Siberia….at last!

Their apartment complex

I say at last because I truly never thot I would ever come to Siberia in my life time….and especially now when we were told we would most likely not be able to get visas while out of the states…is our Father amazing or what?!!

We arrived late Thurs nite or early Friday morning…depending how you look at it I guess.  We had a good nights sleep in bed # 22 that is an air mattress on top of an old sofa bed.  It is very comfy!  Lucas and Jamie have a nice apt. for Russian standards…. storage space…big bright windows…2 bedrooms with closet.  About three times what they had the first 2 years they were here. So thankful to see it and see what home is tho it is only a short few months till the plan is to move to Tuva.

Walking from bus to church

Roger here – I have to add some details about the uniqueness of flying into Krasnoyarsk.  Krasnoyarsk is a city of about 1 million and has many advances but the airport is small.  When you land, everyone stays seated until they complete a mandatory security check that consists of a security agent coming down the isle and shining what appears to be a read laser on your hand.  We have been told this is a drug check.  You then take a bus to a small room where you fill out an immigration form, go through immigrations, then push yourself into a room with one door, pick up your luggage and work to get to the agent who confirms it is your luggage (I was thankful for that).  You than go through customs check where they check you are not bringing too much into the country and x-ray your luggage to confirm you are not brining in anything illegal.  No pictures permitted.

Bus ride to registration - Sam is holding on

Lucas and a worker with Young Life were waiting for us and the fellow from Young Life was kind enough to drive Lucas to the airport and pick us up.  It was about a half drive at 2 AM.

Jan again - We woke up excited to see Sam and Sophie.  Sam stayed home from preschool to be with us and we were so glad.  He is 3 and half and full of fun imagination and tons of energy.  Sophie is sweet as always even tho she is teething (again) and has a cold. 

Jamie had class on Friday…her long day so she did not get home till about 4.  They alternate days so one of them can be with the kids.  They are taking classes on Russian topics such as literature planned to improve their language skills which allow them to be here on a student visa while working on a work visa…Father willing…soon.

Baptist church we registered at

So Lucas took us to get registered after breakfast.  Everyone must register their presence here.  Normally we would go to a police station but we were able to do it at a large Baptist church that has a person who does it there and it is so much easier so we went there.  We had an apt at 11 but the lady did not come till about 11:45 so we took walks around the parking lot breaking ice puddles.  Had our snacks we brought and then when the lady arrived we handed over our passports for the day and that was it.  It was funny to learn that I am listed as a man (most likely because of the spelling of my name) on my visa.  I had wondered why the 2 men in the immigration office at the airport were commenting and chuckling!  We spent the rest of the afternoon napping and playing with the kids.

Breaking ice in play ground

Sam on the merry-go-round

Saturday…. Lucas had to go to the University to participate in some English workshops for the English professors and was gone for a few hours.  Roger and I took Sam out to the playground in the center of their apartment buildings.  Spring is not a pretty time of year here.  The snow is gone except for some piles of black snow…areas of the ground where the sun is shining are muddy and the areas in the shade are icy…everything looks grey and dirty for the most part as a result of months of dirt accumulating on the snow.  In about 3 or 4 weeks the flowers will come up and grass grows and then it will be transformed till August.  There are some buds on the trees already so we are hoping to see some of the trees blooming while we are still here.  So back to the playground…ice puddles all over the place waiting to be stomped on of course.  That is Sam’s favorite thing to do…and if there is mud under the snow that makes it even more fun.  Fortunately Lucas and Jamie are not afraid of dirt so they allow him to stomp away.  We also enjoyed the merry go round for awhile.  Sam loves to push it around himself and when its going hops on and sits on the seat and looks quite pleased with himself.

Having a fun dinner

In the afternoon Jamie and I made homemade tortillas for tacos.  In the evening a couple came over as well as Vanessa (who is on their team) and her roommate.  They all understood English fairly well and some spoke it very well...but there was a lot of Russian being spoken and I was so glad to see Lucas and Jamie interacting in Russian with their friends they have made here.  They are now able to reap the benefits of their 2 very difficult years of language study!!  It was such a relaxing and fun evening.  I have been looking forward to meeting Vanessa for 2 and half years now and so it was so fun to spend time with her as well.   She is such an amazing young lady and I felt like I have already known here along time thru Lucas and Jamie…she has become a part of their family…so ours as well!

At church

Sunday….today we went to church in Siberia!  I think I still have to pinch myself to realize I am really here.  Lucas helped us by interpreting much of what was being said which was helpful.  The service was 2 hours long but went by quickly.  We met quite a few people and it just amazes me how large our Family is and how it does not matter if we don’t speak the same language ….our hearts are knit together because we are in the same family.

Playing in the snow

Enjoying being a boy in the mud

After the service we went to eat at a nearby restaurant… a quick meal with tired kids..and grownups.  On the way home Lucas went a different route to stop by the store and Jamie, kids and us went on the bus straight home….only to discover we forgot to get the keys from Lucas.  It turned out okay tho because the weather is gorgeous and we were at the playground that is practically outside the door to their building.  Being as it is quite warm…in the 50’s… today there were no ice puddles…only mud puddles!!  Sam had a grand time stomping in them with his boots…finding a old pop can to pour the yukky stuff with…also had fun climbing a filthy snow hill till his hands were freezing (we did not have gloves cause its so warm).  So warm means it is in the upper 50s today!!   For all those who cringed when we said we were coming to Siberia….this is why we saved it till the end of our trip knowing it could not possibly be in the minus 20s in April!!  It is quite pleasant and they say it will be warm the rest of the week!  Yeah!!  Tho I have to admit I would love to see all the snow rather than the muddy areas…but I would rather have 50s than snow…so…all in all we give thanks again for the gorgeous days!

Sam and Roger napping

As I write everyone is napping.  It is hard for me to nap…I have to be dead tired to nap so I get some quiet time in the kitchen with the computer to ramble on.  Sam laid down on our bed with Grandpa to take a nap and was out in 5 minutes.  It normally takes him a good half hour to settle to nap so that was nice for them. 

Since we have the windows open we can hear a lot more of the outside world.  There is an apartment building going up right next to theirs and there is a large crane always in motion and loud noises that go along with such a building project.   Also I can hear children down on the playground….street noises…dogs barking etc.  We are on the 9^th floor!  If the windows are closed you don’t hear much because they are triple paned.

Getting ready to go outside

I think the rest of today will be low key…we are having so much fun playing with Sam and Sophie and just talking and catching up with Lucas and Jamie in between life with a 11 month old and 3 yr old.  Its just fun to do life together…thank you father for this time!