"Game Over!" and other short stories

Yesterday in church Rachel took Havah to Sunday school for the first time. There were 5 kids ranging from 3-10 years old. The teacher said Havah could only stay if Rachel did, and Rachel was more than happy to sit with the kids during the service. Even though Rachel didn't understand any of the lesson, she did figure out when Sunday school was over. Not knowing this, the teacher, a girl in her early 20's, seemed to be trying to figure out a way to tell Rachel that they were all done and heading back upstairs. She mumbled in Russian for a few minutes and then pronounces happily, "Game over!"

Today Jason is praising the Lord for the book he acquired while taking Russian at night school last winter in Bozeman. We recommend The New Penguin Russian Course: A Complete Course for Beginners to all of you out there who are wanting to learn Russian so that you can communicate with Havah and Mercy when we return to the States. (Just kidding, they will know English too) The book has been an invaluable supplement to Jason's Russian lessons, mainly because it explains, in English, what his Russian teacher explains to him in Russian.

The landlord of the flat we are staying in attends the church with us. He and his wife speak English pretty well, but sometimes he's a little hard to understand. Yesterday after the service he came up to us and asked if he could drive us home. We were a little scared because the way he said it was: "I would like to help you move your home today." Rachel right away started to think about packing everything up and where they were going, but Jason handled the situation a little better and just asked, "Are you asking if you could drive us home?" As Sharon Paul says, "[He] has his own way with the English lingo. Now you know how things can get misinterpreted."

We have been overwhelmed with the kindness and hospitality of the Russian believers thus far. Their gestures of kindness range from driving us home to calling to make sure we're OK and offering any help. We have had so many people tell us to call them if we need anything. It's very humbling and such a blessing!