Checkin' if your church was made with hands

Pray for our friends in Vietnem, who are no longer able to meet with Family to talk and learn about their Father like they used to.

Check out some photos, the link is over there ----->
Assuming they upload, that is.

Also, our washing machine takes 2.5 hours to do a simple load of whites. I'd complain, but it's still better than doing it by hand. My whites were more like grays by the end of last year. However, I came back home around dinner time after spending the afternoon exploring (the city) with Alana to discover my laundry load had stopped halfway. Why? Mysteriously, nothing eletric was working on one half of the flat. I flipped the breaker (in the hall) and all was well. Until the breaker tripped again. Ha ha, doing laundry is so funny.
Wait, there's more.
Once my load was finally done, I went to hang them up to dry on our balcony. No sooner had I hung everything up, but the line broke. Damp clothes on the filthy floor! Hooray! Those clothes are washing as I type. I'm still nervous about hanging them on a line five stories up on the outside of the balcony. Those clothespins better hold.

Good news: computer speakers are affordable and delicous... sounding.

Lost Luggage: A Tale of Beauty, Mystery, Suspence and Poor Spelling

Not really. The only bag Luftansa "lost" was my guitar, which I picked up no prob in the Karaganda airport. The cold, dead and dark Karaganda aiport. Picture an airport about the size of Tashkent's. Take away the people. And the cars. And the lights. Add some howling wind and steppe and you've got it. Still, I go my guitar OK.

So yeah, I'm here in Kazakhstan. It's cold and rainy right now, but the weather is supposed to clear up and be back in the 70's by the end of the week. I'm just glad I brought my boots, that's all.

My living conditions have taken a giant leap forward. You could probably fit three of my old apartments into this one. I have my own room. We've got a washing machine AND a microwave!I used it to warm up soup. Jon had a little trouble getting the washing machine to unlock and give him his clothes back, but it worked out ok.

I went to church this morning--I think it's a Methodist plant of some sort. Anyway, the ESI group was 1/2 the congregation and it was all in Russian. A good reminder of how much my Russian sucks. And how good it is to worship. Worshiping God is good.

I don't have anything to do this week except stop being constantly lost and maybe take a trip to Kyrgystan. So that's nice. Sorry if this post seems choppy, but I'm not writing because I'm in the mood tonight. More obligation. I dunno.

Don't get me wrong, I am very excited to be here, where God's put me. Just not as excited about posting, for some reason. Still, hooray for boots!

On the Road Again

I'm literally starting a journey halfway around the world tomorow. It'll take me under a week to get to my final destination, but like Alana's grandpa says (in her newsletter, copied without permission), "It's better than a three month boat ride to India around the Horn."
True.
And this is just on commercial transport, open to anyone with the cojones to try. Just think of where I could get if I were in my hypothetical Land Rover or perhaps, horse. Admit it, it'd be way cool to ride a horse across Asia.

It's exciting to think about being back in the saddle soon. My Seattle-Denver-Frankfurt-Almaty route doesn't excite me, but I'm not complaining. I've got a tight layover in Frankfurt, by the way. And by tight, I mean I have an hour to get off one plane and onto the next. It's taken me 45 minutes to get off a plane before... so please pray for me.

I'm packing light--one checked bag (50lbs), my guitar and backpack (carry-on). Well, lighter than last year. This includes a suprise gift in the form of a giant down parka thingy tonight. I anticipate getting to Uzbekistan at some point to pick up a few things, but I'm pretty pleased with myself. My box of books is in the mail and should arrive before Thanksgiving. Maybe Halloween.

Finances are tight, but God continues to provide. People walk up in church and hand me cash. Crazy. I basically have no savings at this point. It bothers the provider/planner part of me to no end, but there's nothing I can do about it right now. I've got what I need to go to Kazakhstan, and I'm confident when it's time to come back I'll be able to.

It was also my last sunday at LIV today. I talked for a bit, they prayed for a bit and some people teared up. I love my church. Thank you all for everything.

Jacob and Whitney just got back from their honeymoon (in BC) tonight as well. How many married women can still get the youth (18 or under) discount? Booyah.

Last meal? Chocolate cake.

The latest...

Follow this link to the latest on religious freedom in Kzakhstan. Forum18 has lots of Uzbekistan news as well these days. Cheers.

Wedding PIctures

Married Man

My little brother Jacob is a married man. Weird.

Even weirder? A weekend (four days running now) with a house full of relatives AND Alana. Good times? Mostly. It's a lot for an introvert to deal with. But, since we're a family of introverts (generaly speaking), it hasn't been too bad.

Charlie and Lisa are staying with us. The rest of my mom's sisters (Margie, Laurie and Libby)were here... as well as some of their kids. Add 10 years to a cousin I never really knew that well and you get some vaguely recognizeable faces. Most of my dad's side came and went pretty quickly for some reason. It was a blessing that only a dozen or so of my 30+ cousins showed up. That'd have been embarrasing--I really don't know all their names. I met some new ones at the wedding. New to me, at least.

Not only did my little brother get married this weekend, I taught a short sunday school lesson AND youth group deally on sunday. Is there a difference between wingin' it and following the HS?

Today is also Alana's last day in Washington, EVER. Well, maybe not. She leaves for NY zafstra. It's been an amazing summer... and I still get to look forward to actually living in the same city as her. How cool is that?

We head for the big K-ganda on the 22nd. Holy crap that's close. Life has felt something like a sprint these last few days... I just can't seem to get caught up on sleep.

NEWS!

Visiting the Seattle area with Alana this last weekend was way fun. Saturday was all touristy stuff--Pike Place, the Needle, the Locks and whatever. We had an excellent dinner at Cutters followed by enjoying the view from Kerry Park. Sunday we did lunch in Freemont (Costas Opa)and then headed up to Whidbey Island in time to catch the sunset at Deception Pass after enjoying the lighthouse and beach at Ft. Casey. Washington rocks.

Nate English is in Leavenworth as well, which is big news to no one reading THIS thing.

Preparations are ramping up as the wedding aproaches this weekend. Today was a cleaning day--I don't imagine the cleaning will stop until the actual wedding consumes everyone's waking life. Today was a good day to just chill (after some serious dusting) and read... and finally get my newsletter updated and ready. The electronic version will be out tonight and the physical tomorrow (unless I'm going to see you at the wedding, then you'll get yours there).

I talked with the elder board at Light in the Valley yesterday. It was cool to see them in action--what with their minutes and agenda and prayer and everything. I gave them some refrence material and updated them on my plans. And, after answering a few questions, they decided to support me with actual money too! I expected some financial support, sure, but... they blew my mind. They've promised almost half of what I need for this next year! Praise the frickin' Lord!

One minor detail you all need to pray about, however. We still don't have Kazakh visas. Our passports are at the Uzbek embassy, but we're out of time to get both... so we'll have to do that in Kazakhstan. I am not looking forward to that.

Also, I think family is about to start showing up at our house.

I've got a flight to Kazakhstan!

I hiked Colchuck today!

Seattle tonight!

Woo!