Just HOW hot is it again...??

Greetings once again from Hot, Sunny... Central Russia!! We must be adapting rather well, surely we wouldn't be this wimpy about the heat in NC or Fla! We've been having temperatures consistently in the lower 90's, and we're having a hard time with it. It's especially hard on Phyllis, but praise God for a little house that cools down quickly and lets in the cool garden air! (A taxi driver recently mentioned as we drove up that the temperature had dropped 5 degrees since pulling onto the gardens!)

We've had a good week, over all, and despite the heat, Phyllis has felt better more consistently during the days. She also got several nights of better sleep, but the nights have been more of a challenge for us. Please keep praying for good sleep for her.

Early in the week, Pavel and I with a few women from church helping, did a bit of cosmetic repairs in the apt. building where we meet for church. The entryway to our staircase has been crying out for attention for a long time now, and we finally got around to doing something about it. Pavel and I have been wanting to do this for at least several months now. The mortar had crumbled off the brick walls in several places, and nothing had been painted in probably 20 years. (And that's a conservative estimate!)
We spent 3 days or so fixing up only from the entryway door to the 2nd story landing. There were a lot of comments from the neighbors, almost all of them positive. Praise God that we were able to do even a little bit more to be a true testimony of God's love to people around us.

A special even this week for Phyllis and I was going out to eat for Phyllis' birthday. (Three cheers, Jules, hip hooray, da da?!)I had wanted to do so last week, since we hadn't really done anything special on her birthday, and I was actually gone most of that evening.
Our friend Ira from church came out to the dacha and stayed with the children while Phyllis and I had some of our first time completely alone since... I don't know when! (We think this is the first time we've left Raia with a sitter.) Many blessings upon our dearest Irena.
Phyllis and I took a leisurely walk through the woods, and trolleybus to the apt, where we reveled in hot showers. Then we hopped in a cab, and were off to 'Retro', which Ira says is 'the most expensive restaurant in town.' The fact is there just aren't many real restaurants at all in Kovrov! There are a few fancy nightclubs, and even more cafes where you can get something edible, and find a huge assortment of inebriating potables, but that's not quite what I was looking for.
We had a nice quiet supper together, and Phyllis even had a bit of ice cream for dessert. She's been avoiding sweets in general, but since this followed up steak and mushrooms, we figured it'd be all right. It was a nice evening, but even nicer than the restaurant was the time together with no rush and nothing more important to do than just enjoy each others company. Happy Birthday again, Phyllis!

We spent a good bit of our time at the dacha this week just avoiding the sun. Phyllis went down to the pond frequently for icy cold dips, and our big fan worked round the clock. We did get some weeding done, here and there. Also gathered string beans and squash, and ate them, regularly. =) We brought home a bucket full of beans today, and there will be many, many more! At first we thought we were just going to have decorative bean plants, but they just needed some time to get going.
I did spend one day in the sun, building a raised bed for strawberries, need to get those thinned out and re-planted soon. Looks something like a sand box build for giant dachshunds. That is, it's a box about a foot high, 4 feet wide, and 15 long!
We also went out to the river again yesterday. Very, very nice. The water was cold, and the sun was not as intense as it had been earlier in the week. Raia was almost purple, teeth chattering, and still wanting to swim more. (Phyllis has very similar memories of Leetra!)
The children are getting braver and braver in the water. It's even getting a bit scary. Raia wants to 'swim by herself', and even though she can reach the bottom, there is a current, and she doesn't do well staying on her feet. Jaan also 'swam like Papa', underwater, that is! He couldn't seem to get the coming up for air part figured out, though. Like I said, kind of scary for us, but we're very glad that THEY aren't afraid!

Trying to take care of GospeLink work on the weekends, as well as making phone calls during the week. Pray that I can get in touch with everybody, and that all the missionary pastors will get their letters to me asap.

Thanks for checking in again, we appreciate everyone's patience this summer. We would like to be in closer touch with everyone, but we also have seen a lot of good come from having so much time with one another as a family. With no internet, and limited computer time to distract us from the children, we've really been enjoying watching them learn about nature more and helping them appreciate all the beauty and wonder still to be found in the world around us.