The month of April and the first two weeks of May really flew by for me and Jaimee Joye. On top of our normal routine of language study and ministry, these last six weeks have been packed with "extra curricular" activities. In mid-April Jaimee and I had the opportunity to visit Odessa, in south-western Ukraine (about 13 train hours away), one of the great cities of Europe. Odessa is the home town of our very own Sergei Pavlov and he invited us to go with him and meet his family and friends. We had a great time as we saw the sights of Odessa, walked on California-like beaches, and experienced a new level of cultural immersion as Sergei's family and friends warmly took us into their lives for a week. (see pictures to the lower left)

To further help time pass as rapidly as possible, the beginning of May is packed with holidays starting with "May Day" (something like Labor Day) on the first of May. From there one can look forward to Victory Day, on May 9^th, celebrating the defeat of Fascism and the end of World War Two. You may recall by now that Sevastopol is the home base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (the original and almost sole purpose of this city's existence) and things would just not be complete without celebrating Fleet Day on May 13^th. (see pictures to the lower left)

Not only do these holidays and the parades, concerts, fireworks displays and demonstrations associated with them break up the routine here in Sevastopol, but each one was an opportunity to have some fun "family" outings with our kids. We had several bonfires at the beach, went to the Russian Navy ship parade in the harbor, and watched a huge fireworks display together. We are now about to cross over into the summer months and are looking forward to spending more time outdoors with the kids as well as anticipating the arrival of mission teams from the United States.