Mail

A little bit of Indiana and Ohio came in the mail today! We got a package slip on Wednesday, but couldn't go pick it up until Friday since Thursday was a holiday. When Philip went to the mailbox today before going to the post office, he found another package slip! Yay! He picked both of them up this afternoon. One was from Philip's parents in Indiana and the other was from my sister who lives in Columbus! It was so fun to receive these packages of love! The girls each got to "open" one, so that was fun! (Did I mention that I just LOVE to get mail! I even had a pen pal in school because I loved mail so much:)!)

Aunt Alicia sent some undies for Adalynn, which she immediately insisted on putting on...and they had to be the PINK ones. They both got some adorable TARGET clothes (yeah!) and we also got some stylish muffin liners!

We also got some goodies from Philip's parents which included some Fruit Roll Ups (actually from Philip's socking back at Christmas!), Gushers (Philip's too), muffin mixes, cards, Puffs for Gwen, a cord to attach my lens cap to the camera, beef jerky, and treats for the girls!

We loved our packages! Adalynn has already been using her dry erase crayons, which by the way are really cool!

Now, what do you do after you open your packages, and taste one of every goodie there is in the box? Well of course you...

...pop the bubble wrap...then...


...you eat the tags off the new clothes...

...then daddy sweeps your mouth for the paper you just ate...(but it was no where to be found...oops)

Thank you Mom and Dad Gormong and Aunt Alicia!!! We felt extra love from you today!!!!

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen

Coffee and Friends

Our small group still has not met since our return because of different circumstances. I have been thinking for awhile that I would try to get together with Vika (the girl pictured) for coffee just to catch up. She is traveling to the States this summer for a school/work program. She is very interested in learning more English and also very understanding of us as we learn and practice Russian. I debated for a few weeks, trying to get up enough nerve to ask Vika to coffee. I prayed about it, thought about it, got nervous about speaking Russian to her...you know all that stuff. Well, last week I decided to be brave and just facebook her. I wrote a few sentences in Russian, simples ones, but I basically asked if she wanted to meet for coffee. She responded and said that she would love to meet.
So, this afternoon after Russian class I went to meet Vika for coffee at Coffee Bean. I was glad that I just finished my Russian lesson so my tongue was somewhat loose to be able to speak Russian with her. As I rode the red 27 bus to the mall, I was trying to go over in my head things to talk about, making sure I knew some key words for conversation. I even had a dictionary hidden in my purse in case a situation called for it (which it didn't! She even commented how well I spoke without a dictionary...little did she know it was hidden in my purse!). We had a really good time! I talked my best in Russian and she talked her best in English, which is pretty good! I am sure my grammar was everywhere, but I do remember I used a few cases correctly! It is funny how you can recite a conversation in your head in Russian, but when you start talking words just come out, some correct, and some not. The Lord helped me and I was excited that she asked 3 TIMES when we were going to meet again to study the Bible! I was encouraged and glad that I took this step forward. I invited her to an event we are having in a few weeks when a team from Kingswood University comes to Vladimir. I thought she would enjoy practicing her English, plus it would put her in fellowship and connection with more believers. Please pray for this relationship as it has potential to grow in the coming months. Also begin to pray for her as she leaves at the end of May for South Carolina for 3 months. Pray that somehow she would meet and be connected with some believers in SC and during her time in the States.

Blessings,
Philip, Kara, Adalynn, and Gwen