...perfect Love...

Greetings Dear Friends-

So remember how I said that I’ve been watching for one of these high boot women to slip and fall on the ice? Well during break one day I was looking out the window and watched one of them fall. Hard. I kind of squealed and covered my mouth cause I saw it coming. I got some strange looks from the Asian students… It actually wasn’t as funny as I thought it would be, watching her fall that is. Probably because it was a lady in her 50’s. There was a guy who helped her up and walked away smiling. I think he’s been waiting with me:)

I have three teachers for my class(es) and not any of them know Chinese or English. When none of us in class understand what they are trying to say they sometimes act it out. One day I had a teacher I’d never had before (this is when it was just me in class) and she immediately went into acting when I didn’t know what she was saying. She started blowing kisses, giving air hugs, and batting her eyes….. It was so weird it wasn’t funny. I finally remembered (much to her relief I’m sure) that it was Valentine’s Day:)One teacher even acted out sitting on a toilet. Brave woman. Last week, Ivan was trying to describe a type of bug to our teacher by making motions with his hands. She instinctively stomped on his imaginary bug. Ohhhhh how I laughed.

Monday was an eventful day in class. Tolya had severe stomach cramps and had to leave class for a little while. My teacher freaked out and was asking if he needed a doctor. At lunch, Ivan had a huge meal that included three fried fish. Well, something from the fish got stuck in his throat and for the rest of the day he made noises, ate more, and drank water, trying to get whatever it was unstuck. The Russian word for fish sounds like you are saying “reba” which for some reason I have found funny. But the fact that Ivan had a “reba” stuck in his throat made the whole situation hilarious to me…. I guess I’m not a very compassionate missionary… On Tuesday, Ivan didn’t show up for class. Apparently he went to the doctor to get the fish out of his throat…. I really wish I could have seen the doctors face when Ivan told him that he had a “reba” stuck in his throat. I would have paid money to see it:) Wednesday, Ivan came back to class. I asked him about what happened at the doctor and he said that they actually pulled out whatever it was out of his throat. That’s all he would tell me:) At lunch that day I joked with Tolya about getting fish for lunch like we had been since Monday. Neither of us have touched the fish since the episode. But Ivan (on his first day back) had fish again for lunch… I couldn’t believe it. I sat across from him and watched as he slowly chewed his fish and would every so often pull out a bone from his mouth. He caught me watching him and he said, “I must be very careful.” Crazy kid.

One of the Asian students from another class decided to profess his love for me in the presence of about 10 other guys. In English no less. Dianna Eshelman, who is 10 years old, asked me the other day, “Are you going to get married in Russia?” I told her that I could almost promise her that I would not be getting married in Russia. Then she proceeded to give me a talking to about that I should not just be looking for, “Someone who is pretty, but someone who will love you even when you are old.” She said lots of other things like that I needed to marry whoever God had for me, “Even if he is African, American, Russian, Chinese….” A wise women indeed:) But now I’m wondering if I should take this guy seriously after my talk with Dianna… :) Or not. Ivan asked for my phone number the other day and I tried to avoid the question. He finally caught on and said, “You don’t want to give me your phone number. You have broken my heart.” Then he put his textbook on his head and started fake crying. Later we were trying to remember the Russian word for “sunny” and Ivan said, “Its sunny outside, but my heart is cloudy because you broke my heart.” He put his book back on his head and started singing softly in Chinese like he was comforting himself. But I recognized the song and asked, “Are you singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?” He poked his head out and said that he was. I broke his heart but he’s singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star… Whatever.

I have to wash my own dishes once in awhile, believe it or not. Because I don’t have a sink in my room and because the kitchen on my floor is ALL the way across the hall :) I tend to have a hard time cleaning them cause they’ve been sitting for a few days. I should probably work on that. But anyway, I was washing dishes today when two guys came in to have a good long smoke while I’m struggling with my dirty dishes. So thanks guys for making my cleaning efforts almost completely useless. Cause now I need to rewash my dishes, clothes and take a shower. I appreciate it. Oh and Jesus loves you.

My second week here the water was off for extended periods three days in a row. Thank God that I use bottled water for most everything anyway. Right now there is no light bulb in the toilet room. Its been like that for….6 days now. I’m letting my suitemates deal with it since they can speak Russian. I wondered why I really felt like I needed to bring a flashlight with me when I was packing. I even went and bought one. Now I know:) I love how God cares about the little things. Thankfully there is a guy fixing it right now. So don't you be worrying about my battery running out:)

At the university on Friday, I was looking for my friend/body guard/translator Jane when a guy asked me something in Russian. Something about “school” but that was all I could make out so I just told him in the simplest way possible that I didn’t speak Russian. He looked embarrassed, looked down (as if he was supposed to know I couldn’t speak Russian) and just said, “Ok.” Haha maybe you just had to be there but it was funny to me. I was trying not to smile about it when I was walking down the hall cause people were looking at me funny. Although they usually do but I wasn’t helping the situation.

One thing that I have established in my life since coming here is that every Monday I reflect on the past week. I go through my journal and review everything that I wrote the past week to remind myself of all that happened. Then I write something that God really spoke to me about on a piece of paper (whether it be a verse, a lyric, or a quote from someone) and put it on my wall. It started out as just something spiritual to put on my bare walls but quickly turned into what it is. I really enjoy taking the time to do it and I love having the reminders on my wall. Sometimes more than one piece of paper goes up. I can’t wait to see how full my wall is when its time to leave:)

The last paper I put up just simply says, “I Love You.” Its written in my own hand but it came directly from my heavenly Fathers heart. The films that we’ve been watching on movie nights is the “Love Comes Softly” series, and it obviously, is all about Love. I just finished reading “Immanuel’s Veins” by Tedd Dekker which is all about Love. The songs I’ve been listening to and a lot of the Bible verses I’ve been reading have to do with Love. As you can see, I finally caught on to what God has been wanting to talk to me about:) Love for Russia. Love for my teachers, the Asian students, my fellow students, for the missionaries I’m working with, the people at my church, my suitemates, the list goes on… But even more importantly, Gods Love. Gods Perfect Love. God Loves me (you) even greater than my own understanding of the depth of it. It’s Unfathomable. I am overwhelmed by it. God’s Love is Strong, Magnificent, Overflowing, and Unconditional. It’s Perfect. I am so unworthy of such a Love. But yet He gives it to me every day. Every second. How do we become accustomed to such a Love? This Beautiful Love. Love is one of the mysteries of God in a way that we humans can’t fathom such an Intense Love. The mysteries of God. Daniel 2:28 “… but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.” Let God reveal this mystery of Love to you… Last Sunday, my pastor was saying that when we ask God a question we need to give Him time to answer. God is never late. Ask God how much He loves you. Give Him some of your precious time and I’m positive He will tell you exactly how much you mean to Him.

Thank you guys for all the comments about my blog. I enjoy writing it and letting you know what’s happening this side of the pond. If you are on fb I put pics up every so often. Sometimes 5 at a time or sometimes 100. You never can tell.

You are all beautiful and amazing.

The heartbreaker,

Leah