Update June 10

Blogspot, 6/10/2013

Hello again from Russia! A lot has happened since I last wrote. I will try to be as cohesive as possible, but I apologize if I miss some details.

When I wrote my last post, I was a little overwhelmed by all of the new things in Russia. We were doing a lot of preparation work, and I was so tired and focused on myself that I wasn't really looking forward to spending an entire month in Russia. But then, the students arrived....and everything was worth it and perfect and good. It's kinda like camp: you wait and wait and feel scared and unsure, and then the campers arrive, and you realize that the preparation was absolutely worth the experience (yeah, everything in my life reminds me of camp...). 

So anyways. The students arrived, and we did some "get to know you" things. My team was initiated as Russian-Americans by eating Russian bread dipped in salt. It was rather hard, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to rip off a piece in front of all the students! But I did, it was salty, and now I belong! Also that night, the students and their parents brought Russian pancakes, called "Blini" for a potluck dinner. I literally ate a ton of sugar and called it dinner. When in Russia....

After dinner, we had a sing off, Russians vs Americans. We had to sing songs from our culture, and it was so beautiful to hear many people singing Russian folk songs. Our group sang hymns, and we all stayed much later at the school than we had planned. 

The next day (Saturday) we woke up, ate leftover blini, and went back to the school to go on an excursion with the students. We went to Peterhof in St. Petersburg. This is an area of palaces and fountains created by Peter I. This tour occurred with our own personal small groups, which were randomly assigned the previous evening. Being placed with my small group was an absolute blessing. I have 4 main girls (Svieta, Ann, Ann, and....Ann; ages 16) that have really opened up to share their country with me. They told me stories and took me around the gardens. One of the really neat moments involved a statue in the centre of the park, of which a myth is told that if you throw a coin and it lands in the boot of the statue, your wishes come true. Before coming to Russia, I was warned that Russians were cold and took days or weeks to warm up to Americans. But as my 4 girls and I stood around chunking rubles into the air for half an hour, all the while laughing/screaming/hugging when the coins reached their destination, I was blessed to realize the stereotypes were not always right. 

Saturday night after Peterhof, the American team ate pizza that tastes like American pizza (!!!) and then came back to the roof of our dorm to worship together. I went to bed thinking about how much I legitimately love these people, most of whom I only met a week ago. 

Sunday was pretty neat. Our Russian friend, Tanya, met us at the bus stop and helped us ride that and the St. Petersburg subway to her church, a Christian Russian/English fellowship. The worship service was beautiful, but listening to the translation was hard, and I regretfully fell asleep. After church I was rather upset that I had missed out on a great worship experience, but we then went on another adventure. For lunch, we went to the home of Americans, Charles and Ginger Payne, living in St. Petersburg for work. Turns out, they were Christians as well! We ate a ton of spaghetti and cookies, enjoyed using American bathrooms, and ended up having a worship session with everyone in the room singing and praising God together. Definitely one of the most amazing things that could have come from our visit! We stayed for almost 5 hours, and left refreshed and full of joy. 

Today was the first day in which we taught the students. Basically, we are at a school in Pushkin, teaching English-based classes in Music, Film, and Sports to students, ages 13-17. I'm in music, and it was so much fun to listen to music and basically do lyric analysis after the music plays. Thankfully, the girls in my small group are also in music and I trust that our friendships will continue to develop. After lunch and a trip to a local park by the castle (!!!), we played ultimate frisbee with the students. That was a new experience, and I surprisingly loved it! Then we went back and had personal belief discussions with our groups, during which I got to hear from my girls and really get to know them on a deeper level. 

So to summarize....

I love being in Russia. There are definitely challenges, though. I've been waking up in the morning with a sense of panic, wondering why I am here and intensely missing my boyfriend, my bedroom, my friends, wifi, and, surprisingly, Starbucks drinks and strawberries (seriously, no idea why those both sound like the epitome of heaven-on-earth while overseas). But then I talk to Jesus, and He brings me through the feelings of homesickness. A million times every day, I find myself having to fight selfishness and the desire to be the centre of my world. It's a very surprising struggle to face. But through it I am trying to depend more fully on God and to rest in His grace. And even when I start the day struggling, by the end of the day when I see the joy being shared here in the school or I worship with my new friends here... I know that there's a meaning to it all, and I can be satisfied, I can rejoice