Busy Days and Warm Weather

Everything is happening at once!
We only have 10 more days left in our city and we are trying to find ways to spend time with each of our friends in as many different activities and dinners as possible.  It's all colliding into one and a half very busy weeks!  Craziness.

This past week we met a girl named Maria and got to have tea with her.  Like many other girls who live here, her parents are not together anymore.  And like many teenage girls who have internet access, she's been cyberbullied.  To what extent, I'm not sure.  But, we were able to talk to her and just be friends that day.  Hopefully we'll be able to hang out with her one more time before we leave, and connect her with some of our American friends who live here.

Maria is just one example of some of the girls we've made friends with here in Russia.  She's as sweet and beautiful as can be, but she's been through a lot.  The girls we've met need a pure Father in their lives;  One who will love them deeply, forgive them sincerely, and show them the truth.  Keep them in mind! :)

Some other things we did this week include:  practicing Russian with the owner of a small cafe near our apt., walking the Thousand Steps, driving up to one of the Blue Lakes, climbing a small mountain, having a big picnic with our American friends, playing volleyball, slacklining (it's like tight rope walking), and playing ultimate frisbee.  It's been a fun week.  And today it was 75 degrees!!!!  Can you believe it?!  It felt so crazy good to get a little sun on my cheeks.

slacklining

This is my awesome friend, Faith.

sitting by the river

Well, I need to get some sleep before this extra busy week begins.  I'll see many of you in just a few weeks!  Thank you so much for your support!  I think of you all often.

Stand Firm.  Press Forward.  Love Truth.

Sochi Vacation!

We took a week for some R&R (rest and relaxation) in Sochi, which happens to be where the winter olympics will be held in February 2014!

For those of you who don't know much about Sochi, here's a little briefing for you.  It's located next to the Black Sea, it's very mountainous, the beaches are rocky (not sandy), and it's a pretty big tourist city.
We spent our week walking on the boardwalk, eating delicious food, shopping, sitting on the rock beach, and taking photos of the ski slopes and arenas which are still in construction.

Joanna's hand stand!

The ski jumps... 

I have some wonderful stories for you!  I've even titled them for your personal enjoyment.

THE SNORING RUSSIAN MAN
We took a 13 hour train ride into Sochi.  We had our own four bunks to sleep on during the ride.  But across from our bunks was another bunk occupied by a very large Russian man.  While he was awake, he didn't say a word.  But, while he was sleeping, he sounded like a lawn mower being driven over rocks.  He snored the whole night.  We thought it was humorous until we were trying to get some sleep too.

YOU'RE AMERICAN?  LET ME BUY YOU TEA...
On that same train ride, there were a couple men who who found it fascinating that we were from America.  We were just minding our own business when one of the men poked his head around the corner with a big smile on his face.  He then held up his smartphone which had "Where are you from?" translated on the screen.  We answered and he invited us to have tea with him and his friend who knew some english.  Jessica and I accepted and followed him to the end of the train car.  His friend was inside a very very small compartment with two bunks and a tiny table.  He motioned us inside to sit on the lower bunk.  They bought us chocolate bars, bacon flavored chips, and tea.  Funny thing is, Jessica can't have caffeinated drinks.  So, to save Jessica, I drank both cups of tea.  I drank a little of one cup, then casually switched to the other cup, then back to the first, etc.  I don't think the guys noticed.  After having a nice (smartphone-translated) conversation with them, we thanked them for the food and drink and went back to our bunks.  It's interesting how quickly you can make friends when you speak english in a foreign country.

WHAT A BIG MALL YOU HAVE...
Our first day in Sochi, we went to Sochi's biggest mall.  Coming from a small town with small shopping centers, this mall was culture shock.  Have you seen the movie Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs?  There's a scene when food starts falling from the sky and all the people look up at the sky and gasp dramatically.  I think we had a lot in common with those people as we walked into that mall.

THE POOL IS BLUER ON THE OTHER SIDE
We stayed in a small hotel with four floors.  Our third floor room had a lovely balcony with a great view of the city.  Also from the balcony, we could look down and see our hotel's pool and the pool of the hotel next door.  While the next door hotel's pool had crystal clear blue water, our pool had ominous murky black water.  On Friday, Jessica was craving a swim, which is strange because the weather was definitely not warm enough for swimming.  So she fearlessly waltzed up to the hotel next door and asked if she could use their pool.  The front desk lady said, "Холодно, но вы можете плавать. (It's cold, but you can swim.)"  So Joanna joined Jessica and they both took their swim in the icy cold water.  Craziness.

RUSSIAN BREAKFAST
Every morning, the hotel served breakfast downstairs.  Now this was certainly an experience.  Unlike in America where the breakfast would be buffet style, the breakfast here was served to us at our table.  And our waitress didn't take orders, she served everyone the same breakfast.  The first morning, our breakfast consisted of buckwheat, a hot dog (I think), and a cup of very strong coffee.  The second morning, it was pasta and coffee.  The third morning was cream of wheat, a boiled egg, and coffee (fairly normal breakfast).  And the fourth morning was a crepe filled with meat, and a cup of coffee.  Well, now we know what Russians have for breakfast.

In conclusion, we had a relaxing and fun-filled week in Sochi.  It was nice to get away from our normal lives, but we are so glad to be back with our friends.

We have two and a half weeks left in this town.  We've made so many good friends, including locals.  We're making plans to spend more time with them so that we might have more opportunities to share our Hope with them.  Please continue to lift us up in these last few weeks.  Thank you SO much for your love and support.

Stand Firm.  Press Forward.  Love the Truth.

Dancing & Springtime

Spring has finally come!!  And it is SO lovely here in the Spring.
When we first got here, there wasn't much color.  Just a lot of gray, brown, and white.  But NOW... after a few days of refreshing rain, the bright green leaves have sprung and the flowers are blooming everywhere!  They sure do take care of their gardens here.  I'll get some more Springy pictures later... for now, here is an excellent picture of me with a volleyball... thanks to Jessica.

I suppose you want to hear about the incredible dancing experience we had...  On Friday, we went to the university nearby, expecting to help out an English class.  Instead, there was a conference for new students going on.  We had come just in time for the dancing.  

So here in Southern Russia, there is a tradional dance that everyone must know.  It is unlike American hip hop, waltzing, and ballet.  But, it has a little bit of each.  It's like hip hop, because the guy can pretty much move in any crazy way he likes.  It's like waltzing, because the guy dances with one girl.  It's like ballet, because the girl's job is to look beautiful as she floats across the dance floor.  Basically the guy asks a girl to dance and the guy proceeds to dance circles around the girl, as if trying to impress her.  The girl stands on her toes taking quick light steps, floating her arms with her swift movements.  

The whole thing is so cool.  You have to see it!  

Here's some videos.  I apologize for the very poor quality.  All we had on us were our camera phones. Haha.  Enjoy.

So after watching them dance for awhile, we saw a few guys gather together in a huddle.  We could tell they were up to something.  They kept laughing and poking their heads up to look at us.  My thought was, "Oh no.  They are totally gonna ask us to dance."  Sure enough, three guys ran over to us, babbling something in Russian, and pulled us out onto the dance floor.  I don't know what I looked like, but I did my best to imitate what I had seen other girls doing.  And thankfully, it was very fun!  I think I'm much better at this traditional dance than any American dances.  Haha.  After a few minutes of walking on my toes and gracefully flailing my arms, my partner walked me off the dance floor.  I think Hannah, Joanna, and Jessica enjoyed the dancing too.  I'm so glad we got to experience this wonderful part of the culture!  

Well, I'm about to go out to the park to walk with some of our local friends!  Keep me and my girls in mind as you go throughout your week. 

Remember the goal we live for and never stop persevering in the race that has been set before us all.

Stand firm.  Press Forward.

Over and out. :)

Rock Climbing!!

We finally got to go rock climbing!!! 

Our american friends drove us out to the place where we had our cookout a few weeks ago.  Nearby are some awesome cliffs.  There's some bolts that our friends set up on these cliffs awhile ago, so that when we get there we only have to throw a few ropes and tie a few knots in order to climb.  There were three walls that we used that day.  I only climbed one of them.  It was about 100 feet tall and so much harder than I thought it would be. 

Did I mention that climbing actual rock walls is completely different than climbing indoor walls?  Let me explain. 

At an indoor climbing center, the walls have colored holds that are easy to see; I would primarily use my hands and feet to push myself upward; most walls don't include sections where you have to climb inside a crack in the wall. 

On an outdoor rock wall, I had to search for a possible hold, sometimes just by feeling around until I found a grip;  I used hands, feet, forearms, shoulders, knees, and back to climb up different sections of the wall;  there was most definitely cracks in the wall that I had to climb inside pressing my feet against one side of the wall while my back pressed against the other side. 

When I started up the wall, I felt pretty good.  I thought my experience from indoor climbing was surely an advantage I had over some of my friends.  About 30 feet into the climb, I came upon a section where my previous experience was not helping.  Climbing real rocks was different.  And yes, I was in that crack I told you about.  Inside this crack was a big ol' rock that shot out straight over my helmet.  I yelled down to Jessica (who had already mastered this wall), "How do get around this thing?"  She gave me some advice and it still took me a long time to figure it out.  Once I got around that section, I thought the hardest part was over.  My muscles were weakening and I was already scratched up even after all the chalk I had used on my hands.

After a quick break, I continued on, hoping the hardest part was over.  Turns out, that big ol' rock was not the hardest part.  I entered another crack, smaller than the one before, which made it even more difficult to manuver through.  After several attempts to climb through it, I asked Jessica for more advice.  Even with her advice, I couldn't make it.  My muscles were dying, there were no good grips, I was covered in dirt, and this crack seemed like mission impossible.  I fell again and again.  I was very close to telling Joanna, my belayer, to just lower me down.  I sat in my harness.  My head hung in surrender.  I couldn't see any way through this thing. 

It was in that moment that I realized I really couldn't do this in my own strength (mental or physical).  Then I remembered the One who said "...my power is made perfect in weakness."  So for his sake, I decided to press forward.  Then a small foothold on the outside of the crack caught my eye.  I moved toward it.  Once I positioned myself on it, I looked up and saw a possible strategy for getting over the crack.  Using this new strategy I slowly inched up the outside of the crack.  It was uncomfortable and required a lot of focus.  After a good struggle, I looked up and saw that the top of the climb was right over my head.  I reached out for the bolt and pulled myself up.  I rested for a minute and enjoyed the view.  Then I let out a "Woohoo!" and repelled down the cliff. 

Even with dirt in my eyes, sharp rocks, and weakened muscles, I can say this was my favorite climb ever.  It reminds me of one of my favorite songs called Rise by Josh Garrels.

I hung my head, for the last time 

In surrender and despair 

Before I’m dead,

 I’ll take the last climb 

Up the mountain, face my fears 

The time has come, to make a choice 

Use my voice for the love of every man 

My minds made up, never again 

Never again, will I turn round 

Though they may surround me like lions

 And crush me on all sides 

I may fall, but I will rise 

Not by my might, or my power, or by the strength of swords 

Only through, your love, my lord 

All we’ve lost, will be, restored 

That's my story for the week.  Keep in mind the girls we've met.  We're hanging out with them a lot more this week!  It's gonna be awesome!  

I love you and miss you all!

Stand firm.  Press forward.

Jessica about to climb...