JUNE 2012

It's Summer!!!!!        +95 degrees...even in Siberia!                                                  

Co-Workers enjoying lunch at our newest cafe.

Amazingly June is over half gone and again we wonder where the time has gone! And where did these temperatures come from??!  Summer plans are in full swing with continued work at our building, a conference at the end of this month, attending a two week camp on Baikal with four kids from our youth group (plus 100 other kids as well), and a visit from our home church in July! There's always plenty to do and we welcome the outdoor work with our friends....we have to get that huge dose of vitamin D from the sun before the winter months set in again!!

Our youth group has officially ended for the summer, but we have plans to go on hikes, picnics and hopefully have opportunities to meet some new kids as well. We decided in May to take the 'gang' to the river for games, food and to our surprise....swimming!! (These are true Siberian kids....if the sun's out and the weather's warm - you go swimming!) There had been ice on this river just one week prior.

 Hopping Caterpillar Game

                 Swimming in early May!!!

     Knot Game...never did get it right...

 Village life can have it surprises...you never know what the day will bring. Because we were going to be gone so much this summer; we had decided not to build a green house. Our dear friend had another plan and we were blessed with his expertise and help in building our own green house! If that's not exciting enough.... how about driving a litter of pigs to a village 45 miles away to sell them?!! The church pig had four piglets left and we needed to sell them before we left for conference....momma and baby pigs were NOT happy with the move!! The trip turned out to be a huge blessing for us as well as for the folks who had bought the piglets. They were very interested in 'why' Americans would live in a village and 'why' Siberia! We had a great conversation and are hoping to return and have tea and more discussions on spiritual matters. They are very open to this possibility!

As we mentioned earlier, we have some kids going to a youth camp on Baikal in July. Because the cost is quite high for the folks here, we decided the kids could work for some of the cost to go to the camp. It's been great fun and they're doing a terrific job!! 

Sanding doors before adding shellac.

Finishing touches...GREAT job!

They really ARE painting the fence and gate!!??

Within the last few days, we finished our first parenting class! (in Russian for the first time as well.) We have some interest to begin another class in September and ask for prayer as we prepare for the course. We are both working closely with a couple of people and are excited to see growth in their marriages, lives, and understanding of the Word.

 

As we write this,we are literally packing and getting ready to run out the door. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we travel and work alongside old friends, (and many new folks) at the camp in July. May your summer be blessed and filled with family and friends!

     Blessings from Siberia,

       Kevin & Laura

The true calling of a Christian is not to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things in an extraordinary way. ~~A. P. Stanley~~

May 2012

   

What started out as an ordinary work day, turned into a day we could never have imagined! We had succeeded in completing the kitchen and kid’s room at the building before Easter, however, we still had cabinets to hang and it was time to clean the territory outside. It was warm and sunny day and many had come to help with the work. The major chores now complete, we were washing all the dishes and shelves that had collected dust from the major remodeling! Then we received the call…..one of the young boys (age 17) had been with his brother collecting bricks to sell at one of the many abandoned buildings. For some reason, he had climbed onto what was left of the roof. Details are fuzzy we only know that the wall gave and the roof fell crushing this boy’s legs. Unable to get the concrete and bricks off his body, the young boy died. He had been coming to our services and he was a HUGE help with the building of the kitchen and kid’s room  ! The men had only just begun building relationships so this has been quite difficult for all. Please keep his younger brother and sister in your prayers. Their parents and grandmother are drunkards and have never been any kind of an example to these children.

On a much lighter note….we have been working on the building so that it would appear to be a ‘house of prayer’ and not just another house on the block. There have been some outside donations over the past year; however, we are amazed at the amount of money this small group has pulled together for use in the upkeep and continued work needed to finish the inside of their building.

Kid's room/Sunday School classroom

Kitchen area before remodeling

Installing insulation!!!

Need a bigger opening??...use the
chainsaw!!!

Decided to keep this wall natural....
it took three days of sanding

Kevin and Sergie...working?!!?

1st wall done...five more to go!!!!

Dry wall almost complete.....new entrance to porch/coat room (left) and kitchen almost complete (on the right)

Kid's room complete...curtains and posters to come!

Where everyone washes their hands....bucket catches water
underneath...running water is next project.

The new kitchen!!  Waiting for a gas/electric stove to
replace the wood burning stove.

THANK YOU for those who sent special funds to help make this possible!!! We'd like to work on the outside of the building. It looks nothing like a house of prayer, just another house on the street. Our goal is to put siding on just the front and one side of the building. Currently we have some funds but are still in need. Please join with us in prayer that this is where our funds should go and it would be His will! You may ask why we feel this is important....without question, every time we're talking with folks in the village and mention where the fellowship meets, they're very surprised that our 'building' is such a place and 'not' just another house. Apparently appearances are important at times. Again, we appreciate your prayers in this matter.

The grass and trees are finally turning green!!! Work in the gardens is underway and folks are out walking or riding their bicycles....finally free of heavy coats and fur hats! We love springtime because it means new beginnings. That's our hope, we'll see new beginnings in someones' life in the coming months. That we'll see a renewed vision in the fellowship to meet new people and to share His mercy, love, and hope!

Blessings from Siberia,
   Kevin & Laura

Our deeds are seeds of fate, sown here on earth, but bringing forth their harvest in eternity.

George Dana Boardman

International Women's Day and a Men's Conference.......

How can we make the women of the fellowship feel special on Woman's Day this year?  That is the question Kevin posed to the men of the fellowship...We as a group of men thought we should treat the ladies to a luncheon that we, the men, would prepare, cook and do the clean up to make this a very special treat for the ladies.

We realized that none of us knew how to bake so we decided that it would be best to buy cakes; you gotta admit that they are nice looking cakes.  They tasted so good too. We didn't have a single complaint that they were not homemade!

Laura planned a few games that the ladies seemed to enjoy....

Of course there are always kids around so we played with the kids that came and fed them in another room so the mothers could enjoy their special day...the kids seemed to enjoy Kevin's spaghetti.

 The ladies truly enjoyed being waited on.  Laura tells me that the time of fellowship and games was a great break from the regular routine that these ladies are normally involved in.

All in all it was a success and we hope to make it an even larger event next year; a day to let the ladies know they are special....Those are smiles of joy on their faces!

                                                                                 

A few of the men were able to take part in a men's conference on Lake Baikal.  There were about 50 men altogether. The other day, Kevin was talking to one of our neighbors and she could not believe that 50 men could get together for three days and not have any vodka! This of course gave him the chance to talk a bit about the conference and why there was no alcohol.  

Our guys on the first day...

Of course we had fun on the frozen lake.  

This is Kevin in an ice cave...amazing what happens when the waves on the lake freeze..

The conference was excellent for all that attended; the teaching has and will impact lives...One night we all watched the film, "Courageous."  If you have not seen the film...you need to!! It's a quality film and the message is right on.  

The sun just before sunset across the frozen Lake Baikal...What an amazing sight!!!!  His creation is truly breath taking!  

I hope you were able to get a small glimpse of some of the things happening here.  We still need to post some pictures of the recent picnic and hike we had with some of the youth.  Until then, keep your focus on Him who gave us the sunset that you see in the above picture!

Have a wonderful day!

Kevin and Laura

"I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress."
~ Ronald Reagan

IT'S SPRING......at least that's what the Russian calendar says!

Perhaps it's Spring somewhere in the world; just not in Siberia...at least not yet! We're getting closer to above freezing temperatures...maybe just a few more days ??!!! In any case, we thought it was a great idea to show you around town. We confess our pictures don't show people; mainly because when we were taking these pictures, folks were still pretty much bundled up - you don't see many faces during the winter months. So.... ......grab a cup of coffee and sit back as you walk around our village of Horinsk.

Coming into our village...sign says Horinsk.

The regional hospital as you come into town.

One of two auto parts stores!

Newer of the two gas stations.

Bringing gas from the city.

One of the many grocery stores in our village.

School #1.......nearest to our apartment.

The Post Office/Phone company/
Internet service Offices

WWII Memorial in foreground,
Sports Hall and Culture Center
in the background.

The newest Kindergarten...there are four others with
as many as 100 children in each. The name is
"Golden Keys" and was built in six months by Chinese workers.

Center of town with medical clinics on either side
of this picture.

The county library.

Our apartment - second floor with balcony.

 





















These are typical homes anywhere in Russia. Approx. 80% of these type of homes do not have      central heating or water and have outside toilets as well. 

This is where we live....although there have been adjustments to village life, it has become home for now! This is some added information for those who appreciate more than just the pictures :) Our village is located in a valley surrounded by mountains. The average temperature in summer is 85 degrees with winter months averaging -28C. We don’t get much snow but once we do, it will remain until March.  Our community is approx. 40% Buriat and 60% Russian. (Also folks from Uzbekistan, China and AmericaJ) This village was once quite small but as of 2010, the population is 8,430. It’s the region’s central town and has two schools, four kindergartens (these are separate from the schools because they are open to children from 2-6 years of age), a library, and indoor gymnasium for the community, four small cafes in town and two on the edge of town. There’s also a library, a very old and small museum and of course a monument in the center of town to those who died in WWII. We only have four paved roads, the others are gravel and/or sand with lots of dips and holes. This being the ‘county seat’, we also have government offices and the courthouse.  Not more than 20 years ago, this town also had several factories. There was a chicken farm with 50,000 chickens, a diary farm that supplied milk products to the region, hay was grown outside of town about 20 km on 100’s of acres of land; after ‘peristroika’ the equipment disappeared and all of these farms and businesses closed. There is a local butcher which has also started a small business that makes a national food that’s something like a meat dumpling for this region. There must be 30 or more small stores that sell groceries, an appliance store and two furniture stores, and our version of home depot (only lots smaller). We also have 6 sawmills, however, they employ the Chinese because it’s cheaper and that is where approx. 80% of the lumber is shipped. With all of this you’d think most folks would have jobs….we still see the unemployment rate over 40%!

“I must have walked around your building for two hours before knocking on your door!” It had been at least three weeks since Sergei had spoken with us or anyone else from the fellowship! He had made the decision to go back to that ‘old life’ of drinking and hanging around ‘friends’ that would drag him away from his ‘new life’. March 2^nd Sergei decided he’d had enough….he called Kevin and with heavy feet and a very heavy heart came to our door to ask for forgiveness. We have written about Sergei and his family and of his problem with alcoholism. We’ve also written of how he has wanted to change his life; to be a better husband and father. We pray this time Sergei will stand firm in his faith and trust the only One who can make a difference in his life. PLEASE remember this family in prayer; they’re expecting their fourth child and we see them becoming a huge part in the fellowship’s future. ( We decided not to post a picture of the family because this is posted online.)

In closing, we ask that you would remember not only the family mentioned above but also a young lady from our fellowship that almost lost her arm at work. A very long story, short - they doctor here was able to save her arm. She has feeling in the arm and hand and is able to move her fingers! However, the 'pins' needed to place in her arm to stabilize the broken bones is only found in the city and after six weeks of trying to 'fix' the arm here, our friend will be going to the city for her third and hopefully final operation. PLEASE join with us in lifting this need to the only ONE that can heal in all situations. We are so grateful for the continued prayers and support you so abundantly give - THANK YOU!

   Blessings from Siberia,
     Kevin and Laura

 The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.

- Ann Landers