Lost Baggage and Safe Arrival – Update #1

From my sister’s e-mail message received at 2:45 pm (sent at 9:45 pm in Belarus) with slight revisions:

Hello from Belarus!

Rich, Joe & I arrived safely in Belarus around 6 pm Belarusian time (7 hours ahead of EST).  It was a long trip-much longer it seemed than I anticipated, but we made it through safely.  All our luggage also got here except for my one suitcase which is mostly full of toys for the orphans.  They say it will be sent by tomorrow sometime from Frankfurt - we'll see.  Several other people on the trip also lost their luggage with the toys, etc. in it so we all need prayers that these bags appear soon.

The countryside here is covered in snow.  We landed in Minsk in snow - lots of it!  Then as we rode in a bus from Minsk to Mogilev (where I stay tonight), we saw snow covering fields, lakes and literally every branch and pine needle of every tree I saw.  They seem to have mainly skinny pine trees (think like the ones you see in North Carolina with just branches at the tip top), some regular pine trees, and lots of birch trees.  The forests are pretty with all the snow.  Snow doesn't stop people in Belarus - there were lots of cars and people walking on foot in the snow and the roads aren't really cleared at all in Mogilev.

Dinner tonight consisted of ethnic Belarusian dishes.  We had a chicken recipe - looked fried, but they said it wasn't, a carrot & cabbage salad, bread and bottled water.  For dessert there were all kinds of sweets, but the one I absolutely loved was a sweet bread.  It looked like sticky buns except with powdered sugar on top, and it was such a wonderful bread!!

Everyone I meet starts speaking to me in Russian and then finds out I can't understand.  Hopefully they catch on, or I do!!  :)

It's been a long trip, and I desperately need some sleep since I barely slept at all on the planes & bus.

A couple prayer requests:

1.  That the luggage would arrive safely with all the toys.

2.  For Yura - the leader of the mission here in Belarus.  He tore his Achilles tendon yesterday and need surgery.  Will be difficult for him since he's responsible for the 23 people here on the trip.

3.  For me - for sleep, strength and a renewed since of purpose here.

Take care & thank you for all of your prayers.

Elaine