announcement + other things

ANNOUNCEMENT: For those of you who have fast internet and want to talk to me here in Georgia for free, get a microphone for your computer --> www.skype.com --> download "skype" --> and add me (jennifer.cook). It's pretty amazing to think that you're talking to someone halfway across the world for free. And also I can call phones in America for 2 cents a minute...crazy, I know.

OTHER THINGS: I'm feeling really rather uninspired to write anything here, which is strange because a lot has been happening. We are in our 4th week of school, and things are still going really well for the most part. I think now we are all getting comfortable enough with each other that we feel we can be "ourselves", which is great. But also some interpersonal conflicts are forming, which can be kind of stressful...but basically inevitable. We live in small quarters, are together practically all the time, and are all very different (although quite complimentary). But, I trust that God will really teach us through it all, and that once we get through this, we will be able to handle ones in the future a lot better.

OH and I think I'm turning into a Georgian, or something. Like, the other day we were having a break and for a snack I ate bread with mayonaise and pickled pepper on it. Of course the Georgian mayonaise is a lot different than the States (it's REALLY good) but I was just like, "what is happening to me?". And I say things like "oy mey". But it's really great though. I am definitely still more American than Georgian, but it feels good to be fitting into the culture a little more! :)

Although I still can't totally handle the BIG market. I mean, I go, and I've gone on my own to buy vegetables and stuff...but on Monday I went to do shopping for the school food and I about died because we had to get meat too. Usually I just avoid the meat section completely, but I couldn't this time. There were like skinned whole pigs lying in rows on tables (no refrigeration for hardly anything by the way), chickens with some feathers and necks and parts that should be attached still attached, and all sorts of internal organs of like cows and stuff, and big HUGE bones, like legs of cow. And this one guy I walked by, and he took this huge cow leg-bone (I think that's what it was), puts it on a block of wood and starts swinging an axe at it in the middle of the market! It's kind of crazy.

Alright, that's all for now.

growing pains

So, here we are in our 3rd week of DTS already. It's going by actually kind of fast. Of course when I'm sitting in lecture for hours it doesn't always seem like that, but now in retrospect it does. I really like it a lot, and I know that I am learning and attempting to grow from what I've learned.

John 15:1-2 "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."

I know that God is pruning me with a purpose in mind. Although, I don't really know what that purpose it is. And I know that the pruning is good for my heart. Although it doesn't feel very good. But I do want to change and I do want to become more fruitful for HIM!

SO yeah! Other news: The team from the States is here (Steven, Diane, Sue, Melissa, Peggy and Tony & Samuel), and it's been great seeing them. I was able to spend most of the weekend with them, and it was really awesome. I probably won't see them a whole lot this week, because of the lecture content (it's more in depth and like heart cleaning than most of the others...so I'll probably be spending more time focusing on that) but hopefully this weekend I will be able to spend time with them, and they are coming to my DTS in one week! So, it's ochen klassna!

Okay, nachwamdeese.

THE FIRST GEORGIAN DTS CLASS EVER!
[L-R: Diana, Keti, me , Ira, Nino. In back: Wes. In Front: Zura.]

how things go

So, today is the end of the first week of DTS (well, it's only Friday...but we don't have classes on Saturday or Sunday). It went well, and I know that it will get better. This week was mainly like lectures about the hows and whys of what we do, and lots of "guidelines" and stuff, although there was some good teaching. But starting on Monday, we're going to actually talk about like real stuff and that will be good.

I have 2 roommates, Deanna (23) and Ira (21), I'll put pictures of us later. They're both Georgian. Diana speaks quite a bit of English, but she just hasn't had any time to practice...so it's good for her to be in a room with me! By the time DTS is over, she will be like totally fluent you know! And Ira speaks a little bit of English, but with the 3 of us, we communicate alright. But, I really do like them both a lot! At first I was a little worried, because they are the 2 girls that I knew the least, but God knows what He is doing...:)

The school is being done in English and Russian (because Keti translates into Russian better than into Georgian). But people still speak Georgian to each other sometimes, and when I go out I hear mostly Georgian. But it's starting to be a little confusing...I can usually tell if they're speaking Georgian or Russian, but I'm finding that I'm starting to speak "Russgian". Not that I'm like really speaking a whole lot...but, still. But it's good though. Hopefully by the end of the school I'll know something more.

As far as DTS dts goes, I struggle a bit with a few things (like community living for example: we have 1 hour of required quiet time a day, but there is so much going on, some people aren't doing their's and there aren't a whole lot of places to go and be undistracted...but I'm learning). But for the most part I really like it. We have intercession and it's an awesome time to pray and to learn more about prayer, and we have work duties and it's been amazing to see how willing people are to help. Like even if they've done their work duty for the day already, they will still help you. There's a lot of humilty (well, I guess we'll see at the end of the school if it really is humility you know. Like, if by the 12th week people are still helping, it will really be true humility). And I've just been able to see God more and I know that He is drawing me closer to Him and I LOVE IT. Really, it's amazing. And also this group of people is just great. We're all so different and have such different giftings and everything, but at the same time we (for the most part) get along really well. We laugh a lot, and I love that too!

And another thing that I Really like about DTS is Fridays (or it could be Saturday or Sunday) we have a time for doing some outreach (that will be sort of like what we will do during the outreach phase) and today we went down to the School of Tomorrow (it's a Christian English school for Georgians) and just worked on the place. Nino and I painted a fence. And while it wasn't necessarily the most fun I've ever had in my entire life, I like that we're learning how to serve. We will do different things each week, and I know we will all learn a lot.

So yeah, there are some hard times but I really do like DTS, and I really do like the people and I really do like this country. I guess I'll write more as more happens. Eta ochen harasho.

it's strange you know

It's strange, you know: It seems like this is happening more and more. This meaning, situations where I'm trying to be flexible. But even though I'm trying to be flexible, there always seems to be one thing that I really don't want to happen, for various reasons. So, in a way I try to just imagine it all working out okay, but subconciously it's like I know that the outcome is going to be exactly what I didn't want to happen. And that's what happens.

For example, when I was flying to Georgia, I REALLY didn't want my luggage to get lost (no one really does). But I REALLY didn't want my luggage to be lost, but I sort of felt like it was going to, and it was. And just stuff like that. I think it's like God sees that the situation will build my character and not kill me, so he allows it to happen. And maybe I just see that it could be a big character building experience too, even though I really don't want it to happen, but I also see what God has been doing in my life lately, and so I sort of know that it's probably going to work out that way. I wonder if this makes any sense at all.

Well, time has really gone by quickly. Tomorrow night we are having our official "welcome to DTS dinner" and then the school starts on Monday. It's totally crazy. And we have been really busy too, just getting stuff ready (like the building, and all the little details). I'm just a student, but it's been good to see all that goes into running one of these before I actually go through it, I'll definetely have more compassion when things don't go exactly as planned!

But today was a good break from all the work. We went swimming with somepeople from church...it was really klassna! : )

Okay, I guess that's all for now!