 |
| The Whole Team |
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| Twins - our translator, Tanya, and Karen |
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| Twins - Oleg and Bernie |
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| Following the dress code |
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| Zadonsk Monastery |
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| Bare Naked Ladies - after the plunge! |
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Pictures!
I left my heart in San Francisco…I left my drawers in Russia.
Two things will make more sense by the time you will have finished reading this blog post: one, the title of it, and two, the reason I have been nominated to write it.
Today we went out of Voronezh to visit Zadonsk Monastery, which houses about 400 people, including monks, Russian civilians and staff members. All the ladies had to have scarves over their heads and long skirts. Even pants were not acceptable for ladies, and there was a tiny shack outside the monastery with a grab bag of assorted skirts and scarves- even those of us who wore skirts that came above our knees were encouraged to put on a longer skirt over it.
A guide gave us a detailed history of the monastery, which is more than 4 centuries old and had been turned into a vegetable processing plant during the Soviet era. It was re-opened as a monastery in the 1990’s and is still under heavy construction.
We then took a bus to the holy spring nearby. Traditionally, one goes into the spring “au naturel” (in the nude) and dunks oneself three times; one for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We were comforted by the fact that there were separate women’s and men’s entrances.
Even though some of us are wimps (myself included) and brought a bathing suit just in case, the braver members of the team convinced us we should take the plunge bathing-suit free. “When in Rome…”
There was a row of hooks on the wall, where people hung up their things. People walked down the steps into the spring, then up a second set of steps on the other side. The water was icy but the plunge was quick.
We are proud to say we did it! Hooray us!
Now… where’s my underwear?
I’m not kidding, guys… All of my clothes were right here. Come on, check bags, the inside of towels, clothes we changed out of… maybe it got wrapped up in there somewhere?
No?
Are you KIDDING me?
Looks like I’ll be wearing my dry bathing suit underneath my dress to church tonight.
Laura
Today we went out of Voronezh to visit Zadonsk Monastery, which houses about 400 people, including monks, Russian civilians and staff members. All the ladies had to have scarves over their heads and long skirts. Even pants were not acceptable for ladies, and there was a tiny shack outside the monastery with a grab bag of assorted skirts and scarves- even those of us who wore skirts that came above our knees were encouraged to put on a longer skirt over it.
A guide gave us a detailed history of the monastery, which is more than 4 centuries old and had been turned into a vegetable processing plant during the Soviet era. It was re-opened as a monastery in the 1990’s and is still under heavy construction.
We then took a bus to the holy spring nearby. Traditionally, one goes into the spring “au naturel” (in the nude) and dunks oneself three times; one for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We were comforted by the fact that there were separate women’s and men’s entrances.
Even though some of us are wimps (myself included) and brought a bathing suit just in case, the braver members of the team convinced us we should take the plunge bathing-suit free. “When in Rome…”
There was a row of hooks on the wall, where people hung up their things. People walked down the steps into the spring, then up a second set of steps on the other side. The water was icy but the plunge was quick.
We are proud to say we did it! Hooray us!
Now… where’s my underwear?
I’m not kidding, guys… All of my clothes were right here. Come on, check bags, the inside of towels, clothes we changed out of… maybe it got wrapped up in there somewhere?
No?
Are you KIDDING me?
Looks like I’ll be wearing my dry bathing suit underneath my dress to church tonight.
Laura
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Wednesday, August 11
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Hey y’all- it’s been a crazy couple of days. Apologies for letting the blog slip for a little while- as many of you may have heard, we had other things on our minds! We're doing well and while we know that Moscow has been in the news a lot back home, we're safe and sound.
Pastor Charles announced to us after our Saturday morning devotion that a state of emergency had been declared in Moscow and Voronezh due to the smoke from the forest fires in Russia. Pastor Charles felt that unless the situation changed, he was 90% sure that we’d change our plans; instead of leaving Orel to spend a week in Voronezh, we’d be flying out early and cutting the trip short.
It worried us that we hadn’t heard from our friends in Voronezh, and we hoped they were okay. It also worried us that United said they probably couldn’t help us until their “group desk” was open again on Monday. Thanks, United! Hey everyone: check out the “United Breaks Guitars” YouTube video while you’re at it. ;)
After a day of Holly, Karen, and Charles working around the clock, it became evident that if we cut the trip short, we’d be biding our time in Moscow, where people couldn’t see more than a few meters in front of them and were breathing through wet towels. To boot, we heard from our friends in Voronezh and they said the air was all clear there. So we switched our plans back and we were set to go!
So Sunday morning, we got the announcement that we’d be going on, as planned, to the camp at Voronezh- Praise God!
On another note, while our fearless leaders were working around the clock on getting us home (when we thought we were going home, that is) we had a fabulous day at the river with Pastor Lev and the members of Millennium UMC- our arms and abs are still sore from swinging from a rope into the river and it was a great day of games, swimming, eating, and singing (note: “Tarzanka” is a real Russian word that has something to do with swinging. We don’t know its exact meaning but we said it a lot that day.)
Sunday morning we were honored to attend Pastor Lev’s church, Millennium United Methodist Church in Orel. Anne, Emily, Amy, Ruth, and Bernie gave short testimonies on how Christ is working in their daily lives. The group sang several songs for our Russian friends and Laura and Mike provided special music. Pastor Charles preached on Joshua 1:6-9 and the challenges of receiving a “new land” from God. Afterwards, we exchanged gifts (including a handmade stained-glass window from Ruth and Bel-Air UMC) and emotional goodbyes.
After packing-up at the hotel and a long bus ride we arrived at the camp in Voronezh late Sunday night. Fortunately, the area is clear and clean of smoke as promised, although conditions in Orel and the countryside were very noticeably smoky and congested. But fear not! We are safe, happy, and breathing easy here in Voronezh.
On Monday - we got to work on our projects at Camp Kristall. We have been plastering, painting, and hanging wallpaper for the last 3 days. We have the sore arms and paint smudges to prove it. When the work is done, we're happy to swim in the river, and spend our evenings hanging out and enjoying great fellowship. Oleg (the guitarist from Resurrection UMC) is here and he, plus Laura and Mike, keep us entertained.
One of our teammates, Karen Van Duzer, headed to the hospital on Monday. She hasn't been feeling 100% since the start of our trip. She received excellent care and got some medicine, and returned to us in good spirits. She's on the mend - and we give God great thanks for that!
Da blagoslovit vas Gospod! (may God bless you ;)
Laura and Mike (supervised by Morgan; updated by Holly)
Hey y’all- it’s been a crazy couple of days. Apologies for letting the blog slip for a little while- as many of you may have heard, we had other things on our minds! We're doing well and while we know that Moscow has been in the news a lot back home, we're safe and sound.
Pastor Charles announced to us after our Saturday morning devotion that a state of emergency had been declared in Moscow and Voronezh due to the smoke from the forest fires in Russia. Pastor Charles felt that unless the situation changed, he was 90% sure that we’d change our plans; instead of leaving Orel to spend a week in Voronezh, we’d be flying out early and cutting the trip short.
It worried us that we hadn’t heard from our friends in Voronezh, and we hoped they were okay. It also worried us that United said they probably couldn’t help us until their “group desk” was open again on Monday. Thanks, United! Hey everyone: check out the “United Breaks Guitars” YouTube video while you’re at it. ;)
After a day of Holly, Karen, and Charles working around the clock, it became evident that if we cut the trip short, we’d be biding our time in Moscow, where people couldn’t see more than a few meters in front of them and were breathing through wet towels. To boot, we heard from our friends in Voronezh and they said the air was all clear there. So we switched our plans back and we were set to go!
So Sunday morning, we got the announcement that we’d be going on, as planned, to the camp at Voronezh- Praise God!
On another note, while our fearless leaders were working around the clock on getting us home (when we thought we were going home, that is) we had a fabulous day at the river with Pastor Lev and the members of Millennium UMC- our arms and abs are still sore from swinging from a rope into the river and it was a great day of games, swimming, eating, and singing (note: “Tarzanka” is a real Russian word that has something to do with swinging. We don’t know its exact meaning but we said it a lot that day.)
Sunday morning we were honored to attend Pastor Lev’s church, Millennium United Methodist Church in Orel. Anne, Emily, Amy, Ruth, and Bernie gave short testimonies on how Christ is working in their daily lives. The group sang several songs for our Russian friends and Laura and Mike provided special music. Pastor Charles preached on Joshua 1:6-9 and the challenges of receiving a “new land” from God. Afterwards, we exchanged gifts (including a handmade stained-glass window from Ruth and Bel-Air UMC) and emotional goodbyes.
After packing-up at the hotel and a long bus ride we arrived at the camp in Voronezh late Sunday night. Fortunately, the area is clear and clean of smoke as promised, although conditions in Orel and the countryside were very noticeably smoky and congested. But fear not! We are safe, happy, and breathing easy here in Voronezh.
On Monday - we got to work on our projects at Camp Kristall. We have been plastering, painting, and hanging wallpaper for the last 3 days. We have the sore arms and paint smudges to prove it. When the work is done, we're happy to swim in the river, and spend our evenings hanging out and enjoying great fellowship. Oleg (the guitarist from Resurrection UMC) is here and he, plus Laura and Mike, keep us entertained.
One of our teammates, Karen Van Duzer, headed to the hospital on Monday. She hasn't been feeling 100% since the start of our trip. She received excellent care and got some medicine, and returned to us in good spirits. She's on the mend - and we give God great thanks for that!
Da blagoslovit vas Gospod! (may God bless you ;)
Laura and Mike (supervised by Morgan; updated by Holly)
Friday, August 6, 2010
August 6 - A Note from Laura (with Emily close by!)
August 6, 2010
“Privet” from Russia! (That’s “hi”, for those keeping score.) We miss you all and we have felt your presence and prayers for us in this land “far far away”. (Are you listening, Pastor Heath? Amy Willis says hello.) ;)
Today started with what our Russian friends called an “excursion” to a park called Orel Polesye with our team and several of our friends from Millennium UMC. The first stop was at Holy Spring, a natural cold spring where scientists have detected silver ions, and the water is believed to possess healing physical and spiritual properties. We had the opportunity to drink from the spring and our hands became numb within seconds of dipping our bottles into the icy spring. Amy said it tasted like “Smartwater on steroids.”
There was a small enclosure nearby around a basin which allowed people to step into the water without sinking into the quicksand. The water was about 4 degrees Fahrenheit, and was quite painful to withstand.
The braver among us (Emily, Ruth, Holly, and Joan) decided to see who could stand in the spring the longest. Overachievers. Joan won the “Sue Sylvester” award (any GLEE fans out there?) by talking smack and staying in minutes longer than her last competitor with a calm, confident smile upon her face.
Our next stop was at a small house-turned museum in Ilyinskoe Village, where hundreds of years were chronicled through everyday household items, wartime mementos and traditional Russian clothing. The museum guides even sang traditional Russian folk songs for us.
Nxt was lunch at the park’s hotel, and I won’t detail the menu because Holly feels she’s talked a lot about the food in Russia, but I will say: lunch is their biggest meal, and they never fail to deliver. Can you say “three courses”?
After lunch we walked around the grounds of the hotel, onto a beautiful dock, where three Russians kidnapped Amy, Becky, and Abby. Oops. Sorry, Willis and Thomas parents. By “kidnapped”, I mean “took them on a short boat ride around the lake”. We had lots of fun taking photos and strolling around the beautiful waterfront property with our Millennium church friends and are getting more comfortable with our growing, if still rudimentary, Russian vocabulary.
It’s astounding to feel an instant connection to people we have met only days ago. I thought that the language barrier would be an insurmountable obstacle to getting to know one another, but the strong desire to communicate (with or without our unflappable translators) has led to vocabulary lessons in busses, written Cyrillic alphabets on restaurant napkins, endless hand gestures and charades, and uncontrollable laughter. When even more members of Millennium stopped by the restaurant to say hi during dessert, Mama Van Duzer remarked “how crazy is it to run into friends while you’re out… in RUSSIA?!”
We are humbled by the love that has been expressed to us, and are reminded that these barriers we perceive are really only that; perceived. We give praise for all the work God is doing and will continue to do.
We are unspeakably grateful for your prayers and support. We miss you and we bid you “Spokonoi Noch’yu!” (Good Night!)
- Laura (with Emily close by)
“Privet” from Russia! (That’s “hi”, for those keeping score.) We miss you all and we have felt your presence and prayers for us in this land “far far away”. (Are you listening, Pastor Heath? Amy Willis says hello.) ;)
Today started with what our Russian friends called an “excursion” to a park called Orel Polesye with our team and several of our friends from Millennium UMC. The first stop was at Holy Spring, a natural cold spring where scientists have detected silver ions, and the water is believed to possess healing physical and spiritual properties. We had the opportunity to drink from the spring and our hands became numb within seconds of dipping our bottles into the icy spring. Amy said it tasted like “Smartwater on steroids.”
The braver among us (Emily, Ruth, Holly, and Joan) decided to see who could stand in the spring the longest. Overachievers. Joan won the “Sue Sylvester” award (any GLEE fans out there?) by talking smack and staying in minutes longer than her last competitor with a calm, confident smile upon her face.
Nxt was lunch at the park’s hotel, and I won’t detail the menu because Holly feels she’s talked a lot about the food in Russia, but I will say: lunch is their biggest meal, and they never fail to deliver. Can you say “three courses”?
It’s astounding to feel an instant connection to people we have met only days ago. I thought that the language barrier would be an insurmountable obstacle to getting to know one another, but the strong desire to communicate (with or without our unflappable translators) has led to vocabulary lessons in busses, written Cyrillic alphabets on restaurant napkins, endless hand gestures and charades, and uncontrollable laughter. When even more members of Millennium stopped by the restaurant to say hi during dessert, Mama Van Duzer remarked “how crazy is it to run into friends while you’re out… in RUSSIA?!”
We are humbled by the love that has been expressed to us, and are reminded that these barriers we perceive are really only that; perceived. We give praise for all the work God is doing and will continue to do.
We are unspeakably grateful for your prayers and support. We miss you and we bid you “Spokonoi Noch’yu!” (Good Night!)
- Laura (with Emily close by)
Thursday, August 5, 2010
August 5
August 5, 2010 - What an amazing day!
Tour of Orel
We began the day with a tour of the local orthodox Cathedral (St Michael the Archangel – best name ever). Sasha (one of the members of Millennium Church) told us, through our new translator Vlad, all about the history and symbolism of the Cathedral and of Christianity in Russia. We received lessons in how to make the sign of the cross orthodox-style, the ladies donned their head coverings, and we went inside. Most of the paintings on the inside had been covered over with white paint from the soviet era when the church was used for government storage, but some of the original paintings had been uncovered/restored.
Also, it just so happened that today is a citywide holiday celebrating Orel. Today marks both the anniversary of the city’s founding and its liberation from the Germans in World War II. We walked through the town (most of the roads were closed), perused the shops, saw the monuments, and photographed the sights.
We spent the rest of the morning touring the city’s history museum which led us the first legends about the town’s origins through the time of World War II. The town is very proud of its history, specifically because the region marks the furthest extent of the German advance during the war. We returned to the hotel for “business” lunch (mid-day dinner) and a free afternoon. Many of us napped while Holly and Ruth explored Orel with Vlad.
We had a very special evening with the members of Millennium Church. We split up into groups and went to various church members’ homes for dinner, fellowship, and (as it turns out) a whole lot of fun. Songs were sung, stomachs were stuffed, conversations were had via hand gestures, interpreters, and broken Russian/English exchanges. Tonight, we became family. Praise God!
- Mike
Tour of Orel
We began the day with a tour of the local orthodox Cathedral (St Michael the Archangel – best name ever). Sasha (one of the members of Millennium Church) told us, through our new translator Vlad, all about the history and symbolism of the Cathedral and of Christianity in Russia. We received lessons in how to make the sign of the cross orthodox-style, the ladies donned their head coverings, and we went inside. Most of the paintings on the inside had been covered over with white paint from the soviet era when the church was used for government storage, but some of the original paintings had been uncovered/restored.
Also, it just so happened that today is a citywide holiday celebrating Orel. Today marks both the anniversary of the city’s founding and its liberation from the Germans in World War II. We walked through the town (most of the roads were closed), perused the shops, saw the monuments, and photographed the sights.
We spent the rest of the morning touring the city’s history museum which led us the first legends about the town’s origins through the time of World War II. The town is very proud of its history, specifically because the region marks the furthest extent of the German advance during the war. We returned to the hotel for “business” lunch (mid-day dinner) and a free afternoon. Many of us napped while Holly and Ruth explored Orel with Vlad.
We had a very special evening with the members of Millennium Church. We split up into groups and went to various church members’ homes for dinner, fellowship, and (as it turns out) a whole lot of fun. Songs were sung, stomachs were stuffed, conversations were had via hand gestures, interpreters, and broken Russian/English exchanges. Tonight, we became family. Praise God!
- Mike
Monday, August 2, 2010
Tuesday in Moscow
Greetings from Moscow! We are here, we are safe, and we have just enjoyed a wonderful morning devotional and an AMAZING breakfast. I know you're wondering - what's on the breakfast menu?
Standard breakfast fare - toast, fruit, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, omelette, bacon, cereals, coffee, tea, juice, water, ICE
But also - crepes, a GIANT dessert table, a chocolate fountain with fruits and macaroons for dipping, spaghetti and meatballs, pizza (though not the traditional American kind), vegetables, cheese and meats, vegetables stuffed with cheese and things, and all sorts of foods that I can't identify but looked really good.
All of this sort-of makes up for lost luggage, record-high temperatures, and un-air conditioned rooms.
Another breakfast bonus - a piano player on a white baby grand piano who began with "Younger than Springtime" before transitioning into Britney Spears, "Oops, I Did it Again," which Amy, Emily, Laura, and others had to sing along with. We have a small video and will post if we can!
The daily devotionals are fantastic and as Ann said, "This is the best part of the day." I think we're all grateful for the ways that God is working ahead of us, through us, and through all of you as we minister here in Russia. We know that many of you are praying for us and we appreciate your support! Thank you!
This morning's devotional was all about community -- and our ability to come into that community free of our lists of "must-haves" and "I-needs." It's funny how sometimes God takes those "must-haves" away and we discover that we didn't really NEED them to begin with. All we need is him.
Today, we are off to visit the Kremlin, tour an art gallery, and attend the ballet before we board a train to Oryol.
Standard breakfast fare - toast, fruit, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs, omelette, bacon, cereals, coffee, tea, juice, water, ICE
But also - crepes, a GIANT dessert table, a chocolate fountain with fruits and macaroons for dipping, spaghetti and meatballs, pizza (though not the traditional American kind), vegetables, cheese and meats, vegetables stuffed with cheese and things, and all sorts of foods that I can't identify but looked really good.
All of this sort-of makes up for lost luggage, record-high temperatures, and un-air conditioned rooms.
Another breakfast bonus - a piano player on a white baby grand piano who began with "Younger than Springtime" before transitioning into Britney Spears, "Oops, I Did it Again," which Amy, Emily, Laura, and others had to sing along with. We have a small video and will post if we can!
The daily devotionals are fantastic and as Ann said, "This is the best part of the day." I think we're all grateful for the ways that God is working ahead of us, through us, and through all of you as we minister here in Russia. We know that many of you are praying for us and we appreciate your support! Thank you!
This morning's devotional was all about community -- and our ability to come into that community free of our lists of "must-haves" and "I-needs." It's funny how sometimes God takes those "must-haves" away and we discover that we didn't really NEED them to begin with. All we need is him.
Today, we are off to visit the Kremlin, tour an art gallery, and attend the ballet before we board a train to Oryol.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Здравствуйте!
Здравствуйте!
That means "Hello" (I think). Welcome to our Russia VIM 2010 trip blog. Here you can keep tabs on us and all of our adventures while we travel. We are all getting really excited for the trip as it is creeping up on us fast. We leave in 6 days! I should probably go pack or something . . .
peace,
Mike
ps. thanks to everyone who came to the benefit concert at Trinity last weekend!
That means "Hello" (I think). Welcome to our Russia VIM 2010 trip blog. Here you can keep tabs on us and all of our adventures while we travel. We are all getting really excited for the trip as it is creeping up on us fast. We leave in 6 days! I should probably go pack or something . . .
peace,
Mike
ps. thanks to everyone who came to the benefit concert at Trinity last weekend!
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