Interupting

The other day, on my way to do an errand I sent up a little prayer "Lord, if you want me to share about you with these people today, please grant me an opportunity." I went into an office with 3 ladies there. One of them distractedly fulfilled my request, while continuing her very active conversation with the others. Walking home, I felt a bit disappointed about not having an opportunity to share there. I mean, it would have been rude to interrupt, right? In this case, I think that yes, it would have been rude, but it got me thinking about sharing God's truth with people in general. Oftentimes, we are absolutely interrupting someones life when we share about Christ with them. We are interrupting their worldview, their convictions and their values with ones that are shocking, contrary or offensive to those to which they hold. May God give us sensitivity to know when and how to interrupt people's lives with the gospel. I thank God that He interrupted mine.

It's been a while

So, for some reason, blogspot wouldn't open here in Kyrgyzstan for over a year and now it works again. In the meantime, everyone has moved their cyber social life to FB. And now google + is on the move. Oh technology, I can't keep up with you!  Anyway, for those who are still around, here is a fun pic of Sunday school kids here playing with the new parachute that Lena and Vlad (Zhenya's sister and brother-in-law) brought from Kiev when they visited here last month. We are so thankful for it. The kids absolutely love it! I do too :)

Doing time in the States

It's been great to visit friends and family in the States lately. Here are a few photos from the last couple of months. In December, I was in Chicago with my father. In January, my mom and dad and I took a trip to CA where I got to see lots of old friends. Now I'm in MN, sharing at churches, squeezing in some more visits with friends and getting ready to go back to Kyrgyzstan.

Photos from top to bottom: Rachael and my mom at the beach, a gorgeous sunset at LaJolla, mom and dad and I at Wild Animal Park, cutting the Christmas fruitcake in Long Grove, Papa and I enjoying Chicago-style pizza and a Blackhawks hockey game.

The ultimate marshrutka experience

Imagine playing Twister in a moving minivan in 90 degree weather and you've got a pretty good picture of what Bishkek marshrutka rides are like. I pay 8 som (around 20 cents) to get a ride around town with 20-25 other people. Yes, that number is over the capacity of what it should normally hold. Since this is Central Asia, older ladies have seating priority and depending on who is getting on and off of the marshrutka, the ride also becomes like a game of musical chairs. Well, maybe not because that would mean that seats would be removed...Anyway, the drivers install hand rails from the van ceiling and we just hang on for dear life along with everyone else and off we go. I did attempt to take a photo, but it's hard to do it justice.

Oh the places you will play

You never know who you will meet and what it will lead to. Through an expat acquaintance at church, I was hired to play piano at the US Ambassador's 4th of July party here in Bishkek. It was quite fun to be background music for diplomats and military personnel as they shmoozed. At one point, the French delegation decided that the piano was the coolest place to hang out and there was excited dialog drowning out the Brahms. Maybe they have something against the German composer. I played some Ravel in their honor afterwards. Cara Denney was hired to sing the national anthem, hence the photo of me at the gig. A good time was had by all, and the only disappointment was the extreme amount of blue food coloring that they added to the decorative cake which turned all the guests' teeth and lips a frightening hue. Since I didn't eat till after the party, I was able to somewhat avoid the aggressive frosting. It did dye my fingers when I was putting the cake on my plate though. Conclusion: I now understand why people used to have cupbearers.

The Americanization of everyone's favorite Brit

Katie is quite musical, as we all know and we've been working on some piano lately. She's doing a great job and wanted to share a little recital with you all. She actually asked me to edit out the last little outburst that you will hear- but as I am technically challenged, I just included the whole clip here. Enjoy. I think Jonathan might be proud. 

tagged

So, I was tagged by Anya Knotts and I'm supposed to write 7 random facts about myself. I enoyed reading Anya's. I hope you are mildly entertained by mine. Here goes: 

1) I'm a word nerd. Thinking about word roots, learning new words and pondering how definitions evolved is fun for me.

2) I would rather have 7 snacks in a day v. 3 meals.

3) Chicago is my favorite American city and I love recommending fun places to eat and visit to those who plan on going there.

4) I get depressed after about 4-5 months of living without a piano.

5) Books make me happy. Looking at a big bookshelf crammed with books brings some kind of inner satisfaction. Reading them is relaxing and discussing them is invigorating.

6) I love hot weather. I must be part gecko.

7) Putting another book on top of the Bible makes me feel uncomfortable, but resting a pen on top of it does not.