Final from Russia

Well, it's finally here - my last day in Russia - my birthday. This is a cool birthday - I was born in 1954 and I'm 54 today!

I spoke at a public school on Wednesday and the kids were great. One young lady said, "You are kidding about being old, right?" I said, "No, I'm about to celebrate my 54th birthday." She said, "No way! My mother is 40 and she looks lots older than you!" So the answer is - yes, coloring your hair helps, but the greatest key is your heart - you're only as old as you are at heart - of course that's scary, because at heart I'm 21 - and do I really want to go through all this again!?! Oh, another student asked what I liked most about Russia and I said, "The chocolate!" They all laughed, and then Wednesday afternoon, Natasha, the assistant counselor at Child in Danger, whose son was in the class at school, brought me a dog puppet that was stuffed full of all kinds of chocolates! Wow!

The kids at Dormitory 70 (photo at right: Me, Natasha and Luda standing; Tatiana, Anya, Nadia, Ilya, Masha, and Lucya seated) were great Thursday night, and Ilya sang a Spanish love song to me and Pam. He is so funny. We started my first night at the dorm with a kiss to the cheek. The second week, it was both cheeks; the third, three cheeks - are you getting the picture here? Last night we lost count, and the counselor started making loud smacking sounds, and the whole place was rolling in laughter (that's better than crying, right?).

Tatiana, the head counselor of the whole dorm, gave me a really cool birthday present, and Luda, one of the girls that is thinking of coming to live at the family home, gave me a silk screen water color that she painted in class. She is studying to be an artist, but is very shy about her work. She is really talented, and I pray that she will be a great success in whatever she does.

Valya, who has returned from her mission trip to Africa (see blog below), cut Masha's and Ilya's hair last night, so we were having "make-over" time as well as English lessons. And Nicola (pictured above), an American who has taught English at one of the universities here, brought Easter eggs for everyone and shared her testimony. After the testimony, which was really amazing, Tatiana said she could not believe that the young woman standing in front of us could have been an alcoholic and drug user during her teens and early twenties. Tatiana then said, "It is amazing what God can do in someone's life. You are a testimony to His great work." Wow!

Today will be a busy day as I move my luggage to Vera and Vova's for transport to the airport at 3:30 a.m. tomorrow morning. They are also planning a birthday bash there tonight; and I will have tea this afternoon at Natasha and Little Anya's new apartment. I got my suitcases packed last night, and yes, all you chocolate fans, one is full of candy - oh, and some really amazing teas I discovered this trip. So pray that no hungry, thirsty luggage inspectors check me out too closely!

God bless you, and keep me in your prayers. Also, Greg, Susan, and Jonathon Furr will be leaving Saturday morning about 10:30, and Patty Adams hopes to get a flight out on Saturday as well (she flies standby because her hubby is a pilot and she gets really cheap tickets, but has to fly standby, so we're never sure when she's coming or going - that didn't sound good!) so keep them lifted up as well.

From Russia with sadness,

Nancy