Comings and Goings

Wednesday two ladies came to cook us a Russian meal. The one lady had visited before, and the other, her friend, is a Christian wife to an unbeliever, pregnant with her second child, who works as a surgeon in a hospital emergency room. They cooked us a kind of stir-fry and brought chocolate for dessert. It was a good lunch. Today we had a ladies' meeting for the church women; they all brought a dish for lunch, and tonight another family is coming to make us dinner, so we're getting plenty of local fare. I've lost track of how many people have come to visit, but it's been between one to four families a day for two weeks. You do the math. We have one short day left here in Vyborg, and we'll all be sad to leave.The church has been very welcoming.

We were also invited to tea by a Church family that lives in the country outside of Vyborg. They share an acre or so and an L-shaped house with another Church family. It was really neat to see the house that these two families built and the way it works out for them to live together. They served us delicious apple rolls made with their own apples.

On another note....

I need something to read. I couldn't bring books, I don't have a kindle, so that leaves the internet. I used to read a fair amount of Christian women's blogs until I grew tired of the seeming repetition in blogs written by single ladies my age: be content, trust in the Lord, whether you end up married or not. And I know that, but to live that is really, really hard. And just reading that over and over, you're single, it's God's will, you'll be fine, the end, came to be discouraging to me. So I shifted away from reading Christian blogs into reading costuming/sewing blogs, which are for me way more productive.

Except for right now, when I'm not able to sew, and I need other sources to keep me steady. One thing I like to do when I'm traveling is listen to the music practices and sermons from church. It helps me keep in touch a bit with what's going on at home. But sermons and music aren't quite as relational as blogs. So I'm looking for some good blog suggestions, encouraging and thought-provoking sources to read in short pauses while I'm away. 

So, if you have a suggestion of any good blog to read, post a comment with a link. And if you have a blog yourself, post a comment.

Nanny 2 and MissT at Tea

I so appreciate honest blogging. I know it's hard to be honest online, either because you don't want to offend other people(and it's difficult to be open on such a public forum without that happening) or you don't want to make yourself look bad. One honest blog I've been enjoying recently is The Dating Manifesto. The author strikes me as mature, with posts relevant to my situation, that are understanding yet challenging.

Another pertinent site at present is the Slavic Reformation Society (though I couldn't load the article about us for some reason), as well as the D website, where I make brief appearances. I'm quoted as being a "calming influence." I think the Ds don't quite know what to do with a person who doesn't talk continually. I'm actually probably being a lot quieter here than I ever am at home, just because I see no point in talking when eight other people are, and no one would be able to hear me anyway!