I love overnight train travel. I sleep like a baby. That is, I don't sleep that much, but when I do, I'm out like a light. For an American, it's always quite an experience the first time one travels on European trains. The halls are narrow, the beds are short. But we managed to get on and get organized pretty quickly. Then some of us took a walk - not an easy task - through a dozen or more train cars to the restaurant car. We had chips, candy bars, soda, and wine. The conversation was rich. We talked about our families and churches back home, about what we had experienced in Kostroma the previous days, and about what we were expecting in Kirov over the next few days. A passenger on the train who was from one of the Central Asian nations (one of the -stans) heard us speaking English and it piqued his curiosity. He knew very little English, but he welcomed us to Russia with a bottle of champagne. What hospitality!
We arrived in Kirov very very very early and headed to the hotel for showers and maybe a short nap. Since another HopeChest group would be arriving on the next train from Moscow, I skipped the nap and went with our regional manager, Olga Chuprakova, to the train station to meet the group from Crosscurrent in Ashburn, VA who would be offering a week-long camp to the orphaned children in Arbazh. Besides one adoptive father, they were a team of first-time travelers to Russia. They looked dazed and confused, but excited to tackle a life-changing week.
After greeting the team from Crosscurrent and having breakfast, we took public buses and walked to the main church and monastery in Kirov City. I love worshiping in an Orthodox church. The liturgy is 95% Scripture and has been used by Orthodox Christians around the world for about 1500 years. The beauty in art and icons tells the story of God's activity and the heroes of faith over thousands and thousands of years. Mystery and reverence are the themes of worship in an Orthodox church. I feel like I worship with my gut when I'm in an Orthodox church.
In the afternoon, some rested while others shopped. We walked to the central department store and spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on gifts for the orphanage staff and children we would be meeting over the next few days: candy and chocolate, soccer balls, puzzles, fingernail polish. It's fun to shop like this when you know what you are really buying is not a soccer ball but a way to connect with a child in need.
In the evening, many of us went to bed early to get rest for the days ahead. We also were able to visit with Kira Volkova, a young pastor at the Methodist church in Kirov. Since first meeting her in November 2006, I always try to reconnect with her when I'm in Kirov. Her ministry there is new, but growing. Several of her parishioners have come on the HopeChest team as translators and disciplers.
Tomorrow begins the real purpose of the Vision Trip: to visit unsponsored orphanages as the churches on the trip prayerfully discern where they will connect in sponsorship.
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