Tickets!!

Woohoo- we got tickets!!

Trac and I are going to Japan-

ooh here come the onsens, rice balls, nabe, Japanese lingo (** can I remember it?!???) Woohoo!

We're flying out Sunday 3rd, coming back Sunday 10th- 1 complete week is, please God, long enough for me to get a new visa!

If not, I'll stay on in Japan and Trac will come home. ;-(

The kids here are already threatening to rebel or cry or party or whatever their particular reaction is when they're upset someone's leaving...
the panic in Luke's voice, "but mum, you're our primary care-giver! You can't go away for a week! What will we eat?"

He doesn't realise, obviously, that it's usually Pete who cooks at night.

"Don't come back!" Roma says.
"We no want girls. Only boys. Boys house. Go away"

I'm not sure where that leaves Jasmine and Becky...

November Update

We’ve had a great week here on Sakhalin- a full week, a week blessed with meetings, answers to prayer, provision and some great opportunities to trust God and stretch our faith… ;-)

Here are some of the highlights:

House of Grace and Hope Team

Felicity has settled in well, and got into some kind of household routine. She’s met the boys who live here and is getting to know them, caught up with some of the kids she knows from last year when she visited us here, and met new ones.

Our house is awesome! Such a blessing- we worried at first that it was too far out of town, that the kids would have to catch a bus to school… but we’ve discovered some unexpected bonuses. Because the house is further out of town, less kids come- but when they do come, it’s to really visit us and spend quality time with us, not just to use the bathroom or to eat. Recently a couple hung out with us for 9 hours!! We have a lot of time to get to know them.

The kids have already commented that they like the feel of the house, that it’s different from the last- we wonder if it’s because the household is less hectic, and as a stand- alone home we don’t have the surrounding influence of the neighbourhood.

It’s true that we have to catch a bus to get anywhere- but our bus stop is at the beginning of the bus run so the buses are usually empty! It’s not a problem for the kids to hop on a bus to get to school.

Then there’s the space. Just having space in the bedrooms to relax and not be under each other’s feet all the time is like heaven. And the kitchen is big enough to cook meals for 15 with no problem ;-)

Since Wednesday last week we’ve been meeting as a team for Bible study and prayer in the evenings before bed, and with Luke, Jake and Bec in the mornings before they go off to school.

We’ve seen answers to prayer on a daily basis, from the kids catching buses in the morning without waiting in the cold or being late for school, Bec’s teasing issue at school being resolved, financial provision, and Jenya finding work.

God is showing us how to work as a body, each with different functions but coming together as one in all our decisions, with God as the head of our house. Some situations we’ve had to deal with this week have made it difficult for us to make decisions together, even to be in the same place at the same time! But God has really shown us that doing things at the right time in the right way as a united team is the only way!

* * * * *

Meeting Scott

It was a girls’ lunch meeting at the Sakhalin Centre- Trac and Jasmine were ordering, Kate was helping and I was… hanging around at the back staring at the menu board. A group of business men came in behind us and one of them caught my eye a few times.

“Are you guys all Australian?” he asked, obviously Australian himself.

There are a lot of us over here, working for Sakhalin Energy (Shell). I didn’t know why he found it so surprising. Maybe because all the others are men.

Well we started chatting- apparently he recognised me because he and I had come in on the same flight the Tuesday before, and stood near each other in the immigration line. What part of Australia was he from? Perth! Well, Bunbury actually. To be more specific, Clifton Park!! We were blown away.

Trac realised I was talking with someone in line and she heard God say, “This is a divine appointment.”

She turned and heard her name (“wow, Trac is from Kingston!”) and came over to introduce herself. His name was Scott. Scott?!?! Could she ask his last name?

She instantly knew who he was. Trac had been emailing his wife Allison, who attends MOPs at Grace and had heard about us from the Grace website. She and her two sons will be moving to Sakhalin early next year and so emailed Trac to ask her questions about life here. Unbelievable.

After lunch Scott exchanged details with us and Trac invited him to have dinner with us.

On Tuesday evening he came, bearing wine and cheese ;-)

Good thing you don’t need wine glasses or even a corkscrew to enjoy good company!! LoL

We had a great evening, improvising with the wine and meeting each other properly.

Our friend Ryan came too- he and Scott had heard of each other before but not actually met.

After dinner he spoke about his family’s plans to move to Sakhalin, and then made a suggestion that is an answer to prayer!

The family have a space allotment in a shipping container to bring their things to Sakhalin , and they have a lot of space left. Could they bring anything over for us? They also have furniture they don’t need anymore- do we need any furniture?

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Yesterday Scott called us. He has spoken to the appropriate people and has arranged for them to include boxes of linen (our quilts!), two chests of drawers and a trestle table he’s giving to us. Praise God! We need these items and the shipment will arrive in Sakhalin sometime in February.

* * * * *

Roma

This week we’ve received a pledge for Roma’s 3^rd semester at uni (he’ll finish his first semester in December) and indefinite support for his everyday needs (such as buses, books and clothing). He is going to university by faith!!

This week Roma started attending a church-based Bible program which runs three nights a week for three years and ends with a diploma. He gets home at about 11pm on these evenings, then often talks with Pete and Tracy about what he’s learned or other questions for a good several hours longer!

He completed the Alpha course last week, which was run by another church. It is so encouraging to see his thirst for the word, his quick growth in Godly ways, and strengthening character.

Jenya

Jenya’s been in and out of work for about a year, since he finished technical school. He’s been living with us on and off since August, and tried a few different jobs. Now he’s washing cars which is tough work when it’s so cold (the temperature is averaging 0 degress C at the moment) but he said that his boss is good (ie not drunk or abusive) and the money is better than his last job. He studied something to do with mechanics at school, but he’d really like to be a welder. He’s greatly influenced by his peers and we are praying that he’ll learn to depend on God to make his decisions.

Anton

Anton hasn’t been home much the last couple of days. He works two nights on, two nights off at a restaurant - those hours will increase next month when he finishes his probationary period.

He is tougher than the other guys we deal with- and he’s the leader of most of the Lastochka kids. Pete jokes that he’s the godfather. With Anton and Jenya moving in with us, we unwittingly changed the social dynamics of the Lastochka group. Anton began to see how many kids come to us for help or advice, instead of going to him for help, and he felt that his authority was being threatened. As he realised this Pete and Trac saw his walls go up and he became difficult to communicate with.

But slowly he’s been opening up to Tracy, and at those times he can understand English and Tracy’s Russian- this is in private moments, usually at night. During the day with everyone around, he’s a tough guy who doesn’t understand us at all.

Slowly he’s been opening up more and making an effort to communicate with everyone, even with Peter! And while this is a very slow, ongoing process, we are greatly encouraged and looking forward to watching him grow and recommit his life to Christ.

Felicity

Felicity’s letter of invitation has finally come through!! After about 10 weeks of waiting…the surprise was that it’s a 3 month invitation (we applied for a one year invitation!) but apparently she’ll be able to extend the visa in Sakhalin to a one year visa. We don’t know the details of how to extend it, where to extend it, or even what type of visa it is (it could be a cultural exchange visa or a missionary visa). But it has come, and we can go from there.

Felicity is in Sakhalin on a tourist visa which runs out on December 4^th. She’ll go to Japan to get a new visa (which will be a 3 month one) and Trac is keen to go too, for a break and a chance to pick up some cheap household items from a 100 yen store!! Plastic containers, kitchen ware and etc are quite expensive in Sakhalin, so we believe we’ll be able to get some good value for money while we’re in Japan. Please pray that God will go before us, provide for our accommodation and visa and shopping needs, and that it will be a special time of refreshing and refuel for Tracy.

Peter is also very tired and we’re looking for an opportunity for him to get away and get some R&R too. So far nothing has come up but we’re expecting an opportunity to arise very soon!

Kids

Only 23 days now to Becky’s birthday… she continually reminds us! We’re all looking forward to it- she’ll be 10, and we’re hoping it’s cold enough to go ice skating!!

The last couple of weeks have been quite hectic, and it’s showing on the kids. They know the stresses of the household, they’ve had a few late nights and all of them are struggling at school. It’s so boring, they have some Australian school work to do but it is hard slog for them. Becky burst into tears one morning, sobbing that the girls in her class (she’s a year younger than them, as she was put into Jake’s class) tease her about her dirty bag, she couldn’t wear these shoes with her skirt because it’s ugly and she couldn’t wear her pants because the button had come off 3 days before… it was the first we’d heard about any of it! These issues were easily resolved, of course- and later in the week one of the teachers overheard the girls teasing her and she was sent to the principal! So there’s been no more teasing either!

The school is very keen to keep the kids- most foreign kids go to the international school run by Sakhalin Energy, so it brings great kudos to the school to have foreigners there. We’re praying that that will extend to the teachers themselves, that they’ll make more of an effort to teach and include our kids in their class time.

Jake and Bec complain about their English teacher (who often tells them they’re wrong!) but yesterday she asked Jake about Australian schools, and Jake made her laugh! Her mood improved and the whole class enjoyed the benefit!! Now Jake has seen there’s hope, and we’re praying for this teacher every morning!

Luke continually amazes us at his knowledge of the Bible and his hunger to know more. He just devours books that he has- his dream in life is to be Dave!! LoL He (and Jake and Bec too!) think that you’re number one, Dave, and to be like you would be to really live! He’s been going to the youth meetings at the Korean Grace church, and last week Jake went along too. Luke is growing in Godly confidence and character.

He does tend to struggle with the boys who live with us, though. They annoy him and rub him the wrong way- he’s the most reactive and takes their actions over-seriously, so we’re monitoring them closely and intervene when necessary. It’s a learning curve for him.

Jasmine

Jasmine’s been with us for over a month now. The first few weeks were all over the place, with the move and the trip to Khabarovsk. The one thing that God laid on our heart for Jasmine was that we were not to organise her while she is here, but support her. This is her time to grow in hearing God and following His direction. It has been hard for her in some ways, but we’ve seen her growing and become comfortable with this situation.

God has already used her in some incredible ways- she has a huge heart for the young people here, especially for the children in the drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre, and the kids who visit us here in our home.

She has been such a blessing and a strong team member. Not only helpful to us but has inspired and encouraged us with words of wisdom, her music and joy.

Broadband

To get broadband we need to apply with the house owner’s passport. He lives way up north and didn’t bring it with him when he came down recently. He’ll be back in February. Besides this, there’s no way to set it up in our home at the moment. So we wait. :-(

Thanks for your support! We love you and miss you

From

The House of Grace and Hope team

Peter, Tracy, Luke, Jake, Bec, Felicity, Jasmine

A detailed account of the last few days

Updating you on my visa situation:
November 9, 2006: 23:00 hours

I had no idea it was going to be this complicated.

I want to start with a THANK YOU for everyone who prayed that my visa will be issued and that the details will progress smoothly.

I can’t go into the fine details of the last week, and point out the incredible “God-incidences” that have kept me in the right place at the right time. I can’t introduce you to the many service people who have had a smile and helpful, detailed information for me. I can only tell you that God has watched over my every step of this organizational storm! Here is the current situation:

At the Russian Embassy in Canberra there is, or very soon will be my passport, visa application forms and applicable documents. I had sent them by overnight express post but unfortunately there was a “problem” and they weren’t delivered today. So tomorrow.

At the Embassy there’s also about 5 pages sitting in the fax machine, with my letter of invitation which Tracy procured today, a copy of my flight itinerary and a letter of… explanation.

I’m concerned that the man at the embassy won’t issue me a visa because my flight is not a return flight: I have no proof that I’ll leave the country. I can quickly book a flight to Japan or Korea through my travel agent, but that will take precious time tomorrow and we are dealing with a 3 hour time difference! * the visa section of the consulate closes at 12:30pm*

There’s a fee for processing visas, and to process a visa in one day requires more money. The Embassy is rather… inflexible… about the method of payment. I found that I could send an electronic money order to a nearby post office. But getting it from the PO to the Embassy? That was my problem.

I called Frank. He suggested Dave. Dave talked to Eric. (Dave and Eric are pastors at my church; Frank is the missions coordinator) They contacted Ps John Macknamara in Canberra. So, at 9am Friday morning, Ps Macknamara will go to the PO, pick up my processing fee, and take it to the Embassy for me. Who would have thought!?

Finally, I’ve arranged for a courier to collect my passport (with the visa!) between 12:30 and 2:30pm. They will fly it to Perth on the next available flight and will deliver it to my grandparents in Perth by midnight Friday night. Is this not the fullness of time?

Many people, including my travel agent, gently suggested the more obvious option of flying out on Monday or Tuesday, rather than Sunday. It is the logical choice. It would cut out a lot of the stress. But I recognize this level of difficulty now- it’s a challenge, or a test to deter me, and it’s the Harrison’s common experience in Russia!

Last night (Wednesday night) I began to doubt my determination, wondering whether I was right to be so stubborn about leaving exactly as I’d planned. Then I read Luke 13:24. In my Bible it reads,
“Do all you can to go in by the narrow door! A lot of people will try to get in, but won’t be able to.”

So as far as I’m concerned, I’ll go on Sunday or I may not get in at all!!

* * * *

November 10th, Friday

It's 7:30 am and things are moving! Woohooo!!

At 6:20am I called Pastor John Macknamara- at that time he had picked up my money from the PO and was parked in front of the Embassy, trying to work out how to get in!
He called me back at 6:40am to let me know how it went. He had gone in and a lady met him and asked if he was Mr Macknamara (I had sent a fax late last night explaining my arrangements for the day! ) and he gave them the money, waited for a receipt and left.

At 6:50am the Embassy called me. The guy spoke with a strong Russian accent, very fast with all the sentences joined together. He said that he could only issue me a visa from November 13th- December 4th. Was that ok? And could I please arrange an earlier pick up because the visa will be ready in 20mins.

I did a victory dance, then called DHL and asked if they could move the pick up time ahead by 2 hours- it didn't seem to be a problem.
SO now I wait- I'm praying that DHL will pick it up about now, 7:30am, and get it to my grandparents' house in Perth by this afternoon/evening!!!

It is so amazing- I did all the preparation yesterday and today I was so worried that a link would drop out and ruin everything. But God is in control! The embassy don't even care that I have only a one way ticket to Russia!

* * *
November 10th, Friday, 22:15 hours

Poppy called me. DHL delivered my passport and visa to him 10 mins ago.
*sigh*
It's all over. Now I can relax

;-)

Mary and Kaori and Me