trains, planes and.........snow

It's good to be official again. Our Visa and work permit process has been achieved.The final step involved leaving the country to get a visa to come back in. This week that becomes a multi- entry working Visa, allowing us to move in and out of Russia as we need. It has been a complicated process with rules that seem to change according to who you talk to. But is all good for now.

We travelled to Moldova late in January and spent a few days with the Callanders. Australia day was spent in over a foot of snow in the Russain Embassy. hot dogs for tea with Ian & Viv after a long day of work. No lamb chops or sausages on the barbie - but good at least to spend part of the day with someone from home. The snow falls have been frequent and every where we went the ground is well covered in a blanket of white.

Then it was off to Ukraine. We took the overnight train for 'the experience' - not that you see much overnight - but the 2 border crossings made for an interesting night. We were in a 4 bed coupe and the first border of Transitria - the guard pretended to read Ron's English passport cover to cover , but gave up on mine. The second crossing which is the offcial border the process was much stricter. Our passports were taken and waited on the train wondering what we would do if they did not come back before the train took off. But with a minute to spare our passports were back in hand with the appropriate stamps and we could roll over and try for some sleep before dawn. Our days in Ukraine involved meetings at DHQ and then another 7 hour train trip to visit a Corps. We arrived in the town ofDn..............(big word) affectionaltly known as 'neppo'
This is a large rural city in central /south eastern Ukraine. An industrial city for nuclear, arms and space industries. It was a closed city until the 1990's but now has nearly 2 million people.

There is a new Corps there and the Officers have concentrated their efforts in reaching out to students. There are several Universities in the city. We had a great 2 days connecting with the young people of this Corps - both in teaching and fellowship. Sunday afternoon a dozen of them took us on a 2 hour walk through the snow to show us the scenic sights. We very much enjoyed the opportunity to spend some time in this place. The hospitality of the Officers in sharing what little they had was humbling. we were reminded again how priviledged we are to be Australians and the amazing resources we have that we take so much for granted.

It was back on an overnight train for the trip to Kiev and a flight to Moscow. We have improved our ability to work the passport control lines and Ron is finally developing more of the Russian way when queuing. Elbows out and full steam ahead. No room for being a gentleman there!!!

So here we are back in our apartment amazed to realise this month marks the half way period of our three year term. We praise God for all His provisions and for the opportunities to work in this place.