Russia: Travel and Day 1

Ever since I've known Eddy he's always mentioned traveling to Moscow, Russia, a dream place he wanted to visit. I always thought Russia was a unique choice. Usually, when you ask someone, "What's one place you'd like to travel to in the world?" you hear, "Italy, France, England." Russia is so far, so remote, so cold, at least in my mind. I didn't figure it was a place we were likely to visit.
A couple years ago, Eddy learned about a local mission organization called Mission to Russia (MTR). He began having conversations with a few key people who were involved with MTR. It wasn't long before MTR asked Eddy to join the board. We certainly prayed about this opportunity. Eddy was rather excited about the opportunity to work with a mission group focused on Russia, the potential to travel to Russia, and the blessing of a purpose to go there. Fast-forward to July 2015 and we were Russia bound!

This will probably be my most detailed post of the trip. I began writing about what we were doing and experiencing while we were in Russia, however, down time was a luxury we didn't have on this trip. I was not able to journal much after the first day of the trip. Hopefully, my memory will serve me well as I write about subsequent days!

We left Atlanta on Tuesday, July 7 about noon and headed for NY. A two hour layover awaited us in the Big Apple, and then we boarded the plane for the 9 hour flight to Moscow. We had hoped to sleep and rest a bit on the flight, but we were unsuccessful. Aside from excitement, we were flying so far north that the sun never set! Even with shades down and sleep masks on sleep evaded us. So, instead we caught up on recent movies (4 between the 2 of us), and took in the scenery of Greenland as we flew over. It was pretty neat to see the vast difference in terrain (flat and green moving to mountainous and snowy) as we flew over the country.

Outer edge of Greenland

Mountainous terrain in Greenland

Wednesday morning, July 8, we arrived in Moscow! (9:30am Moscow time; 1:30am CST). By this point, we'd been awake for 18 1/2 hours, but it was morning and we had a full day ahead of us. We quickly learned how Russians operate with time and schedules. Hurry up…and wait. After getting luggage, and clearing customs, we waited about 1/2 an hour for Alex (Principal of the Christian school and an elder of the Christian church in Kostroma) to pick us up from the airport. We piled into the church's well-used, red van and began the 5 hour drive to Kostroma. We soon experienced Moscow traffic, which by comparison, is worse than L.A. traffic! In addition, there are some places on the interstate that have no lane markings, more or less a free-for-all that had us a bit nervous. Quite an introduction!
Once out of Moscow, we drove about half way to Kostroma and then stopped at a little roadside cafe [КАФЕ] Our first Russian meal! The food was different, but what we tried there was good. We had some soup, basically vegetable soup, and even Eddy really enjoyed it. We also tried, Pelmeni, a dish of little sausage balls inside pasta, served with sour cream. Pretty tasty, and one of our favorite things we tried while in Russia.

The cafe where we ate on the way to Kostroma

Back in the van, for the last leg to Kostroma, we fought off sleep. We tried to keep each other awake with lively conversation.. However, we met our demise when Dan (another guy involved with MTR)  told us he felt like he was standing on a bridge over an abyss and a giant hand was trying to pull him down! One-by-one we let the hand pull us into the abyss. Zzzzz…we all slept for at least an hour, maybe two, which certainly helped pass the time. Once we awoke, we were on the outskirts of Kostroma.
We stopped at a gas station for a bathroom break and some sodas. Eddy and I shared our first coke with a Russian name on the side! [ЯрослаВ] We proceeded through town, crossing the confluence of the Volga and Kostroma rivers. We headed to a local cafe for some dinner. More Russian food to try! I wanted to have the same soup from earlier in the day, but unfortunately I picked Borscht soup (beet soup). It was unique for sure and I can say I tried it, but that was the first and last time. 

Russian Coke!

Next we drove out to camp. Students from the church and school were having a summer camp. ("My Way"). We drove out of Kostroma quite a ways, then got off on a dirt road for a while, then got off on a grassy track that progressed to dirt and then mud as we weaved and meandered through a field down into a valley, alongside a stream produced by a cool water spring. So when I say camp, I mean wilderness camp, set up tents, dig holes for outhouses, build campfires, set up a generator for the main tent, and set a up a potable water system. Russians know how to camp!
We enjoyed our evening at the camp where we got to meet and talk with lots of kids. Several spoke English very well and we enjoyed exchanging stories and learning about one another. We were served a second dinner for the evening: mashed up potatoes and ham with bread…and pickles. Russians eat pickles with everything! After our tasty dinner, we hiked up a ridge that overlooked the camp and the valley. Such a beautiful view! We made our way back down to camp and prepared for the evening worship service. It was such a neat experience to hear others worshiping God in another language. Some songs were familiar and we sang along in English. Then we listened to a lesson as it was translated into Russian. 

View of camp from the ridge.

Some of the kids and some of the travelers.

We left the camp about 11:00pm. On our way out the van got stuck in the mud. More excitement for our first day! Everyone had to unload as Sasha (Executive Minister for the church) tried to get the van out of the mud. We all hiked back up to the dirt road and eventually Sasha met us with the van. Finally, we were headed to our host homes. After driving around Kostroma dropping everyone off, we made it to Sasha's house. Bedtime! We made it to bed by 12:30am (4:30pm CST). Aside from our short nap on the way to Kostroma, we were awake for 33 1/2 hours from the time we got up to leave the US until our heads hit the pillow at Sasha's house. Our first day was nothing short of an adventure!