Monday in Russia

I Skype chatted with John Neese (team leader) and spoke with Becca on the phone for few minutes today. I am very happy to report that her phone is working now in Russia. It made a world of difference in the hour that she was up before I left to pick up the boys from school in just sending each other emails and pictures of what we have been up to on each side of the world. We keep our phone call short because I'm getting a good deal at $3.99 per minute to talk on the phone from Russia. Germany is a much better rate for those of you who may take your phones overseas. Data is free, so we are emailing fools.
This first picture was taken in a cab on the drive from St. Petersburg to Lomosov, where they are staying. Yep, it's blurry, even the camera was tired. lol!

The second picture is a paper she took a picture of over there...I just like the name of it. :)

The next picture is a view from her bedroom window. What you can see are all the buildings filled with the flats that the Russian people live in. Becca told me that most of the flats are about 300 sq. ft, give or take, usually take. There are some homes in the country that the richer people live in, and she may send a picture of that tomorrow.

I will include some prayer requests that I received from the team leader at the bottom of this post. Remember the team and all that they come into contact with in your prayers. Particularly pray for their health and safety as they minister to young people in Russia.

(From John Neese)

Wednesday (10/14), a 12 year old girl arrived at Child in Danger (CID). We all recognized her. She was at Children’s Hospital #15 on Monday when we got to visit there. She recognized us and was glad to see us. It made her arrival at CID a little more gentle. Please pray for her.

Thursday (10/15) evening at Child in Danger we ran into one of the Social Workers changing metro trains on our way home. He thanked us for coming and said he really liked our Bible lessons with the kids and said it was a shame that the Orthodox church didn’t do the same. This opened the door for me to share more about our faith with him. On the wet rainy streets of St. Petersburg near our hotel, we talked. He is 21 years old, Orthodox, and has not accepted Christ yet as his savior, but I gave him a lot to think about. Please pray for this young man to accept Christ.

On Friday (10/16) we had the tea with 4 of the 5 older kids. We brought a cake and cookies and sat in the small dining room so we could talk and share. In Russia, having tea is the social cultural norm. It’s how adults, teens and churches socialize. IN the USA, it would be comparable to saying “potluck”! We chatted and about an hour into the meeting, I asked if they wanted to hear why we were here. They agreed and I shared why, then I asked if they would like to hear what God has to say about entering into heaven. They agreed to this too, so using a simple Gospel Bead presentation I presented the Gospel. I invited them to pray with me to ask Christ into their lives. All said they prayed! Four kids accepted Christ that night that included a boy and three girls!

Saturday evening, (10/17), Team 2 arrived safely with all luggage and on time. Susan and Becca were tired but excited to be in Russia!

Sunday, (10/18), our group went to church right here on the campus of the Christian University.

Monday, (10/19), our group’s first day in Lomonosov. At 10am we met with the 6 guys from the drug rehab center at the Lomonosov Baptist Church. They were very open and some began sharing their personal struggles. It will be a great week with them! Tonight I encouraged them to begin thinking about sharing their personal testimonies with us. It will help them grow. Please pray for them as they start this. I thought this will be needed for their future as they will be able to share with others that have drug problems if they have practice now. At 12pm we went to the Children’s Hospital. There were 5 kids there to work with, and everyone was very open. We were given until 1:30pm. This site will be fun and easy. At 2pm we had lunch and 3pm went to the Petrohof Boys Home. These are at-risk kids that are very hard to handle. We had a rough time today, but we have a plan for tomorrow that should work better now that we’ve seen the kids and what we can and can’t do. We have the kids from 3:30pm to 5:00pm each day. Please pray that this will work and all things will work out. This site is going to be a challenge. Everything else is going fine.

Please send me your blog web link. I’m glad her phone is working now!

Blessings,
John

Comments are now moderated

Sorry everyone, I had to repost this update, I have turned on comment moderation, and also allowed anonymous posts if you don't have a blogger account. I had to delete the previous posting due to some comments, but here it is again for your viewing pleasure.

I spoke with Becca on the phone very briefly a few minutes ago, it was good to hear her voice. We didn't talk for long but I was able to tell her that we can get her phone working tomorrow. I did speak with John for about 3 seconds, so it appears that he is out of the hospital, thank you for your prayers. Continue to pray for the health and safety of the entire team while they are overseas. I should have more info to post tomorrow.

Phone problems, team leader dehydrated and hospitalized

I spoke with Becca through Skype today at noon (Saturday), Saturday at 11:00 PM for her. Please pray for her team leader John, who was hospitalized with dehydration at some point before she arrived. There are 3 other team members in St. Petersburg with her, pray for their safety and jet lag recovery.
She managed to sleep for about 90 minutes in the Frankfurt airport and again on the flight to St. Petersburg from Frankfurt.
One other complication is her phone. I spoke with Verizon global support team and it appears that her phone needs to be manually configured to the network in Russia, I have sent her an email that I hope she reads when she wakes up and everything can get worked out. As most of you know, we use our Blackberries for EVERYTHING, and she really needs it while she is overseas.
She was able to see us via skype, we did not see her, but it was good to hear her voice. The younger guys didn't talk much on skype because they were staring at our computer desktop (A picture of Becca at Safeco Field) and talking to momma without seeing her.
Thanks again to everyone who helped support this mission trip. Keep her entire team in your prayers, especially John for a quick recovery and release from the Russian hospital.

Europe!

Becca has safely arrived in Europe, I spoke with her on the phone after she landed in Frankfurt Germany shortly after midnight Pacific time. They had about a 4 hour layover in Germany before flying to St. Petersburg, where they were scheduled to arrive about 7:20 AM Pacific time on Saturday morning. I suspect that she is catching up on some much needed sleep right now with the rest of the team.
I have included a picture she sent from the Frankfurt airport. Here is an email she wrote on the plane that she sent shortly after landing.

Well, it is now 8:00 Seattle time and 10:00 Texas time. It appears everyone else is having no problem sleeping on the airplane. I on the other hand sit her wide awake. I believe we will arrive in Germany at 1:15 in the morning Texas time, 11:15 Seattle time. That's about the time I usually go to bed back home. I am a creature of habit and this doesn't bode well for me. We have a 5 hour layover in Germany. I wonder if I can get some shut eye there??? Hmmm...it will however be 9:45 am in their morning. Lord give me strength. Susan seems to be sleeping fine next to me. I bought, in TX, a neck pillow that is covered in the American Flag! No doubting where I'm from...AMEN! Every time I would head back to the restroom (which was a lot!) My "friend" Pete was there hanging out. Neither of us could sit in our seat long. He is a 60 year old man from Italy who has 4 children as well. His first one was born in '82 and last one '00- same year Gavin was born!! Funny huh? It's been nice meeting people from different parts of the world. I especially like the airline we are on- Luftansa -it's a German airline. So, the stewardesses are German(like my Grandma). I've enjoyed listening to them speak! I miss my boys already! I miss my husband! I pray for the Russian children and people. I can't wait to meet them all. I look forward to God changing me and hopefully revealing his will and plan for our life concerning adoption from Russia. Whether I feel led because of the trip or not. PTL!
Becca
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Flight over the Atlantic

As I write this Becca and her teammate Susan (pictured) are over the Atlantic, closer to Europe than North America. They should land in Germany in about 3 hours, of course I'll post some more pics and information as I hear from Becca.
Please pray that they will all adjust well to the time change and get plenty of rest. St. Petersburg is 11 hours ahead of Pacific time, I'm sure they'll have some jet lag.
Drop us a note and let us know you're following her trip progress!

Becca's Russia trip

I know it's been forever since I posted on this blog, but I have promised lots of people that this will be an easy place to keep up on Becca's trip...so here I go.
I took Becca to the Pasco airport EARLY yesterday morning (10/15) for her flight to Seattle and connection to Dallas. Her flight to Texas went well, however when she arrived at her hotel room it was pretty nasty.
Enter Jeff and Amanda Sodoma, who saved the day. Thanks for Jeff and Amanda for taking Becca in for the night and providing her a clean and safe place to rest before a LONG flight this afternoon to Germany and on to Russia. When they had Becca over, they sent me this pic, all I can say is I'm really glad my buddy Jeff didn't marry an Alabama fan. lol
Stay in touch by checking this page often. I will update it with information and pictures as I hear from Becca. Please keep her and her team in your prayers.

Update ready!

Update ready is something we say at work when we want to get information out in a quick fashion to the rest of the operating crew. I haven't blogged in a while, so here are some random thoughts from the last few months or so.....

UCLA beats Tennessee....are you kidding me?
Wyoming beats Tennessee....that dull thud you just heard was my program hitting the ground.
Auburn beats Tennessee...c'mon, they fired their offensive coordinator AFTER beating us!
Tennessee beats Vanderbilt...God is sovereign.

Barack Obama whomps John McCain in the electoral college...congratulations Mr. President-elect, I sincerely wish you the best, as I am an American first, and a Republican second.
Ahem...liberal friends, please read my above statement...it's called losing with class, and I hope you will practice it when the tables turn next time.

Federal bailout....my congressman is fortunate that he voted NO twice on the bailout, or we would have thrown him out on his rear.
Republican party 2000-2008...what is wrong with you guys? Go home and don't come back. You're not welcome for hijacking my party the last 8 years.
President Bush...excellent job on the war on terror. On domestic issues, why did it take you 6 years to find your veto pen? Thanks again for the last two election cycles Mr. President and Republicans in congress.
Republican party...if you guys don't pull your head out, I will register as an independent. Don't even THINK about nominating Giuliani in 2012.

2008 sports:
Seattle Mariners-the first $100 million team to lose 100 games
Seattle Seahawks-I thought Holmgren came back this year to win the big one
Tennessee Volunteers-you have broken my heart, luckily spring practice is coming
Seattle Supersonics-thanks for leaving....my kids are becoming Lakers fans now...seriously, this is a family tragedy.
Washington Huskies-you guys are so awful colleges might recruit some of your players thinking you were a high school squad
Washington State Cougars-don't laugh at the Huskies...besides them you beat mighty Portland State.

So much for the rants. School is in full swing, and I'm very happy with the boys and their school. Seriously, the tuition is the best money I spend all month. We have family coming to town for Thanksgiving, the more the better, hoping to have a houseful.

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!