All good things

Come from Above..

The last couple of months have been difficult, SO. VERY. DIFFICULT. We continue to struggle with busy schedules, but also the last week or so has brought some relief, excitement and overall good things! As I said in my last post, there are always things to be thankful for, and it is important to find those things at all times. But right now we have some really major pra!se reports going on!

Let’s start from the very beginning ♫ a very good place to start ♫. I have been working in the cafe way too much the past couple of months and have really desired to have someone to help take the load off. In the beginning of the year I overcommitted a bit because I didn’t realize what a strain it would be to learn Russian, teach English and work at the Cafe. I was extremely frustrated with the lack of time for Russian practice and study. Since then I have felt very tired and overwhelmed with all of the work that I have been doing.

You may have also noticed my lack of communication and blog involvement, which is something that I really love, one of those things that really gives me joy. Another thing that fills me up, is meeting with friends here and I haven’t been doing much of that lately either. I was working a lot of hours, and becoming very frustrated. I felt like I had lost my purpose here and also felt very disconnected with friends and family back home as well.

I had voiced this to our manager at the cafe and he was understanding and knew they needed to find someone local to work as a barista, so that the Native English Speakers who work at the cafe could spend time speaking to students, which is something that I love to do  But we weren’t sure how long it would take to find someone, they thought it could possibly take another month or so. But Dad’s timing in this situation was swift, and exactly what I needed!

Two weeks ago when I was closing the Cafe on a Friday night, I said to Curtis, I don’t think I can take more than two more weeks of this schedule! I was so tired every friday night when I got home and the weekends usually weren’t much easier, full, with meetings, gatherings etc. Then back to work on Monday, then Tuesdays is our sabbath, but it seemed that every Tuesday we had to do something, whether it was a meeting, sanitation tests for the cafe (loooong story) or planning for classes, that made it feel a lot less like a sabbath day.

I am not saying this to complain, we really tried to make the best of it while it was like that, and at times I DID complain. Not gonna lie, I was like a whiney little baby at times. But there were many times when I thought, I love everything I am involved in for the most part, but there is just tooooo much of it and no time to breeeeath!

So, all that being said, we have found an amazing little asian solution to the problem. Her name is Janna, she is family, and she works in the cafe with me now  I L.O.V.E HER sooooooo much! She speaks very little English and our relationships is all in Russian! PTL! My Russian is THAT good now! Two pra!se reports there! We found someone for the cafe and some of my cafe time has turned into Russian practice time!!! OUR DAD IS AMAZING! He is our PROVIDER! He is so VERY fa!thful!

I have been aspiring to learn Russian the past two years, last year I spent a little time each week building vocabulary, and this year I finally have the time to put in the hours it needs and it seems to really be flowing out of me.I feel like it is finally happening because I know what to do to learn, I have the confidence to practice and I also found that listening to Russian on my ipod (thanks mom  ) really helps.

Now, I feel more like part of our team, since more than half of them are Russian speakers, and life in general is just easier. It is also an amazing accomplishment for me to have this new relationship completely in Russian. The only others that I have had that with these last couple of months is my teachers, but talking with Janna is so easy and really fun. I am so thankful for this beautiful and loving girl that is helping in our cafe now 

The next pra!se is from Curtis, a little bit shorter. He has been working to put together curriculum for his second module of classes for Global Citizenship. A class that is much more than a simple English Class. He and our director have been talking about this for sometime now and have not been able to find any inspiration until recently. The other day they sat down in a meeting, and by Dad’s gr*ce, two hours later came out with ideas for an entire semester’s curriculum! Before their meeting they asked for inspiration from Dad and they surely got it.

So, we really have a lot to be thankful for, a lot to pra!se Dad for, so many answers! We are also thankful to you who have fa!thfully been interceding for us. We are truly blessed to have you all in our lives! So, we want to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts ♥