"never be lacking in zeal..."

Greetings to You My Faraway Friends-

Just when I thought I could bring out my lighter coat it got cold again. In fact, the other morning I walked outside and found that it had snowed during the night! Pretty sure I gasped as I went outside. So now there is a combination of snow, ice, slush, mud, and gooey mud to walk through. Hooray. Slowly but surely these Russians will emerge from their coats and hats so they won’t look so intimidating anymore. Oh how I await the day.

Classes have been pretty rough lately, especially my last Friday, Saturday, and Monday sessions. You forgot that I have classes on Saturdays did you? Hahaha I’m still in denial about it. But the conversations I have with the people at the university have kept up with the usual standard. One of my teachers thought she was pretty cool to bring up Brittany Spears, McDonalds, and Charlie Chaplin. Another teacher mentioned Arnold Schwarzenegger, which I thought was hilarious. She also said that she loves the show “House” which I actually was impressed that she watches it. I think they’ve stopped bringing up President Obama... I was on break last Monday when one of the Asian students (the one who said that he loves me) was messing around with the guys and showed his “muscles”. So I took the opportunity to teach them that that is called “a gun show” :) At first they were like, “Gun?... guns? … show? Guns show?” and they would look at me, then at their arm, then at their hands that were formed like a gun. It was hilarious. Eventually they caught on and were laughing pretty hard about it. I’m such a good American teaching them such useful phrases… :) I can just see them in America walking up to a clerk at a store and in a moment of panic the only English words they can think of are, “Gun show!” Oooohhhh that would be amazing! Think of the confusion!! And think of the fun:) I met a guy on Wednesday who learned a lot of his English from movies. He said that I can call him “Mr. C”…. not sure where the Mr. C came from… And he said that he has heard of me… Again with the creepiness of people talking about me…

On Friday, I was in line at the school café and trying to order something new. Thankfully, the boss lady knows me by name and is very understanding & helpful. There was a guy and girl in front of me that asked if I was a foreigner… No, I’m just a Russian who doesn’t know what this chicken is called… Haha no really, I told them I was and actually talked with them awhile. The guy knew English surprisingly well and combined with my little knowledge of Russian we were able to understand each other. We left the café at the same time and talked awhile again. Very nice people. I hope I run into them again. I love how God brings people into my life who know English:)

I have two suitemates in my dorm. They have one bedroom, I have the other, and we share a bathroom. They are from China but they know Russian pretty well. I honestly haven’t talked with them much at all and have been feeling convicted about that. So on Thursday night I got some of the leftover food from movie night and gave it to them. Hoping it would be some sort of peace offering or something, I don’t know. Well, Friday afternoon there was a knock at my door and one of the girls came in bearing gifts of warm pancakes… My favorite:) I think I may have started a food friendship…

Tuesday, I went to see if a computer lab was open to use the internet. The usual old lady was replaced with an old man and no one else was in the room. The lady knows that I don’t speak Russian but I had to explain to the man since she wasn’t there and try to find out if I could use a computer or not. He would say something in Russian then all of sudden he was speaking in English about submarines, bombs, and torpedoes… I asked if he knew some English (I didn’t know what else to say) and he said something in Russian then started on again about submarines and different war terms that you would hear from an old movie. He turned on a computer and walked back to his desk so I guessed that meant it was okay for me to use it. I used the computer without being attacked or anything so that’s good. I’m Alive!

On Sunday, I was introduced to a lady who supposedly knows English. She was a very nice lady but it was kind of awkward cause she stood and sat really close to me and was asking me random questions. I do know she asked if I knew Joyce Meyer and John Bevere. I thought that was kind of funny. When she realized that I really don’t know much Russian she started asking me if I spoke German, or French. Yeah no. I would have been even more lost. Speaking of LOST, Tim’s friend let him borrow the first season of LOST but it’s all in Russian voiceovers. I watched some with Tim and the girls and I’m like, “What did she say?! What just happened?” Poor kids. What they put up with when I’m around…

Another incident with the language here was on Tuesday night. A friend came over to my room for awhile and I walked her to the bus stop when she was leaving. It was dark and she wasn’t quite sure where everything was. When I got back to my dorm building, the dorm lady caught me and was telling me something. The only word I understood was “walk” and the more she tried to tell me what she was saying the more she got upset. I didn’t know what she wanted and because she was so upset I called Tonya and gave the phone to the dorm lady. Apparently, she was only concerned for my safety and doesn’t want me going out in the dark because of drunks and what not. So it was very considerate of her but she got so upset in trying to tell me. I must admit that I was shook up about the whole thing. The first time that I was “out” that late at night, other than being dropped off by someone, and I get yelled at. Oh joy. Oh and fyi, my dorm building was built in 1959. I found that out today:)

Last Saturday was the first of a five week worship conference that Steve and Amanda Hinson are leading. They invited worship leaders, worship team members, pastors, and anyone else who wanted to attend. Steve and Amanda have been preparing it for a long time. I think they had a pretty good turnout and I’m sure that the numbers will grow as the sessions go on. Steve did most of the speaking and Tonya translated for him. Amanda talked about songwriting but she actually did quite a bit of speaking Russian on her own. But watching/listening to Tonya translating for Steve was hilarious. He used the illustration of golf and fishing so she had to translate all the technical stuff that goes with that. They were right in the middle of the fishing story and Steve says “I have no idea where I’m going with this.” Oh how I laughed cause Tonya was trying so hard to translate the fishing technicalities that he was describing. I actually kept an eye on the Eshelman and Hinson kids a lot during the meeting so I didn’t get to hear everything. It really went great though and I’m excited for the weeks ahead.

I usually stay with the Eshelmans on Saturday nights that way I can do laundry, use the internet, and ride with them to church. Starting this past weekend, they have a girl from the orphanage staying overnight with them the same time as me. They gave her a choice of where to sleep and she decided to sleep in the back room with me. I was surprised because she doesn’t know any English and didn’t seem too impressed with me. So we’ll see how it goes with her coming every weekend. Hopefully, I will be able to be some kind of light into her life even though we can’t really talk much. I’m definitely sure that the Eshelman family will be a wonderful thing to have in her life. I just hope that I can be of some use too.

In a time in my life when words aren’t much use to me, my actions are speaking volumes. I forget how people are watching me and waiting to see my reactions to my new life here. They are watching to see how this American deals with difficult situations, learning Russian, relationships and everything else. Every day I will look up from whatever I’m doing and find someone watching me. If you have ever seen “Inception” it has a great image of what it’s like for me here. For those of you who have seen it, it’s like when someone is messing with a dream and the people in it start watching them cause they know that that is the person messing with the dream… I hope that made sense. Anyway, like I said, I’ve already been forgetting how people watch me. On Monday, it was a really rough day in class and I really didn’t want to be there. At lunch break I ate with my classmate, Tolya, who doesn’t know much English. But we were eating and he said in English, “What is wrong with you today?” Instantly I felt ashamed and was kicking myself for letting the days lessons get to me so visibly. I have a friend who will ask me, “Why so serious?” if I even look like I’m slightly sad or deep in thought… People are watching my actions. My facial expressions. How I hold myself. How I dress. Actions speak louder than words and that is definitely the case here. The Eshelmans love to tell the story of when they read a chapter in Proverbs and when they asked the kids what they learned from it, Vera said, “The sluggard is lazy.” :) I don’t want to be lazy. I want to make my time here count for something. And if that means being more careful with my actions then that’s what I need to do. I read this verse the other day, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11. Life stinks sometimes. Classes stink. A lot lately. But I can’t let myself be cut down. I have to keep going to God to keep my spiritual life alive. I have to keep myself in check to make sure that I am displaying a life that is pleasing to God. If you are a believer in Christ and you have let that be known, people are watching you. It might not be as “visible” like what I’m experiencing here but they are. The guy who sits behind you in class. The lady at the next cubicle. Your neighbor. Your little brother. Your dad. Do they see a difference in you? Or have you become lazy and let your spiritual fervor die? What do your actions say? What do your facial expressions say? Let your light shine for Christ.

I have a praise report! I now have internet access in my dorm! This is a wonderful thing for me because the computer labs at school are not consistent and it is hard to talk with the workers. The Eshelmans have internet at their place but I can’t always be over there, now can I? So yes, I’m very excited!

I am so blessed to have your prayers and support. I couldn’t do this without you. You are all amazing.

Being saved in Gods unfailing Love,
Leah