There's never a dull moment here in the Slawson household these days. The past few weeks have been quite a whirlwind of events as you can imagine. Tomorrow marks four weeks since we have arrived. For those first two weeks about 90% of our energy was devoted to just figuring out how to live. Week three was down to about 50%. Now, as we have just about completed our fourth week here in SP we are starting to establish a routine and a way of life for ourselves.
Language Lessons
Our language lessons are in full swing now. Both of us are taking 6 hours of one-on-one Russian lessons per week. Mine are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. My teacher Galina, comes here to our apartment. Cristy's lessons are on Mondays and Wednesdays, but for longer periods of time. The reason for this is because Cristy has to travel about an hour one way to go to her teacher, Ludmilla's, house. When we're not taking lessons, we're studying and doing our homework for the next lessons and taking, care of Isaiah and living. So far both of us have really enjoyed our lessons, and feel like the Lord is granting us real progress in our Russian.
Forming Relationships
Our friendship with Luda continues to grow, especially between Cristy and Luda. Yesterday Cristy had the opportunity to spend the day with Luda. They visited at Luda's apartment. Luda and Cristy read some sermons and discussed them together. It was a very profitable time.
Church Associations
We have been attending Light of Christ Reformed Church here in SP. The pastor, Mikhail, has welcomed us into the congregation. Right now, it being summer, a number of members of the congregation are out, and so an average Sunday attendance is anywhere from 10 to 20 people. When everyone is present there are over 40 people. The church meets in the sanctuary of the historic Lutheran church downtown. Since the Lutheran congregation meets in the morning our service does not take place till 3PM on Sundays.
The whole service is in Russian, of course, so we don't understand everything. But each week, especially after starting our language lessons, we understand more and more. I am meeting this Friday afternoon with Pastor Mikhail to discuss ways in which I can help with some pastor's conferences he wants to conduct here in SP. He's also stated that as my language develops further that he looks forward to me teaching some.
So that's the big news for now. We love and miss you all.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Shopping in Tongues Part II
So by now you've learned about the little "ask the lady behind the counter for what you want" shops here in Russia covered in Part I, now on to the other types of shops here in Saint Petersburg. These other stores are very much like markets on planet America only they come in many shapes and sizes. There are two big chains here. One is called Lenta, which interestingly enough means "tape" in Russian (haven't figured that one out yet), and a store called Okay, which translates "Okay." Both of these stores have sluffed off the cozy idea of piling into a tiny little shop and waiting in line while the tzarina of the establishment gets each person's items one at a time. No, these "shops" are quite different. We passed a Lenta on our way into town when we arrived three weeks ago. Our driver, Planton who had been to America several years ago pointed to the store and said Eto kak Wal-Mart. I'm not even going to translate that because it should be obvious.
Yes, Lenta and Okay are not "supermarkets." They're geepermarketi, which translates "hypermarkets." And, no, they're not called that because everyone inside is excited all of the time. They're called that because they sell a bunch of "stuff." Yes, Russia too has entered the realm of cheaply made goodies produced somewhere in the orient. I'm not kidding. I bought something at Okay last week that was made in Japan that must have had instructions in close to 40 languages, with the English instructions being so outrageous one would assume that some comic genius wrote them. But I digress.
Anyway, at Lenta, Okay and other lesser but similar shops, one does not ask anyone for anything with the exception of the butcher's counter. The layout is very similar to big stores on planet America, but with just a few differences. First, there's the process of checking one's bags. So many people use public transportation over here that it's very common for one to have bags from other shops on his person when he enters the store. To remedy the hassle of one having to carry his bags through the store (and to thwart the temptation to steal), there are lockers setup that have keys in them, free to use. One simply puts his bags into the locker, locks the locker and takes the key with him. Don't worry, the key can only be removed from the locker when it is locked, so no one can steal the key. The other major difference that one would notice is the shopping carts. While they look the same they don't operate exactly the same. On Russian shopping carts all four wheels turn 360 degrees, not just the front ones. This is in some ways handy, and in some ways annoying. It's handy in that if one has to get out of someone else's way, he just slides his cart left or right without convoluted maneuvering that's often more difficult than docking an aircraft carrier. But it's annoying in that unless all four wheels are perfectly aligned (and they never are) the thing wonders all over the place. I can't begin to tell you how many people I've crashed into with my cart.
Upon entering the shopping area things are pretty much the same with one minor exception; almost everything is in Russia. I say almost everything, because there are a number of western products available, and quite often major companies are not interested in contextualizing their logos. So there are bags of potato chips that have Lays written on the top, however all of the ingredients are in Russian. There are boxes of Cocoa Puffs, but again with Russian ingredients.
In some ways this kind of shopping is easier, but in some ways it's more confusing. It's nice to be able to take my time and examine the various products. But sometimes the choices are so many that I'm not sure what to choose. The little shop on the corner has 3 different types of bread. Okay had over 50. But then there's also the problem of still not knowing what everything is even when I'm looking at it. Trust me, "stuffed capers" is not one of the first words one learns in Russian when he studies the language.
Enough already, let me fast forward a bit.
So I did my shopping, loaded up the basket and headed for the checkout stand. Just like home, a line forms behind a moving conveyor belt with various trinkets to the left and to the right. There's candy, lighters, flashlights, etc. There were packages of dried squid, which I thought was really nifty. I thought before I ever went that checking out was going to be the easy part. After suffering under the tyranny of the dragon lady at the corner shop I thought this experience would be pain free. "What could possibly go wrong?" I asked myself. "She'll just ring up the items, tell me the total, I'll pay and be on my way." Not exactly.
Like I would in America, I unloaded my cart onto the moving belt. Immediately the lady asked me a question, which I didn't understand. I was perplexed. "Why is she asking me a question?" I thought. "There's no need for all of that. Just ring up my stuff and I'll pay you." Well, she kept asking me the same question, and I had no idea (nor do I to this day) what she was asking me. I had already presented her with my lovely shoppers card. I had already told her that I needed three bags (In Russia you have to pay for your plastic bags). Frustrated she began ringing up my items, and I began bagging them. Total time rolled around, 585 roubles, about $23. I handed the lady a 1000 rouble bill. She immediately showed a look of consternation on her face and asked me if I had any smaller bills, which I didn't. For some reason over here the ATM machines always give out 500 and 1000 rouble bills, and people who run shops always get mad when people try to spend them. Banks don't like to exchange larger bills for smaller bills for people because there's no profit in it for them, and a store certainly won't do it for free. So my cashier friend wearily had to take out four 100 rouble bills along with a 10 and a 5 rouble coin. I felt so sorry for the extra stress of counting I had to put upon her. Thus ended my shopping extravaganza...so I thought.
I've failed to mention one little detail. Remember, we don't own a car over here. We take public transportation everywhere we go. Normally when I've stopped by the corner shop on the way home I'm ever mindful of the fact that I'm traveling via foot and only need to get what I can carry. Also, standing at the front of a line of tired, hot and frustrated Russians as I jabber away in some kind of Tarzan tongue to Mrs. Hitler behind the counter is also a great way to keep from buying too much. But at places like Lenta and Okay it's easy to get lost in the moment. There's just so much stuff, and there's a shopping cart just waiting to be filled. As it turned out I had filled my cart a wee bit too much and now had three rather filled bags along with the bag that I had brought into the store in my locker. I now had to carry all of those bags to the metro station, ride four stops and then walk home from the metro near our apartment. I learned my lesson quickly.
So shopping this way has it's pluses and minuses. Recently we've discovered a good store close to our apartment that I think will become our new main grocery shop. It's a "pick your own items yourself" kind of store, but it's much much smaller than the mega marts. While it's a couple of roubles cheaper on some items, it's, in most cases, not worth the time and the cost of the metro ride to travel to Okay.
So there's shopping life in St. Petersburg. There's so much more that could be said, but I won't bore you.
Yes, Lenta and Okay are not "supermarkets." They're geepermarketi, which translates "hypermarkets." And, no, they're not called that because everyone inside is excited all of the time. They're called that because they sell a bunch of "stuff." Yes, Russia too has entered the realm of cheaply made goodies produced somewhere in the orient. I'm not kidding. I bought something at Okay last week that was made in Japan that must have had instructions in close to 40 languages, with the English instructions being so outrageous one would assume that some comic genius wrote them. But I digress.
Anyway, at Lenta, Okay and other lesser but similar shops, one does not ask anyone for anything with the exception of the butcher's counter. The layout is very similar to big stores on planet America, but with just a few differences. First, there's the process of checking one's bags. So many people use public transportation over here that it's very common for one to have bags from other shops on his person when he enters the store. To remedy the hassle of one having to carry his bags through the store (and to thwart the temptation to steal), there are lockers setup that have keys in them, free to use. One simply puts his bags into the locker, locks the locker and takes the key with him. Don't worry, the key can only be removed from the locker when it is locked, so no one can steal the key. The other major difference that one would notice is the shopping carts. While they look the same they don't operate exactly the same. On Russian shopping carts all four wheels turn 360 degrees, not just the front ones. This is in some ways handy, and in some ways annoying. It's handy in that if one has to get out of someone else's way, he just slides his cart left or right without convoluted maneuvering that's often more difficult than docking an aircraft carrier. But it's annoying in that unless all four wheels are perfectly aligned (and they never are) the thing wonders all over the place. I can't begin to tell you how many people I've crashed into with my cart.
Upon entering the shopping area things are pretty much the same with one minor exception; almost everything is in Russia. I say almost everything, because there are a number of western products available, and quite often major companies are not interested in contextualizing their logos. So there are bags of potato chips that have Lays written on the top, however all of the ingredients are in Russian. There are boxes of Cocoa Puffs, but again with Russian ingredients.
In some ways this kind of shopping is easier, but in some ways it's more confusing. It's nice to be able to take my time and examine the various products. But sometimes the choices are so many that I'm not sure what to choose. The little shop on the corner has 3 different types of bread. Okay had over 50. But then there's also the problem of still not knowing what everything is even when I'm looking at it. Trust me, "stuffed capers" is not one of the first words one learns in Russian when he studies the language.
Enough already, let me fast forward a bit.
So I did my shopping, loaded up the basket and headed for the checkout stand. Just like home, a line forms behind a moving conveyor belt with various trinkets to the left and to the right. There's candy, lighters, flashlights, etc. There were packages of dried squid, which I thought was really nifty. I thought before I ever went that checking out was going to be the easy part. After suffering under the tyranny of the dragon lady at the corner shop I thought this experience would be pain free. "What could possibly go wrong?" I asked myself. "She'll just ring up the items, tell me the total, I'll pay and be on my way." Not exactly.
Like I would in America, I unloaded my cart onto the moving belt. Immediately the lady asked me a question, which I didn't understand. I was perplexed. "Why is she asking me a question?" I thought. "There's no need for all of that. Just ring up my stuff and I'll pay you." Well, she kept asking me the same question, and I had no idea (nor do I to this day) what she was asking me. I had already presented her with my lovely shoppers card. I had already told her that I needed three bags (In Russia you have to pay for your plastic bags). Frustrated she began ringing up my items, and I began bagging them. Total time rolled around, 585 roubles, about $23. I handed the lady a 1000 rouble bill. She immediately showed a look of consternation on her face and asked me if I had any smaller bills, which I didn't. For some reason over here the ATM machines always give out 500 and 1000 rouble bills, and people who run shops always get mad when people try to spend them. Banks don't like to exchange larger bills for smaller bills for people because there's no profit in it for them, and a store certainly won't do it for free. So my cashier friend wearily had to take out four 100 rouble bills along with a 10 and a 5 rouble coin. I felt so sorry for the extra stress of counting I had to put upon her. Thus ended my shopping extravaganza...so I thought.
I've failed to mention one little detail. Remember, we don't own a car over here. We take public transportation everywhere we go. Normally when I've stopped by the corner shop on the way home I'm ever mindful of the fact that I'm traveling via foot and only need to get what I can carry. Also, standing at the front of a line of tired, hot and frustrated Russians as I jabber away in some kind of Tarzan tongue to Mrs. Hitler behind the counter is also a great way to keep from buying too much. But at places like Lenta and Okay it's easy to get lost in the moment. There's just so much stuff, and there's a shopping cart just waiting to be filled. As it turned out I had filled my cart a wee bit too much and now had three rather filled bags along with the bag that I had brought into the store in my locker. I now had to carry all of those bags to the metro station, ride four stops and then walk home from the metro near our apartment. I learned my lesson quickly.
So shopping this way has it's pluses and minuses. Recently we've discovered a good store close to our apartment that I think will become our new main grocery shop. It's a "pick your own items yourself" kind of store, but it's much much smaller than the mega marts. While it's a couple of roubles cheaper on some items, it's, in most cases, not worth the time and the cost of the metro ride to travel to Okay.
So there's shopping life in St. Petersburg. There's so much more that could be said, but I won't bore you.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Time with Friends, and a Sneak Peek
We are really getting settled in now to our new home. Our friend Will has been such a big help. We were very sad to see him go. Before he left though, we were able to have our first dinner guest! Sunday night after church (which is at 3pm our time) our friend Luda came over for supper. Thomas cooked up some stir fry, so Americans and Russians were eating Japanese food with Ukrainian decorations. We all got a good laugh about those circumstances.Monday Thomas and I were able to take Isaiah to the American Medical Clinic in St. Petersburg. The clinic maintains western standards of treatment.
We were very pleased with the care that we received. The doctor spoke enough English and Thomas spoke enough Russian for us to be able to communicate what we needed. She was able to help us get some medicine for Isaiah (that he takes regularly, nothing was wrong), and she referred us to two possible physical therapists.
Monday night we had a farewell dinner with Will. We already miss him very much and look forward to seeing him again very soon, Lord willing!Thomas has had two language lessons as of today (Thursday). I hope to have my first lesson tomorrow. I've had several "experiences" lately that have increased my desire to learn Russian. Thomas, Isaiah and I went to Mega (the equivalent of an American shopping mall, but add Lowe's and Wal-Mart in the same building). I was on the hunt for some jeans, and I really wanted to be able to find them without leaning on Thomas for translation. Now, jeans shopping in the States can be a challenge at times, but that's nothing compared to what I experienced.
First, I had to figure out the European sizing (I'm going to keep my size to myself, just in case you're wondering), which uses much larger numbers. For instance, imagine once being an 8 (for example purposes only) and suddenly you're a 30. If not prepared for such changes, it can be a real blow to the female ego. Add to this trying to communicate to the sales clerk that you don't know your size while you don't know any of those words in Russian. Thankfully the sales clerk that was trying so graciously to help me was indeed gracious. She quickly picked up on the fact that I am "americanski" and helped me narrow down the size options. Once my size was discovered, I tried to say that I didn't want jeans with designs on them and that I wanted a higher waist. Jeans without design would not be a problem, but a higher waist?! What was I thinking?! Apparently jeans in Russia come one way--low, low waist. For you ladies out there in America, I hope you understand my dilemma. Modesty over here is not a top priority, not even close. So I continued my search, and finally found one pair of jeans that was in my price range, had no design and was at least a little bit higher in the waist than anything else that I had seen. Whew! I was exhausted!
So besides jean shopping and a few other things, I have also been trying to get our flat to look like our flat. One great thing about Russian flats is that many of them come furnished. One down side to that is that landlords often use the flat to store some of their stuff. Our flat is very nicely furnished, by the way, but almost any space that could be used as storage is being used for storage. I've enjoyed the challenge though of finding a place for our things. I'm still working on where to put the extra suitcases, but I'm sure that something will work out. I've posted some pictures, but just to whet your appetite, here is a picture of our kitchen; complete with adorable little man:
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Shopping In Tongues Part 1 1/2
It's now Sunday night here in St. Petersburg. Sorry for the delay in giving you the exciting sequel to the previous story, but things have been quite busy. We moved into our new apartment this past week and somehow writing witty bits about shopping didn't make it to the top of the list.
But permit me to whet your appetite for more juicy tidbits to come with this humorous antidote. Tonight we had our friend Luda over for dinner. Luda speaks impeccable English and is fast becoming a good friend of our family. She has also been a great help when we have language questions and are searching for cultural insight.
Anyway, the subject of learning language came up tonight after dinner and we began to share our funny stories of making complete idiots of ourselves. Just down the road from our new apartment is a store like I described in Shopping in Tongues Part 1 only a good bit larger. I've already been in there a number of times, and each time I go in all of the ladies behind the counter get a "Mona Lisa grin" on their faces. I'm fast becoming a celebrity there I imagine. I can just here them every time they see me coming, "Hey, Lena, here comes that crazy American who always points and mispronounces things, isn't he just the cutest thing?"
I was regaling Luda with my tales of idiocy there tonight when I described to her a situation that had confused me a couple days ago. I was at this little store ordering some juice. I asked for orange juice (appelsinyi), then I asked for some apple juice (yablochni), which caught me some interesting looks and an immediate correction. Well, when I told Luda what I had called the apple juice she nearly had a conniption fit. As it turns out yablochni, putting the emphasis on the emboldened syllable, sounds dangerously close to a very very very bad word in Russian. Luda immediately corrected me informing me that the proper way to say the word is yablochni.
I assume, given all of the other crazy mispronunciations that I've said, that I'll be forgiven for this...ahem...little social error that I made. But these past two weeks have been a profound learning and humbling experience for me thus far. It is frustrating not being able to say what I want to say, and when I do think I'm saying the right thing wind up either nearly cussing out a shop clerk or providing dinner table antidotes when they go home at night.
Well, that's all for now. Part II will be on its way soon. I promise.
But permit me to whet your appetite for more juicy tidbits to come with this humorous antidote. Tonight we had our friend Luda over for dinner. Luda speaks impeccable English and is fast becoming a good friend of our family. She has also been a great help when we have language questions and are searching for cultural insight.
Anyway, the subject of learning language came up tonight after dinner and we began to share our funny stories of making complete idiots of ourselves. Just down the road from our new apartment is a store like I described in Shopping in Tongues Part 1 only a good bit larger. I've already been in there a number of times, and each time I go in all of the ladies behind the counter get a "Mona Lisa grin" on their faces. I'm fast becoming a celebrity there I imagine. I can just here them every time they see me coming, "Hey, Lena, here comes that crazy American who always points and mispronounces things, isn't he just the cutest thing?"
I was regaling Luda with my tales of idiocy there tonight when I described to her a situation that had confused me a couple days ago. I was at this little store ordering some juice. I asked for orange juice (appelsinyi), then I asked for some apple juice (yablochni), which caught me some interesting looks and an immediate correction. Well, when I told Luda what I had called the apple juice she nearly had a conniption fit. As it turns out yablochni, putting the emphasis on the emboldened syllable, sounds dangerously close to a very very very bad word in Russian. Luda immediately corrected me informing me that the proper way to say the word is yablochni.
I assume, given all of the other crazy mispronunciations that I've said, that I'll be forgiven for this...ahem...little social error that I made. But these past two weeks have been a profound learning and humbling experience for me thus far. It is frustrating not being able to say what I want to say, and when I do think I'm saying the right thing wind up either nearly cussing out a shop clerk or providing dinner table antidotes when they go home at night.
Well, that's all for now. Part II will be on its way soon. I promise.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Shopping in Tongues - Part 1
One of the very first things we did when we arrived in Russia was shop. Immediately upon unloading our luggage at our apartment I proceeded to find the nearest little shop and purchase the basic necessities of life; eggs, milk, bread, etc. Shopping for food over here has been one of the richer cultural experiences we have had thus far. My Russian is in the...um..."developing" stage which means I can grasp anywhere from about 20-50 percent of what's going on around me in everyday life. Yes, sometimes if the right combination of words are said I can understand everything, but currently I live in a state of having a perplexed look upon my face while I try to determine what verb of motion was just used and whether or not the word for "chicken" was just used in the genitive case.
On planet Yazoo City Cristy and I had shopping down to a science.
A. Load up the car with freezer bags and head off to Wal-Mart in Jackson or Madison.
B. Stock up on a month's worth of food.
C. Come home and load up the fridge freezer and cabinets.
D. Drop into Sunflower over the next month for milk, bread and eggs and "little" things.
Here on planet Russia things are a bit different. One has two choices of the manner in which he or she wants to buy food. First of all there are little shops where one can get items. Most of the time these are little hole-in-the-wall places that sell a little bit of everything. All of the items are behind a chest-high counter usually guarded by anywhere from one to three women. Anyone who wants a product or products will line up at the counter and when it is his turn he will tell the lady behind the counter what he wants...one product at a time. The lady will go and get the one product (everyone is still waiting in line), come back, ring it up and usually say the words "shto yesho" ("what more?"). One then proceeds to say the next item he wants. If he wants a cut of meat, everybody waits while the lady goes and gets the meat out, cuts it wraps it, rings it up and again asks, "shto yesho." When one is finally done he responds "vsyo" literally meaning "all." The final total is given, money is exchanged and the next customer is called upon.
There are a number of factors that make this type of shopping experience particularly exciting for the foreigner like me who is learning the language. First of all, just like in America, there are multiple brands of the same kind of product. Some people like Lays potato chips, some like Ruffles, and some like Pringles. On top of it all, there are plain potato chips, sour cream & onion, sea salt and vinegar...you get the picture.
So the fun begins while standing in line to order from the lady behind the counter. All the while I'm going through my list of items in my head. I want milk, bread, sour cream and some cheese. Now remember, the products are behind the counter, sometimes out of site. I know the basic items that I want, but I haven't the slightest clue as to which brand or style. Suddenly my turn arrives.
Thomas: "Hello"
Lady: unimpressed with my Russian "Hello"
Thomas: "I would like some milk please."
Lady: still unimpressed "What kind?"
Thomas: "It doesn't matter." (Note: thought this little phrase would save me some stress)
Lady: even less impressed "Doesn't matter? You've got to be more specific, what kind of milk do you want?"
Thomas: "Three percent"
Lady: annoyed "Which brand and what type?"
Thomas: "It doesn't matter."
Lady: rolling eyes while walking over to the milk. She brings it back and sets in on the counter ringing it up. "What else?"
Thomas: "I would like some sour cream."
Lady: perturbed "What kind?"
Thomas: "It doesn't matter."
Lady: Gives me a dirty look
I soon learned why the phrase "it doesn't matter" was not the best one to use. When I got back to the apartment after this little transaction I discovered that I had been given condensed milk. The packaging looked just like the regular milk with the exception of the Russian word for "condensed" on the front. Trust me, "condensed" is not one of the first words you learn when you learn Russian.
So there's one way to get your products. The next way is more like the "American" way which I will tell you about in part two of this exciting drama.
On planet Yazoo City Cristy and I had shopping down to a science.
A. Load up the car with freezer bags and head off to Wal-Mart in Jackson or Madison.
B. Stock up on a month's worth of food.
C. Come home and load up the fridge freezer and cabinets.
D. Drop into Sunflower over the next month for milk, bread and eggs and "little" things.
Here on planet Russia things are a bit different. One has two choices of the manner in which he or she wants to buy food. First of all there are little shops where one can get items. Most of the time these are little hole-in-the-wall places that sell a little bit of everything. All of the items are behind a chest-high counter usually guarded by anywhere from one to three women. Anyone who wants a product or products will line up at the counter and when it is his turn he will tell the lady behind the counter what he wants...one product at a time. The lady will go and get the one product (everyone is still waiting in line), come back, ring it up and usually say the words "shto yesho" ("what more?"). One then proceeds to say the next item he wants. If he wants a cut of meat, everybody waits while the lady goes and gets the meat out, cuts it wraps it, rings it up and again asks, "shto yesho." When one is finally done he responds "vsyo" literally meaning "all." The final total is given, money is exchanged and the next customer is called upon.
There are a number of factors that make this type of shopping experience particularly exciting for the foreigner like me who is learning the language. First of all, just like in America, there are multiple brands of the same kind of product. Some people like Lays potato chips, some like Ruffles, and some like Pringles. On top of it all, there are plain potato chips, sour cream & onion, sea salt and vinegar...you get the picture.
So the fun begins while standing in line to order from the lady behind the counter. All the while I'm going through my list of items in my head. I want milk, bread, sour cream and some cheese. Now remember, the products are behind the counter, sometimes out of site. I know the basic items that I want, but I haven't the slightest clue as to which brand or style. Suddenly my turn arrives.
Thomas: "Hello"
Lady: unimpressed with my Russian "Hello"
Thomas: "I would like some milk please."
Lady: still unimpressed "What kind?"
Thomas: "It doesn't matter." (Note: thought this little phrase would save me some stress)
Lady: even less impressed "Doesn't matter? You've got to be more specific, what kind of milk do you want?"
Thomas: "Three percent"
Lady: annoyed "Which brand and what type?"
Thomas: "It doesn't matter."
Lady: rolling eyes while walking over to the milk. She brings it back and sets in on the counter ringing it up. "What else?"
Thomas: "I would like some sour cream."
Lady: perturbed "What kind?"
Thomas: "It doesn't matter."
Lady: Gives me a dirty look
I soon learned why the phrase "it doesn't matter" was not the best one to use. When I got back to the apartment after this little transaction I discovered that I had been given condensed milk. The packaging looked just like the regular milk with the exception of the Russian word for "condensed" on the front. Trust me, "condensed" is not one of the first words you learn when you learn Russian.
So there's one way to get your products. The next way is more like the "American" way which I will tell you about in part two of this exciting drama.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
The Past Few Days
We've found an apartment! Praise the Lord.
The search both began and ended yesterday. We had been put in contact with an agent named Svetlana. An agent over here helps people find apartments to rent, and for said services also gets a full months rent as commission, but it's the only way to go. Svetlana proved to be very helpful in the process.
We started out going to see a place on the south side of the city just about 15 minutes walk from a metro stop. This is important as the metro is the way that we will do most of our traveling around the city. As we walked to the place Svetlana told us it was newly renovated, but it was on the 23rd floor. The "lift" (elevator) apparently work, but in all my ventures in Russia I've learned that elevators are not very reliable. But we pressed on.
We arrived outside of the building and met the owner of the apartment. He was a man, mid-forties, and the first words out of his mouth were "I didn't know there was a baby." In less than twenty seconds the transaction ended. He told Svetlana "nyet" and walked away. Svetlana explained that the man was afraid that Isaiah would tear up his newly renovated place. We recognized the Lord's hand of mercy. Even if this guy had conceded to letting us stay there, he didn't seem like the kind of guy we would want as our landlord.
Svetlana immediately suggested another place that she said was "very nice." It was also located closer to a metro stop, and we could go see it in about two hours. We agreed to meet her at the metro stop in two hours, and we headed off to that section of town.
The metro stop was Petrogradskaiya (if that means anything to you). This stop is just two stops down from the downtown area, which is great. Sure enough at 2:30 we met Svetlana and went to see the apartment. I'll summarize the details.
-It's a two room apartment (two bedrooms, and a kitchen, no living area which is normal)
-The apartment is already furnished with antiques and fine china that we are free to use.
-There's a grand piano
-The landlady is putting in a brand new bed
-It has an almost new washing machine
-The apartment has its own water heater so that when the hot water gets cut off we'll still have hot water
-The landlady is a trained musician and singer
-Her husband is a physicist who speaks English
-Both were taken with Isaiah
-The agreed to lower the rent 1000 Roubles for the first six months.
As we examined the situation, it just got better and better.
Now the price of the rent was a bit more than what we had originally wanted to spend, but we had discovered when we arrived here that all rents had gone up significantly over the past few months. But as we looked at the situation something quite amazing made itself clear. We had originally expected to have to furnish our own apartment as well as buy a washing machine. In all we were expecting to spend about $1000. When you subtract that amount from what we're spending on rent the monthly average goes down to just about what we had hoped to spend on rent each month. The Lord has truly blessed us.
So last night at 8 o'clock Will and I went out to the apartment again and signed a year lease. We made a deposit, and the rest of the money should be transferred to our Russian account by Monday. We'll then pay the rest of the first month's rent. Lord willing we will move in Tuesday or Wednesday.
The next step is to start our language studies. We've contacted one of our teachers, and our lessons should hopefully begin by the second week of August.
The Lord continues to be faithful. Thank you all so much for your prayers and love.
The search both began and ended yesterday. We had been put in contact with an agent named Svetlana. An agent over here helps people find apartments to rent, and for said services also gets a full months rent as commission, but it's the only way to go. Svetlana proved to be very helpful in the process.
We started out going to see a place on the south side of the city just about 15 minutes walk from a metro stop. This is important as the metro is the way that we will do most of our traveling around the city. As we walked to the place Svetlana told us it was newly renovated, but it was on the 23rd floor. The "lift" (elevator) apparently work, but in all my ventures in Russia I've learned that elevators are not very reliable. But we pressed on.
We arrived outside of the building and met the owner of the apartment. He was a man, mid-forties, and the first words out of his mouth were "I didn't know there was a baby." In less than twenty seconds the transaction ended. He told Svetlana "nyet" and walked away. Svetlana explained that the man was afraid that Isaiah would tear up his newly renovated place. We recognized the Lord's hand of mercy. Even if this guy had conceded to letting us stay there, he didn't seem like the kind of guy we would want as our landlord.
Svetlana immediately suggested another place that she said was "very nice." It was also located closer to a metro stop, and we could go see it in about two hours. We agreed to meet her at the metro stop in two hours, and we headed off to that section of town.
The metro stop was Petrogradskaiya (if that means anything to you). This stop is just two stops down from the downtown area, which is great. Sure enough at 2:30 we met Svetlana and went to see the apartment. I'll summarize the details.
-It's a two room apartment (two bedrooms, and a kitchen, no living area which is normal)
-The apartment is already furnished with antiques and fine china that we are free to use.
-There's a grand piano
-The landlady is putting in a brand new bed
-It has an almost new washing machine
-The apartment has its own water heater so that when the hot water gets cut off we'll still have hot water
-The landlady is a trained musician and singer
-Her husband is a physicist who speaks English
-Both were taken with Isaiah
-The agreed to lower the rent 1000 Roubles for the first six months.
As we examined the situation, it just got better and better.
Now the price of the rent was a bit more than what we had originally wanted to spend, but we had discovered when we arrived here that all rents had gone up significantly over the past few months. But as we looked at the situation something quite amazing made itself clear. We had originally expected to have to furnish our own apartment as well as buy a washing machine. In all we were expecting to spend about $1000. When you subtract that amount from what we're spending on rent the monthly average goes down to just about what we had hoped to spend on rent each month. The Lord has truly blessed us.
So last night at 8 o'clock Will and I went out to the apartment again and signed a year lease. We made a deposit, and the rest of the money should be transferred to our Russian account by Monday. We'll then pay the rest of the first month's rent. Lord willing we will move in Tuesday or Wednesday.
The next step is to start our language studies. We've contacted one of our teachers, and our lessons should hopefully begin by the second week of August.
The Lord continues to be faithful. Thank you all so much for your prayers and love.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Life in the Burg
It's now Monday afternoon here in St. Petersburg, and most of our friends and family back in the States are either waking up or about to in the next few hours. What I can say is this, that God has been very gracious and merciful to us thus far. He continues to sustain us, and he has made our landing here in St. Petersburg to be a very "soft" one.
There is no way we could tell you everything that has been going on and everything that we've learned. So from time to time we will simply try to answer some of the big questions that come up.
Living in General
It takes a fair amount of time to just live over here. What takes an hour or two in the States generally takes three to four times that amount of time here. For example, there were four things that we needed to get the other day, a rain jacket for Cristy, a boiling kettle for boiling water, cups, and house slippers. There's a "mall" of sorts just down from us that sells these products. The raincoat goes for about $100, the boiling kettle for over $50, the cups for about $35 and the house slippers for about $10 each. These are extremely nice shops where the few Russians who make extremely nice incomes go. But most Russians do not make extremely nice incomes, so what do they do? They go the Renok.
Renoks (pronounced "ree-knock") are kind of like open-air markets where people set up little booths and sell their products. In one section of a renok you might find clothes, in another shoes, in another hardware type products. At renoks you can bargain, talk the vendor down, and if you don't like the price walk down about ten feet to the next place. The renoks seem to almost always be much much cheaper.
So here were our two options.
1. Walk down to the "mall" and buy all of our stuff for about $205, be done in about an hour and a half and come home.
2. Walk to the metro (10 minutes), take the metro ride down town (30 minutes), walk from the metro to the renok (30 minutes), spend two and a half hours looking around the renok for the items we needed.
We chose option two. "Inefficient" you say? Of course it is. But here's hour our journey turned out.
We paid about $32 for Cristy's rain coat. We found a boiling kettle for about $13, a set of glasses for about $16, and two pairs of house slippers for about $8. All total we spent about $69, and the whole ordeal took about 5 hours.
But you say "what about all of that time?"
Granted we could have saved a lot of time and energy just paying more down the road, but there are a number of things we would have missed. First of all, most Russians do not make a lot of money. By going to the renok we were going to the place where most Russians go. We got to practice a lot of Russian. I got the opportunity to bargain with a woman about Cristy's coat. In short we got to see and experience more of what real Russian life is like, and learn about these people with whom we hope to communicate.
When you email us and ask us "What did you do today" and we say "We went grocery shopping and washed clothes (that's a whole other story by the way), don't be shocked. We are learning fast that life runs at a different pace here. If we move at that pace we will move with the people who live here. If we, because we can "afford to" choose to move at our own pace we will pass them by.
There is no way we could tell you everything that has been going on and everything that we've learned. So from time to time we will simply try to answer some of the big questions that come up.
Living in General
It takes a fair amount of time to just live over here. What takes an hour or two in the States generally takes three to four times that amount of time here. For example, there were four things that we needed to get the other day, a rain jacket for Cristy, a boiling kettle for boiling water, cups, and house slippers. There's a "mall" of sorts just down from us that sells these products. The raincoat goes for about $100, the boiling kettle for over $50, the cups for about $35 and the house slippers for about $10 each. These are extremely nice shops where the few Russians who make extremely nice incomes go. But most Russians do not make extremely nice incomes, so what do they do? They go the Renok.
Renoks (pronounced "ree-knock") are kind of like open-air markets where people set up little booths and sell their products. In one section of a renok you might find clothes, in another shoes, in another hardware type products. At renoks you can bargain, talk the vendor down, and if you don't like the price walk down about ten feet to the next place. The renoks seem to almost always be much much cheaper.
So here were our two options.
1. Walk down to the "mall" and buy all of our stuff for about $205, be done in about an hour and a half and come home.
2. Walk to the metro (10 minutes), take the metro ride down town (30 minutes), walk from the metro to the renok (30 minutes), spend two and a half hours looking around the renok for the items we needed.
We chose option two. "Inefficient" you say? Of course it is. But here's hour our journey turned out.
We paid about $32 for Cristy's rain coat. We found a boiling kettle for about $13, a set of glasses for about $16, and two pairs of house slippers for about $8. All total we spent about $69, and the whole ordeal took about 5 hours.
But you say "what about all of that time?"
Granted we could have saved a lot of time and energy just paying more down the road, but there are a number of things we would have missed. First of all, most Russians do not make a lot of money. By going to the renok we were going to the place where most Russians go. We got to practice a lot of Russian. I got the opportunity to bargain with a woman about Cristy's coat. In short we got to see and experience more of what real Russian life is like, and learn about these people with whom we hope to communicate.
When you email us and ask us "What did you do today" and we say "We went grocery shopping and washed clothes (that's a whole other story by the way), don't be shocked. We are learning fast that life runs at a different pace here. If we move at that pace we will move with the people who live here. If we, because we can "afford to" choose to move at our own pace we will pass them by.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Ten "Random" Things
Years ago during the undergrad days I kept a "blog" that only about 7 people read. I started doing a regular post that I called "Ten Random Thing" which allowed me post information for people to read without having to worry about putting it in some nice neat paragraph replete with proper layout and pictures. Don't worry, we'll still continue to do those kinds of posts, but on a day-to-day basis being able to simply communicate a bunch of information to you without paragraph transitions will be helpful to us. So here they are in no particular order, Ten Random Things.
1. The hot water in our apartment still does not get hot, though occasionally it gets tepid. Sometimes it doesn't even come on at all.
2. The metro system is great. We've had no problem getting around on it with Isaiah. People will always give up their seat to Cristy when she's holding him.
3. We saw some Russian graffiti on the side of a building yesterday. One phrase said lyoubov yest' Bog which means "God is love." Someone had spray painted a line through that phrase and had written above it Bog nyet, which means "No God."
4. 2008 has been declared to be "The Year of the Family" in Russia. With one of our main emphasis being family ministry could the timing be any better?
5. We found a Rynok (a mostly open-air market) yesterday that sells products quite a bit cheaper than one can find in the stores. We bought a boiling kettle for 370 Roubles (about $14.57). Later in the day we saw them in the store a store for no less than 1300 Roubles (over $50.00) We are pleased.
6. When our stove is plugged in all of the burners turn on. Therefore we must unplug the stove whenever we're not using it.
7. Isaiah continues to make people smile everywhere we go.
8. The less sensible the shoe, the more popular it is.
9. We're headed to church today at 3PM. It's the same church I visited when I was here in March. We pray that this congregation might be one that we could perhaps connect with.
10. There is a delegation of about 15 people here from the PCA for the next week, exploring how the Reformed Faith can be furthered here in St. Petersburg. They are trying to find a local Reformed Church to connect with.
-The Slawsons
(Thomas, Cristy & Isaiah)
1. The hot water in our apartment still does not get hot, though occasionally it gets tepid. Sometimes it doesn't even come on at all.
2. The metro system is great. We've had no problem getting around on it with Isaiah. People will always give up their seat to Cristy when she's holding him.
3. We saw some Russian graffiti on the side of a building yesterday. One phrase said lyoubov yest' Bog which means "God is love." Someone had spray painted a line through that phrase and had written above it Bog nyet, which means "No God."
4. 2008 has been declared to be "The Year of the Family" in Russia. With one of our main emphasis being family ministry could the timing be any better?
5. We found a Rynok (a mostly open-air market) yesterday that sells products quite a bit cheaper than one can find in the stores. We bought a boiling kettle for 370 Roubles (about $14.57). Later in the day we saw them in the store a store for no less than 1300 Roubles (over $50.00) We are pleased.
6. When our stove is plugged in all of the burners turn on. Therefore we must unplug the stove whenever we're not using it.
7. Isaiah continues to make people smile everywhere we go.
8. The less sensible the shoe, the more popular it is.
9. We're headed to church today at 3PM. It's the same church I visited when I was here in March. We pray that this congregation might be one that we could perhaps connect with.
10. There is a delegation of about 15 people here from the PCA for the next week, exploring how the Reformed Faith can be furthered here in St. Petersburg. They are trying to find a local Reformed Church to connect with.
-The Slawsons
(Thomas, Cristy & Isaiah)
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The Time Has Come
I'm sitting here in bed at the home of our friends Bill and Robin Harris on the eve of our departure. My mind is so full right now it could burst. There is so much that has gone on over the past few months that I could not begin to put into words everything. This event of packing up and moving overseas ranks right up there with other major life events. On the way here I commented to Cristy that I was feeling almost like I did before our wedding day. There is an overwhelming sense of excitement coupled with an overwhelming sense of terror. Fatherly concerns roll around in my mind: "Am I going to be able to care for my family? What if this or that happens? Am I doing the right thing for their benefit?" etc.
When things get complicated I need to go back to the basics. I need the fundamentals rehashed in my mind and heart to give me clarity and focus again. So here are my points of clarity.
1. God is Good - He has never failed me yet, and he never will. He is always faithful, and will continue to be. We rest assured that he will give us no situation above what he has given us grace to endure.
2. This is Our Calling - We've prayed, sought counsel, prayed, took vision trips to Russia, prayed, pursued what burdened our heart for the kingdom, prayed (you get the picture). I have neither the time nor the energy to recount to you the events that have led to this day, but they are astounding, and nothing but the divine hand of God's providence could have brought them about.
3. We Are Blessed - In so many ways, of course, but specifically in that we have this amazing privilege to take the gospel to Russia. What an amazing thought that God is bringing to pass what he has prepared and enabled us to do.
4. Our Hope Lies Beyond - Yes, we have said some very sad goodbyes to family and friends. Yes the "what if?" thoughts have crossed my mind regarding our own lives and the lives of others. What greater comfort to know that, come what may, this life is only the beginning. We're simply preparing for eternity.
5. All Things Work Together for Good - Nothing can happen that is not part of God's perfect plan and will. Whatever frustrations may come, whatever stresses my arise, whatever moments of hardship may erupt, all is working together for good for us.
6. Jesus Wins! - It's settled. It's done. The "not yet" is as sure as the "already." The elect will be saved, Christ will return, Satan will be destroyed and the saints will reign forever and ever in the New Heavens and the New Earth, sinless, perfect and happy. Nothing can stop this. Amen.
I know that some of the points overlap, but these basics are a source of great comfort right now. I pray they are a comfort to you.
-Thomas
When things get complicated I need to go back to the basics. I need the fundamentals rehashed in my mind and heart to give me clarity and focus again. So here are my points of clarity.
1. God is Good - He has never failed me yet, and he never will. He is always faithful, and will continue to be. We rest assured that he will give us no situation above what he has given us grace to endure.
2. This is Our Calling - We've prayed, sought counsel, prayed, took vision trips to Russia, prayed, pursued what burdened our heart for the kingdom, prayed (you get the picture). I have neither the time nor the energy to recount to you the events that have led to this day, but they are astounding, and nothing but the divine hand of God's providence could have brought them about.
3. We Are Blessed - In so many ways, of course, but specifically in that we have this amazing privilege to take the gospel to Russia. What an amazing thought that God is bringing to pass what he has prepared and enabled us to do.
4. Our Hope Lies Beyond - Yes, we have said some very sad goodbyes to family and friends. Yes the "what if?" thoughts have crossed my mind regarding our own lives and the lives of others. What greater comfort to know that, come what may, this life is only the beginning. We're simply preparing for eternity.
5. All Things Work Together for Good - Nothing can happen that is not part of God's perfect plan and will. Whatever frustrations may come, whatever stresses my arise, whatever moments of hardship may erupt, all is working together for good for us.
6. Jesus Wins! - It's settled. It's done. The "not yet" is as sure as the "already." The elect will be saved, Christ will return, Satan will be destroyed and the saints will reign forever and ever in the New Heavens and the New Earth, sinless, perfect and happy. Nothing can stop this. Amen.
I know that some of the points overlap, but these basics are a source of great comfort right now. I pray they are a comfort to you.
-Thomas
And, we're off!
In an hour we will be pulling out from Baton Rouge and heading for Atlanta! Thanks for all your prayers as we continue our journeys, this time the big one! We will post again as soon as we can, maybe from Atlanta, but definitely from St. Petersburg, to let everyone know that we arrived safely.
Packing has been a challenge, but thankfully I had some wonderful help!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Christmas in July
Well, Thomas has been working hard the last two days to make something extra special for Isaiah. But first a little history...
Whenever Thomas opens his guitar case, Isaiah gets really excited! If he's not close to his daddy he tries to get to him or at least be able to see him. He has excellent hearing; he really does hear the case being opened. Then when Thomas gets the guitar out and starts playing, Isaiah thinks that he MUST touch the guitar. He reaches for it with such strength that if I am holding him he nearly throws himself out of my arms. Thomas will sometimes let him strum the guitar, which immediately brings Isaiah incredible joy.
Well, we want to encourage Isaiah's apparent love of music. Thomas called me the other day to tell me that he had a surprise for someone else that I would really like. When I came home, he showed me the largest part of the body of an Isaiah-sized guitar. He finished it last night, including a paint job, strings, and tuning (yes, it really plays "just like Daddy's").
This morning, Thomas gave Isaiah the guitar. Isaiah was enthralled. You would have thought that it was Christmas morning. He has played with it off and on all day with more attention than anything else that he has. Yes, he seems to LOVE his guitar.
Once I figure out how to upload videos, I'm sure that there will be video posted! We're so proud of our little man!
Whenever Thomas opens his guitar case, Isaiah gets really excited! If he's not close to his daddy he tries to get to him or at least be able to see him. He has excellent hearing; he really does hear the case being opened. Then when Thomas gets the guitar out and starts playing, Isaiah thinks that he MUST touch the guitar. He reaches for it with such strength that if I am holding him he nearly throws himself out of my arms. Thomas will sometimes let him strum the guitar, which immediately brings Isaiah incredible joy.
Well, we want to encourage Isaiah's apparent love of music. Thomas called me the other day to tell me that he had a surprise for someone else that I would really like. When I came home, he showed me the largest part of the body of an Isaiah-sized guitar. He finished it last night, including a paint job, strings, and tuning (yes, it really plays "just like Daddy's").
This morning, Thomas gave Isaiah the guitar. Isaiah was enthralled. You would have thought that it was Christmas morning. He has played with it off and on all day with more attention than anything else that he has. Yes, he seems to LOVE his guitar.
Once I figure out how to upload videos, I'm sure that there will be video posted! We're so proud of our little man!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Visa, Visa, Visa!
We have our visas! Wooooohooooo! We are good to go as far as paperwork is concerned.
Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Monday, July 09, 2007
A cry in the night
There's nothing like being awakened from a sound, coma-like sleep at 5:00am (or earlier) by the frantic cries of your child. Sometimes the cry is obviously one that can be "ignored" as a cry that will soon disappear. Other times the cry is not as easy to figure out, like this morning, for instance. Let me elaborate, as briefly as possible, I promise. Sunday morning about 5:30am Isaiah let out a terrified cry that set my heart racing. I went into his room to check on him to discover him cold and, I think, scared. I took him into our room (I didn't want to have to clean off the extra bed in his room), and he snuggled in and went back to sleep while still whimpering a bit. It was clear that something was wrong.
This morning at 4:56am Isaiah began to cry again. This time I couldn't tell what was wrong. I stood outside his door for a few minutes, knowing that as soon as I entered his room all hope was lost of him returning to sleep on his own. He stopped crying. I went back to bed. Ten minutes later he started crying again. I remained in bed this time for a few minutes, listening to my baby on the monitor. After 5 minutes or so, he stopped crying. Ten minutes later he began crying again. This time the crying had intensified to high-pitched squeals that could have been pain. After getting advice from my husband (making this decision at 5:30 in them morning is never easy), I went to check and make sure that Isaiah wasn't in a position in the bed that he couldn't change (this happens occasionally--he'll be sort of stuck against the side of his bed, and once moved, he'll stop crying and go to sleep). Well, I peeked in, trying desperately not to be noticed by my ever-vigilant 17 month old. Nothing doing. He was in a slightly awkward position, but I don't think that was the problem. He actually didn't notice me at first, but rather he heard the door close, I believe. He continued to cry. I couldn't hold out any longer.
(Sidebar--for those of you who are wondering what kind of a mother I am for letting him cry it out, I just have to say that that method has worked well for us, and until recently Isaiah has been sleeping really, really well. In the last week or two there have been some random occasions such as the one that I am describing to you.) Back to the facts...
I took Isaiah into our room. He had the "crying hiccups" (for lack of a better word) for several minutes before I felt his body relax back into sleep. His breathing was still slightly troubled, but nothing in comparison to before. A while later, maybe 15 minutes or more, he began crying in his sleep, even though I was holding him. At this point I became convinced that he was having a nightmare or some type of bad dream. I felt so helpless. I tried to comfort him and pray with him and asked Thomas to pray, too. I didn't know what else to do, and finally he calmed again to sleep for an hour and a half, I suppose.
I was thinking about this today, trying to decide what to do if/when this happens again. As I was thinking about it, I was again struck with the utter helplessness that I felt in wanting to do what was best for Isaiah, but having no idea really what that was. I started to think about how as parents we often give our children a picture of Who God is (don't worry, I'm going to be careful here!). By being trustworthy and good to our children, we can help them learn faster and better that they can trust God and that He will always do what is best for them (as we are teaching them about Him, of course). I am thankful that even though I don't know what is best for Isaiah in this situation, that God does. I pray that He will help me to know what to do. I pray that He will reveal Himself to Isaiah. I am thankful that God isn't up in heaven looking down and feeling helpless like me. Praise God for His sovereign wisdom and care for His children.
This morning at 4:56am Isaiah began to cry again. This time I couldn't tell what was wrong. I stood outside his door for a few minutes, knowing that as soon as I entered his room all hope was lost of him returning to sleep on his own. He stopped crying. I went back to bed. Ten minutes later he started crying again. I remained in bed this time for a few minutes, listening to my baby on the monitor. After 5 minutes or so, he stopped crying. Ten minutes later he began crying again. This time the crying had intensified to high-pitched squeals that could have been pain. After getting advice from my husband (making this decision at 5:30 in them morning is never easy), I went to check and make sure that Isaiah wasn't in a position in the bed that he couldn't change (this happens occasionally--he'll be sort of stuck against the side of his bed, and once moved, he'll stop crying and go to sleep). Well, I peeked in, trying desperately not to be noticed by my ever-vigilant 17 month old. Nothing doing. He was in a slightly awkward position, but I don't think that was the problem. He actually didn't notice me at first, but rather he heard the door close, I believe. He continued to cry. I couldn't hold out any longer.
(Sidebar--for those of you who are wondering what kind of a mother I am for letting him cry it out, I just have to say that that method has worked well for us, and until recently Isaiah has been sleeping really, really well. In the last week or two there have been some random occasions such as the one that I am describing to you.) Back to the facts...
I took Isaiah into our room. He had the "crying hiccups" (for lack of a better word) for several minutes before I felt his body relax back into sleep. His breathing was still slightly troubled, but nothing in comparison to before. A while later, maybe 15 minutes or more, he began crying in his sleep, even though I was holding him. At this point I became convinced that he was having a nightmare or some type of bad dream. I felt so helpless. I tried to comfort him and pray with him and asked Thomas to pray, too. I didn't know what else to do, and finally he calmed again to sleep for an hour and a half, I suppose.
I was thinking about this today, trying to decide what to do if/when this happens again. As I was thinking about it, I was again struck with the utter helplessness that I felt in wanting to do what was best for Isaiah, but having no idea really what that was. I started to think about how as parents we often give our children a picture of Who God is (don't worry, I'm going to be careful here!). By being trustworthy and good to our children, we can help them learn faster and better that they can trust God and that He will always do what is best for them (as we are teaching them about Him, of course). I am thankful that even though I don't know what is best for Isaiah in this situation, that God does. I pray that He will help me to know what to do. I pray that He will reveal Himself to Isaiah. I am thankful that God isn't up in heaven looking down and feeling helpless like me. Praise God for His sovereign wisdom and care for His children.
Happy 4th of July--a little late
Isaiah's second Fourth of July was spent with lots of family. We are still in Baton Rouge with Thomas' parents, and having a great time, I might add. We were able to spend the day with Thomas' parents; brother and sister-in-law and their four children; sister and brother-in-law (no children yet, but they do have a really cute dog who stayed at home); and sister-in-law's brother and his two children. And if that's not confusing enough I have a few Trivial Pursuit questions for you from the game that we played. :)
Thankfully Isaiah took a good afternoon nap, which hasn't happened in several days. We were hoping he would get to have his first water playing day (other than the bathtub, of course), but we had a great big storm. Oh well, the swim diapers will have to stay in the package a little longer, I suppose.
All in all the day was quite relaxing and enjoyable. Isaiah even had his first game of catch, throwing a ball back and forth with Grandma. Naturally, though, by the time we were able to get someone outside with a camera, he decided to be more interested in the camera than in the game of catch. We'll get him eventually!
Thursday Thomas, Isaiah and I were able to go to Slidell and part of New Orleans to see how Thomas' old stomping ground was recovering from Katrina. This was my first opportunity to see firsthand any of the areas affected by Katrina. Some areas were completely abandoned, even two years after the storm. Other areas were works in progress. A few neighborhoods were absolutely perfect; I had to remind myself we hadn't left Slidell yet.
Kind of ironically we were caught in some flash flooding. We were eating lunch in a Mexican restaurant (not a bad place to be stuck, one of my friends said), when the rain started coming down. When we were ready to leave, the rain had all but stopped, but we had to wait a little while for the street to become visible. We finally braved the rapids in our sturdy little Camry and made the rounds of Thomas' old haunts. Being able to see the way that people have persevered and fought back to have their town again reminded me of the common grace of God. I know that there are Christians in that area and God has blessed them specifically. Then, think about how God gives grace to other people because there are Christians there, too; or how God gives grace just for His glory to be proclaimed. I pray that I will be faithful to give Him the glory for all that happens in our lives, what seems to be "good" and what seems to be "bad".
Thankfully Isaiah took a good afternoon nap, which hasn't happened in several days. We were hoping he would get to have his first water playing day (other than the bathtub, of course), but we had a great big storm. Oh well, the swim diapers will have to stay in the package a little longer, I suppose.
All in all the day was quite relaxing and enjoyable. Isaiah even had his first game of catch, throwing a ball back and forth with Grandma. Naturally, though, by the time we were able to get someone outside with a camera, he decided to be more interested in the camera than in the game of catch. We'll get him eventually!
Thursday Thomas, Isaiah and I were able to go to Slidell and part of New Orleans to see how Thomas' old stomping ground was recovering from Katrina. This was my first opportunity to see firsthand any of the areas affected by Katrina. Some areas were completely abandoned, even two years after the storm. Other areas were works in progress. A few neighborhoods were absolutely perfect; I had to remind myself we hadn't left Slidell yet.
Kind of ironically we were caught in some flash flooding. We were eating lunch in a Mexican restaurant (not a bad place to be stuck, one of my friends said), when the rain started coming down. When we were ready to leave, the rain had all but stopped, but we had to wait a little while for the street to become visible. We finally braved the rapids in our sturdy little Camry and made the rounds of Thomas' old haunts. Being able to see the way that people have persevered and fought back to have their town again reminded me of the common grace of God. I know that there are Christians in that area and God has blessed them specifically. Then, think about how God gives grace to other people because there are Christians there, too; or how God gives grace just for His glory to be proclaimed. I pray that I will be faithful to give Him the glory for all that happens in our lives, what seems to be "good" and what seems to be "bad".
Monday, July 02, 2007
Settled at last...for a little while anyway
Well, we have returned to Baton Rouge for our last bit of rest before we make the final leg of our journey. We had a wonderful visit in Yazoo City. We were able to stay with the Nott family--Isaiah's honorary Aunt Wendy, Uncle Steve and cousins Stacy, John and Luke. Their home is a wonderful place to stay, which makes sense as they are a wonderful family. We were able to truly rest and to enjoy lots of fun!
Friday we had Isaiah's last appointment with the neurosurgeon in Jackson. Dr. Lancon gave his final approval and encouragement for our move. We were also able to see Isaiah's physical therapist (Becca) and occupational therapist (Lou Ann, pictured to the left with Isaiah).
We had the extra pleasure of meetingLou Ann's children who have been longing to play with Isaiah for some time apparently. They were so sweet and gentle with Isaiah. He seemed to like them a lot, too! He has recently started interacting more with children his own age and a little older as he has been interacting with adults and "big people" for some time--so much fun! We returned to the Nott's late that afternoon for dinner. We had been in the habit whenever we had a meal with them to end the evening with singing. Thankfully we were able to sing with them one more time. Thomas and Luke played guitar, and we all sang some of our favorite songs. I have to admit that as we ended the evening with Thomas' and my favorite songs that I had to fight back the tears. How blessed we have been to enjoy such wonderful Christian fellowship. But that wasn't all!
Saturday Thomas and the Nott men "went to war", paintball war that is. A friend of Thomas'
has built this paintball course on some of his family land. Lots of boys were able to talk proudly of "battle wounds" later that evening (I'll let Thomas have the pleasure of describing that 
event) as we gathered for a meal that the Notts hosted for some of our friends that evening. We enjoyed some spectacular food and some more running around as some people started a game of ultimate frisbee. I chose to just sit and visit. I was able to spend some time with several people, but especially Becca (pictured far right with Isaiah and the red cup) who was able to make the trip from Jackson and Michelle and her girls (that's us to the immediate right with Michelle's oldest girl Ella and youngest girl Savannah).Sunday we went to First Pres in the morning. We were able to say goodbye to everyone there after the service, and yes, I cried. That night we went to Second Pres to say goodbye to our friends there. Yes, I cried again.
Monday we said goodbye to the Notts. I'm not even going to tell you, you can guess on your own what I did. As we drove away Thomas said, "It's our own fault. We chose to love these people!" I used to avoid such painful goodbyes by emotionally pulling away from people as I sensed the time drawing near. I thought that pulling away would be better for me, but now I think differently. Lord willing, I will see most of these people again, but some will have moved on in different ways when we return. I want to have every possible opportunity to tell people how important they are to me, how special they are and how God has used them in my life. I look forward to the future, but I want them to know how I will always treasure the time God has given me with them. I also can't wait to make more memories with them as God so ordains!
We still have a few more goodbyes to make, and I don't want to even think about how blubbery I will be as we make them to our family. But as one of my dear friends says, "Glory of God, good of others"--I'll remember the plan that God has for us, a plan of good and not of evil to give us a hope; and Lord willing, we will be telling the Russian peoples of that glorious hope.
And here you see how exhausting all these goodbyes are! We have fun, but whew! :)
Sunday, June 24, 2007
On the Road Again
Friday, June 22 we bid farewell to our time in North Carolina with Cristy's family. While it was hard to say goodbye to her parents, we look forward to seeing them again at the airport on July 17th and 18th when we leave. But we did have to say goodbye to Grandpa for a while, since he won't be making the trip down to Atlanta with them.
We pulled out of Graham about 8:45AM headed for Rutherfordton, North Carolina over on the western half of the state. We arrived about 12:15 and had lunch with my uncle Larry and his family, we visited with them until about 4:30 and then headed over to visit with my uncle Hilmon and family. We ate out that evening and some of our cousins joined us. It was a very good day.
Our next destination would be St. Louis, where we have family and where my grandmother currently stays with my aunt and uncle. Prior to our leaving Graham we had decided that we would drive through the night on Friday to St. Louis (about 11 hours away). We did this for a number of reasons. First of all, we're a little crazy, which pretty much covers it. But we also knew that Isaiah would be a lot better rested. We also knew that we had limited time in St. Louis also, and why waste all that time sleeping when there's family to see right? So we left the restaurant at about 8:45 in the evening, filled up the tank with gas and headed down the road by 9:05.
It was a very peaceful drive. We passed through Ashville, North Carolina, wound (literally) our way through the mountains on in to Knoxville, Tennessee. We then made it on over to Nashville, Isaiah sleeping soundly the whole time. Around Paducah, Kentucky at 4:30AM central time I finally had to get Cristy to drive for about an hour as the two double-shot Starbucks espressos with cream just weren't cutting it any more.
I did sleep for about an hour, and somewhere around the middle-of-nowhere Illinois I took over the wheel again. We rolled into St. Louis and into my aunt's house around 7:30AM central time. Isaiah slept the whole night!
While I wouldn't recommend such insanity for everyone, it really was good for us in our case. Isaiah had never met my grandmother nor my aunt and uncle, and we wanted him to have good quality time with them, so traveling while he slept was a good idea. I nabbed about 4 hours of sleep on Saturday, and did pretty well,
Today we went to church at Ballwin Baptist where my aunt and uncle attend. My aunt was kind enough to put me in touch with one of the pastors ahead of time, and I was able to give a brief spiel about our ministry and mission work, and give our some prayer cards. If any of you good folks from Ballwin are reading this, many thanks for your kind reception this morning!
After the morning service a Russian speaking congregation meets there at the church. We also stayed for that, and I was able to give a short talk (in Tarzan-like Russian) to the very gracious and patient congregation about our plans for moving to St. Petersburg. Though I may have butchered the Tsar's Russian when I spoke it was still a tremendous experience getting to worship with these folks. It excited us tremendously for what lies ahead. My parents and aunt also stayed, which was exciting too. Figuring that they may never get to visit us in church over in St. Petersburg, it was fun to share with them what a real Russian church service is like.
This evening we visited with the cousins, and my parents headed on back to Baton Rouge. Tomorrow morning we'll be leaving bright and early to travel back down that way.
-Thomas
We pulled out of Graham about 8:45AM headed for Rutherfordton, North Carolina over on the western half of the state. We arrived about 12:15 and had lunch with my uncle Larry and his family, we visited with them until about 4:30 and then headed over to visit with my uncle Hilmon and family. We ate out that evening and some of our cousins joined us. It was a very good day.
Our next destination would be St. Louis, where we have family and where my grandmother currently stays with my aunt and uncle. Prior to our leaving Graham we had decided that we would drive through the night on Friday to St. Louis (about 11 hours away). We did this for a number of reasons. First of all, we're a little crazy, which pretty much covers it. But we also knew that Isaiah would be a lot better rested. We also knew that we had limited time in St. Louis also, and why waste all that time sleeping when there's family to see right? So we left the restaurant at about 8:45 in the evening, filled up the tank with gas and headed down the road by 9:05.
It was a very peaceful drive. We passed through Ashville, North Carolina, wound (literally) our way through the mountains on in to Knoxville, Tennessee. We then made it on over to Nashville, Isaiah sleeping soundly the whole time. Around Paducah, Kentucky at 4:30AM central time I finally had to get Cristy to drive for about an hour as the two double-shot Starbucks espressos with cream just weren't cutting it any more.
I did sleep for about an hour, and somewhere around the middle-of-nowhere Illinois I took over the wheel again. We rolled into St. Louis and into my aunt's house around 7:30AM central time. Isaiah slept the whole night!
While I wouldn't recommend such insanity for everyone, it really was good for us in our case. Isaiah had never met my grandmother nor my aunt and uncle, and we wanted him to have good quality time with them, so traveling while he slept was a good idea. I nabbed about 4 hours of sleep on Saturday, and did pretty well,
Today we went to church at Ballwin Baptist where my aunt and uncle attend. My aunt was kind enough to put me in touch with one of the pastors ahead of time, and I was able to give a brief spiel about our ministry and mission work, and give our some prayer cards. If any of you good folks from Ballwin are reading this, many thanks for your kind reception this morning!
After the morning service a Russian speaking congregation meets there at the church. We also stayed for that, and I was able to give a short talk (in Tarzan-like Russian) to the very gracious and patient congregation about our plans for moving to St. Petersburg. Though I may have butchered the Tsar's Russian when I spoke it was still a tremendous experience getting to worship with these folks. It excited us tremendously for what lies ahead. My parents and aunt also stayed, which was exciting too. Figuring that they may never get to visit us in church over in St. Petersburg, it was fun to share with them what a real Russian church service is like.
This evening we visited with the cousins, and my parents headed on back to Baton Rouge. Tomorrow morning we'll be leaving bright and early to travel back down that way.
-Thomas
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Moving, Marriage, Missions, Monuments, Migraines
It's been a month of exciting adventure for the Slawson family. On Saturday June 2nd we had the big ole yard sale at our old house in Yazoo City, making deals that would make a used care salesman's jaw hit the floor. We were wheeling and dealing left and right. I felt like I was the owner of a store that was going out of business, "Everything must go, down to the bare walls!" We sold almost 80% of our stuff, and the rest we...ahem..."donated" to our church for future youth trip parking lot sales.
While I was working the Arabian Market in our driveway, Cristy, her mom, dad, my sister and brother-in-law were all busy putting the finishing touches on packing up whatever was to go into storage and cleaning up our old house. Cristy's parents left after lunch with a trailer full of stuff to be stored away if we ever move back to the U.S. long-term. My sister and brother-in-law left soon there after with a few things that were going to Baton Rouge. Cristy, Isaiah and I then left our old house in Yazoo City for the last time and went to stay with our pastor and his wife in the manse. Saturday afternoon I relieved some stress by shooting teenagers (and being shot) with a paint ball gun.
Sunday, June 3rd was a day to prepare ourselves for the final goodbyes. While we are going back to visit one more time on July 1st, we realized that this was one of the last times we were going to see these friends for a long time. The Lord has blessed us with some very close and meaningful relationships in Yazoo City over the years, and it is not going to be easy to let those go.
Monday morning, June 4th we took care of some odds and ends in town and pulled out around 10:30AM headed for Atlanta. We stopped on the way out in Jackson at Lone Star Steakhouse to celebrate our next adventure. Some friends of ours that live just south of Atlanta let us stay at there home (they were out of town). The drive straight from Yazoo City to Graham, North Carolina is about 14 hours. It's nice to break it up. Tuesday morning, June 5th we headed out for Graham, and arrived late afternoon, tired and ready to rest.
Our time here has been a mixed mesh of rest, work, slowing down, being rushed, etc. The Wednesday after we arrived I ran some errands, and Cristy and her mom started sorting through a lot of the stuff we had sent up here to store. We were able to get some rest in that first week though, for which I'm very thankful.
Sunday, June 10th we enjoyed a good day of worship and rest. I taught the combined adult Sunday School classes at Beacon while Cristy spoke to one of the ladies' classes. That evening I preached. The Lord really blessed.
On Monday morning the 11th we headed out for Newport News, Virginia to visit Cristy's Uncle
Wallace. You may remember from back last year her Aunt Flo passing away. This was Aunt Flo's husband. We met up with him for lunch and then spent the afternoon visiting with him. We left about 4PM then to head off to Vienna, Virginia (just outside of Washington D.C.) to stay with her Aunt Paula and Uncle Pete.
We rested well Monday night, and the next morning Cristy, Isaiah and I headed into D.C. via the metro. We stopped off first at Arlington National Cemetery to see her Aunt Flo's grave. While Cristy had been able to go to her aunt's funeral, she was not able to go to the graveside because it had been held some four weeks later. So this was her first time to see the grave. It was a beautiful day, and the walk through Arlington was very enjoyable for us.
We left Arlington and headed via the metro to downtown D.C. We ate lunch at the Old Post
Office Pavilion, and then spent the afternoon meandering around the National Mall, seeing several memorials; the WWII, Korean War, Lincoln, and Vietnam. It was a good day to spend together as a family.
That evening we took the metro back out to Vienna where Cristy's Uncle Pete treated us to a feast of crab legs, shrimp and baby back ribs. We enjoyed the evening together and then hit the sack, exhausted from a day of much walking. We left Vienna Wednesday morning and stopped off to see Cristy's cousins in Fredricksburg and Richmond. We arrived back in Graham at about 5Pm that evening.
Our time since then has been filled with various and sundry things. I have been spending a lot of time doing paperwork, filling out visa forms, working on health insurance, sending out a few more support letters. In the midst of all of this we were thrilled to have another supporting church come on board. What's really interesting is that this church is in California! The whole story of how this came to pass is too long to recount here, so I'll make that another post for another time.
Yesterday (Saturday, June 16th) my friend Seth, who I haven't seen in almost three years, drove down from Delaware. In the afternoon there was a small gathering at the Atkins house as kind of a "goodbye" for us. We enjoyed that, though Cristy was feeling sick most of the day.
Today Cristy is feeling some better but stayed home from church this morning. We all worshiped at Beacon Baptist and had a wonderful time. We just got up from a meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, baked beans, and a bunch of other "fixins." Tonight after the evening service at Beacon there'll be a fellowship time for us to say goodbye to everyone up here.
Well, that's the short account of the long story. There's much more to tell, but we don't want to bore you. We'll try to be better about posting more often so that we don't let tons of details pile up.
-Thomas
While I was working the Arabian Market in our driveway, Cristy, her mom, dad, my sister and brother-in-law were all busy putting the finishing touches on packing up whatever was to go into storage and cleaning up our old house. Cristy's parents left after lunch with a trailer full of stuff to be stored away if we ever move back to the U.S. long-term. My sister and brother-in-law left soon there after with a few things that were going to Baton Rouge. Cristy, Isaiah and I then left our old house in Yazoo City for the last time and went to stay with our pastor and his wife in the manse. Saturday afternoon I relieved some stress by shooting teenagers (and being shot) with a paint ball gun.
Sunday, June 3rd was a day to prepare ourselves for the final goodbyes. While we are going back to visit one more time on July 1st, we realized that this was one of the last times we were going to see these friends for a long time. The Lord has blessed us with some very close and meaningful relationships in Yazoo City over the years, and it is not going to be easy to let those go.Monday morning, June 4th we took care of some odds and ends in town and pulled out around 10:30AM headed for Atlanta. We stopped on the way out in Jackson at Lone Star Steakhouse to celebrate our next adventure. Some friends of ours that live just south of Atlanta let us stay at there home (they were out of town). The drive straight from Yazoo City to Graham, North Carolina is about 14 hours. It's nice to break it up. Tuesday morning, June 5th we headed out for Graham, and arrived late afternoon, tired and ready to rest.
Our time here has been a mixed mesh of rest, work, slowing down, being rushed, etc. The Wednesday after we arrived I ran some errands, and Cristy and her mom started sorting through a lot of the stuff we had sent up here to store. We were able to get some rest in that first week though, for which I'm very thankful.
Sunday, June 10th we enjoyed a good day of worship and rest. I taught the combined adult Sunday School classes at Beacon while Cristy spoke to one of the ladies' classes. That evening I preached. The Lord really blessed.
On Monday morning the 11th we headed out for Newport News, Virginia to visit Cristy's Uncle
Wallace. You may remember from back last year her Aunt Flo passing away. This was Aunt Flo's husband. We met up with him for lunch and then spent the afternoon visiting with him. We left about 4PM then to head off to Vienna, Virginia (just outside of Washington D.C.) to stay with her Aunt Paula and Uncle Pete.
We rested well Monday night, and the next morning Cristy, Isaiah and I headed into D.C. via the metro. We stopped off first at Arlington National Cemetery to see her Aunt Flo's grave. While Cristy had been able to go to her aunt's funeral, she was not able to go to the graveside because it had been held some four weeks later. So this was her first time to see the grave. It was a beautiful day, and the walk through Arlington was very enjoyable for us.We left Arlington and headed via the metro to downtown D.C. We ate lunch at the Old Post
Office Pavilion, and then spent the afternoon meandering around the National Mall, seeing several memorials; the WWII, Korean War, Lincoln, and Vietnam. It was a good day to spend together as a family.That evening we took the metro back out to Vienna where Cristy's Uncle Pete treated us to a feast of crab legs, shrimp and baby back ribs. We enjoyed the evening together and then hit the sack, exhausted from a day of much walking. We left Vienna Wednesday morning and stopped off to see Cristy's cousins in Fredricksburg and Richmond. We arrived back in Graham at about 5Pm that evening.
Our time since then has been filled with various and sundry things. I have been spending a lot of time doing paperwork, filling out visa forms, working on health insurance, sending out a few more support letters. In the midst of all of this we were thrilled to have another supporting church come on board. What's really interesting is that this church is in California! The whole story of how this came to pass is too long to recount here, so I'll make that another post for another time.
Yesterday (Saturday, June 16th) my friend Seth, who I haven't seen in almost three years, drove down from Delaware. In the afternoon there was a small gathering at the Atkins house as kind of a "goodbye" for us. We enjoyed that, though Cristy was feeling sick most of the day.
Today Cristy is feeling some better but stayed home from church this morning. We all worshiped at Beacon Baptist and had a wonderful time. We just got up from a meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, baked beans, and a bunch of other "fixins." Tonight after the evening service at Beacon there'll be a fellowship time for us to say goodbye to everyone up here.
Well, that's the short account of the long story. There's much more to tell, but we don't want to bore you. We'll try to be better about posting more often so that we don't let tons of details pile up.
-Thomas
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Advice on Moving Overseas
Over the past two weeks of consolidating our lives, putting things into storage, selling things, packing things for Russia, I've come up with some advice for all you would-be-perhaps-one-day-living-overseas-people.
The BEST thing to do is this; Plant a bomb underneath your house. Set the bomb to detonate in 30 minutes. Everything that you can get out of the house in 30 minutes is really all you need.
If that idea sounds a little too extreme then let me offer some other bits of advice.
1). Learn to be Less Sentimental - I'm not talking about throwing away your child's pictures, or his baby book. But after cleaning through boxes and boxes of sentimental thingsies I found shells, wooden pens, brochures, plane ticket stubs, etc. I also made a rule for myself that if I couldn't remember where something came from then I threw it away. I've had to remind myself that all of this stuff is going to burn up anyway one day. If you struggle with sentimentality like me then read Revelation 21 & 22 several times.
2.) Sell Whatever You Can - Have yard sales. Have several of them. Sell whatever you can. Sell stuff for cheap and fast. Don't haggle over quarters, just get rid of the stuff. Tell all your friends to come over to your house and "shop." Give stuff away to those whom you know need it.
3.) Take Breaks - The madness can get to you. Stuff is piling up all around you. Your house doesn't look like home anymore. You're living out of boxes and you're watching all of your worldly possessions depart to the four-corners. Remember to stop and do something that reminds you of 'home.' Watch a movie with your wife. If you've already sold the T.V. then watch it on your laptop (all missionaries have laptops these days right?). Order a pizza and play a game, but do something to ease the stress.
4.) Keep Focused on What You're Doing - One of the hardest things to do during this time is stay focused on what's really important. Satan has tried and tempted me a lot during this time. I've had trouble sleeping, I've become easily frustrated. I've missed Bible reading time, etc. I've had to constantly keep reminding myself that we are about to embark on trip to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. This is no mundane task. So keep your focus on the Lord and on his word.
So, that's what we've learned for now. I'm sure more lessons will present themselves in due time.
-Thomas
The BEST thing to do is this; Plant a bomb underneath your house. Set the bomb to detonate in 30 minutes. Everything that you can get out of the house in 30 minutes is really all you need.
If that idea sounds a little too extreme then let me offer some other bits of advice.
1). Learn to be Less Sentimental - I'm not talking about throwing away your child's pictures, or his baby book. But after cleaning through boxes and boxes of sentimental thingsies I found shells, wooden pens, brochures, plane ticket stubs, etc. I also made a rule for myself that if I couldn't remember where something came from then I threw it away. I've had to remind myself that all of this stuff is going to burn up anyway one day. If you struggle with sentimentality like me then read Revelation 21 & 22 several times.
2.) Sell Whatever You Can - Have yard sales. Have several of them. Sell whatever you can. Sell stuff for cheap and fast. Don't haggle over quarters, just get rid of the stuff. Tell all your friends to come over to your house and "shop." Give stuff away to those whom you know need it.
3.) Take Breaks - The madness can get to you. Stuff is piling up all around you. Your house doesn't look like home anymore. You're living out of boxes and you're watching all of your worldly possessions depart to the four-corners. Remember to stop and do something that reminds you of 'home.' Watch a movie with your wife. If you've already sold the T.V. then watch it on your laptop (all missionaries have laptops these days right?). Order a pizza and play a game, but do something to ease the stress.
4.) Keep Focused on What You're Doing - One of the hardest things to do during this time is stay focused on what's really important. Satan has tried and tempted me a lot during this time. I've had trouble sleeping, I've become easily frustrated. I've missed Bible reading time, etc. I've had to constantly keep reminding myself that we are about to embark on trip to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. This is no mundane task. So keep your focus on the Lord and on his word.
So, that's what we've learned for now. I'm sure more lessons will present themselves in due time.
-Thomas
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Almost done
Well, we only have 2 1/2 more days in our house, such as it is. Our house is in utter chaos, and every time we see someone we invite them to come and go shopping. Anybody need anything?
Now that Isaiah is getting more mobile, for which we are so grateful and excited, he enjoys adding to the packing challenge....has anyone seen my pen, purse, book....? He is so much fun to watch as he enjoys himself.
Thomas' sister Emily has come to join the craziness. We are so excited to have her here. We are in great need of some reinforcements.
So this is really short because my brain isn't forming words and sentences very fast, so blogging takes a tremendous amount of time and energy. Have a grand day!
Now that Isaiah is getting more mobile, for which we are so grateful and excited, he enjoys adding to the packing challenge....has anyone seen my pen, purse, book....? He is so much fun to watch as he enjoys himself.
Thomas' sister Emily has come to join the craziness. We are so excited to have her here. We are in great need of some reinforcements.
So this is really short because my brain isn't forming words and sentences very fast, so blogging takes a tremendous amount of time and energy. Have a grand day!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
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