How Much Has Changed!

One more suitcase arrived in the middle of the night, but instead of having to drive all the way to the airport, Turkish Airlines kindly brought the bag to their downtown office where I retrieved it. 4 suitcases remain unaccounted for, including the ones containing nearly all of the kids' clothes and ALL of the gifts that I bought for friends here in Bishkek. We are praying that the remaining bags come on tonight's flight, otherwise I will leave this city before my bags arrive...

Today was our busiest day yet, but wonderfully fun and rewarding. Rory and I spent the morning grocery shopping. Since two more guests arrived from the States this morning, and we invited an additional 4 guests for dinner, there was much to buy. We drove into town, Rory driving adeptly to avoid the potholes, open manhole covers, animals crossing the road, and the myriad of cars and trucks that flow rapidly without much attention to traffic laws. We made it safely to Beta stores, a Turkish department store down the street from where Blake and I used to live. You used to be able to find nearly everything I needed there. To my astonishment, today we could find nearly everything we wanted there. There were even.......are you ready for this-- (those of you who followed our previous years' adventures in Central Asia will know what a big deal this is to me)--tortilla chips and salsa! I was in complete shock at how much had changed in 4 years.

From there all that remained on our shopping list was fresh bread and fruit. We pulled over to the side of the road to buy nectarines (which they call peaches in Russian) and "diinhi" (a long melon cross between honeydew and cantaloupe). I took some photos of Rory buying bread from the outdoor baker (I'll post those photos when I'm reunited with my luggage) as well as some of the surrounding market. Next thing we knew, an inebriated Russian man came over to the car and started harrassing us--eyeing my camera the whole time. He reached into the car window and grabbed the steering wheel, shouting something about a fine. We quickly sped off and thankfully he let go. I think all that had something to do with my taking a photo, but not of him.

Tonight we sat around the dinner table with a beautiful assortment of people: my hosts, a newlywed couple from Minneapolis here exploring service opportunities for the future, Mira (my former nanny) and her husband, Mira's sister-in-law (who works with my hosts) and "G" (a precious woman I hired back in 2003 while acting regional director for InterVarsity). We spoke English, Russian, and Kyrgyz around the table, constantly switching back and forth to make sure everyone understood what was being said. It was truly delightful and an event that I would not have wanted to miss for the world.

I'm off to bed in hopes that luggage will arrive while I sleep. Tomorrow, our last full day in Bishkek, we're venturing into the city with all 6 kids to eat at a "kid-friendly restaurant"----Rory tells me it serves chicken nuggets and french fries. What is Central Asia coming to?!!