I was so excited about going to church this morning and so afraid I would not hear the six thirty alarm and oversleep everything that I kept waking up several times during the night just to find out that I had yet 5, then 3, than 2 and a half, than 2 hours more to go.
It’s actually so cool to wake up at such early time. Even though I surely managed to miss the dawn it was still incredibly beautiful. The streets were empty of cars and people and the air was so still and clear that you would think a word whispered in one end of the city could be heard in the other end. There is always so much tenderness and innocence in the early mornings—and it probably can not be otherwise after all the dark and mystery the night brings. These two are forever in contradiction with each other, though—just like everything else in this world is.
I took the longest skirt out of the wardrobe, put on a-farewell-to-heels red shoes, added just a touch of mascara to my eye-lashes and, looking exactly like an identical twin of Little Red Riding Hood, rushed across the city to the Church.

Even though the service starts at 8 30 I was told to be there by 8 o’clock to listen to the bells ring. If you have ever been my Soup Kitchen products shopping partner or my Russian student ( sorry everyone again) and you know my unique ability to come places ‘exactly at least 10 minutes late’ then you probably realize that I only heard them some 5 minutes away from the church.
Either because it was Wednesday (a working day), or because it was so early—there were only about thirty attendees (my 26 year old friend and me being the youngest in the company of those well over 65). The service lasted for two and a half hours with everyone standing straight so you can probably imagine that my ankles felt pretty much like they would fall off any second; I don’t even want to comment on those of the older ladies—it hurts even to think of it.
Conclusion—to be an Orthodox, you’ve got to have a real Faith.
Another conclusion—people who do have it will win any war, not only the Great Patriotic one. It’s from both—religious and persistence oriented points of view.

P.S. Some additional observations:

A little cute schoolboy with a huge backpack stopped by and swept me off my feet by his very 8 o’clock just-because presence.

A young Kazakh woman who works there told me that according to Islam only men can be saved and not women. Wow! I never even knew it. I am still not sure so I will have to do some checking out. She was so so sweet to me. I told her I wasn’t really going to become Orthodox but she gave me a little icon and a book about the Orthodox Church.

I talked to the priest. Such a great wise man. I told him my worries about other denominations and religions and he said that when he’d asked the same question to his teacher back in the seminary, the teacher said “do you think you love a Muslim or a Jehovah Witness more than God does?”. Even though such an answer still leaves room for thought I didn’t ask any more.

As for all the pre-Christians…Yes, they all went to hell, but then even Moses ended up being in there. When John the Baptist was beheaded and, respectfully reappeared in the same place, he started preaching the good news to all who wanted to hear. Only after Jesus was crucified and paid off for all our sins did he go to hell for those three days while his body was still in the tomb and took out EVERYONE who believed and wanted to follow him.