Kristos Vaskress

Jesus is Risen!

Fact: Today (April 12) is our Easter. Next Sunday (April 19) is Orthodox Easter.

In view of this fact, Hannah, Rachel, and I trekked down to Dnipropetrovsk to spend Easter with our supervisors. It was so much fun! Here are the highlights:

1. Easter lunch on Friday afternoon (we never have time on Sunday afternoons, so Mrs. Linda bumped it up a few days.) Menu: ham, sweet potato casserole, broccoli casserole, salad, and sweet tea. Heavenly.

2. We made a bunny cake! Mrs. Linda made two circle-shaped carrot cakes. One is used as the face and the other is cut so that there are two ears and a bowtie left. We decorated it, admired it, and ate it.

Bunny: Pre-decor

Finished product

3. We dyed Easter eggs. Oh man...that was fun. Hannah and I struck out on the eggs that we tried to write our names on. I cracked one on the way from the dye cup to the egg carton. I'm so smooth. We fell in love with the Ukrainian egg wrapper things...we later stocked up on them.

Name eggs. I know...mine's really bad.

Egg that I cracked...

Aren't these wrappers cool?

4. We watched movies! I think this is the list: Alex and Emma (we basically slept to that one...I think I was the only one that caught the ending), Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Split Infinity (Feature Films for Families!), Aladdin, and Anastasia. Let me tell you, it's fun to watch Anastasia now that I live in a Slavic country. Oh the laughter...

5. We went bowling! SOOOOO much fun! In Ukrainian bowling alleys, they give you socks to wear AND you can keep them if you really want to. I totally did. And, here's a quick anecdote: we went bowling in a mall (there's a Clark's store there, Mom). Most public bathrooms here in Ukraine require payment for use. We're used to that. The bathroom in this mall, however, had machine that you put money in and get a receipt back with a barcode. Then, you scan your receipt in order to go through the TURNSTILE to get in the bathroom! What in the world??

Such the bowler. I'd love to say that this was right before an awesome strike...probably more like, right before I knocked 3 pins down.

Bowling socks.

Us. Bowling Champions...or something like that.

This is my receipt...crazy.

6. We went souvenir shopping in Dnipr. I know...it seems a little crazy to go souvenir shopping when you LIVE here, but they have different stuff in Dnipr than they do in Poltava. It was fun!

7. We had singing worship time IN ENGLISH this morning before church. I haven't done that in over 2 months. It was glorious.

At church. The heat has been turned off, but it's still cold. The coats stayed on the whole time.

I would also like to give out a few thank yous:
Brassarts- thank you for my presents! I love them! Amiee...one of your best ideas.

I really love this year's lamby. He's precious. Thank you!

Kinards- thank you for the candy and the cards! They were such happies.

Thanks so much!

Rachel's aunt and cousin (Rita and Laura)- first of all, I feel like I know you! Secondly, thank you for our Easter bags! I'm loving it!

Reese's Eggs are my FAVORITES!

I hope that all of you had a blessed day celebrating Easter. He is risen indeed.