The pirate ship.

Elijah during his hole in one shot.

And then here is grumpy Wade.  Please feel free to comment on his expression and attitude.  He was mad that he was winning and I didn’t seem to care. (I did care, I just didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.)  What is marriage coming to these days?

All my boys monkeying around on the battleship. It’s a wonder the thing is still a float after my crew was done climbing over every square inch.

Elijah at one of the anti-aircraft guns.

There was also an impressive collection of warplanes, including this Stealth Peacekeeper. Very cool!

Wade at the guns of the USS Drumm. This WWII era submarine was deployed in the Pacific. One of the interesting things we learned on this trip was that submarines made up about 2% of the US Navy’s fleet in WWII, but they were responsible for sinking 65% of enemy ships.

Inside the submarine.

Wade helps Elijah look through the periscope of the USS Drumm.

The view from our condo at the Surf and Racquet Club.

One of the hard lessons I learned from this trip is that orphans in Russia are considered inferior by the culture and have a very small chance of becoming successful after leaving the orphanage. They suffer from “institutional syndrome” and may physically be 16 years old, but are in fact emotionally much younger. As a result, when they leave the orphanage at 17 or 18, they are not ready to face the challenges of living on their own and many fall into drugs, alcoholism, prostitution, and some commit suicide. The Russian mentors working with WWYC want to help the orphans avoid these pitfalls. So they start mentoring the orphans while they are still in the orphanage and build lasting friendships with them. They spend their own time and money taking the orphans to lunch, buying them clothes, and most importantly spending time in conversation with them. The mentors walk along side the orphans helping them make difficult decisions and preparing for life outside the orphanage. One of the goals of WWYC is to create a facility that will serve as a half-way house for the orphans. This sanctuary is several years away, but the need is immediate. It would serve as a respite for the orphans and a safe place for them to go, meet with their mentor, find compassion, have bible studies, gain life skills and rest.

The retreat that I helped lead with my brother Houston Heflin and Rob Browne was very similar to spiritual retreats here. We were led in textual studies by Houston out of Matthew 14 (Jesus walks on the water), and I took the group through team-building activities and helped apply the teaching with games and initiatives. We prayed together, played together, had good food, stayed up late talking, cried together, and made new friends as a result. Our goal for the retreat was to mentor the mentors, build them up through the Word and through our actions. We hoped to not only give them more tools to draw from as they minister to the orphans in Novosibirsk, but also to deepen their faith in Christ. We had very serious times together and very silly times too. But throughout the experience the Lord was present in powerful ways. Most of the mentors are Christians, but several of them have not yet given their lives fully to Him. Please continue to pray not only for the orphans but for these wonderful people who stand beside them and mentor them.

Houston teaching.

Buddy Ropers – a team building game also known as Group Knot

Group Lap Sit – this can be accomplished with a very large group too.

“Super” Olga and Olga “99″ navigating the mine field. They were being verbally guided through by a partner on the other side of the room.

Natalia preparing for the Trust Fall. This may seem familiar to us, but it was very threatening to some of the mentors.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers while I was gone. Wade and the boys did fine while I was away and I even came home to a semi-clean house and more food in the fridge than when I left. Some of you have asked about the cold…yes it was VERY cold (minus 10 degrees F). Siberia in February-what was I thinking? It was so cold my teeth hurt when I was outside. But I must say, the cold is not what I will remember most about this trip. I will remember the warmth of my new friends in Russia, late night tea, Super Olga’s tears, Pushcoff’s jokes, Houston trying to stay awake through jet lag, Rob sneaking upstairs to put little gifts on the mentor’s beds, walking arm-in-arm with Anna through the woods, eating new foods, Natalia shouting “make it 12″, the rubber chicken flying through the room, being so tired we were giddy, the joy of meeting new friends, but most of all the pain of saying goodbye.

We traveled by car into Moscow, which took about an hour and half. Cars are becoming more and more accessible to the average Russian person, but the highway infrastructure was not built to hold the increasing volume of traffic. Thus, travel by car is arduous and very slow. Houston and I sat in the back seat (trying to hold down our breakfast) while the driver whipped in and out of lanes and our knowledgeable guide gave us brief lectures about the Orthodox church, Russian history, the Great Patriotic War (WWII), Russian culture and art, politics, Russian language, and international relations. Needless to say it was an information rich car ride.

As we neared the center of town we began to have glimpses of gold domed churches and the red brick wall around the Kremlin. Our driver, pulled over and we hopped out to walk the rest of the distance to Red Square. Snow began to lightly fall on the cobble stoned streets creating an ethereal, almost dreamlike quality to the day. We entered Red Square and I was met with the unbelievable view of St. Basil’s Cathedral. I have never seen a picture of it that has done it justice. Nor can words tell you how indescribably vivid the colors are and how distinctive and intricate the architecture is. The Russian’s consider it their 8^th wonder of the world. I understand why.

We walked the length of Red Square, where many decades ago tanks and troops also traveled on their way to meet Hitler. We paused at Lenin’s tomb, then took one more lingering look at St. Basil’s and ran inside a nearby shopping center for hot tea and to thaw out.

After our break, we viewed the changing of the guard at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Kremlin wall.

We then entered the Kremlin where we saw the largest canon that was never fired, and the largest bell that has never rung.

Vladimir Putin’s presidential residency is also inside the Kremlin and it is flanked by canons.

There are many churches inside the Kremlin walls and we visited the Church of the Assumption, where every tsar of Russia was crowned. Russian orthodox services are conducted while the congregation stands so the sanctuary is open and contains no pews or anywhere to sit. The walls are frescoed with stories from the bible and the Russian Orthodox church history.

Next we visited the Armory, which is a treasure trove of Russian artifacts. There are gold carriages from the tsars, thrones, crown jewels, ancient weapons, costumes from Catherine the Great, beautiful religious artifacts, gold and silver gifts that were presented to the tsars from foreign diplomats and of course Faberge eggs. Visiting the Armory was the highlight of the day.

Tonight we will meet the Russian mentors from World Wide Youth Camps and begin our retreat /seminar. Thank you all for your prayers and support while I am away.

My brother, Houston Heflin, who is a minister in the Dallas area, will be leading the retreat next week. I’m very excited about this opportunity for several reasons. (1) I will experience another culture and walk along side Russian Christians on their journey to follow Jesus , (2) I will be able to build relationships with Russians who will be striving to live out their faith by caring for and loving orphans (3) I will spend a week with my brother while teaching about Jesus, (4) I get to see Red Square, the Kremlin, the Russian armory, St. Basil’s, and Siberia in the winter time.

The Lord has blessed me so abundantly and richly to be able to live this kind of adventure for Him. Please pray for my safety while I travel, for my preparation and presentation of the gospel, for Wade and the boys while I’m gone, and that those we work with on this retreat will be inspired to lead others to Christ. Thank you so much for your prayers and support of my ministry. Peace.

The Kremlin

Red Square

St. Basil’s

The next day Wade and I arrived at the marina around 6:30am to take an hour boat ride out to Molokini Crater. It is a half moon shaped volcanic island that is a marine sanctuary under water and a bird sanctuary on the island. The visibility was an astounding 100 feet. Wade could see me diving on the bottom while he snorkeled. We were able to see tons of reef fish as well as moray and garden eels. I kept hoping to see a white tip shark, but nothing. I suppose if I had seen one, I would have had to end my dive early since I would have drained my tank of air in one gasp.

Hang loose.

Spiny Puffer

Moray Eel.

Chasing my dinner, the ulua fish. Very tasty.

The next day, I took a 2 1/2 hour boat ride to the island of Lanai to dive the famous Cathedrals. They are ranked in the top 10 dive spots in the world. I was completely awed by their beauty. These formations are agent lava flows that have now been reclaimed by the sea, coral grows over every inch.

The rare Bandit Butterfly Fish.

I have no idea what the name of this fish is, it was not on any of my charts. Does anyone know? She almost looks like a harlequin.

The Trumpet Fish, which was about two feet long.

One of the many sea turtles (honu) we saw. He was hanging out at the bottom eating his lunch. Usually we would see them either on the surface getting air, or swimming.

The Lanai dives were the best dives I’ve ever been on. If you find yourself vacationing in Maui and have the chance to make only one dive trip, I would recommend the Lanai Cathedral dives over Molokini. As good as the crater was, nothing can compare to the beauty of the Cathedrals. Since then I have dreamed that I was still swimming through the lava tubes and seeing wonders that only few will experience. I am humbled and amazed that I had the incredible opportunity to live that kind of adventure, and to see up close the majesty of creation. God’s power and imagination have never been more clear to me than when I was 70 feet under water diving in the warm waters of Hawaii.

The weather was perfect, while we were there.  Wade called it “weather neutral,” not too hot, not too cold, not too windy, just right.  The water was beautiful, the snorkeling excellent, the food delicious, and the company outstanding.  If it hadn’t been for two little boys waiting for us back home (and two grandparents who would have hunted us down) we would have started looking for an apartment and jobs at the Shaka Pizza Shak.

The worst part of the whole trip was leaving 79 degree weather and arriving in 9 degree weather.  That just HURT, especially since I still had on my Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and flip flops.  Poor planning on my part.

Thanks again to everyone who helped me pull-off this surprise for Wade, I’m in your debt. (R.B. I guess you will take your pound of flesh in a few weeks when we head to Siberia.  Burrrrrr.  Bring it on, I’m ready.  See you soon.)

Makena Big Beach.  The largest undeveloped beach on Maui.

Almost sunset. We were on our way to Cafe O’Lei, our favorite eatery in Kihei.

The last lava flow on Maui erupted out of the side of Mt. Haleakela in 1790.  The area is a still a desolate moon scape after 200 years.

We stopped at the Maui Plantation at the base of the West Maui Mountains and I learned how to make a lei.

My new hand made lei.  More pictures to come of our underwater adventures.

Well, the cat’s out of the bag….Wade knows we’re going to Maui.  Thanks to everyone who helped me arrange this fantastic Hawaii get-away.   Mahalo!