December in rewind

Sorry for not updating about December, but I'll try to give you a brief update of the past month.

December started with the anticipation of the end of this semester becoming more real. We realized we only had 3 weeks left with some of the students before they went home for good, and the rest of our students went home for holiday. We became even more strategic and purposeful with the time we had left with them.

Our students are intimate and personal when it comes to family and friends. As a team we had to decide how to celebrate Christmas with them and share the Christmas story. What better way than to have 6 small, intimate parties on 6 different nights for them to choose from. This way no one would get lost in the crowd, and we would have ample opportunity to talk to them.

They were able to make cards, play games, and decorate cookies. Then we gathered them together in the living room, served them dinner, and Scott shared with them the most important part, the Christmas story. For some it was the first time they've heard the story. I can't tell you how many times we heard the following:

• I'll never forget this night, even when I'm old I'll tell of this night to my grandchildren.
• I've never heard this story before.
• I've always wanted to celebrate Christmas and the birth of His Son.
  
• I've heard the story before but never like this, and never with this much love.
  

It made us feel privileged and honored to be able to share in this great joy with them. After we told them the story we gave them a gift. A bookmark, an OMF CD, and the Great Book in either Kazakh or Russian. It was beautiful to see some clutching that bag like a treasured jewel they would never let out of their sight.

Below is one of the group pictures.



Even after the dust was settled, and the parties were over, and we stopped living the day over 6 times, ask any of us and we would do it again. We laid the harvest throughout the semester, watered the fields and started seeing the beginning sprouts of the work we've done. The fruit is becoming more evident.

Then came Christmas day. BUT let me first explain Christmas eve. Coming from Texas this poor southern has never experienced a white Christmas. The closest I've come is 2 days before and by the 24th the snow had melted away. So needless to say I was giddy with anticipation living in a cold place with the legitimate opportunity to have a white Christmas. However the city was experiencing a warm front, and by warm I mean the high 40s, so my excitement dwindled. BUT then the 24th the day started getting colder and by the end of the night it started snowing! By morning we had gotten 8 inches of snow!!! Needless to say I was a happy camper.

So back to Christmas, after we opened stocking most people went to sled, I stayed to help cook Mexican for lunch! Oh the joys of cooking Mexican, the only thing missing were tamales. After lunch, everyone seemed tired and wanted to nap. So we all took naps, then opened our secret santa gifts. I got an awesome Gloria Jeans traveling mug and tons of tea. Then I went sledding for I don't know how long, it was awesome!!

So that's my December recapped. There's so much more I could share but it would take too long to explain.

So I'll leave you with a few things:

A song I really love to sing in Russian that's been on my heart for some time now, especially since we sing it alot for our gatherings. It's the song Everyday and here are the lyrics in Russian:

Точно Я знаю за меня

Ты жизнь отдал

Я тебя славлю милость Ты Свою послал

Спас меня Господь для Тебя сейчас живу

Каждый день буду верить слову Твоему

На Твоём Слове буду твёрдо я стоять

Я молюсь чтобы Тебя больше мне познать

Чтоб меня вёл Ты

Каждый шаг мой направлял

Каждый день буду Твоё Слово исполнять

Каждый день живу с Тобой Бог

Каждый день иду я за Тобой

Каждый день живу Господь Тобой

Каждый день

мой для Тебя...

Another thing: Praise until the worship comes, worship until the glory comes, then stand in His presence or glory.

Here everyday is a privilege....

Happy New Year! С Новым Годом!

Happy New Year or as they say in Russian С Новым Годом! In post-sovient countries, much like Kazakhstan, New Year is a holiday celebrated much like Christmas.

Let me start by explaining the significance of this day:

Due to the suppression of religion during the Soviet regime, St. Nicholas was

replaced by Ded Moroz or Grandfather Frost, the Russian Spirit of Winter who brought gifts on New Year's. He is accompanied by Snyegurochka, the Snowmaiden, who helps distribute the gifts. He often brings them in person, at the celebrations of the New Year. The "in-person" gifts only occur at big organized celebrations, where the gifts can be "standardized." The clandestine operations of placing the gifts under the New Year tree still occur while the children

are young. Ded Moroz is accompanied by Snegurochka (Russian: Снегурочка), or 'Snow Maiden,' his granddaughter. She is a unique attribute of the image of Father Frost – none of his foreign colleagues has a similar companion.

The traditional appearance of Ded Moroz has a close resemblance to that of Santa Claus, with his coat, boots and long white beard. Specifically, Ded Moroz wears a heel-long fur coat, a semi-round fur hat, and white valenki or high boots (sapogi), silver or red with silver ornament. Unlike Santa Claus, he walks with a long magical staff, does not say "Ho, ho, ho," and drives no reindeer but a troika.

The Christmas tree (Yolka) is yet another tradition banned during the Soviet era.To keep the custom alive, people decorated New Year's trees, instead. Since ornaments were either very costly or unavailable, family trees were trimmed with homemade decorations and fruit. Yolka comes from the word which refers to a fir tree. The custom of decorating Christmas trees was introduced to Russia by Peter the Great, after he visited Europe during the 1700s New Year Eve instead of Christmas.

Few people in Russia remember, but when the communists took power in 1917 they banned the open expression of religion. While it was easy to pray at home, the Russian people were concerned about giving up their traditional Christmas celebration.

So needless to say ringing in the New Year here was epic, and unlike anything I have ever experienced. Days before the 1st, people were already shooting off fireworks.

I had the privilege to spend New Years Eve with some incredible people. We had dinner, played some games, and went onto the roof to watch the fireworks. My friend's house where we were celebrating is close to the mountains. On this night, the view of the mountains was ridiculous. Most days and nights, the mountains are covered by pollution, or some type of fog in the air. Except this night! Minutes before midnight, people were already setting off fireworks, and at the stroke of 12 it seemed like everybody set off their fireworks in unison. The sky was lit by fireworks! We had a 360 view of the city and the mountains, and were overwhelmed by the epicness of fireworks. For the next 20 minutes all over, the city was lit in the best fireworks display these eyes have ever witnessed. They even continued to shoot off fireworks until 4am.

I was blown away by the majesty of it all. These people take this holiday so seriously. To see all those fireworks, makes me wonder how much money these people had to save throughout the year to shoot off that many for that long. The people aren't wealthy by any means, and put alot of their savings into this one night.

Here are a few pictures from that night, which by the way don't do justice to it at all!

Imagine the above picture 360, every house, and maybe you can imagine what we witnessed. Too bad it's a little blury...

Here are a couple of more pictures of my campus after the 2nd snowfall. Usually after a snowfall or the mornings are the best times to see the mountains clearly before the smog of the city is too much. When we do have an opportunity to see a clear view of them we're usually blown away by the beauty. Seriously folks these mountains look like a holiday back drop just pasted in the background.

Here everyday is a privilege