Then we had a devotional outside, where we talked about our quiet time as well as some new devotions. Next we all met together and shared the prayer requests for our teams. Each team prayed for the other team. Then we had worship, and then another meeting before lunch. Olga (she works for OM Russia) talked to us and the Russian members about how if we were asked any questions or stopped by police to remember that we are "tourists" and OM Russia does not exist. (Sidenote: it is actually OM Russia's 20th anniversary, so they have successfully remained a secret for the past 20 years!) Then it was lunch - buckwheat and meatballs...I had a giant plate of buckwheat and some apple, followed by tea. I love that Russians are as nuts about tea as I am. Tea time is a regular thing here after every meal!
After lunch we packed up two cars with 10 bodies and each of our luggage (very squishy!!!) and drove to Yurga (approximately 4 hours). I'm in the backseat with Dimona and Olesya, and we spent time learning some Russian from Olesya and we taught her some English.
We are still riding in the car now, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to write about the things I never have time to say! So just a warning...the next little bit will just be random, unconnected thoughts. :)
I am loving all of my new friends here! I am closest to Kristina (from Denmark) and Dimona (from Switzerland) - they are really great! The three of us speak English, and everybody else on our team is Russian. Luckily Kristina can also speak Russian, and one of our Russian team members, Olga, can also speak some English.
On Tuesday when we were out sightseeing in Novosibirsk, one of our team members received a call from her husband that he had lost his keys to their apartment. I don't quite understand how it all works, but apparently they were not registered so they couldn't go to anyone to help them get in. Anyway, she was very worried and upset. So we all stood in a circle at that moments and prayed in Russian, Danish, and English that God would help them through this and provide a miracle. About an hour later she received a call that he found the keys!
Also today, our team leader, Julie, was not feeling well. She is 5 months pregnant and was throwing up, and we were supposed to be leaving in a couple of hours for Yurga. We all prayed for her, and within an hour or so she was feeling much better and wasn't throwing up anymore! Her husband asked us to make sure she doesn't do too much on the trip. She is only staying for the first camp in Yurga to help make sure we know what we are doing and then she will be going home.
The landscape in Siberia is a lot like Manitoba. Right now, driving down the highway, we are surrounded by Forrest's on both side, just like at home. The housing is very different, though. I had just assumed they would be typical European houses, but they are definitely not! The majority of what I have seen look extremely run-down. Everything is peeling and falling apart - many of them look like little shacks I might expect to see in the slums of India. I had no idea that's what it was like here! There are also giant apartments. One of the main ones in Novosibirsk is so long - it looked like it would nev end as we were driving by. If I had to guess, I would say it was about 2-3 blocks long, with about 6 or 7 stories. It was build during the Second World War - a place where people would all live together (under the laws of Communism).
Every man has to join the army for 1 year, but this year it is changing to 2 years. They go when they turn 18, unless they go to university, then they join when they are done.
Brother in Russia is "brat"! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
The roads and driving in Siberia is very different from home! There aren't even lines diving the lanes, and cars just seem to be all over the place! Drivers are so aggressive and cars just seem to go any way whenever they need to!! I'm glad I don't have to drive here!
Like we have deer crossing signs, they have cow crossing signs!
Now we have arrived in Yurga and its the end of the day. When we arrived we came to a flat where some people will be staying, and where we will eat all of our meals and have all of our meetings. It belongs to an elderly lady who is a Christian, and she volunteered to let us use it, so she is staying somewhere else right now! Wow! So kind! The flat is very, very small. There also aren't many dishes so for meals we often have to share our dishes with each other. For dinner everyone was eating these round things that looked kind of like perogies but had meat in the middle. I had rice and some broccoli/cauliflower mix. We did some more planning for our first day of camp, and got everything ready.
Then Olga, Kristina, Dimona and I went to the dorm we will be staying in tonight (we will be moving to someone else's flat for tomorrow night). The building is a very old concrete building and looks like its falling apart.
The inside hallways were plain concrete with lights above - it reminded me of the hallways in an old mental institution in a scary movie or something! When the lady that works the showed us to our room I just about died! I have to say, I didn't expect accommodations like this in Russia!
The beds were little spring beds with thin mattresses on them. The mattresses were all yellowed and brown and did not look very clean or inviting! But that wasn't the worst part! Next she showed us the shower and the toilet. The shower is in a big room, but the floor is all brown and falling apart, and quite dirty. It's hard to explain - a picture would be easier! I left my sandals on when I had my shower! The toilet is in another room that is equally dirty and falling apart. It doesn't have an actual seat, so you can't really sit on it easily. But Olga right away told us "Don't sit on that toilet - it's not cleaned". Ok then!
The lady that works here (Lena) is really nice. She brought us a vase of flowers to put in our room and brought sheets for the beds. She also brought pillows but I used mine :) The four of us just prayed about not getting bed bugs!
I am really loving the company of the girls I'm working with. We have become so close - I'm sure partly a result of living together 24-7, but also just another example of being sisters of the same family!
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