Orthodox Easter

Today was our 2nd Easter!  This Sunday was Orthodox Easter in Russia as they follow the Julian calendar, and it does not always coincide with our celebration of Easter according to the Gregorian calendar.  Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas by a 40 day fast, somewhat similar to the Catholic period of Lent.  The Saturday before Easter they follow a strict fast until midnight and spend the day preparing for Easter by cooking, decorating eggs, and preparing their hearts to receive Easter communion.  At midnight the faithful Orthodox go to church services which last for 3 hours.  The next morning they have another Easter service in the morning.  Some traditions which we learned about besides the painting of Easter eggs is the blessing of the Easter baskets by the priests.  People bring baskets of special Easter "Pashka" bread and painted eggs to be blessed by holy water.

Another tradition is the ringing of the Easter bells which takes place after the Easter services on top of the "crom"or church.  We climbed the 200+ steps to the top of the church and participated in the ringing of the bells.  Here is a funny set of pictures of Cool-J with a lady helping him ring one of the smaller bells.  It was VERY loud!  Too bad we didn't get a picture of the bell itself.

The Orthodox church is a beautiful place inside and out with its beautiful gold domes and beautiful painted icons inside, but I felt a sense of great emptiness inside.  The services are done in Greek and Russian, but I wondered if most Russians could not even understand what was going on.  There are no pews or chairs, and everyone is standing in mass during the services while the priest is in the back room preparing the bread and wine for communion.  Orthodox Christians, like Catholics and Lutherans, believe that during communion the bread and wine actually become miraculously the bread and body of Christ as opposed  being a remembrance of Christ's blood being shed and His body being broken on our behalf.  There are booths inside of the church service with workers selling icons and other religious books and people standing in line to buy icons and candles to light in honor of various saints.   From my perspective, it brings to mind the story of Jesus overturning the tables as he entered the temple and found moneychangers and people selling animals.  

After Easter services we were invited to our friends' home for wonderful Russian hospitality and a beautiful table of food, drink, and Easter cakes and eggs.    We all had a great time reconnecting with friends, and enjoying Russian culture and a special day.

Spring Day in Khabarovsk

The Amur River still frozen over

One of the Orthodox churches in the city

We made it!

For those of you who have never taken an international flight and especially have never taken one with children, it can be pretty brutal.  Our adventure began at 4 AM on Tuesday when my wonderful parents came to pick us up, we picked up the kids out of their beds, and drove to the Mobile airport.  We checked in just in time for our flight to depart to Atlanta and then got on another plane to JFK.  At JFK we had to claim all our 9 suitcases, walk about a mile with our bags to the "air train" and then recheck them to Khabarovsk.  If JFK airport has a Facebook account, I would "dislike" them.  We heard the final boarding call when we all ran to the gate which of course was at the very end of the concourse.  Fortunately, we were headed to Moscow so that meant that all the Russians were also boarding at the final boarding call.     When we arrived in Moscow 8 hours later, we were pleasantly surprised as we were in a different airport than usual (they have 3), and going through customs felt like a Western European country compared to entering Russia in Khabarovsk.  We were able to go to a hotel and take a 4 hour "nap".  After our rest, we picked up sleeping kids and rode back to the airport for our second 8 hour flight to Khabarovsk.  We arrived local time around 7 AM.  The kids were really excited to my pleasant surprise when we landed.  They were doing a little jig in the airport parking lot saying "Yea - we are in our Russian home!"  We have survived our first 2 days almost and already bought Peanut a bike, rode bikes by the river, been to the Central Market, been invited by friends to go to Orthodox Easter services and lunch, and eaten lunch at one of Scott's Maltese friend's Italian pizzeria.  We were even able to sleep a full night last night including the kids.  I am sure this has to do with people's prayers for our trip and adjustment for which we are thankful!  Coming back was a whole lot different than the first time we came over last May.  Not only are the kids a year older and traveled better, but we were able to come "home" to a familiar apartment, place, and stuff.    

Finding the "Good" in Good Friday

It is Good Friday, and as I look around my house, the past 24 hours and my own heart, I have to look a little deeper to see the good.  My mother-in-law's car broke down with us in it while on the way to Maundy Thursday services at church.  The good is that we were in a parking lot when it happened instead of on the road.  My kitchen island was found infested with roaches.  My 3 year old asked me today, "Why did God make roaches?"  I replied, "For His own glory."  (But I'm not sure how much I really believed it.)  Tonight I know.  The messy reveals the beautiful.  The cross reveals the Savior.   Not only is this Easter weekend, but it is also the last weekend we are in town before we fly around the world for another family adventure in Russia.  We leave in less than 5 days. 

Our mess trying to pack! 

So, as I look around the state of our house and hearts, it would be easy to despair.  BUT for God.  Life is messy and our life is no different.  My husband has been sick with bronchitis for at least 5 weeks, and today spent 2 hours in a doctor's office waiting to see the doctor for the 2nd time to get a prescription.  He goes to sleep every night coughing.  Of course he was hoping to be well before we returned to Russia.  We had to clean out our entire kitchen after fumigating the intruders.  We need to buy a new transmission or another car.  There is a lot of packing to do!  And then there is the ugliness in my heart and that of my children's hearts and in our relationships with each other which can rear its' head especially in times of pressure.   Yet in the ugliness there lies the cross and the redemption of all things.  Did you know that roaches can reduce pests to cotton crops?  And that they are used in medical research?  Maybe there is a purpose for them!  Sickness hurts but shows us our frailty before an all-powerful God.  Car troubles are inconvenient but show us that our "plans" are subservient to God's.  Relationships can be painful but through them we are sanctified.  Jesus' death was not the end.  He rose, is ALIVE; our trials are temporary.  So we rejoice in our troubles, no matter how small or big.  He is GOOD!

Our "empty tomb" project and its' dead grass - symbolic?