The start of my Trans-Siberian Railway Adventure

Okay, so it's already been a week, and so much has happened! As in SO MUCH. I'm sitting here in a fancy hotel in Perm (Yral Hotel), wanting to include you all in my adventures. I have little time and so much to say. I'll try to summarize what has happened thus far (as quickly as I can). Those of you who know me well, will know that this summary will NOT be a typical summary, as I don't know how to summarize. Details are important, people!

For those of you who have no idea why I'm in Russia, let me explain. My friend Jaime Lauren and I are traveling the Trans-Siberian Railway, stopping in a few citites along the way to meet with friends, to explore, and to take part in ministry opportunities as much as we can....whether planned or spontaneous. This adventure is five weeks long, as we travel across three countries, making sure we take our one multi-vitamin per day.

Before embarking on our trip, Jaime and I sat in the China Visa office in Vancouver for 3 yrs, in hope of getting me a tourist visa, for the last portion of our trip. After talking to three different agents, we got nowhere, and had to leave empty-handed. This was so disappointing. I tried to hold in my tears, but that didn't last long. Sheer exhaustion and emotions overwhelmed me, and....our trip hadn't even began! Good times.
We flew out that night (Aug 11) and arrived in London the next afternoon. We should have had 4 hours to make the flight connection, but because our plane was delayed 2 hours, and there were luggage delays, we ran like crazy through the airport, with our 20 kilo backpacks and my two pieces of luggage (left in London). So, after taking care of my London luggage, we hurried through security and had 20 min to spare before boarding our flight to Tallin, Estonia. Got there safely, and were blessed by the flight attendants. We were hoping we would be fed on the plane (as we were starving), but nope...there was food, but for purchase only. Forget that! We're not your typical tourists: we're Russian/Mennonites! Jaime was going to barter for some food, once we landed, but instead, the flight attendant gave us a bag full of buns and two hot dinners...for free! She felt bad for us, so she gave us the food that was prepared for the staff...what wasn't eaten. God is good. We ended up sleeping in the airport that night, as we only had about 7 hours between flights. We did some rearranging of furniture, and made ourselves a bed in a corner. It was excellent (three benches put together, with our bags underneath...perfect!). Due to sleeping on metal, fluorescent lights blinding the eyes, and a cluster of youth giggling close by, we only slept a few hours. But, I felt rested when I got up at 3am. I felt even better once I washed my hair in the bathroom sink (following in the footsteps of my dad and Uncle Nick) and "put on my face". It was freshly cleaned and I was the first to use it....bonus. Not one person interrupted my spa experience :)
Okay, I'm not even in Moscow yet, and I only have 5 min left on the Internet!! I'll speed it up.
We arrived in Moscow, jumped into the right shuttle bus to get to the metro station, and ended up walking around downtown Moscow for 6 hours before meeting up with our hosts....with our packs on: my weighing 20 kilos and Jaime's total was close to 35 kilo (pack, knapsack and camera bag). We were a 'little' tired. We located the Sanduniy Banya (Sauna), stood in front of the doorway, turned around 180 degrees to the left and low and behold, I saw the "brownish-red" door, just as Uncle Nick had described. Thank you Dad and Uncle Nick for the instructions....we had no difficulty (but, I have better instructions now). Met up with Vladimir (his wife was at work), our host, and chatted for a bit, before heading to bed. As you can imagine, we were exhausted, not having slept much since Monday, Aug 11th, and it was already Aug 13th. We slept 12 hours that night! Muchly needed.

There....you're updated up till Moscow. I will continue my story soon.

But before I go, I just wanted to add that everywhere we have gone thus far, God has provided help along the way, and we have met some really beautiful people. I made a Russian/English CD before I left, of myself singing some of my favorite inspirational songs. My good friends Glen and Amanda burnt 30 copies for me to take on my trip. It's been such a joy for me to give these CD's as "thank-you" gifts, or "just-because-I-feel God-wants-me-to-give-this-to-you" gifts. I've given out approx. 10 already (some English and some English/Russian), on route to Russia, while walking the streets of Moscow and on the train to Perm.

This is part 1. More to come :)