What Happens in the Banya, Stays in the Banya

Privjet!

I have a lot to share with you since the last time I updated. We are wrapping up week two of being on campus and God has blessed us with the opportunity to meet a ton of Russian students. My mini team alone has been able to have over 30 conversations, many of which have transitioned into spiritual conversations. At our picnic in the park event last Saturday, we had over 25 students show up. That was a wonderful sight to behold.

Our two campuses that we are responsible for are the Moscow Pedagogical University and the Moscow Sports University (Jock school). Many of you probably don't watch very much hockey, but for those who do, Alexander Ovechkin actually went to the Sports University for a year or two before beginning his professional career. Just a little fun fact for ya, the number of Mosha's I have met is now up to five and is in the lead for most people I have met with the same name. Pray for continued strength and endurance as we spend these last two weeks here in Moscow as well as for deeper spiritual conversations and, Lord willing, gospel conversations.

Next week, we will have the opportunity to hold two events called "English clubs." Basically, they are organized events that allow Russian students to be able to practice their English. It will also allow us to teach them some slang like "y'all" and "cus" as well as exchange some cultural things. It should be an exciting time. One of the things I have found out here is that Russians believe that we have several stereotypes just like we think Russians have stereotypes about Texans. They think that we say that Russians ride bears around, holding ak-47's and drink vodka. As it turns out, this isn't true. Who would've known.

Things I have learned/experienced this week:

1) I found the holy grail of food - Imagine a shish-kabob, type of meat* irrelevant, wrapped in a tortilla (not too sure what they call it here, but it isn't "tortilla"), combined with many foreign sauces you have never heard of, but your taste buds could speak volumes about them. This is what I found today. Part shashleek, part sharma (sp?); I call it the shashleemak. Better yet, we found the place that sells them while we were lost in an area of Moscow, looking for a park to meet with a student. Coincidence? I think not..more like divine intervention.

*I have heard that I wasn't supposed to buy "street shashleek" because they meat isn't known to be very high quality and owners may or may not kill cats and use their meat...regardless, it was tasty, even if it was cat.

2) I am one of the few members on our team that can take "metro naps" - I am pleased with this discovery. There's just something about the gentle rocking of a train moving high speeds underground and the aroma of this B.O. that just lulls me to sleep.

3) There is a Thai Thai in Moscow - That's right, the one Thai food restaurant I found in Moscow just so happens to have the same name as the Thai restaurant I work at in Lubbock, TX. Although this one was a bit more upscale (code for expensive), the food tasted equally delicious.

4) I always get huge ice cream cones from McDonald's compared to everyone else's. I don't know why..maybe it's because I wink sometimes..or say "pazhalsta" in my Texas accent. Whatever the reason may be, I'm not complaining.

5) At a Mcdonald's near the Sports University, I ordered a large coke and I got, I kid you not, at least 30 pieces of ice. 30! Those of you who have been to Europe know just how precious this moment was.

Well, that's all I have for now. Peace out.

Don You Go Runnin' Roun' to Re Ro

The following is a log of my trip thus far. Enjoy!:

5/24/2011 5:45 p.m.  Central Time: We have left Dallas via British Airlines, destination London, England. I drew the lucky straw of sitting next to two French people, both of whom were rather rude (typical). Here's to a wonderful 8 and a half hour plane ride.

5/25/2011 8:30 a.m. London time - Yeah...jet lag is already setting in. I'm left here wondering where 6 hours of my life went. Fitting that we have become sleep deprived zombies in a country where zombies are a staple in the environment (28 Days Later reference). We have a 4 hour layover until our next flight to Moscow!

5/25/2011 12:45 p.m. London time- We have boarded our last plane to the Motherland. 4 hours away.

5/25/2011 7:45 p.m. Moscow time - There I go again, losing another 3 hours of my life. The good news is we've made it! We got to experience European driving at its finest ( and by that I mean terrifying) courtesy of our van driver. However, he got us to the hostel in one piece so I shan't complain. I'm looking forward to the next five weeks of being crammed into a small living space with 6 other guys. Oh wait..sounds a lot like Testosterhome. Good thing I've trained for this.

5/26/2011 5:00 a.m. Moscow time - There's nothing more glorious than waking up at 5 a.m. to a beautiful sunny day and the sound of horns honking, car alarms going off, and workers loudly loading crates filled with who knows what. Good morning Moscow!

5/26/2011 10:30 p.m. Moscow time - Here I am wrapping up my first full day in Moscow. Needless to say, it's been awesome! We've received thorough training in the use of the Metro (Moscow subway system), had our first Russian McDonald's experience, walked more miles (or should I say kilometers) than anyone would care to walk, and participated in The Amazing Race: Moscow Edition. What awesome things did you do today?

The Team

This blog post has been dedicated to the students that compose the team I will be serving with in Moscow. The following will be mentioned in detail: Rachel Belth, Abby Coppedge, Brian Gifford, Steven Hudec, Mark Osborn, Kaleb Parks, Laura Peden, Stephen Pittman, David Powell, Laura Sanderson, McCall Sanderson, and Lauren Young. From Henceforth, we shall be called the Baker's dozen (because there are 13 of us for those that may not be savvy enough to understand).

1. Rachel Belth aka Ms. Ohio - Words cannot describe how awesome Rachel is. From the 3 second introduction via skype, I knew she was going to be one of the most awesome peeps on project. I mean, all the people I have met from Ohio have been cool (the only one being my Father). What she brings to the table: a knowledge of the Ohio River Valley, grand skyping abilities, more to come.. Lookin forward to meetin ya in person Rachel!

2. Abby Coppedge aka Apple Sauce aka Abble Cobbler - Here we go..Abby, one of 5 billion siblings. Of all of our team, Abby is the only one that has made it to the motherland and back and now wants to make the journey once again... God bless her.

3. Brian Gifford aka the cool kid from Harvard - <--- Brian has literally grabbed the bull by the horns. This guy is the only one on our team that has been taking Russian in school. Therefore, he is quite the hot commodity. Looking forward to meeting ya fo realz B-Giff!

4. Steven Hudec aka Conan O'Brian aka Obi-Wan Kenobi aka the Idahoan - True, he is from Idaho, but don't hold that against him. It could be worse, he could be from Oklahoma...I kid I kid. As can be seen, Steven is easily frightened..let's hope that doesn't come back to HAUNT him in Moscow..get it? ha just a little humor for you there. Also, we are beard rivals. Bring it on Hu-daddy.

5. Mark Osborn aka Marky Mark aka World Traveler - Mark has literally been everywhere, man. I've seen his passport. There's more ink on that thing than on Lebron James' body. His knowledge of many foreign cultures coupled with the knowledge gained from his brother going to Moscow last year makes Marky Mark a vital component for our team.

6. Kaleb Parks aka K-mart - As the saying goes, "There's smart, and then there's K-mart smart." Kaleb's outgoing personality will be able to pierce even the most hardened Russian. He also claims to be a good tennis player. That is to be determined :)

 

7. Laura Peden aka Pita Bread? - I've gotta stop blogging when I'm hungry..there will probably be a better nickname down the road, but for now I'm sticking with that. Laura's ability to be super nice will be a great asset to our team this summer.

8. Stephen Pittman aka Pittman - Baller is spelled P-I-T-T-M-A-N. This guy is awesome. That's what he brings to the table, awesomeness. We're gonna rock some Russians' worlds this summer (in a good way).

9. David Lee Powell aka DLP aka The Navigator - If it weren't for DLP and my Iphone, we might not have made it to Norman for our Summer Project retreat. Thankfully, they saved the day. Let's hope his navigation skills will hold up on the streets of Moscow. Better study up on your Russian DLP.

10. Laura Sanderson aka Sandy Pitts aka Pitters - The master of pointing out random things. This could come in real handy whilst in Moscow. Her impeccable taste in music will also be of use for those 14 hour plane rides and hour long metro journeys. Bring your A game to Moscow Pitts. We're counting on you.

11. McCall Sanderson aka Pepper aka Not a Star Wars Fan - McCall, I promise you that by the end of our project, I will make you a fan of Star Wars. Even if that means I have to act out all six of them in sequential order (don't think I won't). Aside from that, McCall has an uncanny ability to small talk with anyone. This will be an incredible tool for talking to the Russians.

12. Lauren Young aka The Law Abiding Citizen aka Home school Queen - Ah yes, don't let the fact that she was homeschooled fool you. That just means that her brain was way too big for normal school. Lauren Young does not get tricked easily except for when I convinced her that I only had 9 and 1/2 toes or when Misty convinced her that her crackhead parents named her Mistiqua. Other than that, nothing gets by her. Super amped to serve with you Lauren!

13. And then there's me aka B-Da - I'm the 4th bearded wonder of the world. I have the ability to create awkward conversations in several languages (English, Spanish, Russian, Thai). That's what I bring to the table. Get ready Moscow, here we come. 







And let's not forget our fearless leaders! Zach and Jamie Stevens!

Well there ya have it. The 2011 Moscow Summer Project Team. Now you can put faces to the people you will be continually praying for this summer. Until we meet again. God Bless!

Oh No! Brent started another blog..

That's right folks. This blog will be giving you a day by day update of my epic journey to Moscow, Russia. I will be imputing my wit into this blog as much as I impute my wit into my other blog. I guess you could call me a double imputee.. For the millions that follow my every word, yet do not know about my trip, I will give you a brief summary of my trip in the form of the 5 W's:

1.  Who is going? Myself of course, as well as a team of 12 other college students.
2. What is this trip? It's called a Summer Project. Think of it as a mission trip on steroids. It is through Campus Crusade for Christ.
3. When will you be going? May 22-June 23. Holla
4. Where will you be going? I thought I already addressed this already...Moscow, Russia!!!
5. Why will you be going? Ah yes, here's the fun part. There are over 11 million people that live in Moscow. Of that 11 million, 1.5 million are college students (talk about a serious college town)! Here's the bummer, less than 1% of this population are believers. I (as well as our team, as well as Jesus) aim to change that. 

So there you have it. A brief understanding on what I'm going to be doing for 5 weeks this summer. I don't want' to completely satisfy your curiosity with this one blog post, so be sure to check back regularly in the summer! Goodbye for now.