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)