Awesome students and scary monks

We had our first reading session yeasterday. My students are so awesome! YongMi, a Korean missionary brought me "home maid" honey for my throat. Its sooo good and excellent in tea, which we drink a lot around here. Her husband is the Olympic TaeKwonDo coach for the russian team and also a pastor of a church here. I also have a Doctor and economoist and scientist. Its kinda intimidating!
This morning we went to the Monistary a few blocks from where we are staying. It was beautiful and breath taking. We went into the temple and unfortunatly we were not able to take pictures but it was beautiful. Amazing! There was a golden casket and I asked Dennis about it and he explained it was the remains of a holy person. He said it was ok to go and see it so we stepped up and were looking into the glass covered casket. A very old man with a gold cap and long gray beard accosted us in Russian. Luckily, Dennis talked to him and explained we were just curious and didn't mean to be disresectful. I had no idea what he was saying but I did understand that he was saying this is not a museum and that we were not to step up near the holy casket. We began to walk away and younger monk like person. A deacon or "half-monk" I learned explained that the remains had a holy smell because this man lived such a holy life. He was very interested in educating us and I would have loved to of been able to tape record this entire scene. And yes I smelled the golden casket in the hole created to allow people to smell the remains and recieve grace and healing. It smelt like incense but seriously how many people can say they bent over to smell a holy person's remains throught a tiny hole in a golden casket with a half-monk holding your arm.

Day 2

Well, there is still no suit case and yes my jeans are getting a little funky. The goodnews is they have located the suitcases but no one knows where..... Ahhh! the phone just rang! They found our suit cases and are going to deliver them in the morning. Hot Dawg that made my day!
We are all fighting jet lag and there is a Alaska effect here. What I mean is there is only 4 hours of darkness at night starting around 11:30 and ending around 3 am. Today was Russian Independence Day so many people were off work and it was an unusual day in the city they tell us. We are all forgetting our English and its only the 2nd day. We had our information meeting today at a really nice hotel in Moscow. It boasts guests like President Bush, Angelina Jolee, Hugo Chavez, The Clinton's (at different times). The purpose of this meeting was to "register" our students and match them up with one of us. We do not have as many students as we'd hoped due to the newspaper not running an add this weekend. But we will continue to advertise and fill our appointment books. I have 7 students so far. The one is the picture is an economist for the Russian goverment. My cough and cold are getting better with some really nasty medicene. God also sent me a doctor. No, seriously my last reader came to register and I thought she was asking me a lot of questions about my terrible cough and symptoms and all which I thought was funny until we got to the blank for profession and found out she is a pediatrician!
I am feeling so much better and meeting my students face to face helped me to remember why I am here.

We made it to Moscow

We made it to Moscow safe and sound. I have...
1. a cold, no voice and a awful cough
2. no suitcase, should have known when the guy in Abilene couldn't pronounce the Airport name
3. a new respect for Monte's driving
4. a bit of frustration with our budgeting
5. a love for the beautiful trees and perfect weather in Moscow
6. serious need of a shower after 31 hours of traveling.

All things considered I am good. The flights were good except for the long one over the ocean that stayed around 90 degrees the whole flight. We were sqwished in like sweating sardines. But the flight to Moscow was great, It was way under booked so the crew waited on us hand and foot and we got to really sprawl out and get caught up on sleep from the previous flight. HOpefully, our luggage will arrive soon but luckily I packed with the thought in my mind... what if all I had was this carryon, what would I want. YOu wouldn't beleive the weather, its georgous! We are in Downtown Moscow and there are a lot of old big trees and old classic buildings. The train and train ride from the airport made me feel like I'd stepped back into WWII times. Pictures soon, I promise. Please email me. I miss you all already. love, Gynnalyn

This is a slide show my market manager at Elliott Hamil made. This is the kinda stuff that makes me love my job. We invited the community to a presention to honor Vetrens and celebrate Memorial Day. Grab a few kleenex, if you have any since of patriotism at all. The woman in the green shirt with the Eagle statue was presneted that statue in memory of her nephew who died in Iraq. The young boy in the black shirt also received a statue in memory of his brother who also died in Iraq. There was one other Abilene family of a fallen soldier, but they wern't able to make it. This is the family I worked with in March, you might of heard me talk about. I was able to present them their eagle statue in their livingroom with out a dry eye in the whole house. I am so blessed to have a job that I can make a difference in peoples lives everyday and also follow what God is leading me to do by going to Russia for nearly a month.
Please keep me in your prayers. I leave on Sunday.... more blogs soon.

Seroiusly!

Ok we joked about staying really busy and staying awake before leaving. It helps you to recover from jet lag by sleeping on the plane and all that. I have literally every moment of my time for the next 8 days packed so full I am even amazed. A few thoughts as the trip gets closer and closer.
What have I got myself into?

What if I forget something important?

I have accepted that I am going to say or do something fauxpa while I am there.

What if i can't "get it all" in my suitcase?

What if I run out of money?

What if I really do come home a different person? I already have a hard time being an adult and being content with the stagnentness of everyday life.

Growing up church of Christ

I know all you c of c kids can relate, the rest of you, I appoligize for the craziness.

In the giant list of to dos for Russia I have "download more Accappella to Ipod" and in the quest to mark another item off my list I asked my friends of they had the cds and surprisingly no one did. Who'd a thought sweet fellowship and traveling shoes would ever not be all good c of c people's fingertips, but alas its shifted back to somewhere on the mental list of stuff to do.

Sunday night I was hanging out with some friends at Angela's house and the phone rings. When Angela returns she tells us her friend Don was coming over and so we naturally asked who is was and if we knew him. In his list of credentials.... Cary's roommate, blondish red hair, goes to Oldham Lane, she slips in ohh and he use to sing for Accappella. I flipped around and asked for more details. She said best not to ask him about it and he was walking in the door before I could ask why.

I sat in the floor at Angela's apartment in awe as DON from Accappella walked in! Oh my goodness he's like a Church of Christ celebrity. I have seen him in concert a few times. I am pretty sure he's on the Beyond a Doubt Cd... again if i had it I would get it out and look for sure. I was in AWE! Don't worry I played it cool... no one else seemed as star struck as I. Maybe it was becuase I am a little younger than my friends or that it was a big highlight in my childhood to get to go to an Accappella concert and that was the main thing we listened to as kids and in to my teenage years. Now, here's the troubling thing. I think Don from Accappella is my age. But the Accappella guys are you know adults and bordering on old. He must have started with Accapella at age 12 or something casue I am still young. Or maybe he just looks like he's my age but he really isn't.

By the way, I still havn't asked him if he has the cds. But you know, I might see if we could maybe record him singing. I could have a rare "Accappella Unplugged" on my Ipod. Man, I could really make John, Brandon, AJ, Andrew and Aaron green with envy.

Team Blog

hello to all my loyal readers, (thanks mom).
I only have a moment but I wanted to give you a link to my teams blog and our team email.
moscow.2007@hotmail.com
www.moscow2007.blogspot.com

Please go, comment and email. We are literally scattered around the world right now. Denise and I are still in Texas but D. Jay and Aaron are headed back to Atlanta and Denis, Natasha and the kids will be leaving very soon for Russia already.
The whole team checks this email and blog so can I please encourage you to encourage my wonderful team. They have to put up with me for atleast 3 weeks, they could use the encouragement, beleive me! Love YALL!