Sending out love to my Russian family and friends

So it's been 2 weeks since I've left Russia but my friends there are still in my thoughts, prayers and heart. I hope to make it back some day and see them all again. Love you guys!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It is good to be home and these past 3 months has made me appreciate what I have in a greater way.
Here is what I am thankful for:

My country the U.S.A. and the freedom that I have here as a Christian
My family
My friends
My pets
Good health and access to good medical care
A place to live with my own room and a bed
Hot showers with good water pressure
Electricity that is fairly stable
My car (although I did enjoy walking most of the time)
God's protection(not once did I get hurt overseas or have any traveling difficulties)
Wal-mart, Target, and stores like CVS & Rite Aid, and American grocery stores
Clothing dryers
Smoke detectors and fire extinguishers
Gum that has real sugar in it
Hot salt, Old Bay, and pepperjack cheese

My list could go on but that is enough for now. Here is another picture from Stockholm. This is me with Erika, my childhood pen pal from Sweden. We met for the first time after being out of contact for 19 years. That was a great blessing. I also heard from my Russian pen pal before I left Russia.

Worship in Stockholm

While in Stockholm, I visited New Life church. They were hosting a worship & arts weekend put on by Synergy. The worship was led by Liten Stina.

I'm home!

Me and the Tomten in a snowy Stockholm.
My blogger friend Inger Carina and I meeting in person at a Stockholm cafe.
My cousin standing in front of the Royal Palace after the changing of the guard.
My father's second cousin and his wife.
Me with the traditional troll and Dala horse in front of the Swedish house where souveneirs are sold.

After 20 hours of being in airplanes and airports I finally made it back home. I slept in my own bed for the first time in almost 3 months. Today I will rest and recuperate. Here are some pictures from Sweden.

It is going to be a bright sunshiney day...

again! That is what I am talking about. I had a great day yesterday shopping with my cousin in Stockholm. She really knows how to shop for bargains in this very expensive city. It still doesn't compare to bargain shopping at home or even in Russia. Tuesday was a rainy, windy day and I was zonked at the end of it. The palace here doesn't compare to the palaces I saw in St. Petersburg and it was more expensive too for what I was allowed to see. Also, they don't allow any pictures. Wednesday was a better day with no rain until later. I went to the Nordic museum which was only 60 crowns (-: and there was so much more to see. No pictures allowed again. I got a little lost on the bus route but everyone I talk to on the street has spoken English. I took my cousin out to eat at a Tapas restaurant while there was snow showers outside. I have been hunting for traditional Swedish knitting patterns and it is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Today I am heading out to Skansen the outdoor museum which will be fun.

It is a beautiful day in Stockholm

Sorry I am not able to post pictures yet but might try to go to an free wi-fi spot if I have the chance. I arrived in Stockholm on Friday evening after living in Russia for 2 months. What a change of scenery, culture and language. My first impressions of Sweden are clean, neat, and good water. My cousin and her family have been very gracious to me. They have prepared traditional Swedish foods for me to try. On Saturday we walked around the old town where I saw the changing of the guard. In the afternoon we visited her parents and ate a lot of food. I was able to learn more about the Swedish side of my heritage. My cousin's mother is very talented in the home arts. I will visit her today for some time to visit and knit together. She kindly gave me a pair of mittens that she knitted in a traditional Swedish pattern. Sunday we visited a local church where they were having an arts conference. I will post videos later. The temperature grew colder and I pulled out my wool coat and scarf. She showed me a small mall for shopping where we went grocery shopping(ICA). After lunch, laundry and a nap we went for a walk nearby. I saw the building where Astrid Lundgren lived. This week I will try to visit some of the little stores I viewed during the walk.

Winding down pictures

Saying goodbye at one of the orphanages.
A babushka feeding a belka(Russian squirrel).
Me at Pavlovsk palace.
Catherine's palace

The ballroom inside Catherine's palace.

Winding down...

I only have 2 days left and there are still things to finish. Tomorrow I will say goodbye to another group of kids at an orphanage I visited last month. Today I said goodbye where I had been helping teach English at an orphanage in the suburbs. As a treat, I brought Hershey milk chocolate bars that my sister-in-law had mailed me.
Yesterday, I visited Pushkin to view Catherine's Palace(Tsarkoye Selo) and Pavlovsk, another summer palace built for Catherine the Great's son. While walking through the park my friend pointed out some squirrels(belka). They were so cute with little tufts of fur sticking on top of their ears. I tried to get a picture but they were so fast which is why the picture is blurry.
The past few days I have been playing Rummy card game with V and N which I had taught them over the weekend.
I have mixed feelings about leaving. When I have good times and successes then I feel sad about leaving but other times I get homesick and ready to jump on the plane.
Today I stopped in a store that sold handmade knitted items made of goat down(cashmere?). A shawl was 3500 rubles so that would be about $130. It was beautiful.

Friends and fellowship

I finally took some time and visited my friends at their family home yesterday. We enjoyed just talking in English together. I was teaching their girls some crochet skills, although I was having a hard time getting my circle untwisted for the beginning of a hat. L made some tasty Swedish meatballs and they remembered my love for ice cream. My brother's friend N stopped in to say goodbye to me. I got to do my laundry and use a clothing dryer.
Today we walked to the store and I bought some Russian chocolate for my relatives in Sweden to sample. I took my first tram ride through the city and was thankful it wasn't crowded. Later my friend and I went to a book market where I located some Russian folk tale books in English. Afterward, I volunteered with her at an intake hospital for children coming into the orphanage system.

Inside the Hermitage

The coffin of Alexander Nevsky with my friends I and T in front of it. It is made of silver but as you can see needs some polishing.
N, V, and N in the pavillion hall where the famous peacock clock is located.
Empress Mary in the throne room. Don't I look royal in my jeans and flannel shirt?
Friends R & T in the armorial hall. R is dancing.
The Jordan Staircase with friends I, T, R and B.

The light is shining here

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it(John 1:5)

even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is light to you.(Psalm 139:12)

Some pictures from St. Issac's Cathedral

This is me outside one of the gates of St. Issac's Cathedral. It was very cold and blustery that day so I didn't climb to the top.
This is a picture of St. Issac the saint for which the church is named. I think this was a mosaic.
My friend I in front of the inside of one of the gates. This gate depicted the lives of the apostles Paul and Peter. There was so much detail on each of the gates. The bust is of the architect who designed this cathedral.

St. Issac's Cathedral take 2

This is another video I took of the interior of St. Issac's Cathedral with the service being sung in the background. This church has many precious stones and gold used to build it. It was named after an early Christian saint because his feast day fell on the same day as the birthday of Peter the Great.

St. Issac's Cathedral

Video I took while visiting St. Issac's Cathedral yesterday. In the background you can hear the service being sung. I wasn't allowed to film directly so just filmed around it.