Update on Tom

Speaking tour is over. The weary travelers should be in New Mexico by now.

Dan and Liz, Tom's brother and sister were able to spend a little time with Tom. Dan came to the church service as did our friends Jeff, Terri and their daughter Brynne. I got a nice email from Terri letting me know that she saw Tom. She said he was "alive and well and stirring up hilarity wherever he goes"!

I often think of Terri & Jeff on hot summer days. She asked me to sing at their wedding. It was July 17th, 1982. I think it was over a hundred degrees inside the house with the air on! And they chose an outdoor ceremony across the street from her mother's house. It was the shortest ceremony I had ever participated in... the service lasted 7 minutes. They beat Tom and I by two minutes!

Anyway, Tom and his family went out to Newton to see Grandmother Sharp. I wonder what Alexei thought as he was meeting someone in their 90's. Most people in Russia don't live that long.

Special thanks to the couple who provided a new carseat for a family here in Russia. I was reading Tom's email while the sister in law of this couple was visiting. She is so excited. We tried to call the expectant mom to tell her the good news but she was at work. Carseats are not widely available here. They are very expensive because they are an imported item. I was explaining to my guest that in America you have to show your carseat (they need to see you put the baby in it) before the child can leave the hospital. There is no such safeguard here.

Madonna Criticized by Russian Orthodox Church

Madonna Criticized by Russian Orthodox Church Ahead of Moscow Concert

8 hours 12 minutes ago
MosNews


Russia’s Orthodox Church accused U.S. superstar Madonna of exploiting Christian symbols for her own ends and called for a boycott of her first-ever concert in Moscow, AFP reported.

“The U.S. singer Madonna exploits Christian symbols — the cross, rosary beads and the crucifix — and tries to equate human passions, including her own personal passions, with something sacred,” the spokesman for the patriarch of Moscow said.

“I don’t think that Orthodox believers should support this lady by going to her concert,” father Vsevolod Chaplin said on Echo of Moscow radio station.

She “needs spiritual help because she swings between Christianity and Kabbalah,” he said, referring to a branch of Jewish mysticism that the singer follows.

Madonna will perform in Russia for the first time on September 11 as part of her “Confessions” world tour. The concert will take place on a specially constructed stage on Sparrow Hills overlooking the city centre, close to Moscow State University.

The pop diva will arrive in the Russian capital with 57 trucks and 200 tons of equipment in tow, the organizers said. Tickets cost between 1,500 rubles (55 dollars, 45 euros) and a hefty 25,000 rubles (930 dollars, 730 euros).

Madonna kicked off the European leg of her world tour in the Welsh city of Cardiff on July 30 where she gyrated on a saddle floating above the stage and sang from a crucifix in a performance involving provocative dance routines.

She has often sparked outrage among religious leaders with raunchy video clips, notably when she kissed a black Christ in front of a burning cross in her 1989 hit “Like a Prayer”.

news from Tom

Photo by Alexei taken in Mom and Dad's back yard in New Mexico. Dad said it was the first time that they had seen a hawk in the yard. I showed the photo to Lena... she said the Russian word for hawk is "yastreb".


I got an email from Tom on Saturday. He said that all went well in Tom Bean and that they are now on their way to Andover, Kansas.

find them here:
http://www.hopecc.net/

If you are in Wichita or anywhere near Andover please go and check out the church. Even if church is not your thing you will love it there. And please tell Pastor Steve and his wife Sharon that I said "hi!".

Have you ever thought about what it must be like for someone from a another county to see how you live. I am eager to speak with Alexei when he gets back and hear his impressions of America. He has been to the West Coast, the Southwest and now to the Mid West. Alexei mentioned to Tom that the water fountains are at two different heights. One for children and one for adults. He said that showed value for the kids.

Tom says they will schedule another phone call possibly on Monday with Lena and I. I left home on June 28th and Tom does not return until August 12th. In 25 years Tom and I have not ever been apart this long... I don't think we will do this again anytime soon!

back to work

In Russia:

I had my first language session with Lena in over a month. She said that I was doing well. She said that I only forgot a "few words". I was telling her about the food I cooked for Rhianna while I was away, and for the life of me I could not remember the Russian words for peas or chicken. I did, however, remember the words to describe what I was trying to say and she reminded me of the words!
The guys also worked with Lena today after the month long break. Nathan said that we were "working with Lena because school had started again".

I said "no, we are working with Lena because I am home!" using my best SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED voice.

In the USA:

Today is still a travel day for Tom and Alexei. Hopefully, they will soon be pulling into Tom Bean, Texas to visit with some friends and to speak at Sherman Bible Church in Sherman, Texas. There is a Celebrate Recovery meeting there for the guys to speak at.

You can learn more about Sherman Bible Church here:
http://www.shermanbible.org/home.aspx

What is on your T-shirt?

As we rode the marshutka toward our destination of Krasnaya Ploshad I started looking at the T-shirts people were wearing. Some of them had English writing. Many young people here study a foreign language in highschool. Did these people know what it says on their shirts? Were the people around them able to understand the messages they were promoting?

Shooting a quick glance at Spencer I noticed that his shirt had no writing on it. Glancing at the guy sitting across from us I noticed that his black T-shirt said:

Sean Jean Collection
I thought I told you we won't stop

Sean Jean is the rapper who is also known as P. Diddy.
It made me wonder what P. Diddy would think if he saw a russian teen wearing one of his shirts.

Across from me sat a woman who was wearing a bright orange T-shirt with palm trees on it and it said:

HOLIDAY


A young lady sitting toward the front had on my favorite T-shirt. Hers declared:

Boys come... Boys Go!

She was friendly with the boy sitting next to her... I couldn't help but wonder if he was her boyfriend or just one boy in a line of many!

boys to men

It is amazing to watch your children transform. Tonight I saw and felt the power of our oldest son transforming from a boy to a man.

He knew that I had been going through a rough time. My Uncle's death, being away from home so long, and various other trials with friends and in life.

He cornered me and I expected a hug. What I got was...prayed for. He was thoughtful and full of wisdom and God's spirit.

I saw his father and grandfather in him in those moments. However, more importantly, I saw God in him.

Assisi & thoughts on shopping

I have been posting my photos on the photoblog. See side bar for link. This picture was taken from the top level of St. Francis Basilica. It sits just up the hill from the city.

I got an email from Tom today and he said that he is preparing to mail a few boxes of things for us... you know just necessities like cake mix, tylenol and so on!

Spencer and I went shopping for food. I made spaghetti sauce and he made the pasta for dinner. I was so excited at the supermarket. I know very well the language for shopping. It felt so good to be back in a country where I can understand what is going on around me.

thought on shopping in Krasnodar:
if you go to the right supermarket they will give you bags for free AND bag the groceries for you.
you can buy fresh fruit on a street corner close to where you live.

we have popcorn in the supermarket now!

the meat is fresh each day.

the bread is baked fresh each day.

there is a great selection of sausages and cheese.

I can get cash from the ATM and then take a few steps over to the counter to buy a phone card and an internet card all in the same corner of the market! 

ummm.... thanks Ed!

four of a kind!


Alexei celebrates 8 years of sobriety!


I got an email from Ed in California. Hi Ed!

He sent a link to some photos he took of Tom and Alexei. It looks like the guys are having a little too much fun while they are away.

Tom called tonight for Alexei to speak with Lena. It was the first time the two of them had spoken since Alexei left. It was good to see how happy she was after the phone call. I told her that we would arrange another phone time with the guys before they come home.

The painting above the guys heads is one of our favorites. Tom and I have a copy of this painting in storage. You can learn more about this version of the Lord's Supper and the artist, Hyatt Moore here:
http://www.hyattmoore.com/store/?section=1&productline=1

passport control

I spent a full hour standing in line at passport control in Krasnodar. I am grateful for Tim Watson coming to pick me up at 4:30. Our plane landed at 4:ooam but it took so long to clear passport control I didn't even see Tim until 5:10 or so.

People were tired and cranky standing in that line. It was comical to hear them yelling at the passport control officers. They were saying things like. "There are no terrorists out here!" "This is not Dagestan!" "Do any of us look like terrorists... is she a terrorist? is he a terrorist? What about the babies...are they terrorists?!"

The plane had a large group of teenagers on it. They were taking a long time to process since each of them had a passport and a document that gave them permission to travel and the paperwork had to be looked over.


My greatest point of frustration during the whole night was actually in Vienna. My knitting needles were confiscated! I had to take the scarf I was making off the needles and leave them with her. I know all you knitters are saying that is why I should have had a stitch holder with me... yeah, well I forgot. I have read about people who mail their projects home to themselves or who pack their knitting and don't take it in the carry on. But, I didn't do any of those things. I was in shock over the fact that you can fly out of Russia with knitting needles but you cannot fly in with them. Interestingly, they didn't seem to mind the sewing needles in my purse. Just the knitting needles were a danger to the other passengers! I did have my crochet hook with me and I was so mad that I crocheted a hat on the leg from Vienna to Krasnodar! That will show them...

Nathan and Spencer had the entire apartment cleaned up and looking great. I was imagining half eaten pizza everywhere! There was a sign to greet me and on my pillow there was a bottle of peach flavored tea and a bag of sourcream and onion chips. These guys are going to be great husbands. They are very thoughtful!

going home

I don't have much time left here. I have to get my bags packed and catch the train to the airport in the morning. So be in prayer for me as I travel and as Tom and Alexei travel as well.

Oh and Tom sent me an email saying that he and Alexei had a great time at Wal-Mart... Alexei loved it there!

4:35 am

I leave tomorrow to go back to Russia. I am looking forward to the creature comforts I left behind. My own bed, our DVD and video collection, all my yarn! However, I am not looking forward to getting off the plane at 4:35 am Monday morning, getting whatever sleep I can and then going to school the very next day. It is a good thing that Spencer and I will not resume his homeschooling until September.

Tom and Alexei have a travel day also. They will be taking the train from California and traveling to New Mexico. His parents will then go with them to Texas and Kansas. Tom is glad for the help driving. It would have been a long haul for him with out having Mom and Dad help out.

I finally heard from Nathan why Spencer was not answering my emails. His internet card ran out. I was going to ask Judi H. to tell my son to stay home long enough to answer his mother's emails but that plan won't work without him having an internet card!

Tim and Joy have friends who read this blog so I will publically say "thanks so much!" for being willing to come and get me from the airport at 4:35 am. Especially since Tim is leaving for Ukraine later that day.

Hezbollah not on Russia's Terror List

I don't usually post two news articles in a row... but news happens and this story is one that I thought was worthy of posting.

Hezbollah not on Russia's terrorist list
By HENRY MEYER, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 28, 7:45 PM ET



Russia on Friday published a list of 17 groups it regards as terrorist organizations, but did not include the Palestinian militant movement Hamas or Lebanon's Hezbollah guerrilla group, both regarded as terrorists in Washington.

Separately, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Hezbollah must have a say in any agreements in the Middle East crisis, Russian news agencies reported — another sign of differences between Russia and the United States about the region.

"Any agreements must be coordinated with all the basic forces in Lebanon, including Hezbollah, as an organization that is represented in the parliament and government of Lebanon," RIA-Novosti reported quoted Lavrov as saying on a plane returning from an Asian security meeting in Malaysia. Hezbollah has 11 members in Lebanon's 128-seat parliament, and two Cabinet ministers.

The terrorist list, published in the official daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta, included al-Qaida and the Taliban as well as the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, a rebel group fighting for Kashmir's independence from India, and Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood.

The Russian Federal Security Service's top official in charge of fighting international terrorism, Yuri Sapunov, said Hamas and Hezbollah were not a major threat to Russia and were not regarded as terrorist groups worldwide.

But he said Russian security agencies took account of international lists of terrorist groups when exchanging intelligence with foreign counterparts.

Sapunov told Rossiiskaya Gazeta the list of 17 "includes only those organizations which represent the greatest threat to the security of our country." Groups linked to separatist militants in Chechnya and Islamic radicals in Central Asia made the list.

Russia has come under criticism for its refusal to list Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist organizations.

Israel is now fighting a ground and air war in Lebanon against Hezbollah guerrillas, who are firing rockets into northern Israel. Israeli forces have also attacked the Gaza Strip to target Hamas militants. Russia has criticized the scale of the Israeli offensive, while the United States has blamed Hezbollah for the violence.

President Vladimir Putin earlier this year provoked U.S. and Israeli anger by inviting leaders of Hamas to Moscow shortly after their January election victory. The meeting made no progress in softening the group's refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist or foreswear violence.

Lavrov's reported comment about Hezbollah echoed the arguments Russian officials made for inviting Hamas leaders, when they said that they were dealing with Hamas as an entity that had just come to power in elections.

Lavrov said that Russia's support for a Hezbollah role in decision-making in the Mideast crisis was shared by European countries and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, adding: "As for support from the Americans for this position, I have no such information," RIA-Novosti reported.

The European Union considers Hamas a terrorist organization and along with the United States slapped financial sanctions on the new Hamas-led government. But it does not list Hezbollah as a terrorist group.

Russian Rocket Crash

Photo from www.lenta.ru

Russian Rocket With 18 Satellites Crashes After Launch


MosNews



A Russian rocket carrying 18 satellites crashed shortly after blasting off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan late Wednesday, the Federal Space Agency said early Thursday. According to the Xinhua news agency the Dnepr carrier rocket with the satellites, which belonged respectively to Russia, Belarus, Italy and the United States, crashed 25 km south of the Baikonur launch pad, a piece of land on the northern Kazakh steppe that Russia leases to launch its spacecraft, Yury Nosenko, deputy head of the Federal Space Agency, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying. No damage or injuries were caused on the ground, he said. “An emergency shutdown of the engines occurred 86 seconds into the flight,” a spokesman of the Mission Control outside Moscow said. Nosenko said the first stage of the rocket failed to separate on time and “that is why the engine was shut down in the emergency mode.” The crash dealt yet another blow to Russia’s space program, which has suffered a series of mishaps since last year. Interfax also reported that Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko traveled to Baikonur to witness the launch of his country’s first satellite, the Belka, which was onboard the Dnepr rocket.

His reaction to the crash was not reported.

Happy birthday!

In Italy:
Today is Erin's 30th birthday. And she is performing tonight! Tomorrow we will have a dinner party but tonight the show must go on!


In America:
an email excerpt...

Alexei & I went to the post office in Santa Ana, so he could experience an American Post Office. Then we went to South Coast Plaza where I got my watch battery replaced after 7 months of it being dead!! We ate at McDonald's (his very first time!) & he liked it. He was amazed at how quickly people were served & got their food. We then bought shoes at Shoe Pavillion. He & I have matching pairs of tennis shoes (he will use his for riding his bicycle, & I will use mine to walk in.


In Russia:
I have not heard from the boys today and that means things are going well... right? Yeah, that is what I will tell myself!

Look out!

In the US:
Tom was able to borrow a truck from Gordon and JeanneMarie. He is out driving around now in Southern California so lookout!

He spoke at the Bridge. I have not heard how that went since Tom sent the email about speaking before it actually took place. DaveHickman, Tom Sharp and Alexei Parhomenka all in one place? Have mercy!

In Russia:
I received a text message from Judi H. telling me that school starts on Tuesday for her and I. I am not excited. For some reason I thought I would have a week to recover once I get home. This month has been one of the most difficult ones to endure. Two family deaths and some friends of ours are going through a difficult time right now. It is overwhelming.

In Italy:
I found two all English bookstores.
There is the Anglo American Bookshop and the Lion Bookshop and Cafe. Both are not far from the Spanish Steps. Which is not far from Rome Baptist Church. I didn't purchase any books yet... I cannot decide what I cannot live without!

Celebrity Sighting in San Clemente!

THIS JUST IN FROM TOM!!!

Excerpt from this mornings email:

Lisa had to pick up an ear-bud set for her telephone at Cingular store. We went to the one here in San Clemente. It was there that we had our first 'celebrity sighting!'

In walked....'Hurley' from Lost!! He needed something for his phone. Lisa & I spotted him at the same time. (He's taller than I am & wider, too! He's really big.) Lisa said she wanted to talk to him but wouldn't go over to him. I just walked up to him & said, "Excuse me. Could I bother you a minute?" He said 'yeah' & I said, "My family & I moved to Russia a year & a half ago, & the thing that we HAVE to have sent to us to help us cope w/ the cultural stress is episodes of 'Lost.' We're really big fans of the show, love your work & thank you for what you do." He smiled & said, "We were supposed to go over to Russia to promote the show, but the Russian tv station didn't have enough money to bring us over." I told him in was on in Russian & we still asked for English language copies. Keep up the great work." He said 'thanks' & I walked away. It was great; Lisa couldn't stop talking about our 'Hurley' sighting the rest of the day!

Update on the American Tour

Tom and Alexei are on the move. They have left Simi Valley and are now down in the Dana Point area.

Here is an excerpt from Tom's latest email... sorry, I edited all the mushy and personal stuff out!:

It was so good to see Chip & Joanne again!! There was only about 12 people at church - 6 to 8 people were on vacation. So it was very intimate & close. Chip did worship, which was good. Alexei sang a couple of songs in English. Chip gave him a cd of the worship music afterward.

Afterwards, Chip had the people come up & pray for Alexei & I. A guy who used to attend the Bridge when I taught is part of The Gathering. He recently got married last year, & shared how my teaching (esp. on boundaries) had really changed his life. It made him ready to get married again & now he's happy!

Then we all went out to lunch at Wahoo's. I had fish tacos & shrimp tacos. Alexei had steak tacos but didn't really like them. He said El Torito was better!

Then Chip & Jo drove us to the Russian church. The pastor recognized me & said he would give me some time to speak if I wanted it. (How can I pass that up?)

There was probably 125 people there, & we didn't have much time for people to pray outloud.
The pastor spoke, we sang in Russian, the youth had just returned from a camp in Kazakstan where they worked at a children's home. They did a panel & were interviewed by the youth pastor. Then they had a 30 minute video. Then an older guy got up & gave an evangelical message for about 5 minutes. Then the pastor called me up. Pastor said I had 2 minutes. I asked the pastor if he would translate for me, but he didn't need to translate any! (That was nice). Afterwards, several people from last time we were there came up to greet us. A older woman complemented me on my Russian & said our photo is up on her refrig & she prays everyday for us. (I believe her!) Vladimir, the pizza delivery guy from Raul & Christines was there & introduced me to his wife Sveta. She was very nice & had great English skills. She sends her greetings to you& the boys.

Tomorrow night we have dinner w/ Bruce & Kelle & their kids. I'm looking forward to it.

2 were baptized

I went back to Rome Baptist church again. There was a baptism today. There were two missionaries who are leaving for Thailand that were prayed over. There were some college kids that were leaving to go back to America after spending time here with Agape Italia.

The list of places the visitors were from today were:
Cameroon
Germany
Austria
Northern Ireland
Scotland
Ohio
Southern California

There was probably around 150 people there today. I could barely sing through all my tears after the baptism when the church began to sing Trust and Obey. That is the song that has been going through my head since we first felt the call to Russia. Today was the first time I have heard it sung since we began the process of moving.

In the USA:
Tom and Alexei endured 119 degrees in Simi Valley. He said it was a 110 in the shade! Tom is speaking today and then they will be attending the Russian church service this afternoon.

swimming pools and movie stars

In the USA :

Tom and Alexei have not had a celebrity sighting but they are enjoying "American Food". Like, Chinese take out or a Mexican dinner. They are also enjoying staying at a home in Simi Valley with a pool. They have been out to see Auntie Martha. I am grateful that Tom is there for Martha right now. He was able to help her out in many ways. Kenneth and James also made it home. For anyone who has a family member in the military please know that leaving an emergency message with the Red Cross does work! Kenneth made it home from Iraq four days before the funeral.

In Russia:
Nathan and Spencer seem to be doing great. Spencer emailed me to say that he had a sore throat yesterday but he ate pizza and ice cream and it felt better.

Nathan is busy with cleaning out his room and watching Godzilla movies.

In Italy:
Erin and Rhianna were looking at Rhianna's photo album and Erin asked Rhianna "who is that?" Rhianna moved Erin's hand off the picture and actually made her point to me! "Ah-Dah!" What a smart little girl!

We mailed a package to a friend of mine in California from the Vatican post office. At first they were not going to do it because they didn't sell boxes there.
But, fortunately a cute little toddler (Rhianna) intervened and they were more than happy to help us out. Finding a box, wrapping up the contents with extra care and then making sure the postal worker sent it out properly!

I still have time to mail a few more postcards so send your address to my email:
alidasmail@juno.com

They made it!

I just received an email from Tom. Here is an excerpt of what he had to say about the trip so far:

Thanx for your prayers. Alexei & I are in Simi Valley, CA after our flight & enjoying the weather, food & people! We had an interesting flight as the flight crew had to 'take down' a rowdy drunken man. (It was neither Alexei or I!) They eventually tied him to his seat w/ pillowcases for the remaining 5 hours of the flight. Once we landed no one could leave until LAPD first came aboard, arrested & removed him. The rest of the flight was non-eventful!

Alexei's 1st impressions of the US/LA is that it's "very big, very clean, very beautiful & has more cars than he has seen in his lifetime!" He's taking pictures of the places we go to. He's been fascinated by the book of matches w/ the name of our hotel on it, how big & vast CA is, the variety of choices w/ everything, & how he can walk around w/o his passport or ID! A different kind of freedom.

Alexei & I are going to drive to Pomona today & try to visit Alida's Aunt Martha. Tonight & Fri we are staying w/ a woman from Pastor Dave's recovery church who is a LAPD detective. She has a pool & spa! We may try to go to the Reagan Library & Museum w/ Dave, or to the IMAX theater. It's very hot here, so staying indoors where it's airconditioned is best!

We ate Mexican food today at El Torito's!! It was very good. It wasn't as spicy as Alexei had thought it would be. He enjoyed it very much. Last night we went to Von's, Alexei's 1st time in an American grocery store. He's also fascinated w/ American tv. He's like a kid in a candy store when compared to what he's experienced in his life in Russia up to this.