Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Language

Well, I think everyone knows that I want to be able to speak Russian. Well, honestly, I want to be able to speak Russian well. I already speak some. On a side note, I use to always say I wanted to be able speak Russian like a second grader - that was my goal. After 2 years in Ukraine, I honestly believe, God blessed me and I reached that goal. When I was still in Ukraine, I was expressing my frustration with my many grammatical mistakes and my friend Sasha told me that I should have prayed that God would help me to learn to speak Russian like a fifth grader.

At any rate, after so much prayer, time, and effort, I really want to retain the Russian I have learned and it would be great if I could learn more during my time here in America. Then, when I return to Ukraine, I can learn Ukrainian. So, before I came home, I began praying for a native Russian speaker to tutor me. Now, keeping in mind, I did not move to a metropolitan area. I am living in the hills of Eastern Kentucky. But I kept praying. When I arrived here at KMBC, I asked people, if they knew any Russian speakers. They all looked at me like I was perhaps crazy and said no. But God gave me a confidence He would provide. To one person, I actually replied, "well, don't be surprised if a Russian speaker moves here".

Anyway, I was invited to share about Ukraine at a boarding school about 10 miles from KMBC. Before I presented, I played a game with the students using the Russian alphabet and I was informed that the game wasn't really fair because they have TWO students that were adopted from Russia so they already know the alphabet. Praise the Lord! One of those students, a sixteen year old girl named Ana has agreed to be my tutor. The coolest thing of all, she wants to return to Russia when she finishes college and serve God there. She is so excited to have someone excited about speaking and learnign Russian.

God is SO GOOD!

On another note, in my excitement of sharing this praise, one of my professors and his wife asked me how I will go the 10 miles each week for my lessons. Well, to be honest, I hadn't thought that far ahead and when they asked I said, I am not sure how God will provide that yet. They answered, you can borrow our car to drive to and from your lesson. Again, praise the Lord! I am so amazed by His provision and His goodness to me. What a wonderful confirmation that He is preparing me to return to Ukraine.

just silliness

God has really blessed me with the dorm situation here at school. It was something I was REALLY dreading, but honestly, it is great. I am in the "older" dorm. The new dorm is airconditioned and the building is nicer. Several of the rooms have carpet and multiple windows, truly, it is very nice. The dorm I am in is not as nice, but much less populated. There are only five girls in my dorm (the first floor houses the student center and the book store), two on the second floor and three on the third. The two other girls on my floor are also non-traditional students, which has been really great for me. One is a junior and the other has also been out of school for a while and this is her first semeser back in college. She is also not from Kentucky, so we have had a lot of fun experiencing new things here.

We very much enjoy the accents we hear, honestly the other day neither of us had any idea what was being said to us. We are enjoying the long winding roads (she has a car) that narrow to one lane and seem to be headed no where and then suddenly come out at either a highway or a driveway, you never no which it will be. We found a well marked quicksand area and bridges that seems to go everywhere and nowhere. Two of our favorite things are the little houses built on the edge of the road for school bus stops, which more than once have also held a sign stating "Beware of dog" and the fact that the hardware store has a pet section with dogs, cats, bunnies, fish, everything.

a praise

God is so amazing to me. I am amazed how much I have grown and how much He has changed me. I remember when I attended college before and I HAD to work two jobs. I remember crying about it, struggling over it, and failing. Why, did I have to work two jobs - I had to have a place to live and a car to drive and bills for myself and helping others. I am intelligent, but I could not do it all, and failing in college before has always been a difficult subject for me.
Returning to school now, at 33 years old, I see that those things I struggled with and that compelled me to work the way I did, really come down to pride in myself and a failure to trust God. So, humbly and trusting, I am attending Kentucky Mountain Bible College. I am living in the dorm, eating cafeteria food, I have no car and no income, and so much joy. Before I came, I prayerfully struggled with returning to school, and now I am so excited about how I can see God at work here. I am amazed at the plans he has for me and I am so happy to be here in this place. And I am trusting Him to provide for me while I am here.

Monday, September 15, 2008

a quick note

Hi all,

Sorry it has been so long since I posted. I have a lot to say, but not a lot of time to say it. So, a quick summary. School is going well, I have made new friends and I am enjoying my classes. God has provided in amazing ways, I can so see Him at work in me, and I have some amazing answered prayers that I need to share in another update. I am still missing Ukraine (a lot) and adjusting to being in America but not at home (unbelievably, I have still not seen all of my family and friends and I have been in this country for more than a month)

I have not kept in touch the way I should and I am embarassed to admit I am remarkably behind in sending out "thank you" cards. Please forgive me and grant me a little more patience.

More and better posts soon.
Shushan