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!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
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.
Friday, July 2, 2010
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
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
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
TCK PFO
By Amanda
For two weeks, beginning this past Sunday, Matthew and I will be in Houghton, NY for a Third Culture Kids Pre-Field Orientation. Done through the Association of Christian Schools International, this is to help us learn about the specific needs and gifts of students who grow up in a culture outside of their own and outside of that of their parents. It will also cover how to teach these students and how we as foreigners are to adjust to the cultures we will be entering.
So far things have been pretty good!
The airport we flew out of did not send our luggage on time so it ended up arriving in Buffalo hours after we had left. This in and of itself is not a big deal but we gave them my cellphone number to call when it got there (for when and where to find us) and it began to die shortly after we got to the college. We tried to get a hold of someone (ANYONE!) at the airport or at United who spoke English as a first language, but that did not happen. My phone finally died despite all efforts and I even set out asking many people if they had a charger that would fit my phone, and met great people that way. We were finally able to tap into my voicemail and another couple here who also was missing luggage was able to get through to the guy delivering it, so we waited and talked to them until it came.
While that was a stressful way to begin, we were able to meet people because of it so there was some good! And a good story!
While we know that the students at IA do not love the term "TCK" (there is a Facebook group about this!) it has been helpful to come to a better understanding of what others see in them and also what Matthew and I's culture is like to other cultures.
More updating to come!
If you want to see wedding pictures you can take this link regardless of if you have Facebook or not:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027583&id=62401192&l=b9bfaac3d6
It poured the day before the wedding and rained a bit the morning of but we were able to have the wedding outside and at the park all as planned. The lawn people were a bit far away because the grass was swampy but other than that everything was great!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
For two weeks, beginning this past Sunday, Matthew and I will be in Houghton, NY for a Third Culture Kids Pre-Field Orientation. Done through the Association of Christian Schools International, this is to help us learn about the specific needs and gifts of students who grow up in a culture outside of their own and outside of that of their parents. It will also cover how to teach these students and how we as foreigners are to adjust to the cultures we will be entering.
So far things have been pretty good!
The airport we flew out of did not send our luggage on time so it ended up arriving in Buffalo hours after we had left. This in and of itself is not a big deal but we gave them my cellphone number to call when it got there (for when and where to find us) and it began to die shortly after we got to the college. We tried to get a hold of someone (ANYONE!) at the airport or at United who spoke English as a first language, but that did not happen. My phone finally died despite all efforts and I even set out asking many people if they had a charger that would fit my phone, and met great people that way. We were finally able to tap into my voicemail and another couple here who also was missing luggage was able to get through to the guy delivering it, so we waited and talked to them until it came.
While that was a stressful way to begin, we were able to meet people because of it so there was some good! And a good story!
While we know that the students at IA do not love the term "TCK" (there is a Facebook group about this!) it has been helpful to come to a better understanding of what others see in them and also what Matthew and I's culture is like to other cultures.
More updating to come!
If you want to see wedding pictures you can take this link regardless of if you have Facebook or not:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027583&id=62401192&l=b9bfaac3d6
It poured the day before the wedding and rained a bit the morning of but we were able to have the wedding outside and at the park all as planned. The lawn people were a bit far away because the grass was swampy but other than that everything was great!
Thanks for all of your prayers and support!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Heading off
We have a date of departure now! August 2nd is when we will be leaving.
Now that we have a date it seems really close!
We've been married almost a month now and so far we just spend time with friends and family in the area.
Settling in has been pretty easy, though neither of us really look forward to packing everything back up again.
We will be attending a 2 week confrence soon as well so that should afford a bit of a break for us as well!
Thank you for your prayers!
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Big Jumps
This is Amanda!
Matthew and I were married at 11:15 am last Saturday!
We've just gotten back from honeymooning in Sandusky and Cleveland. We went to Cedar Point, Kalahari, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
We had a really good time and it was very eventful! Now we are settling into our temp condo for the next couple months.
We are almost through visa things which is a relief!
It's really nice to get back for memorial day weekend because we can kick back for a while now before matthew has to go back to work!
Please continue to pray and we will continue to update!
Pictures from the honeymoon!
Matthew at Lake ErieMe after finally riding the Top Thrill Dragster
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Super Fast Update!
So I'm sitting here at work in the library with a little downtime on my hands as I print off a big list of articles, and I decided I would quickly write a few lines. In case anyone forgot (or didn't know), our wedding is this Saturday. As in three days from now. Thats very soon :-) Everything is coming together very nicely and I don't feel stressed or worried or nervous. Even if something goes terribly wrong with the ceremony, at least people will remember it and we'll all have a good laugh about it later.
On the Russia front, we're in the middle of visa applications! That means we have been doing things like getting HIV tests, passport photos, and a whole stack of documents ready to send in along with our application forms. This is one of the great pleasures of going abroad, but we are very grateful to have great people to work with at IA and World Partners to help us through the forms and steps.
I'm sure we'll have some photos and things from the wedding in a few weeks after we get back from scenic Ohio for the honeymoon:-)
-Matt
On the Russia front, we're in the middle of visa applications! That means we have been doing things like getting HIV tests, passport photos, and a whole stack of documents ready to send in along with our application forms. This is one of the great pleasures of going abroad, but we are very grateful to have great people to work with at IA and World Partners to help us through the forms and steps.
I'm sure we'll have some photos and things from the wedding in a few weeks after we get back from scenic Ohio for the honeymoon:-)
-Matt
Friday, May 7, 2010
In case you do not know, I am mildly obsessed with Neil Gaiman's works.
So when I found out there was a coffee shop with a latte in his name only 30 min from my home, of course I had to go get one!
So that was my pilgrimage today. It was good: cinnamon, expresso, honey, raw sugar, and milk.
I had to get it iced since it was so hot out but I hope to try it again hot!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Nothing to Do With Russia and Everything to Do with Life!
Matthew has been wonderful and handling a lot of the Russia things so that I can get this crazy wedding put together! So that is what this update is about!
We've had four showers and many gifts later we were blessed with a vast majority of the things we need! So that has been very cool to see as well.
For the most part everything is done and ready. Just a few things to make here and there. I think I was able to plan out the right balance between making and buying things for the wedding. I do not feel like I am going to die so that has been it's own little miracle!
We are going to begin moving things into out "summer home" this weekend before and after graduation so that is exciting as well! A professor is graciously allowing us the use of her home while she is gone for the summer (yet another blessing in our lives!). Then I go home for two weeks before the wedding.
We also graduate this Sunday! It's odd that it is so soon.
So many big things coming quickly! We also have two weddings we are attending this summer so that should be fun all around!
Thank you to everyone for reading, praying, and remembering us!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
LOIs!
Hello All!
We have recently received word that our Letters of Invitation (LOIs) are making their way to us! This is an important step towards getting our visas to go to Russia, so we are excited. In going to Russia, one can't just waltz across the border. If you want to stay for any length of time, you need to be formally invited from within Russia. IA has been working to prepare Letters of Invitation for Amanda and I, and they are now done and being sent to us.
We also have found out that we will be able to send some of our things ahead of us, thanks to a short term work team that is going to IA in May. We can send a couple of suitcases of things (mostly clothes, books, teaching materials) on ahead, which will help us since we will only be able to pack what we can take on the plane with us when we finally leave in August.
We have also had our application confirmed for the TCK-PFO training in Buffalo. So all that we have left to do now is fill out about 600 forms for that and we'll be ready to go :-P The plane tickets have already been purchased for that particular trip, so everything is falling into place.
As always, we cannot thank everyone enough for their faithful giving and prayer. It looks like everything will be in place financially for when we leave, which is an incredible blessing. We have been so amazed at the way God has used so many different people to make it possible for us to serve in Russia!
Until next time,
Matt
We have recently received word that our Letters of Invitation (LOIs) are making their way to us! This is an important step towards getting our visas to go to Russia, so we are excited. In going to Russia, one can't just waltz across the border. If you want to stay for any length of time, you need to be formally invited from within Russia. IA has been working to prepare Letters of Invitation for Amanda and I, and they are now done and being sent to us.
We also have found out that we will be able to send some of our things ahead of us, thanks to a short term work team that is going to IA in May. We can send a couple of suitcases of things (mostly clothes, books, teaching materials) on ahead, which will help us since we will only be able to pack what we can take on the plane with us when we finally leave in August.
We have also had our application confirmed for the TCK-PFO training in Buffalo. So all that we have left to do now is fill out about 600 forms for that and we'll be ready to go :-P The plane tickets have already been purchased for that particular trip, so everything is falling into place.
As always, we cannot thank everyone enough for their faithful giving and prayer. It looks like everything will be in place financially for when we leave, which is an incredible blessing. We have been so amazed at the way God has used so many different people to make it possible for us to serve in Russia!
Until next time,
Matt
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