Eugene and Sam (both also on staff for Compas) preparing for the Thursday night worship meeting.

Darin, Svyeta and Madeline. Darrin is one of the coordinatorsfor the Ural Mountain region for Compas, and Svyeta is one of his staffers.

Tim, Phil and Jim posing with Lenin outside of his tomb. ...?

Members of the team with some of the students we met at school #13.

The Church on the Blood: An orthodox Russian church that stands on the site where the last of the czars was killed.

Things I learned in Russia: We don't pet the wild dogs!

A closer shot of the team. L to R: Kathy, Phil, Jim, Chris, Madeline, Rodney, Jay, Me, Tim. (Gene was the photographer)

Back from Russia...

and still feeling the effects of jet lag. I will be writing a (probably fairly long) post about my time overseas last week, but right now I am so tired that the words just won't come. I had intended to have lots of info up there already, but for now I just want to thank all of those whose prayers and support led to many great things in the city of Ekaterinberg. The title of this post links to the web site of one of the Compas staffers, so go check it out.

Pics from Russia 1

Our team at the Hard Rock Moscow, Saturday afternoon. L to R: Kathy, Phil, Chris, Jay, Me, Rodney, Madeline, Tim, Jim, and Gene.

Pics from Russia 2

Our class (or most of them anyway) at a pizza restaurant Friday night. L to R: Antion, Daria, Anton, Zina, Lena, Tanya, Nikita, Olga, Dimitri, Me, Egor, Olga, Chris, Mari, Eugene

To the ends of the Earth...

Disclaimer: It's currently 2 AM so this posting may ramble a bit.

Ok, so at 1:15 tomorrow (technically today) I'll be meeting my group at the airport. I am really, really, really not looking forward to the plane ride, but the destination is certainly worth it. So, I'm taking a friend's advice and staying up all night the night before in hopes that I'll be tired enough to sleep through at least part of the plane ride. Not that staying up all night is likely to be difficult -- insomnia does have its uses. Mostly I'm just hoping to leave my stress at the ticket line so that I can focus on God's agenda rather than my own petty problems. (Hint: that was a prayer request.) It's pretty cold over there right now, which really shouldn't be too much of a problem for me. I grew up near Philly and the winters there were pretty similiar to the weather Ekat. is experiencing now. Then again, less than a week ago it was eighty degrees here, so I am really not even remotely acclimated. I just hope I packed appropriately. I've been saying that I need a vacation a lot lately, but really I think I need this trip much more than a vacation. Vacations tend to be about me. This will be about God, and hopefully that'll help me keep myself grounded as we head into a very stressful period at work. I'll be sure to post a bunch of pics when I get back though, so come back sometime during the week of the 25th to see 'em. Probably late in the week though. I'm still not sure how my body will react to the jet lag thing, so I may not be doing much beyond the necessities for the first few days after my return. Anyway, I hope that made some sort of sense to someone out there. I'm signing off...

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Spacious:: Roomy
   
2. Crash:: Wreck
   
3. Autobiography:: Franklin
   
4. Sparkly:: Glittery
   
5. Wild Thing:: Groovy
   
6. Haagen-Das:: Dulce de Leche
   
7. Sci-fi:: SFBC
   
8. Voice:: Be Heard
   
9. Boy Scouts:: Camping
   
10. Grief:: Sorrow
    

The Definition of Hypocrisy

Ok, so Christina "Dirrty" Aguilera is now preaching to teens about chastity? Does she even know what that is??? I have been fed up for years now with the "teen idols" and the "role models" the youth of this nation have chosen to glorify, but CA is certainly one of the worst offenders. This is something akin to Hugh Heffner speaking out about the evils of objectifying women. Christina and many other performers of her ilk have spent the past few years trying to one-up each other in the sex department. They have made fortunes by leading impressionable young girls to believe that virginity is something to be thrown to the wind ASAP. Remember when Britney first came on the scene and told the world that she doesn't believe in sex before marriage? Didn't believe Ms Spears then, just like I don't believe Christina now.

But this isn't a message all about doom and gloom. There are alternatives. There are plenty of artists out there with integrity. I just hope all of the parents out there are being diligent in monitoring the messages their kids are hearing.

Thanks to Billy and Nykola for the link.

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Courage:: Military
   
2. Stamina:: Endurance
   
3. Leader:: character
   
4. Idea:: Thought
   
5. Rockstar:: All Star United
   
6. Dew:: Morning
   
7. Guards:: Terry Pratchett
   
8. Lenny:: Kravitz
   
9. Alliance:: team
   
10. Cigarettes:: cancer
    

Editorial Cartoon

by Chuck Asay

I just had to share... (click to see larger image)