Epic - Spiderman

I will just post the pictures and you can insert life lessons or possible shirt phrases to go with the picture in the comment section.

Traveling Update - Pit Stop in Moscow

The train from Novgorod to Moscow arrived here in Moscow at 4:30AM and we stored our luggage at the next train station because the next train doesn't leave until 2PM so we are hanging out in a McDonalds for a little bit longer till more of the shops and stuff open and I am confident that the only struggle we will have with occupying this extended lay over is finding the energy to put one foot in front of the other. We are extremely tired, good thing we will have 18 hours on the next train, pray we can get good rest. There is no internet on the train so the next update will be from Samara. I will fill in more of the details of our days so far on the last day when we get back to Moscow, I will have more time a solid wifi connection and will be better rested. We are keeping track of it all with pictures and notes. Most of you keep telling us to "stay safe," we are safe and healthy (other than allergies) so pray for rest on trains and planes more than anything.

Day In Moscow – June 16th

We had a wonderful breakfast in the hotel. We discovered that what they call pancakes us and the French would call crepes. It was buffet style breakfast with plenty to eat including lots of fruit. The front desk of the hotel allowed us to store our luggage with them for the day and we walked about 15 minutes to take the Metro. We got all day passes and headed off to Red Square. The Kremlin building was closed when we arrived because there was going to be a ceremony in front of the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We just happened to be walking by the perfect spot to witness that when we began to notice a crowd start gathering, so we took it all in. After watching the ceremony we visited the underground mall and had lunch at Sbarro. After lunch we continued into the actual square and walked past Lennon’s Tomb, and took many pictures of St. Basil’s Cathedral.  We took a tour of the inside of the cathedral and were amazed by such a wonderful church. We got to see a room of relics including a bible that was printed in 1682, and heard a men’s choir singing in the main worship space. As we were leaving St. Basil’s we noticed there was a movie being filmed right next to us. We guessed it to be an old war movie based on how people were dressed.  There is a very large Russian Orthodox church nearby called Christ Church which is where current Russian leader Vladimir Putin attends worship. We decided to go and check it out, however Alex and Anastasia did not have head covers and Bradley and I were wearing shorts so we were not allowed in. From there we took the metro to the Methodist Theological Seminary of Russia in Moscow. They were very glad to have us visit and showed us around the facility including the office of the Bishop. After the tour they invited us in to the dining room for some tea and cookies. Thanks to our wonderful translator we had some excellent conversations. Before we knew it, it was time for dinner so we went with our new friends to “MY-MY” pronounced Moo Moo. It is a cafeteria style restaurant with a big dairy cow statue out front. It was our first experience with actual Russian food. As soon as we finished dinner  it was time to get back to the hotel quickly to collect our luggage and get to the train station. We finally found a minivan taxi once we had gotten within a block of the hotel, there was plenty of room for all of us and our luggage and we made it to the train station in plenty of time.

The train ride was an adventure itself described best by the pictures that will be uploaded, it was basically a car full of bunk beds. The train itself didn’t go very fast but was surprisingly smooth which for me made it easy to sleep. We arrived in Novgorod at 6AM on the 17^th and were greeted by Natalia, Sasha, and Margarita, they would be our hosts for the next several days. We are now in our host homes and getting ready for breakfast.

ADDED:
This is Lenin's Library, we did not go in, it was just there when we came up from the subway.

 The kids are confused again because they don't know where they are, they can't read the signs and are starting to believe the joke they started that we were trying to sell them.

This is the history building that makes up part of Red Square

 This is Lenin's Tomb, Bradley was confused as to why one of the Beatles was so highly honored among the Communist leaders.

 We were there on some sort of military holiday and they had a celebration at the "Eternal Flame" which is essentially the same as the tomb of the unknown soldier.

 St. Basil's Cathedral

 This is a former government building that even housed offices of Communist officials, During the Communist Era the churches were forced to stop preaching the gospel and to take down their crosses, yet if you notice this building this specific entrance which is right across from Lenin's Tomb has an Icon of Christ above the entrance that remained in place the entire time. On another note the building now serves as an upscale shopping mall.

 Is this what the sky looked like when Jesus got Baptized?

 The other side of the History building, could you have guessed that its part of Red Square?

 This is a statue of Alexander the Great right across from the Christ Church.

 This is Christ Church, the Russian Orthodox Church that Vladimir Putin Currently attends

 Another Picture of the church

 And another... I think I just really liked the way the sky looked

 Alex was tired of walking, and was not very happy with the Russian Orthodox Church because they wouldn't let her in without covering her head.

 These two Babushkas were singing about God while begging for money for food, not to far from the Russian United Methodist Seminary. We gave to them, but they touched our hearts.

Russia Update - Arriving In Moscow

So the flight was wonderful, we were well fed and taken care of. There was so much available in the in flight entertainment module for each seat that most of us watched at least two movies and a myriad of other entertainment options including music and games. I read up on the culture of the people and tried to study some Russian... I do not think it worked, it is still as if they are speaking a foreign language. Needles to say that there was so much in flight entertainment that not much sleep was had, except for by Bruce and Michael. Bradley, Alex and myself got the least amount of sleep. We collected our bags and got through customs no problem and met our translator Anistasia. We sent our luggage with a driver to the hotel and took a series of train and taxi to get there ourselves. Now, the thing is that there are 6 of us when you include the translator, and vehicles in Russia aren't like the SUVs we are used to in the states, most of the cars are what we would consider compact. So 6 of us plus a taxi driver piled in to a single taxi. Let me tell you, it was amazingly comfortable and we have pictures to prove it. I will try to get those posted later tonight. Tonight for us that is, It is already 7:09PM here and its only 10:09AM back home. We are freshening up right now in the Hotel Rooms, then we will be hitting the town for dinner and some tourism. We might even have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe tonight.

All that being said, what really matters is that we are here and we are safe, and so thankful to have a translator with us. Pray that god would continue to take care of us and teach us something new each and every day.

This is a picture of the the Youth excitedly on their way to the airport in Houston.

 This is a picture just after getting off the plane and through customs. We have met our translator, Anistasia( the one in pink) talking to Bruce (the one in grey) and we are waiting on the driver who will take our luggage to the hotel.

 You can see how awake they are, this is the WE ARE IN RUSSIA AND I'M EXCITED picture

 This is in line for the train tickets where the Youth's level of fatigue was probably at its worst... it probably didn't help that they couldn't understand what anyone was saying Bruce and I was acting like we were going to sell them to the Russians.

 This last photo is after the adventure in taking 7 people in a very small Russian Taxi - That picture is on Alex's camera I will load it as soon as I get a chance. We are in the lobby at the Hotel Bega and there is a visible difference in their body language I think they are relieved to finally be at the hotel.