After a grueling 36 hours of traveling, I made it safely back home Friday night.
Oh, the stories I have to tell (once I get unpacked, caught up on sleep, and my brain isn’t so foggy)….
For now, I will sum up the Russia trip in one word:
AMAZING.
To Russia With Love
Well, I’m off on the adventure.
My bags are stuffed to the brim.
Green one is clothes. Blue one is lots and lots of this fun stuff:
Snap bracelets, glow bracelets, whirlygigs, paper, googley eyes, face paint, pencils & pens galore…..etc.
There’s another larger suitcase full of fun goodies that had to be dropped off at another house earlier since it won’t fit in our car with both of us and these bags. 
The kids will be happy.
Thank you to all who have donated money to help with this mission. I appreciate it SO incredibly much.
With God, I go. Catch ya in two weeks!
One Week
In one week, I’ll be fully immersed in the Russian culture and probably wishing I would’ve taken the time to learn the language more (or at all). Thankfully, there will be a translator and I’m traveling with others who have been there and seemingly know where we’re going and how to get there. I’ve been forewarned that it’s not like in Europe, where directions and signage are frequently in English. In Russia, it’s Russian. And that’s it.
Большой. (which means ‘great’. Although I have no idea how to pronounce that.)
Those 7 years of Spanish won’t help me any this time.
And I’m okay with that. These 2 weeks in the heart of Russia will be my time to disconnect and be 100% in the moment. I’ll kiss my phone and email goodbye until I return back home.
This trip has taken on a whole new meaning for me following a series of unfortunate events we endured this past week and I’m even more uncertain about how I’ll handle such a long period of time away from my loving husband and contact with family. But I’m anticipating this being the most awesome time with God and those children who I’ll come to love so much. So how can I not look forward to that?!
That’s all to say, I can really use your prayers even more now than I thought I needed them before.
And for Todd also, two weeks of bachelorhood can be tough.
And if you would still like to make a monetary donation to help us out, you make a secure one through PayPal here:
I should probably start packing soon.
It Will Be Awesome
I mentioned several weeks (months?) ago that I will be taking a big trip this summer. ‘Big’ is kind of an understatement. In two weeks, I leave for Russia.
yeah, Russia.
And no, Todd will not be traveling with me, but I’m certainly not going alone. I will be traveling with 6 other people from our church to Dyatkovo, Russia to help at a children’s camp. Not just any children’s camp, but a former Communist camp that is now operated by Christians. An exciting opportunity for everyone involved, and I feel blessed that God called me to be a part of this.
I know 3 words in Russian:
да (Dah) – Yes
HeT (nyet) – No
спасибо (cpa cee ba) – Thank you
Oh, and the sound they make to describe a cat. But I can’t spell that one out for you.
Should be interesting, that’s for sure. God will be with us too, so despite my anxiety and fears of what lies ahead, I know it will all be okay.
Here’s where I ask you for your help. I’m asking for donations, if you feel compelled to give, please do so. We still need money for travel expenses and sending the Russian kids to camp. Many of them can’t afford the daily fee, and we want to give them this wonderful opportunity. Whatever you can give will be so very much appreciated.
But more than anything, I really want your prayers. Prayers for a safe trip, prayers that we can connect with these kids and teach them about God in ways that they can come to know him. Prayers that we can just make some kind of positive impact on their lives.
It will be awesome. Of this, I am sure.
спасибо! (Thank you!)
You can make a secure donation through PayPal here:
In Bloom
What I’m growing at our house…
It’s big. And blue.
I have more hydrangeas than I know what to do with.
Seriously. I wish I could just give you all some of them. I have already made/given away several bouquets and you can’t even tell we clipped any. Not that I’m complainin’….just sayin’, I wish I could give more away.
This is a young one. Working on blue-ifying itself.
Mom H says I can change the color for next year by altering the pH of the soil. That’s chemistry….I don’t know if I should delve into that. But good to know that if I tire of the blue, I can have pink/purple ones instead.
They look lovely grouped in large bouquets. Especially in my pretty purple birthday pitcher from the in-laws.
Unfortunately, if you have cats your pretty bouquets may not last as long as you’d like. They like to play the game of “lets pull mom’s flowers out & leave them all over the house for her to pick up after they’ve withered away all day”.
Who me? I’ve just been sleeping here all day. Not being mischievous whatsoever.
