Last weekend, we (me, Beth & Aaron, Cecil & Tanya, and their three kids) took the train to Novi-Irgal, a 14 hour ride north. We were on the rain over night, and woke up to lots of snow on the ground! We spent the weekend in the city working with a small church, and had a wonderful service on Saturday, where Beth, Aaron and I shared our testimonies, and Cecil preached. It was a very neat experience; their pastor, Dima, works at the railway depot and has Sunday off one week, Saturday off the next, so the church follows his work schedule. Dima and his wife Sveta have two young boys (3 and 7), and live in a four room apartment - one bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a living room. Lunch and dinner with 16 people there was a blast!
Here are some picture from the trip:
Four people to a coupe, what fun! It was about 85 degrees all night and the windows don't open. I was pleasantly suprised at how easy it was to fall asleep on the train, it's rather like being rocked to sleep.
Beth and I in our beautiful winter coats! Yes, that's real fur lining our hoods.
We walked to see the new church they're building.
Here's the church. It's built out of railroad ties- the cheapest building material available.
Sunset in Novi-Irgal.
Thanksgiving was two days ago, and we celebrated at the Eshelman's house with turkey and mashed potatoes. It was nice evening, but a little strange - it didn't feel much like Thanksgiving. But, at least the turkey tastes the same.
School is going very well. I now live with three Chinese girls, and am having opportunities to practice Mandarin (which is terrible) every day. I have had several more opportunities to go into the English department and meet with the students. It's been really neat getting to meet lots of students and answer many questions about American culture.
I can't believe that Christmas is in 30 days! It will be interesting, my first Christmas away from home and family.
Please pray for my concentration in school! Some days, I think I'm destined for a implosion of my brain. Also, for my three roommates, Sonia in particular. She's become quite attatched to me, and we've had some excellent conversations. Please pray for me, that I would find many ways to reach out to her and be a good friend.
Much love to all!
