On Wednesday of last week, Shannon and I(with Eileen’s help)had several women over to our apartment to fellowship while making some homemade cards. A group that had come to serve in Ufa in the past had brought a bunch of scrapbooking supplies, and I happen to love scrapbooking and such like things. So, we decided to use this as a way to build relationships with some of the women here. It was a very fun evening! Shannon and I enjoyed hosting and having people over to our apartment. We are going to try to plan to do something like this every other week. Right now, we are planning to alternate with a cooking lesson one Wednesday and a craft project the next. So, we will be cooking something next Wednesday! (if you have any ideas for an easy but fun craft let me know! J)
School is still going well. Shannon and I are keeping up with everything very well and we are learning a TON of new words. We are beginning to learn some grammar rules now and are starting to form sentences. We can hold a few short conversations with our teachers. And we are able to understand a lot more of what we hear in everyday Russian conversations. Thank you to everyone who has been praying about our classes. This was one of the main things that was stressful for me before coming here, but it has not been a problem at all. Shannon and I love our teachers and they seem to like us as well.
We have some awesome friends here! We just love them so much!! All of the people we have met so far are all so welcoming and sweet. We have so much fun hanging out with them and have been able to continue to build relationships with them and share bits and pieces of the Gospel or our testimonies with many of them in one way or another.
In general, life here is feeling pretty normal. I am feeling pretty at home here. I know enough Russian to get around pretty well, we have figured out the bus/tram routes for the main places we need to get to, we have so many friends to hang out with, and we are basically just enjoying our time here. I am adapting to Russia pretty well I think. Yes, some cultural differences still bother me, and yes some things I will probably never be able to understand, but God has given me a great feeling of peace in being here. Walking around, it just feels right to be here. Yes, I still miss my family and friends (love all of you!!) but for now, I know this is where I am supposed to be and I am loving it so much!
We are almost halfway through our time here. I cannot believe how fast time has flown by!
Prayer Requests:
· Shannon and I are attempting to take pictures that will be used for Soularium sets (http://www.mysoularium.com/)
· Relationships would be built with people we have already met so that we will be able to share more.
· New relationships will be built as well.
Answered Prayers:
· Homesickness has not been a problem thus far
· School is going very well!
· Shannon and I have been meeting more and more people
I know of Several options of ways to give to help further the Gospel in this area. If you are interested, Please let me know and I can give you some more info, but here are a couple of options I have heard about:
There is an orphanage here that has several ministries in Ufa as well as in surrounding villages. These orphanages have, in the pas,t tried to equip the kids with some sort of skill so that when they leave the orphanage they have a way to make money and won’t end up on the street. However, since the economic downturn, they have been hurting financially and have had to scale back their ministry options.
Some of the believers and IMB workers here would love to open up a coffee shop here in Ufa that would be run by believers (giving them some steady income). This coffee shop would hopefully be a place that people would feel comfortable hanging out at and believers could build relationships with those who come in. They have started setting aside funds to get this coffee shop off the ground, but are a long ways away from having enough.
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