Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Did I hear you beep?

When we finally found the correct door to leave out of, they put us on a shuttle and sent us on a 15 -20 minute journey to “the other side” of the airport. We got off of the shuttle, entered where there was another desk, and that lady gave us boarding passes. Then we had to go thru some screening. Greg went first and set off all of the bells and whistles. He stepped back and started taking off stuff. After about two things from pockets, etc. they sent me thru…nothing…Steve thru…nothing…Kathy thru…nothing…Greg again…alarms and lights…he stepped back and began to take off any and everything that he possibly could…bells and whistles again.

Steve agreed to stay behind with him, and Kathy and I went thru security and on into the terminal. We immediately looked for a place to get something to eat and drink. It’s funny, but they don’t want to take American money in that terminal. Another funny thing, they will take credit cards (which I was not going to give them for more than one reason) (assuming that I had a credit card with me!) so they sent us to the machine that exchanges money…the ONLY kind of machine that exchanges money…and it did not take cash…you guessed it…it takes credit cards!

Needless to say, I didn’t give up on the idea of finding some place that WOULD take cash. I finally found a young lady that spoke enought English and she took me to several places and interpreted until I found a place that we could buy some water. Cold water never tasted better than that bottle!

The problem with Greg…he had a nuclear stress test a day or so before he left home. They injected him with radio active dye…his whole body lit up to their scan. I was afraid that they weren’t going to let him in. He did finally get enough scanning gizmos that they figured he couldn’t be that dangerous, and they let him thru….

What a day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it…

till later

Posted by mimi24 in 20:30:32 | Permalink | Comments Off

Welcome to Moscow…

We were a little behind schedule, but not much, when we arrived in Moscow. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was not this little terminal that we landed at. After deboarding, we looked for any signs that would indicate where to go. There was this big red sign that said “International Transit” and then the equivelent in Russian. So. being the “rules” kinda girl I am, I asked some one nearby if this was the right place. I was assurd that it was so we waited in line. Welllll…when it was our turn, we were told to go downstairs and go thru passport controll and get our luggage. I kinda thought that was weird…but…

Downstairs is the typical passport control area. I went thru first and they freaked out when they saw my visa. The lady, of course, looked disgusted at me and then showed me the “error of my ways” when the date didn’t match for the visa and the entry date. Of course…I was “transit” coming in and “stopping” going out, so the dates actually matched.

Any way…I was told abruptly to move aside and let the others thru. They were in the wrong place and were sent up stairs again. I was then told to sit on a bench outside of an office and they would get to me. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the other three in my group left me there, by myself, and went back upstairs with words of comfort “I hope you don’t have to sleep in the airport for the next three weeks!”  I was not amused.

In fact, I was a little scared. My passport was pulled, I didn’t have a boarding pass (I could only get it inside the air terminal), I didn’t speak the language, I didn’t have an interpreter, I didn’t have any friends by my side…BUT…I did have the Lord, God Almighty, holding my hand thru it all. I began to pray for a “no fear” attitude, and a quick resolution to my problem. He was there, and He never let me go. I wish I could say my fear immediately left me, it didn’t. My panicked feeling left me, and the fear subsided as I continued to pray.

Eventually, after much walking back and forth and shaking of their heads, they found a woman who spoke Russian. When I explained it all to her, she asked me, “did you tell them your story?”. (like it was that easy) I told her that I had tried…regardless…she helped me and I was able to meet up with the other three (who were being sent downstairs again, so they had not been able to completely leave me after all).

God is good.

till later

Posted by mimi24 in 20:19:17 | Permalink | Comments Off

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Three Sisters…

While waiting to board the transatlantic flight I got a chance to people watch. As I said before, there was a senior tour group waiting to fly to Moscow as well. I sat next to a couple who reminded me of Michael’s great-grandmother, Granny and PaPa Harris. We had to have our papers checked to insure that our passports had Russian visa’s (if needed). That required us to stand in line and have the ONE ande ONLY employee check everyone’s papers before they could board. So I just happened to be up there asking a question when she started checking papers…any way!

The couple had watched my bags for me and so I agreed to watch theirs. Of course I was sarcastic, my like my Dad, and asked if they did tricks? They looked at me, I said, ‘you know, tricks, roll over, play dead…’ the wife got it and started laughing…the husband…not so much…oh well, not everyone gets my humor.

In line to get their passports checked were three sisters and their brother. He looked like the lone Banty rooster in a hen house FULL  of hens. And hens that were sure going to tell him how to do it! They reminded me of Fiddler on the Roof where Tevia is being henpecked by all the woman in his family. They talked over each other, and repeated the same instructions over and over because they each heard the instructions as if for the first time, even though their sibling had JUST been given that same instruction. “You must have your boarding pass”, “Sister, I have to have my boarding pass, do you know where it is?”, second sister “Sister, I have to have my boarding pass, so you have yours?”, third sister “I have to have my boarding pass? Sister, do you have my boarding pass?” I couldn’t help but giggle. The poor brother went from sister to sister, making sure that the papers they had left with their bags, got to the appropriate sister…and then back to get the second ones papers…etc! It was better than any TV sitcom on the air!

Finally…everyone was boarded and we took off for Moscow! We hadn’t been in the air more than 20 minutes or so when the captain came on the speaker and asked for any Dr. to find a flight attendant. Uh-oh! That didn’t sound very good to me. We kept flying for a little while, when the captain again came over the intercom and announced that we were going to make an emergency landing in Boston to deplane a passenger that needed to have medical attention.

Needless to say Sharon was surprised to hear my voice still in the States! We had to be on the ground for over an hour before we could fly on to Moscow. (before landing we also had to get rid of fuel and it looked very weird out of the side windows to see them dumping it!)

Then…on to Moscow!

till later…

Posted by mimi24 in 09:47:02 | Permalink | Comments Off

Anyone need a paramedic?

I got thru the check in process, and the security, and finding my gate, and getting something to drink…aghhhh…with no problems. I was quite early so I had plenty of time to sit and read my book while waiting for the flight to board.

As,  we waited in the gate area the lady sitting next to me had a Kindle (electronic book) with her and I asked her about it. As we began chatting, I learned that she was from Terrel, TX and her son and my grandson had played against each other in soccer years ago! (it IS a small world) As we chatted, we noticed a paramedic team arrive at the gate. They were let in the gate, and were soon followed by four fireman. Of course…the electricity in the room went up a few notches. Everyone wondering about who the paramedics were here to help, and joking about the pilot needing medical attention “ha ha ha” in very insecure tones. As it turns out we were delayed by forty minutes while they took care of a pregnant lady who needed some help, and by the other people having to wait to deboard…it turned out to be not TOO bad, but we got a late start.

The flight to Atlanta was very uneventful, although my seat mate was very interesting. She was Venezuelan (living in the States now), and just as animated talking with her hands as someone YOU all know! We had a very interesting conversation about her children, work, etc. (she has two, and works for FICA) She asked about what I was doing and I shared some of my Ukraine work with her. She said she wasn’t very religious, but…I shared about why I do what I do, and talked some about Jesus. When we deplaned, she waited for me and made sure that I got to the right gate area to catch my next flight, and then hurriedly gave me her card so that I could email her with how my trip went. It was a very kind act on her part, and I really appreciated her help in a strange and different airport for me.

I finally found my gate, and was just stopping to buy something to eat when they announced a gate change. Of course it was for a gate on the opposite end of the terminal! So I dropped my food and ran to the other gate area. I bought some lunch when I got to the correct gate.

There was a tour group of seniors that were also in the gate area waiting for their flight to Moscow, and a cruise up one of the rivers there in Russia. We were starting to pre-board when the rest of the team from Arkansas arrived. I thought for just a moment that they would not make it for some reason!

We eventually got on the flight and began our journey.

till later…

Posted by mimi24 in 09:22:50 | Permalink | Comments Off

The adventure begins 2010

Another trip to Ukraine is well on its way. I had no way of knowing that this trip would be one that started with so much “adventure”. When I arrived at DFW, everything was going great so far, the traffic had been very light…You know the drill…getting the bags all situated…getting checked in etc….

I arrived with two check in bags and two carry ons. My bags weighed in at exactly 50 lbs apiece, I had much concern over what to take and what had to be left behind, but they were right on the money for the weight. So…the gentleman that checked me in looked at my ticket and asked me how you said the name of the city where I was going. Of course I answered correctly, and in a Russian accent, the name Dnepropetrovsk. He smiled and showed me his name tag and asked what nationality it was. I said, very facetiously, “Polish?”. Of course he winced, and told me he gave me every opportunity to say Ukrainian!! I laughed, and he smiled and told me his grandparents were Ukrainian, although he was born here, he had ties there. He had never been there, but…we had a pleasant exchange.

As I was saying about my bag weight…it was exactly 50 lbs. until I put on the straps that would help identify them and keep them from bursting open and strewing my things all over two continents. After the straps, the bags were 51 lbs. One pound over the weight limit and subject to excess weight charges…for BOTH bags! He looked down as he threw the first one on the conveyor belt, “Hmmm…”, and as the second one weighed exactly one lb over, he said “you are consistent with the weight of your bags” and threw the second one one the belt as well! (with no charge to me) I just smiled and said “yeah…thanks!” That was the first of my blessings on this new adventure! Thank you “Delta Man”, I appreciate your courtesy, and forgiveness in my overage!

till later….

Posted by mimi24 in 08:57:52 | Permalink | Comments Off

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Mr. Bean goes to Canada

On my adventures I seem to meet all kinds of neat people. One for 2008 is Mr. Bean, aka Jack Duckworth from Winnepeg Canada. I met him and two other Canadians in the Dneper airport when I was leaving for the States. I didn’t catch the resemblance until it was pointed out to me by 4 other Canadians who were staying in Fischmann with us….

The last day in Ukraine was spent finishing off minor details and projects. I had finished packing suitcases and carry on bags mostly the night before. I had to disperse all of the uneaten food goods to those who would use them. Olga loves green tea so I gave her the rest of it, etc. I finished cooking the fresh veggies for a breakfast borsch (Jackie style) and drank the rest of the peach juice as well. Checked in the bathroom and under the bed for any possible left over items that I should take home.

I came with three suitcases weighing in right at 50 lbs apiece, one carry on at 30 lbs, and a computer carry on right at 20 lbs. I managed to give away all of the donated items and supplies and so was able to condense the suitcases down to two. There was a slight weight problem or I could have put them all three into one. I wasn’t sure that we could get the heaviest bag down the stairs if they were all together, so settled for two bags. I carried on only my computer and a backpack with one change of clothes in it.

At the airport Rita and Olga rode with me from my flat, and Jayne met me at the airport with roses. We laughed and took silly pictures and talked of next year. The year seems to fly by each time. I said my goodbyes and gave and received many hugs and blessings from my sisters and brothers in Ukraine, but at last, I was ready to go home. The weather had been beautiful the whole time, just like having God’s A/C on at night, and the days were comfortably cool and mostly dry.

As I walked through the myriad paths to get thru security and passport controls I caught glimpses of my sisters waiting for me. I had given them my left over Ukrainian money and said “lunch is on me”, I hope that they were able to do that together. When I reached the top of the stairs, just before getting to the terminal seating areas, I turned around and gave them all a wave. They were laughing and jumping up and down and waving at me. Laughter, mingled with tears, was the return reply. I am going to miss them so much…and I look forward to seeing my family SO much…what a sweet mixture of joy and pain.

Jack Duckworth is a Presbyterian minister who has been working at a Baptist Christian College in Zaparosia, Ukraine on a short term teaching effort. We flew on the same plane to Vienna and after talking realized that he would be staying at the same hotel. I was able to get him thru the maze at the Vienna airport to the place to get our travel vouchers for the hotel. There was a problem with his voucher and I stayed with him until it was cleared up and showed him where the airport shuttles were. When we arrived at the hotel, he spotted some fellow Canadians who were there for a sports event with their sons and they talked “Canada” stuff for a few minutes. We agreed to walk into town together and eat at the Green Door restaurant. It was nice to have conversation over dinner, and neither one of us felt like braving the “Football” (soccer in Europe) vans here for the European Games. After dinner we walked back and each promptly went to get showers and sleep.

In the morning we were on the same shuttle and shared a table at the cafe. Apparently in Vienna they can not count. There are six gates in a single waiting area, and there are less than thirty places to sit down. This leads to the “shark” method of finding a seat. You silently glide by hoping your prey will get up and you can slide into their slot. Many people sit on the floor and spread out their flotsam around them. The cafe’s nearby are not much better, with the exception of having something to eat, which makes sitting down now very costly!!

I managed to get through the gate and into another waiting area, which actually has seating for the people flying, with out too much trouble. They called the people in the nose bleed seats to come to the gate area early. What really happened was we were just moved to a separate seating area. So if you were fortunate enough to be in the last 10 rows on the air craft you were called to the gate. I wish I had a camera to catch all of the expressions on each face. In being called early, one might assume that we were boarding the air craft on time….aren’t we a silly bunch of people?? We walked past the gang way into another seating area. Each person, as I had done, stopped in the middle area and looked at the blocked entry area and wondered…”where in the world am I supposed to go now?”. Surely they are not just shuffling every one to another seating area to wait? Well….they were. Now we were unable to hear the announcement made by the crew as to when we would be boarding, etc. People would walk over, come back, stare into the next room, walk back, wives would send their husbands (reluctantly) back to ask if they were in the right place…it was hilarious! Of course, it wasn’t that funny when it happened to ME…but I was one of the first to move over, so I got to see the “gate dance” many times. Eventually, we all got boarded and settled down for the “long summers nap”.

I didn’t get to sit by myself, but at least I didn’t have to sit next to the very smelly man who came in late and was seated behind me and to my left. The young man who sat next to me reminded me of my boys! Young, cute, and asleep in five seconds! It was a very pleasant trip. My t.v. moniter actually worked and I got to see “P.S. I love you” on the way back. Definately not one that Rick would have enjoyed!

Dulles was….welllll…Dulles. Very hot in the terminal, and long lines everywhere. We were delayed due to weather and sat on the tarmac for four hours before taxiing back to the gate. We had a departure time of 5:08 and we took off sometime after 11:30, arriving in Dallas after 1:00 in the morning. Only one bag lost, and getting thru Customer Service, left us reaching home at 2:30 a.m. Wow…what a day!

Unfortunately, Ben, Sharon and Bennett were not able to meet me, so my arrival was not quite so much fun…but being that I couldn’t even utter a coherant sentence to Rick…it was probably better that not everyone was exposed to that scary sight!

I am home…thank you God…I have my family around me…thank you God…I am resting…thank you God…in my own bed…thank you God! Thank you for being a part of this blog! Till next year…and another Adventure in Ukraine…I love you and thank you all!

peace and joy in Jesus,
Jackie

Posted by mimi24 in 14:24:02 | Permalink | Comments Off

Monday, June 9, 2008

Auf Deutsche Anyone?

Today is Monday, June the 9, and I am in Vienna, Austria. Sunday was a busy day of tears and goodbyes and ’till we meet agains’. The Bible class was well attended, and the second hour, of preaching, was done by an American who is trying to rehabilitate the Christian College here. He, apparently, preached a good sermon for everyone. We were in children’s classes so did not get to hear him. After wards there were many tears and many hugs and many “give our greetings to…” on all sides.

The ladies here repeatedly said “tell you church thank you” , “tell your husband thank you”, “tell your family thank you”…

So here it is THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

You all are much loved and thanked by me and by your brothers and sisters in Ukraine. I have had a wonderful time here. I think the time was productive and well used. Of course, I always feel like I could have/ should have done more while I was here….but I do what I can! I thank God for the beautiful weather, it was so nice and not too hot or too cold. I kind of enjoyed His A/C while I was here!

Expenses were much higher than in previous years, inflation…exchange rate ratios…price increases on food, etc….but I was still able to leave some money here that will be used this winter for the orphans in the Dawn, the Baby House, and the Childrens Hospital. I had many opportunities to visit with the people in this congregation and encourage them to continue on in their battle, not with flesh and blood, but with the darkness that rules this world! I hope that the words of encouragement reached their mark and were healing. I hope that the Ladies Bible classes were helpful and strengthening in their faith. If that is true, I believe I have done what you all sent me to do. Children were loved on, ladies were fellowshipped with, brothers and sisters were encouraged, Jesus was preached!

I am in Vienna and the weather is holding out to the good. No storms cancelling flights, no heat that is unbearable! They are having soccer “things” here, so the city is full of tourists. In other words, Jackie is not leaving the Fischmein hotel to go into Vienna! I met a Presbyterian minister who was teaching at the Baptist Christian College in Zaparosia. I helped him figure out his hotel accomadations and get to his transportation site. We are staying at the same hotel We walked into town together and had a very pleasant meal at The Green Door. It was so nice to eat  with someone whose native language is English! Although he is Canadian, I could understand every word that he said! :)   And after a 2 1/2 hour flight sitting next to a Russian man who needs to be “Sure” (as in ‘raise your hand if you are Sure), he was a pleasant person to eat with.

Now I am getting the concert from the people upstairs. So hopefully they will quieten down soon and I will be able to sleep tonight. Tomorrow will be a long day. I arrive in Texas around 7:30 p.m. and I am really looking forward to seeing my family and the friends who come to the airport!

I love you all and will see you soon, Lord willing.

Jackie

Posted by mimi24 in 20:23:33 | Permalink | Comments Off

Saturday, June 7, 2008

I feel Ukrainian…do I LOOK Ukrainian??

I had one of my first REAL Ukrainian experiences this year. I got on a van that was FULL and even more people got on after me! The van is an 18 passenger van…18 seats…there were 18 people sitting…and 7 people in the aisle….and two people in the doorway (Olga and ME)…and several more people got on after wards! No air at all. The windows did not open and there was not a vent hole in the ceiling! It was hot, stinky, and very crowded…I LOVE this country! We had a long trip to get to the Baby House and since we had not seen that number of van (135) in over 25 minutes, we took the crowded one and held on for dear life!

The morning started out bad for me! I put my money in a safe place…Rick…DO NOT START WITH ME…and could not find it. Then I remembered the suitcase we had moved in was now at the church building so we had to go there and get the money (I needed some to buy diapers for the Baby house). After getting to the church building, I discovered that it was not all there. Then I started racking my brain for where my other “safe” place was. We went back to the flat, tore it apart, and GRACE of God, found the other money! Thank you for your continued prayers!

THEN…we exchanged money…left on the crowded van…walked 1/2 mile from van stop to the Baby House…visited with my babies…and…I’ve got great news! Lena, the little deaf girl is only waiting on some paper work, they have found her a family from Italy. We were so excited for her! Sorry Debbie! And we also learned sad news. Joanna is not considered adoptable because she is “sick”. I don’t really know what that means, but the doctors said no, so the family that desparately wanted her, could not adopt! God has plans for that little girl, let us all keep her in our prayers!

After the Baby House, we went to visit with Natasha and her twins. It was a much needed visit as she has been house bound so often with the babies! She welcomed the fellowship so much. She shared a wonderful fruity cake and tea. Then we went to Tanya Strukulenko’s flat and visited with her and her daughter, Nastya. She is a delightful lady and we enjoyed the fellowship there. She “made” a wonder fruit tart and an ice cream cake. Not the way LaVern Baker “makes” things…but the way I make things…the “WalMart” way! She bought them at a little market and we all laughed about her culinary skills! After we left there, we visited Alexander, Irina, and Vasily Feldman. Vasily is a child prodigy. He is delightful, strong willed, creative, and quite a handful. He has composed and written lyrics for several pieces of music. He is quite accomplised in English, painting, sports, literature, and the piano. He played several classic pieces and sang very “opera” like (laughing all the way). It was an interesting concert. He is the only child of an artist and and an architect. They homeschool him because they do not like the school system here.  He was precious. And all of this at 8 years old!

We left there after having cherries, strawberries and water. I was about “sugared” out! I got home after 10:30 p.m. and fell into bed!

This morning I was up at 6:30 because I needed to buy flowers for Jayne. Her best friend passed away from cancer and she was going to the funeral. In fact, she had to plan it because the woman had not other family. She appreciated the thought, and I didn’t want her to go with out some kind of beauty for a terrible day. I did learn that in funeral the number of flowers have to be able to be divided by 2, so any even number is for a funeral or sad occasion. Any other type of occasion can have an odd number of flowers, but not a funeral. Very interesting.

Well it is time to go to class now. I hope to blog again before I leave here…hoping to have a WIFI moment again. I love you all!

peace and love in HIm,
Jackie

Posted by mimi24 in 09:25:10 | Permalink | Comments (3)

Monday, June 2, 2008

The Squirrell LIVES!!

Zoya was happy to report that the squirrel is alive and doing well! Her bite is also healing very nicely. Thank you Cathy for reminding you to give this praise report!

We had a wonderful Lord’s Day and worsipped together with our brothers and sisters. I taught children during their “Bible Hour”. We did the lesson of Moses in the river and the children loved cutting and gluing the picture of baby Moses. It was a good time.

After church services and lunch we visited with Natalie at the hospital, and then went to the home of Galina and visited with her for awhile. It makes me appreciate our health care. We should send our politicians to Ukraine where they can see what fabulous health care we have in the United States!

Natalie was on the fifth floor and the elevator did not work. So anyone wishing to see the patient must climb the stairs. There is NO: electric bed, t.v. in the room, call button, medications given by the hospital (you bring your own with you or have someone bring it to you)(actually, they do give some, but not very many), she had her own dishes from home for her food to be served in, and it looked like sheets from home as well, (but I am not sure about that), there was no A/C, no tray table, no nurses just a few feet away to see to your needs….Thank You God for your provision of health care!

After we were finished visiting with those two shut ins, we went to Jayne’s flat. She had washed my clothes in her washing machine and dried them on her portable clothes line. I didn’t really mean for her to DO my wash, I just wanted to drop them off with her and I would come back later and wash them in her machine and take them wet to my flat and dry them on my line.

By the by…I moved. I only moved down the hall to Julia’s flat, but I did move. Galina has been in London the whole time I have been in her flat, so she is back now. Actually, it was quite a surprise to see her on Sunday morning. I had almost all of my things ready to go at 8:30 a.m., when the doorbell rang at 7:30, I thought my interpreter was very early…so I answered the door in my P.J.’s!!! Who should be standing at the door….Galina…and her lady friend…and her guy friend!! I tried to tell them that I wasn’t dressed to have people in the flat, but they insisted on coming in…so I opened the door wide and ran to the other room for some REAL clothes! They just dropped off their bags and left…thank you…and then I finished showering, brushing, and washing all the things that I was starting to shower, brush and wash before they came!

When Olga arrived, we quickly moved all of my things to Julia’s flat. The bed is shorter by about 4 inches, but it is SO much more comfortable I don’t care if my feet hang off! The flat is cool, clean, and has a good bathroom! I know it will do for the last week of my stay!

Monday morning we went back to the public school and talked with Jayne’s classes. It wasn’t a Bible lesson, but I was able to explain to them why I was there and what I was doing, as well as be an ambassador for the church and the U.S. It was a good class. We went several places after that trying to buy things that were needed for the Baby House, Tamara’s hospital, and the Dawn. I almost have everything that I needed to get.

We then went to Friday’s for lunch. (now I don’t want any of you to think that I am advertising for them, but they give us a discount, and we are working toward getting a meal for 1 grevna, you all know how all of those “buys x amount of meals and get 1 free” deals works!!) AND…since they are a U.S. company, they have chips and salsa that are a pretty fair imitation of the real Texas deal!! So, of course, I bought them. The Ukrainians think it is too hot…Rick…you know the kind of salsa I LOVE…welll…they have it here! So you know that it is NOT too hot! We also ran into the group of Mormon elders who were having a great time. There were 12 of them and one had a birthday so it was very funny to watch them all laughing and talking in English. There was actually one young man from Houston! Of course, we forgave the rest of them for not being from the grea state of TEXAS!

We have skyped some people, emailed some people, and blogged! So, I guess I only have to say how much I love you all and how much I appreciate what you are doing. Please continue to pray for me and my family!

I love you very much.

peace and love in Him,
Jackie

Posted by mimi24 in 12:49:42 | Permalink | Comments (5)

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Sharing a table with my friends in Ukraine

I have had a double opportunity to share a table with friends here. Today, Sasha, Helen from Mississippi’s son, had his first birthday. His great-grandmother kept me at her flat the year I got spider bit in Ukraine. Anyway…they had a big party for him at old Helen’s flat. She used to cook for the President of Ukraine so she is familiar with cooking for large groups. She had enough food on the table to serve 30 or 40 people. There were only about 20 people there including the baby!

It was wonderful Ukrainian traditional dishes. Some of them more wonderful than others. I am not used to fish that isn’t cooked, or “salads” with unknown ingredients in them! I did have “crazy chicken” salad which was delightful. There is also a tradition of “toasts” to the birthday child and mother. They served Vodka, wine, and champagne. None of which I care for. It is also a tradition to “freshen” the drink after each toast, which meant my glass kept getting more and more full. When you don’t drink any, and they keep freshening it…it was soon going to be a problem. My interpreter finally came up with a solution…she poured it into the parsley glass when no one was looking. I guess if any one eats that parsley they will get a surprise!

The other table that I had to share was at Daffi. Apparently there is some kind of “end of school” concert in the parking lot. Which means that everyone and his dog are here celebrating. There are several hundred young adults drinking and talking in the parking lot, mixed in with families, stray dogs, stray children…you name it. It is chaotic. Anyway, in the Daffi WIFI area the table were all filled up, so we convinced one girl to “share” her table for the few minutes that it would take to blog….you guessed it….slowest internet in history….we finally got a table of our own nearby so that her boyfriend wasn’t so mad any more!

We also got to share with the Dawn girls on Friday. They needed swim wear and flip flops for camp. It was a rare treat to take that many young girls to the market to buy suits. It was quite an experience. They were all looking and talking and laughing at the same time. The little market area was about 4′ x 5′ and they were all trying to squeeze in look and try them on. The lady did put up a cloth to change behind. Afterwards the tradition is to buy ice cream. So we all bought ice cream and they got to go back to the Dawn and try them on for each other. It was an exhausting day.

Olga and I bought some groceries but decided not to make the Russian soup because it was so late, she went home and I threw some chicken and stuff in a pot and made a soup of my own. Saturday she came bright and early and made some soup that was delicious. I will have to make it for you all some time.

Our ladies had their second class today and we had a really good time. We had fresh strawberries and cherries with cookies and some Texas Tea (which means very sweet!) The lessons are from the Ladies Bible Class fall lessons, and they are really enjoying Phil. 4:8. We had about 20 at ladies class, and there was a good discussion.

Tomorrow we will have class, childrens class, lunch then go and make visits to the ones in the hospital. It should make for a long day since the place is so spread out. I know that the visits will be unexpected because not so many people do that here.

I am going home and rest and get some quiet. Daffi has had enough of me for today and Olga is almost asleep at the table with me. I love you all and am really enjoying the comments that you make on the blog. Keep praying. I’m feeling the love!

love and peace in Him,
Jackie

Posted by mimi24 in 17:46:33 | Permalink | Comments (4)