Russia

Mike on September 6th, 2011

Here are a few videos related to my last post. Here’s the activity as we waited in line to cross the border from Russia to Latvia: Here’s part of our drive through Latvia: Driving in Poland:

Continue reading about Videos from Our Drive to Montenegro

Mike on September 5th, 2011

Last week we made the drive from Russia to Montenegro. We traveled in two cars with our friends Sergei and Christina and their twin girls. Here is a photo record of the trip. (You can see a slideshow/video of a previous trip here). We started early in the morning from dacha in Russia. Sergei said [...]

Continue reading about From Russia to Montenegro

Mike on July 28th, 2011

As some of you know, we’re facing some hard times over here these days (in Russia, inspections and investigations; in Belarus, upheaval and difficulty; financial shortfalls everywhere). I sent an email to our team and thought I’d share it with you – ———– Recently I’ve been contemplating Hebrews chapter 12 and want to share a [...]

Continue reading about A Few Thoughts This Morning

Mike on October 27th, 2010

Today is a good day to post a letter I wrote exactly 10 years ago. This was written just before I moved to Russia. Little did I know I’d meet my wife in just a few months, and I certainly didn’t expect most of what has transpired in this wonderful decade. It’s been a very [...]

Continue reading about A Look Back — 10 years

Mike on October 23rd, 2010

Here are some fun pictures of Russia that I’ve collected over the years. You can see more fun/odd pictures from here, here, and here.

Continue reading about Pic Dump

Mike on October 17th, 2010

This is from EnglishRussia, a great website. I am touched by these pictures, which are a mixing of historic and contemporary photos. A companion post is here. Vienna. 1945/2010. Soviet soldiers at the Imperial Palace Hofburg: Moscow is getting ready for defense. 1941/2009. Gorky and Tverskaya Streets: Berlin 1945/2010. A disabled tank “Tiger” in Tiergarten [...]

Continue reading about The Echo of War

Mike on October 15th, 2010

Tavrichesky Palace and Gardens, St. Petersburg Russia. Catherine the Great and her lover/general Grigory Potemkin walked these very paths. The palace was built in the 1780s; it later was the seat the first Russian Parliament (c. 1906), and this is where the Bolsheviks took power. This park is across the street from our flat; I [...]

Continue reading about A Snapshot From Russia

Mike on October 9th, 2010

Each month, MIR hosts a prayer meeting (above) attended by people who give their lives in Christian ministry. It was great to attend after missing the past few meetings. MIR is facing some challenges just now, so your prayers are appreciated. A friend once told me that choosing a life of ministry means choosing a [...]

Continue reading about A Postcard from Russia — Home Again

Mike on September 6th, 2010

It’s hard to believe these pictures are from 100 years ago – “The photographs of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) offer a vivid portrait of a lost world–the Russian Empire on the eve of World War I and the coming revolution. His subjects ranged from the medieval churches and monasteries of old Russia, to the railroads [...]

Continue reading about Photographer to the Tsar

Mike on August 4th, 2010

While I was away in Montenegro, our Russian camp, Elama, continued to bless many children. Here is a slide show of our most recent camp there:

Continue reading about Russian Camp Pics