The trip here went smoothly enough, it was just pretty stressful. As David and I were not able to sleep any on the plane ride from Moscow, and the girls only slept about 4 hours at the most, it made for an exhausting day at an airport in Siberia as we waited for our next flight. And, like we predicted, our flight to T-land was delayed several hours. So, we spent 7 hours doing our best to keep two restless, exhausted little girls content and quiet, in an airport with little seating space and a concrete flour. They only slept for about 30 minutes of that time, so David and I were busy! We had hoped to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Well, with a little blond-headed girl running around saying (in a very loud voice) words in English and German, we didn’t do such a good job. Oh well, we made it, and are so glad that the trip is behind us!
As we were flying the last 2 hours to T-land, I enjoyed looking out the window. All you could see for those two hours were mountains, many of which were snow covered. Then, for the last 15 minutes of the flight, you could see a stretch of grassy land. There was a river running through the middle of this land, and buildings lined alongside it. This was my first sight of our new home.
We spent the first week here at a hotel in the city. It was a very stressful week for us, as we were looking for an apartment to stay in and working on our paper work for here. We had some trouble finding an apartment, as it seems there are not many available for rent. We had hoped to find a 3 bedroom apartment (that is, a living room and 2 bedrooms) but, as none are available for rent right now, we are renting a 2 bedroom apartment (a living room and one bedroom). We are planning on staying here 3 months, and then hopefully, moving into a 3 bedroom apartment (if one is available). I’ll be sure to post some pictures of our apartment sometime in the near future!
Yet, even though the first week was stressful, our hearts were full of thankfulness. We were provided with an apartment, and were able to get all our paper work done. Also, we had some really good family time. As we do not yet know anyone here, and had no contact with the outside world (at least, that’s how we felt like without a phone or internet connection), we were able to spend lots of time together. Since being here, we have been reminded over and over again of our inadequacies and weaknesses, and how adequate, strong, and faithful he is! It’s great being able to depend on someone other than our weak selves!
At times, I need to remind myself that we are actually here! Here in the place where we’ve been planning on and thinking about going for so long. It is definitely different than the place we were at the past two years, but yet there are similarities. I must confess, it has not been an easy adjustment for me. I feel so far away from everything, and, as I was so looking forward to ‘settling’ into a place, I realize that that desire will have to wait for a while. Yet, it is my desire to be content no matter what the circumstances may be.
Thank-you so much for all of your thoughts and for checking in on us to see how we are doing. We so do need your thoughts, as at times, things seem so overwhelming to us. The other evening, I was feeling quite down, and David asked me if I wanted to leave this place. I told him that if I wasn’t so stubborn, I’d be on the next plane home! Yet, we both know that this is where we are to be, and that makes being here a joy.
Here are just a couple pictures from our week at the hotel.
While at the hotel, I washed our clothes by hand in the bathtub. The girls thought it was the greatest being able to help me by putting the clothes into the water.
We only had one bowl while at the hotel. So, our girls enjoyed eating cereal from the same bowl… at least we had 2 spoons!
I’ll try to bring you up-to-date with more about our life here in the near future!