What am I still doing here?

In my heart there’s such a deep calling to get to work! Serve God somewhere in the vast-expanse-of-a-country known as Russia!

My efforts to find a missionary society willing to send a whole family of 6 has not revealed the open door I’d hoped for. WHERE IS IT?

Meanwhile, it’s time to plan for my short-term commitment – the St Petersburg summer camp at Kastyor (костёр). I’m so excited about going, but praying for support from my fellow believers.

Pray with me… support me… come too!

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Isaiah 6:8

Double goodness

TWO great things have happened.

UNCLE DAVEY / VIKTOR HULIGANOV
Firstly, my favourite YouTube channel, starring a guy named Viktor Huliganov (an alter-identity of "Uncle Davey", an English guy) has explained his awesome language vocabulary learning technique "THE GOLD LIST".

Viktor, a pseudo-Russian who speaks in a very strong Russian accent while giving very good Russian grammar lessons, telling funny jokes and singing songs in English & Russian has already described his technique on his website: The Goldlist (click it)

BUT my happy discovery was his YouTube video post (a.k.a. vlog) describing the process of learning vocabulary to the Long-Term memory using his Gold List method. I highly recommend it. It works for any language, and probably for just about any other thing you have to memorise (formulas, botanic names etc).

I'd already begun using this technique, but wasn't sure I was making the most of it, but Viktor has described it well in his vlog.

STAPLE REMOVER
Yippee! Secondly I got my staples out of my gut-skin today. The skin where each staple was holding on was getting red, sore and itchy; effectively driving me bonkers.

The little staple removing device was pretty cool. It hurt a bit, but not much more than when Janene squeezes the pimples on my back (you know, the ones right on the edge of your back above your kidneys? Very tender area!)

Now I'm feeling much better. I can laugh again without that excessive pain which felt like it was causing internal haemorrhaging.

Life will be even betterer when I get my wound pads removed and Janene thinks I am sexy again.

Body Piercings

I've had my guts chopped and the hernia is all nicely repaired. The side effects are temporary, but obvious :-) I'm looking forward to doing normal stuff again, when I finally feel better.

On the left here you can see one of the 3 entry points that the surgeon created to shove his laproscopic tools in and do his work.

There's lots of vids on YouTube to show the process involved. Search for "Inguinal Hernia Repair".

(click here for one)

We have transmission!

Like a deserted Mars probe on that silent planet... this blog has sat abandoned. Like an alarm clock in the desert, its purpose long forgotten.

But there's a stirring, a brief moment of animation and suddenly with a puff and a whirl we're off again! I'M ALIVE!

There's an old philosophical question: "If a tree falls in the middle of the forest, and nobody is there to hear it, does it still make a sound".

Of course it does! What a stupid question.

My real question is IF there's a blog in the middle of cyberspace and nobody's there to read it, is there a point? So... is anybody reading this? I guess the answer is YES, because I'm reading as I write.

In any case, here I sit with a bunch of metal staples in my aching torso following surgery to repair my inguinal hernia on the right side.

Walking, and movement in general, has been awkward and painful. So then, what better way to fill some time than to resume my presence in blogland?

Glad to be back.

Clayton playing “Guess Who”

Do you have a sister?

If you’ve never played ”Guess Who”, you won’t appreciate the hilarity.

Костёр – I love you! Костёр – Я люблю!

What an adventure!

Well after 21 days away from home in foreign places, and 16 days at camp Костёр in Russia, I think I can safely call it a real adventure.

There are a stack of things I can say I learnt while I was away. Here are a few of them:

• God can use even me
• Russian kids really want to hear the Gospel
• You cannot put a price on one changed life
• Squat toilets over a pit aren’t so bad if you give it time
• Borsh (борщ) is yummo, despite appearances
• I’m a gifted pine cone (шишки) shifter, with my lanky toes
• Long distance travel hurts your butt
• Mother taught us to keep elbows in at the table in preparation for eating food in claustrophobic conditions on international flights
• Schoolyard handball - Aussie-style - is destined for universal acceptance and Olympic Games inclusion
• It’s true as the Russians say – Russia has two problems, roads and fools (though I didn’t meet that many fools – just bad roads)
• Read the fine print… and re-read the large print
• Finland is like the country you see in fairy tale illustrations
• Russia 2009 is lookin’ good

I managed to write over 100 pages of journal entries. Sure, I’d love to type them all out and post them online – right after I finish my book on the Amplified Analysis of Inter-Galactic Lightspeed Travel, And Its Effect on Photosynthesis.

But seriously, I can’t seem to dig up the words I need to express my love for those lovable kids. Will He send me again? I’m ready…

Up, Up, AND AWAY!

ДОБРОЕ УТРО, РОССИЯ

So between my last post and now, a LOT has happened! (I guess that answers the question about Live Writer – see below).

Fundraising efforts were blessed and people gave generously. At first I expected to be getting a loan to try and cover half of my trip – but here I am going to Russia fully supported by people’s faithful giving, PLUS I was able to buy $2000 worth of Bibles and workbooks for the kids. INCREDIBLE.

It’s almost 7am here now, and I’m still in my PJs with hair all scraggy. I can hear the boys in the next room, they’re up early giggling and making typical boy jokes. The hardest part about going to Russia for 3 weeks is I’ll miss them!

Lovely Janene and Layna, my lovely wife and sweet, smiling daughter. Leaving is the hardest part! I love them all so much.

For only the second time in my life I had a coldsore for the last week. It was a sign of the strained emotions leading up to this day. It means I haven’t even been able to kiss Janene for a whole week! I’ve had a few very sleepless nights, but before bed last night I asked God to prepare me, relax me… and I had the best night sleep anyone could expect!

Well, my bag’s packed – it’s full of everything I’ll probably never need. I wonder what I forgot? Like they used to say on the old game show: “Don’t forget your toothbrush!”

Whoever’s reading this, please pray for me and the team, and for the orphans I’ll encounter. These kids (like all of us) need love. Touching these lives may only be a drop in the ocean, but how do you think the ocean got full?  :P

Signing off, until I can find a computer.

До свидания!