Russia to double the price of vodka

Russia doubles vodka prices to fight alcohol abuse

Russians are going to be paying more for their most popular beverage. According to Sergey Shatalov, Deputy Finance Minister, the minimum price for a 0.5 liter bottle of vodka will double over the next three years.

The Finance Ministry suggests that the current price for half a liter of vodka, which sits at about $3.00, will be raised to $6.50 dollars in 2011-2013. The prices will increase gradually over the period.

 “Vodka is not a necessity. It shouldn’t be cheap,” said Shatalov.

The measure will be part of a bill currently being drafted by the Ministry.

heading off to the Russian National MOPS Convention!

Leah Aleyeva, the National Director of MOPS for Russia, (pictured above) asked Tom to speak on "Words That Hurt and Words That Heal" this week at the Russian National MOPS Convention. Leah also requested that both of us speak on "How to Survive in a Marriage with an Alcoholic." She believes that this topic is much needed here in Russia and is hoping that the women will be eager to take what they learn and pass it on to the moms in their groups.

We are not sure how many women will be in attendance. Two representatives from each MOPS group are allowed to attend. There are a total of 50 MOPS groups registered here in Russia. Our group in Krasnodar is #50!

Tom and I both feel honored to be able to participate in MOPS on a national level. The convention will last from today until Saturday... please keep us in your prayers!

Drunken Red Square drive

In Russian news...

Police fired for drunken Red Square drive

MOSCOW (Reuters)
Three off-duty Russian policemen were fired Monday for driving drunk through Moscow's Red Square in the early hours of the morning, dressed in their police uniforms. "A medical examination revealed that all three policemen were drunk," Moscow City Police said in a statement about the incident which took place Friday."(They have) tarnished the honour and dignity of police officers." Russians are some of the world's heaviest drinkers and demographers often cite high alcohol consumption as a factor in the low life expectancy of Russian men.
The image of national airline Aeroflot's subsidiary Aeroflot-Nord was dealt a serious blow earlier this year when alcohol was found in the blood of one of its pilots who crashed over the Urals, killing 88 people on board.

English Language Helpers

Today Tom is headed out to Krasnodar's first English speaking AA meeting. His friend V asked him to help out with the format and getting the group off the ground. If you are an English speaker here in Krasnodar looking for an AA meeting let us know and we will get you directions!

I started off my day working with Elizaveta. Leeza, as she is affectionately called, is 9 years old. She and her family just recently moved here from the Moscow area and were disappointed to learn that there is not an English class at her elementary school. Her parents asked me to teach her a song in English, help her finish up her work book from her former school and correct her pronunciation when needed. She is a sweet little girl and we had a great time together. My favorite part of the lesson was her giving me a kiss and telling me how much she loves learning English!!

On Wednesday Tom will be coming to work with me because her 5 year old brother Mikhail (Misha) was extremely shocked that Tom didn't come over to play with him while I worked with his sister!

Snowy weather...

Tom just got back from running errands in the snow. It is only 1 below. So it's not that cold. But, there are about 8 inches of snow on the ground!

Over the holiday I lost a filling. Everything that I have read online says this is not an emergency... although it does make eating uncomfortable. We called a dental office this morning but they are closed for the holidays. Christmas here in Russia is Wednesday so I will have to tough it out for a few more days.















Having the AA group over on New Year's went well. Tom got a call from his friend V. who said that everyone had a great time! V came with his entire family. He brought his wife, two daughters and his granddaughter. Two single gals, E and T, who would have been alone otherwise also came. For several of our guests it was their first time in an American home. We made every effort to follow as many Russian traditions as possible.

We had the table set holiday style with New Year's presents for everyone. We watched President Mevedev on tv to bring in the New Year. Prior to his address to the nation we toasted the old year. Everyone had an opportunity to say what they had learned or what they were grateful for and we raised our glasses of 7-up, juice and non alcoholic champagne and joyfully clicked them together after each person shared! Following Medvedev's address the fireworks started on the street. We watched from our balcony and saw a great display from various points around the city! We laughed together, watched the fireworks and then went back to the table to eat some more and toast the new year! Dinner began at 11 pm and our guests left together in V's van at 2 am!!

During the evening, T, one of the single gals, got a phone call from a woman who had been invited but chose not to come... she was drunk. Another guy who could not make it sent Tom a text message saying that he had 5 months of sobriety that day and that is the longest stretch that he has gone so far!

Tom has suggested this gathering every year for the past 4 years and this was the first time that we had people actually agree to come over. We were glad that it was a success and we pray that it will become a new tradition!!

crossed that job off my list!

Thursday, October 4, 2007

I didn't go to school today because I felt like today was my deadline for getting my talk written for Sunday. I don't normally write out what I am going to say word for word... but when you have to use a translator it is best to know exactly where you are going in your talk so that you don't miss any points or forget what you were saying while you are waiting for the translator to finish speaking. I was able to get it all typed up and proof read by Tom so I am all set.

Tom was in class by himself today and he thought it ws the best class he has ever had! I understand how he feels... the fewer people in class the less time the class period lasts. Three or more people is three hours, two people is two hours and one person is an hour and a half. Jason has been busy this week with a new baby, Spencer was tired and needed a break and I needed to get my work done so Tom had the teacher all to himself!

Tomorrow our school is taking a trip to the mountains and we will be gone from 8am to about 9pm. We will take the camera and should have some beautiful photos to share when we get back!

On Saturday the women of the church are getting together to hear Linda speak on getting a MOPS group started at our church. Please pray for us as we see a great need here in our region to sevre the young mothers here. We see so many of them out pushing strollers everyday!

On Sunday we are headed out to Artirka for Vika's birthday and for me to speak at a group that Tania started. It is a secular group so I am not doing a "churchy" talk. I am speaking on codependency. I have laid out the talk so that it will hopefully lead to starting an Al-Anon meeting out there. We thought this had happened while we were in the States but we think they were waiting for us to come out and do some teaching on the need for the group before it actually begins.

Tom is preparing a series of 8 lessons to help get our church ready for serving the recovering comuunity in this area. He talked with Valodia and shared his ideas with Alexei and it looks like everyone is excited to get this going.

For Tom and I the things we have scheduled are the result of the work we have been doing to build relationships and learn this language, all the ideas we had before we came here are becoming reality!

Another reason to drink?

Temperature guide: 33 degrees celsius= 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit

Tuesday, May 29, 2007.
Issue 3666.
Page 3.
Blackout Fears Amid a Record Heat Wave
The Moscow Times

As the temperature hit a record high Monday, Moscow's electricity provider scrambled to prevent a blackout due to a surge in the use of air conditioners.

The temperature hit 33.2 degrees Celsius in Moscow on Monday, surpassing a record of 32.2 degrees set for the day in 1995, Interfax reported, citing the Moscow area weather bureau.
Electricity use jumped 8 percent, forcing Unified Energy Systems to impose limits on corporate consumers, company spokeswoman Margarita Nagoga said, Interfax reported. The situation was exasperated by the closure of the city's Matveyevskaya transmission substation for repairs, she said.

The limits are to be lifted Tuesday. Two years ago, a surge in demand caused by a heat wave led to a power outage that began in Moscow and spread to the Moscow, Tula, Kaluga and Ryazan regions, leaving 1.5 million to 2 million people without electricity.

Monday's heat sparked small fires at several electricity substations around Moscow, Interfax said.

A poll of Moscow kiosk vendors, meanwhile, found that the sale of beverages shot up by 80 percent on Monday.

Beer sales alone were up 90 percent, according to the Interfax poll.

Moscow temperatures are expected to hover around 30 degrees for the rest of the week.

Everyday

He fell to the floor with a loud thud, a few people turned around to look. One man helped him up, gently setting him down in the rear of the bus. A kind old babushka picked up his hat, handed it to him and went back to her seat. One or two passengers in front of me turned to peek at the drunken man then turned around as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

The pretty, young cashier was highly agitated with the man at her counter. He asked her questions that had nothing to do with making his purchase... and she was in no mood to small talk with him. He reeked of alcohol. He slurred his speech. She rang up his groceries, put them in a bag, laid his change down in front of him and started to wait on me all without a word. As he left the store, the cashiers closest to her began to laugh. One of them commented on being able to breathe again.

Everyday, we see people who drink too much. Everyday we see people affected by those who drink too much. Everyday we pray for those around us to realize that only a Power greater than themselves can help them stop drinking.

and then there were two

There is officially a second AA meeting here in Krasnodar. It was Alexei's plan and design. He iniated the whole thing. Tonight was the second meeting and he did a really good job. Most of the people are from the Saturday night meeting but they were talking about how to advertise the meeting or get the word out. It is also exciting because it is at our church.

Tom says it is nice to have a meeting within walking distance and not have to take two or more buses to get there!

Just a Little Bit of Service...

Today was our first snowfall of the season. We awoke to a soft, white covering everywhere. It snowed the rest of the day & turned into an icy mess by late afternoon. Beautiful? Yes. Comfortable? No. Today I (Tom) took 4 tolleybuses, 2 marshutkas & did lots of walking to get to the police services facility to speak to prison psychologists of our region. I left at 10:30am even though I wasn't scheduled to be at the facility until 12 noon. With numerous accidents due to the weather, I arrived at 11:54...certainly time enough to spare... on a trip that usually takes about 25 minutes.
Between 40 & 50 prison psychologists & police officers had also braved the elements to arrive for our first training. I spoke for a couple of hours on general issues for working with addicts & alcoholics. Many of the professionals in attendance work in very small communities & villages, & this was the first type of training that they have received. The attendees were very interested & engaged, & stated that they would like to have more training of this type. I answered as many questions as I could, dispelled myths & misconceptions about the disease of addiction, & tried to provide some practical tools for this group. Many of the attendees had questions about what kind of statistics are available about alcohol & drug problems in Russia. It was surprising to me that they lacked some key information about the very population they are working with. It showed me the great need for on-going education & training. Katya did a great job translating & said that it was very interesting for her as well, as it was all brand new info. I shared with the group that it was great to be in a room filled with police officers & prison personnel, & NOT be in trouble! They appreciated the humor.
I'm not sure how everyone did with having a 'civilian' at the facility, let alone an 'American.' I was escorted everywhere, even to the bathroom! Still I look forward to other opportunities to be just a little bit of service!

Speaking Engagement

Last night Tom received a phone call from Natasha. She is a prison psychologist. She had asked Tom on Sunday if he would be able to speak to the regional prison psychologists if she were to set up a day for them all to come to Krasnodar. She called last night with the date and time of the event. I took the phone to firm up the details and I think I understood most of what she said. Tom will be speaking on Tuesday, December 26th, for 3 hours on the subject of how to work with alcoholics and addicts. He was asked to focus on dependency issues. Katya will be there to translate. (She was our very first translator in 2004 when we visited for a month)

It is interesting that she has only heard Tom speak one time. She was invited by Jim and Joyce to come to our church when Tom spoke there for the first time. He does of great job of integrating theology and psychology each time he speaks. She told me on the phone last night that she felt that Tom had more experience and knowledge of how to work with addictions than what she and her colleagues here in Russia have.

I was talking with Lena today and telling her about Natasha asking Tom to speak to the area psychologists. Lena told me that Natasha is not just one of the prison psychologists in the area... she is the Regional Head Psychologist for the entire prison system. Now it makes since why she was able to call a meeting for all the area prison psychologists!

Tom is looking forward to being able to speak to this population. This is why we are here and it is exciting to have this door open for us!

Leading killer in Finland? Alcohol.

Leading killer in Finland? Alcohol.

By MATTI HUUHTANEN,
Associated Press Writer

Alcohol is now the leading killer of Finnish adults, with consumption reaching an all-time high last year in the Nordic nation, officials said Friday.

More than 2,000 people between the ages of 15 and 64 were killed by alcohol poisoning or illnesses caused by alcohol consumption last year, the government's leading welfare and health agency said. Nearly 1,000 people died in accidents or violent incidents caused by alcohol.

"This is truly a worrying trend," said Kristiina Kuussaari of the National Research and Development Center for Welfare and Health. "The serious negative effects will continue to grow for years to come."

Alcohol was responsible for 17 percent of all deaths among 15- to 64-year-old men, surpassing heart disease for the first time, the agency said. Alcohol also caused more than 10.5 percent of all deaths in adult women, alongside breast cancer, for the first time.

Since 2003, the cost of treating alcohol-related illnesses has grown by 14 percent, peaking at $1.1 billion last year in this nation of 5.2 million known for heavy drinking.

The government has traditionally kept a tight control on alcohol consumption with high prices in its Alko monopoly retail outlets, and supermarkets do not sell beer with higher alcohol content.

However, in March 2004 it slashed alcohol taxes by more than 40 percent to discourage growing "booze cruises" to Russia and neighboring Estonia, where alcohol is much cheaper.

The move caused an outcry from health officials who warned of negative health effects, and police who reported a rise in public drunkenness and anti-social behavior.

Officials reported a 10 percent growth in binge drinking among 17-year-olds in the first six months after the tax cut, and general consumption began to grow, reaching new records.

Last year, Finns drank the equivalent of 14.5 million gallons of pure grain alcohol — a 14 percent increase from 2003, just before the alcohol taxes were slashed.

Social Ministries Team

Today we had a meeting for the Social Ministries Team. It only lasted for 3 ½ hours. Normally our meetings go for much longer. It felt as if we accomplished a lot. We were able to work on priorities for the team and on the budget for next year. We met in a basement room without lights and without heat. The workers had shut off the power to the basement to work on the new addition. We opened up the curtains to allow as much natural light in as possible and went on with our meeting.

Tom and I are here to help with Alcoholics/Addicts and their families. We never expected to have to make decisions about purchasing farm equipment. However, since the rehabilitation center we are affiliated with is located on a working farm, we need to be concerned with such things. Therefore, spending 20 minutes or so talking about purchasing a baler and another 15 talking about a shredder is vital. The farm is 40 % self-supporting. We would like to see it support itself 100%. Purchasing new equipment to help the farm run more efficiently is important. After purchasing the baler for example, they will be able to bale hay for others and make money through that avenue as well.

Tomorrow is a big day out at the rehab center. A butcher is coming to the farm to kill a bull and butcher it. Then they will take it to the market to sell. It takes two years for the livestock to be ready for sale. Tom M. told a story about having a book with a picture of an animal with dotted lines on it for where to cut the meat. He said that he went hunting and caught a deer but the deer didn’t come with dotted lines to show him where to cut. So he was happy that they hired a butcher and he doesn’t have to take his book out to the farm!

4 hours

Tom and I were a part of an intervention group last night. The meeting lasted for 4 hours... it was a difficult meeting. I personally didn't want to go. I keep thinking they need Tom and not me. But, when I got there and saw that the wife was the only other woman present I saw my purpose for being there. I know and understand that this will not be the last meeting of this type we attend.

I cannot write any details about the event. We learned a lot. Saw some cultural differences and had to realize that being vulnerable has a different meaning in each country. Body language and spoken language are only part of it... we also need to understand culture.

We have further motivation to master this language. It is important that our words be understood and that we understand what others are expressing to us.

Serenity Prayer in Russian

Tom got a copy of the Serenity prayer in Russian at his AA meeting last night. We have been trying to find it online with no success. Now it is there for anyone who is interested in learning it.

you can find it here:
http://www.sharps4russianrecovery.com/index.cfm?id=6291&fuseaction=browse&pageid=48


If you have never heard of it here it is in English:

Serenity Prayer (short version in English)
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can, And the wisdom to know the difference.
Amen!

Recent Events

A young man, around college age, boarded the bus today wearing a shirt that said on the back:

Supreme Authority

and on the front:
FBI
KGB

Interesting, huh?

Tonight Tom and I went to a party where we met 4 people who are here from a church in Oregon. They shared their testimonies and talked about how they serve their home churches and communities. Jeff, Bruce, Diane and Mindy all had different stories but they each had a story that others could relate too.

Lena, Alexei, Valera and Andrei also shared their testimonies. What stuck me the most were some of the commonalities between Lena's testimony and Mindy's. Both of them grew up in Christian homes with loving parents and were persecuted for faith while attending school growing up. 4 of the men shared stories that included alcohol and/or drugs. Some things are the same no matter where you are in the world!

One interesting cultural observation that Mindy commented on was about when the plane landed in Moscow. Everyone clapped! My thought on that is that it is not just a Russian thing but a European thing. It happened when I landed in Italy too. I saw it as a sign of being grateful that we landed safely!

Last night we had a meeting that was very serious and very long... It involved pulling together a treatment plan for someone here who is wanting to get sober. Tom was explaining about how serotonin works in the brain and Joy was translating for him. It was getting late and everyone was tired. Joy mistakenly said serotonin in Moscow instead of serotonin in the brain. In the brain is "V Mosgeh" and in Moscow is "V Moskveh". It took a few minutes to get back to the seriousness of the meeting because we had to wait for everyone to stop laughing!

At the meeting last night one of the men was telling a story about several years ago... it involved going out to the garage with a friend to have some beers. One of the other men shared that for many Russian men the garage is a "Russian Mecca". All the men go there to drink and relax with friends at some point in their life!

Communion Sunday

For over a year we have been taking grape juice to church on Communion Sunday. The practice here in Russia is to use real wine. We go to church with several alcoholics (Tom and Alexei included) and we asked for this to change. We were told that it was possible that we would be the only ones who want juice so we would have to provide our own.

Each month we noticed that more and more people were choosing the juice instead of the wine. Yesterday, I remembered that today was the first Sunday of the month so I purchased two containers of grape juice for the service... we took them with us to church this morning. Tom was told that they were not needed because juice had already been purchased by the church secretary!

The juice and wine are put on separate serving trays and of course you can smell the difference between the two. Once again the juice tray was the first one empty! (The people who requested it were served first)

Today Tom, Alexei and Valentin were called up front to bless and serve communion. This was the first time Tom was called up front to help serve. Usually, Volodya will just call on the Russian men to help. Don't ever think that just because "it has always been done this way" that people are not open to change. Our pastoral staff just needed to see the needs and the desires of the people!

pictures are up!

We had a great time at the party. We thought there would be English speakers there. No such luck. Glad I took the dictionary. They were too! Anastasia looked up jokester. She declared that her father Alexei and Tom were both jokesters. Tom had to look up submarine he was telling a story with that word in the punch line. The food was great and so was the fellowship. The baby was fun to watch. How do you entertain a Russian speaking baby? Noises work. Saying hello in Russian in a funny voice works. Babies are funny they just like being entertained. But mostly they want Mama. And that word is the same!

Tom gave away my 4th edition Big Book tonight. It was only a paper back version. It was actually exciting. The person who has it asked Tom to sign it. It may be the only copy in the city. I have two more copies coming in our boxes and Tom has his in transit as well. At least this one copy is now in the hands of a Russian speaker who will share (step 12) with others!