The Amazing Race...Ekat Pitstop

OK -- you can now tell 2 of our favorite shows....The Amazing Race and Survivor. I'm sure if Bob and Jillian were here in Ekat, I'd also have a Biggest Loser blog entry! Unfortunately, our one channel in English doesn't show any of these shows and I'm unable to view them on the internet. Thank goodness for fellow reality show buffs who are keeping me up to date (thanks mom and Andrea!!).

Being that it's Sunday, we figured we'd venture out to find St. Ann's ~ the only Catholic Church in Ekaterinburg. Our young, non-believing driver yesterday gave us some hand-sketched directions so we could walk there. Let's just say -- he should stick to driving only. JD and I started walking the streets where the street signs are in cyrillic (Russian lettering) and our hand-made map was written in English lettering. The street we were directed to go down was closed due to bridge construction so we ended up taking yards, alleys, side streets, etc. hoping that we were heading to our final destination - St. Ann's.

JD trying to understand our "clue" -- the map drawn by our driver, Andre.

I thank JD for his patience with me ~ I don't think I'd do well on the Amazing Race. I knew I was going in the right direction so I didn't listen to him. We ended up taking the longer route and ended up passing the Court House where we will be on Wednesday!

Took a detour and ended up at the Court House ~ where our illustrious Judge S resides...

An hour later, without flags indicating we were on the right path, nor Phil standing there with a Russian priest to greet us, we finally ended up at St. Ann's...low-key and plain. Very unlike the Russian Orthodox Churches found throughout the city. We went inside and were greeted by some young folks who sheepishly grinned when I asked if they spoke English. Using sign language, they directed us to an area where we were to take our coats off and to proceed upstairs where the church was. One young man hunted down a girl who spoke beautiful English and she was so welcoming. It was 1:15pm and mass was going to start at 2pm. We could only stay 15 minutes but told her we would like to return next week.

Yeah ~ we made it to St. Ann's Catholic Church! Very non-descript except for the Cross.

After saying a few prayers, we listened as a group of "kids" (probably all in their 20's) rehearsed before mass. The music was very upbeat and although we couldn't understand it, it was very enjoyable. When leaving, we saw the same girl who spoke English and she informed us that the church is shared: Pentacostal services in the am and one Catholic mass at 2pm Sundays.

It only took 35 minutes to walk back to the apartment giving us 30 minutes to get ready for another visit with K. By far, this was the most beautiful day in Ekat - weatherwise. Brisk and cool but the sun was out and no sign of snow on the horizon! That's a first on this trip!