Russia is a HUGE country!

Okay, so we're taking this 10 day trip to Russia....



The colored part of the map is Russia, from finger to finger, and spans 11 time zones. Moscow is on the left side of the map where the glare is, about 4-5 inches east of the left finger.



We left Budapest on Tuesday a week ago, and flew a little over 2 hours to Moscow where we had the opportunity to visit with a couple of our co-workers.



Since we are "veteran" missionaries, no one needed to meet us at the airport. Instead, we caught a train that took us into downtown Moscow. The train ride was 40 minutes long.



From the train station, we hopped on the metro system and after several connections, we made it to where we were met by Mark. I'd say we did a pretty good job of getting ourselves to the right place. Our directions from the Moscow office had the metro stop names in English but all the signs were in Russian!!! And our Russian is worse than our Hungarian!!!



We had a great time staying with the Hooks family for our 2 nights in Moscow. Mark was a great tour guide. Kellye teaches at Hinkson Academy where their children attend school so she was not able to go with us most of the time.



There are many interesting things about Russia but it is an oppressive country. They are not very "tourist friendly" as nothing is written in English like in most other international cities. Everyone wears black or some other very dark color. In many ways it is stuck in a time warp from the 70's. Moscow has more apartment buildings being built every day by huge cranes that blemish the skyline than there are misquitoes in Ivory Coast (and there are a LOT of misquitoes) but even the new apartment buildings are very plain, looking very much like the old communist concrete block apartment buildings.

Public toilets are not easy to find, and you must pay to use them (Russian rubles). I loved this set of public restrooms that housed the office of the lady who "worked at the toilets".



On the other hand, occasionally you will see glimpses of moderness, such as this very upscale mall. I have never seen one quite like this one! Not only is it huge and very elegant, but it has stores such as Cartier and Dior. Most of the stores were empty of customers. No wonder. The prices were exhorbitant; we were told that the stores in this mall are simply fronts for the Mafia to do some laundry. (Get it?)



We spent one day out sightseeing with Mark and had great weather for it. I won't bore you with details of everything we saw (and Glenn is already in bed so I can't ask for help on getting my buildings and history straight.)


Entrance to Red Square



Just in front of the entrance to Red Square is a lucky spot. The belief is that if you stand on that circular bronze spot and toss coins over your shoulder while wishing for something, your dream will come true. Beggar ladies stand around and wait for someone to throw their money (away) so that their dream (of getting rich) will come true. Some of you know my penchant for picking up coins I find on the street... Well, I think I really embarrassed Glenn when I started gathering tossed coins along with these ladies!!!

East side Red Square


The GUM Mall, south side of Red Square

Sorry, I don't have a good picture of the west side of Red Square where St. Basil Church is located because the sun was setting behind it, and I already showed you a picture of Lenin's tomb on the north side from my previous visit to Russia in August. (I think it was August; maybe it was early September.)



The red brick wall goes around Red Square, and I believe the yellow building is the Kremlin, which IS inside the wall behind Lenin's tomb on Red Square.


A building on Red Square


Some things don't have to be written in English for folks to be able to read it!


$8 for a double scoop of ice cream?

One of our first questions to ask in each country is which America restaurants are there. Aw, come on. If you lived over here, you'd be asking the same question! We can't afford to eat in places like TGIFridays in Budapest every week, but it is nice to be able to go there for a special occasion. American restaurants are too expensive in most places so even if we don't eat there, it feels good to know it is available! By the way, I figure if we have to pay $4 for a cup of coffee, then I can pay $8 for a double scoop of chocolate Baskin Robbins ice cream one time while in Moscow!


Recognize this logo?

As far as I know, Papa John's Pizza isn't found in any of the countries we've visited except here in Moscow. By the way, a large 1-topping pizza is $20. I like pizza a lot, but I don't think I enjoy it that much!

After 2 days in Moscow we flew to Khabarovsk, a 7 hour flight into Far East Russia, across 9 time zones to visit with a couple more families. We both had trouble with jet lag for a few days, especially me! I'm still having trouble sleeping. It is 4 o'clock in the morning and I am wide awake working on this blog update!


What's wrong with this picture?

Connie picked us up at the airport in Khabarovsk at 7 am her time (midnight our body time). She wouldn't let us sleep that day in an effort to help us with jet lag. Didn't work. I thought I must be dreaming when she got in on the wrong side of the car! Most of the cars in Far East Russia are imported from Japan and have the steering wheels on the right hand side instead of the left. However, they do drive on the same side as we do in America. It's really weird being in the front seat on the LEFT hand side when the car turns left and I'm not driving!


Bible study at the Chungs

We stayed with Ruth and James, a Korean couple whose ministry is to Koreans in Khabarovsk. They have many spiritual gifts and one of them is hospitality! They have groups in their home about 5 times a week for Bible study, English classes and Korean cooking. They also teach Korean to Russian Koreans (or is that Korean Russians?) who have grown up in Russia and speak Russian but want to learn their ancestors Korean language.

While we were there, James led the young lady on his right to confess her sins, to ask for forgiveness, and to give her life over to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We were there when she prayed for salvation! Now that was cool!


We ate Korean food (very slowly) at the Chungs


Connie and her Keeshound, Ivan

Most of the time we were in Khabarovsk, Connie took us around to show us the work and a little of the life there. One of her ministries is to reach out to the "dog show world". She takes her dog Ivan to dog shows all over Russia and even into other countries in Europe and it is door through which she opens conversations about spiritual matters. Connie took Ivan to a dog show in Budapest while we were in Prague 2 weeks ago and he won 3rd place in Best of Show! She also has a ministry to "dog walkers" 7 days a week! She walks her dog in a nearby park in the morning and evening with a group of 3-4 women who also have dogs. I think that is called "creative access" to the lost.



Connie also leads an English Club for University students. Glenn and I (mostly Glenn since I am shy) spoke at her meeting while we were there. Very interesting. Next week they will discuss the electoral process in America and how it compares with Russia's. They are following the American presidential race very closely because they feel very strongly that one of the 2 men in particular will be better for Russia.



We also spent time with Jen. She finishes her 2 year term in January and so she is busy finding and training local women to take over her Bible study groups and her English classes.

Transformation Baptist Church

On Sunday we attended Transformation Baptist Church with Connie and Jen for worship. They do not have their own place so they meet at 2 o'clock in another churches' building. This is the church for whom Glenn and I were supposed to lead the marriage retreat this past weekend, but which was cancelled due to lack of interest (due to lack of additional financial resources to make it affordable for the families to be able to attend.)


Connie shows us around town even though it was freezing!


River walk

When we were in Khabarovsk, we were 12 miles from the China border. Too bad we couldn't cross it, just to be able to say I'd been there!


Khabarovsk is a little hilly


3 priests walking toward the Russian Orthodox church


Glenn points to Georgia at the WW II memorial

On Monday we flew 3 more hours to Petropavlos Kamchatka, a peninsula on the very far eastern side of Russia. This is waaaayyyy out there! Go back to the map at the beginning and look at the finger on the right side of the map. That is where we are!


Airport in Petropavlos Kamchatka
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When we arrived in PK (for short), the plane stopped out on the tarmack and we boarded a cattle wagon that took us to the back of the airport. We never entered the airport, but instead, they walked us around to the side of the terminal and we exited through this gate on the left of the picture and waited outside for them to unload our bags in the small blue building that was nothing more than a shipping container! When all the bags were there, they opened the front door of the blue building for everyone to find their bags in the huge stack of luggage. So much for progress.


The Roberts

We are visiting with Marty and Suzanne and their children, Lee and Emma Grace but Glenn and I are actually staying in another co-workers' apartment who are on stateside assignment right now. These folks are definitely "real missionaries", if I can say that without implying our other co-workers aren't. They are waaayyyy, waaayyyy out there and are the only Americans in their town. NO English spoken here! The town reminds me a lot of Ivory Coast. While the town itself is not much to look at with its rusting signs, pealing paint, broken concrete and more pot holes than asphalt, its setting has got to be one of God's most gorgeous creations! PK is on a peninsula and in a valley that is nestled at the base of several snow-capped and smoking volcanoes, and right next to the Pacific Ocean. The air is cold ("crisp" sounds more poetic but it is downright cold!) and from almost any point in the town you can see snow on the tops of the volcanoes, which, of course, look like snow covered mountains.


No houses; just apartment buildings one after another



Marty and Suzanne took us up on the top of a hill to look over the city and it was a gorgeous view, as you can see for yourself. The other side of the hill faces the Pacific Ocean. When I walked around the top of the hill to see the ocean, the view was so spectacular that it took my breath away (hence, the expression "breathtaking"). Tears just flooded down my face! I immediately felt God's presence and figured it must be one of His favorite places on this earth He created! My pictures don't capture the awesome beauty of it, unfortunately.

Six inches of snow fell a week ago here but most of it has melted down in the valley. No snow predicted for 3 weeks. We are hoping to take a short drive through a pass in the mountains where there is snow on the ground so that Glenn and I can play in it.

We had to come down off this mountaintop experience eventually. We headed into town to see "the sights".


This is why it reminds me of Ivory Coast


One of the two ports


The water along the beach was cold and clear


The camera doesn't do it justice!


Caviar sold in the local market. Never saw that in any Ivory Coast market!


Cookies and candies for sale in the market


Dried fruit and nuts


Don't I look great in fur?

I have been looking for a fur hat for me, but they are tooooooo expensive here. One I liked was $2oo but I didn't like it THAT much. Besides, I look goofy in hats. I did kind of like this fur collar that you can take off one coat and put it on another, but it was also $200.


The Roberts' favorite local restaurant

Now, there aren't too many restaurants to choose from here in PK, but this one is pretty good! They sell shashlike (I'm not sure how to spell it), which is kind of like a shish-kebab. Grilled me on a skewer!


YUMMY!

We are here 2 more days. We depart on Friday and return to Budapest late on Saturday. The flight back to Moscow will be 9 hours with a 5 hour lay-over in Moscow. Then our flight from Moscow to Budapest will be 2 hours. Add time getting to the airport early and getting home from the airport, and we will be dead tired upon arrival back in Budapest but we will be glad to be there!

We are having a great time and really enjoying getting to know our co-workers and how they live. We thank God for the privilege of serving Him through such an awesome ministry! The other folks He has called to serve Him overseas are such an inspiration (sounds corny or trite, I know, but it is so true!) to Glenn and me, and for the most part are living victoriously in some really difficult places. I hope to be like them when I grow up!