Just to show how little I know…and so you can get a really good laugh!

I recently spent the weekend in the village with my coworker and friend Moldir and learned quite a lot!

LESSON ONE: Never go to the village and expect to return in a day! They assumed I was coming for 3 days….I thought I’d be there a few hours! I compromised and stayed for two and left assuring them I would bring my toothbrush and a change of clothes next time.

LESSON TWO: Bring work clothes. In preparation of meeting a lot of new people I wore one of my best outfits. Playing with calves, sheep, cows, and village children isn’t all that it can be when one has to worry about fancy trousers and delicate shoes! Oy!

LESSON THREE: LAUGH AT YOURSELF, heartily!!! After offering to help the family with their daily chors for the 10th time, Moldir’s mother finally said perhaps I’d want to churn some milk. She was surprised when I accepted her offer, but I was thrilled to finally be of some use instead of standing around. And though I’d spend some childhood days at a relative’s dairy farm, I’d never made butter before and was excited. As I churned the family came through, smiling but saying that I didn’t really need to churn anymore. But I was so excited to help I kept at it for a good half hour. Finally, bewildered at the failure of butter to appear, I asked Moldir when I could expect it. Her response? “My mother already churned the milk and has taken out the butter. That’s why we kept telling you that you didn’t need to churn it anymore.” The realization took about all of 3 seconds to sink in. For half an hour I had smiled and churned away under the eyes of my new friend and her family…at a milky substance that would never be butter. Never ever be butter. Embarrassed for being the foolish “city girl” for the first time in my life… I started laughing. And we laughed all weekend as we retold the story to neighbors and friends. Imagine me…enthusiastically churning, so happy to help, smiling brightly, eager to make butter. Then imagine the family (and their neighbors), coming in and out as they do their normal chores, wondering at this strange American girl who won’t stop churning in her fancy clothes…and laugh!

A week in the life of Ember

So what does my life look like? I get up and go to the office like a normal person, mostly!

On Mondays the Kids Connection department prepares for the week ahead and I have a few hours to catch up on my Kazakh studies and download emails.
On Tuesday we spend all day at Saramoldeava orphanage. We spend an hour each with the little kids group, an girls group, and a boys group. We take fun stuff to do and keep up on their lives and needs.
On Wednesday I have a Kazakh lesson and return to the office for meetings and a variety of tasks from remodeling to brochure creation to photography projects.
On Thursday we spend all day at Ulan orphanage. We consistently visit the smallest children and then spend the rest of the day with whichever children are not in classes.
On Friday we have an American meeting to plan delegations review intern applications, brainstorm, and check in with one another. I then try to catch up with emails.
Saturdays in Kazakhstan are also work days! The office is closed, but I have another Kazakh lesson in the morning. My afternoons switch between team fellowship to time with friends to, every now and again, rest!
Sundays are my day to sleep in…once in awhile! J Two Sundays of the month we celebrate birthdays with the kids by either travel to Savva orphanage in the village or doing pizza and a movie at the “American house.”

Most nights I’m home by 6:30 and have time with my host family. We have dinner together and my host Mom helps me with my Kazkah and we talk about our days. Then they watch TV in Russian or Kazakh while I work on my Kazakh, read a book, write letters to the kids at the orphanages, or prep emails. It’s a FULL life, but so GOOD!

Expanding the work

The past two weeks we have extended our time at the orphanage Ulan. This orphanage primarily Kazakh children who are Kazakh speaking (good for my language learning)! In the past we have had just an hour or so with the smallest children. As a team however, we felt burdened to get to know these kids more. Due to past corruption they are the least well off, least structured, and least cared for children among all those we work with.

Thankfully we have permission to come and go at will on Thursdays and expand our work to include all the children. We bring a variety of outside or inside activities and spread out to get to know the kids. I can’t hardly remember names, but hope to soon move to hearing stories, hearts, dreams, and needs. We want to bless these children not just with some fun activity but the chance to express themselves and know that someone cares for them and sees them. Here’s pictures of our recent visits.

The Almaty Whirl (no, it's not a line dance)

Well, Beth and I had a great trip to Almaty. The low lights were hot, sweaty, airless train rides, horrid, horrid traffic with smog, and jaw dropping high prices. The highlights were a coffee bar, brocolli and fresh veggies for lunch at a Sbarro, talks with a wise friend who was in town (from Virginia) and then 24 hours of uninterrupted REST! We stayed at Teen Challenge which is an outreach to drug addicts. They have several guest rooms with small kitchens and no TV. Beth and I found ourselves worn down from weeks of work, travel, and emotional conversations and finally were in a place to rest. So we did! For me the sweetest part was the small patch of grass with the leafy tree just outside our door. We took our books out and shed our shoes to soak in a gloriously sunny morning!

A little trip

I'm off to Almaty Sunday night and will get back to Taraz on Tuesday sometime. :) Beth needs to visit the Russian embassy and I have a friend from the states in town and am looking forward to a long chat! I am not looking forward to traveling around the huge city of Almaty, but am so thankful to have a few days away to process everything!

Musings and mullings

This week has given me a lot to think about. I’ve been challenged by my coworkers to think about my national friends here, about the way I interact with them, the purpose of my time here and my role within Interlink. To be honest, it’s been a bit overwhelming since these conversations have come at the same time I’ve had a flood of questions myself.

For three months I’ve tried my best to adapt, soak in, blend in, and simply live life here in KZ as a part of the Interlink team. This past week (and weeks to come) I’m taking a step back and looking at how things are done, how I’ve done things and take account. I want to make sure I’m headed in the right direction. I am also considering whether this is the agency, country, and work that I want to commit myself to for a longer period of time. As you can imagine, this is no easy process!

The past few days the Kazakhstan skies have matched my inner musings. With fierce winds blustering I am continually drawn back to a quote from the third chapter of John “The wind blows where it wishes. You hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from or where it is going, so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” I hear the wind, I see the wind, and long to know it’s Source, it’s destination, and where I belong amidst it all.

It’s not about the cigarettes

This is what we kept telling the boys at Savva orphanage this weekend. There were three boys we caught smoking and were crushed to see it, but thankful to have the opportunity to speak to them about this. We know that smoking and drinking are virtually coming of age activities for many of these orphan boys. In fact, one boy explained that he had his first cigarette at age five and as much as he would like to quit, doesn’t see how it’s possible. We very much desire to be a break in the chain warning the boys that cigarettes link to alcohol link to drugs. It’s so vital now, before they leave the orphanage because the region they are to move to after leaving sits amidst poppy fields and is known for drugs.

The truth is, we haven’t the power to “save” them or change them. We can only speak truth with the love that we have for them and pray that the words bear fruit with time. We make sure that they know that it’s not the one cigarette that we care about but their futures. We offer what help we can, accountability and prayer, advice on how to quit, words of hope and encouragement. Ultimately though we know the daily battle against temptation, peer pressure, and hopelessness is more often than not too much for these young teenagers. So we accept no promises, expect no miracles, hold them to their impossible promises and pray for miracles. Its heart breaking and worth every moment.