Journey from Moscow to Krasnodar

I am at the airport preparing for the next stop on this wonderful journey! Every City I have been to has been filled with life changing experiences for many others I believe, but just as much for myself!  The kindness and care has been overwhelming each place God has lead us! Many of the expressions of love have been from people who have very little material wealth but every one has wanted to contribute in any way possible! I feel like God has taught me some things about sharing and kindness but I have so much more to learn! This morning as I was preparing to leave for the airport, God gave us the sweetest dialogues as we thought over His amazing gifts the past two days.  Then they saw that my garment bag was "trash" and brought in a beautiful new one! My garment bag was pretty cheap, but it was like old friends, we were used to each other!  My new bag is another reminder of God's loving grace...              Then, when I was trying to leave my room with my bags, even their big dog laid down in front of the entrance so that I couldn't get out! Finally, as I was getting ready to leave our host's house in Moscow, my dear brother Vlad took my shoes out of my hands and polished them up so they looked like new!  It felt like foot washing to me!  

The trip to Krasnodar was great and I met some new friends who were my seat mates- God uses every opportunity!  When we landed I realized everybody around me, on both sides of the isle were just staring- even in this City of roughly 1 1/2 million people there are virtually no tourists here, especially Americans, and people kept asking, "why are you here?"  It is always fun to see how God will take the conversation from there!  

My dear friends, Vova and Lyuba, picked me up to take me to my hosts home.  When we got there they had a surprise dinner party waiting!  The couple that is hosting me for the next six days, Dema and Julya, are also very dear!  They both went to Africa with us 5 years ago and fell in love there and were married shortly afterward.  They wanted children very much but ended up having several miscarriages and finally, the last time when I was here, in 2019, Julya had been in the hospital for a couple months, in bed, hoping to save this baby, but the doctors said there was little chance!  She snuck out of her bedroom one afternoon and went out to the parking lot so we could see her and pray!  The picture of the group tonight has that beautiful little baby girl 14 months later, and Julya is also pregnant again and doing great, all by God's miraculous grace!!    

The last picture is Dema and Julya's bedroom, which they insisted I take, while they sleep on the floor in the baby's room and she is pregnant!  Next to the bed is a pile of fruit, chips, candy bars, cookies and water!  I am really overwhelmed with one kindness after another!