Greetings from Puschino Pathfinders!

This weekend, I went with my flatmate to the town of Puschino, which is about 120 km south of Moscow. His family lives in Puschino, and he visits once in a while. Desperately needing a break from the 10-million-Rat Race that is Moscow, we set out for the town of 26,000 people very early Saturday morning. We woke up about 7:00 AM, and made our way to the Yuzhnaya bus stop to catch a bus to Puschino at 8:30. We arrived in time to walk to the church, which was located in a modest classroom in the spartan building of the Institute of protein Research. Puschino was established as one of Russia's premier centers of Biological research, and this industry employs most of the town, including Vitaly's father.

At church, I was asked to go up front and tell them about where I was from, and what I do in Moscow. I made many friends that day, especially with the Pathfinders we spent the afternoon with. Vitaly and I were invited to a Pathfinder leaders flat for dinner, and over the delicious dinner, we enjoyed conversing and talking about everything and anything. There were six children of about 11 to 15 years old, and I was a celebrity to all of them. These kids (one of them knew English, another sort of did) were so excited to have an American visiting. They all were overjoyed to learn that I was a fellow Pathfinder as well. They asked for my autograph! They didn't just ask, they mobbed for my autograph! They handed me little slips of paper, then their Bibles, and wanted my autograph, a note and my email address. It was such flattering experience, to the point of being embarrassing. I have never been asked for my autograph before. I had never been mobbed for it, either!

So after lunch we played a variety of indoor and outdoor games. I never thought of making paper-rock-scissors into a game of tag. There were a few others, which the children had much better skill at than I did. We also sung, and I taught them the English for the song "When I Remember That He Died For Me" (They had just sung the Russian). We also sang the Pathfinder song. Isn't it incredible how music is a language which transcends all others, a language that all hearts were born fluently knowing and treasuring? Our evening "tea" was at a nearby apartment where we talked over cookies, bagels, and of course tea. The owners here fish-a-holics, with a kitchen consumed by four large aquariums, and a variety of beautiful tropical fish. They also had a handsome Siamese cat. I enjoyed the hospitality of this town very much.

Sunday, I slept in late, getting 9 hours of sleep. Sunday was a very relaxing day for us, as we ate a nice breakfast, then went on a long walk around the small city. Across the city, we stopped at a market, and bought some stuff for lunch. I also bought a pair of dress shoes, for only 400 rubles ($16, much cheaper than in Moscow). After he got a haircut, we walked to the large, ice-choked Oka river. The river, which was behind a beautiful Orthodox church, was clogged up with many ice flows, which were an astonishing sight to watch drift by. They drifted quickly down the flood-swollen river, occasionally colliding, or hitting a thicket of trees. Their collisions made low grinding noises, much like crunching, as the ice was literally chewing itself apart against the obstacles. An old man was perched on the river bank nearby as he painted the amazing scene on a canvas sheltered under an umbrella in case of rain. He, and I were capturing scenes from the hand of God, who was chewing up the thick ice on this flooded, icy river. It was so nice to see something natural again, to hear only sounds of the world, and taste only the crisp, cold country air. I needed this break from Moscow, and I appreciated having it. It sure is a beautiful world we live in.