At the end of February we had a teachers' retreat/training time here in St. Petersburg. The school rented space in a nice hotel downtown and invited a professor of education from Spring Arbor University (a Christian college in Michigan) to lead the sessions and activities. We both felt that it was a worthwhile experience, and especially enjoyed the time we were able to have with our fellow teachers. We don't get enough opportunities to talk about what has been going on in our classes and what sorts of ideas, problems, successes, etc. we have been experiencing. It was also a good time for reflection and for planning, especially as IA continues to work on formulating ideas about our vision for education as part of the accreditation process we have been working on.
Little by little, things continue to fall into place as we think about our plans for life after Russia. We are continuing to find out admissions decisions from the universities that I applied to for graduate study this past fall. So far I have been accepted into three history Ph.D. programs, am on the waiting list at a fourth univeristy, have also been accepted to a master's program, and am still waiting to hear the decision from two more places. Please continue to pray for wisdom and direction as we make important decisions in the coming weeks. Pray also for Amanda as she will begin looking for teaching positions once we have made a decision about where we will be heading. All of this is exciting and also a bit scary, so we greatly appreciate your prayers for us.
This quarter has given us more opportunities to be involved in serving outside of the classroom as well. We have continued to be involved in the youth group at IA this quarter as well, and we had another good meeting a couple of weeks ago. This coming weekend Amanda and I will be helping out with a sleepover for the 5th grade class (taught by our friend Sveta) as well. We feel very blessed to have so many opportunities to help out, share with others, and serve the community that IA is a part of.
Last Sunday we spent some time with friends enjoying the final day of Maslenitsa, the Russian observance of Shrovetide and the holiday that is meant to mark the end of winter. The roots of the holiday go back to before Christianity's arrival in Russia, and while the holiday is technically supposed to be part of the lead up to lent for the Orthodox Church, it still carries much of its ancient pre-Christian Slavic origins. You can read a good description of the holiday from Russia Behind the Headlines (which, by the way, is probably one of the best English language websites about Russia you can find). For us, Maslenitsa meant going to the park where IA usually goes for field day and enjoying folk music, trick horseback riding, tasty food, and watching people light scarecrows on fire. The scarecrow is supposed to be a symbol of winter, so lighting it on fire is the symbolic end of winter and marks the coming of Spring. The culmination of the day's festivities was when everyone gathered around the big main scarecrow and watched it burn as fireworks accompanied it.
This past Friday we had the day off in honor of Women's Day (which was actually Saturday), and on that day we had the IA talent show. Student council organized the talent show, and since I am the faculty adviser to the student council this year it meant that I had to be available throughout the day to help with things related to the performance. The show was held at Saint Petersburg Christian University, and the students did an excellent job of organizing and planning the evening. They have done a great job this year of making my role very easy! We had a dozen acts that included comedy dancing, original music, singing, choreography, and some special performances from teachers and other staff members. The students who performed all did a great job, and the audience was pleased with the show.
Our spring break is coming up in just a few weeks, which means that we are now scrambling to get everything done before the end of the quarter. Our school's search for a new building for the coming year is underway as well, and we ask that you continue to make this a matter of prayer. We don't have much time to find a place for next year, but we have seen God provide time and again for us and for IA during our four years in St. Petersburg, and we are confident that He will do so yet again.
Here are some photos that catalog some of the recent goings on mentioned above. Enjoy!
Two weeks ago we went to a free exhibition on the history of the Romanov dynasty that is touring Russia. It is an enormous display of images, maps, multi-media stations, and short films that chronicles the rulers of Russia and the development of the country from the late 1500s to the 1917 revolution. The exhibition is sponsored by the Orthodox Church and certainly reflected its perspective on the events being displayed. It was still a fascinating and impressive way to get a panoramic view of major developments in Russian history.
Me by the main entrance to the exhibition.
Amanda and I with one of the many smaller scarecrows at the Maslenitsa celebration.
A young girl performs tricks while riding a horse during Maslenitsa.
There were many vendors selling little scarecrows as well, which people bought and set on fire. We bought one, but opted to keep it as a souvenir. I guess that means that winter will be living on in our apartment.
The main scarecrow!
You can practically sense the cold of winter being driven away as the flames rise higher.
And the entire scarecrow is now alight! I'm not sure how this makes one think of Lent, but it was a fun experience.
An elementary school student who performed at the talent show. She was actually the overall winner of the contest, performing an excellent rendition of a ragtime piece on piano.
Some of the high school guys formed a band and wrote a song. They performed it at the talent show, with a little help from our basketball coach. They took second place in the contest.
Our third place winner was a high school student who has a wonderful voice. We had never heard her sing before and were very impressed!
All of the performing acts, gathered together on stage at the end of the show.
After the show there was a special performance from two of the teachers, a teacher's aid, and one of the high school students. They performed an "impromptu" rap to close out the night.
Thanks as always for reading!
-Matt
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