From Vicki

All is going really well. We are now (pretty much) caught up on our sleep and will be spending another day in Morshansk at day camp. The church's children (about 12) will be there this morning. The orphanage children (another 35) will be joining us again this afternoon.

Please pray that the language differences would not create a barrier in our sharing of the gospel. The children are very loving and so excited to speak with us. There are two interpreters with us, though with so many children it is not possible to utilize their skills with every conversation. One church member's child (Daniel) came up to me speaking broken English. Maybe he can be my mini-translator today... =)

Last night was our first experience at dinner without a translator. We spent much of the meal laughing hysterically as I and Raphael played a game of charades having conversation about the food and our family. FYI -the universal sign for milk is squeezing the udders to milk the cow. (Becky - Kevin may find this useful when traveling out of the country...smile.)

The food the church workers are preparing has been wonderful. Kenzie, I think even you would enjoy almost everything on the table. Last night we had some pasta with meatballs. There are many fresh veggies and fruits at every meal. The strawberries were so delicious (putting several inside of a crepe-like "Blintz" with some chocolate spread). The fruit juices and teas are also very tasty.

The landscape reminds many of us of Western Oregon. It is very green with lots of smalls trees and wild flowers. Many of the roads we have traveled on are lined with Birch (or maybe larger Aspen) trees. If it were not for the signs (which we can not read - though Paul and Samantha are interpreting fairly well), the "unique" roads (which we do not find in the US) and driving adventures (like 140-160 km/hr - which is 87-100 miles per hour), and the distinctive cement/brick building structures (which are all very similar to each other due to remnants of the Social Communist system in USSR), you would think we weren't too far from home.