Конец -- Loppu -- La Fin -- Das Ende -- The End

This is it.  

I’m leaving Thursday morning at 4:15am.  I am 100% ready to be home, and 100% sad to leave.  

It’s strange to think that in three weeks this will all seem like a dream filled with distant memories and good times from long ago.  It’s all gone so fast, and yet it seems like I’ve been here for years.  The people at the International Academy of St. Petersburg have been so good to me, and I wish them the very best in the years to come.  Hopefully one day I will return and see them again.  The friends I’ve made here have enriched my life greatly, and I will never forget the experiences we've shared.  I thank the Lord for all of you who have made this the best year possible for me.  

Now, for the folks back home, my plans for the next few weeks are as follows.  I fly from St. Pete to Cologne, Germany on Thursday morning.  I will stay there for 3-4 days with family friends, and then take a train to Gien, France to stay with distant relatives for two weeks.  I will fly home April 28th.  Thank you for you continued prayer as I part with this chapter of my life.   

I look forward to seeing you soon!  

God Bless

Belated News from Russia

I never would have believed it if last month you'd have told me that today I'd be sitting on the balcony with the window open, in shorts and a t-shirt, with the warmth of the sun shining on me.
And to think back home they just got another foot of snow!

It's been 42 days since my last post, and though my day's schedule hasn't changed much, the day's length sure has!  Unbelievably, the last three weeks have been 45 degrees, cloudless, and gloriously sunny!  The amount of light has changed drastically, as the sun is now up from 8am until 8:15pm.  The weather has lightened everyone's moods, and even walking to the super market seems fun!   Though winter is supposed to come back soon, these weeks have truly been a gift of grace from God.

Lately at IA I've been teaching elementary science.  It's been such a great experience.  Here's my favorite story so far:

While teaching the 2nd graders about mollusks, I prepared a slide show with examples such as snails, squid, clams, and octopi.  I gathered pictures of the animals in the wild, and then what they look like when prepared in a dish for eating.  I was excited to get the classic "eww gross!" reaction when the pictures of octopus salad and escargo came up.    Boy was I surprised.     As soon as the soup with suction-cup tentacles floating in an inky broth was projected, the chorus of "ohh yummy's" and "yeah! did you bring some for us?" made me laugh out loud.  I guess I should have expected it, considering there was 13 Korean, Thai, and Japanese students to the one American.  It seems that teaching at an International Academy would never get old.

I am still enjoying my involvement in the music department immensely.  In early February we had the winter recital, in which I accompanied students' violin solos and directed the middle school boys choir.  Day to day I teach elementary music and am currently teaching the 5th graders Vivaldi's "Gloria," which is coming along very nicely.  Unfortunately, I will miss the spring concert, but it is great to help prepare them for it.  Also, I had the pleasure of being the MC at the school talent show.

Lastly but firstly, my parents came to visit!  We had a wonderful time touring the city, going to Helsinki, Finland, and showing them around my life here.  I am so blessed to have loving and caring parents, and my appreciation for them just keeps growing and growing.  We got some good pictures of our time together, so if you'd like to see them, check out my facebook page.

P.S.  I feel 100% safe here in St. Pete.  Since I look Russian, I haven't run into any trouble at all in relation to the Ukraine dispute.  But I thank you for all the prayers and thoughts.  Please keep it up!

God Bless!  

Back to the Norm. part 1

     After over a month of guests, family, friends, and random Russians sleeping in my room, it's finally back to just me and Kurt in our bunks.  Though it already seems long ago, winter break was an amazing 3 weeks of fun.  Christmas was spent in our home, with songs and gifts and delicious food.  God gave us the sun for a full hour on Christmas day, which was a welcome sign of His love.  Soon after, Steven Young, my good friend from Pettisville, came to stay with us for a month.  We had one of the best months ever, even though 21 consecutive days of it were sunless.
     Steven and I were so blessed to get to know the missionary kids who came home to St. Pete from college.  They quickly accepted us as part of their group, and we often stayed up til 4 a.m. playing monopoly and watching movies.  In fact, our schedule got so wacky that staying up all night for New Years seemed completely normal.  New Years in the Palace Square was unbelievable.  Watching Putin on the big screen count down to midnight was strangely awesome, and there was much shouting, singing, and dancing with friendly Russians.

     We didn't get much time to restore our sleeping schedule, because Babochka's Winter Camp started on January 4th.  We took a 3 hour bus ride north to a small, beautiful town called Sovetsky.  The first day was all seminars and lessons for the staff, preparing us for the handicapped people who would arrive the following day.  Steven and I heard a lot that day, and understood little.  But it was amazing to see the energy and excitement that the staff exuded.
     The next day, the campers arrived.  The staff dressed like circus performers, and lined up and cheered for the campers as they were wheeled off the bus.  The smiles were bigger than I'd ever seen.  Steven and I rocked turbans and skirts (mainly made of towels...), and played guitar and ukulele as part of the comical and spirited procession.  The fact that we went bare foot made for great conversation starters, since apparently if you're barefoot in Russia you'll surely die in your sleep.  That prediction nearly came true, in fact, because that night Steven and I were surprised by a drunk Russian who broke into our room wanting a toilet and some sleep (that's a story for another time).
     The four-day camp was like Heaven on Earth.  The leaders had meticulously planned every minute, so everything ran like a well-oiled Porsche.  The counselors were totally caring and loving to their assigned camper, and everyone had a truly great time.  I was so blessed to be the music leader, and learned to love the songs as much as the campers did.  I hardly know how to describe how much I learned from it all.  Here's a cliche sum-up:  "it was a life-changing experience that changed my life forever."