SPU: Last day of sightseeing…

Preveyet from Russia! (“Hi!” in Russian!!!) These last two days have been full of discovering St. Petersburg and creating life long memories. Yesterday began with seeing the Winter Palace inside of the Hermitage Museum. We saw works of art by Rembrandt, Michelangelo, and many others. Not only were there beautiful pieces of art inside, but the building itself was a masterpiece. After hours of exploring the Winter Palace we walked outside to our first Russian storm.  After getting under the down pour, we ran to dinner where we sat down for traditional Russian dumplings. Overall it was an adventurous day. … Continue reading

SPU: Our second day of training!

Today was a new experience for us all. This morning we learned Russian History by Tanya’s husband, Michael, who spoke to us in Russian and was translated by Tanya. This brief lesson was a great insight into the people here and all they have been through. Russia has a rich and deep history with both good and bad. One fun fact we learned about St. Petersburg was that it was built on a swamp. We now understand the mosquito invasion in our rooms. After class we were given an assignment that would allow us to see the city for ourselves. … Continue reading

SPU: News from the 2 Seattle Pacific University teams.

After our long journey, 16 hours on the plane, we finally made it to St. Petersburg! Going through customs was easier than we originally expected; however, we had minor complications with claiming our luggage. We lost two boxes, but luckily they were delivered today! We are fortunate enough to be able to stay in a church that provides us with a comfy bed and daily shower. When we first arrived Tatiana (our host) greeted us at the airport and warned us she would not allow us to go to bed until at least 8PM local time; which meant we would … Continue reading

Vanguard: Tomorrow we say goodbye…

Our time here in Russia is quickly winding down to an end. Tomorrow, we will finish the wonderful and fun two week day camp at the TB children’s center. It feels like just yesterday that we were meeting the kids and playing our first game of Russian zombie tag with them! Over the last two weeks, we performed a continuous skit in which Sean played our helpful and loyal guide. We used this character to convey the aspects of God and how we can relate to Him as our Heavenly Father. The rest of us acted as a group of … Continue reading

Vanguard: Three days left…

We came to the realization today that we have only three days remaining with the kids at the children’s center. The time here in Novgorod has been flying by. We started out our first week of ministry anxious about how the kids would receive us, but soon found that they were as excited to get to know us as we were to get to know them. There are about 50 kids currently at the TB children’s center we are working with. The kids vary in ages from toddlers to teens. It is inspiring to see the people who work at … Continue reading