Our "new" apartment

After 4 years of incorrect paperwork, wrong paperwork, expired paperwork, missed communications, or not enough paperwork, we finally got everything just right to actually “buy” our apartment that we have had for the past 4 years now! Even in Russia purchasing a home should not take this long!

In reporting this information in a recent email, a friend of mine replied with this tongue-in-cheek “advertisement” and I just had to post it. Enjoy!

“An apartment in Provideniya! Just the dream vacation home you've been longing for. :-) Easy access to tundra berries and a slow pace of life makes this ocean-front property the perfect choice for families hoping to get away and relax. The town also features an updated movie theatre and dance hall, locally processed milk and baked goods, and easy access by ship, airplane, or vezdekhod. Our agents are always ready to assist you with the necessary paperwork, which shouldn't take more than a few months and gray hairs.”

Night Pics

I hope these pictures show up as I’m posting this via email. J

The other night I just couldn’t get to sleep and at about 2am I looked out the window and decided some pictures needed to be taken.

Day 5

Today’s club went very well! We had just over 20 kids today! The local lady we were coordinating everything through mentioned how much the kids are enjoying it and how happy the parents are with the club as well!

One orphan girl, Katya, told us she accepted Christ a few years ago. She has since been adopted and was brought to New Chaplino (where our children's club is). Today she asked to talk to Vicka and said how she had been having a very difficult time since she moved to New Chaplino, but wanted Vicka to pray with her and re-dedicate her life to Christ! Please keep Katya in your prayers!

Tomorrow will be an un-official club day with kite flying, s’more eating, a small skit, and going over scripture memory. Pray for good weather!

Day 3

Greetings All,

 

Today was a little different in that we had some minor car trouble and our club ended up being a bit shorter because of it. Still, not much was missed at all. Again, about 14 kids were in attendance. Yesterday the subject was on Sin, and today the subject was Christ’s death and resurrection to save us from that sin. The kids seemed to be interested and are doing pretty good on their memory verses too. All in all, things are going very well.

Thank you for your continued prayers. The girls and Vicka have been getting pretty worn out, especially seeing as the girls aren’t getting naps, so you can especially pray for them. I get to sit with Stacia while Vicka is sharing the lesson and that can get interesting seeing as she isn’t getting her usual nap! J Emma is enjoying being apart of the group however and loves to say her memory verses just like the “big” kids.

 

Till next time!

-GJ

5-Day Club

Today in New Chaplino we opened the first day of our 5-Day kids club. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the temperature was in the low 60’s and light to medium north wind. We haven’t had too many of those days this summer. As it turned out, for one reason or another, only 4 kids showed up. (Three girls and one boy) We had expected over 20! On the plus side, there was no craziness and our small staff of 3 (Vicka, myself and a 14 year old girl) were not overwhelmed. J Tomorrow we hope more kid will come. I guess some of the kids that were planning to come were in Provideniya and I didn’t quite get the story on why no one else came. We will see what tomorrow brings. In the mean time, we went ahead with our first day. Songs, crafts, a Bible story, verse memory and snack time all went well.

A missing key to the facility we had planned to use relegated us to a room (that is also used for a house church) in the home of the lady we had organized everything through, another reason small numbers were helpful. J Tomorrow we are promised the key will be available.

 

I’ll report again later as to how things went later in the week.

 

Back in Provideniya

So, I’m finally getting around to updating this blog. Unfortunately our slow internet connection and the fact that you pay by the minute keeps me from updating as often as I would like. Yes, I know there is a way to email posts and I am going to try and get that setup now. J I did make it back into Prov (hence the slow internet) on the 20th! The flight went well and it has been very nice being back with my family.

Vicka’s mother was with us up until this past Monday and I must say it was a very nice visit. We were all sad to see her leave.

Next week we will be hosting a 5 day club in the nearby village of New Chaplino. It’s just going to be Vicka, me and one younger girl running the show and we will likely have between 20 and 30 kids! Your prayers will be appreciated. J

Here are a couple pictures for you to enjoy!

Here is Stacia and Emma in the village of New Chaplino

A family picture with Vicka's mother Tamara posing with us