's the Nissan at the start of the flood; eventually it was totally submerged and would have floated into the neighbors house if not for the fence.

I found a snail in this engine

What's left of the interior

Friends, we have a lot in America, including insurance which trust me, is a blessing.  The Ivanenko family has lost a car, and it sorely needs to be replaced.  One of their two cars, which was only partially submerged, miraculously works but is unreliable, and no good for long distance.  I personally witnessed the other car floating during the flood, and it's done for; Ilya already had a mechanic friend take a look at it and there's not way to resurrect it.  For his ministry, Ilya often needs to travel to neighboring towns, and needs to take people from place to place.  In Russia it isn't as common for everyone to have a car, so being able to give people rides or take them around town in a reliable vehicle is a big part of ministry here, so much so that I will likely get a drivers license here sometime in the future.

The Ivanenko's also want to help their neighbors.  The neighbors' houses are lower than ours, and the flooding was really devastating for them.  One neighbor was trapped on his roof during the flood because the water was so high and the other neighbors had similar experiences.  During the flood neighbors on both sides were yelling "Ilya, save me!"

The problem is, we have a ditch that runs through the back yard and between our property and the neighbors to irrigate water when it rains.  Or section is cement reinfroced, and theirs is not.  When the flood happened, the neighbors side got clogged with debris and didn't drain properly, which exacerbated the flooding on their property.  The Ivanenko's want to reinforce their part of the ditch and cement line the neighbors portion so that this doesn't happen again in the future.

Our cement-lined section and the neighbors debris-lined  section

Our ditch

Friends, I want to ask you to please prayerfully consider donating to the Ivanenko's.  I know things are tight at home, but you all have already blessed me far beyond my needs, so I know that through him all things are possible.  We need to buy them a new car and pay for the ditch.  They live on a pastor's salary, and the concept of "savings" has yet to take root in Russia, so they have no effective way of paying for this.

If you would like to make a donation to the Ivanenko family, please send a check to Missoula Alliance Church at 100 East Foss Court, Missoula MT, 59803.  Make the check out to MAC or Missoula Alliance Church and write "Russia" in the memo.  This makes your donation tax-deductible.  Because the Ivanenko's are Alliance workers, we'll send the money through the Alliance and 15% will go to the Great Commission Fund to fund Alliance work worldwide. 

Thank you for your help.  Without you, a substantial portion ministry is at a standstill.

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

Ilya's Letter

My Russian dad Ilya wrote a letter that's posted on the ECMS website (that's the Russian version of the C&MA), and he asked me to translate it into English.  Here is another perspective on the flood at our house.

 

Brothers and sisters, greetings from the Ivanyenko family!

We sincerely thank everyone for your prayers and support.  The family and I really felt God’s hands holding us up from the very beginning.

They finally restored our electricity and Internet and we can give you a bit of a report.

Thank the Lord that we don’t need any condolences here; all are alive and well, only our property suffered.  However, our neighbors suffered much more (three houses down from us a 23-year-old died, sadly).

To the many or you who called or sent us texts and the like – thank you so much. Even if we didn’t answer, it was nice to feel your care and concern.

In our church, almost no one’s house flooded, thank God. At our house, the stream our back yard flooded to 2.5 meters.  In 2002, when there was a cyclone in Novorossiysk, we weren’t affected at all!  That’s how it is with our God!

It was scary for Tanya and myself, Masha, and our guests when the water in our yard swelled to180cm within the space of an hour.  It’s in such circumstances, when everything seems to be at a loss, and the elderly neighbors on the right are knocking on the wall in the darkness while the neighbor on the left is stranded on the roof screaming “save me, call the emergency services, I’m being washed away”, that everything begins to rush.  We ran around, helping those we could help, and woke up the other neighbors so that they wouldn’t drown in their sleep (it’s impossible to write down everything that happened!) Then we suddenly came to our senses, stood together and prayed for all the people in distress and that God would give us wisdom.  God gave a special measure of courage to my girls (Tima is in the army right now and Kostik went to visit friends).  We called some brothers from the church and the quickly arrived.  At that time we had guests: Jane from Montana (from a C&MA church, she came to Mountain Springs to serve at camp and help at an English Club). It must be said that Jane is simply an extremist: thanks to her, we have photos of the start of our flood and some of the aftermath (which she was very active in helping us clean up).   Tanya and I thank God for her and her dedication, and think of her as a daughter, and we thank God for her.

That same evening, missionaries from Sevastopol who serve abroad arrived (I agreed to take them to visit three different churches).  Valera threw himself into helping, and we got the girls out of the house through the window.  By the way, I couldn’t understand why God willed for them to come at a time like this to talk about missions and look for partners in service while there was such a stir, but it really wasn’t up to them at all.  I thought, I’ve had a terrible flood, the house is dirty, it’s total chaos, and all the believers are busy praying and making shelters for the flood victims etc. 

But then God gave me a word and I understood.  When I had imagined missionaries, I thought about what I’d read from Matthew 24 and Daniel 11:32-33.  I saw that we finally really understand for ourselves where it’s written “¹⁷ A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack” (Matt. 24:17).  And from the word we see that against the background of political, economic, ecological and religious turmoil and the darkness surrounding a church active in ministry, that in spite of evil and all else international ministries will become stronger.

Daniel said, “People who worship God will be strong and act”.  The Lord has given me confidence to say that in the body of Christ, everyone has their own calling. Some serves the poor, some serve relatives and friends, some are called to serve within the church, and we praise God for it.  And even right now in this time of turmoil, God is calling some to serve those who are perishing in different countries.  He said (make no mistake) that there would always be miracles, even at a little church; unexpected donors will be found who will be partners of international missions. 

It was amazing that during this time, as the result of visiting those three small churches, they raised $3600.  They were keenly interested, and they took down the address and there has been a short-term mission. And this against the backdrop of devastation and our own pressing needs!  Hallelujah to our God! HERE’S MATTHEW 24:14 IN ACTION!  I THINK THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSON GOD TAUGHT ME THAT DAY! 

With regard to our property, in the house there was about 25-30cm of water, and in the kitchen about 80cm.   35 meters of fence on three sides were destroyed as if they had never been built.  Some of the furniture was damaged — couches etc. Tanya’s laptop, the refrigerator, the washing machine, appliances and my 2002 Nissan were under water (the Nissan was under right up to the antenna).  Happily, the refrigerator works, the appliances were successfully dried out, and the washing machine is still drying out.  We’ve decided to sell the Nissan because the electronic components can’t be repaired.  It was very good to see that from seven in the morning, while the neighbor was clutching his head, there were about 18 people working on our property until that same evening, and again the next day. I want to thank our pastor Dmitri Lyuba and his wife Natasha for organizing everything.  They cleared out about a ton of silt, lumber, roofing tiles, boards and the like.  They also helped both my neighbors, whose houses are lower than ours and who had worse flood damage.  It was really wonderful that it was help from the church, so that our neighbors now know more about who we are, and are thankful for it.

But the worst damage is in another town.  By some counts, already more than 3000 people died, and the smell on the streets is nauseating.  Many believers lost property.  Bishop Alexander Anatolevich Sakharov organized volunteer work from different churches.  Only the ECMS sent more than 100 people at one time.  Here is his email: a_saharov@inbox.ru.

Bishop Sakharov’s and the president of ECMS Kornev have a list of the believers who suffered losses.  Now we are planning on forming an ECMS church base called “Bell Toll”, in collaboration with the local government in the town, as a center for physical, material, and spiritual help that will being operations in about a year. I think the best thing for the “staff” to do now is to systematically serve the needy.  We’d be happy to welcome any help in that town, especially organized help.

I hardly feel comfortable showing my own photos of our damage against the backdrop of the grief in another town.  If you would like to cooperate with this committee or center, it would be wonderful. 

HOWEVER, DEAR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, ALONG WITH THE EMERGENCY HELP PLEASE, DON’T FORGET ABOUT OUR BLESSED MISSION AND THE TRUTH WRITTEN IN MATTHEW 24:14, ESPECIALLY THOSE MINISTERY PROJECTS THAT YOU’RE ALREADY COMMITTED TO!

Thank you for your cooperation and may God bless you!

Tanya and Ilya Ivanyenko 

Ilya's a funny guy

 That's all for now guys!  It's a million degrees here with no means of escape, but thankfully a watermelon stand popped up overnight at the neighbors place, so I'm off to get a melon and stick it in the fridge for later.  

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

This is my home

Tanya in the foreground, Masha in the background; the living-room

Slippers in the foyer

Teapot

The fridge that survived the storm

"Emily"

My first iced-tea in months

Our swing

Tanya's flowers

The gazebo, Ilya's 20th anniversary present to his wife

The family hearth

Our "dining-room" in the gazebo

The garden

Our cement mixer

Russia has the best plastic bags

Masha's bulletin board

Iron in the hall

A souvenir from their trip to Israel

The books

A street view 

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

Quick note about blog changes

Just a few "house-keeping" notes:

-- I've had to go back and edit some of my posts to remove the name of the town that was the hardest-hit in the region, where I volunteered for a day

-- I've changed the format of the blog, hopefully to make it a little easier to read.

Th-th-th-that's all folks!

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

Count your (my) blessings

You know what our father does?  He blesses people.  And sometimes, he blesses the heck out of people.  I think now is a good time to reflect on some of the blessings I've received since I came to Russia.

-- I have raised almost twice the amount of money I needed to come here, and I sent out very few letters; people that I don't know or didn't ask to donate have been supporting my work here. 

-- Despite being completely submerged during the flood, these appliances are back in working order: microwave, toaster, washing machine, refrigerator, oven, and CAR.  Completely submerged!

-- On a whim I accepted a friend's invitation to come live with her and her family, and they happen to be a very faithful family and amazing people. 

-- All of the counselors at English Camp believe and half of them live in Novorossyisk, so I got a great group of friends and a great community right off the bat

-- I'm really needed here, which seems like a silly thing to call a blessing but trust me, it is

That's the short-list of blessings.  Here's the less serious list:

-- I didn't die after eating shuarma from the market

-- My Russian mom is a fabulous cook

-- You can get a watermelon for $1.50

-- I can use the public transportation independently

-- We have kittens in the house

-- I can suddenly cook in Russia like I've never cooked before

I've always said that he blesses us, because that's the right thing to say.  It's a silly idea of course, but I think we get used to giving "right" answers even if we don't really believe it or haven't experienced it for ourselves.  Now I can say that he really does bless us; I've seen it with my own eyes.

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

I bowl; how to make ladoshki

The last few days have been a flash-back to camp and a great time to see some fruit.

A few of the counselors from Novorossyisk and the neighboring capitol Krasnodar who worked together at the English Camp decided to do a reunion with a purpose.  They rounded up kids from the area who had been at camp and invited them for a reunion weekend in Novoross (which is the cool way to say Novorossyisk I've learned) full of fun, games, and meaningful conversation.

So we get about 20 of the kids together, a genius idea of my fellow counselors, and start the day off with a photo scavenger hunt around town.  Some of my favorite clues were "flying cat", "twins", "a guy wearing light-blue shorts", and "a bald woman".  Our team won, not that anyone cares.  Except me.

After the hunt and a lunch at Subway, the crew headed off to the beach.  I had English Club that evening so I wasn't able to go to the beach, but later that night I met up with the crew at Andree's house, where I stayed a couple days before heading off to camp.  There, we had a big dinner and talked about camp, what they liked and didn't like, and if they were going to camp in August.  About half of them were, which is awesome; they just loved English Camp so much they wanted to go.

Over tea, Andree began having a more serious discussion with the kids.  I must confess, I was talking to his parents while this was going on so I'm not sure exactly what his topic was, but it ended with an invitation to come to the camp director's church the next day. 

The counselors and three of the kids went to church; Andree and his wife came and greeted us all warmly and were really happy to see us and the kids, and happy that we'd had a reunion.

Then, it was time to bowl (of course).  I happen to hate bowling, but oddly enough, just like baseball, I was one of the better bowlers by virtue of having done it a lot.  More kids joined us, and we spend the rest of the day bowling and playing air hockey.

Around 5:00 it was time for most of them to head home or go back to Krasnodar with some of our counselors.  Many of them are really excited to come to Logos camp in August, and those that aren't going promised to come to the winter session of English Camp.  Overall, it was a great time of outreach to these kids, and a really good follow-up to the camp.  We're already planning the same kind of follow-up for after Logos.

On another note, I spent the rest of the day whipping up ladoshki (ладошки) which are like small pancakes only way better; "ladoshki" is plural.  I love them.  I ate probably 15 last night and then felt really awful but still content.  Here's the recipe.  Remember, this is Russia, so nothing is really approximate, you may have to adjust the quantities, but I'll do my best.

Babushka's ladoshki:

3 C buttermilk, or sour whole milk
2 eggs
2-3 C flour
1 TBSP sugar 
1 TBSP activated baking soda (get your TBSP ready over the bowl, then add hot water to it until it all fizzes and melts, then dump it all in)
1 tsp vanilla
2 TBSP veggie oil
A pinch of salt

Mix the milk and eggs together in a bowl, and then add the dry ingredients.  Mix until the batter is smooth.  It should be somewhat loose and not unlike pancake batter.  

Heat a pan over the stove, cast iron works best, and pour in some veggie oil about 1/4 in deep.  Take a big table spoon and spoon the batter into the hot oil.  The ladoshki should be about the size of a cookie (I can't think of anything better; the size of a coaster maybe?)   Try to spoon your batch pretty quickly so they'll cook at the same time.  You can fit maybe 5 or 6 in a pan at once.

When the bubbles on the top of the ladoshki stop popping, it's time to flip them.  The bottom should be brown.  For whatever reason, they cook faster after you flip them, so keep a pretty careful eye on them.  When browned on both sides, move them out of the oil onto a plate.  Repeat until you've used all you batter.

The best ways to eat them are with preserves (my Russian mama Tanya makes apricot preserves that I'm just crazy about) or sweetened condensed milk.  Russia is the only place where you can say "hey, lets have a tea-party" and all you guy friends are chomping at the bit to come, but that's what happened last night.  Our friends came over and we all had tea and ladoshki out in the gazebo.

Bowling.  Ladoshki.

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

Ecclesiastes 3

1 "For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.
² A time to be born and a time to die.
    A time to plant and a time to harvest.
³ A time to kill and a time to heal.
    A time to tear down and a time to build up.
⁴ A time to cry and a time to laugh.
    A time to grieve and a time to dance.
⁵ A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
    A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
⁶ A time to search and a time to quit searching.
    A time to keep and a time to throw away.
⁷ A time to tear and a time to mend.
    A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
⁸ A time to love and a time to hate.
    A time for war and a time for peace.

⁹ What do people really get for all their hard work? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. ¹¹ Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. ¹² So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. ¹³ And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

¹⁴ And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. ¹⁵ What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again."


Пока ребята, Russian Jane

The flood: pictures

Our front steps

The kitchen

The car, which later was completely submerged

Inside the house

The property

The water line as the flood recedes

The next day, in the kitchen (that's Masha)

Taking the fruit tree out in pieces

The neighbors fence

Our car

That is not our ice cream freezer; it floated in

Picking up trash

Masha and I, in slippers

Pastor Ilya showing the water line

Our kitchen; see the water line

The irrigation ditch barely survived

The ditch full of trash

The hardest-hit town, working to clean up a home

The water almost went to the top of their 12-ft ceiling

Masha scooping layers of mud out of a home

The back yard with clean towels drying, a miracle

The Flooded Town

I've never been in a natural disaster.  I never even considered that I might live through a natural disaster.  Montana is pretty isolated from most things; no hurricanes, no tornadoes, and no floods.

I thought things were bad at our place until I went to the town with the most flood damage.  Yesterday morning we spend scrambling to organize supplies.  Our friend Syoma has a delivery truck for his job and we loaded it full of food, water, clothes, and other supplies gathered from the church.  Syoma, my sister Masha, our friend Katya and I set off for the town.  As soon as we got near town the disorder began; most of the town is without power, so there were not traffic lights, and Russian traffic isn't easy even on a good day.  We finally muscled our way into town and began to survey the damage.

When the flooding hit the town, it came without warning; within ten minutes there was water up to the rooftops.  It took five hours for it to recede; I just heard a story today of an elderly couple that stood on their dining room table with their noses barely above water for the duration of the flood, and they were lucky.  So far, the local estimate is 3500 dead, and they're still finding bodies.  In the days following the flood there were bodies lying on the street under sheets because the authorities couldn't collect them fast enough, and they're still finding corpses.  It was very merciful that I didn't see a body, but there was a definite smell of decay.

We drove into one of the hard-hit neighborhoods, pulled over, and opened our truck.  People began coming to us, mostly asking for water and something to give kids.  We handed out all of our water within ten minutes and most of the food.  The next thing people wanted was underwear; they had no clean clothing, everything was filthy and buried in mud.

After a few stops Syoma had to head to work and we girls stayed.  We went to someone's grandma's house and began cleaning up.  You could see where there had been 12 feet of water in her home.  Everything was completely ruined.  We were working with a big group and while we were there, a nurse came and tried to give us all Hepatitis A vaccinations with one needle that she cleaned with a little rubbing alcohol; I declined.  Thank the Lord, when I went to Southeast Asia in 2007 I got all of my shots updated, including a Hep A vaccination and Tetanus.  Everyone keeps talking about an "infection", and I can only assume they mean either Hep A or cholera.

We spend the day cleaning that house and the neighbor's.  In the neighbor's house there was about five or six inches of mud.  It was made of fine silt, and extremely heavy.  Both physically and emotionally, it was really tiring.

We made it home around 11 that night, flat beat and filthy.  Masha and I had been staying with Katya since the flood, and her 10-year-old son was in a panic that we got home so late.  I plopped down to sleep after a bucket bath (no hot water at her place) and today, woke up to go teach an English lesson.

I came back to the Ivanenko house to discover that Masha had gathered all my stuff from Katya's and brought it here, which is home.  I'm finally home.  The furniture is still scattered all over, and there's only water during the day (I assume they're doing repairs to the pipes) but it's still so good to be home.  It's finally dry and order is returning bit by bit.  I'm tired and emotionally exhausted, but so thankful that we were spared.  Having a damp house is nothing compared to the devastation I saw in that town.  I feel like I have no right to complain ever again.

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

A Natural Disaster

It poured rain all day Friday, and by Friday night the town was flooding.  Saturday morning, a neighboring town was under water and we were contending with a flooded-out property.

I went to sleep around 11 and at 12:30 Masha woke me up and told me to look outside.  There was about a foot of water gushing through our yard.  Let me give you a low-down of our property: It's about 1/2 acre lot in a sort of mini-valley (or giant ditch) along the side of the road with a big gate and brick fence in the front.  The whole thing is fenced.  The house stands on about 4 feet of cement foundation, and the kitchen is in an outbuilding, on about 1/2 foot of foundation.  In the back of the property there's a cement ditch and across that, a gazebo.  There are fruit trees and a garden.

The water started gushing out of the ditch towards the road.  When I was awoken it was about a foot and by the time I got to the porch to look outside it was already three feet.  The lumber pile from our kitchen project was floating away and I saw the doghouse go down the street like a boat.  One of the two cars was stuck half-way up the driveway, and the water was rising quickly.  Masha and I waded into the water, up to our waists, and ran up onto the street (which was about 5 ft in elevation higher than our lawn), barefoot and soaked.  We ran to find any kind of help we could so the car wouldn't sink.  We rounded up a couple young guys out having a beer and a couple of our friends arrived.  It took the Emergency Services to finally tow the car out backwards.  The other car was so far under water it was floating, and right now it's in pieces in the driveway, drying out.  It's still unclear if either car will run again.

Meanwhile, the water kept rising and the second car was underwater.  Masha, Tanya and I were on the street watching as the men tried to keep everything from floating away.  We eventually went back into the house through the window, only to discover that in the blink of an eye there was 6in of water in the house.  Miraculously, Tanya managed to save my computer, which was on the floor, so only my charger cable went for a swim.  I scrambled for my documents so I wouldn't get deported; for the most part, my stuff is ok but there was an inch of fine silt on everything once the water finally receded.  And of course, there was no power anywhere in town, so it was all in the dark with flashlights.

About 3 in the morning Dima took me and and a couple guests who were staying with us overnight (lucky them) to the church, where there are apartments on the top floor.  I was so full of adrenaline that I had trouble sleeping even thought I was exhausted. 

When I woke up, Masha was there (she'd come some time later in the night) and fixing breakfast.  Chicken hearts, as if my night wasn't bad enough.  Though actually it was really tasty.  We ate and our friend Semyon (a different Semyon) took us to the house.  Everything was a total disaster.  There was a foot of mud in the yard, and three inches of water and silt in the kitchen.  We worked all day trying to wash everything and hang it out to dry, or just to put things back in order.  The water was so strong an ice cream stand washed into our yard (over the fence) along with other miscellaneous items that didn't belong to us.

In short, it's a total disaster, but not even the worst in the region.  In the hardest-hit town, the whole town was underwater within ten minutes; we're hearing that at least 1000 people drowned and the toll keeps climbing.  In Novorossyisk they've reported only 2 deaths, but it's likely much higher.

Right now, Masha and I are apartment hopping, going from one dry place to another.  I don't know when we'll be able to go home again.  So pray please.  Pray for us, pray for the people in the region.  It's a very devastating natural disaster.

I'll keep you updated.

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

"Finally, something that looks like real work!"

I have three events to report on, and I shall do them in order of relative importance.  Camp, 4th of July, and "finally, something that looks like real work" as a friend of mine put it.

What to say about the end of camp?  There was a big bonfire, the campers cried, the leaders were exhausted.  I'll be headed back to camp for most of August and at this point, I'm not sure exactly what I'll do.  The thought of being a counselor again is daunting, mostly because I was such a crank by the end of it I was worried about ruining the experience for the kids.  I don't think that actually happened, but it was a concern.  We'll see what exactly my job description is when I head back.

The 4th.  Happy birthday America!  I spent all day in the kitchen whipping up fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and peach cobbler for my friends.  It was a lot of work, but totally worth it.  It really was fun.  Also, some friends of my Russian family and I started brainstorming about English projects I could do in the community.  They said that they really need it to be well organized to be successful.  Um hello, do you know how type A I am?  So we're not brainstorming ways for me to get a visa for a year.  I'm pretty excited.

Here I am cooking up what I'd like to refer to as "a storm"

A small portion of the party waiting for dessert

Now, actual work.  As I told you guys, I've been feeling like I don't have quite enough to do lately Than changed almost you immediately.  A couple of nights ago, Tanya (the mama) and Natasha (the a friend) were going to visit a woman they'd met a while ago, and who had been coming to their study.  She's very poor and lives in such a dilapidated house that the state opted to take her children away.  It's a very sad story, but not one without hope.

We were on our way to her house when both Tanya and Natasha realized that they didn't know exactly where she lived.  It was a neighborhood they were unfamiliar with and they had only ever been there with someone else.  We pulled over on the side of the road and began making frantic phone calls to someone who could give us directions.  As we're sitting in the car worrying about what to do, who comes walking down the road but my buddy Semyon?  He's from that neighborhood and knew exactly where we were going.  He hopped into the car with us and we were on our way in short order.  Our father was looking out for us before we even thought to ask him for help!

I feel terrible, but I didn't catch the woman's name.  I said all of two words the whole time.  We sat in her house, which really was in an awful state, and she began to ask us a list of questions she had from her reading. Tanya and Natasha fielded all of the questions and I just sat back as nodding support, but it was amazing none the less.  Our father has a plan for this woman and her children, and I feel glad to be part of it.

I sent Semyon a text afterwards to tell him how it went, and that's when he responded with "finally, something that looks like real work!"  He meant it good-naturally, though most of the time he's a bit of a sassy-pants.  God is good, guys, don't ever forget it.

Their cat had kittens.  They have a box of kittens.  Box. Of. Kittens.  Just thought I'd throw that in there.

Пока ребята!  Russian Jane

My new routine and more camp news

Well, I had a morning meeting today with Anya and Julia and the English Studio to see exactly what I'll be doing until August (in August I'm going to work at a Christian camp in the same location, it's for a whole month so I'll probably go ahead and get internet).

Turns out, not as much as I thought.  It's summer break, so there aren't many English lessons during the day, all that's going on are evening conversational classes.  So I work every weekday evening from 7-9:30 or so.  If people show up, that is.

Hey, prayer requests!  Let's go:
     - I need something to do during my days.  I'm not about to sit on my
       bum all day, but I don't quite know what to do to be effective
     - I'm still having a bit of a rough time understanding people, which has the potential to lead to
       some hilarious and/or really bad moments of miscommunique
     - This dang cold just won't quit

Ok guys, thank you for keeping up with my life over here in the Orient and please be praying!  And now, another installment from camp.

Пока ребята!  Russian Jane

I NO LONGER KNOW WHAT DAY IT IS.  I CAN BARELY REMEMBER MY NAME.

So camp.  In the last couple days, we’ve done a week’s worth of things.  I can’t even begin to write down everything we’ve done.  Here are the highlights.

-       English lessons: I thought I would hate teaching English (I did it in Southeast Asia and it was not my cup of tea) but I actually really love it, probably because I speak Russian so we can actually communicate

-       I’m tired and hungry all the time because it takes so much energy to speak, think, understand, read, and write in Russian all day

-       There are some of my girls I’ve fallen in love with and some I want to lock in the bathroom.  Little Alina, “sweet as can be”?  Spoiled.  A brat for the ages.  Katya, the sassy-pants, is my total favorite.

-       A team of Americans (students from a Chi Alpha chapter at UT San Antonio) came, sang camp songs, played baseball, and left

-       We began our Olympic games in preparation for Sochi 2014; we already had the baseball championship and my team won.  Hear that mom, I won at a sport thing!

-       Varya, my co-counselor, is a complete and total blessing, and we’re a terrific team

-       I’m making friends

I’m so tired that at night, when I should be keeping my camp journal, I just collapse into bed.  I get real cranky if I don’t sleep enough, or if I don’t have my nap during quiet hour, which is kind of new for me.  It’s hard work, but it’s fun, and rewarding.  The camp director already wants me to come back and maybe work on a more permanent basis at the camp, which honestly I would be happy to do at this point.  There is this English camp in June and then Logos camp in August, and I’ll be at Logos camp. I’m pretty excited.

My entries keep getting shorter and shorter.  I’m going to fall asleep with my face on the keyboard.  I’m the most tired girl currently living, but I’m very very happy.

DAY SEVEN: A MONTH OF STUFF IN A WEEK

Puzzles.  Sumo.  Americans working for Chevron.  Hotdogs for breakfast.  Beach.  Movies.  We won the flag.

Man oh man this camp stuff is tiring.  At about 4pm today, I pretty much gave up hope for the Russian language and spoke English the rest of the day.  Fortunately many of the counselors speak excellent English, but it was still frustrating.  Sometimes you just have those days where you can’t understand anything and can’t say anything right, and this was one of them.  Ironically, the theme of today’s English lesson was “lost in translation”, and I certainly felt lost.

I just brushed a mosquito off my arm.  Inside.  I’m being eaten alive.

In other news, I haven’t spoken to my family in over a week and I’m less than amused.  I see some of the girls cry because their mom didn’t call them three times that day, and I want to dunk them in the toilet.

Right now, my roomie Serafima is talking to me.  I just kind of giggle and say “da”.

So far, I’ve really enjoyed being a camp counselor even thought I occasionally want to punch children.  I always swore I would never work with kids, and that I would never teach English, but God certainly had other ideas.  But, I'm here to help, and if it means teaching the kids British idioms for an hour (“we get along like chalk and cheese”?) so be it, I’m happy to do it.