The God Zone

2-1-2010

As I laid in bed last night after my hot shower and call to my family I reveled in the thought of sleeping in. Then I dreaded the thought of the likelihood of my boss calling and being aroused by the blaring telephone sometime around 9:00am. Unfortunately, my fears were brought to fruition and my dreams of sleeping in were shredded into pieces of exhaustion and grumpiness. Yelena called at around 9:15 and said she would be over at around 10. I didn’t actually get out of bed until she was at the door. I threw some clothes on and picked up the mess I had laying around within seconds. Yelena doesn’t like messes. Anyways, she came over because she was expecting to meet a guy who would fix our washing machine. Of course, she brought something to make lunch. Today it was pumpkin. We peeled it, shredded it and put in a pot with some rice and onions. It actually turned out to be quite delicious. After I had started some coffee the laundry machine guy called. He was having car trouble so now he’s not coming till Wednesday. The moral of the story is I got woken up early for no good reason. I was upset. I spent most of the day in a cranky mood and didn’t leave the apartment until it was time to go to work. We left around 4:30pm and barely got there in time. I despised the thought of going to work today. I was just too tired and this week I have to give the students exams. These are exams that will determine whether they move up a level or fail. I feel a lot of pressure because I have to write these tests (well more correctly edit previous tests) and I’ve only been with these students for 2 weeks. I don’t feel that it is fair for me to test them since I am not exactly sure where they should be. So I was miserable at the thought of going to work and I frustratingly took the steps toward the English center, made myself a cup of tea and hurriedly prepared for my classes during the half hour Steven was teaching discussion class (he took 5:00p and I took 7:00p; discussion is a class where you basically just talk to students so they can practice their English). Though I was in a bad mood, once I got in my classroom and in front of my students my torch was lit and my face shined. I was in my zone and I helped them prepare for exams and pretended like I was a real teacher who was qualified for the job. I, like normal days, left the center smiling and my cheerful mood was restored. After a hot cup of tea, some mystery muffins that I bought at the magazine (magazines are convenience stores), and good conversations with some friends back home, I am ready to call this a good day. It’s late, I’m still tired, but I hope tomorrow that the phone will stay silent and that my dreams will be allowed to come to a natural close. I’m hoping tomorrow will be full of rest and relaxation, but who am I kidding. I got exams to write and grocery shopping to do. Steven is feeling a little bit under the weather (Idiom!) and so I am trying to keep an eye on him (Idiom!) and make sure he stays alive while also making sure I don’t get sick.

I can't believe this month is over already! January 2010 will always be one of the most memorable months of my life. A month full of sad goodbyes, happy children, frightening first impressions, and adjusting to different a culture; I'm actually sad to see it go. I'm living a pretty good story and that makes my heart content.

Before I left, I preached a sermon about getting out of your comfort zone and experiencing God in new and different ways. People responded well to that sermon. My boss used to always say, "Going from the comfort zone to the God zone." I watched some video logs that I made when I first got here and all I could say in those logs after seeing my apartment and driving around the city was, “I can’t do this, getting out of your comfort zone is the most miserable thing in the world, I wanna go home...” but then in the video I said that the phrase that was running through my mind was, “Daddy’s got you, Daddy’s got you.” I was freaking out when I first arrived here, but now I feel good about my place here. There is this one woman at prayer meeting who always refers to God as “Daddy.” She is a wonderful Russian lady that I think truly understands the gospel. Any woman who prays to “Daddy” is a woman after my own heart. I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning, but the phone rang anyways. I didn’t want to go to work today, but I took the steps anyways. You may not want to get out of your comfort zone and I don’t blame you because it is terrifying, it is downright miserable, but if Daddy is calling you to get out of your comfort zone then Daddy will be with you the whole time, and I tell you, do it anyways. Next thing you know you might find yourself in an old Soviet apartment, counting your blessings, and appreciating life so much more.