Wednesday, June 15, 2011

The Joys of Calling Eastern Europe (And Other Missions Things I've Discovered)

I'm supposed to be calling Eastern Europe. And Finland. You see, Russia has some interesting visa laws. Namely that a foreigner can't be there longer than three months. So we are trying to work out that once my visa expires I can go to a nearby country and get it renewed in either a couple days or a couple of weeks rather than three months.

Here's the thing about calling Eastern Europe. It's difficult. Why? Well, because of the tiny detail that there is a time difference. No big deal right? Except that the consular information people I've been trying to call are only there from 9am to 12pm. No big deal right? Well you see, that's 9-12 their time. Which is like the middle of the night here.

So not only does taking care of this business require calling in the middle of the night, but it also requires that I call the right department, the people actually pick up the phone, and I am able to talk to the supervisors. etc. Yes, it's been interesting times.

In other news, the fundraising has been going pretty well. I told my parents the other day that Someone must want me to go on this trip because I've been able to raise quite a bit with minimal effort so far. Not that I'm trying to brag. I just think it's interesting. I have about a third of what I need for the entire year in Russia. Which is amazing! God and the people I've talked to have been extremely generous. I am extremely blessed! Just because I have a third of what I need though doesn't mean that I don't have more to raise. Please continue to pray for me as I go through this process and try to get the rest of the support to go!

In my personal devotional time, I've been reading though Acts due to the mission work that goes on. It's been taking me longer than usual because I've been reading it in Russian as well as English. I read the chapter in English then spend a few days reading it a few verses at a time in Russian, writing down and looking up words I don't know. I don't have a lot of Russian church vocabulary and so am hoping that this will help increase it. It's been an interesting experience and one that I am greatly enjoying.

That's really all I've got for the moment. Things seem to be going pretty well. Again, your prayers are appreciated!

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