So I know it's been a long time since we've posted on our blog. It's been even longer since we've posted with any frequency (6 months?). Here's to hope springing eternally and ambitious summer plans.
For those of you who know us and use this blog as a means of keeping up with us (aside from our monthly newsletters) you might know that a few things have happened in the last six months or so.
1. We took our first furlough, which sounds to me like a French or Olde-English way of saying "a sabbatical from the mission field". Usually you get one month for every year. If a child is due you get enough time as you need to safely return to your home country, push-em-out-shove-em-out-way-out! (as Bill Cosby would say), get the official travel and birth papers you need and return to the field. Usually 3 - 4 months. These two factors combined with the dead ministry season that is December in Russia and my brother's college graduation meant that we were allowed to leave a little early and spent 5 months in the U.S.
If that seems like a long time to you it seemed the same to us. Yet, we knew that we had a lot of fundraising to do, some churches we wanted to visit, and a lot of recruiting to do for the Summer Project and for future Stinters and Staff. We also had some much needed rest to take and we had a precious one on the way. Looking back our time was filled with really important things. We weren't as busy as we usually are while we're on the field, but our time was well spent and encouraging for us and hopefully those that we got to spend time with.
Furlough was good, but I'm glad we're back in Russia, back to work and back to helping to reaching the people here so they can go and reach others.
2. The other thing that happened, and this might be a surprise, is that we had a child! Charles Fyodor Coats was born to us on March 20th, 2012. For more than just practical ministry reasons it was a great thing we came back to the U.S. when we did. When the doctor checked Jessica a month before Charles was due she said "this baby could come any minute, I mean he could be here by the end of the day." That was mid-April, he wasn't due till March 20th! Jess's labor was short (3 and a half hours) but we like to say that she was in stage 1 labor for a month before that.
Before Charles (Charlie to us) was born I was fearful about being a father. I would ask myself, "how do I do this? I don't even know how to change a diaper without hurting someone! Will I know how to play with him?" All kinds of thoughts like that ran through my head. Then, when he was born, it was the most natural thing in the world to hold him, to coo with him, to feel rapture and joy at a simple smile he might flash at me.
Being a dad is easily the greatest role I've ever held in my life and I'm so happy we didn't wait any longer to have kids.
3. We also spent some really good time with our families in Texas and in Colorado. One of the drawbacks of being on the mission field, even with facebook, skype and all the rest, is that you miss those subtle interactions, those inside jokes and the familiarity that you grow to appreciate about your family as you get older. It was great for us to spend extended, quality time with many members of our family and have lots of great laughs along the way.
We also came back to Russia for our third year on the field. It's hard to believe that we've been here for only 3 years, it seems like a lot longer to me. Maybe that's because our Russian friends are so good at making us feel like we've known them for years, or maybe a Russian winter is so long it actually counts as two, or maybe something else. I'm not sure.
Being back in Russia with a newborn isn't as scary as I imagined either. The metro is a kinder, softer place when you have a defenseless child and a large stroller. The old ladies downstairs who harass us out of their xenophobia are now de facto grandmothers who ask why we let our newborn go outside naked (by naked they mean with pants, shirt, socks, shoes but NO hat). It's the same old place but with a gentler twist.
I know this doesn't replace 6 months worth of blogging or ministry updates or insights to Russian culture or even a good conversation over a cup of coffee, but this is the latest with us. We'll try to blog more this summer (among other grandiose summer plans) and we'd love to hear what's new with you too.
'Till then!
-Dave and Jess
For those of you who know us and use this blog as a means of keeping up with us (aside from our monthly newsletters) you might know that a few things have happened in the last six months or so.
1. We took our first furlough, which sounds to me like a French or Olde-English way of saying "a sabbatical from the mission field". Usually you get one month for every year. If a child is due you get enough time as you need to safely return to your home country, push-em-out-shove-em-out-way-out! (as Bill Cosby would say), get the official travel and birth papers you need and return to the field. Usually 3 - 4 months. These two factors combined with the dead ministry season that is December in Russia and my brother's college graduation meant that we were allowed to leave a little early and spent 5 months in the U.S.
 |
| Jess 6 months prego AND Recruiting Students to join us, wow! |
If that seems like a long time to you it seemed the same to us. Yet, we knew that we had a lot of fundraising to do, some churches we wanted to visit, and a lot of recruiting to do for the Summer Project and for future Stinters and Staff. We also had some much needed rest to take and we had a precious one on the way. Looking back our time was filled with really important things. We weren't as busy as we usually are while we're on the field, but our time was well spent and encouraging for us and hopefully those that we got to spend time with.
Furlough was good, but I'm glad we're back in Russia, back to work and back to helping to reaching the people here so they can go and reach others.
2. The other thing that happened, and this might be a surprise, is that we had a child! Charles Fyodor Coats was born to us on March 20th, 2012. For more than just practical ministry reasons it was a great thing we came back to the U.S. when we did. When the doctor checked Jessica a month before Charles was due she said "this baby could come any minute, I mean he could be here by the end of the day." That was mid-April, he wasn't due till March 20th! Jess's labor was short (3 and a half hours) but we like to say that she was in stage 1 labor for a month before that.
Before Charles (Charlie to us) was born I was fearful about being a father. I would ask myself, "how do I do this? I don't even know how to change a diaper without hurting someone! Will I know how to play with him?" All kinds of thoughts like that ran through my head. Then, when he was born, it was the most natural thing in the world to hold him, to coo with him, to feel rapture and joy at a simple smile he might flash at me.
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| that smile gets me every time |
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| Jess and Charlie playing at a wedding in Moscow |
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| Charlie's first day, Dad is melting |
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| Charles Blake, Charlie's namesake |
Being back in Russia with a newborn isn't as scary as I imagined either. The metro is a kinder, softer place when you have a defenseless child and a large stroller. The old ladies downstairs who harass us out of their xenophobia are now de facto grandmothers who ask why we let our newborn go outside naked (by naked they mean with pants, shirt, socks, shoes but NO hat). It's the same old place but with a gentler twist.
I know this doesn't replace 6 months worth of blogging or ministry updates or insights to Russian culture or even a good conversation over a cup of coffee, but this is the latest with us. We'll try to blog more this summer (among other grandiose summer plans) and we'd love to hear what's new with you too.
'Till then!
-Dave and Jess
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