We're going to have to talk about this when we get home

Final post of the blog. . .

Because our once-in-a-lifetime trip has come to an end, we know that we will be busting at the seams to try and share all that we've seen and experienced. The pictures, the blog posts, the memories will not do it justice! But we look forward to continuing to share these with you dear friends when we see you - sooner or forever in Paradise.

What this experience has meant for me:

It has shown me to never be anxious about the next day, to trust that Jehovah will keep his promises, provided a powerful reminder to store up treasures where neither moth nor rust consume and that real friends are always ready to love you wherever you might meet them in the world! - Andria

After lunch with friends currently serving at Russia Bethel - still smiling despite Satanic attacks

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What an experience. This was my first Special Convention as a US Delegate in another country. I didn’t know what to expect but what I got was more than I had hoped for. Learning the history of our dear friends in Estonia was heartwarming. These friends are true examples of faith and endurance. It made me think of my own faith and I asked myself if I have the kind of faith that would help me to endure losing contact with the organization for 20 years or being taken from my family or being sent to Siberia. I am forever changed after this experience and have expanded my spiritual family. I expect to step up my spiritual study routine in effort to strengthen my faith and help me to endure persecution that will come. I am glad to have been a part of Estonia’s history of having a Special Convention in the city of Tallinn. They have suffered much persecution but held strong to their faith and now they were able to experience this special gift from Jehovah. People who are not Jehovah’s Witnesses may never understand the significance of something like this. They don’t understand why they didn’t abort the mission of remaining loyal to Jehovah. But we understand, this is the best life ever. We receive rewards now and await much more in the future here on earth. Thank you to all the brothers and sisters. Your love and hospitality will never be forgotten. aitah , spasibo - Samone

Elise told me to go for my spiritual goals and enjoy my second life.  It's not too late!

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My favorite part of the trip was when we got to meet all the different friends from different places.  Meeting new people and getting to know them. - Kaitlyn

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A great reminder of the international brotherhood and how Jehovah's people are truly united.  I feel I received a glimpse of paradise.  My favorite picture is of the re-enactment of our Estonian brothers being sent to Siberia in the rail cars.  It is a good reminder for me of just how hard the brothers and sisters worked for us to give us such a real experience.  And it is also a good reminder that no matter what the situation, Jehovah will take care of his people.  And we can also stay close to and rely on our brothers and sisters. - April

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This trip reminded us that we can survive Armageddon as long as we rely on Jehovah and Jehovah also gives us the worldwide brotherhood for support and encouragement as well.  Although we didn't know them and they didn't know us, we now have good friends across the world.  It was great to engage in the cart witnessing for the first time in Estonia with our newfound friends. - Anthony

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Meeting brothers who were affected by government bans and were not deterred truly encouraged me. Brother Silliksaar is a beautiful example of integrity despite the frontal attack from Satan. Despite being banned by communist ruled Russia he was used by Jehovah to secretly copy the Watchtower even though it was extremely dangerous. With the tribulation fast approaching it was faith strengthening to know that Jehovah will take care of his people both physically and most importantly spiritually. I will never forget his example. - Stacy

For Pete's Sake (spoiler alert: this is a long one)

Pushkin Tour = Catherine's Palace

The palace was built by Peter the Great for his wife - thus named after Catherine I.  Their daughter, Elizabeth had the palace expanded and kept her mother's name on it.  Her expansion of the home is clearly evident by the gold guilded rooms that look like an illusion of mirrors as you look down the hall of doorways.  

We all had to wear special coverings on our shoes - clearly not designed for Stacy's size 13 feet.  He was forced to put the little paper bags over the front 1/2 of his shoes because that's all that could be covered.  Wish I had a picture of that!

The rooms were very small considering the large size of the palace.  And we could only find one women's bathroom - go figure.  

But there were a few rooms of very special note:

The Great Hall could seat 700 people.  The decorations were all made of carved wood painted in gold filigree.  It had 300 mirrors and 700 candles (now electric).  In it's day, it took an entire staff to watch the candles to keep them lit and ensure they didn't catch the wood carvings afire!  And this was no small task as the dinners could often last for 7 hours.  The other cool feature of this room was that the ceiling was flat but the painting on it gave the illusion of it being curved.

In the Amber Room there were no photos allowed.  Amber is an organic material and one cannot tell what color it will be as it ages. This room alone took over 33 years to complete - the work finished in 2003.  Many scientists worked on the restoration project bringing in 6 tons of amber (yielding 5 tons of waste).

At the end of the tour, there was an exhibit which showed us how the original palace looked before and after the war in which it was destroyed.  Another demonstration of mankind's relentless quest for dominance.  This truly brought to heart the words of Eccl 8:9 "man has dominated man to his harm."  Also made me appreciate all the effort it took to restore this treasure - as we look forward to the enjoyable work of restoring the entire earth to Paradise.

After the palace tour, we got to enjoy a little reflection time in the beautiful surrounding park.  One section was like one of those maze types with perfectly manicured rows of tall bushes lining the paths.  And, of course, beautiful floral arrangements!

Lunch Break

As I've mentioned in a prior post, the food venues have been spectacular!  And today's lunch certainly held up to that high standard.  We enjoyed a traditional Russian family style meal of borsch (beet soup) and Stuffed Cabbage followed by pancakes (crepes) with berries and ice cream.  And, of course, VODKA and wine.  The friends even got to take the left over vodka - cute bottles/souvenirs.

Nap time.  Why do we like to take pictures of each other while we are sleeping.  I must be having a good dream here - may have been the wine.  Or vodka.  Probably both!

Peterhof Gardens Tour

The fountains are spring fed and run using gravity.  Thus, there is no way to know when the fountains will come on.  Or when the rain will stop!  We got SOAKED on this portion of the trip.  Even with umbrellas and ponchos it was hard to really enjoy the beautiful scenery.  So Samone and I found a little cafe, had a spot of tea and shared some treats with some friends.  Even met a sweet little sister who invited me to visit her in Albuquerque to enjoy the Ballon Festival!  Road Trip!

April was the trouper in the group.  Stacy, Anthony and Kaitlyn went to the bus.  Samone and I went for tea (as mentioned above) but April stuck with the main group and went to see the fountains.  It would have been a perfect day to take a picture in the fountain (since we were wet anyway), but given the historical significance, April opted for the occasional selfie instead.

These last few pictures are of the Great Cascade - one of the biggest fountain ensembles in the world.  It includes more than 60 fountains, more than 250 statues and reliefs.  The center statue is of Samson slaying the lion and the water jet of this fountain is the highest in Peterhof (21m or almost 70 ft high)!

Everything that looks gold - is gold!  Not usually solid, but covered in pure gold nonetheless.  Imagine what we will be able to design in the future with proper use of earth's natural resources.  Thanks again April!

St. Petersburg Assembly Hall Tour - one of a kind

The Assembly Hall complex included 5 Kingdom Halls which host 21 congregations in almost as many languages.  It holds over 1600 people in the assemblly hall and boasts the largest women's restroom in all of Russia with 40 stalls.  They ran out of hangers during the recent Memorial because there were so many visitors!!!

The assembly hall project was managed by the Finland branch.  It took a year and 7 months to build - completed in 1999.  It was built on an old auto junk yard site and required that the brothers remove many layers of radioactive materials (and land mines).  Some special design features include: special wall panels to help with acoustics (no echo), no columns to block view which was possible due to very light roof material and special beams to support the wide space.

This was considered a very special place by the local friends.  Friends would bring their wedding party and guests to the site to take pictures on their special day.

We met this dear sister who was one of the over 100,000 who attended the famous Nuremberg Germany convention in 1955

Fun facts:

:-: Just the other day, a sister was working in the flower bed at the front fenceline of the assembly hall property.  A young man approached and asked for a bible study.  Now that's an interesting twist on street witnessing.  They also shared that occasionally, people will walk up to the gate, ring the bell and ask for a bible study through the intercom.  

:-: A brother had just started to study the bible when the project began.  His secular work included approvals for building contracts in the city.  He was instrumental in helping the brothers get a lot of the paperwork completed.  If the papers were spread out, it could cover the entire fence around the property.

:-: During the construction, a secular crane operator worked for a while and then refused to continue to work on the project.  A brother who had come at his own expense has recently completed some training in this area.  As a result, he received a double blessing: Got to work on this special assembly hall build and got to practice his new crane operating skill.

Can you guess which scripture this is on the contribution box?  Hey I didn't know you could read Russian!

Kaitlyn (aka Sasha) and Andria (aka Natalia) waiting for our next tour.

Are Ya'll Ready for This?

One of the special highlights of the time in Russia has been the amazing venues selected for our meals.  We were literally blown away when we arrived at the first spot.  Soon after leaving the friends at the Kingdom Hall, we arrived at this beautiful dinner location.  Again, we felt like royalty as we walked up the marble stairs and saw the dinner set for a fancy party.  Never mind the fact that we all felt grubby from being on the bus all day - we ate - we drank - and we had to leave this beautiful place way too soon.

And to think, I would have been happy with a drive thru at McDonalds. . . . and yes - that is a McDonalds we saw in St. Petersburg

The next night, we knew that we were going to be treated to a folklore dinner show.  So we were prepared for a good time, but the presentation was magnificent.  Kaitlyn helped us capture the ambience in these photos and April shared all 10 of her videos from her front row seat!  Can't wait to re-live these memories with you friends when we return.

And then on our first free night, the guys treated the girls to a cruise through the canals of St. Pete.  It has been nicknamed the Venice of the North given its 68 rivers and canals - and if it wasn't freezing cold, it would have been a bit more enjoyable for the group.  But we got some amazing pix nonetheless. Somebody pinch me.