Yep - Siberia

We've just returned from our first trip ever to Siberia -- and it was great. Okay, the summer is probably preferred over the winter in that land, but the weather wasn't the drawing factor in our visit. Instead, we got to enjoy a team of SEND missionaries for 5 days exploring their territory and learning about their work.

Our trip began on June 30th and we were supposed to land in Ulan Ude (Siberia -- look just east of Lake Baikal on the map) on July 1st. Missing a flight in Moscow delayed us by a day but enabled us to see Red Square and a few other Moscovite sites that weren't in the original plan. (See my Facebook page for more pictures)

So we arrived in Ulan Ude (say OO-lahn oo-DAY) on July 2 and jumped into a team meeting followed by a picnic that day. We stayed with 2 different sets of friends and got to visit (okay, share a meal) with everyone on the team. We also toured the local Buddist Datsan (i.e. temple) and the Buryat (say BURR-ee-yat) outdoor museum and learn about the culture of the Buryat peoples. We saw other sites in town, tried out a coffee shop, checked out the shopping and transportation, and experienced new foods.

We are excited about living in Ulan Ude for the calendar year of 2010. Our Russian should improve more easily since there isn't the dual languages like Ukraine, and we will have the pleasure of getting to know more of God's people who have chosen to obey by living there.

We'd love to have you come and visit! :)