The Apartment!

From Amanda

The wonderful Deb, who has been handling our apartment needs, signed a two year lease for the apartment in Russia that we will be in this morning!
It sounds like the landlord wants to help us out quite a bit and is willing to split the cost of some things with us (a vacuum, etc.).
Finding somewhere to live is always the big concern in Russia so we are very excited about the developments. I'm also very glad we don't have to move between year 1 and 2.

Thanks for all of your prayers!

So my baking sheet idea resulted in the saddest pancakes you have ever seen! But they were edible!

We dont have a griddle so my bright idea was to use a baking sheet.

From Amanda

If you scroll down you will also see that I have added an incredibly silly but very time-wasting fish thing. They follow your mouse and if you click it drops food for them!

Pointless I know, but better than the pictures of deer gadget!

Good News!

From Amanda

We have great news as far as all things Russia are concerned!

1) We have an apartment! We were expecting something close to a one room flat but instead we have a 2 room apartment 5 min walk from the school we are teaching at! It is furnished and has a real bed (a big deal I assure you!) and a water heater for when they shut off the hot water in the summer! We are blessed/spoiled!

2) We have our Russian visas! A praise that we were approved and that they are arriving so early before we are due to fly out!

3) We have books and a clearer idea of what we will be teaching! I have been working on collecting activities and lessons for the books I chose and Matthew has received a copy of his Russian text book in the mail. He has used it before and really likes it and I love the books I am able to teach, so more blessings there!

Prayer requests:

- Now is the time we have to start saying goodbye. I personally try to avoid it so it is hard for me to speak my feelings at times like these. We have places to visit and say goodbye to as well as people.

- We also have to start thinking about packing. *Boo!*

- That I won't run out of books for my students! It may not seem like a big deal but that would be stressful!

- That even though we know adjusting will be rough, we will be able to settle in quickly and make Russia home.

More PFO and some Photos

The first week of PFO is now finished, and it has been a great experience. We have been given a lot to think about as we prepare for the emotional and mental adjustments of moving to a new culture and discover more about understanding and relating to the kinds of students that we will have in an international Christian school. I didn't think that spending a week sitting through over 20 sessions/activities in rural New York would be a great time, but it has been amazing. Just being able to meet 130 other people who are going to teach in Christian schools throughout the world has made it worth the trip by itself! It's encouraging to see so many other people who care so much about education, students, and other cultures. We've met so many great people and have gotten to bond with them on a deeper level in the semi-isolated environment. Now we have another week left before the end of PFO, and I am already beginning to feel sad at the thought of not being with the friends that we've made in just one short week!

Below are some photos from the past week (the top two photos and the group picture were taken by our friends Seth and Laura):

This is of an Arabic tea ceremony that we did one evening, conducted by a couple who lives in Northwest Africa.

Me drinking my tea (it really is tea and not just a tiny beer stein:-P)


A photo of the middle falls at Letchworth State Park. A group of people from PFO went to the park Friday night. The falls are over 100 feet tall and the view is spectacular!



These are our friends Seth and Laura. They are going to be teaching in the Philippines!

A picture of our small advising group of us and three other couples from PFO. From left to right are Bob and Janice, Amanda and I, Seth and Laura, and Lisa and Jay and their two children.

And one last picture- this one looking down from the top of the falls:-)

-Matt