We are officially halfway through our deputation experience. It is amazing how time has flown by, but it also seems to be crawling by as well. Shift #1 of Camp Iskra ended on Friday and we had to say goodbye to all our new friends. It was incredibly difficult saying bye to them because many of us formed some strong friendships. Thank goodness for facebook and email so we can all stay connected though! There were 3 days in between the two sessions of camp and so we had the privilege of visiting Moscow for the weekend. We boarded a train Friday night in Cherepovets and woke up Saturday morning in Moscow. We had 2 full days to explore the historical city and see another side of Russia. It was amazing how much different the pace of life was there. We were used to mellow camp life and then were all of a sudden shocked by the speed of the city. We got to ride the Russian metro (and learned the doors will shut in your face) and we also saw a lot of the city by walking. Can you guess what was first on our “list of things to do in Moscow”? Yes, it was visit the Starbucks. Being from Seattle and all, we HAD to taste the Starbucks there and see if it was up to par. Sure enough, our lattes and mochas measured up to our standards and it was nice to have a taste of home. We then got to go inside the Kremlin Armory and learn a lot about the history of Russia—it was an amazing exhibit. After a long day of walking, we got a good night’s rest and got to start off day 2 strongly. We strolled through Red Square in the morning. It wasn’t quite like UW’s red square, but it was similar Then we went through the Lenin Mausoleum and saw Lenin’s body. We will never know if it was wax or real. The rest of the day, we got to eat Russian blini (famous pancakes), stand in awe of St. Basil’s cathedral, and bargain for some souvenirs. And to finish the day, we went to Starbucks once again for some people watching. Its safe to say that we made the most of our trip, and we headed back to Cherepovets on another overnight train. What surprised us all is that we all missed camp while we were in Moscow. That was our first experience outside of camp the whole time we had been here. We were getting a bit of cabin fever and it was good to get away for a few days, but we really missed the atmosphere of camp and were thankful that God sent us to Camp Iskra. Now that we are 4 weeks into dep, most of us have hit a wall energy wise. Please pray that we have the energy to finish camp strong and give it our all! Thank you again for prayer and support! We love you and miss you!
Love, Team Russia