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!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm going to spend the holiday with my friend Missy and her family so I'll wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Eat lots of turkey and count your blessings!

Values

It's that time of year. The election ads are finally off the air and we're going to be blasted constantly between now and December 24 by retailers wanting us to spend every penny we don't have on the latest hot items to win the love and appreciation of everyone around us (even some people we may not even like). What a crock!

I imagine that most of you know what the Secret Santa program is all about. You're given the name of a disadvantaged child and a list of presents that child wants for Christmas. If you like, you can also buy clothes and shoes. My child this year is a six-year old girl. Among the three presents she requested was something I had never heard of: Pixel Chix. (One of the reasons I do Secret Santa is to find out what the new toys are!) When I looked it up and then found it in the store, I was appalled. It's an electronic toy that comes in the shape of a car, house, or shopping mall and has a screen in the middle. When you turn it on a little two-dimensional girl cartoon character comes on the screen and starts spouting things about credit cards, sales, and shopping. It does nothing but promote consumerism.

I pondered a long time before I bought this toy for my little girl because I worried about the values it would teach her. I finally did buy it for her because it was one of only three things she asked for and why shouldn't she have one if all the other kids are carrying them around tied to their bookbags? However, I couldn't help but compare her list to the list of items we have been asked to gather to take to the orphan children in Russia. Rather than flashy toys that teach them to want to buy more things, we are taking such mundane things as toothpaste and socks. (I have read on some internet sites that if you do try to take nice toys to orphans in Russia that they wind up on the black market and the children never get to see them.)

We are so spoiled by material things in this country. We are so blessed to live here, but we have become blind to the basic values that really matter. Many of you know that one of my favorite websites is Flylady.net. Flylady teaches that we need to get rid of the STUFF(Something That Undermines Family Fun)that is holding us back from experiencing life on all levels, including our spiritual lives. I've found her advice very helpful as I cleaned out 60 years of clutter from my parents' house. Now I have to work on my own lifetime of stuff I've accumulated that I don't need.

My church just celebrated Consecration Sunday where we were challenged to give back to God a portion of what He has given to us. We owe Him everything but we quibble about whether we should tithe off our net or our gross. How sad. Part of the reason I wanted to go on this trip was to explore the culture of a country I've read so much about, but the closer I get to our departure on December 27 the more I realize how humbling it is going to be to share such a small piece of our bounty with these children. I have the feeling that they are going to give me much more than I will give them.

I hope you will add your thoughts to this post by clicking on the "Comments" link below.

Medical Matters

As my trip gets closer I'm starting to think about more of the details. I realized that I needed to check on whether or not my medical insurance would cover me if (Heaven forbid!) I had an accident or got sick while I was in Russia. I called the customer service number and a kind lady referred me to my benefits book and gave me the page number for overseas services. She suggested that I make a copy of those pages from the benefits book and take it with me along with my insurance card. I am covered and the preferred hospital is the American Medical Center in Moscow and its doctors. I had talked to Rev. Clark earlier and he told me that the American Medical Center is the hospital they have used in the past (thankfully for only one incident). The group has insurance that will insure "repatriation" if anything happens so I'm all set as far as insurance goes.

I still have to get the second half of my Hepatitis B shot and I want to get a flu shot as soon as my doctor has them in his office. I'm going to stock up on all the appropriate over-the-counter medicines, (especially dramamine and immodium!)

The address for the American Medical Center home page is: http://amc.rbc.ru/en/

Gifts for Our Hosts

My information packet included instructions to take gifts for our hosts in Russia. Family photo albums were suggested as a good gift so I decided to put my scrapbooking skills to work. Creative Memories sells a product called a "photo sharing card" that allows you to use eight or ten pictures and do a little bit of journaling about them. I'm going to make several and include pictures of my house, where I work, my church, Charleston's Sternwheel Regatta, Hawk's Nest State Park and the Capitol Building. That should give my new friends a sample of what life is like here in West Virginia. I put the first one together Friday night at Dee Rogers' CM workshop in South Charleston and it looks really cute!

Back from Emmaus

What a wonderful weekend! I was the Music Director for this weekend's Women's Walk to Emmaus. As usual, it was a wonderful, mountaintop experience and it's a little hard to come back down to real life, but that's the way it is. I was able to share my plans for my mission trip to Russia while on the Walk and to talk to one of the other Team members who has been to Russia in the winter. Her best piece of advice was to take every piece of warm clothing I have!

Kids' Presents I Still Need

You all are great! I have almost all the things I need to make up the Christmas packages for the Russian orphans we will be visiting. (Each volunteer is responsible for 25 kits.)

Thanks to Jean Young and her granddaughters - they hit the stores and bought all the gloves, nail polish, lip gloss and most of the hats that I still needed. Also, my dear friend Elaine Anderson has pledged all the hand lotion I will need. Here's the list of what I still need:

Girls' make-up (other than lip gloss) - 25 of each item
(Since I have 25 girly items I'm not going to need boys' cologne. If you have already purchased some for me I will see that it gets to another volunteer for use in their packages.)
Winter hats - 9
Toothbrushes - 22
Toothpaste - 15
Erasers, pens, pencils - 25 or more
Girls' socks - 25

It's going to be such a joy for me to see the faces of the kids when they receive their Christmas packages. I promise to take lots of pictures to share with you when I get back!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

I keep learning a little more all the time about blogs and uploading images and all that. I don't understand why, but I needed to post this picture before I could load it into my profile. I think I could delete it now and it would stay on the profile page but I've fooled with it too long to risk losing it now!

Anyhow, this is one of the pictures I'm going to use in my mini-albums I'm taking with me on my trip to give as presents to our hosts. I'm also going to use a picture of my house, of the building I work in, a shot of the boat races in the Charleston Sternwheel Regatta, and a picture of the choir at church. I hope that will give my new friends a glimpse of my life here in West Virginia.

Other Travelers

In this month's edition of "The West Virginia United Methodist" (the church's official newletter for the state) there is a nice article titled "Russia trip introduces Wesleyan students to global outlook". The newsletter is online but unfortunately this article didn't make the cut for inclusion in the online version. Anyhow, it tells the experiences of six students from W.Va. Wesleyan College who spent their May class term in Russia exploring the history, music, religion and culture of Russia. They also worked with special needs children.

Quite unexpectedly, I heard about two other travelers who I think will be on the trip with me in December. I e-mailed a library colleague about something the other day and sent her the link to my blog when she asked what I had been up to lately. It turns out that one of her co-worker's husband and son have been on the summer mission trip and are planning to go again this winter. I can't wait to talk with them - it's a small world!

Odds and Ends

I'm sorry I haven't posted for a while - life has been busy!

This past Friday night Central UMC held a fund-raising spaghetti dinner to go along with the City of Charleston's "Doo Wop Car Rally" celebrating the classic cars of the '50s and '60s. The rough numbers are that we served close to 400 dinners (about 75 pounds of spaghetti with meatballs, salad, bread and dessert) and made at least $1000 profit. I call that a success but boy, it was a lot of work! I was in charge of the drive-thru out in the parking lot working with six young men from Charleston Catholic High School who were earning community service credits by working the dinner with us. They were a hoot to work with - I had the best job of the day!

The other event that is taking a lot of my time right now is being on the Team for the upcoming Women's Walk to Emmaus. I'm the Musical Director for the weekend and we meet once a week for about six weeks before the Walk to prepare. (If you're not familiar with the Walk to Emmaus check out the website: http://www.upperroom.org/emmaus .)
It's a wonderful experience but it takes a lot of preparation time. This will be the third time I've been on a Team since my own Walk.

I'm starting to get some donations of glove and hats for the Russian Orphans' Christmas packages. They are so cute! I've gotten a couple bottles of nail polish, too; I wonder how "Wild and Crazy" colors translate into Russian?!?