Resting in the joy of what Thou art: My Russian Family

It has been too long. Way too long.

My good friends I want to share with you what has occurred this past month. Right now Hilary and Allie are off teaching English class and I'm sitting in the apartment with a summer cold. But I have so much to be thankful for! My mind, my body, and my heart may give out, but the Lord is still in control.

“Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26

This apartment I am in is our own apartment! The last two weeks of July we were in Kolpashevo, a town a six hour drive up north. We stayed with a family that we met at English camp in June and we taught English at the Baptist Church in Kolpasheva. I want to fill you in all about Kolpasheva, but first let me tell you how we found this apartment.

I know that our new apartment is God's doing. Our friends that go to one of the house churches in Tomsk showed us this apartment. We went to their house for breakfast the day we were leaving for Koplashevo. Emil and his wife Jenny told us they had an apartment we could come look at. We were surprised. We had scheduled to go see three apartments that same day before leaving. All the apartments we had seen were not big enough for us three girls. That day Emil took us to see the apartment. We were amazed at how perfect the apartment was suited for our needs. We agreed that day to rent it before leaving to Kolpashevo. He took us to see the woman who rents it out. She liked us and we payed her that day. The apartment belonged to an American Christian family for twelve years. They left behind a bunch of useful material for us to learn Russian and to teach English. We have a bunch of books! We also have a whole bunch of movies in Russian that we are so excited about. This apartment is a true blessing. We had been praying for the RIGHT place, and this truly is the RIGHT place for the rest of our stay. Praise God! I can't brag enough on how wonderful He is.

Now let me tell you about Kolpasheva. It was a bumpy ride getting there, but I enjoyed it. On the ride there the kids in the car sang Russian songs and I saw so many Birch trees. I also experienced using squatty potties along the way, but I'm pretty use to it by now. Once we arrived at midnight, the family we were staying with had cooked us a full meal. Victor and Larissa welcomed us into their home. We did not know we would be eating like royalty for the next two weeks.

We taught English class two times a day. Even though I am not a natural teacher, I really enjoyed having conversations with the Russian people. For the two weeks, we had twenty-five students overall attend our classes. We are planning on skyping with them once a week while in Tomsk to teach some English and teach some Biblical terms in English as well. We had Christmas in July and we shared with them the true meaning of Christmas. I read scripture from Luke and Leah read in Russia after me. We taught them Christmas words such as "Shepherd, Angel, Manger, Star, and Gifts." We watched "Elf" and shared with them afterwards how secular culture celebrates Christmas, but then we showed them the true meaning of CHRISTmas.

The family we stayed with became our family. They have five kids. Cyril is the oldest and was the translator. He speaks English very well. His father was very funny, because he would speak Russian with an American accent around us. He would say YA Nippy DI MIO ParooSKy. It was soo funny. Their oldest daughter, Leah, is 14 and she was such a great Russian language teacher to us. Leah and Cyril got baptized on the second sunday we were in Kolpashevo. We went to the lake before church and it was such a special time to share with their family. Living with them made me want to learn Russian so bad. But even though we could not always understand each other, we became true friends; The best of friends. I often forgot they were Russians. Our faith united us together, and their love was a reflection of God's grace. I will miss all of them.

The other three children, Sophie, Tikhon, and Arsinia were awesome too. Sophie reminded me of myself when I was younger. Quiet, but she has a fighter inside. Tikhon was hilarious. He would say goodbye to us in English every way he knew how: Goodbye, see you later, see you soon, see you tomorrow...! He reminds me of his dad. And Arsinia would say Hello and Goodbye to us in a really high voice and then a really low voice.

Larissa cooked authentic Russian food for us everyday. She cooked us lunch and dinner. She made soup, borsche, Hooha (fish soup), and pliaf. She taught us how to make pliaf and manti. Manti is ground beef and a ton of onion rolled into dough and steamed. It is a dish from Kyrgyzstan where their father is from. After one day of class she taught us to make manti. So, we decided to make them an American meal. We made hamburgers, Macaroni and cheese, and chocolate chip cookies. They LOVED it! They loved the cookies soo much that we surprised them. Back in our apartment we baked 300 COOKIES for them and for English class students.

Every night after English class we would either drink tea and talk around the kitchen table. We shared testimonies, we share funny stories, and we sang songs together. At church each of us girls gave our testimony. The church is small, but they are filled with so much strength. I think about them everyday. I love the Russian people. I love drinking chai and trying to speak Russian.

There was one women, when she returned home from camp in June started attending the Baptist church in Kolpashevo. I don't think she is a believer yet, but her heart is so open to God's Word. She wants to believe. She told me that every time she reads the Bible it makes it harder for her to believe that the stories are true. Her Mother and her Husband both disapprove of her attending the Baptist Church. They believe they are bad people and liars that want to steal her money. They see the Baptist Church as a false church, and they see the Russian Orthodox church as the only true church. We decided to Skype with the church every week from Tomsk to do a small lesson on English Words and teach on God's Word. I am praying that she will receive the Gospel in it's whole and that through ongoing encouragement through personal talks on Skype, that she will feel God calling her to Himself. Please pray for this woman.

These past two months have been a huge learning experience for me. God has been teaching me how team work should look and how to be patient with my two teammates. It is so easy to try and control everything and to think that you know best. The Spirit of God desires freedom in our lives. The Spirit wants us to be free to love others with joy. Fear and control only hinder that possibility. God is showing me what that love should look like more and more each day. It can hurt my pride at times, but the Lord knows what I need. I am amazed at the perseverance of the Christians in Tomsk and Kolposheva. This is a tough place to be a Christian. It is even tougher when you choose to really be vocal about your faith and try to reach out to the people around you. Many of the believers need encouragement to share their faith, and I believe God is asking us to do that.

This next month of August we are teaching English classes every Monday and Thursday in our apartment. We also our holding a Bible study on Tuesday nights in our apartment. We will be teaching English at Roobius, the computer company, atleast five times a week. We will also be helping teach English at a new language center as well. We hope to learn Russian better as well, as we resume our class for that. We also are getting ready for our visa run in September. We will be going to London and doing some ministry while we are there with univeristy students. Please pray that we will be able to get new visas with no major problems. Please pray for Hilary, Allie, and I to be strong and faithful this month. I think that living with such a wonderful family in Kolpashevo made me miss a lot of family back home. Please pray that we would be present and rely on the Lord and His Words.

Overall, I am amazed at my teammates! We get along so well and I respect them both so much! We are falling in love with the Russian people. I know their enduring faith has encouraged me. Praise God!