the 3 r's

reduce...reuse...recycle...

the annual spring rummage sale at our school here in moscow is coming up in a few weeks, and me and some girl friends have reserved some tables so that we can sell/give our stuff.

i have always secretly (not so secretly anymore, i guess) prided myself in being very minimalistic when it comes to stuff. no judgment on anyone who is not, that is just what i like...and i see that this is affecting silas, too. this kid has one little basket of toys (books would be the exception here - he has tons of books), and a few key favorite toys that won't fit in the basket...yet the tupperware drawer in the kitchen or one of the poorly-baby-proofed-drawers in the livingroom are still his happiest places on earth.

but in preparing for the upcoming rummage sale, i am so surprised at all the many many things i can find to sell/give away! where did all this come from? we live in about 400 square feet on the 10th floor of a tall building in moscow...you wouldn't think there would be many places for a "minimalist" to store things, would you? oh but there are...the trick is going to be me carrying it all to the school...

the view from our kitchen window...

on the mend

officially, tim's nose was broken. those trees that don't move will get you every time. see the picture in the previous post for the "before the re-set" nose. last tuesday tim went back into the hospital, after the swelling had subsided significantly enough for us to be able to see that yes, it was crooked. the xray they took at the hospital was such low quality (think of those profile silhouettes we all did in art class in elementary school where your shadow was traced on the wall...) that they couldn't tell if it was broken or not...so the doctor requested that i email him "before" pics of tim's face...and from these pictures he determined that it was in fact broken. ahh, the art of medicine (and email).

a bright orange band-aid with little cartoon fish on it was the only band-aid the doctor could find in the hospital. the "re-set" went well, with minor bruising and a really great story...i'll spare the details.

here comes the sun...

these years, living at a latitude of 55 45N we celebrate the sun more than ever before! and these last few days, we've been very aware of the time of year we're entering where even if the sun isn't out, the sky is just brighter! but, the sun WAS out this weekend and we did all we could to soak it up...


another adventure point of this weekend...tim, while chaperoning the high school lock-in had a run in with a tree, and the tree didn't move. capture the flag, a dark night, snow, ice, uneven ground, high energy adrenaline in the middle of the night, and a tree. as tim tells the story, his nose was the only thing that hit the tree. the swelling has significantly subsided, but we're supposed to wait a few days to be able to tell if its broken.

so silas and i made cookies for our friend who drove tim to the hospital in the middle of the night...



what? who has a mouth full of sugar???

our letter...and more...

this superman's weakness is salmon and tvorik (there's no translation, but it would be like full fat yogurt and full fat cream cheese mixed)...


We thought it would be a good idea this month to put our prayer letter that we send out on our blog, too! Sorry to get you twice if you read both...but if you're a blog reader, I've tucked some extra morsels in this post that weren't in the letter!

our letter, from tim....

Friends, Family and Supporters, greetings from Moscow! As people who support missionaries ourselves, we understand what it is like to open a support letter and see tons of words...so, this quarter, we want to give you a brief glimpse, so that you can easily and quickly see what the Lord is doing in our life these days and know how to pray for and support us. Please visit our blog site or look us up on facebook for more info, stories and pictures! http://thecolorgreen-wiley.blogspot.com (you're there...)

We are praying for you all back in the States, as you face difficult economic times.

Depth and difficulty is increasing in ministry as Ally and I are both working with students and families facing tough situations. Please pray for wisdom for us and Grace for the ones in the situations.

A few other key staff members are leaving Hinkson next year, so please pray for the right people to come fill those positions - including the chaplain position.

Hinkson Students and staff are going to New Hope Uganda March 29th-April 9th. We have a great team and high hopes for the trip. We meet once a week during lunch and once a month on the weekends to learn language, work on skits and develop team dynamics.


some kids from new hope, kasana, uganda (2008)


We are asking for additional support for my $1,400 plane ticket to Uganda.

Last semester was very spiritually powerful at Hinkson. We focused on the theme of “Lies We Believe” and saw the Lord do some amazing healing in the hearts of many of our students… especially girls in the way of self-worth and self-image.

Apart from getting over a sickness he got from the church nursery, Silas is healthy, developing well and so smart! He is such a joy!

We rejoice with our good friends, the Clarks, who after 4 years of heartbreaking and unsuccessful pregnancies, will soon give birth to a healthy baby girl!

Our plan is to move back to Tulsa in late June! We will attend a Missionary Debrief and Renewal Session in Colorado during July and then begin the transition process in Tulsa by mid-July. Please pray for finances and logistics as we move back State-side.

We are asking that our financial supporters continue support through August of 2009. We will officially be employed by RCE through that time and the support will be vital to our transition back.

I (Tim) will begin the job search process very soon. At this point, I am interested in both ministry and non-ministry positions. I’d love any insight or connections that you all have with jobs in helping us re-connect and land in Tulsa.

...the end (of the letter)...

this is a really sweet season for me and tim. we are consistently trying to strike a healthy balance between being present here in moscow for our last few months here, and wisely make plans for the upcoming transition to the states. some exciting news...we've booked our tickets for our return trip!!! we use a wonderful travel agent in colorado springs who found us an amazing deal on THE most pet-friendly carrier, lufthansa. kai will be taken out of her crate at every connection, walked, re-fed, re-watered, papers changed, etc. we are very excited about that. we land in tulsa on june 21 (happy father's day dad and vance). when we get back, we'll have almost 2 weeks before we drive to colorado for two weeks to attend a living-abroad debriefing conference and vacationing with my (ally) family in pagosa springs. meanwhile, kai will be recuperating at woodland west in tulsa.

between now and then, we have the hinkson play (shakespeare's "much ado about nothing"...tim is the friar francis), uganda 2009 trip, graduation, regular (and exceptional) life...


it's cold and dark and snowy outside...what better to do to celebrate tim's 31st birthday than have a hawaiian themed party! we wore lays, burned coconut candles, listened to israel kamakawiwo'ole music, and ate a cake with an island scene on it.


i had way too much fun decorating this...fyi...if you need to decorate a cake and don't have a cake decorating kit, icing squeezed out of a ziploc bag with the corner cut off works just as well if not better - no clean up!