....never again to I try to load a video this long.

SO, it doesn't look red in the video, but I assure you I am burnt to a crisp and sore as all be it. I took the video yesterday but after 2 hours of downloading I gave up. Let's see if I have more stamina today.

Today is Veronika's birthday. It is also a Catholic holiday so we went to the 8 am Mass. It entirely in Polish. I think they change it up just to spite me. Atleast is was some preparation for me; I will be in Poland on Monday after all. Anyways I understood 1 out of every 10 words or so and eventually gave up and for some reason felt it important to push back my cuticles.

Made more little hedgehogs at about midnight last night. They are Runny and I think we are going to try to make them a cake or something.

Veronika is just as burned as me, except it is her whole back because she was in the bikini. Ouch. Yo should see us trying togo to sleep. We are a funny pair. Babushka frequently gets on to me for not eating enough, and for beign too white. ...despite my burn.

also... I didn't mention this earlier but the first day I got here when I asked babushka how she was she said "I'm old and I'll die soon." Oh, babushka. But I quickly got her callign herself a devushka with me.. which is a young lady.

Lazy Love

HApPY BIRTHDAY CHERITH!!!!

Well, Ladies and gentlemen, I am in good, ole’ Latvia now. :)

Let me recount my last moments in Russia.
Thursday:
Got up went to the Academy and paid part of my fees. When to the Institute to print of Paige’s flight confirmation and post that blog. Walked home in the rain, and finished up packing my backpack and purse. I called back and forth with the visa support lady who informed me I probably won’t be allowed into St. Pete until August 1st… I called my Parents about 20 times. Then I took out the trash. And came back up to turn in my key and say good bye. Almost cried (but that wouldn’t have been a first for the day). Then I went to Paige’s district and bought her some chips then showed up at her place. There we alternately watched 30rock and Heroes. Haha. It was good times. We had my computer set up at foot of her bed and hers on the chair beside the bed. Mine played 30rock, hers played Heroes. Yeah. We cool. Then she showered and packed and I chatted with my mum on skype. Then we just pretty much sat around. It was nothing spectacular, but very in character of our relationship. :)

Then at about 3:00 am we took the taxi to the airport. We got to see the open bridges. He got us there in 20 minutes. Paige and I sat together in the airport until about 4 when we got in line to get in. Hers was the second flight out. I had hoped to take her to luggage check-in… but I couldn’t because the security checks were before it. Got as close as I could then we said our goodbyes while suppressing tears.

In my last moments there I realized I had no exit strategy. Paige had said a bus went from the Airport to the Moskovsky metro station but it occurred to me that we were in the departure section… not the arrival one, so why would a bus leave from here? Concerning, but I figured it would all work out. I went upstairs. Found a vacant bench next to some ones where people were sleeping. I laid my head on my purse and wrapped myself around my backpack and slept. I woke up every hour and had to roll over because something or other was asleep, but I slept until like 6:30. When I woke up I was praying to find a way out and I looked out the window and saw a bus. I ran downstairs. That one had left but a marshrut was coming. I made sure it went to the metro and hopped on. It came there to drop people off but I just went throught the end of the line an dthe driver asked me if I was going back into town and I said yes, please so he turned around and took us back around. I paid and bolted.
It was before rush hour in the metro which was nice. I figured I needed to make a copy of my passport and there is a copier at the institute… plus it was pouring rain and I wanted to get inside before my feet were soaking again… well, I failed in that respect but I did get to the institute and got to call my parents and talk to them before they went to sleep. I hung out, used the internet and made the copy. I stalled around until the café was open got a bite to eat. The food there is cheap and filling so I figured it was a good place since I didn’t want to have to get more rubles. At the café I met Katriona and we got to talk for the last time it was nice. Then I left for the Academy. I got my ish done there really quick. I was still soking wet and pondered seeing a movie. I thought my errands would take all day, but they took such little time I had like 8 hours…. The movie theater was showing Night at the Museum 2… not interested. So I went to the metro to the station with the train station. I figured there was probably a movie theatre around there that would be showing something else.
I get there it is pouring harder than ever. I walk across the street to the Mc Donals thinking that is nothing else I could watch stupid stuff on the internet, but it is packed and I really didn’t wanna spend my last rubles on McyDs. So I peed and brushed my teeth there and left. I walked forever in no particular direction hoping to find a movie theatre. I was soaked through. I passed by a delicatessen about the time I was giving up hope. Good news is, I found a jazz hall. I’d like to go there something when I go back. Anyways, so I go in the delicatessen and break my last bill (100 rubles) on Israeli cheesecake and a cup of tea. I sat there and copied my numbers from my phone book. Nice. I zoned for who knows how long. Then I left. They say (here in Russia) that is it good luck if it rains the last place you are somewhere. It means the country is mourning your leaving… well, I don’t know about that but I can tell you that if you only have one pair of shoes and no umbrella and you have no where really to go it does put you in danger of getting a cold. :)

I go to the station and sit there. Praying, Zoning, texting, and eventually find myself being woken up by a Militia man. I fell asleep on my bags and he told me I shouldn’t sleep because my things could get stolen. I apologized and we walked off to be with his militia friends. That’ll wake a girl up. I texted some more and decided I needed some caffeine. I counted all of my change. I walked around until I found a kiosk with coke. I had to pay in the most annoying way possible… a bulk of it was 10 kopeck pieces. The thing cost 36 rubles. The girl was slightly annoyed but said “At least you weren’t paying with kopecks.” Made me smile.
I go back with my coke and sit next to the departures. I make a playlist on my ipod I like to call “Don’t sleep.” It is pretty much anything to hard, fast, or happy to fall asleep to. I bide my time there until it is time to go. Then I go. I switched over to my “sleep” playlist before I get on the train. I was asleep before they gave me the pillow or the sheets. I heard the army men making fun of me, but I didn’t care. Woke up to make my bed and fill out the forms and to give my passport, but other than that there was no waking me up until I got the D-pils.
Veronika picked me up at the station. We got home and talked to everyone. Papa was really sweet. He was asking me about my future plans and I said Lord knows what I am doing and that I was homesick. HE said I could just study in Russia and go home in the Summers. I said that that was too expensive to go to America and he said I should just call my dad and say I wanna go home and that is shouldn’t be a problem. He said money isn’t the most important thing. He talked about how it is here today and gone tomorrow, and how we shouldn’t put our trust in it and how the current financial crisis is evidence of that. Mama laughed a lot and said “We’ll aren’t you wise this morning!” They asked me a lot about st. pete. I didn’t really have a lot to say. I dunno why. :)
The bought out a DELISCIOUS cake and we ate it. When I saw Babushka I asked her how she was and she said “I’m old and I’ll die soon.” I love babushka. Babushka was glad to hear I’m not married. She is too cute. She said I was a smart girl and I told her she’s a smart girl too. She laughed really hard, so did mama. Then Babushka said “Jordan and I are just 2 girls together.” I said of course we are.
Veronika and I went to sleep and slept until 3. Now we be chillin.


Here are some old pictures so you can remember what I look like.

CHERITH!! I LOVE YOU!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DARLING SISTER!! I'd call you if I knew how!

Signing out...ish

Well. Today is my final-full day in St. Pete. I can’t believe it. Yesterday my darling friend and sister in Christ called up Andre from church and he came over and picked up my luggage and drove me and them to her place. I love my church.

Kristina has been kind enough to agree to keep my bags for me at her place while I am traveling around Europe. SO the current plan is for me to leave on a train tomorrow evening for Latvia. Stay there about 10 days then meet some friends in Poland and travel with them to the Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania(that whole trip will takeabout 10 days), then meet my parents in England. …then I guess come back to Russia and spend the semester (or possible the year) at RGHA. Then come back and finish my degree at OU. That is the rough plan. Be praying about it.

Also be praying about my homesickness and stuff. IT is stifling.

I paid the Academy a part of my tuition today so that we can start working on getting my visa. Yes I said START. Lord, help me. I dunno how this is gonna go down.

Waffle fries at Carl’s Jr. are good.

I got my certificate from the Institute. I of course passed with flying colors. Ha I was totally stressed out during finals week, but even on the day where I had 4 exams I owned like every single one of them. I even got to help out Paige on hers. Yeah that sound bad but according to the literature teacher, here they have this Orthodox sense of community so the students all help one another, where as in America be have a protestant/individualistic mindset so we find it wrong to help one another. I found that analysis to be interesting. But anyways, in our Oral exams I Would every now and then have a chance to clarify something to Paige or Joe to help them out and make the room less awkward. It was a boost in self esteem.

Paige got me crazy addicted to Heroes again. We are rocking through the 3rd season. Good times. It certainly does well to fend off the feeling of homesickness, but does my sleep cycle strange. I’ve been staying up time like 2 or 3 or 6 in the morning watching that, 30rock, or Arrested Development. I guess it is summer so that is kinda my normal summer sleeping habit. Plus the Sun hardly goes down if ever. We just get a few hours of dusk every day.

Tonight I’m gonna meet up with Paige tonight and go with her to the Airport. But I’ll get all of my belongings out of home first and take them with me. I guess that makes today the beginning of my vagrancy. …If it didn’t start a couple years ago. Just call me supertramp (but don’t because calling a girl a tramp isn’t the same as calling a guy a tramp… plus I didn’t like that movie, but I didn’t read the book).

Ok. I guess I am signing out. My ramblings are getting less coherent.

Still Tight-Rope Walking, but *NEW* with Net

Another post can you believe it???

:)
So, I am currently eating a DELIsCIOUS “salad.” I dunno what we would call it… maybe just vegetables. Anyways I cut up cucumber, avocado, and tomato and put a little lemon juice and lime juice on it and have found myself in heaven.

After my early morning Russian class I used the interwebs a bit and then went to the Academy. At the Academy I picked up my paperwork to be an official student and stuff for my visa.

Now I’m home for a breather and food and to pick up my computer, because my plan is to take my laptop to the institute and do any number of the 10000 things I need to to in the next couple weeks, most of them need my laptop, and/or the internet.

Why I’m posting other than to be a hobbit it to say that I got an email from the people in charge of my scholarship in America! Oh, let me explain that. As my parents and I are hashing out possible options for the upcoming school year and trying to figure out the wisest way of going about all of this, my mother made a BRILLIANT suggestion. (Man, now I am eating more of that pasta and having a chocolate-soy shake… I am in HEAVEN!!) She told me to contact my scholarship providers at OU and see if I can defer my scholarship. I emailed yesterday and was surprised by Jeff’s characteristically American to respond to the same day he received the email. Now as many of you know, this is only technically my second year at the University, but the Lord has blessed me with an overabundance of hours so that it should only take me 1 more year to graduate with my Russian degree if I go back to OU. He said I that I have a four-year scholarship and if I choose to go to this school it can be considered a non-reciprocal exchange. So, if for example I go to the Russian Christian Academy for the Humanities for a year and realize it isn’t where I want to be long term, I can return to OU and I’d have lost 2 semesters of my scholarship, but I would have 2 semesters left… and since I was only planning on using 2 semesters anyways, that IS WONDERFUL NEWS. :) SO let us expound upon this scenario. Supposing after a year of studying at the Academy I for whatever reason decide that is enough, I go back to OU, pick right back up my scholarship and can resume my loans without missing a beat, and I’ll still have graduated in 4 years with a Bachelor’s in Russian to be added to my already established Associate’s degree in Drug and Alcohol Abuse Counseling. What’s more I’ll have lived an extra year in Russia and SUBSTANCIALLY improved my Russian which will help me in the rest of my Russian classes, which I could really use. I currently have a higher GPA overall than I do in my major, which isn’t exactly peachy-keen. And it could make me more marketable in the potential work-force (if dealing with say translation, interpretation, or ESL in the Former USSR). Who knows, maybe this route was God’s intention all along and I only just now realized it was an option.
BUT DON’T GET YOUR HOPES UP FOR THAT. In my head this is still more of a Plan B than a Plan A, I’m just saying that it Is nice, and I am not really the one calling the shots anyways, so who knows what the future holds. :)

YES! For dessert the last chocolate chip cookie!!!! BLISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Sorry Nicole if this one is too long... you can take it in chunks :)

I again didn’t get out of bed at the time I had hoped for, but I wasn’t trying too very hard since I am still in the healing process and I had my big interview today. I ate more pasta and macaroni for breakfast and got ready for the day.
SKIPPING AHEAD…

OK. So I get to the Academy at like 2:30 PM. I show the secretary my Diploma and stuff and say I am early but that I am there for my Interview and I don’t know who I am supposed to give my paperwork to. She seems very surprised that I think I have an interview and tells me to wait in the hall for the vice-rector. I wait… and wait. When he finally comes there are many people waiting for him and it doesn’t seem to matter much to him what order he sees them in. The Secretary unfortunately lost my application so she is running around looking all over the world trying to find it, the poor lady. Finally at like 3:30 she tells me to come into the inner waiting room. After a short time there she tells me to go in and see the vice-rector.
I hand him my papers and act awkward and forget to say hello. I recover and he calls the rector (I only found out who it was later) and says he has the American he had talked about previously and wants to know if they have time for an interview at 4:00. The person on the other end agrees and they say they need to get someone from the Psychology department to come too. I then am told to keep my papers and go to inner waiting room again. He tells the secretary that there will be an interview today and her jaw just about drops clear to the floor and she says “TODAY???” (in Russian obviously) and he then makes sure there is a clear room to so it in. Then while he is seeing like 5 other students in record time, the secretary somewhat apologetically asks me to fill out the application again… grrrr… I mean I understand the error and all I just hate filling out official Russian document that always have plenty of words I don’t know and it is clear that time is of the essence. The Vice-rector comes out and asks if I am ready when I haven’t finished the form but am done with just about everything I understand… so I stall for a few minutes and then say I am ready.
I enter the room to realize I am having a personal interview with the rector, the vice-rector, and the head of the Psychology Department. Yes. In Russian. And so they look at my transcript but they don’t really seem to take much stock in it and even ask if it is a highschool transcript… I dunno. I think we’ll have to have words about that later, but they seem to think that since the process here is so different that I will have to do the full 5 years. The head of the Psychology department seemed very interested in a more detailed list of what I’d learned, but the vice-rector didn’t so much. I think I’d rather have that than the other way around… anyways, they asked where I would live and I said I’d need to live in a dorm, and then the rector called somebody… he was actually on the phone most of the conversation, but as soon as he would get off the phone he would jump right back into the conversation without missing a beat. When they found out I wanted a dorm for the summer and the school year they said I’d probably have to get one out by Peterhof, which is hella far away, just because all the dorms fill up in the summer. But then after one of the Rector’s phone calls he said I might be able to stay in these Baptist dorms and that they usually don’t even ask them, but since I am foreign and Baptist it should work out and that I need to go ask them… (they never actually gave me a number.. or address or anything… and I don’t know the official name… hmm, tomorrow is another day). Anyways everyone seemed very excited about that, including me. So they asked about my visa situation and they seemed to feel absolutely moved by my need for a visa. They gave me a speech about how everyone is equal at the school, whether Baptist, Orthodox, or non-believers and seemed to think this was a very grave and maybe even radical speech. *aside**Oh, kids, I’m from America REMEMBER!*
After the interview the vice-rector took me to this other office to get my visa info started. The guy had already left , so I am to go back tomorrow… the guy will only be in tomorrow from 10:00-13:00 so I think I’ll have to go right after class. As I left I was like flying, and almost forgot that I am weak and in poor health, but on the metro it caught up to me.
On the way home I went and got my pictures done for my official documents tomorrow.
When I got home Ira and her fiancée Roma were home and they said the pasta was really good and thanked me for making it, and didn’t understand how half of it was gone so they asked if Paige had come over. Heheh. Nope I am just a master at eating… and I eat it like 3 meals a day…. Haha.

GUESS WHAT!!! Ira found some chocolate-chip cookies at a local grocery store!!!! THAT IS LIKE AN ANSWER TO PRAYER. They were just sitting on the kitchen and she’d written “IT’S FOR YOU” (in English!!) on them! She is SUCH A SWEETY!! SO I ate so many of them and my pasta and now I am so full I am about ready for a food coma… but it might be an exhaustion coma.

And Both Helene and Kristina said they were praying for me and checked in with me after my interview! HOW WONDERFUL!! :)))))))
I LOVE THESE COOKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, Anecdote. The other day I was waiting for Paige outside Pizza&Pasta.com and as many of you know, when I zone out I do slightly strange things… especially if I am in a good mood. One of these things is standing on my tip-toes. I was doing this very thing absent mindedly when I was noticed by a quite shnackered bystander. The exact date of this happening was May 10th… the day after Victory and while it was about 1 pm I am fairly confident this fine fellow was still up and participating in the previous night’s festivities. He was perfectly harmless and quite jovial. He noticed my standing on my tippy-toes and quite naturally assumed I was doing so out of a longing for high-heels. He was kind enough to try to rectify the matter for me. HE walked up to me and bent over and placed his lighter under my left heel. It worked quite well I must say, and I thanked him kindly for his good deed. He told me he had another one if I wanted it. I nodded so he searched his pockets only to find a cigarette pack, so making do with what he had he placed it under my right foot. This was not entirely helpful, because I was afraid of smashing his cigarettes which wouldn’t be a very kind way of repaying his favor. I came down off of my toes in an awkward manner and told him I wasn’t able. He assured me that I only couldn’t because the objects were different heights this making me stand at different angles. I agreed and appreciated his attempt to cover-up my un-lady-likeness for being unable to stand in these high-heels we had constructed. He then wished me a happy holiday. I wished him one right back. He asked if I was waiting for my man, presumably a soldier. I nodded… I guess in a way Paige I is kind of my soldier… but really I realized I was lucky for him not yet realizing that I was foreign and while I was enjoying our conversation thoroughly I’ve found that is it wise to keep such chance meetings brief just to be on the safe-side. He jovially saluted with both of his hands and informed me he too was a military man. HE asked me if my man was a General, and then proceeded down the rank. As he was going further down I realized I was going to have to say yes eventually or create a distraction, so I pretended I was getting a call. HE continued to talk to me for a while and I occasionally responded. He waited a couple of time even though the walk light was green in his direction, but he eventually walked off, just as Paige was coming too… I don’t think he would have considered her much of a soldier. But am glad for that chance meeting. It brightened my stay.

I'm kinda sick :( but getting better :)

Hello loved ones! I’ve been sick for a while now. That is of course unfortunate, but I only seem to have a sinus infection which has caused a way sore throat… so I just have to drink a lot and sleep a lot and I started myself up on antibiotics yesterday. On the up side me being down and out has given me a lot if time to lay around and after watching almost all of my movies I realized I could use some of that new-found time for prayer and Bible study. That has been helpful for me to process some things. So it sucks that I’ve missed school, church, and rehab and haven’t been able to ChaCha or look into the stuff I need to prepare for life once my visa runs out… but… God’s got it and maybe he’s forcing this little at home vacation to remind me that it is on His shoulders a whole lot more than it is on mine. :)
On the downside, I’m sick, just about broke, and don’t know how everything is going to go down once I leave here… I’ve got an interview tomorrow at the Academy I am supposed to go to. I am nervous and hope I will be well, put-together and that I’ll be sharp as a tack with my Russian… pray for me… although by the time I post this it will probably have already happened.
On the up side, I’m cooking more since my house family is in Greece and I am home all day. Ira and I cooked chicken legs together. They were really good! They were fried buy not battered and seasoned with lime juice and onions. Sounds weird but was really good. She and I just improved it. I’ve been eating my traditional cheesy potatoes with regularity and today I made macaroni and tomato sauce. I hate to say it but I absolutely disagree with Russian tomato products. Their tomato sauces are little more than glorified ketchup, so I made my own. It turned out pretty good I think. :) I used tomato paste, half of a tomato, water, oil, basil, and some beef bouillon. I ate like 3 helpings, but I made SOO much that I barely tapped into the supply I’d made. I am excited about this discovery. I am trying to figure out how to live cheaply next semester and now I have a nice easy, lazy, cheap alternative to my cheesy potatoes. I’m not trying to go vegetarian or anything, but as we all know meat isn’t cheap, so now I’ve got 2 swell dishes that are filling but don’t involve meats. And I realize both of these dishes are largely starch-based, but I’m okay with that.
Less than three weeks before my visa runs out. How do these things happen? I still am not completely sure what I am going to do with my luggage… Ha I am not entirely sure where I am going to go or how or via what transport or when. One day at a time I guess. I’ve looked into train tickets. I think I’ll probably leave here on a train to Latvia at about 8 o’clock on June 4th, and then Arrive in D-pils at like in the morning…. The only thing is that really sucks for my Latvian family. I almost wish I could tell them to pick me up at like 9 or something just so they don’t have to get up so early… I dunno. I could just walk to the bus station and wait for the trains to starts running and take one home. That wouldn’t be a problem if I leave my big luggage with somebody in Russia…

Sorry for the Rambling. Thank you all for commenting and being so sweet and wonderful last post. :)

I have an anecdote I need to write on here soon!!!

Mixed Feelings

I am so tired of explaining to people that Psychology is A) useful and B) not evil. With every single new person it is like I am defending a cult (it maybe only with protestants here, but I am not sure)… and that brings me back to most people who aren’t protestant thinking Baptists are a cult… so, what the heck, I am like a part of 2 warring cults I never knew it.
My host family is in Greece right now. This girl Ira is staying with me in lieu of them. She is a dear. She is the one I believe I mentioned earlier (a LONG time ago). She Plays bass and is protestant. Anyways… Last night she and I got into this like 1 hour discussion of psychology. She was seriously fighting it so fervently that it was like against everything she’d ever learned. Plus she mentioned that she had learned in Bible school that is was opposing God or something, and she kept on being like there are no psychologists in the Bible. Then she would say stuff like (when I was explaining Christian Psychology) “so if I learn the science of the brain and I learn what the Bible says about how to think, then I don’t need God do I?” What the crap kind of logic is that? That has nothing to do with anything I tell ya! You can say that about Theology, any science including medicine, and any philosophy… AH! It is just so frustrating to be dealing with this wonderful, passionate, god-seeking woman who thinks I am going into a profession of demon worship or something.
Oh and when I mentioned that some of my pastors back home regularly go to a psychologist it is like I had said some of my pastors back home are heretics. When I explained to her and tried to brush off her misconceptions of what psychology is, especially Christian psychology, she eventually said “We don’t have that kind of psychology here.” What? I will be going to a school that has whole courses on Christian Psychology.
I thought I had made some sort of head way… this morning when she woke me up (which I haven’t been woken up by a human being in months…) she told me about this disk series she has about how we don’t need psychology and she asked if I wanted to hear it. She said it was speakers from America, Britain and Russia. My thought was “Why would I want to listen to that crap tear down my future profession based upon misconceptions and ignorance?” But I just said yes, so I’m sure she’ll supply me with is soon. It is just aggravating.
I am tried of feeling like A)no one understands or B) everyone is against me. Right now Russia feels like a battle field (I dunno maybe it is from Victory Day on Saturday). In addition to it being the typical Spiritual battlefield, I am constantly having to defend my relationship with God, the things he is telling me to do (ie staying here, studying psychology, and MUCH, MUCH MORE), and my field of study in general. I am also going have to soon start fighting the Visa office and all kinds of crap. It doesn’t really matter who I talk to, whether an American or a Russian, no nobody understands what the crap I am doing and why and they either seem to feel hurt that I am doing what I am doing, or seem to think something is seriously wrong with me.
This is of course gross generalizations and just because I am feeling cornered and you all, my dear loving readers, probably shouldn’t put much stock into this post except to see that I am agitated. Sorry I am venting to you, but in this particular moment is seems less daunting to vent to the faceless masses who haven’t even commented on this blog in forever (and thus perhaps I am venting to no one at all but simply writing this as a sort of message in a bottle to nowhere), then to talk to any one specific person who at any given moment in this rant-fest will either make it clear they have no clue what I am talking about, that they vehemently oppose me, or they will have to go do something more important with their time. …In summation (sort of) I would like to write 2 extremely eloquent essays in Russian 1)why Psychology is a helpful tool that God uses and condones and 2) why the crap I have done what I have and how God’s hand is in it. The second one should really be translated into English as well… but since I lack the ability to write anything worth reading in Russian, these two things that seem incredibly important to me to write will probably never get written and I’ll probably just find peace with my actions being misconstrued as something sinister… but I am not resigned to that just yet.

Again, sorry about that. I guess because I don’t have a psychologist right now I am taking it out on you guys. :)

In other news, it was Victory Day on Saturday. I really wanted to go to the Morning Parade, but I was not about to go alone. I called Paige like 10 times as I was in various stages of getting ready, but she never picked up so I gave up and once I was ready I just went back to bed. She called later and apologized. We did end up going to what she and I would consider a Parade, but for some reason the Russians don’t. They call it a demonstration. We went to it and we were kinda far from the road, because all the people were lined up. IT was the first day I didn’t wear any sort of coat at all. The morning was 20 Celsius and Sunny. AMAZING. As the Parade was minutes away storm clouds started brewing. Then a few straight-line winds blew in. Then it started raining a bit. Paige and I agreed that the weather was highly similar to what she and I have experienced in pre-tornadic conditions and while we knew there was not about to be a tornado in St. Pete I guess you could say it made us feel at home. Then is started pouring down. IT was funny because the rain was coming from the opposite direction of the parade, so when we heard screams we thought the parade was really close… until we realized the screams were coming from the opposite direction. Then we felt the down pour and quickly understood the cause of the screams and even made little yelps ourselves. Goodnews was a bunch of people left before the whole thing started so I was right next to the rope that was holding back the masses and right next to one of the soldiers guarding it. That soldier and I were cozy. I was at times practically leaning against him and his body frequently blocked the rain for me. At one point he said something good-naturedly to me but I didn’t recognize any of the words so I just smiled. After the parade was over the gates to the metro were closed. So we walked to another metro and then on the way to Paige’s home I bought the Scream trilogy (sad I know but there are no dvd stores by Paige’s place to I had to buy it at a phone and electronics store… it was a lot cheaper there though… but it also didn’t have any English options). So we dried of at Paige’s and watched the first two Screams in Russian and ate the junk and grapes we had bought at Diksi. Yesterday I went to church, then Pizza&Pasta.com with Paige, we found a park by here place and people watched, and then I went to church again. Then I came home and we ate blin and said goodbye to my family and talked to Ira about psychology….. grrr. :)



HAha. I get so worked up sometimes. 
I wrote that this morning.

Anyways, I’ve had a delightful day!! After I wrote you all I took a shower. I was alone in the house so I sang, yelled, and talked to/at/with God as was appropriate. It was not a highpoint of my life as far as the emotion spectrum goes but the Holy Spirit isn’t called our Counselor for nothing. :) So things got better. God calmed me down and reminded me that He is God and affirmed what He has called me to do the a much needed 1000th time. 
Aleksey had called me when I was in the shower, but I just ignored it and pretended that God wanted to play me a happy song. After my in-shower counseling session I called him back he cheered me up too. It we talked for like 15 minutes and he made me laugh for about 14 of those. :) And if any of you has seen me in a bad mood, you know how impressive of an accomplishment that is. He was at his new church until late last night and he really, really likes it there. I think he was going fishing when I was calling him and he was fishing when I called him yesterday too. I guess he really enjoys fishing, which is highly idyllic to me… but I am not so sure that he actually likes fish. One time he told me the best fish was a sausage. I am inclined to agree, and that sounds like something Grandpa would say :) I dunno but it is good that he has a productive way of spending his time.
Oh, be praying for Seryozha. He is living at home, he moved out from the brothers a while back because he thought he had a job lined up. Well, 3 people basically tell him they need him to work for them and then they never call back. This is of course very aggravating and confusing to him and he is concerned because especially since he has a past of heroin addiction, being home all the time with nothing to do is a really bad situation for him to be in. I don’t pretend to know what God is hoping to accomplish by this situation but I know Seryozha’s prayer is for a good job and quick. :)
Anyways, after talking to him I straightened some stuff up and made myself some scrambled egg, oatmeal, and nuked bread. After I ate I tried to post this but the internet won’t let me do anything I want to. I can’t get on facebook, my email, my bank account, or sign into my blog. So, I called my mommy! She was HAPPY!!! I haven’t really heard her really and truly happy in a while so that was WONDERFUL. Then I did the dishes and did some surfing online. Then I watched one of the last songs in Kill Bill 1 because I have been wanting to hear that song for a long time. IT really made me wanna watch the whole movies but I stopped it. Then I got out my Russian grammar book and got to work. I already did almost all of my Russian homework on Friday night (don’t judge me… I was actually excited about this new grammatical structure), but I always need to work on my Russian grammar when I have a chance to I finally went back to that Russian grammar book I bought and did a bit on it. I really need to study grammar harder!!!! I guess today was a baby step. Then I called Jenny Hartsell! Yea!! IT was swell! I only had 7 minutes with her but they were great. Kristina called me and we’re gonna meet before the parent meeting. Normally I would go to the intake… but meeting Kristina sounds better to be honest,
I’ve been home alone with Jesus all day (except when Ira talked to me while I was still in bed)! It has been WONDERFUL!! YEA!!!! Yea Jesus! Yea chillin’! Yea for Kristina FINALLY being back! Yea for Russian Grammar!
Yesterday when I called home for Mother’s Day I finally got to talk to my dear Grandmommie! It was nice. She said she wishes I would come home, and I could honestly say me too. I am pretty fatigued when I think about it and I am really excited to get out of Russia for the Summer. I never thought I would say such a thing, and sometimes when I sit on the beach at Ozerki I think that I should never have the need to leave because there are so many relaxing places the Lord has supplied me with. But I would really like to get away from this life I’m living here. It is a great life and all, but I need a break. I am warn out. I would love to be at home with my family and friends and Tybalt and with Tornadoes and all. Today is a testament that despite this wariness, God will always give me the strength, peace, and joy I need to get through and do what He wants. His will is better than mine and, praise God, HE is a loving and compassionate God and will see me through to the end. Gotta go.

WOOHOO~~!

An Annoyance: I've been logged in to Chacha for like 15 minutes without getting a question.

Praise: I am a Chacha guide!! God has provided me with a meager source of income, regardless how reliable or unreliable, and that is a miracle and an answer to prayer. (and he got me the job even though my computer gave out on during the readiness test)

Praise: I don't have to take the entrance exams to get into the Russian Christian Academy for the Humanities.

Prayer Request/Praise/Announcement: My interview to get into the Psychology department will take place on May 19th at 3 o'clock. PLEASE BE IN PRAYER ABOUT THIS!!! PLEASE!! I know I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength, and I beleive He is calling me to this, but covering all of this in prayer is still a wonderful idea :)

Confusion: I think I am supposed to take some kind of test for each of my classes I am currently taken but I have no clue what sort of test... or when.

PRAISE: IF need be I can move into the dorms here in July AAAAAANNNNDDD It only costs 3000 Rubles a month! WHAT A BLESSING!!! (with current exchange rates that is $91 a month!! In one of the cities with the highest housing costs ever!!)

(still no chacha questions... what is all of America asleep?)

I am at McDonalds right now. Good times.

Praise: My Norton Antivirus is FINALLY up to date.

Praise: The wifi at the school is working on my computer again!!

Praise: Despite what looks in my earthly eyes to be chaos, I know GOD is in control and He is teaching me peace in the turmoil and joy in confusion, and to seek him through everything.

Maybe if Chacha leeps being this sporatic I'll write on the blog more?? :)

Be praying my daddy publishes his book. I really hope he does!!

Got a question. about a nother random person and whether he is dating anyone. I put unknown people as one of my interests and I get most of my questions about them now. they are really obscure and I hope I get faster at answering them. (that could be a prayer request... more questions and faster answers! :) )

I am not really in need of the money right this second or anything. I am still livign off of my bank account (and my parents). I am kinda just considering this a training.

Another question. IT was hard, and it was mislabeled. Oh, well.

Okay, I am gettign questions with regularity now... so I guess I'll go. I love you all!! Be praying for me!!!

heyo

Hello firends and loved ones! I am sorry I haven't written in so long!!! Ilove you all! I have just been incredibly busy!! I AM SOOOO HAPPPY! Easter was great here!! I'll try to get some pictures of our Easter eggs and whatnot soon. I haven' gotten a prepared blog written so this is just to let you know all is well and that GOD IS SOOO GOOD TO ME. I am been calling home alot, and I think that is part of why I am not wrting as much... I only have so much time in a day and if I spend my communication with home allotment on a phone call I am usually too sleepy or busy to write a blog. That is no excuse, just a rationalization. Let's see. Paige and I have been watchign movies. School has been school. On Saturday we foreigners went to Pavlovsk. It was incredibly beautiful and I'll try to get those pics on here too sometime. :) The weather has been ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!! Adn cats are out and I like cats. It is like 20 degrees celcius here and thta is liek my perfect weather. IT is even comfortable inthe shade and there is a pleasant breeze. I LOVE IT!!! Adn it is SUNNY!!! There are SOOO many people on the beach at Ozerki over by where the rehab is. The lake is melted too. I've heard that people are swimming in the Neva! HA what fun!

Okay, I had been flipping out abotu stayign and where money is goign to coem from and all that jazz, but this is the new plan and I am really excited abotu it because I think it will work. :) I'm plannign on workign for chacha. haha. I know it sounds silly, but this way it will be like I am workign int he US (legally) and I;ll be makign an income, even if it isn't so good. I'd be paid by the number of questions I answer so the pay is like $3-$9 and hour. I'm anticipating being on the lower end of that spectrum but at least I'll be able to work whenever I am available and we called the Academy's Dorms and found out that I can have internet oin my room. So if the internet isn't crap, I could just work late at night or whenever I have down time or whatever. I dunno ow in depth I've gotten on this blog about my aspirations for the upcomign year, but I very much feel that God is calling me to stay. I am plannign on attendign The Russian Christian Academy for the Humanities ( rxga.ru ). This all very intense and there are so many obstacles. These obstacles have caused me no little crises of faith in the last few weeks, but the LORD is little by little making the road clear and I have full faith that He is will me and will make my paths straight. I HAVE SOO MUCH JOY RIGHT NOW!!! SO HAPPY TOO!! And I am at peace with my Love and my Creator!! Good times!

We saw a play the otherday... I didn't like it really.

Be prayign for me!! I can always use wisdom! BE prayign for my upcomign entrance exams and for my current schooling. Be praying for Rehab and that th eLord would give me a humble servant's heart to better serve there!! :) So much to pray about os just go hogwild! Pray for provision and increased faith and for my family!! Mommy isn't feeling too well, and I know that all of this craziness is hard for my family in general. Be prayign that God gives them peace abotu His path for me and that He confirms it to them... and stuff. Sorry that this is poorly thought out and poorly wirtten, but I gotta go to class now!!! I LOVE YOU ALL!!

Being a Goof

What wonderous bliss is this!! I’ve got so many wonderful things to say!! :) Luckily I’ve waited for you I’ve waited so long and have so many wonderful, recent memories to recount that I can hardly remember the hardships, let alone the desire to recount them.

Let’s see, I’ll try to say the basics at least. On Sunday we had a festival. I sang Dorogoy Dlinuyu ( A Russian Roman..ce) Any who. I have never successfully sung a solo in public. All of my attempts in high school were PAINFUL. But I gotta say, I rocked this one, praise the Lord. I am not saying it was perfect, no way. But it was a crowd pleaser and had no major goofs and it felt good. :) I like the performing arts people at school. They are very nice and open, lust like performing arts people should be. Now when I see them at the institute they get all excited and always say hello. It is nice. Also, Paige tried to come and watch me but she slept in. It was cool thought because when I was mopey on Saturday I mentioned my desire for Papa John’s and sisnce she missed my gig she said she’d buy at Papa J’s on Monday.

Then I went to church but I was way pooped and not much good to anyone. I probably would have fallen asleep if Kristina hadn’t lovingly chided me in a little note. But it is always nice to be at church. At church Nicolai and some of the Mothers asked me if I would consider and pray about teaching English based on the Gospels for like an hour or 30 minutes before church services. Nicolai has been learning English from The gospel John and sometimes will quote John 1:1 to me. It is endearing. Also he just got a bilingual New Testament. But he showed me his full bible in English on Saturday and it was SO NICE and NASB and red letter and leather and I was admiring and I made a big deal about it being nice and cool and I asked him where he got it (you know we talk up eachother’s nice things in America, I never really thought about it before, but that really is part of our culture)… He asked me if I liked it and I said yes and he gave it to me. That was not my intention at all, but I totally forgot that I need to be careful about that here. I refused as often as I could but he gave it to me anyways. It was an incredibly nice thing to do, and I don’t feel to guilty about the whole thing, which is surprising for how much I guilt myself. I feel a certain peace about it, I guess. But in any account it is an absolute answer to prayer to finally have a full Bible in English. PRAISE GOD. Anyways, so Nicolai also asked me if I have some sort of Audio Bible because he is teaching himself and knows that when he reads he doesn’t always pronounce things correctly, and has no way of knowing when he is doing it right and when he isn’t. I told him that I didn’t have one, but that I’d see what I could do. I found a recording program on my computer and I recorded John chapter 1 yesterday, and gave it to him today :) Okay, back to Sunday! I was so tired and fatigued and almost considered preemptively deciding to skip rehab for the next day and not leave the apt. But I was reminded of the verse that says never tire of doing good, and since the meetings are frequently the highlight of my week, I just was sure to pray for rejuvenation and hope for the best. :)

MONDAY, MONDAY, MONDAY! One of the best days ever. I don’t have school on Monday, so I slept until like 12:30. Then I called Paige to redeem my pizza date. We set a time and I took a shower. We went to Papa Johns and it was splendiferous. The weather was the nicest EVER too. After Pizza we went to the American consulate because I wanted to ask some questions and it is on the same road as Papa J’s.

The process into the Consulate was silly. We had to show our passports, then go in one at a time. One by one, we had to get metal detector wanded, take all electronics out of our bag and turn them off, get our bag searched, go through a specially locked door, go through another metal detector, put our electronics in a cubbie, put our bag through a metal detector, get our bags back and go on in. We met back up on the inside. It was under renovation or something but it was SO small and there was like no one there. The good news is, I can now say that I have peed on American soil in 2009. I was concerned that I might run out of passport pages soon and I thought that would mean I would have to get a new passport. When I asked about the new passport process she explained it, but then when I told her my problem she said I could just get more pages for visa, so I filled out a little form, waited like 20 minutes and got like 2x the original passport pages, and for free at that. It was a load off my mind, and very satisfying. By the way, while in America we didn’t talk to a single American!

When we left, and went for a splendid walk in the nice weather. From there we parted ways and I headed to rehab.

The lesson was great and we had a guest speaker who also os a musician and donated some CDs and played songs for us. He is an ex-addict who had attended one of our Rehab centers. Aleksey spoke again and I really appreciate his lessons. I sat next to Christina’s Mom during the meeting. A guy who was totally Tweeking came in. His name was Dima and I really hope he comes back. Him coming on his own is encouraging. He was mildly destructive but only because he couldn’t hold still and was very chatty. You could tell he was really trying to focus though. Actually, a lot of current addicts came to the parent meeting this week, and we barely had enough room to fit every one (Praise God!). Be praying for them. Most of them didn’t come in today (Wednesday) when we have the question and check in time, so really be praying that God brings them back and gives them the strength to press on and come back and make it to Rehab and find solace and peace and Love.

After the lesson we had tea and what have you, and Aleksey gave me more verses (WHICH WAS AMAZING!!!). One of the Women whose child is an addict but hasn’t yet come into talk to us, her name was Nadezhda, which means hope, talked to me pretty much the whole tea time. She was absolutely delightful and very understanding of the language barrier and my inability to remember the words I was looking for. She was an absolute dear. Be praying for her and her daughter. Then I went to the metro with Kristina and her mom. I had already been talking to God about whether or not I should get the Calla lilies I had been eyeing at the flower shop and if so how many. I had felt at peace about getting 3 and when I realized I was with these wonderful women I realized why I should get three. One for each of us of course! So we went into the metro with our beautiful flowers.

Kristina kept on saying really cute things and she was clearly very happy. I told her these were my favorite flowers and she said Now, they are mine too; they’re tasty! (then she pretended to eat them). Then later she said: They are beautiful, hey they kinda look like you! She is adorable and an absolute dear. Then she asked me to go for a walk with her. We went for a Walk on Nevsky. WE HAD SOOO MUCH FUN. SO MUCH! Seriously I think it is in my top 25 nights ever. We walked around talking and taking in the view and taking pictures of eachother. We talked to artists and the other people on the streets. But we mainly just walked and talked. We talked about almost everything. I felt so at ease, and even though my Russian was probably just as bad as usual, I felt like it was my mother tongue. Speaking to her is just so easy and free flowing. I mean I would not know the words I would wanna say, but I sometimes can’t find the right words in English either and that is just how it felt. We walked and sang hymns and talked about dance, and study, and life, and the Bible, and different theological views, and told stories from our lives, and just had an all around SPLENDID time. When Kristina saw a bums and alcoholics and addicts she would stop and give them rehab’s business card and talk to them. Most of them referred to rehab as “slavery.” I guess their view of rehab is a work camp. That historically makes sense, of course, but caught me off guard. She was an absolute hero and would reason with them and talk to them about how God used the rehab program to change her life. I so long to be able and walk around and talk to people like she did, but my language isn’t there yet and I know it. It was very sweet though, because she said she wouldn’t have done it if I wasn’t there because she would’ve been scared. So perhaps we achieved more together than we would’ve/could’ve separately. :) I suppose God does well to use his body and iron sharpens iron and all. We stayed out so late we were almost too late to get in the metro. I only live one stop away so I was fine, but the metro closed when she was still really far from home, poor girl. She called me and told me about it but I didn’t entirely understand what she said. I think she met a girl on the metro who was going to the same part of town as her so they walked… or maybe taxied together… I am not sure which one. I was SPLENDID. IF you get a chance check out the pictures on facebook.

Tuesday went to class and the weather was great again so Paige and I went to Nevsky and I got a new Russian Bible with commentary.  yea! And we walked around and it was swell. We went to Palace square and did one of the best things we’ve ever done. We did all of the Arrested Development Chicken impersonations in the middle of Palace Square (and if you don’t know where that is it is where the Revolution took place and the square inside the Hermitage). BRILL. It was liberating and good fun. We walked more and had a swell time.

Then parted ways and I went to the Academy I am planning on going to next Semester… if God is truly in it, which I do believe He is. I asked them a few questions and then went to Church for our Tuesday service. Delight. I think Aleksey told me he is done with Adaptation, but I unfortunately was destracted and may have accidently blown him off. An old man at church came over and prayed for me and I for him (only I prayed in English… I am sheepish about switching over to Russian prayer… be praying about that). HE was an adorable old man and he was SOO happy when he found out I am American and he prayed for us again and praised God all over the place for the fact that he and I are family in Christ, even though we are from different countries. It was very cute, and encouraging.

Wednesday,Russian class. Computer time. Chillaxing with Paige; bought a Ukrainian CD. Went to rehab. LOVED IT. I had the responsibility of office duty alone because we were short-handed, but no one came in once I was alone. They all came in like 1 hour late or a little early. I know that was from God but I was kinda hoping they’d come so I’d be forced to do it. The only thing is, if I messed up or if they were turned off but the fact that I suck at the language and am hard to understand, that is SERIOUS. It isn’t like working in a office or a restaurant where if you screw up, somebody has cold food or you have to re-copy something, it could be the difference between somebody getting help, or staying of the street. I know that weight is not on me, and that God is with me and will help me with anything and everything He is and may call me to do, but I am relieved today wasn’t the day for me to do it alone (well… alone with God). Then we had Bible study which was nice. I talked more than usual, but only God knows how much was understood, or appropriate. It was man is a three-part being stuff. That is intense stuff. INTENSE and hard to explain. Then Seryozha and I went home. Seryozha calls me Mishka, or little bear, because my big furry coat and today he played this silly little song on hi phone as we were walking that was all 60s and about a Mishka. IT made me laugh hard. On the down side, a cold front came in. this blog took me about 2 hours to write. I need to sleep. I LOVE YOU ALL!!! GOD BLESS YOU! Please let me know what I can be praying for you about! (pictures are chicken impersonations, Papa Johns, Gogol Statue, My church on a Sunday night, good times with Kristina... and other stuff I am sure... I don't remember what I just uploaded.) ... I am trying to upload the video of me singing, but it is takign forever so we'll see if I have time to do it before class.

:)

Let’s see, what’s new. My phone won’t call Paige right now… IT is confusing but nothing to worry about I am sure. Today I went to both of my classes. Paige didn’t go to the first one. I drew a picture of Cherith and me as my doodle for the day. IT is really hard for me to pay attention in there. I did enjoy the power point about existentialism, though. Yea! My phone is working again. I turned it off and then on again. Then I got online a bit and then Paige met up with me and we went to out next class. That was Literature. I am SOOO glad I took that class with Rutsala. She talked a lot about the books they are talking about. The thing that sucks is the kids are ALWAYS talking and it is yet again really hard to pay attention… and all the names blur in my head. In there was a test today and we BOMBED. BOMBED. BOMBED. IT was horrible. And as we turned it in the teacher talked to us about how we must know more than her kids and stuff because we choose to study it… I tried to say it was so hard in Russian but very interesting. I was trying to sound sophisticated while not getting her hopes up for the test score. I think she is going to be pretty darn disappointed. Oh well, when they read the test score aloud in class next week (and oh, yes, they do that) it might give me the overdose of shame I frequently need to get my butt in gear. Or it might make me cry. Only time will tell. :)
Then Paige and I went to Carls Jr. Good times. Then we wandered around the center of town. It was fun. The sun was out and it was nice weather if you are in the sun but really cold if you were in the shade. We found some benches in the sun and when we got to them we read the sign on them and realized they had wet white paint on them so we sat on the edge of the empty fountain and watched the numerous people approach the benches in hopw only to have them smashed. IT was also fun to watch their stradegies. Some girls sat ont heir purses and then flipped out when the paint got on the purses and spend like 15 minutes pulling out various papers and trying them out. There was a couple where the guy sat down and the gal sat on his lap. HE was shamed as he walked a away with a butt of paint. He couldn’t see it and wanted to see the damage. IT really wasn’t too bad in his case. I saw a bar in the distance called the Korova Bar and I was hoping it was Clockwork Orange themed but it was just cow hide obsessed and swanky. On our walk we ran into Volodya from Church and we were right by his work so he invited us up for tea and coffee. It is this huge real estate place at like the moist prime piece of real estate I think I have ever been in. He said the room we were in when we drank tea was the Tchaikovsky room. I guess it was where he lived. And it had a beautiful view of one of the most well-known bridges in St. Pete. Very nice. We talked all about all sorts of things including the economic crisis, real estate in Russia today, Easter, my future plans, etc. Then he walked us out and we went on our merry way.

Then Paige and I enjoyed the sun for a while longer and window shopped some more and then we went to the metro and parted ways. IT was good times. I headed straight to Ozerki even though I had plenty of time. I went to Okay, the supermarket, and bought some pantyhose to wear for the festival. Then I went to KFC and didn’t get anything but sat down and read revelations and worked more on the little at home section part of the devotional. Then I headed to church. We sing a song, break out into groups and discuss the lesson, then meet back up and sing another song and listen to a sermon. The songs we sang today I liked very much. I don’t remember the name of the first one but the second one was “There is none like you.” This was just about the first week that I contributed to the discussion. Before I was either not prepared or … well, mostly not prepared. The lesson is over Revelations. Not my favorite book of the Bible, in fact it is probably my least favorite. But the entire Bible is Good, Holy, and useful and I should learn it all. Plus there is such comfort just being with believers, and it is where I met Masha, although she hasn’t been around for a while. Anyways it was nice.
Today was Seryozha’s last day at rehab. He had been living there I guess as the leader. I never was quite sure whether he was living there or not until like a week ago, but as of today he doesn’t live there. So, he and I walked/metroed home together like his mom and I do. We talked about food, cooking, things I miss from America, and Psychology and whether it is any good at all. It seems no one is very keen on psychologists here. Seryozha wasn’t antagonistic, just perhaps not completely informed and understandably wary. Plus he does have a good point in saying psychology can’t offer a 100 fail proof way out of drugs and he has never met a single person who became and stayed drug free with psychological help. I think that is the general picture here. I tried to explain my view on psychology and again tried to explain that psychology and Jesus aren’t enemies and they can work beautifully together. It is so strange to me when people can’t seem to imagine a world where there is a God who works through science. We can observe and analyze the way God’s creation works… isn’t that pretty much science, from creationist point of view? Yes I am simplifying matters, but whatever. I’m sleepy.
Okay, Night Night.

Love and Jesus

HEyo! I should go to bed soon, but I haven’t written in so long I know I need to. It seems last time I took a sabbatical people forgot to get back into it, so I’ll try to be consistent so you can make me part of your regular habit! :)
The other day when Paige and I were watching 28 Days Later (which I bought yea!) she said a little piece of gold: “It would suck to be in the stair-car during the Zombie invasion… SO many hop-ons.” Isn’t that GOLD? Ah! If you don’t know what this a a reference go to your local movie place (preferably Hastings) and get yourself some Arrested Development (for sale or rent)! ASAP! Good times.
Today Paige and I went to our first class and then went and saw He’s just not that into you at the dinner and a movie place called Jam Club or something equally silly. IT was nice. We haven’t gone out for a movie in a relatively long time and it is a very soothing process for me. :) Then I went to Church. But I was WAY early and so I did some wandering first. I had never gone to the Tuesday service at the Ozerki church before. I didn’t even really know what time it started or what it would be like… But on Saturday (or maybe it was Sunday) Kristina said that she wanted to go to church more and asked me about church services (it isn’t like she goes infrequently though… She goes like 3 or 4 times a week). I knew there was a service on Tuesday but I didn’t know anything else about it. So we decided we’d go together. But when I got to Ozerki (like 30 minutes early) I called her and she said … well I don’t know but I think she wasn’t feeling to hot so she wasn’t coming. I went. I thought it started at 18:00 but there was like no one there so I sat in the most invisible spot I could find (it was behind a column) and just prayed and enjoyed God and read the Bible. I had hoped to go by unnoticed, but at like 18:30 Nicolai saw me and came over and asked me to help him with his English and he read the beginning verses of John to me in English. He said he had been in Finland the day before (which blew my mind because I saw him both on Sunday and Monday… I guess that was a quick trip) and they’d taught him some English. He has pretty good at what he had learned and he translated it into Russian to prove he understood. Cool, cool. Then I prayed for another 30 minutes. Then the service started at 19:00 and I heard laughing behind me only to see the rest of the brothers there just realizing I was in front of them. I guess I am not very good at being inconspicuous. The service was nice. Today is a Holiday and as far as I can tell it celebrates Jesus’s conception…. I don’t really know… but we read Luke 1:26-56 and the young people’s choir sang wonderful songs perfectly relating to the verses. One of my lampposts: Luke 1:45 is in there and it was so good to here it. I also am really engrossed with the fast that I am a slave to the Lord and Mary calls herself the Lord’s slave in verse 38 so I learned the correct female word for slave and wrote “Lord’s slave on my wrist.” I didn’t think much of it at the time although I thought I heard the men make some noise behind me but when the service was over Pyotr made me show him my wrist and laughed. I guess they were watching me like the whole time. I should’ve known and I was kind of conscious of it but I tried to shut it out. The service was swell and GOD IS GREAT. Kristina called me later to ask about it and asked if she could load me a DVD. I LOVE HER.
I had some down days emotionally pretty much from Thursday night until half way through the night service on Sunday. Various people commented on it. I guess I am usually so overly jubilant here I can’t even pass by without dancing or laughing randomly without people noticing. Saturday night at “choir” practice (there it 4 of us) Nicolai was like “Do you know Jesus Loves you?” and I said yes and then he pretty much told me that I should be happy then. It was sweet. He later commented on my “depression. ” that same night during bible study Aleksey twice told me not to cry. I thought I was passing for moderate emotion… but I guess not. Later Kristina was kinda asking what was up and she got the whole lot of it including tears and everything while she and I were heading home together and waiting at the bus stop. She is so sweet and compassionate. I think she is very wise too, but I can’t say I understand all of her advice unfortunately. I LOVE HER. It was extra sucky to be sulky because when I went to rehab on Friday night it was just me and the Ukrainian dude and so he played a recording of a sermon he had while we were waiting for potential intakes. The Sermon was given by an American Southern Baptist from Billy Graham’s group or something and so it was in English with Ukrainian translation. It was about joy. Haha, I guess I didn’t get the hint until Sunday when I finally asked God what was wrong with me. He said it was guilt and when I asked if it was righteous guilt HE said no. I do that sometimes. Hold on to guilt for things God has already forgiven myself and my massive guilt trips are crippling. I surrendered it to HIM and he took it from me and filled me wonderous joy! I’ve pretty much been walking on air since then :) Praise God.
Monday was SO GOOD I cannot even begin to describe it! TRULY JUST KNOW IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE BLESSING FROM GOD! I grew so much closer to Kristina and God answered the prayers I prayed for throughout the day with HUGE AFFIRMATIVES and he enabled me to finish the translations for the websites. And HE was AMAZIGN AND WODNERFUL! And AH!! Beyond description! I dunno, it you want more details make me call you so I can tell you, cause I can’t write it all.
Bu speaking of the website, I HIGHLY encourage you all to check it out!!! PLEASE!!! Valery has been really beefing it up lately and plus there is a little testimonial of mine on there and a bunch of the stuff was translated by me. :) CHECK IT OUT!!!
Go to:
narcostop.org
Click on the British flag for English and look around. That is the organization I am with a lot and volunteer at. I very highly endorse the group so if the Lord compels you to contact them or donate or if you plan on going to Russia and want to visit them, DO IT! They are way cool and it is wonderful to see the way God works through their program.

Most pleasant

Most pleasant
I think I shall write this completely haphazardly. Today on the way to church I saw Maxim parked in the church’s big white van on the side of the road beside the forest. He so I came over and he told me to get in because he was talking people over to the church so the Babushka’s wouldn’t fall and die on the way. I got in and he mentioned that I was late and I said “like always” which he laughed at. He is a very jovial fellow, but I think he may be more jovial than usual… I dunno though. We waived down a bunch of old ladies and went to church. He made basic comments and then laughed like they were jokes so I laughed too. I appreciate joviality.
Dearest Masha had called me to wake me up, and I was already up and ready. I don’t know what it is about morning church, but I never can get to it in time. Everyone always asks me if I will sit in the balcony because I guess that is where everyone sits, but there are 3 different balconies so I was at a loss for which one they meant. I opted for the farthest back balcony as opposed to the left or right balcony, but once I got there I was aware it wasn’t the cool kids balcony but the older folks balcony. No big. After church I beat it, but not before Aleksey stopped by and said “Hi” literally. HE never spoke in English to me until now, and when the guys go into their English conversations he usually playfully chides them and says that if they keep speaking a foreign language he is just gonna speak Ukrainian. Oh, yeah, they do that. They’ll have like 5 minute straight of only talking in English to each other (or at least trying to). They say it is to make sure I don’t miss home, but I sometimes think they are trying to impress me. IT is endearing though. I love my menfolk here. Seriously, they make me very happy and generally relaxed (except when I am not sure if I am breaking a social norm by hanging with them all the time, but I am getting better at picking up on cues from Seryozha or Dima when I need to back off… at least I think I am).Then Paige and I did our ritual Pizza and Pasta.com. good times.
Then I went to church. Now, night church is the one I can’t be late to even if I try. I was supposed to be there about an hour early to practice singing (which really means get there 45 minutes or so early because Russia time is kind lagged), and I got there like an hour and 15 minutes early. It was snowing really wet snow so I decided to try to get in. Right when I got to the door it was swinging shut and I grabbed it just in time. Then I tried buzzing the room. To my suprize they let me in. When I got in there was a girl I’d never seen before. I said a greeting and put my coat on the hook she was confused as to why I was making myself to cozy and asked who I was there to see. I told her I was with the Church and she said that It was all clear then asked me about the times we meet and I told her. Then she went to some back room and disappeared… forever as far as I know.
About 20 minutes later my men come in. they had the keys and so were incredibly confused at what I am doing sitting in a room that is protected by 3 levels of security. I tried to explain it an dI know I got the point across, but I don’t like speaking much when I first enter a Russian social occasion. IT is like I like to get acclimated to thinking in Russian and to the way everyone is talking before I jump in so this immediate interrogation threw off my groove a bit, but not too long. Then in short time they were laughing and joking and asking why I didn’t sit with them at church and where I was sitting etc. My groove was still thrown off and I didn’t feel like admitting I tried to sit with them but failed because as usual I didn’t really know what I was supposed to do so I did a lot of shrugging and told them I was late to church. Dima told(in Russian), “We know. Late like always. We know everything, Deah.” Haha. That really cracked me up. I mean I guess I knew they must talk about me because I am something of an anomaly (a girl, the youngest person around, an American, and an all around strange person) and I see them about 7 times a week, but I just think it is funny that they had all talked about me being late to church like they are keeping tabs on me. I told them I was in the last Balcony and they told me they were in the left one, and I said I’d sit with them next time. They found this answer generally unsatisfactory because next time was a week away, but it was the only answer I had, so they’ll just have to live with it. I really was so glad when they all came in. My dear menfolk.
I had door duty while Aleksey and Sergey practiced their song, and Aleksey had door duty while I practiced singing with the gang. I sang a solo today. It was my first full song solo. I sang this weird song first in English then in Russian. I got all the words and everything, but the overall sound quality was below par as far as I am concerned. No one let on though. When the song was over they all joyously thanked me and praised God. They are so encouraging. Nicolai played the guitar for the song. The service was about faith and I found it personally quite encouraging and fruitful. After the service the fellows asked me if I was going to go with them in the van to Ozerki (which I’ve done last 2 times, from Ozerki I take the metro… it is slightly faster and cheaper then tramming and metroing) but I had already told Kristina and Raisa Semyonovna that I would go with them by bus. The men seemed disappointed and surprised. I road with the ladies home and it was pleasant, although I got a bit roadsick.
Friday we had the fieldtrip to the Hermitage, but just the area that was done to show how Peter lived. It was pretty uneventful. Then Paige and Helene and I went to KFC then Paige and I went to her place. Paige let me use her interwebs and I cut her hair. Ha, that made it sound like it was a trade. They were unrelated.
Normally I go to rehab on Friday nights, but Kristina called me and told me to go to Olga’s for Choir practice. I’m slotted to be at rehab from 6-7 (but if I can get away with it I stay longer) and the choir practice was on the other side of time at 7. I texted Seryozha and told him I wouldn’t be making it. At Olga’s there was a very pretty sunset outside of her 6th story window. I only took a picture with my camera phone so it is poor quality. The practice was fun and pleasant I love those people, but it really is a shame I didn’t make it to rehab.
Saturday slept in, hand washed my white wondrous sweater, and met up with Paige at Idealnaya Chashka (a café) before Church. Then I went to Wonderful Church and was delighted and refreshed, as per usual. I road with the boys to Ozerki and has a nice chat with Aleksey about the ways God speaks to us. That seems to be a major theme of my life right now the way God communicates with us directly and interferences with that and or Evil’s attempts to hinder it or trick us. I like the subject and it is very near and dear to my heart to this is a pleasant season all in all. I am learning to Trust in God a lot more and He is really encouraging me in that area. He also keeps putting people in my path that seem to have interestingly intimate relationships with God. I love it. :)

Still on a wonderful Jesus high so bear with me as I no doubt exude exuberance. Today is Monday. I slept in today because I don’t have any classes or anything. Paige wanted to go shopping, but I slept too late so it didn’t happen. IT was a GREAT day though. I stuck around in bed until like 2. I would wake up and roll around cozily and pray myself back to sleep in bliss. I did have one terrible experience with a nightmare and some rebuking was in order, but that was early in the night, and after that it was all wonderful!! :)
Then I peed and ate and had like the longest shower ever. And put on too much makeup (including liquid eyeliner) and clothes that I look alright in. I stopped by a knock-off teremok stand and got a coke and something cheap and yummy to eat and went to Rehab, one of the most delightful places in all of the earth.
A while back when Nicolai asked me if I was staying late or not and I told him I would be there as long as they said I could we jokingly said I could live there. He shouldn’t have joked about that. I would live there in a heartbeat. Seryozha seemed to be concerned about where he would live if I lived there, but Nicolai didn’t seemed too concerned with it. I had half a mind to take him up on the offer on the off chance that he was half serious. Anyways, at rehab I cut out the pull-tabs on more flyers (I need to get better about pasting them more frequently!). Only one new guy came in. And one mom came in who has been going to church and the meetings and she was supposed to meet her son there but he didn’t show up. It was very sad. She is such a sweet woman and she took it in beautiful stride but I know how much it hurts when someone lets you down and you could see the sorrow behind her eyes.
Then in short time we had the parents meeting which was wonderful. Peter Petrovich and I shared a hymnal and when Kristina came we shared with her and when this young girl came we shared with her too. It felt very cute. Everyone else had their own hymnal and we 4 were sharing. Peter Petrovich gave his testimony which was absolutely beautiful. He is an “adaptant” and I’ve known him for about a month now. He mutters A LOT and it is hard for me to understand him but he is incredibly good hearted and pretty raw and down to earth. I’d say he is in his 50s… but who knows I am bad at that stuff and it is hard to really guess an alcohol or addict’s age anyways.
After the lesson we had tea as usual. God had given me a message to give Aleksey so I gave it to him and he had Slava read it and they both seemed pretty happy about it I guess so that is good. This is the first time God gave me a message to give someone in Russian! That was exciting and when I told Aleksey that God told it to me in Russian he was just as excited about it as I am (but that may be because he’s had to endure my translations before, haha). IT is SOOO good when your brothers and sisters share in your joy! Last week, as I said, I had some issues with reading and so today Aleksey advised me to read slower. He said(in Russian) “I know you want to read fast and well like everyone else but read slow enough that you understand what you are reading. No one is going to mind or saying anything to you for reading slow.” I just kept saying “Mmmhmmm” While he talked to me about it because it rang true but he could tell I felt kinda ashamed I think so he went on about how if he were reading English It would be hard for him too. That was a sweet touch. I love Kristina. I love her SOO much. She is SO sweet and so spunky. I was glad I got to sit by her today. Let’s see what else? Oh, Seryozha and Aleksey sang together today and they did on Sunday too. I like it when they sing together. Dima wasn’t there for the meeting but he came after just to drink tea. He always makes me laugh.
Oh, I forgot to say! You know I always come to rehab at 6 for the intake and the parent meeting is at 7. Well Mikhail saw me walk up at 6 and I guess he didn’t know I come in for intakes so he said the equivalent of “wow, you’re here early.” And I said “I usually am here this early” and he said “I thought you were usually late” and I said “No, I’m only late in the morning.” And he said “Ah, you like sleep.” And then I went in. But I just thought it was funny that again they spread word around about that one conversation yesterday with Maxim when I said I was late. My men, I think I’ll keep them.
Also, guys keep giving me candy. I mean we eat candy at almost every tea-time so it isn’t a big deal, but it is still an almost daily thing (today it happened twice in a 5 minute period). I always try to refuse but then they are convinced I don’t like sweets or am on a diet and when I say I just don’t want it now they tell me to put it in my purse. It is usually pretty tasty though. :)
Nonna keeps making sushi. She is really good at it. She made some last night at like midnight and made some tonight too. It is yummy. I am the only one that doesn’t eat it with wasabi so for me it is like dinner and a show. Everyone’s face turns red and contorts and what not. I don’t know if they exactly like that I laugh all meal but they don’t seem to mind.

A Bit of Rest

I didn’t go to school this morning. I woke up, kinda hoping I had slept in, but I hadn’t. I told myself and God right before I looked at the clock that I’d get up if it was before 7:30. It was 7:27. Bummer. I got up and showered, ate, read the bible, put on make-up and was completely ready. Then my stummy started hurting. It was a lower abdomen pain, the kind that might go away in few minutes, but may be foreboding multiple, painful, and/or urgent trips to the restroom. I weighed out whether to tough it out or not and ended up deciding it wasn’t worth the risk. It sucks that it happened for the private Russian lesson, but I didn’t want to be stuck 20 minutes into my 40 minute walk to school feeling like my intestines are exploding. So texted the teacher, Inma, and Paige to let them all know I wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t be in school. Inma said she had a stomach ache and wouldn’t be coming in either, and Paige said she’d just decided to sleep in, and the teacher told me to get well soon. So I watched the 30 rock and House episodes Paige had just given me, and then watched like 3 Arrested developments and took a nap. By 10 I was completely fine and realized it had been a false alarm, but maybe my taking it easy helped, and lord know I could use a mental health day. Then I met Paige at like 3 and we had lunch over by the consulate (which I have yet to go to btw, I feel like I should… I just can’t figure out why I should or what I might possibly need to do there). Then I went to Rehab. I gotta say my brain was mush today. I couldn’t even read the Bible verses when we went around the circle and split of the verses as usual. On my last verse I just gave up butchering the poor language and refused to read further. IT was pathetic and demoralizing. I also didn’t contribute anything to the lesson this time, which was disappointing because last week I really felt like I was contributing and had hoped it would be the changing of the tides for me. We all have off days I guess, and I think we are more apt to have them when operating almost full time in a foreign language that is drastically different from our mother tongue. I was relatively demoralized, but I asked for the scripture again from Aleksey and he was kind enough to write it for me (2 times… sort of, he wrote it down and left but RAN back like 2 minutes later telling me he had reversed the numbers and by that time I had all but lost the first thing he gave me to he had to write it on a different piece of paper and everything). I have been dying for some calla lilies lately and so I bought 3 on the way home. Ha, when I ate with Paige I told her that I’d been hoping to buy some for myself for over a week now because I see them at the metro station on the way form rehab almost everyday, but that people keep on walking to the metro station with me and I don’t wanna buy flowers for myself with some kind church goer I barely know so I always tell myself I’ll get some next time. Buying flowers for yourself feels kinda silly if you do it in front of someone who knows what you are doing. I told Paige I hope that they will drive me to the Metro station so I don’t have to walk in the slick woods and then that from there I am alone so I can buy the flowers in peace. That is exactly what happened, praise God! It was swell. I like them a lot. So I came home and Nonna asked me about my day and I tried to tell her about it, but she said she couldn’t understand me and that I should tell her in English. I am pretty that is the first time she has ever said that to me in my whole life (except when I haphazardly try to translate movie titles mid-conversation). I told her I haven’t been able to communicate all day and she said I might just need a one day break from Russian. That sounded like a pretty sound thing to say. So we talked in English from there on out. That was our first English convo we’ve had here that lasted more than 3 sentences. Then I came into my room and looked up that verse. It was like a double edged sword. It was beyond awesome and it blew my mind. Aleksey is like a freaking prophet or something because there is no way he could’ve just known that I needed that verse. I didn’t even know I needed that verse. Way to be, kid, and THANK YOU JESUS for sending that my way! I journaled and prayed until I got called to dinner of fish, cucumber, and potatoes. I never liked fish really ever in my life, except for granddaddy’s catfish (and I think I liked them more for the memory than anything), but Elena Borisovna prepares her fish very nicely and I am really starting to warm up to it. I think fish is an acquired taste and I’ve never had the reason to acquire it before. Right now Elena Borisovna and Nonna are fasting for Lent. I am very glad I took that Russian Orthodox Christianity class before I got here because I figured out they were fasting before they even told me. :) The orthodox fasts are pretty intense and they don’t eat meat (aside from fish) for the whole of Lent, as I understand it. Elena Borisovna keeps having me practice a song for a festival that is like April 10 or 11th or something. It is almost terrifying, but from what I hear, you are only young once.

Oh, and I finished Catcher in the Rye last night. I wolfed it down in like 5 days on top of a pretty busy schedule.

Okay this is now Thursday evening. I haven’t uploaded this because I quite shamelessly slept in today and thus didn’t go to the institute at a time suitable for internet use. I didn’t even care that I slept in. I know I can afford the absences, I figured it out a couple days ago, and this morning it was a stressless rest of refreshment. Delightful. I laid around and slept all morning. Delight of delights. And Paige slept in and slipped too. She called me at like 10 and said she was sleeping in and I told her I was still in bed and it looked like I was too. She said that she appreciates our cross-city, psychic connection and is glad we are on the same page. Late she called and asked me to meet her so I could run errands with her. I got ready for the day and spent some time with Jesus and then left to meet her. We met up and I was hungry so we went to KFC. I cannot describe how good it was. IT was our first time there in Russia, and undoubtedly not out last. We did our errands and did a bit of shopping. Paige got an ADORABLE purse and a cute Hello Kitty wallet. They were each shockingly cheap. Then we went to the institute because Elena Borisovna wanted me to watch their “spectacle” and then practice my song and Paige needed to give them photos for their visa. And I watched the show which was just a dress rehersal I guess and it was Anton Chekov’s A Wedding Proposal which I directed at Memorial way back when (but I did it in English of course). It was nice to see it. Then I was forced to practice in front of them like 3 times. I still don’t have the words down. It is annoying. Then I went to the BibleStudy over Revelations. That was nice. I love my rehab boys! They attend too but they are in their own group and I am in a women’s group. Afterwards Dima and Mihail came up and talked to me. Okay, when I first got here I really felt like Dima reminds me of Karl Dowell, and he still does but now he is evolving into his own person in my head and not just my Karl Dowell replacement. Anyways yesterday Dima had commented on how I always stand in a ballet position and asked me if I ever did ballet. I told him yes and he said he did too. We swapped ballet terminology and stuff for a while. It sounds like he was pretty serious about it before he was an addict. Oh, and he also always sings various old school American songs everytime I see him and the one I get the biggest kick out of it “Ice, Ice Baby.” So, after the Bible Study when Dima and Mihail came up Dima again commented on the fact I was standing in 1st position and then said he had something to tell me but he forgot because he thought he wouldn’t see me until tomorrow. Then Mihail sang “Ice, Ice Chicken” which totally cracked me up beyond all reason. Dima explained that they had made up this new version called “Ice, Ice Chicken” and Mihail sang it a little more but as far as I can tell the only words are “Ice Ice Chicken to go.” I love it. I am imagining that Dima and Mihail made it up while transporting or cooking a frozen chicken, but that is just a guess.
Oh, I guess I didn’t tell you last week cause I wasn’t writing! Well, last week at this Bible Study I met a few girls in their 20s. 2 of them are named Masha and I forget the rest of their names. They were very nice and we walked to the metro together afterwards talking about what have you. Anyways the Masha, the one that is in my group for the Bible study, was there again. We started talking about all the strange ways God communicates to us and has throughout our lives and it was really cool. She asked me why I wasn’t at church on Sunday and when I told her I slept in again she said she’d call me Sunday morning to wake me up. Hehe. That made me happy. We talked non-stop all the way home. Oh, I am pretty sure I was supposed to tell Aleksey something at Church today, but I was passive and didn’t. Naughty me. Hopefully I ‘ll tell him tomorrow or Saturday. Oh, also, yesterday when Seryozha was talking to a heroin addict who was coming in for the first time and the heroin addict’s mom the mom asked about fasting (because it is lent). I am passionate about fasts and their importance (although I am a lazy bones and probably don’t fast nearly enough), and since we are protestant I was totally expecting Seryozha to say something I would totally disagree with in my heart. But no. He hit a homerun. He didn’t downplay the importance of fasts he just said that our church doesn’t fast for lent but that we encourage fasts, but tend to do them as individually compelled by God. So that was nice. I am so used to going to a church that I frequently disagree with theologically and it is SOOOOOO nice being at one that I have yet to find anything to tiff about. I mean, the language barrier may be helping that since I may have something to disagree about without understanding that I do, but still, it is wonderful. It helps me trust my church and my brothers wonderfully, which is good because I really need the tight fellowship and I rely on them a lot. I love this church and I love these people! PRAISE JESUS! I think I am going to try again to read Mere Christianity, so if you are reading this Aaron Wright you should message me. OH! And class is cancelled for tomorrow and we are going on a little excursion instead, so that means I’ve got a 6 day weekend since I don’t have class on Mondays and I didn’t go today or yesterday. And let me tell ya this little vaca was much needed and appreciated!!  Thanks, Jesus!