An Afternoon in Suzdal

After ministering in the morning at an orphanage on the edge of Suzdal, which I wrote about earlier, our leaders took us to lunch in the heart of this peaceful, comfortable town. We then took a walking tour of it, narrated by our own priceless American Russian leader ,
Andrew Slate.

The government put restrictions on building so that they could preserve the unique atmosphere of quiet Suzdal. Everything looks just like you probably would have seen it a hundred years ago.I wanted so much to take Sarah's
senior picture
right here.
But:
a) she didn't dress for it
b) she's not the kind to be the center
of attention
c) the foot traffic kept moving
d) we had to keep moving with it




It's a big one, guys! Stand WAY back to
get the whole thing in the picture.

Another old mosque.

On the small side, really.


Does that make it a

mosqu-ito?

Quiz time: What is this building?
a. police barracks
b. ice cream shoppe
c. Putin's summer cottage
d. none of the above

Dave and Mickey Stahl from NC. They've
been on a few dozen missions trips.
She was an answer to prayer: I asked for
an older woman to be like a mom to me.
Not only is she slightly older than my mom,
she is also a former nurse. Every day she'd
ask, "Are you doin' okay? Staying hydrated?"









Mother-daughter pair I fell in love with.

Meet Ira, the mom, and her 11 year old
daughter, Masha. While waiting for our
food, I told Masha that some American
girls wear their ponytail to one side.
She asked me to do hers that way.


Here's a shot of her checking it out.

(She says it's kind of uncomfortable.)













I stopped counting the number
of courses at about five. Everything
came in a little brown crock--soup,
salad, potatoes. Except for meals in
the homes of Russians, this was my
favorite dining experience on the trip.

Sarah in front of a cathedral
in Suzdal. Can you hear her saying,
"Hurry up, Mom. This is embar-

rassing." For once I wanted her to

be a silly, vain girl and say, "Take

a picture of me here! Another one--

at a different angle! How does my

hair look?" But she is Sarah where-

ever she goes.