It's a bit strange trying to celebrate Thanksgiving here in Russia. There's no pictures of pilgrims, or turkeys, or the cornstalks all tied together in neat little displays. No smell of turkey coming from the kitchen. There are no hints of it anywhere. Not that I expected there to be considering it's an American holiday. I do have a lot to be thankful for though.
I'm thankful that God is by my side first and foremost...I know that's so cliche...I sound like I'm giving a speech at an Oscar ceremony. Seriously though if it wasn't for Jesus Christ, I wouldn't be where I'm at.
I'm thankful for an awesome wife. I can't even begin to describe how much I love her. There are not enough words to describe how amazing she is to me and our children. On that note, I''m thankful for two awesome kids who are so smart and creative...not to mention well behaved. That's always a plus.
I'm thankful for all of my friends who have laughed with me, cried with me, and stood by my side through thick and thin. I'm thankful for having two parents who have showed me that love can surpass money any day...and there's always enough left over to get through tough times. I'm thankful to have a Pastor who is like a father to me and who has a heart like no one else I know. I'm thankful for the opportunity to serve the Lord in a foreign country. It has been a challenging and rewarding experience. I'm thankful for all the people whose prayers and support have made this possible. I can go on and on because I have so much to be thankful for.
Thank you Lord for all you have given me and all you have done for me. I only hope that I can be useful to you for all the rest of my days here on this earth. Use me for your glory...send me where you want me. I can lastly thank You for being faithful and trustworthy. You have never failed me. I have never been rich in my wallet but I have always been rich in my heart since I met you...and for this I am yours until I breathe my last breath.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Big family partners in Kommunar
We had a meeting in a nearby city Kommunar yesterday. We have some friends that are partners with Big Family that does ministry in an orphanage in Gatchina. It was a great meeting. Good food, good company, and good progress. I love the people that work with Big Family. It's so nice being a part of such a caring organization. I can see God doing some cool things and it's encouraging to us. Max and Ira hosted us. They are a foster family with 9 kids. WOW! They are so brave to take on so many kids. They are awesome with all of them though and you can see that these kids love them so much.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Trip To Ukki
We went to an orphanage in Ukki this week. It was so nice to finally be able to start visiting. It seems to have been one thing after another that has kept us from going. God's timing is perfect though and we know now why He has halted our attempts to get started. It's awesome to see some of the big picture coming into focus. There's still a lot of pieces missing to the puzzle but we are starting to see an outlilne at least. To quote the great Hannible from the tv show The A-Team..."I love it when a plan comes together." It's encouraging to see glimpses of a purpose that we have been wondering about for months. Stay posted. As we see more, we'll share more. We are learning to trust Him in everything we do...from the mundane every day living to the big ministry decisions that will shape where we will be in the future.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Culture Shock: Part 2
Part 2 of the article:
When my husband's company offered him a job in China, we jumped at the chance. This would be the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to see the world, a great way to experience a new, exciting and mysterious culture. And get paid for it!
I was really excited. The first thing I did was run down to the local bookstore and buy a whole bunch of books about China, the Chinese people and how to speak Chinese. I even hired a Chinese friend from Taiwan to teach us the language (and whose first lesson of course was to explain that Taiwanese Chinese was completely different from Mandarin Chinese, but fortunately for us he spoke both). We had a whole three weeks to get ready, and ready I was going to be. I would walk like they walked, talk like they talked and think like they thought. I would eat their food (I loved Chinese food!), drink their (warm) Tsingtao beer, dress like they dressed, dance like they danced, learn to sing kari-yucky (karaoke - the Chinese national past-time second only to staring at the foreigners) and sleep on a bamboo-grass mat.
(I can be really naive sometimes.)
I was going to China! Wow.
Things like this just didn't happen to people like me!
Those three weeks flew by, of course, and before I knew it we were getting off a plane in Chengdu, Sichuan. I had not yet figured out that Chinese food in China was not anything like Chinese food in America, and I had not yet developed a taste for warm beer. But I could say hello, thank you and goodbye in Chinese, I was excited and happy to be there, and I was more than ready, willing and able to start my new life in China. The honeymoon wasn't over yet, and I just didn't have a clue.
I can relate to the range of emotions going on in this woman's mind. We were thinking the same thing. We will learn to be Russians in any way we can. We thought we would fit right in. I realized however that the first thing I found was that I missed beef jerky and I wasn't able to switch to fish jerky...just one of the many things that are different. It's a shallow thought but I'm being honest. I can't say I was in deep thought over the cultural differences at first. we are learning to embrace the differences...some are wonderful...and some are annoying. I think it's not so much about becoming a Russian. I will always be a foreigner, no matter how long I stay here. I think it's more about accepting their way of life no matter how different it is.
When my husband's company offered him a job in China, we jumped at the chance. This would be the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to see the world, a great way to experience a new, exciting and mysterious culture. And get paid for it!
I was really excited. The first thing I did was run down to the local bookstore and buy a whole bunch of books about China, the Chinese people and how to speak Chinese. I even hired a Chinese friend from Taiwan to teach us the language (and whose first lesson of course was to explain that Taiwanese Chinese was completely different from Mandarin Chinese, but fortunately for us he spoke both). We had a whole three weeks to get ready, and ready I was going to be. I would walk like they walked, talk like they talked and think like they thought. I would eat their food (I loved Chinese food!), drink their (warm) Tsingtao beer, dress like they dressed, dance like they danced, learn to sing kari-yucky (karaoke - the Chinese national past-time second only to staring at the foreigners) and sleep on a bamboo-grass mat.
(I can be really naive sometimes.)
I was going to China! Wow.
Things like this just didn't happen to people like me!
Those three weeks flew by, of course, and before I knew it we were getting off a plane in Chengdu, Sichuan. I had not yet figured out that Chinese food in China was not anything like Chinese food in America, and I had not yet developed a taste for warm beer. But I could say hello, thank you and goodbye in Chinese, I was excited and happy to be there, and I was more than ready, willing and able to start my new life in China. The honeymoon wasn't over yet, and I just didn't have a clue.
I can relate to the range of emotions going on in this woman's mind. We were thinking the same thing. We will learn to be Russians in any way we can. We thought we would fit right in. I realized however that the first thing I found was that I missed beef jerky and I wasn't able to switch to fish jerky...just one of the many things that are different. It's a shallow thought but I'm being honest. I can't say I was in deep thought over the cultural differences at first. we are learning to embrace the differences...some are wonderful...and some are annoying. I think it's not so much about becoming a Russian. I will always be a foreigner, no matter how long I stay here. I think it's more about accepting their way of life no matter how different it is.
At Church
We had a visitor from the US. One of the Pastors we know from back home had some work to do here and we were able to get together and hang out. Pastor Grant works with a ministry called Russians Reaching Russians. It was awesome seeing him. He was able to bring a power converter for us as well. Jen was able to straighten her hair for the first time in over 3 months. For some reason the little power converter we had just wouldn't work with her flat iron. Yay for Jen!! I was also able to see my buddy Dennis as well. I haven't been able to see him since we moved here. It was nice.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Culture Shock: The Little Things Count in the Biggest Ways
I read this article on an expat site that was very insightful and encouraging to me. We didn't have any "formal" missionary training. This kind of training probably would have went over this exact topic. We prepared ourselves the best we could and dove into the water...the water being a foreign country. We are doing well I think with the occasional bumps here and there. Overall, I think we are adapting. Some days I love it and other days I wish I could hop on the next plane home. This is something we expected though. I think I'll do this article in a few pieces so as not to make one dreadfully long post.
So here goes the article:
One of the first things I noticed about China was that all the men carried purses and the women held hands. This phenomenon shot straight to the top of my list of "Weird World Wonders" and stayed there until a mere five minutes later, when I went looking for a bathroom at the airport and came face to face with my first squatty potty.
This was culture shock, pure and simple, and I was already moving from the first stage of it - the honeymoon, or tourist, stage, which I had entered before we ever left the States - into the second, the irritation-to-anger stage. Culture shock can mean many different things to many different people, and any kind of move - whether it be across town, across the country or across the planet - can create different kinds of trauma in different kinds of people. Kalvero Oberg first identified the five distinct stages of culture shock in 1958, and we know them today as:
* The honeymoon, or tourist, stage;
* The irritation-to-anger stage;
* The rejection/regression stage;
* The integration/assimilation stage;
* The reverse, or reentry, stage.
So here is a thought. we have been here a little over 3 months now. I have found us going around the honeymoon stage and the irritation to anger stage and a little bit in the rejection/regression stage, and then back to the honeymoon stage. At least we're not standing still. One of these days we will be back in America and missing Russia...
So here goes the article:
One of the first things I noticed about China was that all the men carried purses and the women held hands. This phenomenon shot straight to the top of my list of "Weird World Wonders" and stayed there until a mere five minutes later, when I went looking for a bathroom at the airport and came face to face with my first squatty potty.
This was culture shock, pure and simple, and I was already moving from the first stage of it - the honeymoon, or tourist, stage, which I had entered before we ever left the States - into the second, the irritation-to-anger stage. Culture shock can mean many different things to many different people, and any kind of move - whether it be across town, across the country or across the planet - can create different kinds of trauma in different kinds of people. Kalvero Oberg first identified the five distinct stages of culture shock in 1958, and we know them today as:
* The honeymoon, or tourist, stage;
* The irritation-to-anger stage;
* The rejection/regression stage;
* The integration/assimilation stage;
* The reverse, or reentry, stage.
So here is a thought. we have been here a little over 3 months now. I have found us going around the honeymoon stage and the irritation to anger stage and a little bit in the rejection/regression stage, and then back to the honeymoon stage. At least we're not standing still. One of these days we will be back in America and missing Russia...
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