On to Omsk

We packed and left our heavenly hotel for the airport about 8 pm. The only flight to Omsk is from 11:30 pm to 6 am. It is only a 3 hour flight but the time change is 3 hours. We are not exactly 13 hours ahead of home time. I have my watch on Home time and Ty keeps his on current time. As we met people today and saw church and how people live in Siberia it occurred to me that like a clock we are all different in some major ways like we have different languages, homes, customs, countries etc. which is like how the hours are different here and at home, but we are all the same in the minutes, meaning the small and basic things are the same everywhere. When it is quarter after something here it is quarter after something else everywhere. Moms everywhere love their babies, People everywhere want to survive bad weather and trials, We all eat, sleep and build relationships. We are not the same on the hours but we are the same on the minutes. There are more minutes in a day than hours.

I have been struggling to develop a love for the people of Ukraine. Of course I love many of them but as a whole I have been so disappointed in the dishonesty, corruption, and base lifestyle we have witnessed. I have been reading a good book (I need thee Every Hour) written by a family friend. It is helping me with this issue of loving a people that really bug me. I love our boys and want to feel a little sad when we leave Ukraine instead of whisking the off with disgust. I will let you know how it goes. Today thinking about what we all share has helped.

We left Omsk after eating dinner at the airport and having hot chocolate and were seated in middle seats, both of us and Tyler was in the last row that doesn't recline. We asked if a guy wanted to switch so that we could sit together but he said no. He was kind of drunk. When he realized how uncomfortable that seat was he wanted to switch but we kept our seats and tried to sleep with our arms squeezed in. We didn't sleep but managed to read a little. When we got to Omsk we took a taxi to the hotel (talk about a maniac--weaving all over the road and passing ON the yellow line like in Messina Italy) we made it alive and checked in but couldn't go to our room until 8 am. Finally we got in and slept until 10 and then went to church at a branch where Tyler served. EVERYONE LOVED TYLER. I have never seen so many people running to throw their arms around him and tell me how wonderful he was. I will post a few pictures. It was a good meeting and we stayed until the next branch came at 2:30 so he could see more people and then we went to the hotel to sleep until 5 when we had an appt with a family who had us over for tea. Fruit tea is popular here with the Mormons and so we visited the cutest family with 3 kids and one on the way and then had dinner with a lady who was baptized a year ago today and then went to another dinner at the Nicholaisens. Good thing it was fast Sunday today. It was a great day. I will post pictures and tell more about the city.

All is well

Christy