It is crazy to think that month has already past since our first morning in KZ. It is also crazy to be sitting here in my dorm room simply thinking over those past three weeks and how much has already happened just by simply living life here. The first week Alison and I both thought the week had gone by very slow and we laughed about it because we knew it was jet lag and transition. Now I laugh even more because here I am sitting and thinking how it has actually gone by quite fast. I have the feeling of being here for a long while, like I have been here for many months, but at the same time, reality hits that it truly has only been one month (it is a hard thing to explain haha).
Our first week here in our lovely city we attended our classes and jumped right into the language, but a lot of grammar, which I am not even good at in English so it was a trip for sure! It was a very good start though because now where we are at simply gaining vocabulary we know how to form sentences and such. The Russian language is quite difficult. I have decided it is something that I do really enjoy, but in the midst of language learning. However, I often have to take many moments to remind myself to simply breath and remember that it takes time. I have so much respect for the students here who speak four or five languages! It is a really cool thing to be able to start picking out words or simple sentences and that was something the father reminded me of His faithfulness and encouraged me through.
We had the opportunity to travel to a close by city by train with a summer team that was going there to teach English. It was a very fun time there, we had the chance to spend time with some of the local students at a picnic and play their version of dodge ball. We also explored the city and shopped some in the different bazaars. It was a good weekend and I loved getting a chance to meet the different people on the team. Also on the way to the city we met an extremely cheerful woman who has now become one of our new friends. She has helped us with our Russian a lot and we have hung out with her a couple times, which has been so much fun every time!
A funny story that simply becomes an example of how we must be flexible is when we returned from the other city we arrived at our dorm room and the front desk lady came with us to our room saying something about water (she does not speak English). We got into our room and discovered the pipes had busted and the room had flooded luckily the only thing that got wet was my suitcase with my coats in it. The lady left the room and we had forgotten to check the bathroom before she did, Alison goes in and low and behold our ENTIRE tub was off of the rack and laying on the floor with dirt and water everywhere HA! Alison and I laughed so much! On top of this our supervisor was gone for the week so we had to ask a friend who speaks English to help us figure out what to do. Long story short we lived a couple days with no water and they moved us to the dorm behind ours, which actually is the dorm with more of the local students and has more students in it. I love how Father works things out! We even have hot water here! There was somewhat of a problem with the pipes and a slight flood because they were plugged but my amazing partner decided to become a Plummer and now we have a fully operating tube and sink! We most definitely took all of these situations as simply “enjoying the journey!”
This past week has been full of festivities. We finished class so we have had an actual summer with lots of free time. There have been times where we were not sure what to do with the extra free time, so we have loved getting to fully engage in the discipline of PR walking our dorm, campus, and neighborhood. It has been so great and is completely re-shaping my PR world. We have also had the free time to plan things with our new friends. Most of this time is an exchange of help with language as well as us asking questions about culture and listening to them explain things. This week there was also a local holiday called City Day. This has been so much fun! The city had a nomadic festival where we saw traditional KZ homes and clothes. They had horses and camels out and people where ridding them. We went with our friend who speaks English very well and she explained a lot about the culture! The next day we met up with a friend by the river where they had concerts and a ballet. They also had an AMAZING fireworks show, one of the best I have ever seen (It was kool how it was right around 4th of July haha). Yesterday we went to the river and swam; it was a fun day in the sun (which is finally starting to come out more haha) it definitely wore me out though!
We are getting transitioned, and this past week has been the longest I have ever been overseas at one time. It is incredible how the Father teaches so much and how thoughts and the way we react are shaped constantly. It is an interesting thing to experience getting settled and to slowly realize a place (even overseas) becomes your home. There are many moments where I miss everyone but Father has reminded me He is constant no matter what. I will never have to miss Him, because not even death can separate us. My dependency on Him is crucial, and missing people is part of life. This teaches me of the importance of people and how the Father designed relationships in this way. But on the other hand it teaches me of how faithful the Father is and how incredible his unfailing love truly is.
