Thanks grandma!

Uncle Ilya just got back from a trip that included a swing by grandma's place. In America, when we visit our grandmas, sometimes they sends us home with leftovers or cookies, and we feel pretty lucky. That's cute, America. In Russia, when you visit grandma, she sends you home with liters and liters of pickled vegetables, jams, apples from her tree, and a pallet of flowers for the garden (though I must say, not even a whole pallet of canned tomatoes could make up for a pan of Lois' hot fruit compote or one of Patty's pecan pies!)

Pickles, pickled tomatoes, and pickled peppers (a whole peck!)

Pickled veggies, jam in the small bottles, big bottles of homemade juice

Apples and flowers

Aunt Tanya was excited because Ilya was bringing her flowers; I thought she meant a bouquet!

As exciting as getting canned food from grandma is, even more exciting are some upcoming visits from none other than mom and dad! We spent a few hours on Skype going through the long visa application process, and God-willing we'll meet up in a month in Prague then head over to Russia together! I have to leave to renew my visa, so it was a perfect opportunity for a trip.

No strangers to adventure, these two

I can't tell you how excited I am that they're coming! I'm already ticking down the days. They've never been abroad together, so this will be a whole new adventure for them, but after the blast I had with Wyatt here I'm confident that everything will go great.

Canned goods and good people, that's the life!

In closing, here's my cat chillin' in my shower. What a dummy.

 

 

Cat's hate water, did you miss the memo?

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

Thanks from Pastor Ilya

Hello everyone!

As many of you know, I live with a pastor and his family. Back in July, I asked if you would be willing to help raise some funds to replace a car the Ivanyenko family lost in the flood. Well, if I go to my window and look into the driveway, there stands our new (used) Nissan Qashqai, an economical little SUV that is perfect for Russia's roads and Ilya's travel demands.

To those of you who participated, thank you so much; you can't imagine what it means to have a reliable car once again, and what a hindrance it was not to have one.

Ilya has written a thank you letter to our church, though his thanks extends to everyone who participated.  So once again, here's a letter from Pastor Ilya:

  

Novorossyisk Bible Center

 Russia, Krasnodar Region, Novorossyisk

                  360923  Lenin Prospect 71a. Tel. 8909 4500 321

                        sobor@list.ru ……………………………………………………………………………

To the pastor of MAC

Missoula, Montana 

From Minister I. V.Ivanyenko

Novorossyisk

           

Dear brother Jeff and all the children of God at MAC:  I sincerely thank you, your elders and your members for your tenderness and readiness to meet the needs of the saints. On July 06, 2012, there was a flood in our house in Novowossyisk. Praise God that everyone is alive and well, but there was a little property damage, and our car was totaled by the floodwater. You responded to the needs of our church and did some fundraising to help us buy a new car, raising $8000 total.  It's an immense blessing for us; in my ministry I'm responsible for the missionary activities of our denomination, ECMS, and my works involves lots of travel to visit our missionaries and ministries.  All of your fundraising enabled us to buy a 2008 Nissan Qashqai. It's economical, reliable, and comfortable on our roads.

We sincerely thank the Lord for you and your participation in our ministry. We pray for you and hope that the Lord will abundantly meet your needs in your personal lives, and in ministry. 

We invite you as to come to the field in Krasnodar region as workers of the Lord, and to relax on the Black Sea.

ECMS Director of Missions, 

Ilya Ivanyenko

  January 2013

There you have it guys, a warm thanks from Pastor Ilya. And I want to thank you personally for helping these people who have become family to me. God is good!

Пока ребята,
Russian Jane

The Business of Life

I've been feeling very adult lately.  I'm working, managing my documents, baking up a storm, and experiencing what everyone in college referred to with longing as "real life".  A year ago I was beginning my final semester of college, and I could not have imagined where I would be in a years time. God is so good, isn't he?

So, what have I been up to lately? Well firstly, my bathroom is slowly but surely reaching completion. It's been a long process getting my room built, because the Ivanyenko boys and their friends did all of the work themselves to economize.  I don't mind the wait however, and looking back it's amazing how many people have helped with this building project. Even yours truly! I've been in the bathroom the last couple days grouting tiles and cleaning walls. Not without help, of course!

I've also been working at Mountain Springs.  The month of February is devoted to minor repair jobs at the campground, and as you can see from the photo above, I'm as ready as ever to grout tiles or paint walls.  Not without the occasional mishap, however.  I was taking all of the photos and paintings down from the walls in the office so we can paint, and I managed to break our big mirror. Not only did I break the mirror, but I cut my fingers in the cleanup process.  If I'm honest, my pride was hurt a lot more than my fingers!  Every assured me, however, that since it was my first day, they'd let it slide.

My final bit of grown-up real-life has been getting my documents figured out. By far, my documentation is the hardest part of my life in Russia. Hard, but not impossible! Fortunately, I have the solid advice of some people who've been here for years to guide me, but needless to say it's been getting a lot of my attention lately. 

Whenever things don't go according to plan, or when life here seems impossible for any reason, I try to remember to ask myself, "Who got you here? Who is on the throne? Who is in control and has always been in control?" It's been a crazy journey, at times stressful, but God has not and will not let me down. 

And now, because you know how much I love to cook, here's a recipe for you. A good friend of mine from Krasnodar came to visit this weekend, so I decided to bake a pineapple upside-down cake for the occasion. I used brown sugar that I brought myself, but all the other ingredients were available in Russia! Oh, no maraschino cherries, but aside from that all the other ingredients were a hit. Even if I run out of brown sugar, the cake itself was really fluffy and delicious.  So here you go!

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Ingredients

For the topping:

5 tbsp butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

8 slices canned pineapple slices

pecan halves, for decorating

maraschino cherries, for decorating

 

For the cake:

10 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup syrup from pineapple can

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 

1. Line a 10-inch cast-iron skillt with aluminum foil, completely covering the bottom and sides and extending extra foil over edges of pan. Preheat oven to 350F. 
2. Make the topping: Place butter in skillet, place skillet in oven and melt butter. As soon as butter is melted, remove and stir in brown sugar, carefully mixing well with a rubber spatula so as not to tear foil.
3. Arrange pineapple slices over butter/sugar spread. Place cherries in center of pineapple and pecans between the slices.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter, adding sugar gradually, and then add eggs and beat well. Stir flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.
5. Combine buttermilk, syrup and vanilla in a small measuring cup. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk/syrup mixture, beating well after each addition. Spread batter evently across mixture in skillet.
6. Bake for approximately 45-50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Place a large cake plate over pan, and invert to remove. Peel off aluminum foil, pressing back any pineapple that may be stuck to the foil.

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

Wheels at last

It’s a happy day in the Ivanyenko household, because finally, finally their new car is here from Germany!

I’m sure you remember the flood this summer, which wiped out one of their vehicles and numerous appliances. Pastor Ilya’s work in the region was totally crippled by his lack of a reliable car.

Here's the old car, which was eventually totally submerged

The ruined interior

Thanks to all of you who donated, we were able to help get the Ivanyenko family a new car. They got a used Nissan SUV from Germany (you can see the German plate still on it!) that is ready to handle the rough Russian roads, and will hopefully last the family a long time.

Here she be, ready for the road!

Notice the German plate

It already proved itself on a long trip back from the town where they bought it

Thank you again to all of you who contributed!

As for myself, I’m still getting used to the fact that my brother is gone and camp is over. What an amazing time it was having him here! Myself and my friends were so sad to see him go, and they’re already asking when he’ll be coming back. It was such a joy to have him with us!

Do you have an interest in volunteering at one of our English camps? All native English speakers of all ages are welcome! The next camp begins June 13^th, and it’s not too soon to start preparing. If you are interested, please email me at j_blevins_mt@yahoo.com and I’ll get you the details. We’d love to have you there!

Пока ребята,

Russian Jane

My brother in Novorossyisk!

What a crazy few weeks its been! I can hardly believe all that's happened since I went back to America mid-December.  Here's a quick recap!

My time in America was very good, but very busy.  I had trouble getting my visa, and Wyatt had trouble with his, so we were biting our nails until the last second waiting for them to arrive. But thank God, they arrived and we were able to leave on time.  This visa drama did not, however, spoil a wonderful Christmas with my family.

My grandmas Patty (Mom's mom, right) and Lois (Dad's mom, left)

My dear family, and no, we didn't plan to coordinate

My beautiful mama

Papa and I

Not too long after Christmas, on the 29th, Mom and Dad took Wyatt and I to the airport and we began our journey to Novorossyisk.  Sitting here now, with Wyatt a few feet away from me snoozing on the couch, I can still hardly believe that it happened. But it did happen; Wyatt went to Russia with me!

Our flight to Novorossyisk was without any problems.  We were met at the airport by Masha and Ilya, who drove us from the airport in Krasnodar back to Novorossyisk. It was about a 2 hour drive, and Wyatt had the pleasure of sitting in the front seat of the vehicle, which happens to be right-hand drive, meaning that Wyatt was the one facing oncoming traffic. It was dark, the road is full of potholes, and Russian driving is not what I would describe as "gentle". Wyatt thought that after that experience, nothing would scare him.

We spent a day with the Ivanyenko family (I'm so happy to be reunited with them, by the way) before packing up and heading to camp.

What to say about camp? There's so much to tell! In short, it was phenomenal. It couldn't have gone better.  The children were enchanted by our Narnia theme, the team of Americans I had with me (8 in all) were a fantastic help and great addition to the camp, and there were no unhappy incidences with the kids.

Photo by Anya Pinkova, taken in the conference hall

Wyatt was the star of camp. He was the only American on our team not currently living in Russia, so he not only spoke the least Russia but was the most foreign of them all, and he loved it. Everywhere he went he would scream "America!", so that the kids started referring to him simply as America.  I was proud of him though, he handled the language barrier very well and was great with the kids. He was able to have full conversations with people who spoke very little English and has picked up not a few Russian words.

Everyone rushed in front of the camera! Photo by Anya Pinkova

He's definitely caught the camp bug, and is already planning to return this summer for our 10-day camp. Unfortunately, he's literally caught some kind of camp bug, and he's not feeling too hot, but hopefully he'll perk up tomorrow. We have plans to go fishing in the Black Sea, tour the former Soviet flagship that sits in the bay, and tour the marketplace. 

I can't put into words how well camp went, and how happy I am to have my brother with me. He really means the world to me, and I know we're going to remember this trip for the rest of our lives.

When my brother leaves, I'll be sure to update you on all our adventures! Goodbye until then!

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

It's the holiday!

As the end of the semester approaches, I've been seeing a lot of chatter online from my friends who are still studying about the stress and terrors of finals week.  What a blessing it is to be done with school!  My days are certainly full of activity, but I remember the feeling of days that were overflowing with activity and I'm glad those days have past.  Good luck on your finals, everyone!

Instead of writing up essays and preparing for exams, I'm spending my time writing up lesson plans and preparing for camp.  It's so exciting, and it's just around the corner! Personally, this holiday season is going to be fantastic for me.  I get to go home for Christmas (I leave in ONE WEEK!) and then I get to come back and go straight to camp. As if that wasn't exciting enough, guess who's coming back with me?

Wyatt and a sheep. Why? Bleats me!

That's right! My one and only beloved little brother Wyatt! If everything goes according to plan, he'll be coming back with me at the end of the month (THIS month, it's all happening so quickly!) to help at camp and meet my friends and family here.  Little does he know (and he won't know until he gets here because he admittedly doesn't read my blog, that bum) that he's going to be Peter Pevensie, High King of Narnia.  It's pretty exciting, let me tell you.  Here's our camp poster:

Our official camp poster, courtesy of Madi

When Wyatt and I arrived, after a day or two of recovery, we'll head up to the base on the 31st to celebrate New Years.  In Russia, their biggest holiday of the year is New Years Eve, instead of Christmas, but there are many similarities in the ways they celebrate, like having a tree, putting up lights, Santa (Father Frost over here), presents, parties... The Christians here celebrate Christmas, but it's a very private family holiday without all the above-mentioned accoutrements that we find in our American Christmas. 

New Years Eve on the base will be excellent; most of the people volunteering as counselors and helpers are my dear friends, and I can't think of anyone else I'd want to spend the holiday with.  I also will be spending this New Years with someone special; we're not quite ready to shout it from the rooftops, but I think it's fair to let you know that I've been going on a lot of long walks with a certain someone.  One day I'll write about the perils of dating in the conservative Church culture here, suffice to say that it's very very different from our way of doing things. But enough on that subject, I'm still shy!

Christmas, camp with my brother, New Years with my friends. In short, this is going to be an excellent Russian Christmas.

Пока ребята, Russian Jane

What a weekend!

Normally for the weekend after Thanksgiving, the Blevins family heads up to their cabin, chops down a Christmas tree, and finishes off the Thanksgiving leftovers.  This year of course was different.  The parents stayed home over the weekend, and Mom and Wyatt or going to buy a tree together this year.

I love this cozy weekend at the cabin, and look forward to it every year.  While I was disappointed to not be headed into the woods this last Friday, I can't say that I sat home and moped.  This was a weekend to end all weekends.  Tima came home after a year in the army.

Tima and Masha

Tima is the Ivanyenko's oldest son. After graduating from a two-year technical school at the age of 19, he packed up and headed off to the army for a year, as all Russian men from ages 18-27 must do.  I remember when I got here in June, Tanya said to me, "Only four more months and Tima comes home!" and suddenly, it's here.

And let me be clear, this was Tanya's day.  I can't imagine what it would be like to have your child gone for a year.  He was serving not too far from us, but the army doesn't give the soldiers leave.  Tanya saw him once or twice while he was serving, and that's a miracle.  Fortunately, he was working in an office on a computer during his service, so he could Skype the family often, and what a blessing that was to them! But enough of that, Tima's home.

Friday was pretty quiet, but on Saturday things started shaking.  He was coming home that evening, so we planned a big party at the church for him, and what a party it was!  I'll spare the details, but suffice to say Tima has a lot of friends who are thrilled that he's home.

Tima and a buddy at the church party

The next day, our youth group went paint-balling, Tima included (to the delight of many).  I spectated and took photos, because my brother Wyatt is crazy about paintball and I've seen far too many welts and bruises to willingly subject myself to that kind of torture. But a good time was had by all! Our youth group is mostly guys (really, we have two girls who come) which as many of you know is rather unusual for youth groups or churches in general.  This was a great activity for some male bonding (and female bonding for Katya and Anya who clung together through the whole thing, but they were great sports!)

Tima, Kai, Roma, Senya, ready for action

Anya and Katya, you go girls!

This creepy abandoned building was perfect for paintball

Our fearless leader Vasilev (with paint on his nose)

Go Red Team!

Since Saturday everyone in the house has been in a cheery mood, especially Tanya and Ilya.  I'm looking forward to getting to know Tima (who is right now outside working on installing a heater in my room, bless him) and I'm as happy as ever to be part of the Ivanyenko clan.

Пока Ребята, Russian Jane