Staying positive!

Sorry about how this looks - I fell on ice and landed on my laptop causing cracks in the screen and the images are all 'negative" - black is white, red is blue, ... Another week has gone by and we are still trying to get healthy. Viviane stayed home most of the week while I went with the Shaws (the couple we are replacing) to visit some of the organizations that they have partnered with in doing humanitarian work. The weather was very bitter until Friday when the wind died down and the temperature rose to -5. On Tuesday we went to the indoor bazaar to buy stuff for the missionary’s apts. Viviane went with us but she got worse after that and stayed home until Friday when we went to a luncheon hosted by one of the NGOs (Non-government Organization) that we work with here. They put out small plates of veggies and pickles etc with a big plate of noodles and meat that you see in the middle. The meat was beef and horse and all of it was very delicious. We both enjoyed it. I ate dog on my first mission and now I’ve expanded my palette to horse!!

They gave the Shaws some very nice going away gifts and they gave us a nice little gift also. These folks are so very kind. Earlier in the week I went to visit one of their facilities where they teach and house handicapped children ages 3-18. These children have autism, Down’s Syndrome, paralysis due to TB, polio, etc and these women do an angel’s job of caring for them. The feelings that I had while visiting there were very poignant for me. I felt the love that these workers have for these children – it was not just a job or career. I looked at the children – they were happy – called me Papa and gave me hugs – those that were bedridden waved and smiled. I cannot describe how I felt. I only know that I will be changed by this work that we have been called to do … and I welcome the change.

On Saturday we went looking at apartments. You have to do it through a “realtor” who just makes appointments for you to visit and talk to the landlord but they get a fee of 10% of a month’s rent. We didn’t find anything to our liking and so we will go again on Monday morning before our Humanitarian appointments. On Wednesday we fly to Almaty – a city about 650 miles south of here – for a missionary zone conference and to meet that members of the little branch there (only one in the country). The weather should be about 30 degrees warmer so we are looking forward to it.

We are still trying to find our way around the city. It is made a bit more difficult because everything is in Russian. We have found a few good stores here but we have to take our time and rely on the picture on the package since all writing is in Russian or Kazakh. We are learning Russian but it is a slow learning process. Viviane is pretty sure she bought some beef hamburger yesterday so we’ll see how it is when she cooks it. So far the chicken we have had is very tough/stringy.

The Lord is taking care of us as He does all His missionaries. We look forward to being well so that we can be more effective.