Merry Christmas 2018

We spent Christmas Eve morning with friends from our home fellowship having a yummy brunch and then worshiping together. The international fellowship that we attend here had a service on Christmas Eve that we attended. It was a beautiful time to remember why we celebrate. Something else new we did this year during the advent season was to read a chapter of Luke a day starting on December 1. It was a great way to get to know Jesus and the life he lived as we prepared to celebrate his coming. Our friend, Kanani, came to visit us and celebrate with us. She used to live in this city and we know her from Nashville, but not she lives in Minsk and teaches at a school there. 

Christmas Eve Brunch with the Stonehowers! 

Our kids with our friend, Mary, from our fellowship here

Kanani

Kids' Christmas Program

Our school had a Christmas program with the whole school participating. The Kindergarten and first grade did two songs together. We taught the kids sign language to go along with their singing since one of the students in my Kindergarten class is deaf. The third and fourth grades (Kate's class) did a skit and some songs throughout. Fifth and sixth (Anna's class) did a skit and some songs. The upper school (7-12) also did a funny rhyming skit that they wrote themselves. The other interpreter and myself were interpreting the whole program and that party was a little tricky, but we had a good time with it. Rhyming in ASL and spoken English are not the same. All of the kids did a great job and were ready for their class parties and last day of school the next day!

 

Happy 4 Months!

We have now lived in our city for four months! A lot has happened in the past month. We have had the youth Christmas party, the youth workers staff party, the school staff Christmas party, the kids' Christmas program at church, dates with the kids, school Christmas program, school Christmas parties, and now winter vacation! Yay!  We have had a long month and are so thankful for the break. 

Volleyball Tournament

Anna played on the junior (what they call the younger teams) volleyball team and I helped coach. We both had a great time playing and coaching. The kids practiced twice a week for two months and then had a weekend tournament (Thanksgiving weekend)with multiple games each day(Thursday/Friday) and then the championship game on Saturday. Each of our times was in the championship game: Senior girls soccer (They took 1st!) and our junior boys and girls teams (They each took 2nd!). It is really amazing what these kids do each year. Our school has a very small courtyard where the kids practice. They practice on a court that is much smaller than a regulation court and most of the time they are practicing outside in the cold. One day a week, they went to practice in a gym at an international school nearby. The same for soccer. Then, they come to the tournament and do so well! Plus, our school got the most important award, The Sportsmanship Award. Each of the coaches gives a 1-4 score to the other schools based on how they interacted with each other, the other teams, and the refs. Our school got a perfect score, the only school not to have a single complaint against them. Praise Him! We play against schools that are not like-minded. We pray that our lives would be lights to the other kids that attended that weekend. 

Thanksgiving with Friends

This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving early with two different groups of people. The country we are in does not celebrate Thanksgiving, so we had school on that day. Plus, the volleyball teams I coached and that Anna played on had a tournament Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We actually had grilled cheese and soup on the actual day of Thanksgiving. For the two meals with our friends, we had chicken, plov (a local dish), turkey, stuffing, veggies, bread, and lots of desserts. We celebrated with friends that are from America and some friends that are local. Both times, we also took time to sing worship songs, say what we were thankful for, and also play some fun games. We missed our families this year, but were glad for the new friends with which to share a new meal. 

Puppy Post

When we first moved here, we saw lots of street dogs. Not knowing how they react to people and what diseases they may be carrying, we would not allow our kids to touch them...ever.  Ha! Fast forward to almost three months here and our kids are holding all the street dogs. :)  

We had a friend from home give us a good laugh when she reminded us of our newsletter from two months ago that said that same thing. "We don't ever let the kids touch them" to the next month's newsletter that had a picture with a street puppy for each kid.  That gave us a good laugh. 

Almost three months ago, we uprooted our children from the only city they've ever known, from friends that are like family to them, and all that they knew. We moved across the ocean to a new home where nothing is familiar and, although, they are making friends, it takes time.  

Last month, we saw 11 puppies in the empty lot beside our apartment building. There were two litters, two mother dogs, and one father dog. The lot is full of dirt, rocks, and trash, but there were also 11 cute puppies! The kids begged us to go see the puppies.  Well, I'm not much for pets inside the house, but puppies outside...why not? Sometimes, when you are sad or lonely or missing home, you just need a sweet, dirty puppy to lick your face and help you feel everything will be alright. So, we snuggled with the puppies and then came home and bathed and changed. Hence, the puppy pictures. 

The puppies are getting bigger and now there are only four left. It's been a while since I've seen the mothers and father dog and the other puppies. I'm not sure how the four left will fare with the parents being gone. It is sad, but it is the way of the street dogs. I'm glad I let my kids snuggle with them for a bit. Sometimes you just need a good snuggle. 

Kate loving on the dog outside the store (different from the two litters)