The Black Sea!!!

Hi friends!!!

I’m in quite a good mood today as it is so exciting to see new places!!! I just spent my first day ever in the Ukraine, and now we’re sailing the Black Sea on our way to our next port. It turns out that we are not going to Romania as I thought. Due to concerns for guest safety, we have changed our itinerary to include 2 ports in the Ukraine. Today was our first – Yalta. It is a fairly small port town, but boasts the Livadia Palace – one-time home to the Romanov family and location of the famous Yalta conference between F.D.R., Churchill and Stalin. I went on an excursion to this palace and saw all the conference rooms and such…it was a heady experience. It was also a bit surreal to see pictures of the Romanov family it the many rooms upstairs, like family photos of trips they took, and also drawings that the children drew with their private tutors….Neat. Also we saw a castle from afar called the Swallow’s Nest. I walked around the port after the tour was over just for a few minutes, and then I had to go back to the ship for rehearsal.

Afterwards, Ben and Ellie said they were going out again and asked if I wanted to come. I was undecided since we didn’t have a ton of time, but finally I said yes; I was very glad I did, because we found a Ukrainian wind ensemble setting up in a big open courtyard. They began to play and were really good! They played all styles of music, and it seems to be a tradition, maybe every Saturday night, because we were asked to step back and make room for “the dancers” and a several dozen old Ukrainian couples began to dance in the huge open area in front of the band!! It is awesome! I took lots of pictures and videos. Especially of one lady who was wearing a rainbow plaid outfit, complete with scarf and umbrella, who was dancing by herself for all she was worth. It was the first real cultural experience that I feel I’ve had on this trip. Much of what we see, especially on the tours, is created for the tourists. This was just pure tradition that I happened to walk by and see. (Tyler – this reminded me of something that would happen to you and me! You know what I mean!)

So now we are on our way to Odessa, Ukraine. I am going on another excursion – this time we don’t have a rehearsal, so I’m going on an extra-long excursion. I can’t wait to tell you about it, cause I think its going to be really cool.

Also, tomorrow something very exciting is happening – the first English Bible Study for crew. My Spanish church and especially its leader have had it on their hearts to make something available for those who don’t speak Spanish. So for a couple of weeks we have been working on putting something together and planning it. I just got my work schedule for tomorrow, and I am playing one jazz set earlier in the evening, so I will definitely be able to attend this meeting. Which means that I will be running it. (they had a backup in case I had to work). I am so excited that I get to help with this, and I am really praying that something good and permanent comes out of this…it would be great if we could get a core group together and start an English church. Of course nothing will happen before I leave, but still it would be so great to have that option for the believers on board – what a great way to find out who each other are. So please pray for this very important meeting, and another one that will be happening several days later. May they be only the first of many!!