At the Dacha

In August were spent three days at a dacha about 5 hours outside the city. The trip there was very interesting. We first travelled by Metro for one hour, then we took a marshrutka (a van taxi that holds about 18 people). We knew we were in trouble when the driver had the hood raised before leaving the parking lot. After about 6 hours and a few push starts by the passengers, we finally arrived in Ivanovo. We spent our time there with the Stameys (our mentors). The dacha had no running water and an outhouse. Twice a day Doyle and Brad had to draw water from the well while fighting off bees (quite a funny scene, too bad we don't have pictures of that one). We all enjoyed getting out in the nature for a bit. The kids enjoyed sleeping in a tent at night (their first time), and Daegan especially enjoyed finding many, many bugs. We took the kids to the creek (which was VERY cold), and they enjoyed running in and out screaming and rolling in the sand. After our 4 hour marshrutka ride home (a little better this time) and 1 hour Metro ride, we were so excited to find that our hot water was turned on (after being off for 4 weeks)! We each took what Doyle called "hour showers"!

Baseball Camp

In July we were able to participate in a baseball camp. One of our missionaries here specializing in sports ministry organized a volunteer group from the States who came and spent every afternoon at the park with Russian kids teaching them baseball. Doyle enjoyed playing ball again, though he was a little more sore now than when he was younger. Falyn enjoyed hanging out with a friend.

Saying Goodbye to the Focus Team

The Focus Team was a group of student volunteers that spent the summer here in Moscow. They spent a great deal of time with our kids and other MK's here. Our kids were so sad to see them leave. Please pray for these students now that they have returned to the States. A few of them are in the process of returning to Moscow as IMB personnel. Others have decisions to make regarding future ministries. We already miss them!

Introducing Trixie

As promised when we had to leave Nala and Pixie (our two dogs) behind in the States, we finally got a new family dog, Trixie. She is a Russian Toy Terrier. So tiny and so sweet. As you can see, Falyn is in love! We all still miss Nala and Pixie, but Trixie helps a little.

AGM in Poland

In June, we were able to attend the Annual General Meeting for the Central and Eastern Europe region in Poland. It was so refreshing to worship in English and to hear some wonderful speakers. We also enjoyed seeing some old friends from our training in Virginia. The kids were able to participate in VBS with volunteers from the States with other MK's. The scenery was beautiful, and we enjoyed some wonderful outdoor time as well.