Traveling through Europe Part 1

Traveling with Peter

November 30 Dombai Medical Point

We tried to call an ambulance but the town did not have any. We tried contacting a doctor, but they said they were all on vacation. It was not yet ski season. None of them were working yet. After some deliberation, we decided to drive the several hours to the closest hospital. As we got in the van, one of the hotel workers told us that he had found a doctor. Praise the Lord!

This medical facility was something out of a cheap movie. It was one room with all kinds of bottles and boxes. The room was dimly lit and I was skeptical. First, my doctor Edward, cleaned the wound. He tore into my knee, trying to make sure infection would not set in. Then, he took a scalpel and trimmed away the dead and mangled skin. This created a clean cut for him to stitch together. Finally, he made four big stitches across my knee.

The picture on the left is Edward looking at the wound. The Next picture is Edward cutting off the dead and mangled pieces of skin.

This is what my knee looked like before he stitched it up. He made some huge stitches.

I just had to lie on that dang table while he wove my leg back together. I can't say that my knee looks good at this point.

Since that fateful day, I have now been to nine doctors. My knee became swollen and infected. I got my stitches taken out in Vladimir. That surgeon noted that I should have had two layers of stitches. The puss bubbles surrounding the knee got bigger. Infection raged through my knee.

This has been the evolution of my knee wound.

As you can tell, my whole leg is swollen. At that point, I was having trouble walking. This last picture was taken on January 19, 2007. As you can tell, I still have a long way to go.

After I got back to the states, I went to see a doctor and was prescribed heavy antibiotics. This helped but at some point something popped. I could not put pressure on my leg at all. For three days I could not walk. It was really weird, something popped again, and now I can walk again. I have a huge scab on the top of my knee cap. It is about two inches by two inches. It constantly oozes thick puss. I am not sure that it is healing correctly. I do still have pain. I can walk fine, but I can not run at all. Please pray that I don't have to have reconstructive surgery and that the infection and wound would heal.

November 29, 30 Dombai

The first day was great. We slept in and then as a group we hiked toward the border of Georgia. About three hours into our hike, we met a forest ranger. He said that we would “have problems” if we traveled any farther. Knowing about the war in Georgia, we opted to hike back to the hotel. That night we had a traditional meal and then we played poker till the wee hours of the morning.

Matt, Heidi, Jamie, Amelia, Jason and Ethan

The next day is a day that I will never forget. For some reason half of us were not feeling well. Jason, Ethan and Amelia took off early for base camp on Mount Mussa Achitara. Matt, Heidi, Jamie and I met up with them at a restaurant for lunch after the gondola ride (pictured on the Left). The gondola starts at 5412 feet above sea level and travels to the first base camp of 7415 feet. This base has several restaurants, café’s really and a weird hotel like thing. We all had lunch together in a place with one of the most spectacular views I have ever experienced (pictured on the right). After lunch, the two girls went off snow shoeing. Jason, Ethan and Amelia went back down the mountain, and Matt was getting really sick. He waited at the café while I went on my journey to the top of this mountain. I really wanted to go to the top of the mountain and peak this thing. I decided to go off on my own.

First of all, I did not realize how cold it was going to be at the top of this Mountain. Second of all, I should never have been by my self. Regardless, I took a chair lift up to the second area of café’s and shops. This second area was 8200 feet about sea level. From there I took another chair lift. As the chair lift got closer to the top, I realized that I was not adequately dressed. I normally do not get cold, and my legs were starting to get numb. Now I was 9857 feet above sea level. I could see the summit and I was determined to peak this Mountain. I started off at a good pace. After about ten minutes, I was tired (To the right is pictured the second haft of the assent.) I decided to count my steps. Every fifty steps, I would take a sixty second break. After several of those, I made it to the top. The view was spectacular. I took a bunch of pictures and then started to head back.

This is a spectacular panorama!

Oh Yea, I made it to the top!

As I went down, I wanted to get some more shots of the ski hill and the town of Dombai. They were constructing a new gondola and I decided to check it out. The sun was starting to go down and I knew I should go back. I was walking on a path along the top of the ridge. To my right was a large bowl. To my left was a fairly steep drop off. I was admiring the view when all of a sudden the path gave way. For the most part, the path had been made up of rock and some snow. This particular step happened to be on a clump of snow. Before I knew it, I was falling down the mountain. Now when I say falling I mean I fell up to my chest in snow. When I tried to move, more snow started pushing me further down the mountain. I stopped moving. Carefully, using the hiking poles that I had with me, I climbed on a horizontal line towards the top of the ridge. After slipping several times, I made it to the top. This whole ordeal took about fifteen minutes. I fell a total of about fifteen feet. When I got to the top, I realized that I had ripped a hole in my jeans. Now, I was wearing snowboard socks that a came up to the bottom of my knee. I was also wearing mesh shorts under my jeans. This three inch rip, was right across the top of my knee cap. This was the only part of my leg that had no protection under my jeans. Slowly, I looked through the hole only to realize that I had a huge gash in my knee. I was still about two hundred yards from ski lift. Could I make it? I started walking. My knee was stiff, but it seemed to be working all right. By the time I made it to the ski lift, my pant leg was covered in blood and it was getting dark. To my dread, the ski lift was not working. They had turned it off for the day. Two maintenance men were by the lift. I pleaded with them to radio or call down for help. They said they did not have a radio and phones don’t work up on the Mountain top. I would now have to walk down the mountain. Not only would I have to walk, I’d better hurry because the next lift was going to close.

It was hard going down those 1804 feet. The mountain was steep. Not only did I have to walk a long way, this was tough walking. The snow was several feet deep. I often sunk up to my thigh in snow. At one point, I just sat down and coasted for almost fifty yards. (The picture on the left shows how far I had to walk down. You can barely see the tip of the building to the left of the last ski lift tower.) As I came up on the next ski lift point, I watch it stop. Oh boy, was I going to walk down even further? Praise the Lord, as I came closer to the lift I noticed the operator still waiting near the lift. I had made it. They were going to turn it on one more time in order for all of the staff to go home. Mean while, people started to notice that I was bleeding all over the place. A kind woman offered to help. She poured Vodka all over the wound and we tied a plastic bag over it to help stop the bleeding. It took some effort, but I made it back to the hotel. I waited again for the gondola and I walked back to my room.
Map of the Mountain with details of where stuff happened.

How badly was I hurt? I had no idea. As I unwrapped my wound, I knew things were bad. I would have to get medical care. Was that even possible in this Russian village?

November 28 Travel to Dombai

The first night I stayed in Naltchik, and the next morning, we set off for Dombai. It took a long time to make to the village. We rented a taxi van and we drove for about 7 hours. Dombai is the most well known Russian ski resort village. I did some reading on what Russian tour guides say about Dombai. “Dombai is mountainous country in Karachaevo-Cherkessia (Russian North Caucasus) , in the Kuban river basin. Well known Mountain Elbrus (5642 m) is some 65 km to the East and Black Sea coast 60 km to the West. Now Dombai is a modern recreation and sports center, a mountain climbing, skiing and tourist Mecca of the Great Caucasus.” Modern Mecca? I was going to find out that it was something just shy of that.

Map of my journey to Dombai

I was excited. This was going to be a great trip. I was traveling with my friend Jason and his wife and son Ethan. I met Jason when I helped Athletes in Action on their Caucus Basketball tour during the summer of 2005. This trip to Dombai was the Caucus AIA yearly retreat. Brian, Heidi, and Jamie are on AIA staff in Naltchik. The seven of us were in this adventure together.

November 27 Travel to Naltchik

Getting to Naltchik was no small chore. I woke up before five in the morning. Then I went to the train station in Vladimir to catch the morning express train. Unfortunately, there were no tickets available. I was forced to take the bus. Now the bus takes longer than the train and I was not guaranteed that I would make my flight.

When I arrived in Moscow, I sprinted to the Metro. Once in the metro, I had to travel around half the city to another train. I made it to the Train Station where I would be taking the express train to the Airport. Praise the Lord, I made it with time to spare and I was off to the airport. At the airport, the gate for my departure got mixed up and I about missed my flight. I figured where I needed to go and waited at the gate. Vnukova airport is a little bit ghetto. You have to walk to a bus and then drive out to the plane. Upon arrival at the plane, I saw the stairs to the front of the plane and got on. How could I have been so mistaken. The front was for VIP passengers or as we call them in America, Business Class passengers. They made me walk down and then back around to the back of the plane. The weather was really bad. We did not have much visibility and it was raining. I was shocked that when I sat down in my seat, I kept feeling water on my face. The plane was leaking. Every other window had a slow drip of water flowing into the cabin. I asked the stewardess about it and she said that it was "condensation." Finally, I we got in the air and I was on my way to the Caucuses.

Seeing the plane, which door would you be inclined to use?

Yea, the one with the little built in stairs in the back.
That is what I thought too.

November 20 – 25 Voronezh

Through all of my travels, besides my time in Short Pump, VA with my old youth pastor, this time in Voronezh was the most spiritually refreshing. I traveled to Voronesh to visit a couple who I had met at the Conference for children at risk. Peter majored in youth ministry and started an Masters of Divinity program. At some point along the way, he met Masha. They got married and felt called to Russia.

Voronezh is on a tributary of the river Don. Many bridges connect the two sides of the city.

Peter and Masha started a ministry called OrphanGrad. Their work is gauged towards orphan graduates and village kids who were studying at the local technical schools. These kids were the toughest of the tough. No one was working with them. For several years, Peter strived to implement all of the programs and knowledge that he learned in school. Nothing seemed to work. Some kids made professions of faith, but their lives did not change.

Finally, they gave up. They were getting burned out. They needed a new plan. Honestly, I have never been apart of such a ministry. They totally changed their approach. Their daily regiment looks something like this. First of all, they sleep in. After they get up at about 10, they eat and spend two or more hours in devotion, worship and time with the Lord. Then they have some of the people in their live in program come over and they have a devotion and some more worship. After waiting on the Lord all morning to show them what to do, they then go out and do whatever it is the Lord was saying. Every night of the week, they spend with the kids from the technical schools. They follow the Lords call as far as what activities to do.

I was shocked and amazed at this format of ministry. This goes almost directly against what I was taught through my Christian Education Minor. I am used to management and SWAT analysis partnered with preparation. I was bless to see believer trusting in the Lord at such a deep level. Kids lives are being changed. Kids who used to huff glue and worship Satan are now striving to know Jesus as a personal friend.

One afternoon, Peter, one of his assistants, and I went out to find a young man who was starting to make changes in his life. Egor had missed several meetings and the Orphangrad ministry did not know where he was. The three of us set out to find him. He was rumored to be staying with his grandmother. We headed in that direction. When we arrived, Egor was home. He was waiting for his grandmother to come home from court. His brother had been arrested for missing parole. This was a great opportunity to pray with Egor and his grandmother. Egor has stuggled with addiction for many years. We encouraged him to stop using and pursue Christ.

While I was in Voronezh we celebrated thanksgiving. I have celebrated many thanksgivings in Russia. None were quite like this one. This family invited over all of the kids who have made significant decisions for Christ. All in all, we had about 12 people for this feast. Having lived in Russia for many years, I know that my family struggled to find turkeys. So much so that we hand carried them to Russia in our carry-ons. I guess they do not have this problem in Voronezh. Early on thanksgiving day, Peter and I set out to purchase a turkey. Sure enough,they were selling several dead birds at the local market.

Thanksgiving in Voronezh!

We had stuffing, mashed potatoes and many other delicacies. What I remember most from this night will be then time of thanksgiving. We went around the table and said several things we are thankful for. Now, in my family we do this every year as well. I blessed by the candid answers of the orphans.

Thanksgiving was also another monumentous moment. I took my my last shower for many many days!!

November 20 Moscow

Moscow is incredible at night

I arrived in Moscow at just after 6 AM. I did not know where to go or what to do. My train for the city of Voronezh was late that night. I had the whole day to shlep around my bag and do something. Being the lazy kid that I am, I just found a place with a couch and fell asleep. I slept for several hours and then walked around till I was ready to get on my train.

November 19 Night Train to Moscow

This is a standard Russian train engine

This train ride was not like the one to Ukraine. I was in the same car as the director of marketing for a prominent Vodka company. This man did not like flying so he took the train. Our conversation was fascinating. Now it is illegal in Russia to advertise liquor on television. This guy went into great detail on how they try and get around these laws. One example he gave was of a designer suit company. His Vodka brand wanted to do a promotional drive. They created a company that designs suits. This company then sponsored the Russian National Hockey Team. They made designer suits for all of the players and then created some commercials. Each of these commercials not only advertised for the suits, but really it was an advertisement for Vodka. This was a fascinating ride on the train to say the least. Pictured is representation of a "cupe" or a Russian sleeper train cabin.

November 18-19 Kiev, Ukraine

I had never been to the Ukraine before. I have several Ukrainian friends and I have heard much about this country located so close to Russia. I was traveling with the Vice President of Russian Ministries on a scouting trip. For the past few months I have been in open dialogue with Russian Ministries regarding my future and I was invited to see their ministry in the Ukraine.

I was very impressed. Russian Ministries has a very dynamic ministry in this former Soviet Republic. They have recently purchased an old bakery. They plan to turn it into a center where they can train and raise up the next generation of Ukrainian Christian leaders. I met most of Russian Ministries in Kiev staff. After spending several hours with these men, it was apparent how much these men really loved the Lord. I am pictured with Vitali in Maidan Nezalezhnosti. This square, meaning independence, is the center of Kiev.

I also attended a large church in Kiev. Ukrainian is just slightly different than Russian. It is different enough that I can only understand every fifth or sixth word. Listening to the service was quite a challenge. Ukrainian is easier to read. They have more Latin letters in their alphabet.

November 15-17 Aids Conference

Directly following the conference for children at risk was a conference on AIDS. Specifically, this conference was geared towards faith based organizations who address and combat the issue of AIDS in Russia. Russia currently has the largest percentage of AIDS growth in the world; more than Africa, more than Asia. AIDS is spreading like wildfire through the country.

Pavel, Sergi and I pictured at the AIDS conference

Unlike the children at risk conference, I did not really get a chance to attend any of the lectures. I volunteered to help with the logistics and operation of the conference. One of my closest friends in Russia, Sergei Sokolov was the designated driver for the conference. I had the privilege of spending many hours with him in our van being the navigator on Moscow’s torturous roads.

November 11-14 Vladimir Conference

It was wonderful to come home. I had not been in Vladimir for almost a year and a half. It was great to be back in the city where I spent a large portion of my childhood. Unfortunately, I was tied up with the conference. The cite of the conference was several miles outside of the city. I did not get a chance to look around or see friends.

The theme of this conference was how to reach out to children who are at risk. I was excited to see just under three hundred Russians and foreigners gather together to discuss a topic that is so near and dear to my heart. Generally, I thought the conference was all right. It was not what I expected. I was glad that I had the opportunity to help with logistics. Now that I know more about the background of the conference, I have a greater respect and appreciation for how the conference turned out.

November 9-10 Moscow for CoMission and Children at Risk Conference

After being dropped off from my taxi ride, I met with the organizers of the conference. It was good to finally meet the people who invited me to Russia. Almost immediately, I was put to work. There had been a mix up regarding accommodations for conference organizers. In communicating with Russia, rooms had been ordered for specific "nights." Our dear Russian friends took that as the day we needed to check out. We were stuck without an apartment (we had a lot of people and apartments are cheaper than hotels in Moscow) for the last night. After looking at many different options, we settled on a three room apartment.

Now is when things get interesting. Andrew Slate was arriving in Moscow and he was "slated" to stay with us. I could not go to the airport and I did not want him going through the mess of bargaining for a taxi. I arranged for him to be dropped off at this new apartment me had rented. Slate arrived before I could get to this new flat. He was left standing outside in snowy Russia. WELCOME buddy! Anyway, we ended up finding him, things worked out fine.

Now we have five men and three women who are supposed to stay in this three room flat. This is not a three bedroom flat, but a three room flat. We had a room with a couch and two bedrooms with two double beds. Late in the evening, another woman had problems with her apartment and she also had to stay with us. Nine people stayed in that small flat that night! Andrew Slate and I ended up sleeping on the floor, together, on a really small mattress. I believe that this was a great introduction to three years in Russia for my friend Slate.

The Conference then started the next morning. All in all, I would say that it went smoothly. The speakers were good, the ministries represented were interesting and the I liked being back in Russia. The first day was in Moscow. We met a the second baptist church of Moscow. I was in charge of making sure everyone was on a bus list and all of the luggage was stored properly. This meant that I was the first person people met at this conference. I loved it!

Slate and I greeted people all day. Then that night, I really got to work. None of the buses wanted to drive up to the church. they said they could not make the turn and the tree branches would break the skylights. Now we had to get just under 300 people to the buses. This was a logistical nightmare. The road was several hundred yards from the church. These people had bags and other items that needed to get on the bus. After devising a plan, we got all of the people on the bus. We now had another problem. We had $25,000 dollars of sound equipment to move to the buses. These large soundboard crates could not be carried by hand for such a long distance.

As I stood by the rush hour packed streets of Moscow, I new I had to do something. I bus load of people were waiting for me to make this happen. At that point I saw a "gazelle" in the middle of the street. Gazelle's are the equivalent of an American pickup truck. I ran out into traffic to see if I could hire him. He was not available. Another gazelle was several car lengths up. I weaved through traffic. Sure enough, he was empty and he agreed to move our stuff.

November 9 Arrive in Moscow

This trip to Russia was unique. First off, I did not have any plans for what I was to be doing when I returned to America. Secondly, I did not have anyone meeting me at the airport. I have been to Sheremetyevo airport what seemed like 100 times. I had never arrived with two 72 pound bags and two carry-ons without anyone meeting me.

Praise the Lord all of my luggage arrived. If I would have lost a piece, which happens more often than not, it would have been hard for me to retrieve it. I navigated my way through the hoard of people who crowd the exit of customs. Then the fun began. If you have ever been the Sheremetyevo, you know that there are a lot of men in black leather coats, trying to sell you a taxi ride. Given that I needed a ride, I started talking with them.

Do these men look creepy to you?

First off, I was told that I could not make it to the center for less than $150 dollars. Knowing that this ride will cost me between 30 and 40 dollars, I knew I had some work to do. After talking to about eight men, I became really frustrated. No one wanted to take me for less than 60 bucks. Now, I had this kind of money, but there was no way that I was going to pay it. After talking to two more guys, I started to make my way to arrivals. I thought that maybe if I caught a car that was bringing someone to the airport, I could get a cheaper ride. Sure enough, as I entered the elevator, a guy approached me with a realistic price. One thousand rubles (about 37 dollars) and I was on my way. This was much better than the $150 that I had started with.

November 8 Fly to Russia

After the craziness of the past month and a half, I was about to start another adventure. Much of what was to come had been expected, but several twisted events will shape the way I remember this trip forever.