Home!

I had an extremely awesome travel home. All my flights were on time and things went so smoothly. After about 11 hours, I made it to Chicago O'Hare airport and walked through customs with no problems. I was so excited to see my mom and dad on the other side of the glass doors. We stopped at McDonald's on the way home and it was so weird to order in English. Once I got home I was met by my sister and aunt. It was so good to see familiar faces and speak in full sentences in English. But I also really miss my Russian family. A big piece of my heart is still with them in Russia. People keep asking me here, so when are you going back? I just say I am not sure but I will go back. I thank God for the many things that I have learned in the past three months. God's grace is so abounding and I definitely saw it! Things went so smoothly and I never imagined that things would go so well, but when you depend on God, He shows you so many things. I will definitely be praying for my future opportunities and waiting for the next opportunity to do God's work.

As my days are coming to an end...

this is me in an effort to get organized.

Little Sasha

When Nelly and I got home from going on our walk, Vera told us to follow her into the girl's room. And she showed us that while Sasha was playing, he had fallen asleep...under the sofa!

Afternoon with Nelly

Yesterday, Nelly came after she got off work and we spent the day together. We ate breakfast and then we went to pick Nikita up from school (which was quite an adventure). After we brought Nikita home, Nelly and I spent the day on Nevski. Nelly helped me buy hats for souvenirs and then we wore them on Nevski for fun. People everywhere were looking at us funny, but we had fun and laughed a lot.

My Russian Mom

Pictures of Children's Christmas Program at ICA

My Surprise :)

So Saturday night, I stayed over at two of my friends house. On Sunday, we went to church together at ICA. After church, Liza and Boukje said they had a surprise for me. So we went off to Spartivnaya metro station and walked up to a big building. My surprise was going ICE SKATING!! Woohoo! Except one problem, the ice rink wasn't open. :) So instead we went to the Coffee House and had coffee together. Not exactly the same as ice skating, but I was just so excited to spend time with two AMAZING girls. Love them! They are the best I could ever ask for :)

Our Christmas Socks

At our family home, we have Christmas socks. Throughout the week, everyone puts special presents such as candy or little items in each others socks. Then on Wednesdays, we write a special note to everyone. On Thursday night, we have chai and read all the wishes people wrote to us.

Funny Picture

This picture was taken at the hockey game. Around the opposing teams fans sat quite a few police men, isn't that crazy?! :)

My Thanksgiving with Masha

Being that I am in Russia over Thanksgiving, a friend of mine, Masha, offered to let me spend it with her. She made a delicious dinner for us. We has pork chops, tons of mashed potatoes, green beans, and glorious danishes. We were both stuffed after dinner. But after dinner, we went to a SKA (St. Petersburg team) hockey game. It was so cool to what the hockey game and see the famous SKA play. And I even got to see them win in overtime!

Pictures of Nina and Artur's Anniversary Party

For Nina and Artur's anniversary, we put on a play for them. I played Nina, Misha played Artur, and Katya played Babooshka.

Weekend of Fun and Fellowship

This weekend seemed to be extremely busy and loads of fun. I had the privilege to go visit Masha Mikhaylova, her mom, and her grandma. We had a wonderful dinner and took a wonderful walk. I had so much fun walking with Masha's mom hearing about different buildings and parks. It was such a good and encouraging time!

Then after I had dinner with Masha on Saturday, I went to have a sleepover with a bunch of girls from my church. We ate lots of sweets and junk food while watching a movie. We had lots of laughs and the time was filled with memories!

The next morning we all got ready and went to church together. The church service was really good and extremely encouraging. We talked about prayer and the power that God has. I learned I really should make sure I am not keeping God in a box. He can do anything! Praise God for his faithfulness!

After church, we went to lunch with a group from Holland. We had a good time and I got to eat Subway! :) After that we looked around the mall for a while before getting ready for the circus. Boukje, Liza and I went to the circus. And as you can see we had a BLAST! I was in awe the whole time. Fun fun!

Day at Mega with Masha

Yesterday I went to Mega (a big shopping mall) with my friend Masha. We went to the newly opened H & M here in St. Petersburg. But before entering the mall, we took some pictures in the very fresh snow. Also, look closely at how dark the sky is at 3pm. It's crazy!

African Sunday at Church

At ICA, we have a lot of African students. So this past Sunday, we had an African emphasis church service. It was really awesome! The worship was inspiring and the message was really good.

P.S. This Sunday I must say I thought much of my sister Abbey, who has a heart for Africa.

Night with Liza and Boukje

I think it is so interesting how the Lord brings people into your life. Liza and Boukje are two awesome girls I have met at church and I would definitely say we will be friends for a long time. Every time we are together, we laugh constantly, so much it hurts. :) They are awesome girls who serve the Lord. Liza is from St. Petersburg and has graduated from a family home. Boukje is from Holland. She is studying Russian here in St. Petersburg and working in a hospital and orphanage ministry.

Saturday night we had a sleep-over at Liza and Boukje's flat. It was a blast!

So I am going to explain these pictures because you wouldn't understand unless you were there. First two pictures are of burnt popcorn. Liza wanted popcorn so bad. She looked at the bag for directions on how long to put it in the microwave for, well instead of reading the directions she just looked at the demonstrative pictures. Which showed a microwave with 5 minutes...so she put the popcorn in for 5 minutes! Needless to say, the apartment will smell like burnt popcorn for a while.

The third picture is of Liza "blowing up" my mattress. We laugh about this for quite some time though I don't really know why.

Last picture, these are the most horrible shoes EVER. So I was trying to be Russian and wear high heels. I must say wearing those boots was so miserable and painful. If you doubt me, just ask Boukje. Like an awesome friend, she changed shoes with me for a while so my feet could stop throbbing.

Visit to Rita's Brother

Last Saturday, I was able to go with Rita to visit her brother Misha who lives in a home for mentally handicapped children. Misha struggles with a learning disability. This home is about two hours outside of the city so Rita and I took the metro and a bus to get there. At first, I was really afraid but I knew I should go to support Rita. Once we got there, I struggled with the smell, it was horrible, but the second I met Misha my heart melted and nothing else mattered, but making him smile. Just watching Rita, I saw such love and motherly characteristics. I pray that Misha will be able to be moved closer to the city so Rita could see him more. We sat with Misha for a while and talked with him. Rita brought him some hot chocolate and candy. He was so happy and the whole time we were there, Misha held my hand and petted my hair. It just made me so happy that I came and I smiled the whole time.

Tanya's Birthday Party

Last week, one of Nadya's friends, Tanya, had a birthday. Vera decided to throw a birthday party for her. These are some pictures from our good time.