So, this will kinda be the Russia blog I hope but I doubt it will all be here so it will probably be changed a number of times before it's final, also the final will be put into the church magazine - yaay I'm getting published. Pictures are on the left hand-side under 'Russia Pictures' - they're on Flickr and I'll be adding more in the next few weeks whilst I pick out the best ones and also as my quota allows. This eventually weighed in at 5 pages, so much editing will occur before it's ready to be printed, so this is the whole Directors Cut version.

So, getting back to Russia, it was really cool.

When we got to the church after a bumpy landing and a bumpy bus journey we were met by lots of people from the church and it was so great to see all the people I'd met two years ago and they all remembered me (and that I was Chris's son which was a shame) [just kidding mum].

We were straight away made to feel welcome and it felt great to be back amongst friends. We were then taken to our families. Mike McClean and I were to stay with a lady called Valia who's grandson (Nikita) lived with her. It was a typical Russian persons flat, small with every inch of space used not for the sake of it but just because that is how these places are built. As much as I like Mike, thankfully we didn't have to share a bed, we had separate beds in what was probably the lounge normally. We were made very welcome by our host and it felt very nice to be there.

The first day of work started and we started off with worship (a great way to start the day). Work started off and the new members of the team found our jobs and settled into the pace fairly quickly. The day passed quickly and a big thanks to Miz who was not only working very hard with everyone but who also supplied us with tea and coffee.

On Thursday evenings there is a church meeting and it was really good. The Russian worship band are fantastic and it was really great to be worshipping with people in another language and but spirit of God was really there and it was very worshipful. Then our band came up and continued in the flow of worship, after that, Barry preached.

Friday was another work day and we were fully in the flow of what we were doing (after a great worship session) and it was great to be working with all the Russians again. After the work and a much needed shower we were fed (and BOY were we fed) by our hosts and then we walked to the church building for a trip to Prevazenka (one of the drug centres). It was really interesting to be there, it was originally all trees and swamp area but now it's like a farm. They breed some of the biggest rabbits any of us had ever seen and also had a garage. There was also a banya there - a banya is like a sauna but you get whacked with tree branches as well as the heat, and then you jump in the local river. We then had a meeting with some of the recovering addicts there. Claire Pitcher did some preaching, and Claire Mizen and Mike McClean acted out the 'Full Armour of God'. To finish, Barry preached about God being a father and when it came to an alter-call, most of the people either wanted to come into a relationship with God, or to strengthen their relationship with God, it was truly great to be there and to see something like that happen.

Saturday meant no work, but instead, the opportunity to go to St. Petersburg. The first stop was at Peterhoff (Peter the Great's *** Palace). It's a beautiful place, the buildings are covered in gold and the gardens are beautiful with many fountains. I'd been there two years ago, however it's such a beautiful place to go and I'd like to go again some time. After the palace we went into St. Petersburg, again somewhere I'd been before and would love to visit again. We had lunch in a bistro and then ice-creams. It was great to have a chance to relax and talk to the other English people but also to be able to socialise with the Russians (about 5 of the youth came with us).

The Sunday meeting was really good, so with the other meetings, the Russian worship band kicked things off, and the England band continued excellently. Dan preached with Sasha (the pastor of the Russian church) translating. It was a very good meeting. After the meeting, Matt and Tina came back to our flat (Matt and Peter had previously stayed with the host who was looking after me and Mike), the sense of family between us all was so great and it was obvious that Valya considered us all family. We cooked an extravagant 3 course meal, knowing full well that we'd be eating in 2 hours time at the Shaslik (which is BBQ chicken or lamb in a spicy coating), the meal was prepared with so much love and it's typical of the Russians to cook even knowing that we will be eating shortly after. After lunch, we all walked to the fountain in the middle of the town which is a usual meeting place for Russia and we all walked to the Dom where we were going to have the Shashlik. We had a good time all eating together and joking and it just re-enforced the whole sense of friendship and closeness that develops when you are away. After the meal we went to play football with some of the Russians, okay not everyone played football some of us (like me) sat around talking and enjoying the company of each other and the Russians. The evening ended with most of us going to the church building which was open and having tea and cake, again it was so great to be totally welcomed into the youth of the church.

Monday was the same as most other work days, we did some worship and then work, there were so many jobs including digging up fence poles, making or moving existing holes, weather-proofing fence panels, putting panels up, the Russians were working on the roof and many other jobs. The evening was the youth meeting which we were asked to lead. Dan and Mike spoke about the strength and the meekness (each had one topic) of Jesus. After the meeting, we chatted and socialised with each other and it just served to re-enforce that we were part of the group.

After the work on Tuesday, we went to a hospital. The guys went into a room with 4 or 5 men in and Dan shared some of his testimony, we then gave out some wash stuff for the men. The girls went into another room and I assume did the same thing we did. The girls sang to the women in the room they went to and it was after that, we got kicked out. I don't think any of us got a proper explanation but I didn't think their singing was that bad (just kidding). So we were taken out of the hospital by a scary looking man wearing a uniform. We were then taken to another hospital and split into groups of 3s. Me, Claire Mizen, Tina, Irina and another Russian lady went into a room where 2 ladies were. Both had Osteoporosis. First, the other Russian lady spoke, followed by Irina who spoke with passion. Claire then gave part of her testimony for which Irina translated, Irina then continued to speak. When she had finished, the first lady wanted to pray for forgiveness and to re-commit her life to Jesus (she was previously a Christian but wanted to re-give her life). I was then asked by Irina to pray for healing, and the power and spirit of God came down and really lead the prayer, it was a fantastic experience. Then, the other lady wanted to give her life for the first time, and again after she prayed, I was asked to pray for healing and again, the spirit of God came. It was a fantastic experience.

After the hospital visit, we went to a cafe in the town, Alyona, the girl who was friend, guide and translator called some of the Russian youth to join us. It was a great evening, what the cafe mostly sold was pancakes, so we had pancakes and talked to each other until it was closing time, we were then walked home because none of us knew our way back.

Wednesday evening was an evening to stay in and it was much needed, after working so much and being out every evening it was nice to stay in.

Thursday was our final day of work, we all worked hard up until lunch. After lunch, some of the youth went to the museum in Kingisepp and some of us continued to work for a bit and also clean up the site. By about 3pm it we decided that there wasn't much else that could be done and me and Claire we up to the roof to see the work that had gone on up there. The Russians had worked very hard on the roof, they were adding another floor to the building and they'd got quite a bit of the outside wall completed over the 9 days that we were there. They had been working very hard on it and a couple of times when we had gone to the church for a meeting in the evening, Russians were working there on the roof which would have been gone 7pm (we would have left by 5pm, but they continued to work).

The evening meeting was very good, the worship was great and it yet again showed that you don't need to know the language to worship, but that when the Spirit of God comes, worship just happens. Claire Pitcher and Dan preached, they were both very good.

The final part of the evening was a festival in which we all took part. The Russians did some performances which included the grandson of the lady who was our host (he lived with her) who did a dance (he did dancing in competitions with a girl who was the granddaughter of a friend of our host). We also took part. Claire, Mike McClean, Steve McClean, Artum (the band's bass player) and I joined together and performed Wonderwall (by Oasis). Claire sang, Mike was on the bongos with me (my debut performance) and Steve was on the drums. It was a lot of fun and I usually dread having to do things like that.

At the end of the meeting, it was the time for us to say goodbye to a majority of the people there as we would most likely not see them again because not everyone would be able to get to the church when we left on Saturday. It was sad saying goodbye to our friends knowing that it would be at least a year until we'd see them again.

It was a fantastic 9 days for all of us, and it was so good to see friends again and to also see people that I'd forgotten but soon remembered when I saw them again. We did some hard work and had some great times together and we were made to feel very welcome and part of not only the church but also the youth group. Everyone enjoyed themselves and we all took something away with us which will stay with us forever and I believe we gave them something (not just a fence) but love and friendship and I look forward to seeing them all again and I think we all do.