Privet druz'ya! (this means "hi friends" in Russian)
Thank you for all your prayers - after a 30+ hour travel day, our team has arrived in Central Asia! I've never been so exhausted in my life but we are here and adjusting well, praise the Lord. Below is a picture of our team as we boarded our first flight and one on the way from the airport to our hostel.
It's only day four but I want to share a few highlights with you and talk about our first day of ministry. It's been a really great time so far and I truly can't wait to see all that God is going to do during our time here. Our first few days were spent sleeping long hours, exploring and learning our way around, and getting to know the national staff that work and do ministry here. Adjusting to a new culture comes with all sorts of feelings and emotions which was something we learned about in training. We learned that there are usually 4 stages of culture stress... the first is the honeymoon phase, where everything is new and exciting. Then comes the slump, where everything becomes negative and most start to feel homesick and isolated. Third is realization, where you start to recover and appreciate the culture you're in... and last is adaptation, where you finally begin to adapt and live comfortably in a new culture. Learning about this process was so incredibly helpful and I've found it to be relatable, even in the first few days here. I think I experienced my "honeymoon moment" on Monday when the local coffeeshop served me iced coffee in a mason jar :) Aside from going to the coffee shop pretty often, we've explored the shopping malls, gone to many new restaurants (in this culture, it's common and cheaper to eat out), and shopped at the markets. Below are some pictures of these things...
As I mentioned earlier, our team started ministry yesterday and got to connect with a lot of students here. We'll be spending a lot of time at what they call the English Center, which is a place where students come to learn different languages but primarily English. Yesterday, we got to be part of our first English talking club. It happens several times a week and is a chance for the students to come and practice their English. We gathered in groups and asked them questions about their culture, answered their questions about America, and even learned some Russian from them! We aren't able to share with them anything spiritual but it's a great way to start making connections with them and we're praying for gospel conversations outside of the English Center. Throughout our time here, we'll also be going to different colleges and universities (similar to high schools in the US) to meet students and build relationships with them in hopes of sharing Christ.
Last thing I want to share with you... our team met together on Monday and discussed our goals for our time here. Each of us spent individual time praying for the students we might minister to and asking God for a specific number of students to share the full gospel with. As I was praying, I kept hearing the number 21 and that's what I wrote down. I really believe that God will use me to share Christ with 21 students before our time here is up and I want to invite you to start praying for them. God already knows who they are and what their story is. Pray that He'd give me wisdom and the words to say. Pray that the language barrier wouldn't get in the way but that they'd be able to understand and begin a relationship with the Lord. Pray for opportunities to rise up and that I wouldn't shrink back when they come.
A few more things you can pray for...
Pray for myself and the rest of our team as we continue to adjust to a new culture. Pray for patience and grace with one another.
Pray for physical health and rest. We're still recovering from jet lag and many of us aren't feeling well right now.
Pray for our time with the students here - that we'd make connections with them and that God would give us natural opportunities to talk about the gospel with them.
Pray for the national staff here and that we, as a team, would be a blessing to them and their ministry.
This is a small detail but pray that I'd be able to find safe food here. I have Celiac Disease, which means I cannot eat any gluten and it's been incredibly difficult to find food that I can have. Gluten is really common in their cultural foods but on top of that, the language barrier makes it hard to explain my allergy or truly know whether or not something is safe to eat.
Thank you so much!
Bailee ♡