FAQs

It has been a pretty quiet week here in Moscow, so I thought I would take a few minutes this morning to update you on a few of the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

How is the weather?

I have found, more than ever,  that this is a relative question.  Put simply, it is cold.  But even that has become relative.  This morning when I woke up it was 18-degrees outside.  And, because I left the window open overnight it was around that in the living room.  By anybody's standards 18-degrees is cold.  Earlier this week we had a warm snap of a couple of days where the temps rose to just above freezing.  And, frankly we considered that to be a warm day.  Now I remember a time in Florida when our children would shiver and complain if they were able to see their breath on the way to school, but that has become our new normal and any day that is above 32 is a warm one!  But never fear, even though it is freezing cold outside, it is plenty warm inside.  (Which is why our windows are usually open most of the day!)

Those warm days also present their own forms of problems.  You see, we have had snow on the ground for at least three weeks now, so when it gets that warm during the day things begin to melt, but when the sun goes down at 4pm things start to refreeze leaving the sidewalks a solid sheet of ice.  So, we pray for snow.  In actuality it snows almost all the time.  It is usually just flurries, but there is snow in the air nearly constantly.  We have about four or five inches on the ground right now and the forecast usually calls for snow four or five days a week.  Usually it is a very different kind of snow that you typically think of though.  Even when it is snowing hard, the flakes are generally very small and grainy...almost like white sand.  But every now and then you get bigger flakes.

Yesterday was my favorite kind of day, weather wise.  It was just below freezing and the wind was not really blowing hard.  There was a light snow falling and it was just a lot of fun to go walking in.  I love to take the shortcuts through the areas of town that have a lot of trees, especially when it is snowing.  There is just something dreamlike about the whole scene.  And, with Christmas quickly approaching it is even more exciting to get out and walk in the snow.  While Russians don't really celebrate Christmas the way that we think of it (their big celebration is the New Year) there are "New Year's Trees", lights and decorations all over.  It really is beautiful.  My absolute favorite time to be out is right around twilight when it is nearly dark, the holiday lights are lit and glowing and the snow is falling.  Wow.  I hope I never get tired of that!

My goal over the next few weeks is for us to try to start experimenting with some winter sports.  We have a fairly large section of woods behind our apartment and I am hoping to try cross-country skiing.  I also want to take the kids ice skating.  And, of course, we are trying to find the best place near us to go sledding.

How is the language study going?

Let's make no mistake here.  This is probably my least favorite part about living in a different country.  And, there have been many days when I wanted to go back in time and beat up those folks in ancient Babel who ruined this whole language thing for us.  If it were not for them, I would not be studying Russian right now! (Read Genesis 11 for the background on that little rant there.)  However, this week I really turned a corner in my language learning.  First, I have been given in incredible peace in this area and have almost come to look forward to my lessons each day.  And that helps.

While I am reminded daily that I have forgotten more half of the things that I have been taught, I am starting to slowly get a grasp of the language and the vocabulary.  It is a very rare occasion when you find someone here who speaks English, so I have really stopped asking and forge ahead with my Russian when I am out of the apartment.  There are many occasions where I have to explain that I speak, or read Russian very poorly, or that I have only been studying the language for two months, but as a general rule people have been very friendly and understanding.

So this week when considering my language skills (and I use that term loosely) I thought I would concentrate on the positive and tell you about some of my successes and some of the things that I can do, rather than the things that I cannot do.  So here are 10 things that I can do in Russian:

1.  In just six "short" weeks I have completed nine chapters in my Russian language textbook!

2.  I can tell you all about my family and friends.  I can tell you who they are, their relationship to me and what they do for a living.  I can also tell you where they live.

3.  I can tell you the things that I have or want.

4.  I can tell you what I did yesterday and by the end of this next week I should be able to tell you about what I am going to do today and tomorrow.

5.  I can tell you that something belongs to me (or someone else.)

6.  I can order my own food at McDonalds and get the order mostly correct!

7.  I can purchase the family's metro and bus passes or other things from kiosks.

8.  I can order meat from the deli counter (though I rarely want to!)

9.  I can translate simple paragraphs to Russian from English and from Russian to English.

10.  I am starting to be able to watch Russian television and understand what is going on.  Last night I was able to watch a sitcom and catch enough of the dialogue to understand the plot.  AND, I even correctly solved the puzzle on the Russian version of Wheel of Fortune!!  Wow, was I excited.

Have you gotten high-speed Internet yet?

The answer to this one is that we are optimistic about what the week ahead holds.  We now have a contract and the equipment with yet another Internet service provider and have been assured that this one will do the trick.  The service is supposed to be activated within 10 business days, so we are hoping that we will be online and surfing by the end of the week, but it may take a little longer.  Once we are connected we should be able to use Skype to make audio and video calls and we are hoping to have our Vonage phone hooked up so that we have a US "batphone" that will connect us with the States.

What are the kids doing for school and how are they doing?

All three kids are doing there academic studies at home with Kellye as their teacher.  However, this week Hannah and John started going to the American Christian academy (Hinkson) in Moscow on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  While there they attend PE class and have lunch and recess with other kids their age.  They also have access to the library, which is a pretty huge thing in our house.  So, I would tell you that things are going very well.

What can we do for you?

Pray.  That is the most important thing that you can do.  When you are on your knees you are on the front lines of our ministry.  While care packages and other things are nice and appreciated, the best thing you can do is pray.

There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of you, my friends.  Know that you are loved from around the globe.  I hope that you are enjoying this Christmas season and that you will make time to share Jesus with someone else during this time.

As usual, peaceful Saturday mornings give way to busy Saturday afternoons.

Blessings from Moscow,

Marc