Less than 15 weeks left...

Less than 15 weeks left…

We finally have internet in our apartment!!!  Getting internet access turned into a very large ordeal, but now we are set up! So, hopefully this will help me be more consistent in keeping this blog updated and getting to communicate with all of you!

Our first week in Russia has been Great!  We counted and this past Sunday was exactly 15 weeks before we head back to London.  In some ways that seems like a long time from now, but in some ways it seems like that is such a short amount of time!  It is hard to believe that I’ve already been gone for over 2 weeks.  It has gone by so fast, and I know the next 15 weeks will go by fast as well.  I know God has some big plans to us in the coming weeks!

In case I haven’t explained this very well so far, here is a short summary of who all I am serving with here in Russia.  Shannon Selby and I are Hands On teammates. Chris Carr is our field supervisor.  Chris, his wife Eileen, and their 5 kids have been serving in Russia for the past 12 years (specifically in Ufa for the last 10 years).  Kelly Warters is currently serving as a Journeyman here in Ufa under Chris’ leadership as well.  Kelly also participated in Hands On in Ufa last Fall.

We have met quite a few locals now.  Once a month, there is a Women’s Club that meets at the Carr’s apartment.  This month, we made pizzas, played games, and Shannon, Kelly, Eileen, and I sang a couple of songs in English.  I think there were close to 22 ladies there.  Several of them spoke some English and Shannon and I are excited to see if we can get to know and possibly hang out with a few of them. 

Saturday, the Carr’s planned a picnic at a park by the river (don’t ask me which river, because I still don’t know…).  We just hung out and played some soccer, volleyball, tossed an American football around, and ate some sandwiches.  Some of the people we had already met showed up and we met a few new people as well.  

Monday nights, The Carr’s host English club at their apartment. There is a beginner’s class and an intermediate class.  Shannon and I will be switching between these classes each week.  On average, each class has around 20 people coming each week.  Shannon and I were able to introduce ourselves in both groups and meet a few more new people and talk some more with some people we had already met.

I am understanding more Russian than I thought I would.  I still can’t speak it very well, but hopefully that will start coming in the near future.  A few of the people we have met want to practice speaking English with us, so Shannon and I are going to try to practice our Russian with them. 

We were originally supposed to start school Sept. 1^st, but now it is looking more like it will be next Monday (Sept. 5th). (in the next day or so, I’ll post a blog with the whole story of how we found this out and what all went on that day! It sure is an interesting story!)  Once we start school, Shannon and I will attend class each weekday.  Each day, we will spend at least 3 hours in class learning Russian language.

Shannon and I are getting settled in our apartment.  We have successfully ridden the tram to Chris and Eileen’s by ourselves a few times now and have successfully completed a few shopping trips on our own as well! We still need to get a few things that we will eventually need to cook with, but we have enough to get by for now.  Our apartment is directly above a New York Steakhouse, so we have to walk by and smell that deliciousness all the time! But, we have come up with a budget to save enough money to eat there about halfway through our time here. 

We have been able to make a few friends and have hung out with several people the last few nights.  Shannon and I have both been getting excited about the people we are meeting and hopefully getting a chance to share with them.