Update: February 23, 2007: It's Cold in Kazakhstan...
Okay... we're not going to pretend anymore. We have to be honest. We have tried for the last week to act like we're not from the South and we can handle the cold weather. But today we’re coming clean... it's cold. It's really cold in Kazakhstan. Today the high was -13 degrees Celsius. Three days from now it's expected to get down to -31 degrees Celsius. For those who need a little help with conversion, that's a high of 8 degrees Fahrenheit and a low of -23 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s cold in Kazakhstan.

So the last couple of days we have been greeted outside of our apartment with fresh snow and a blistering wind. For the first 60 seconds, it was fun. I picked up snow and threw it on Heather. She laughed and we played. But that’s where the fun stopped. All of the sudden my fingers went numb. This numbness was later followed by a tingling sensation as my fingertips turned bright red for the next few hours. No more playing in the snow for David and Heather.

It just so happened that today was the day we had planned a tour of the city. So after our morning visit, we went from monument to monument hearing all kinds of historic information, trying hard to pay attention, but all the while really thinking, "I just wish I could feel my feet." They say it was the coldest day of their winter so far. Did I mention it’s cold in Kazakhstan?

The weather also had an effect on our visits with our son. The playroom has windows that don't quite shut all the way, so it was pretty chilly inside when we arrived this morning. That meant our visit had to be cut short by 30 minutes so that he could go back to his warm room. We were disappointed, but that wasn't the worst of it. The worst effect of this frigid weather was what we saw when they brought him in. Because it was so cool, they had put extra clothes and a hat on him. Let's just say the clothes weren’t that cool.

Over the very cute, stylish overalls we had sent for him to wear, they had put a bright aqua and pink sweater on his little body. And then... oh, man... I couldn't believe it…my son! ...they had put a hot pink and white baker's hat on his head. You're thinking, "A baker's hat?" That's exactly what we were thinking! It was tacky... it was girly... it was not what needed to be on my son's head! Heather tried to comfort me, reminding me that it's not about how he looks--he needs to keep his head warm. I thought, "Yes, it's cold in Kazakhstan, but it's not THAT cold!"

During the afternoon visit, they brought him to us--once again in that goofy hat. But the good thing was that because the room was cold, they asked us not to put him on the floor. So for the entire hour, we had another opportunity to simply hold him snug. I ended up holding him for about 45 minutes straight, gazing into his eyes, telling him all about the Kazakh history I had learned, introducing him to geography and the seven continents, and then explaining to him my philosophy of expository preaching. He loved every minute of it!

In all seriousness, please be praying that the weather will not inhibit our visits over the next few days. There have been times in the past where it has been too cold to let the children have visitation hours, so we're praying that won't happen. We want every minute we can get with our son!

We love you and miss you!
--David and Heather

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