Jim buying some shaurma

I suppose it would be a bit presumptuous of me to claim Steinbeck’s famous proverb applies to me.  That would be to claim that I even had laid some plans in the first place!  I suppose a more appropriate tag for my travel experiences would be the almost trite, serendipity.  Actually, on third thought, it would best be characterized as providential.

Well, that’s how I see it as I update today’s blog entry.  I’m sitting in Jim Hutchinson’s office as I write this, refreshed from a whopping 6 hours of sleep that more than doubles the rest I’d received in the previous two days.  Who is Jim Hutchinson?  He’s a missionary living here in Moscow with his wife and three young daughters.  I originally got in touch with Jim several weeks ago via e-mail as I began to “plan” my trip here to Russia.  I wanted to find a church to attend when I would be in Moscow.  Jim offered to give me some touring advice when I got here, so I gave him a call the day before I left the states.  He must have assessed that I’d be instantly (more…)