it's snowing in moscow

as i type this, it is snowing outside. it's about 25 degrees farenheit right now. a few days ago we got about 5 inches of snow, but it all melted off. it has snowed a little the last several days, but we're gearing up for the big winter! this is a picture of what we woke up to the other morning. this is the view from our kitchen window into our courtyard and playground below. always an adventure in moscow!

tim and i helped out at the fall festival that the juniors at hinkson put on today. they held this festival for the first time this year, to raise money for the service projects they do and for their senior trip next year. when i say "helped out" i mean, the kids paid money to throw wet sponges at tim's face...so fun was had by all! the students organized tons of games and sold hinkson sweatshirts, thanksgiving turkeys and pumpkins. times like today are great opportunities for us to be with the students and deepen those relationships. i'm telling you, you just bond with someone when you allow them to throw a wet sponge at your face.

so things here are going great. we are deep in language study and now that our dog is here, we get opportunities everyday to talk with strangers who stop us to talk about her. yesterday, kai walked with us to the local producti (grocery store) and while i (ally) went in an got some groceries, tim talked with a russian man who struck up a conversation with him, sparked by his interest in kai. his name is anitoli, and despite the language barrier, they were able to talk for about 45 minutes. we get opportunities like this everyday, so everyday we are reminded that the Lord has plans for us, far beyond what we see at this time...

kai is worn out after her long walk to the producti...