wonder of wonders, MIRACLE of MIRACLES!

Hey there. It’s me. And, I love this picture.

How beautiful is my city?!

I don’t even know where to begin telling you how incredibly awesome things are over here.

INCREDIBLE.

HUGE NEWS: I’ve been here for 2 months now (whoa.), the last of which I didn’t have a visa. On Friday, I got the call: EVERYTHING was processed without any holdups at immigration, and tomorrow morning I will be picking up my residency permit, work permit, and YEAR-LONG VISA! Truly, truly a MIRACLE. How good is G? I am, however, living in Azerbaijan. If I get to immigration and it’s actually there, that will only make the miracle MORE miraculous! Ask for this!

Other exciting news: If you’d asked me a few weeks ago how things were going, I would have said they were pretty good. And they were. But I was not getting what I wanted and needed most—deep and meaningful relationships with nationals. These relationships (or potential relationships) are why I’m here! Well, friends, the last two weeks have been exhausting and exciting for that very reason: I am FINALLY developing meaningful relationships with several wonderful Azeri people, and have spent a ridiculous amount of time with them. I’m up before the sun and home long after it’s gone down, and I love every minute between. HE has blessed me beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Friends, HE gives us the desires of our hearts! Another cool thing: this past week I have had several deep and genuine conversations about life now, eternal life, and the differences between our beliefs with one of these friends . Anyway, VERY COOL. G is moving and shaking in this young woman’s life, and HE is letting me be a part of it!

A few more random / funny/ useless things:

--There are three colors of nylons (and every girl wears nylons every day) here: Tan, Black, and Jaundice.

--Today, one of my students, a very educated 58-year-old guy, told me he had “bowels for brains.”

--Yesterday, I went castle-hunting with some dear friends. We found a good one. I’ll post pictures soon. (or you can look at the pictures here.)

--Every morning, I pass a freshly-severed cow head on my walk to the Metro. Today, for the first time, it was a sheep head. It definitely didn’t have the same effect. I mean, it was the size of a nerf football, and didn’t even have horns. What a disappointment.

--For the last month, I have had the hugest knot in my back. Seriously, it’s like my shoulder blade is trying to birth a tennis ball. Ouch.

--Elections? Whoa. Nice work, Republicans. Azerbaijan Parliament elections were today!

--Cold showers at 6am should be illegal. Especially because:

--I’m a fairly cold-blooded person. And, winter’s coming. And, I only have one blanket. And, I learned yesterday that my apartment doesn’t have heat. Awesome.

--I like to memorize things. Right now, I’m memorizing Martin Luther King Jr.’s, “I Have A Dream.” I don’t know why I like memorizing things, but here are a few of the things I’ve memorized in my life: My 1^st Grade class list, States and Capitals (both in alphabetical order and order added to the union), the Presidents, books, verses, and entire chapters of the B!ble…and the list goes on and on and on…you need my high school locker combo or my college ID number or the phone numbers of my grade school friends? Unfortunately, I know them all. I mean, seriously? Why do we hold onto useless information like this? When am I ever going to need to recall things like “Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species”? Exactly.

--Best quote ever from one of my students on Friday (I asked him to make a sentence using the new vocabulary word “to mingle”): “I looked on as my parents mingled themselves together.” …clearly, he missed the point. And actually, I still don't know what exactly he was trying to say. But wisely, I didn't push it.

Also, Happy Birthday to my sweet cousin, Payton David! Today, he would have been 9 years old. Today, he’s celebrating in the presence of the KING. Miss you, little one.