Thursday 26 June 2008


English lessons have taken off! Yesterday we had ten kids. This is a good size for me. I don't think I would want more. Unless we were running a full scale VBS. A lot of them are neighbors so they can come by themselves. Hopefully it will be easier to meet the parents. A lot of people in the neighborhood are getting to know us and so far we have a good reputation. Which is good because a lot of people are suspicious of anything but orthodox. 

These little stinkers were cheating! I didn't notice until I saw the picture. They are peeking under the blindfold!  Everybody had a blast anyway. 

Saturday 21 June 2008

Tom's married!!!!


Tom is also now living in Japan, I don't know which is more of a shock. His wife is a very sweet lady. Japanese of course, but she speaks good English. It is a little strange that I have a Japanese sister-in-law. In Japan when you file the documents you are married. So there was no ceremony. I don't know if they are going to do a ceremony or not.  They are a pretty cute couple anyway. I know not everybody that reads this will know Tom but I don't have any news so I thought I would just post somebody elses. 

Thursday 12 June 2008

English lessons

 Play dough
This is the second week these girls have come. I had planned two classes a week. However as you saw in the last post, the first class is a no-go.  The older class, just these two girls have showed up both times we have had class. We had another girl last week, but as you can see she didn't make it this week.  I am still hoping we can meet these girls  families, and witness to them. We are having a blast though. They are so fun. And they are retaining the lessons really well.  Kaylona hates when I take pictures of her, it is a good thing she doesn't have a blog. She won't see this or she would kill me. 

Monday 9 June 2008

English lessons

Studying hard
This week no one came for English lessons. I came around the back of the church building and here they were taking a break. The photo opp was irresistable. Kaylona is the one in the middle, by the way. She is helping me translate. Benjamin is on the left and Adele  on the right. They adore Kaylona.
       I hung balloons on either end of the street, and had gone back to the church building to repair one of my signs and came back out and saw a couple of girls running off with my balloons. I asked politely where they had gotten them, and they told me from school I said how funny I just hung some balloons just like that at the end of the street. Well I invited them to English classes anyway, they were the right age for our Thursday session. Then I went back in and came back out and decided I had better go check on my balloons at the opposite end of the street, the direction the girls had been walking in. There they were making off with the rest of them. They were caught red-handed and were going to try to tell me a lie. But I kept interrupting scolding them in broken Russian. One had already ran away. The other one gave me back the balloons that she had, and helped me hang them back up. She asked me where I was from and upon discovering that I was American, was very interested in the lessons. I thought the whole thing was hilarious. I told her to come, I have 40 balloons waiting for her.