A Long Distance Relationship

I had said many times before that I wouldn’t choose a long distance relationship. Some earlier posts in this blog might shade some light onto the reasons why not, but I won’t go into the details now.  When Tim and I realized that our friendship held more in it than being “just friends” it was shortly before he had to leave for Canada. We did have an amazing week of transition from “just friends”, good as we were, to “very special friends” before his departure date. And of we went…. Kilometers of emails, hours of skyping.  Happy  relationship growing from the opposite sides of the ocean. The challenge of growing a love relationship in a distance turned out to be a blessing in disguise. 

Last month Tim’s Grandma got very bad and was admitted to a hospice. This beautiful lady is dearly loved and cared for by everyone in the family. It is a hard time for the family as they see their beloved Grandma fade away.  

For us it meant the day of our reunion with Tim is moved till... only God knows when. That is when the distance started being harder to bear.  Distance had separated me from people I loved since I was little, breaking my heart every time.  And the heartache of the separation now, though different from what it was like before, reminded me of the old wounds. But…. as ever, the Lord was near to those who have a broken heart.  

The envelopes from Canada with the cute cards and beautiful letters which Tim has been sending to me every month deliver the message of love, missing and the warmth between us. They do make me feel hugged.

If only I could touch God!..  If only I could see His face!.. If only I could hold His hand, I would never feel alone.  I’ve realized that in this sense my love with the Lord too is a long distance relationship.  Hmmm hmmm… Could it be that the longing to reunite with this Canadian man of mine will help me  (us!) to grow closer to the God I’ve tried to love and missed all my life?  Could it be that out of  the pages of the Bible too, there are His loving hands reaching out to me?...

the Land of floods

1/ 3 part of Thailand is underwater.  Think about it.  30% of the country is flooded. Or better- think of your home being filled with dirty water, no running water or electricity, your car is covered with water to the roof...

Thailand needs the the rain to stop. Would you join us in prayer for the RAINBOW?..

The photo courtresy of http://www.theatlantic.com.  More pictures here

Only a few more from My Bucket Lisr

...Driving a jeep off road  (granted I learn to drive first)

....See the sunset at Grand Canyon

...Do a pull up

...Make an awesome  cake for my Mom  

...Learn to play harmonica

....Tell my father that I love him

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"The Bucket List"

 “The Bucket List” was somewhat a movie of my last year. I watched it at least four times! It is one of those movies where I liked every scene and there’s something new every time you watch it.  Last summer, when I got to the hospital with complications of dengue fever, the first thing I asked my sweet roommate to bring for me was that very movie. “Galina, are you sure it’s a good idea  to watch a movie about death now?”  “But this movie is about LIFE!”  Dear Kelly gave in, and the story and its moral had indeed lifted up my spirits even on a hospital bed. Needless to say I started composing my own “bucket list” which had already been in my head, unofficially so to say. The story gave me a go on making it and being conscious about  LIVing to the full.

One of the items on the list was doing the FREE HUGS.  Checked.  We did it in Chiang Mai last October  with wonderful people, my friends Hollie, John, and Inna.  It was one f the most beautiful things I had ever taken part in.  It was a year ago.  And I would totally go for it now… What is it though that I somehow lost the feel of my Bucket list , back in the cold in Russia? 

My mama

I want to thank you for your for my mom, for all the encouraging notes you have sent to me in the last couple weeks.  I received your support and care with gratitude.  My mom is out of the hospital and has a few weeks off work to recover from the surgery.  She was up and walking slowly in the first few days after she got operated on.  I delivered her the words and encouragement and assurance of prayers many of you had sent. She  asked me to thank everyone. With tears in her eyes she said “Probably because of all the prayers I'm recovering so quickly”.   The risk the surgery under anesthesia contained for her heart was very high.   My mom was afraid to not wake up.  And when she did I knew Father had showed His love and mercy to my family yet another time.   If you think of my mother please pray for her continued healing (she's been experiencing pain in lower abdomen and her back) and for her to receive the love of Jesus Christ with an open heart. 

Back in USSR, or the season in Russia

Since I left home four years ago my mom had been in a hospital about  ten times with various illnesses.   It was hard to be away and not be there for her.  But Father God had always taken care of her and given me peace. It has been good to reconnect with my family during this furlough.   But reverse culture shock hit me hard when I first came here.  I had been struggling for two months feeling lost and sometimes guilty for not being able to connect to the place and people I had known but been away from. Even the warm summer temperatures were cold for me, people on the bus were rude, fruits were all imported and everybody spoke Russian!  Actually after I switched from full time English and Thai to full time Russian I realized that I myself spoke those other languages much more politely. Oh well, we are not our culture but our culture is  a part of us, eh. 

I didn't know true love could be so real...

there are SO. MANY. STORIES. from the time I've been off the blog which I want to share... But I have no time to catch up on all of them right now.  I'll try to do it step by step. And for now, there is one particular story behind this picture which if you still don't know of you might want to hear ( or to read for this matter)...

 All I have to add right now is that God is faithful.  And God's love really is enough to be full of joy, if we make it real with Him. 

About some places I visited before moving to Bangkok last year...

Yeah I know it's been a long time since this blog was updated. I have a whole bunch of random things to share. So I'd better not try to sort them out and just do it, lest this blog grows more and more forsaken.

So Bangkok, eh. I went there in late October and I really loathed the idea of living in the capital city of Thailand. It's noisy, it's dirty, and there are not that many (cozy... or any, in this matter) coffee shops unlike in my sweet home Chiang Mai. So I went to explore some places in the south, Phuket, Chonburi and Phattaya, before the school started. Chonburi is small town, practically a fishermen's village in the not so deep south of Thailand. I went the to spend time with and see the ministry of some lovely people from Canada (of course :)). Karen and Ricky Sanchez and their four beautiful girls have lived there for a few years. Their burden for abandoned children led them to put every effort to provide shelter for kids with AIDS. A growing facility of Abundant Life Home Orphanage. Spending some time with the kids and workers at Abundant Life Home was a blessing. It was just the very beginning of dealing with missing my Home of Joy for the next 6 months.

I was also blessed to meet another lovely Canadian couple, Judy and Walter Martens. They extended really parental care to me when I so needed it and opened their nice little home for me to stay with them.

Phuket was nice, but too many Russians everywhere, hehe. I went to the resort to spend some time with my Canadian family from Mongolia. And we as always had SUCH a good time together...

Pattaya was not ok, I could barely stand being in this tourists (Russians, mainly) and red light packed town. Later on my dislike of Russian tourists was challenged by this point of view someone had opened my eyes to. Pattaya had been a core of sex industry in Thailand for decades. Years of prayer and ministry in the city were answered by a flow of Russian families coming there on vacation. Family presence of Russian tourists who come to the tropics to escape some slightly cold winters started to change the atmosphere in Pattaya. And now there's another field open for the ministry: the Russian families themselves...

with all these thoughts, impressions, and some rest before the start of the school I came to Bangkok. The Mission base is situated in Ram 2, one of the outskirts of the city and reminded me of my the district I grew up in in Russia, only that there were no drug dealers in Ram 2...