New Experiences, New Words

For the last few days the only thing we have accomplished is getting Alek settled into a pretty good schedule. He is napping for 2.5 hours from about 12noon - 2:30 and then sleeping from about 8pm - 6am. However, this morning was a treat -- he slept until 8am!!! (It's the little things now that make us shout hooray!) His sleeping at night is still somewhat restless, but somehow he knows that every time dad volunteers to sleep in his room, he sleeps through the night with no problems!! Last night was a good night as Papa took his turn in the bed next to Alek.

I am posting a couple of cute photos. The first 2 photos show Alek feeding his puppy some Cheerios and then putting his puppy to "spot" (bed) on the sofa. Alek is learning English words very quickly. He says the Russian word and then the English word after it, as we have been teaching him to do. So, his vocabulary includes: Duck, cow, horse, kitty, dog, sheep, hello, bye bye, more, Jesus, and the one that make us really laugh, YUMMY! Here is a photo of the first time he said yummy as he is eating some fruit puree and some Cheerios. By the way, he has a special name for Cheerios. His favorite snack in Russia was called "sushki." It is basically a round, hard unsalted pretzel that is about 2 inches in diameter. So, when he saw Cheerios for the first time he called them "My-lenky Sushki" (My-lenky means small) -- so cute. Now he's got us calling them that too!! Alek doesn't know his name quite yet. We are calling him Maksim-Alek most of the time and he can say Alek, but doesn't recognize it yet as his name. Friends in KC have been asking what to call him when they see him, and I think it is fine to call him Alek so he begins to recognize this as his name.

The next photos are from his short outing to the mall yesterday. He loved lemonade, which he had for the first time, and also a baked pretzel, which he dipped in pizza sauce and said, "YUMMY!" with a big smile. Then we went over to the area where they had little cars to ride (that cost $1 per 2 minute ride--I was shocked--where have I been?). Anyway, he was content to just sit in the cars, so why push it by putting $$ in the slots?! :o)
One final note: Scott found out on Friday that he has to have hernia surgery and they want it done right away, so it is scheduled for this Thursday at 8:00am. Please pray for a successful surgery and recovery.

Snow Day!

It is hard to believe that we have been home a week already. Several days were a blurr as we recovered from jet lag and tried to get Alek's days and nights re-adjusted. It seems the days just went into a black hole as we ate, slept and did MOUNDS of laundry. The first day we were back it was sunny and about 50 degrees. We took a walk in the neighborhood (a little quieter than the walks in downtown Moscow). We went down to the lake in our neighborhood and saw the waterfalls and Alek was mesmerized by the water and the geese. Two days later, Scott's mom, dad and grandpa came for a short visit. We had fun and Alek warmed up to everyone! Dad, Grandpa and Scott did some MUCH NEEDED child-proofing on our home. They put up 2 gates (that I determined we needed within 10 minutes of arriving home) and put up a gate in front of the fireplace. The first day we were home, Scott was "watching" Alek while he was on the phone and I came downstairs to a soot-covered floor and son. Alek had gotten into the gas fireplace and "rearranged" everything for us. Scott said, "I only turned my back for a minute" -- and I actually believe him -- that's how fast things happen! :o) On Sunday (at least I think it was Sunday--effects of the sleep deprivation) it snowed a good 5 inches and made everything so beautiful. Alek played in the snow for the first time and loved it (until his hands got cold!). I showed him how to fall down in the snow and make a snow angel and he thought this was hilarious -- even diving face first into the snow at one point! Here are some photos from our snow day. Finally, a couple of photos of Scott and Alek's favorite game, "Tickle Monster!"....Scott tickles Alek's tummy until he screams "Nyet, Nyet!" (no, no) and then when Scott stops, Alek lifts up his shirt for more tickles. It's really cute. Today Scott went back to work and Alek and I had our first outing together alone. We drove to see a friend whose kids have been praying for Alek for 2 years. They shared all their toys with him and he had a good time. He is now napping to rest up from his big "play date!"

"Dom Sweet Dom!"

Yes, we are dom (home)! Hooray! We arrived home on Tuesday evening, Dec. 18 to a small gathering of greeters from our church. Our church family has blessed us in so many ways (putting up a Christmas tree, stocking our freezer with food, cleaning our home for our arrival, driving our car to the airport to meet us, searching our mail for Billy Joel tickets that we ordered and thought we would be back in time to get, etc. etc.). Wow, what a living example of Christ's command "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34

Our flight from Moscow to Atlanta was on time and a fairly uneventful 12 hours. But I won't sugar coat this--it was LONG!!! Alek didn't sleep one wink. Scott and I just kept looking at each other and the clock which had barely moved since the last time we looked. Alek did great with only 3 outbursts of crying (well, I thought that was pretty good, but the man behind us probably didn't) :o) Alek also asked the ever popular question from kids on trips, "F-syoh?" (Are we done yet?) I must have answered that about 100 times. Also, we did approximately 300 laps around the plane (no exaggeration), down the right aisle, across the coach galley area and up the other aisle and around the first class galley--only to do it all over again after we were seated for about 10 minutes! He also liked to play peek-a-boo around the corner from our seats. He was quite a hit on the plane I have to say. Everyone wanted to hold him or tickle him. He is very friendly, but he was very hesitant to go to anyone who didn't speak Russian. Wouldn't you know, as we were landing in Atlanta, Alek fell promptly asleep in his seat for the last 10 minutes of the flight. We had to wake him up to go through customs and the immigration line -- he became a U.S. citizen at that moment and we wanted to document the momentous occasion. Below is a photo of us just past immigration at the Atlanta airport. (Scott has said that it is fitting that Alek's U.S. citizenship was made official in Georgia!) Some of you have inquired about his Russian citizenship and it is our understanding that he will have dual citizenship for the rest of his life. Cool! Especially since my prayer for him is that he will one day want to minister to the Russian people. I have to say that getting back on U.S. soil felt really good...You need only travel abroad (and don't even need to go for 9 weeks) to appreciate the freedoms and privileges here in the U.S. God bless our troops who are continuing even now to fight for our freedom.

Our flight from Atlanta to KC seemed short, but Alek had a boisterous melt-down before the flight. I am sure he was thinking, "Are you guys serious? I am not letting you trap me on another airplane for 12 hours!!" However, as soon as we took off, he got his pillow out and laid down at our feet and slept the whole 2-hour flight to KC.

Scott took off Wednesday and we just hung out, went for a walk, and got some much needed rest--and went through the PILES of mail, wow! My first impression of our home when we walked in the door was, "This place is huge!" Interesting how your perspective changes. Alek was busy exploring our home and periodically perplexed as to where he was, even crying a little. It is hard to imagine what is going on in that little head since all he has known is a few small rooms in an orphanage and a hotel room in Moscow, that I am sure he thought was his new home. On Thursday, Scott left work early and we took Alek to KU medical center for a 3-hour doctor appointment. He did well, with the exception of the last 15 minutes where they had to give him 5 immunization shots AND take 7 vials of blood from his arm. This last part was so heart-breaking as they had to stick him in each arm and both hands to find a good vein. It also took Scott and me both to hold down his little arms and legs. He just kept screaming "Nyet, Nyet"..."F-syoh?" and crying such buckets of tears. I held mine back until we got in the car and he couldn't see me. It was just awful. But through this experience, I imagined how God puts us through things that we don't want to go through, even holding us down and keeping us there for our own good. Thankfully, God allowed Alek to sleep peacefully last night for 11 hours...the first full night of sleep we have all had in the last 4 days. Today is the first day that I am not walking around like a zombie -- sorry for not returning phone calls yet!! :o) Scott is back at work today.

Scott's Mom, Dad and Grandpa come this evening for a short 3-day visit. We will not be going to my family's get-together in Tennessee as the Doctor has advised us against it. We are really sad as my entire family gets together only every other year and we are going to miss seeing everyone that we love.

I will continue to update our blog over the coming days and weeks, as it has been cathartic for me and a good way to help everyone stay in the loop. Please know that we love each of you and pray that this Christmas is more meaningful to you as you realize that God put His Son's arms and legs on a cross so that you and I might have eternal life with Him. A sacrifice that cost God everything and us nothing. Merry Christmas!!
Here is a photo of Alek waving the Red, White and Blue in his Dom Sweet Dom!!!

God is Good!

Last night, we took Alek to the hotel restaurant for a fancy dinner. He did really well save the occasional loud "Zdrastvoytye" that he shouted over the back of the booth. The semi-circle booths of the restaurant hang out over the hotel lobby about 2 floors up, so it was fun for him to look over at the people below and tell them "hello." Our waitress was great and took a liking to Alek, coming by frequently to speak Russian to him and giving him a special ice cream treat. Here is a photo at the restaurant.

Today we hung out in the room all morning. It seems that by the time we eat breakfast, feed Alek, and get showers it is about 11am and Alek is ready for a gool-yaht (walk). We walked to the TGIFridays, which is just about a mile or so down Tverskaya. We had lunch and walked back, then it was time for Alek (& Scott's) naps. That's it, that is all we accomplished this day. We had intended on going to an English-speaking church service downtown at 3:00pm, but when we woke up today, we decided that it was better for Alek to have some semblance of a schedule since we had him out all day yesterday.

We will try to connect with our friends at the U.S. Embassy tonight or tomorrow morning. We have an appointment at the Russian Consulate on Monday afternoon.

One final Alek story...we have been singing & saying that Jesus loves you to Alek in the evenings before bed, and so at dinner last night when Scott said, "Papa Tibya Loobloo" and I said "Mama Tibya Loobloo" then Alek promplty replied with "Eesus (Jesus) Tibya Loobloo." God is good!! Here is a photo with Alek's shirt that says the same thing!

Kremlin & Red Square Tour

First, I wanted to let you know that the Smith's court date was finalized yesterday! Yahoo! Praise the Lord for this new reasonable judge who has completed adoptions for 4 American families now. There is only one family left who has been waiting in the process with us for 2 years and their court date is December 25. I am sure that theirs will be successful too, but we will keep praying for them. How perfect that their last name is Pease and they will finally have peace on the day the Prince of Peace arrived! Cool, huh?
Second, all I can say is Praise God for whoever potty-trained our son. What a blessing that has been!! I probably don't need to elaborate on that point. Last night, we went to Sbarro for dinner...there is one just a few blocks down the street. Friday night pizza (which is the Platter family tradition) also works in Moscow! Alek loves cheese pizza; unfortunately, he has a rash all over his tummy and arms which means he is either allergic to tomato sauce or the citrus juice from yesterday. I hope it is the citrus, since he really loved the pizza.
Last night was the first night of complete sleep for Alek...about 10 hours. We will have to work back up to the 12 hours he was getting, but it is a good start. We almost hate to take the 30-hour plane ride home and mess him up again--ALMOST--however, we are so anxious to get home. Although, we do recognize that parenting is a lot easier in a 15x20 foot room than it will be when we get home, especially with the current 2:1 parent/child ratio. Still, a 2-year old can get quickly into things as I learned today in my first 1:1 parenting while Scott was out taking photos for a couple of hours. Alek managed to knock over the night-stand with the clock radio falling into his mashed potatoes and the apple juice flying....of course this WOULD be when Scott opens the door and asks, "What is going on in here?" Great question, genius! :o)
Today, we went for a tour of the Kremlin and Red Square knowing that Alek will one day appreciate that his parents took him to see some of the beautiful sites of his home country, even if he didn't appreciate it today. He actually was very good and didn't cry at all -- even with 4 subway trains, walking into many churches where he had to be quiet, and outside in sub-freezing weather. We got some amazing photos. The one at the top is St. Basil's Cathedral at the South end of Red Square. The second photo is of the 3 of us with the North End of Red Square (Kremlin tower on left & Museum of Russian History on right) in the background. The final photo is of Alek and me in the Moscow Metro. Each subway stop here is a separate site to see as they are SO beautiful. 2 million people per day ride this subway system (just a little factoid from Scott). Enjoy!

First "Sit-Down" Dinner

First, please be in prayer for the Smith family, they started their court today, but the judge continued it until tomorrow asking for some additional documents.

We woke up around 5:30am this morning after a restless night of sleep with a 2.5 year old sleeping (kicking) between us!! :o) Alek woke up again in the middle of the night scared, but the melt-down didn't last for more than 10 minutes this time.

After what seemed like an eternity, I looked at Scott and said, "Is it really only 8:00am?" We played in the room all morning and visited the grocery store to get out of the hotel room. At 1:00pm, we went to the U.S. Embassy to get Alek's visa. We were first in line, so it only took us about 1.5 hours from start to finish. It is now official, we WILL be bringing Alek to the U.S. on Tuesday!! There were about 4 other couples there with their adoptive children. We got home around 3:30pm with Alek falling asleep in the car after a melt-down...he is used to having a 3-hour nap from 12-3pm so he is just getting tired of the unpredictable schedule we are keeping -- plus us not being able to fully communicate what is happening or what to expect makes it difficult on him.

We woke him up from his nap after only about 1 hour because we wanted him to sleep tonight. Of course this produced a cranky mood, but he is still cute and loveable, crankiness and all! We ordered room service and thought, hey, this will be our first "sit-down" dinner (after McD's last night). Well, all I can say is that dinner was a fiasco. After the orphanage told us that he likes everything, he ate almost nothing. He would eat a bite and then say, "nyet" and spit it out in our hands. So, after accidentally pouring soup all over the table, dropping Scott's spaghetti on the floor, dumping tea down his shirt AND eating whole butter pats on his bread bites, we made it through dinner. We entertained ourselves (but not so much the guests in the other rooms) by running up and down the halls...he would run into my arms and then run down the hall into Scott's arms...it actually made up for the dinner debacle!

Now the cutest thing that Alek does is opens the door to the bathroom and says in a sweet little voice, "Zdrastvoytye" and then closes the door and says "Pakah." It is so cute, I hope we can get it on video before he switches to hello and good-bye. Well, 4 days left. Alek is in bed and we better get there--now I know why mom's sleep while their kids are sleeping! :o)

Safely in Moscow!!!

Yesterday went so smoothly, praise the Lord! Thanks to all of you who were praying. We managed to get the court decree, the adoption certificate, the birth certificate AND Alek's passport all in one day -- a true blessing!!


All of our American and New Russian friends met us at the airport for a final farewell. Pastor Andrei also gave Alek a blessing in Russian. It was really special. We then boarded our 2.5 hour flight for Moscow. Alek was an angel on the flight, singing for most of the way. We got to our hotel around 11pm local time (1am Chelyabinsk time) so it was a long day for us all -- especially for Alek who has been on such a strict schedule. He went to bed in his crib, but the melt-down occurred at 1am when he woke up scared and not sure where he was. After about 20minutes, he calmed down and slept in the bed with us. We woke up at 6am and had room service for breakfast. We did our Doctor visit and Embassy application and were home by 10:30am. The three of us took a nap for 3.5 hours this afternoon, thank goodness. We decided to take a walk about 4pm. We walked down Tverskaya street, one of the main streets in Moscow. The street dead-ends at Red Square. We walked almost that far, but when we saw the McDonalds, we just had to stop and get a happy meal. I am sure we are going to regret feeding him those greasy fries later, but it was fun none-the-less. Now we are just relaxing and getting ready for bed. Alek just brushed his teeth for the first time and that was exciting....I can now see what our excitement will consist of now that we are parents!!! :o)
Again, thanks for all of your many prayers...we are feeling them. Jesus loves us this we know -- we sang it last night to calm Alek down, but know it is true for us too.

Last Day in Chelyabinsk! Off to Moscow!!

As I looked at the temperature gauge I am reminded of a funny line from the movie "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" where Steve Martin and John Candy are riding in the back of a pick-up truck to Stubbville, Kansas and Steve asks John, "How cold do you think it is?" and John Candy responds with "One."....One degree, that is how cold it is here!!! Wow!! However, we have heard on International news about Kansas and Missouri and the ice-storm you have had. Hope everyone is ok and staying warm there.

We have eaten a big breakfast and prayed/worshiped this morning. We also finished packing and getting our gifts ready for all those who have helped us here. Tatiana picked up the court decree at 10am this morning and got our adoption certificate and Alek's new birth certificate. At 2pm, our driver, Andrei, will pick us up. Then we meet Tatiana and Larissa at the Passport office where we will make our application for Alek's passport. Then off to the orphanage for the last time to pick up Alek. He will surely be excited that he gets to go in a "beep beep" since he has asked us every day if he can go in the car since we took him out for his passport photo last week. We left his coat, ski pants, etc. at the orphanage and when he wakes up from his nap, they will dress him. We will take him with us back to the passport office to pick up the passport...it should be ready by 6:00pm. Finally, we will head to the airport where we have a 7:55pm flight to Moscow. Our friends will be at the airport to send us off along with Pastor Andrei who will give Alek a special blessing. We arrive in Moscow at about 8:30pm (with the time change) and will likely get to our hotel by midnight. Thanks for your prayers...we have God's peace now as we leave here.

Going Away Party...

Last night we had a "borsht party" at the Goldman's home. Some friends from the church and all of the American couples got together for some homemade borscht! One of the Russian couples here prepared it 2 days ago and it sat for over 24 hours before we ate it, making the flavors SO YUMMY! It was WONDERFUL!! We all squeezed around the dining table -- a real family get-together -- and then we sat around and told funny stories just like a real Christmas-time gathering.

Today we started packing. Believe it or not, after 8 weeks here and constantly looking forward to returning to the U.S. with our son since the day we arrived, we have been sad all day long. Many tears have been shed today. We have heavy hearts knowing that we will be leaving many good friends who have become our family here. As I reflected earlier today, when Christ is at the center of our hearts, friendship and love seem to come quickly and bind us together so tightly...even in such a short period of time.

2 Corinthians 9:15 -- Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

From Ballet to Banya!

A big praise for all the friends and church family in Kansas who are surprising us at every turn by taking care of us and showing their loving-kindness -- God is providing abundantly to us through you -- from putting up a Christmas tree in our home, to taking over my deacon role, etc. etc. etc. We are so thankful for you, especially since we know that you all have your own families to care for and are getting ready for Christmas too!! Thank You, Thank You!!

We went to the ballet last night to see the Nutcracker! It was fun and the costumes and sets were very beautiful. Abigail, Dwayne and Kara's daughter, sat on my lap so she could see better and was just mesmorized by the ballerinas. Scott said he was glad someone got something out of it since he was a little bored through the whole thing, but did enjoy the music. Here is a photo of us inside and outside the Opera House where it was held. It is really beautiful. Today, Scott went with our friends to a traditional Russian banya (well, semi-traditional since he wore a swimsuit). Banya is essentially a steam sauna with another area with a bucket of ice cold water that you pour over your head to cool off -- and you can alternate back and forth between hot and cold. Apparently this is very good for your skin and health. Everyone went except for me since I woke up this morning with a sore throat....thank God we have both been well until now. I am feeling a little better after sleeping until 1pm this morning (afternoon?). Here are photos from the banya.

At 3:00pm we went to see Alek. He was in such a good mood, very cuddly and loving. I also got to interview one of his caregivers and obtained his strict schedule. Not sure how we can keep him on it for the next few weeks since we will be in Moscow busy all day and then home for Christmas and his days and nights will surely be mixed up for a while. Tonight we went over to Dwayne and Kara's for more comfort food -- chicken/stuffing casserole, mashed potatoes & gravy, and apple crisp!! yum! We also got haircuts today in the Goldman's foyer. Here is a photo of Danette and me with our new hairdoos!

A Bit of Sicily in Russia

Yesterday at breakfast Scott said to me, "Wow, these are great hamburgers for breakfast!" I looked over and he had loaded 3 thin, beef-looking patties covered in tomato sauce on his plate from the buffet. He finished those and got himself a couple more. I asked to try one and then I said, "I hate to tell you this, but those are not hamburgers -- they are liver!" Scott looked physically ill and said, "But I don't like liver!" -- I said, "Apparently you DO!" So yesterday morning we start with the beef liver, which was definitely NOT the highlight of the day, but visiting Alek for the first time by ourselves without a translator to accompany us was!!

When we arrived at the orphanage Alek was ready to go outside for a walk even though it was sub-zero. We looked in his little locker and the boots that he usually wears were not there -- but something resembling wool boot "liners" were. We looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. Do you suppose they wear those things as boots? Surely not. Meanwhile, Alek is in the background saying over and over (louder and louder) Gool-yaht, Gool-yaht (which means go for a walk). Now what? None of the caregivers speak English and we were not sure what to do. We called one of the very nice ones in and pointed to the "boot-liners" and she confirmed with a nod. Well we still weren't sure, so we called Larissa, our translator, and had her speak with the caregiver on the cell phone and yes, Alek was to wear those on his feet as boots! Here are a couple of photos of the "wool boots" and Alek attempting to walk in them -- since they are rounded on the bottom, they are very hard to walk in. So we learned that in Russia these wool boots are a tradition and are used when it gets VERY cold. While we were out on the walk, Alek found a large snow broom which he INSISTED that he carry with us on the walk even though it was at least twice as big as him. He definitely has a thing for brooms. I hope this is a good sign for how neat he will keep his room!

After our visit, we came home and hosted our first dinner party in Russia! We had Dwayne, Kara and their kids over for a chili feast! Today we woke up early and went with Kara to run a few errands, one of which was to drive by the hospital where Alek was born so that we could take a picture of it for his scrapbook. While doing this, we came across a new Orthodox church building here that is built on a large lake just south of town.

Here are some photos of us by the frozen lake and of the church. This afternoon, we had another first -- we got to take Alek out of the orphanage for the first time! We had to take him to a photo place to get his picture taken for his new Russian passport. He was very good in the car -- just wide-eyed and quiet there and back.

Tonight, we went out to dinner with the Robb's and a Russian couple who we have met through Dwayne and Kara. We went to a very nice Italian restaurant named Sicily to celebrate the completion of our adoptions. Here is a photo of us toasting our new kids!

John Denver and Paparazzi in Russia?

Before I blog about us, I wanted to let you know that God answered our prayers for the Robb Family -- their court was finalized today!! 2 down/3 to go!! They live in Columbia, Missouri so we are hoping to see them from time to time when we both get our boys home.
Now about...
...John Denver: Last night all 6 of us who are here adopting went out to Las Margaritas, our new favorite Mexican restaurant! Here is a photo of the whole gang. As they brought out our food, a live band of about 7 men started setting up. We thought, wonder if they will play some Mexican music since the Bryan Adams "Cuts Like a Knife" coming through the overhead speakers was cracking us up. Well, the band started warming up to a little Skynyrd "Sweet Home Alabama" followed closely by John Denver's "Country Roads." We were a spectacle again as we sang this at the top of our lungs!! What fun!!
...Paparazzi: This morning we were invited by our new friend Lena (who has been our primary translator at the church) to come and talk to several of her classes at the Elementary/High School where she teaches English. This was one of the highlights of our trip!!! We first spoke to her class of 10th graders and their English was very good. We told them about Kansas, Scott's job, our hobbies and some American holidays and traditions. Then they were able to ask us questions. They did an outstanding job conversing with us. The next class we spoke to was a class of 5th graders. Talk about cute!!! We spoke about some of the same things, just a little slower and less complex sentences -- they understood most of what we said. Then we had a time of Q&A. We had some really good questions and then the ever popular question, "Do you know Michael Jackson?" :o) By far the cutest thing happened when they all pulled out their cell phones at the end of class and started taking pictures of us -- THEN they started asking for our autographs!! This will probably be the ONLY time in our lives where we are treated like movie stars! Here is a photo of Lena and us.
What could top this experience? Oh yeah, one thing -- a visit to see our son!!! The orphanage director said we could see Alek every day until we pick him up next Tuesday and even come on Saturday without a translator. Here is a pic today of Alek attempting to help sweep up the floor. Enjoy!

Generosity

I mentioned in our last post that we went to church here on Saturday instead of Sunday because they needed to use the church for a voting location. We attended the first service (fyi, there are several ladies who kindly offer to translate for us each time we go!) and then we attended the youth service because our friend Dwayne was giving the message. We said, "Hey, why not stay since it is the one time we won't need a translator!!" :o) He gave a wonderful message on generosity....talking a lot about his home state of Mississippi being the poorest state in the U.S., but by many accounts it is the richest -- not the least of which is the fact that Mississippi actually gives more per capita than even the richest states in the U.S. Anyway, I thought this would be a good opportunity to respond to many of your questions about how to support either Dwayne & Kara Goldman (the missionaries) and/or the evangelical church here. They, of course, do not know that I am doing this and this was not prompted by them, but by the your questions and our responding to promptings to do this.

The Goldman Family (Project #42.30480)

We have spent so much time here with them and they have given GENEROUSLY of their time, car, washing machine, food, clothes (hats!), etc. What an example of the early church they have been to us (Acts 2:42-44). Here they are in Russia having left all behind and are ministering to us! Dwayne and Kara's calling is to help the church here further develop their youth ministry. They were here 10 years ago working to introduce Christian values into the public school curriculum by training teachers, and now God has called them back. Here is a photo of the Goldman Family (taken at the circus). Their blog is http://taleoftwosheep.blogspot.com/. They will be here for 3 years and are sponsored by the Church of God (Anderson, IN). There are many Church of God websites, but they are not affiliated with the others. The correct website is http://www.chog.org/. The Goldman's main need is not for themselves, but for leadership development funds for their work here -- books and other training materials/resources.

New Church in Chelyabinsk, Russia (Project #42.40430)

The church here is pastored by 2 really awesome people. One person we have spent a lot of time with is Pastor Andrei. He has a winsome personality and a real joy in his eyes. He has also been very GENEROUS with his time and helping us get connected. He is just a wonderful person and example. He speaks perfect English too, so it has allowed us to become rather close with him. He is on the left in the photo and the Senior Pastor Sergei is on the right. We have heard Pastor Sergei speak 6 times and he presents the gospel clearly each week no matter what the text of scripture he is teaching on. Any visitors who come will hear a clear message of Jesus.

Also below is a photo of the current state of their church building project that has been going on for the past 5 years. They are building it as the funds come in, so it takes a long time -- coupled with the fact that with inflation here, building materials have increased to 4x their original estimate. They need about $350,000 to complete the project -- windows, interior heating, water and final interior materials. This will be one of only a couple of evangelical church buildings in all of Chelyabinsk (about the size of Kansas City metro). As you can see, the church is located in and among many high-rise residential buildings. They have plans to open the church to the community each and every day of the week for various school classes and events. We went on a tour of the building last week. Here are some photos -- the outside and inside.

How to contrubute:

• www.chog.org
• On main page go to right hand corner and click on "Make a Gift?"
• Then click Missions Projects>Europe/Middle East>Russia>
• There it explains the 3 projects that will benefit the church here.
• When you click on donate, after you enter you enter your donation amount (on 2nd page), there is a designation "drop-down box" and you can select either of the 2 projects mentioned above.
• Dwayne & Kara's Leadership Development (Project #42.30480)
• New Church: (Project #42.40430)

CHOG is a Member of the ECFA (for financial accountability)

I hope this helps those of you who have inquired and piques the interest of others...as God leads you. We have been given the blessing of seeing this with our eyes, so we feel that we must be the witnesses to testify that this is kingdom work. Thanks and have a great week!!!

Life is Good!!

What could be better than spending 5 hours at the spa (just the girls) and then going to the circus in the evening??? That was our Sunday. We actually went to church here on Saturday morning because the elections here were scheduled on Sunday and they needed to use the church. More about this in our next post...


Our Sunday was fun and relaxing...massages, pedicures and just some general girl fun. Then on to the circus. Here are some pictures. It was fun and I had actually never been to the circus before, so it was a real treat for me.