Claus with rosy cheeks and twinkling eyes.
Clockwise from back:
Lena--on staff with Crusade, native Russian, former figure skater.
Olya--started Baby Rescue with Mercy Ministries (visited Tanya and Max with us) .
Sacha --didn't share my passion for the mushroom soup . "It's the texture..."
Sarah--made a video of this mealtime. (Will you please post it, honey?)
Click to enlarge any picture. I love the detail on the shortbread cookies!
Counterclockwise:
Olya
Lena
Natalie--very experienced with special needs people .
Kristin--received salvation this past fall !
Jaye's hand holding goblet of compote next to me.
I wish the pictures were better. I tried to shoot inconspicuously and so I didn't fiddle much with backlighting. I should have, but I felt self-conscious. Sarah hates when I play tourist everywhere with my index finger.
One of my favorite memories is that of having lunch with this couple in Vladimir. Our team was split one day into two groups who were hosted for lunch in the homes of Russian believers.
When the 10 of us walked into their flat, they greeted us very warmly and ushered us straight into the dining room. A beautifully set table awaited us. Gorgeous floral-rimmed salad plates,
celery-green-edged dinner plates, cloth napkins, and clear glasses filled with berry compote hinted at a fine meal to be served. (In the second picture, the Mrs. is showing us a large jar of the berries she grew and picked herself. They're the size of blueberries and as sweet as cherries.) The man and his wife, along with a family friend, kept bringing us one course after another. Tomato and cucumber salad (a staple at a Russian table), petite potatoes in garlic butter with fresh dill, mushroom-onion soup, sausage with noodles, boiled eggs, juicy oranges. Best thing about it? They grew nearly everything themselves.
And then came dessert. Multiple desserts. A tray of assorted cookies, fruit breads, and chocolate. The chocolate in Russia is hands-down unbeatable compared to anything in ourcountry. Sorry, Ghirardelli lovers. Take my word for it or try Russian chocolate yourself. (I'm not giving it up for any contest, either, but treating myself to it morsel by morsel over many weeks!) Mmm, mmm, mmm.
After the meal, they served us "caffe and chai," of course.
Then the fondest memory of the day: they took out a hymn book and began to sing in glorious two-part harmony. The smiles on their faces as they praised the Lord spoke volumes of their loved for Him. Soon they invited us to sing "Amazing Grace" in English while they sang it in Russian. It started out being solemn, then sweet, then almost funny as we sang WAY more verses than the song actually has. We mostly kept repeating our English ones as they didn't seem to want to end it. Next they wanted to hear us sing a song by ourselves in English, so Jaye led us in "Lord, We Lift Your Name on High."
I asked the man (70 years old as you can see by his recent birthday card) if he'd tell us how he and his wife found salvation in Christ. He said it was about 1994 (if I'm remembering right) soon after the former Soviet Union opened up, his grown children had been studying different religions because of their unhappiness with Russian Orthodox. Among their studies, they went to see The Jesus Film put out by Campus Crusade. The movie was being shown several nights in a row. The children couldn't get enough of it. Their lives were changed by it. He could see their joy, and he had great respect for his children's interests and their search for meaningful religion. So when they invited him to see the movie, and he saw it. Not once but three or four times. He was convicted of his sin, he repented, he put his faith in Jesus, and his wife followed suit. They've never looked back!
"I'm glad you'll be in heaven with us, "Jaye said, "because if I don't get to come back here, at least you can cook for me again someday!"
He chuckled and said, "I hate to make you jealous, but I think I'll get there before you!" He pointed once again to the birthday card.
"Well, I am jealous," she said, "but I have a lot to look forward to!"
"We all do," he said, in his cheerful way, eyes dancing, cheeks glowing.
"Boh bloggis la veet vas," he and wife kept saying as we left.
"God bless you, too," we said, and left with full tummies and pleased spirits.
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