Happy Resurrection Day!!

Wishing you blessings, peace and the joy of our Lord's salvation in Christ Jesus this Resurrection Day and always.



It's Good Friday, and if we have spent time with Jesus during Lent, we have been mindful of Him and the decisions that led Him to the Cross. With all the suffering in the world, sometimes we may think that the trials and pain of one man so long ago doesn't mean much. But maybe we have been given the faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Perhaps we have been given the grace to truly know in our hearts that He lived, taught, suffered and died to reconcile people and all of creation to the Creator who is Love. Then we might look at His life and what happened to Him in a different light. We can go to the Cross in prayer and meditation. We can look up at His face. We may be given the gift of seeing the love in His eyes.



And if we move through the time between His death and His coming to life again in an attentive way, we might experience the deep grief of those who loved Him when He walked on earth. In meditation we can go before dawn to the tomb with the women who were so very close to Him. We can be surprised and shocked with them to see the huge boulder rolled away. Finally, we might be given the present of mistaking Him for the gardener, hearing His voice call our names, and seeing Him again. What joy!



May the Lord continue to bless, keep and inspire you to receive all the gifts of faith, love, peace and joy this Easter and always.



In Christ -- Kathy


On That Resurrection Morning

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:1-18 NRSV [http://bible.oremus.org/]



Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2013
kwharris777@gmail.com

The Gospel According to Saint Baby Boomer . . . Again!

Often in the spring of the year I find myself thinking about days past spent with my F-15 pilot friends in Alaska, and when I worked at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was a long time ago, now. And as they say seems like it all also took place in a "galaxy far, far away . . ."  (to quote some of the opening lines from the first "Star Wars" movie).

Many years ago I first began the series of ruminations called "A Drink of Living Water," that were sent out by e-mail.  I also started a series called "The Gospel According to Saint Baby Boomer."  You may or may not remember or have had access any of those ( . . . if I didn't know you, or if I didn't know your e-mail address way back then).

Lately I have been working on some new additions to the "Saint Baby Boomer" series.  Please don't take any offense at the title.  I just mean it tongue-in-cheek, of course.  People of each generation have their own unique perspectives and memories, music and other cultural appurtenances.  As "Boomers" we have "come a long way, baby!"  Some of us have grandchildren and many of us have long been part of the dreaded "Establishment" a lot of us decried against so vehemently in our salad days.

The U.S. Space Shuttle "Endeavor" and her crew are being prepared for their final voyage which is scheduled for my first grand child's fourteenth birthday, April 19, 2011.  (Happy Birthday in advance, Noah!) 

For a while when he was nine and ten years old, Noah and I were writing a book together called "When Noah and Grandma Kathy Went to Mars."  This idea came out of bedtime stories to help Noah fall asleep.  I told him that when I was his age I often had trouble falling asleep, too. 

I said that I would imagine a scene from a time in history or a movie I had seen, or a story I had read.  Then I would picture myself as a character in the scene and start the "movie" in my mind.  A pre-dreaming exercise which never failed to work, Noah seemed intrigued by the idea.  When we tried to think of a scenario to help him dream his way into sleep, I suggested space travel.

I read my first science fiction novel when I was his age that spring of 2006.  Called "Time for the Stars," the book was written by Robert A. Heinlein.  The premise of the book began with a question about how to prove what simultaneity is. 

Set in the far distant future from the early 1960s when I read it, the story told of a private organization that was on the leading edge of all societal and technological advances.  Space ships traveled at close to the speed of light in Mr. Heinlein's imagination.  In addition, twins or other people who were closely-linked emotionally were helped to develop their telepathic powers.

This was done so that when the space ships had traveled beyond the distance where usual communication methods would work, the telepathic communication that Heinlein theorized was simultaneous.  This form of telepathic communication between human beings--one of them still on earth and one of them on the spaceship  could still be used no matter how far away the spacecraft traveled. 

As Noah and I imagined the trip to Mars we would take together some day, I drew on some of my past experiences here on earth.

As you may remember, these included several times that I worked for National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) contractors.  The first time began on St. Patrick's Day of 1986, not long after the tragic "Challenger" accident.  Despite the draw down of the work force at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in the wake of that sad day, I was hired on to be a Security Awareness Instructor.  Their philosophy was that during the time until the next Space Shuttle launch, they could catch up on some training. 

I'll never forget the day that seven hearses with the recovered remains of the seven "Challenger" astronauts passed through the Space Center along the same route the vehicles that had taken them to Launch Pad 39A on that fateful day in late January.  As was their custom, as many KSC employees as were able to, or felt led to, left their work places at the time for the procession.  Of course it had been announced beforehand.  I joined veteran employees who had watched many astronauts pass by on the way to their launches.  We stood in silent  tribute to the brave people who had lost their lives.

The last "Challenger" mission was STS-25 -- the twenty-fifth Space Shuttle mission.  And "Endeavor's" last flight will be STS-134. 

But many of us long ago ceased to pay much attention to space launches and astronauts. 

Isn't it strange that such an unbelievably amazing feat as a huge aircraft being lifted into orbit with humongous amounts of scientific and various other types of cargo and up to eight people would become commonplace?

The second time I worked for a NASA contractor was in the early 1990s.  Through a temporary employment agency, I ended up with a job as a secretary and word processor for a branch of Lockheed that supported the U.S. aerospace biomedical efforts.  Called Lockheed for NASA Life Sciences, the flight physicians and Ph.D. scientists who worked there made many interesting contributions to all that it takes to keep people alive and healthy on the way to and from--and in orbital space.  And they were actually working on the resolutions to questions concerning how to keep people safe on the Shuttle, on the International Space Station (which at the time was just beginning to be built), and on the future Mission to Mars. 

No kidding.

So along with telling Noah about the science fiction story in "Time for the Stars," I described some of the interesting facts I had learned while typing press releases and material for NASA Space Biomedical publications.  The physicians and scientists I toiled with had relationships with Soviet space biomedical physicians and scientists.  I think it was one of very few ways that officials of the U.S. and the Soviet Union worked together in that old Cold War era.

Anyway, Noah and I had fun thinking about a trip to Mars together.  I went online and showed him articles about past probes to Mars.There are photos of the first space vehicles to pass by the planet.  And those that have landed on and explored the planet by remote control.

There are also drawings and articles about spacecraft and landers for the possible future missions to Mars.  In case you are curious, the NASA web site is:

www.NASA.gov 

Noah was working on some of his own artwork to include in our book, too.  We had a lot of fun thinking about traveling to Mars together.  Some things are easier to do with a boy who is nine or ten than you can do with a teen.

Okay.

But what has all this got to do with "The Gospel According to Saint Baby Boomer"?

As I was thinking about the past and the future, good friends from those days who are no longer walking this earth--or flying above us in aircraft or spacecraft, either--I was reminded of the Soviet cosmonaut who gleefully reported as he orbited the Earth that he saw no sign of God up there.  And I thought about the Apollo astronauts who one Christmas in the 1960s read the story of the nativity of Jesus Christ while they orbited our Moon.

Times have changed and there has been a lot more cooperation in space not only between the U.S. and Russia, but also with people of many countries around the world.  And nowadays in Russia, religion and ethics are taught in schools run by the government.  I am not trying to ignite a debate about that, just stating a fact.

So where have YOU found God lately?

As we reside in Lent and approach Easter, I hope you are on the lookout for signs of God's love in your life.  And I hope that you don't have to go to Mars, or even into orbital space to find those indicators of God's care and presence.

As ever -- Kathy


Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com

A Blanket of Snow

 Rejoice!

We pray for our sisters and brothers in Christ here in Russia and all over the world.  May all the world know the joy of the fullness of God's love through loving action as we care for one another and for all those in need no matter what their ethnic origin, beliefs or situation in life.  We are all children of God who is Love!  Alleluia!

Greetings!!

In the last few weeks it has been warmer here in Vladivostok.  There was even water standing in puddles some days.  Now everything is relative, so I want you to know that temperatures in the mid to upper thirty degrees Fahrenheit ARE warm compared to twenty-three below zero Fahrenheit which was normal in the first month I was here.

It hasn't snowed much in the whole time I have been here, either.  And the harsh winds off the Sea of Japan have often howled and chased one another around the hills and down to the Golden Horn of the inlet on the edge of downtown  Vladivostok. The zephyrs from the waterway between the city and the mainland of the Russian Far East have echoed the northerly and westerly winds in counterpoint off the ice-covered edges.   

When we were driving around town on the Russian men's  holiday called "Defender's Day,"  two days after our "President's Day" three-day holiday weekend, I was reminded of the early days of pre-spring in Alaska.  We saw more and more people  still bundled up, but walking leisurely around the wide boulevards near the long-closed amusement park and beaches.  

The uncharacteristically stationary Ferris wheel other carnival rides, along with the booths where in the warmer weather you can find anything from souvenirs to food and drink, all seemed to be expectantly waiting  for spring just as did the couples of all ages and families seemed to be, encouraged by the thaw and sunshine.

In one plaza little children were driving little battery-operated jeeps, pink Barbie-doll cars and miniature luxury vehicles, well-monitored by parents and other attendants.  All of a sudden we seemed like giants in a humongous vehicle, shades of Gulliver's experience in Lilliput! 

Signs of thaw earlier in the week or not, many people were walking on the ice, along the beach side.  I think I even discerned the hunched over shapes of those most optimistic of anglers -- ice fisherman!

Nevertheless, even though the eastern waterway was still frozen over, the harbor  has ice-broken passages so the ships can come and go.   

And high above either side of the harbor, the huge "Ys" of the support structures of the big new bridge, which is in the midst of being built across the harbor, seem to guard the maritime terminus like huge sentinels with bright blinking lights on top.  I have seen drawings of what the bridge will look like when it is finished.  The span will be marvelous and very modern.   

I love bridges!

That reminds me of the t-shirts we had with the motto of the United Methodist Volunteer in Mission (VIM) trips on them back in 1994, when I first came to Russia.  In English and in Russian, they were printed with the words, "WE BUILD BRIDGES!"

I also love Vladivostok at night.  The lights of apartment houses and office buildings, street lamps and billboards decorating the hills on our side of the Golden Horn are mirrored on the hillsides of the island across the harbor from us.  The delightful view is enjoyed by many people, including those who park along a roadway for the same reasons, no doubt, that many people flock to such places all over the world.

But back to the weather, leaving them to their privacy and enjoyment!   

I should have known better than to get lulled into thinking that winter was going to give up its icy handhold.  However,  this morning I was still surprised to see the snow blanketing the hillsides and everything else I cold see.  Actually,  though, I was thrilled when I got over the shock of it.  So much beauty just fallen out of the sky!

I showered and dressed quickly, enjoyed some delicious fresh-baked bread for breakfast, and called a friend to ask her to help me get a cab.  She met me at Pastor Valentina's church service, though we were a bit late.   

Remembering that the beautiful blanket of snow no doubt made the ice underneath it more treacherous, I did not rush out of the cab and across the area in front of the office building where Pastor Valentina holds her worship services. My old snow and ice-walking training kicked in and I minced my way, watching my feet and judging where the safest place for my nest step might be.  Those three falls in Khabarovsk are ever on my mind when I am walking on snowy and icy sidewalks and streets. 

And there is one more reason.  I haven't told you yet that Pastor Valentina broke her arm several weeks ago.  She fell on the ice, but she says she is healing well.   Valentina is ever joyful, even during trials.  Since she is also a physician, and I trust that helps to keep things in perspective.   

Her smile is full of love no matter what.

The evidence of the compassion that Pastor Valentina has for the people she serves is easy to see.  Each time I have been blessed to join them, they have made me feel very welcome, too.  We are truly sisters and brothers in Christ.  Isn't that marvelous?

Today we celebrated communion, too, and I felt transformed with the wonder of hearing the beloved words of the Eucharist service in Russian once more.  It seemed like the host of witnesses surrounded us in the spirit of God's love across distance, time, language and culture.  What joy!

Sweet Margarita played the piano while we sang hymns  both with familiar Methodist tunes and traditional Russian music.  After we sang, we recited the Apostles' Creed together.  I felt blessed that Pastor Valentina asked me to come up to pray.   

Before  the sermon we worshipers read Romans 8:5-8 together in Russian.  In English that passage is:

 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.  The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.  The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.  Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.  (NIV)  

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%208&version=NIV) 

Pastor Valentina speaks with enthusiasm, intelligence and a true heart for the Gospel.  Her sermons are wonderful.    

At the time of the Passing of the Peace we all happily hugged one another with the encouraging words, "God loves you!"  In the Sundays I have been blessed to worship here, parishioners have ranged in age from four years old to ninety years old.  What a lovely church family!

After worship we had some fellowship time with tea or coffee and cookies.  When it was necessary, everyone who was still there pitched in to move chairs, Bibles, hymnals and the Communion paten (traditional plate for the bread or wafers), chalice, and covers back to their storage cupboards.

Then with my friend, and with Pastor Valentina, we took a bus downtown so we could enjoy more fellowship together at my favorite cafe next to Vladivostok's Philharmonic Hall where I have enjoyed so many concerts.  Over elegant but simple pots of green tea we chatted and feasted on some delicious tortes. we also indulged in to specialties of the house which may not sound appetizing, but were.  They were both made with seafood.   

Valentina and I chose the dish with carrots, red and green peppers, shallots, scallops razor-back clams, and crab legs in a terriyaki sauce served over rice infused with squid ink.  It's called "Black Rice with Fruit of the Sea."   My friend chose the scrumptious cream sauce-covered black spaghetti (yes--made black with squid ink again)  with shrimp, scallops and crab legs.   

How good it is to be in a city on the ocean if you have a hankering for sea food! 

While at lunch, Valentina happened to get a phone call from Claudia in Khabarovsk.  I was happy to hear her voice and we spoke about the possibility of seeing one another in April in Oklahoma City where the United Methodist Russia Initiative meeting will be held.  If you would like to find out more about it, you can go to this web page:

http://new.gbgm-umc.org/work/initiatives/russia/consultation/

Valentina, my friend and I all headed home together in a cab after our lovely lunch and fellowship together.   The two of them dropped me off first, and I waved  a cheery "Good-bye!"   

How happy I am that  I was able to introduce them!

On another subject, one of the greatest blessings has been that I use Skype to communicate.

(Do you know about it?  If not, please see this web site -- www.skype.com)  

It was with great joy that through Skype I had a chance to speak with two friends who are students at the United Methodist Seminary in Moscow. on Thursday evening my time.   

(Moscow is eight time zones west of here, so it has been hard to get connected because they are so busy in classes and we are so often asleep at opposite times).  

My student friends regaled me with stories of their studies, of what they did over the winter break, of their plans for their student ministry opportunities in the summer, and of the fun they had during their Defender's Day celebrations.   I even was able to hear about some of the theology they are studying at the moment.

Because of Skype, I have also been able to talk with family members and friends  in the US, in Sweden, In Australia, and in England.  That has been wonderful and especially important in the last week. 

The news last Monday evening my time that my dear eighty-three year old Mom fell and broke her hip last Saturday night their time, has led me to curtail my trip.   

Between e-mail and Skype I was able to get all the details as time passed, and even talk with both my Mom and Dad when Dad was staying over night in the hospital with Mom.  To be able to talk with them, with my daughter, with my sister and with my brother, as well as to pray with friends has all been very comforting.  Friends and family members I am in touch with by e-mail and through Facebook made a big difference, too, and I am so grateful to God and to all of them. Modern communication! 

I am very disappointed that will not be going to Moscow after all,  but trust God in how it is all working out due to the circumstances.  I hope I will be able to come back to Russia in the not-too-distant future, God willing.   

My Mom has had an operation, and is now well-cared for in a rehabilitation center.   

We appreciate your prayers for both my Mom and my Dad if you feel led to pray.  I was very touched that Pastor Valentina remembered my parents when the call to prayer came during the worship service.

Please pray for the people of the Russian Far East -- and for all the people of the former Soviet Union , if you feel led to do so.   

I have been so blessed to be here and there will be a mixture of joy and sadness when I board the plane to head back home next Saturday, God willing.  The blessings of some time I will be able to spend with my son and his family, and especially the opportunity to meet sweet baby Lily Jane for the first time will help.  On the phone when he encouraged me to be sure and visit my son and his family on the way home, Dad said, "When you hold Lilly, tell her about us."

Getting back to Georgia to be with my daughter and her family before heading to Florida to check on Mom and Dad is a joy I anticipate, too.  Even though our loved ones are always in our hearts, there is nothing like being able to hug them in person! 

One more thing -- please look up the web site of my friend Glen Evans' ministry for an update about the work that he and his partners are doing for the people of Honduras and pray for them, too, if you feel led.  Thanks so much!  The web site is: 

www.artforhumanity.org 

Please be sure to let me know how I can pray for you and yours.   May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and everyone you love. 

Blessings in the Fullness of God's Love, Grace and  Peace in Christ -- Kathy 

     

The God of Peace Will Be With You!

 

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (NIV)

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+4&version=NIV

Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2012

kwharris777@gmail.com

North to Khabarovsk!

Train Trip to Khabarovsk

On Thursday evening, January 20th, I headed to the Vladivostok Train station to take a thirteen hour overnight train to Khabarovsk, a city on the Amur River, about 650 miles north/northwest of Vladivostok.  This was a long awaited trip that I had hoped to make last April.  Previously I have ridden on overnight trains in Russia and in Kazakhstan, so I knew what to expect.  A week before I planned to leave for Khabarovsk, my Russian friend, Sveta, went with me to the train station to help me buy the train ticket since sometimes it is hard for me to understand what customer service people are saying in Russian.  So it was a big help that Sveta came with me!    

There are several classes of travel, including a luxury class, but the least expensive is a compartment with four beds in it.  I chose that way of traveling!  I arrived at the station about an hour before my train would be called, and it was the first time I had been inside the station, which has a beautifully remodeled Main Waiting Room.  On the vaulted ceiling that reaches across the whole large room is a classical painted mural.  As you look up at it, you see two scenes across from one another.  The heads of people painted on each side are pointing toward the heads of painted people on the other side.  Since Vladivostok is the last stop on the Trans-Siberian Railroad that begins in Moscow, each side of the mural depicts the history and buildings of each city.   

To see a photo of one of half of the ceiling mural in the Vladivostok Train Station Waiting Room (and some more photos of Khabarovsk), see this web page:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57404&id=100000104723008&l=9d04447f92

While waiting for my train to be called, I wasn't sure how to get to the tracks, so I struck up a conversation with a Russian woman named Nadya who told me she was waiting for a friend to arrive.  She was very kind and pointed out the way to the tracks.  We also chatted about our lives.  Several people I have met in the Russian Far East ended up in the region because their husbands were stationed in the army there, and this was the case for Nadya, too.  When my train was called I saw that it was waiting on Track Three, by seeing that posted onlooking at the electronic "Arrivals" sign in the Waiting Room.  Heading the direction that Nadya had pointed me in, I headed down a big staircase inside the building, and then outside it to the area alongside Track One.

In order to reach Track Three, I had to go up some stairs that started on the platform and rose to a great height, to a bridge over all the train tracks with stairways down to each platform between two sets of train tracks.  As I made the trek up and down the stairways, I was sorry I had a small suitcase AND a carry-on.  I have never been accused of "traveling light"!  The worst part was not even the trials of going up and down the steep, high stair cases.  It was the cold, brisk wind off the Sea of Japan that hit me when I reached the top of one staircase and made my way to the other one to head down to the Track Three platform that made the biggest impression on me.   

When I reached the platform, I asked one of the uniformed train car attendants where my car was.  On my railway ticket it stated a particular train car number and a particular space in the car which correlated to a bed in one of the four-bed compartments. The train car attendant looked at me with an expression that made me feel that she thought it was a question I should have known the answer to, and pointed me toward the end of the train.  Finally I reached the right train car.   

At its the doorway, there was another train car attendant, and after checking my ticket, she admitted me, my little suitcase and my carry-on bag.  I walked down the narrow hallway and entered a compartment with four beds in it.  In compartments like the one I stayed in, there are two of the beds one above the other on one side of the compartment, and two more across from them.  There is also a little table connected to the wall of the compartment under the curtained train window.  Under the lower beds are places for luggage to be stowed.  Accessible from the upper beds, in the wall over the passageway outside the compartments, there is also a small, empty space where luggage can be stored.  People can also hang their coats up on coat hangers hanging from hooks alongside the wall with the doorway to the compartment in it.

There are little steel ladders that are folded up and attached to the wall with the door to the compartment on either side of it.  People who sleep in the upper bunks either use the ladders or hoist themselves up and down by putting their feet on the lower berths.  My friend Sveta made sure to request a bed on the lower section of the compartment for me.  My traveling companions were a married couple about my age and a young man in his thirties who told me he had worked on commercial ships and traveled to the U.S.    

When you ride on trains in the former Soviet Union, you can expect to be in mixed company.  In the past I have been blessed to travel with very courteous men who kindly left the compartment when it was time to get ready for bed.  Everyone sleeps in their clothes of course, and I have experienced a friendliness and gracious hospitality from my traveling companions in the past.  This was true of my trips to and from Khabarovsk, too.  On both the way to Khabarovsk, and on the way back, my traveling companions offered to share their food with me and most of them chatted with me in friendly ways.   

On the way back there was a young man from China who was studying Russian at a university in Khabarovsk who shared the compartment with me.  He traveled with us to Ussyrisk, and said he would have a seven hour bus ride from there to the city in which he lived in China. He had the upper berth across from me, and said he was heading home for the Chinese New Year holiday.  One of the other passengers in my compartment was a young Russian woman in her late twenties or early thirties who was going to Vladivostok on business just for the day and slept in the bed above mine.  In the middle of the night a fourth passenger came into our compartment, and took the bed across from mine.  He was a Russian man, perhaps in his late forties, who left the train before we arrived in Vladivostok.

It is not that easy to get a good night's sleep on the train, even with a fairly comfortable bed, and the sheets, pillow, pillow cases and wool blankets or down duvets that are provided.  The problem is that the train stops from time to time, of course.  So sometimes I was awake and just watched the full moon and the stars go by.  For some reason as the train moved fast along the tracks, the moon seemed to keep moving from left to right and then from right to left past the window.  Toward the end of the night, the morning star seemed to do the same thing.  When I sat up to look out the window, I often saw, under the bright full moonlight, the beautiful birch and pine tree forests which are characteristic of that part of Siberia.  

My train reached Khabarovsk around 9:30 in the morning after having left Vladivostok at 6:30 the night before.  One of the United Methodist lay leaders in Khabarovsk, Claudia Parfyonova, had been communicating with me by e-mail, and had promised to meet me at the train station.  I had told her the number of my train car, but even though I waited on the platform outside it for a while, I didn't see her.  Aleksei, the young sailor from my compartment, asked me if I knew where I was going and offered to help me.  I explained that someone was meeting me, but that she had not made it there yet.  Since I had told Claudia that I would be in the Waiting Room of the train station if I didn't see her right away, I tool Aleksei up on his offer.

Of course there was a tall staircase to traverse up to the bridge above the train tracks and platforms, and another long staircase to travel down near the train station.  I was blessed that Aleksei was quite a gentleman and helped me with my suitcase.  He had told me that he was going to Khabarovsk to visit members of his family, and had to head to a bus stop once we reached the sidewalk outside of the train station.  He seemed not to be sure I would be all right, but I assured him that someone was going to meet me, thanked him, and wished him the best.  Then I headed toward the main staircase in front of the train station to go to the Waiting Room.

As I began to head up the stairs, though, there was Claudia coming down them!  It was the first time we met, but the expression on her face was filled with joy, and I was very happy to see her, too.  She told me that we would have to wait until noon to check into my hotel, so we went to a little cafe and spent time getting acquainted.  Later, on the way to the hotel on that bright, calm, cold mid-winter day, Claudia showed me some of her beautiful, snow-covered city.  

Joy's Bible Study

Sometime after noon on Friday, my new friend, Claudia, got me settled into my room at a hotel named for the man Khabarovsk is named after, Erofei Khabar, called The Erofei Hotel.  Well-appointed and beautifully decorated, the hotel had some wonderful amenities including a cafe, a swimming pool, a hot tub, and a sauna.  Unfortunately, I had left my swimsuit in Vladivostok!   

Claudia and I had a snack together in the cafe.  We had a typical Russian soup with meatballs and a typical Russian salad with calamari, cabbage, and carrots with a big dollop of mayonnaise on top.  I also had some grape compote which is a thick grape juice with grapes in it, and I bought a large bottle of water to drink in my room.  After our snack I went back up to my room for a nap until Claudia came back to get me to go over to a friend's for a Bible Study.

It was dark when we left the hotel to head to Claudia's friend's apartment.  She told me that we were going to a monthly Women's Bible Study led by a woman who was a missionary from New Zealand named Joy. (See the photo above -- Joy is wearing an orange, black and white print blouse, and Claudia is sitting to the right of Joy wearing a blue turtleneck sweater.)

When Claudia and I arrived, Joy and two other women were already in Joy's apartment.  A while later two other women arrived.  Joy has lived in Khabarovsk  for seventeen years teaching English at one of the universities there and sharing the Gospel with students and other people she knows. 

I was blessed to be able to talk with Joy and to take part in the Bible study.  It turned out that at one time both Joy and I were each connected with an international, interdenominational missionary fellowship called Worldwide Evangelization for Christ (WEC).  She told she had elected not to go overseas with WEC, though, but has been on her own in Russia with the support of folks back home.  She is my hero!

My time spent at Joy's Bible study with her and the other ladies was really lovely.  When they heard that I am in Russia to share the seminar on traditional Wesleyan spiritual practices, they wanted to know more about it.  So I had a chance to tell them what it entails, and they said they liked it.  I told them that there was a Power Point presentation to go with the seminar, and Joy told Claudia that she would lend us the projector she has for use with a computer at the church we were going to be going to on Sunday.

After some prayer time, cookies, tea and fellowship, we all said good night to one another.  My new friends all embraced me as if we were well known to each other -- sisters in Christ. 

Claudia and I walked back to the hotel under a sky bright with stars, but very cold.  I am not as used to walking on ice as I once was when I was growing up in the Chicago area, or when we lived in Alaska.  So as Claudia and I charged from the sidewalk to cross the icy street, it was too much for me.  Because we were arm in arm (it is common to see two women or two young girls walking that way over here),  when I slipped and fell on the ice, Claudia fell, too.

All together I fell three times when I was in Khabarovsk, but only broke my camera.  I am not as young as I once was . . . either growing up in Chicago or when we lived in Alaska, so I am grateful that I didn't get hurt!

With Sveta and Claudia One of the most lovely blessings of going to Khabarovsk was that Rev. Svetlana Tsoi, the Distict Superintendent  of the United Methodist Churches in the Russian Far East came from a city that is an overnight train ride north of there to see me.  In terms of the protocol involved in bringing my Doctorate of Ministry project to share with the pastors of the Russian United Methodist Church, I needed permission from Bishop Hans Vaxby in Moscow, and from the District Superintendents of the pastors I already knew, and those I met on this trip.  Rev. Tsoi, Sveta, was kind enough to agree to letting me share the seminar.  Beyond that, she went out of her way to come to see me, although she was also in Khabarovsk to visit with the pastors in her charge. Sveta arrived on Saturday morning and stayed in Claudia's apartment with her until the overnight train back to her city on Sunday night.  They came to pick me up around 10  am, and we spent the day on the town!  It was a beautiful, bright, very cold sunshiny day.  Little sparkles of frost caused by moisture in the air danced before our eyes.  We took a bus down to Lenin Square.  Since besides being a pastor and a district superintendent, Sveta teaches English to school children, we went to a book store with books for teaching English as a Second Language not far from the square, so that she could look for some new materials.  Then we had lunch together at a cafe which had a great menu of normal Russian cuisine that I love.  Both Claudia and Sveta were doing so much for me, I wanted to treat them to lunch, so they let me.  We had a lovely time chatting together before heading over to see the beautiful ice sculptures displayed all over  Lenin Square.  I had always seen photos of big ice sculptures in big northern cities, but the only ice sculptures I had ever seen in person were swans or something romantic like them at wedding receptions. It turned out that a new competition was coming up, so we not only had a chance to see the ice sculptures that were already decorating the square.  We also had a chance to watch new sculptures being made right before our eyes. You can see some photos of some of them by going to the following web page: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57404&id=100000104723008&l=9d04447f92 During the rest of the day we were taken on a tour of Khabarovsk by Claudia, who loves her home town very much.  There is an "Old Town" with buildings made before the Bolshevik Revolution.  And the city was built on three ridges, so there are some beautiful views from the top of each hill, looking down one side to the top of the other ridges.    We also went to a plaza overlooking the wide curves of the  Amur River.  Across the river in the distance, we could see foothills in China.  By late afternoon, Sveta was tired from her long night on the train, so we all retired to get a good night's sleep before the busy day that Sunday would be.

Maksim's Ministry in Sinda One of the United Methodist pastors who I was blessed to meet was Maksim Nikanorov, who picked up his District Superintendent, Rev. Svetlana Tsoi, Claudia Parfyonova, one of the lay leaders in Khabarovsk, and me in order to take us to worship at Pastor Elena Sokolova's "Light UMC" on Sunday morning, January 23rd.  His ministry is with people in a small village called Sinda, which is a two hour drive from Khabarovsk.  Sinda is in a region where a group of the indigenous Siberian people live.  Maksim said the region was set aside for them in a similar to the way there are reservations for native Americans in the U.S., although ethnically Russian people lived in the villages, too. The photo above shows Maksim baptizing one of the people who attend the church he serves.   During the drive to and from Light UMC, I sat up front with Maksim and was blessed to be able to hear about his life and ministry.  Later that evening, he and his wife, Natalya, joined Svetlana, Claudia and me at my hotel.  It was lovely to meet Natalya, too.  All together the fellowship with Christian brothers and sisters in Khabarovsk was such a joy! After I returned to Vladivostok, Maksim sent me several e-mails about his ministry and I want to share with you the praises and prayer requests he wrote about in the e-mails: "PRAISES: 1.      Last time, I asked for prayers that my family would find an affordable apartment near the school my son attends.  Praise God, we were able to find exactly what we needed and we are now living in this apartment. 2.      This has been a very cold Winter, with much snow.  We praise God that our people were able to prepare for this season.  And we praise God that He sent our brother Sergei to help our invalid members lay up firewood for the winter. PRAYER NEEDS: 1.      Our sister Anna, whose home has been our meeting place, needs to rebuild the floor of her home.  So, we have moved our meetings to Ivan's home until the repairs are completed.  We ask for your prayers for this need.  Anna and her husband are in their 80's, they are poor, and the floor presents a significant safety hazard. 2.      We ask prayers of healing for Natasha and her mother.  Galina is suffering with dementia.  Praise God that she was still thinking clearly at the time of her baptism in January.  We believe Galina may be nearing the end of her time on this earth. 3.      We ask prayers for Ivan, who we told you about in our last letter.  He had no feeling at all in his hands or arms.  He now has some feeling!  We are praying for a healing miracle. 4.      We ask prayers for our fellowship, that we would have the strength to continue meeting in the face of considerable difficulties.  As part of this, please pray that my vehicle will continue to work well enough that I can continue to visit the village regularly." He also included some photos which you can see on this web page: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=885040&l=7574927d4d&id=100000104723008 Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2012 kwharris777@gmail.com

Welcome Lily Jane!

Welcome Lily Jane Brown!

It's with great joy that I share this with you. Here is the first photo of my son Tom's new daughter, Lily Jane Brown, with her Mom, Lisa.  She joins her big brothers Trevor and Drew, her big sister, Lexi, and her baby brother, Colin. She was born on January 10, 2011 in southern California. Can't wait to see her, but I am way across the Pacific Ocean in Vladivostok. Russia, as you know.  It was 23 degrees below zero Fahrenheit here yesterday, but warmed up to 2 below today.  *grin* Today is the Lunar New Year, which all of Asia celebrates, it seems -- even the Russian Far East, here on the coast of Siberia.  This weekend will bring the end of the New Year holidays, and Russian Christmas was celebrated last Friday, so there have been weeks of holidays for me both this side of the world and back in the USA! To top it off, I was so happy to hear about Lily's safe arrival and that she and Lisa are both doing well.  They got home yesterday and we thank God for all our blessings. I'm heading downtown for a celebration dinner tonight with a friend.  Will be fun -- and the only challenge is to keep warm.

With Joy --

Kathy


Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com

First Sunday In 2011 -- Joy in Vladivostok, Sorrow Back Home

Joy in Vladivostok

Today it was a blessing for me to be able to see Pastor Valentina again. You may remember that we met last May when I was first in Vladivostok. On this bright, cold beautiful morning resplendent with sunshine, I took a taxi to the building where Pastor Valentina holds her Bible studies and worship services. I arrived just as she and Margarita, her church's musician and pianist, came to the front door of the offices of the Russian Peace Foundation. We worshiped in a good-sized room that on one side was wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling mirror. There were festive holiday decorations and a "Yolka" (see photo below) -- the traditional Russian Christmas tree than is also a part of New Year's celebrations -- a tradition that was kept alive in the Soviet era.

It was a joy to see Valentina again, to hear her inspiring sermon/teaching, and to sing the songs of praise and worship with together with some of the members of the Bible Study Group -- there were seven of us all together. Some of the songs we sang were traditional hymns sung in Methodist churches in the US, and some were beautiful hymns and praise songs set to Russian melodies. Before the others came, Margarita was practicing the hymns that Pastor Valentina had selected, and when she played "Velikiy Bog," AKA "How Great Thou Art," Valentina told me of how much she enjoyed singing it in Moscow when there were also men's voices added to the voices of the soprano melody line. I have heard it sung in Moscow with both men and women in the sanctuary, so I knew what she meant -- the rich Russian baritone and tenor voices added to the women's voices makes a stirring harmony. I told her that when I participated in "A Christian Ministry in the National Parks" at Mt. Rainier National Park, that was always the central hymn in the worship services, because it so much describes the beauty of God's creation in that park with its huge, snow-capped volcano in the midst of 650 year old Douglas fir trees and the great variety of wildlife there.

After the worship service there was a fellowship time when we shared pieces of two lovely and wonderful chocolate cakes and tea in celebration of the New Year. Pastor Valentina took me part of the way back to my friend's house on a bus on the mainline that goes to the area where they worship, and also to "beautiful downtown" Vladivostok (which IS quite attractive because of being on the harbor and due to the interesting architecture of the buildings, a mixture of modern and Tsarist-era styles.) There isn't a bus stop very close to my friend's house, and it was a very cold day, much more noticeable when we were walking around downtown for a while. So we called a taxi and parted reluctantly.

I am planning to join her and the members of the Bible Study Group again on Friday, which is when they will celebrate Russian Christmas, and also next Sunday, God willing. How lovely to be able to look forward to those times in the near future.

Sorrow Back Home

Still jet-lagging and hit one of those "walls" of time and weariness when I had that kind of headache, so I took some meds and had about a four hour nap this evening. When I woke up, I spent some time with my friend, and then came back up to my room and popped online to check my e-mail.

Sadly, there was a note from my daughter that her husband Daniel's sister Allison had passed away unexpectedly because of the flu. I was very dismayed and called them through Skype right away, since although it was after midnight here, on the verge of Monday, it was around 10 a.m, on Sunday back in Atlanta.

It is hard to imagine the grief that Allison's parents and siblings are feeling, but I trust they will all be comforted by the Lord as they move through this time of grief, and always. She was a beautiful, kind and creative young woman who had just seen her first play performed last fall at Northwestern University where she had been studying. I was blessed to meet her several times, and just pray that everyone who loves her will be able to trust that she is at peace in the ever-loving, everlasting arms of our Father in Heaven.

You never know what is next, and I heartily agree with what Daniel wrote on his Facebook page, "Parents, hug your kids every chance you get."

Although it seems especially sad to lose a loved one right after Christmas and at the very beginning of a new year, maybe it will help because it is a time when it is easier to remember the gifts of the Babe in the Manger -- reconciliation with God and eternal life in the fullness of God's love and joy. I hope it will be so.

May the Lord continue to bless and keep you and all those you love.

In Christ -- Kathy


Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com

Moscow Journal -- December 30, 2010

Losing Tuesday


8:15 am



I was very grateful to have arrived safely in Vladivostok around 1:45 pm yesterday about 30 hours of travel time on four airplanes and layovers of at least three hours each in three airports (five hours in one of them). So from door to door, it was like this - I left my daughter's family's house in Marietta, Georgia, for the Altanta airport around 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time on December 27th. I have been blessed to have spent most of the last 17 months by helping out through being "Granny Nanny" for my sweet toddler grandson Jude, since a week or so before he was born and for his big brother, Seth, who will be five years old on January 24th. Then I arrived at my friend's house here in Vladivostok around 3 p.m. Even though I just napped a little bit while waiting for my friend to finish working, and went to bed about 10:30, I woke up about 4:30 a.m., jet-lagging. But that is to be expected!


It was good to get back here to Vladivostok and see everything with snow all over it. When we landed, the pilot said it was 3 above zero Fahrenheit, but it was sunny and not windy . . . the air was fresh, and I just had to get used to walking on ice again as we came down the gangway and walked over to a bus to take us to the terminal. Have some great ne VERY warm boots with good treads for traction . . . but I am a lot older than the last time I lived in the frozen north . . . in Alaska, so I need to hone my ice-walking skills. Or else! *grin* Don't want to fall.


Everything was fine going through customs and getting my luggage, and there was a taxi driver there waiting for me because my friend was working and she just had a cab sent to pick me up. There seem to be even more cars everywhere here than there was last May. The construction projects I saw in progress then have continued - especially along the highway from the airport which is quite a ways north of town - and some bridges that are being built in Vladivostok itself. Many of the new construction on apartment buildings in the city have been finished and all together things look good and prosperous.


Many of the billboards on the road sides and the banners over the roads were wishing everyone "Happy New Year!" So it was interesting to see them - some were from businesses and some were from the mayor of Vladivostok . . . maybe more of a campaign billboard. A lot of stores visible from the roads had banners with the New Year's greeting, too. Everything looks clean and shiny with the covering of snow, and the harbor downtown looked lovely from the main thoroughfare on a hillside above the downtown area.

When my friend got home from work it was great to see her again, and we had a lovely dinner with fresh bread prepared in her bread maker. Then we chatted a lot and got caught up some . . . watched an episode of "The Tudors" that she has on DVD, and then I pooped out and headed up to bed while she continued to watch T.V. until her bedtime.


This morning before she went to work for her last day before the two week New Year holiday here, we had some breakfast together and laid out the plans for the day. I have some errands to run and need to register . . . a requirement you need to get done within the first three days of being here.

Will write more later . . . oh! About losing Tuesday . . . of course because of flying all night over the Pacific, by the time I reached Seoul, it was pre-down on Wednesday, December 29th . . . even though of course it was only Monday the 27th when I left Atlanta. That pesky International Date Line! Brought back memories, though . . . the last time I crossed it going west was in 1985 when I went to an exercise in Korea with my friends, the F-15 fighter pilots with whom I worked in Alaska.


The layover in Las Vegas brought back a lot of memories of those pilots, too, since we deployed there twice for two Red Flag exercises. Also my son was married there in 1995 . . . and sometimes I end up going through there on Greyhound when I go from visiting my friends on the Western Slope of the Rockies to my son's in southern California. Anyway . . . I watched the sunset causing the Sunrise Ridge of mountains east of Vegas on Monday night - and last night saw the sunset over the hills of Vladivostok. Amazing how quickly you can get around, eh? Both sunsets were lovely as they all seem to be . . . and it's wonderful how much peace you can find watching them, don't you think?


Will write more later. Take care and have a safe and joy-filled New year's celebration!!


Blessings and Love -- Kathy


Kathleen Ware Harris  © 2012
kwharris777@gmail.com