Off We Go!

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go! (Hmm...that sounds like a great opening line for a song!) Both my bags to be checked through weigh in right at 50 pounds, the maximum allowable weight, and my carry on bags are about 20 pounds total. Thank goodness for whoever invented rolling luggage.

My neighbor Lee Hubbard is going to take me to Christ Church UMC to catch the bus at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning and then we'll be off. There will be about 9 of us getting on in Charleston and we'll pick up most of the others as we drive north on I-79. A few folks will meet us in D.C.

It's hard to believe that it's finally time to go - when I made the decision back in June, December 27 seemed so far off. I will post to the blog from Moscow if I can, but if not, I'll tell you all about it when I get back. (Note: Blogger just changed to a new version that I had to switch to and I'm not sure how if affected my previous posts. Keep your fingers crossed. I'm also having trouble with my e-mail account: Charter was bought out by Suddenlink and while I'm receiving e-mails OK I don't seem to be able to send. Again, I don't know how this will affect things if I try to get into my accounts from Moscow.)

Keep us in your prayers!

Blessings,
Margie

Merry Christmas!

We had a lovely Candlelight Service at Central UMC tonight - I hope all of you have the Christmas Spirit that we received tonight. For me it was a wonderful send-off for two weeks of celebrating Christmas with children who probably don't have a lot of joy in their lives. Thank you again for all your prayers and support.

After the first three nights in the orphanages we will move to the Hotel Ismaylovo. Their web page indicates that there is internet access at the hotel and I hope I will be able to access this blog and give you an update on how we are doing in Moscow. Just remember, I won't be able to do this till after January 1 if at all, so don't worry if you don't hear anything.

Speaking of not hearing anything, I am having trouble sending out e-mail. Charter was bought out by Suddenlink and all the Charter customers have to change to Suddenlink addresses. I worked with a techie person on the phone for over an hour the other night and we thought we had my account straightened out but now I'm not able to send again although I'm receiving everything just fine. So if you're expecting a reply to an e-mail and don't get it, you have my apologies! If I don't get it fixed by Wednesday I'll work on it when I get back.

Now I'm going to go watch the end of one of my favorite Christmas movies, "I'ts a Wonderful Life" and think about the two (!) wonderful Christmas dinners I'm going to have tomorrow. ;-)

Christmas Blessings!

Can't Wait!

Just think - one week from tonight I will be putting my head down on a pillow at the Sergiev Posad Psychological Orphanage. Keep those prayers coming!

Big thanks go out to Marsha and Aly. They both sent me marvelous donations that will really help with expenses on the trip. Bolshoi spacibo!

One Week!

One week from today I'll be on the bus riding north on I-79 heading to D.C.! I can't wait!

Yesterday I was a guest at a Christmas luncheon hosted by Magistrate Judge Stanley for her law clerks and other employees. They invited me to tell them about my trip and then presented me with a very generous donation to support my mission. I am very grateful and I look forward to sharing my experiences with them when I return.

I will also be giving presentations at my church, Central United Methodist, and probably at West Side United Methodist Church as well. I will be happy to talk to any group who is interested in hearing about my experiences with the orphans; in fact, you probably won't be able to get me to quit talking about it when I get back!

Orphanage Information

I received another "final" information letter today from Rev. Clark with our assignments to the orphanages for the first three nights we'll be in Moscow. I'm assigned to the Sergiev Posad Psychological Orphanage, located about 35 miles northeast of downtown Moscow (see the map). There will be seven of us staying together there. I talked to Rev. Clark this evening and he said "That's one of the tough ones, especially if they let you on the second floor." Pray hard, friends!

After we move to the Hotel Ismaylovo Delta we will be doing some of these things in our spare time: shopping on Arbat Street, the Underground Mall, the Ismaylovo Market and GUM Department Store. We will have lunch at Patio Pizza and tour the Kremlin and Red Square and Glazunov Gallery. We will attend church services at Christ Our Savior Orthodox Cathedral and First United Methodist Church of Moscow. We will go to the ballet on January 4th and see an evening performance (probably folk-dancing) on January 6th. We may not get to go to the circus but that's not certain. Whatever we do will be memorable!

Less Than Two Weeks!

I received a "final" update from Rev. Clark in the mail yesterday - we now know what orphanages we will probably visit. They are: Sergiev Posad (Loza), Almozovo, Podolsk and Elektrostal. You can Google these names and read about some of them.

Hep A Part 2

I had the second part of my Hepatitis A shot today. I had the first part back in June when I first decided to go on this trip and the two parts have to be six months apart. This and a tetanus shot were the only two that my doctor recommended and even they weren't required. I got my flu shot today in the other arm and it's a little bit sore.

I was asked Sunday at church if I was fearful about going. My reply was "No, I'm excited! If I could go home, pack tonight and leave tomorrow I would." God has this trip in His hands and I believe we're in no more danger than we are sitting at home in Charleston. I'm well aware of the political situation in Vladimir Putin's Russia: Chechen rebels and the recent controversy about the former Russian spy Litvienko who was poisoned and died in London. Even so, there is violence everywhere and you can't live your life in hiding - you need to live it to the fullest seeking God's will in everything you do. That's what this trip is all about.

Starting to Pack

No, it's not too soon to start putting things in the suitcases! (Only 18 days to go!) What I've packed so far are the presents for the Russian orphans. I have 25 of all the items needed and I figure that I need to put them in first and then see how much space I have left for my own stuff. I found out that the orphans' presents will take up fully half of my luggage allowance. I have my "packing list" ready to check off and most of the toiletries and clothes that I'll need ready to go in the suitcases. I'll work on that little by little this next week and not be rushed at the last minute.

I went up to Gallian's last night for a great spaghetti dinner with Leslie and Lyndsey. Lyndsey and I practiced our Russian phrases and shared presents we had gathered for the orphans. It was a great evening.

One Last Bunch of Books

I guess that if I want to finish telling you about the books I've read about Russia before I go there I'd better get on the ball and do it!

Following up on "Nicholas and Alexandra", Robert K. Massie wrote "The Romanovs: the Final Chapter" which I read in August, 2004. The next book I read was "The Secret Plot to Save the Tsar" by Shay McNeal.

Turning to a fictional tale I read Steve Berry's "The Amber Room", a thriller based on the disappearance of carved amber panels that lined an entire room of (I think) the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg. (The room has been restored but we won't be in St. Petersburg to see it.) Mr. Berry also used the historical background of Russia to write "The Romanov Prophecy".

You can't really say you've read anything about Russia if you haven't read Boris Pasternak's "Dr. Zhivago". The classic movie with Omar Sharif is a beautiful poem on film (the recent remake wasn't as good) but the book is a world in itself.

Prince Michael of Greece, a current relative of the Romanov family, authored "The White Night of St. Petersburg". Mark D. Steinbert and Vladimir M. Khrustalev addressed "The Fall of the Romanovs".

A couple of centuries and a continent away is the story of the explorer "Bering", told by Orcutt Frost. Following that theme I took a look at Russian America in Walter R. Borneman's "Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land". Louis L'Amour set one of his novels, "Sitka", in the era of Russian exploration of America's northwest coast.

Returning to the stories of the royal family that first attracted me to Russian history and culture, I read about "The Russians and Mr. Gibbes" (the Romanov children's tutor) written by Frances Welch. For a first-hand look at the Romanov family and the death of Rasputin you have to read "Lost Splendor" by Prince Felix Youssoupoff, the member of Tsar Nicholas II's family who murdered Rasputin.

For a general study of Russian history I turned to Geoffrey Hosking's "Russia: People and Empire". Finally, I started a new book today by Russian journalist Lilia Shevtsova titled "Putin's Russia" to learn about what is going on in this fascinating country today. For something to read while I'm on the trip I'm planning to take a collection of short stories by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Whew! That's a lot of pages about Russia but I've enjoyed every one of them. I hope it will help me understand and enjoy the people I meet and the places I get to see while I'm there.

Travel Updates

Whoopee! In yesterday's mail I received an update from Rev. Clark about our travel arrangements. Here is our flight information:

28 Dec Delta flight #1067 Washington National - Atlanta 1000a-1157a
28 Dec Delta flight # 192 Atlanta - New York JFK 0200p-0420p
28 Dec Delta flight # 30 New York JFK - Moscow 0520p-1100a(next day)

08 Jan Delta flight # 47 Moscow - Atlanta 1225p-0420p
08 Jan Delta flight # 605 Atlanta - Washington National 0630p-0815p

I will get on the bus in Charleston (at Christ Church UMC) at1000a on Wednesday, Dec. 27 along with eight other team members. Lyndsey Gallian will start out in Charleston with me as well as my assigned roommate, Janet Blount from Campbells Creek. I look forward to meeting her! I now have a picture roster of everyone going on the trip. There will be 35 of us, most from W.Va. but a couple from Va. and one from Minneapolis!

Rev. Clark will have our passports, visas and other documents for us when we reach D.C. He will also have our team sweatshirts (blue) that we will all wear so he can keep track of us!

I went shopping with Regina today and picked up a lot of the toiletries I will take with me (in 3 oz. containers!) as well as Dramamine, Immodium and Pepto tablets. I'm going to sort the presents for the orphans tomorrow and figure out how many complete bags I will be able to take. If I have extras of anything I will share them with Lyndsey if she needs them.

24 days to go! Wow!

The Best Thing About Christmas Cards

Do you know what the best thing about Christmas cards is? It's hearing from long-time friends that you love but don't get around to keeping in touch with except with holiday cards. I sent a newsletter out with my cards to the people I don't talk to on a regular basis and told them about my trip. Since I mailed them out I've received the nicest messages from old friends.

First I heard from my cousin Becky via a comment on the blog. We haven't seen each other nearly enough over the years and it was good to read her kind words. Then I got an unexpected phone call from June, a dear friend I worked with at the Statehouse. We had a lovely chat! To top it off, I was completely surprised yesterday afternoon when a florist delivery man walked in with a beautiful planter complete with purple bow and flowers for me from my college roommate Nancy. It was accompanied by a card with a heart-felt sentiment that really touched me. Thank you all.

My travel buddy Lyndsey also posted a message for me on the blog. I'm going to have dinner with her and her family early next week so we can talk, coordinate what we're taking with us and get even more excited about our trip!