Monday

What day is today...? This blog seems to be the only thing that is keeping us oriented datewise. We started a little later today; breakfast at our separate hotels and then a time of devotion altogether. Several themes have recurred during our time here. One of those themes has been "light." Don spoke this morning about the light that God is to us and that we are in the world. Nancy also spoke about the blessings of God that we have and that we can be to others. We saw an example of this yesterday at KFC. There was a homeless woman outside while we were eating and Nancy noticed her and brought her chicken and fries. The woman was tearful and thankful for the extra help. "She was probably praying for someone to look out for her," Brianna suggested this morning. We finished out the morning with a spontaneous rendition of "This Little Light of Mine." Granny Alicia even remembered all of the verses and Heather and Nancy helped improvise a few to make them personal.

We then spent the rest of the morning touring St. Isaac's Cathedral. It is an extremely beautiful example of Russian religious art and architecture. We even climbed 211 stairs (yes, we counted) to get to the balcony of the dome. It was a breathtaking view of St. Pete and we were blessed to have such beautiful, sunny weather today.

We are getting ready to meet with a doctor from the Stepantsevo (sp?) hospital, so we have to close. We'll try to post more later.

Ballet tonight!!

Your expectant bloggers,

Chaela and Sharon