Fall Has Arrived

It has been raining for the past five days. I am beginning to wonder if I have moved to Seattle instead of Central Asia! When the rain let up for a while I was able to see the new snow on the mountains! What a magnificent view of what Dad has created.



I went to the store to buy cleaning supplies and Guess what I saw? I saw a picture of Mr. Clean in the middle of Central Asia!!! The funny thing was not really that I was seeing Mr. Clean (that was funny) but that over here it is called Mr. Proper. That made me laugh.



These are several pictures of children I met at the orphanage.







I have read stories about coal and I had even seen a piece of coal in my earth science class but never before had I seen a truck full of coal. At the orphanage the heating is still done with coal and they happened to be delivering a load while I was there.


On the way to the orphanage I got so excited to see an open field. You have to understand that I have not seen anything except buildings and mountains for over two months and this West Texas girl was longing for wide-open spaces. This may not be wide but it was a little open and that made me smile!



I got a package from “my boys”. It was one of the best packages ever because they had drawn me pictures and sent me Mac and cheese and fruit snacks! I love you Guys and miss you so much!!!

School Days

Since I was home schooled I never really experienced all of the preparation and excitement attached to the First day of school. This year I experienced it all for the first time! This is Sally Katherine and me in front of our school! I was trying to look grown up even thought I did NOT feel grown up at all!

Welcome to Kindergarten! I spent almost a week working on my room and planning for the first few days of school. I think that it paid off because everything went so smoothly!





My Class! This is my class of 10 wonderfully wiggly kindergarteners and my awesome assistant Maira. (There are only nine in the picture because one student was absent).



One of the most interesting things about living overseas is that everything takes just a little bit longer that in would in the states. Knowing this, my room mate and I avoided baking for as long as we could. This was our first attempt! I decided to make brownies. They turned out good (just a little dry) for my first attempt in a foreign country but the next batch I made were amazing!



Fall is Here! The weather is cooling off and there is now snow on the mountains. It is exciting to see that mountains each morning and watch the changes that are taking place!

Pictures at last

Here are a few pictures of Life in Central Asia.
This first shot was my last view of the Texas Panhandle. So long, fare well, ta ta for now!


We landed at 12:45 am (early Wednesday morning) in Central Asia. Much later that morning after we had some sleep, we had oriendation and our first meal. We went for authentic national food called Laghmon. It is a noodle dish that is awsome.


This is what my bedroom looks like. Can you tell I'm from Texas?!



As we walk to the place were we get picked up for school every morning, this is what I see. What a beautiful reminder of Dad's creativity. I am reminded of "I will lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help come from the L*rd the maker of H*aven and earth. Check out Ps. 121 and and be amazed at the Father!

The first post from Central Asia

I know it has been forever since I have written. I have arrived in central Asia and I am working on getting settled. I have been here for just over a week and I am finally over jet lag (YEA). My new apartment is great!!!!
When I arrived I was surprised and delighted to find out that my room had just been painted a pale pink. It was just another reminder that Dad was more than supplying my needs right down to a beautiful room to live in. Our apartment is painted a light cheerful yellow. We have unpacked but have yet to find a place to put our luggage so for right now most of it is being stored in the living room. We are enjoying our amazingly large kitchen. Sally Katherine and I have not had the opportunity to cook much yet but we are looking forward to trying everything out. Side note – I have finally learned to light a gas oven and stove!! That was an adventrue!
I will try to post pictures next time I am on-line.

Packing!

Life is crazy around my house! I have stuff spread everywhere. Earlier in the week a sweet friend came over to help me pack. I have almost all of it in bags. Lets hope that it is all in bags by Monday morning when I am supposed to leave!

An update on Life

Life has been busy here; we are almost finished and I will be returning to Amarillo on Thursday (July 20). It is crazy to think that I have been here for almost 8 weeks. I have had many adventures and learned so much. Here are the stories of a few adventures...

The last of the shots!!!!
I have received 7 shots while I was here. One person described it as becoming a human pincushion! I should be inoculated against ANY yucky stuff that might come my way.




I caught my first fish ever!!!
I had never really been fishing before, so a friend kindly showed me how it was done. It was not a big fish but I did it myself YEA!!!!!! (only I did not take it off the hook!)






First time in the Atlantic!
I have only played in the ocean in Russia so I was so excited about going to a beach in the US. Much to my delight, some new friends pick me up and took me to the beach. We had so much fun playing in the waves! The best part was a nap on the beach and then waking up to the view of dolphins playing in the surf. What a beautiful and graceful sight. Playing on the beach was great fun and a nice bread from classes; hopefully I will be able to find a beach overseas to go to!

Fun on the Fourth of July

For the Fourth of July all of the people here at orientation (including children) went on an outing to Washington DC. We had specific tasks to accomplish while we were there. One was to eat in an ethnic restaurant. My group chose to eat at a Turkish restaurant. I loved it! The food was great and it was soooooo nice to get out of the heat. I had to laugh at another one of the requirements; we were to ride the metro. I have ridden the metro just never in the US. I enjoyed the opportunity to be able to read all of the signs. Because of the amount of people that were in DC for the fourth and the unmerciful heat, it was really hard to do much. However, we did get to walk by the Washington Memorial and the White House!


By the afternoon we had had enough of the heat and decided to go to the Air and Space Museum. While we were there, I tried to engage several internationals in conversation and much to my dismay none of them spoke English. I had to be content with the knowledge that a smile is a universal language. While we were sitting there surrounded by people, I kept thinking about the fact that the majority of these people around me were going to hell and it broke my heart. I poured out my heart to Dad. He reminded me that He is the one who softens and hardens hearts and it is nothing I do. He reminded me to intercede that when these people go home there would be a neighbor, co-worker, or friend to tell them Dad.

We left DC by 5:00pm and returned to Richmond. From there a small group of us went to view fire works and let me tell you it was an adventure! The tale is long and complicated but let’s just say that at time I was so out of my element that it is not even funny! All in all, it was a great way to spend the last Fourth of July I will have in the states for a while.

Finally a Blog!!!

I now have joined the ranks of bloggers:) My awesome friend Brooke helped me set up my blog. I am so thankful for friends who have lots patience and computer knowledge! This picture is of Sally Katherine who will be my partner in Central Asia. Sally Katherine and I will be living together and working at the same school in Central Asia. We are excited about moving. Some times I am just blown away at Dad's goodness. For a long time I have said that my dream job would be to teach kindergarten. Dad not only provided me a teaching job but it is a kindergarten job. He is letting me do what I love is anything better than that? I was a little bit (ok a lot) worried about going to Central Asia alone and Dad provided Sally Katherine to be my roommate, fellow teacher, and friend. A presenter at a conference said it well, "Dad loves to give his children good gifts!" That is how I feel; Dad has given me good gifts in my job and in Sally Katherine.