Update

I'm coming back home to America in a little over three weeks. I'll be there for 2 1/2 months and then will return to Russia in late August. I'm so so excited to see my family and friends and just be back in the somewhat familiar for awhile. I have to admit..I'm really looking forward to a jr. bacon cheeseburger from Wendy's too. It's the little things sometimes. :)

I'm not sure what course this blog is going to take yet. Earlier in the year I shared many pictures and stories of my life here. Through some..well interesting..incidents I've been kind of stumped when it comes to this blog. I like to blog. I like to write. But I've found myself taking a step back from this blog and trying to think through some things these last few months. This time in Russia has been amazing, confusing, adventurous and sometimes just plain tough. But as I look back on the last eight months here, I feel joy and peace. Because I'm on this journey with God and these people He brings my way and this language he's helping me learn. I think back to the first month when just going into a grocery store made me kind of nervous because I was afraid I'd have to talk or wouldn't understand. And now, I'm riding taxi buses and yelling "make a stop please" in Russian with my very strong American accent. And while it's not always comfortable, I don't have this anxiety about being different like I used to (I know you would think maybe I would have known coming into this that I'd be different but knowing it and experiencing it are two different things). Last night someone from my church told me "Katrina, I know you're American but you also have Russian spirit!" And to be honest, I don't fully know what that means but I took it as a compliment..that even in my "differentness" I've found a little bit of belonging here.

Yesterday afternoon I spent a few hours with a 95 year old Siberian grandma. And I looked into her eyes: eyes that have seen and experienced more than I can probably imagine. And I obeyed her when she told me I need to eat more potatoes even though I was past full. And I listened to her when she told me, "Life is difficult but I'm alive." And I thought to myself, "God, thank you, thank you, for this incredible journey you have me on." Despite the moments I really just wanted the familiar, the jr.bacon cheeseburger, to fit in..I wouldn't trade these last eight months and this journey.