Church and Rest

We watched the DVD The Italian Job on my computer and ate chips last night. It’s the only movie we brought, so it might be seen more than once over the next couple of weeks.

I was up at 7:30, we were out the door around 9:15 (after hanging up another load of wash). We were in plenty of time for church which started a few minutes after 10:00. Today it was in a larger concert hall. Igor, one of the pastors, came over to talk to us and said this is where they usually meet, but sometimes because of University student concerts they have to use the other room. This place was lovely, quite ornate. Other members also came to greet us, including Denis, Katya’s father. We had a hymnal today, so by looking over someone’s shoulder we saw the number and followed along. Then Igor (who welcomed us in English and gave one of the messages last week) came to sit with us and said he would translate for us. That was a very welcome offer, although we do not feel anyone should feel obligated to provide that service for us. The hymns included mostly familiar melodies including “Sweet Hour of Prayer”, “How Great Thou Art” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” among others. The children also sang: “Be Careful Little Hands/Feet/Eyes/etc.” and “Everybody Ought to Know (Who Jesus Is). They again left the hall after a children’s message.

Today, on the day of Pentecost, they focused on the Trinity, God as Three in One. “Pente”cost, occurring fifty days after the Passover, was observed by the Jews as the day that the Law of Moses was given. God the Father had made himself evident from the beginning of creation. God the Son made himself known by becoming a man who walked among us on the earth. The book of the Acts of the Apostles records that on Pentecost God the Holy Spirit made himself known in a visible and powerful way. The messages focused on having the Holy Spirit in us, as David the king had (Psalm 51), being born again (Acts 2:38), no longer being slaves to sin and on how loving God meant we would keep his commandments, but the love comes first (John 14:21 and following).

We sang “Happy Birthday” to Mosha and to Sergei (one of the gentlemen who greeted us and introduced himself beforehand). We both had good chats after the service, John with Denis and I with his daughter Katya. She is now out of school for the summer. She is enjoying the heat, but is staying mostly outdoors because it is so warm in their home. She told me that in few days Igor and his family (including a son named Nikita) would be going to Maine for a month and would be staying with the same family (a former pastor here) she and her family had stayed with. She seemed pretty excited for them. She also asked about the adoption. I showed her some pictures. She admired the boys and said she would pray for them. I told her we would like that. I also told her she and her father were good at making visitors (us) feel welcome, and we appreciated that. She asked how we had found their church, so I told her of our connection to Alec and Nadya. She was delighted about this, too, and said that their church had three prayer groups, and that Nadya came to the one led by her mother. She suggested I could come this week, too, but it turns out it would conflict with our visits at the orphanage. She understood. (I also thought my presence as a non-Russian speaker would be more of a hindrance to that group than here at church). We look forward to seeing each other again next week. I want to get a photograph of us then!

Alec and Nadya have a full schedule today, but after swapping out at couch at one of their grandmother’s homes they were able to join us for lunch at the Lido Café again. It was a good visit, and they gave us less formal names children use for grandparents. We also passed along greetings as requested by William and Adele (friends from the mission trip), and obtained a correct e-mail address. Before parting we made tentative plans to get together (aside from church) next weekend. They were able to give us more information about the cucumber soup (we each had a bowl today). It is called “akroshka”. It does contain potatoes, cucumbers, diced boiled egg and dill. The meat isn’t necessarily chicken, it may even be sausage. The base is water and sour cream, or whey, and they used a white powder that may be a lemon extract.

At home I typed up the rest of the notes from our first orphanage visit (legal and medical details), John worked on some Russian (the Cyrillic words) and then cooked: “Basil Chicken with Mushrooms and Potatoes ala Butter Milk” – a new creation (and a recipe worth keeping). I think we both took naps, too. John watched part of a Jackie Chan movie and now “American Chopper”, both dubbed in Russian (too funny!). He did comment they have “Sponge Bob” here, but isn’t watching that. I’m reading more of my medical journals while knitting. I will eventually need to find buttons for the boys’ sweaters. We stumbled across a tiny shop (barely a closet) with buttons along Pushkinskaya Street the other day. Didn’t really see what I hoped for, but may need to make do.

Temperature was over 90 degrees, and the Internet news said it felt even warmer. It is supposed to cool down quite a bit by the end of the week, at least at night. Tonight we will take advantage of the coolness and accept the bugs that open windows include.

Wishing everyone a restful Sunday. Go with God this week!