Monday, December 24, 2007
Merry Christmas!
Greetings!
Our Christmas photo montage is attached! It’s Christmas Eve (kind of) here in Kiev. The snow has melted during the last couple of days and the weather, for winter, is quite pleasant. Since Ukraine was under communism, Christmas is really celebrated, but trees and decorations and gifts are exchanged during the New Year. Some people also take advantage of the Orthodox Christmas (Jan 7th) to head out for a drink or another holiday party. Alister and I will celebrate our Christmas on the 25th – old habits die hard and really – how can you wait another 2 weeks until opening presents!!!
Really, it is quite nice. There is no holiday rush, no frenzy. The stores are just as crowded (or empty) as they are during other weeks. Only the street venders selling fireworks and garlands and the fact that all the supermarkets have Soviet Champaign on special – betray the fact that now we have entered into a different buying season.
We are looking forward to celebrating our first Christmas together and discovering the many adventures in store for us over the next year. One project for sure will be fixing up a mud walled cottage that we are trying to buy out in the country. As it’s not ours yet – and as its winter – our only active fixing up to date has been to burn piles and piles of rotting clothes and shoes that had been providing a home for rodents over the past 25 years. Currently we are planning the best solution for an outhouse. Our neighbor, who goes to our church and moved to the village a few years ago – has promised to teach us how to make the clay and manure mixture needed to patch and strengthen the crumbing walls and I guess we’ll figure out the rest of it as we go along.
We’re thinking of you as you celebrate this season and anticipate your own plans for the next year.
Wishes of Peace and Joy
-Sarah and Alister
Our Christmas photo montage is attached! It’s Christmas Eve (kind of) here in Kiev. The snow has melted during the last couple of days and the weather, for winter, is quite pleasant. Since Ukraine was under communism, Christmas is really celebrated, but trees and decorations and gifts are exchanged during the New Year. Some people also take advantage of the Orthodox Christmas (Jan 7th) to head out for a drink or another holiday party. Alister and I will celebrate our Christmas on the 25th – old habits die hard and really – how can you wait another 2 weeks until opening presents!!!
Really, it is quite nice. There is no holiday rush, no frenzy. The stores are just as crowded (or empty) as they are during other weeks. Only the street venders selling fireworks and garlands and the fact that all the supermarkets have Soviet Champaign on special – betray the fact that now we have entered into a different buying season.
We are looking forward to celebrating our first Christmas together and discovering the many adventures in store for us over the next year. One project for sure will be fixing up a mud walled cottage that we are trying to buy out in the country. As it’s not ours yet – and as its winter – our only active fixing up to date has been to burn piles and piles of rotting clothes and shoes that had been providing a home for rodents over the past 25 years. Currently we are planning the best solution for an outhouse. Our neighbor, who goes to our church and moved to the village a few years ago – has promised to teach us how to make the clay and manure mixture needed to patch and strengthen the crumbing walls and I guess we’ll figure out the rest of it as we go along.
We’re thinking of you as you celebrate this season and anticipate your own plans for the next year.
Wishes of Peace and Joy
-Sarah and Alister
Monday, October 1, 2007
Black Glasses Update: a PS on observing
I got to observe for the elections! Despite all possible detterents, things fell into place at the last minute. I visited three polling stations, had hoped to watch the count at a fourth, but ended up unable to attend.
The story of this will follow - but right now I am off to Russian class!
The story of this will follow - but right now I am off to Russian class!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Opaque Black Glasses
I've seemingling missed my chance to be an election observer.
I had thought I had done everything right - called the right people, filled out the appropriate forms. I even read 300 pages of material in order to take (and pass) an official OSCE test for people working with the OSCE.
It turns out, that all the right people - weren't quite right. I did more that was necesary and yet managed to do none of the right things at all in order to be an observer. When I called again on Wednesday - just wanting to follow up - I was informed that the Central Election Committee was no longer accepting applications.
Well what about my application, I asked.
They hadn't heard of me. When I told them the process I had gone through she said she was sorry but that they hadn't heard of that and that the Embassy must have misunderstood and told me the wrong thing.
Sigh.
The worst part is that even my BackAlley connection turned out to be a little sketchy.
After three phone calls - always at progressively later times each night (the last calling at 11pm to set up an appointment for the next day without telling me a time or a place for the appointment) we finally managed to meet. Basically he called "the next day" I dropped everything and went to meet him then rather than meet him at 10pm at night in an unkonown region of the city - which was his first proposition.
He says that he can get me - or rather - has requested an Observer position for me. However, he will tell me more about this when i come to a festival that he and others, who he doesn't want to mention or go into details about, are sponsoring next Wednesday at 10am. This is, afterall, only the first time that we have met and is only the start of our relationship. At this next meeting he would be able to tell me more about the possibility of observing and even give me an observer pass to go and Observe wherever i want. I would be observing alone, without a group or anyone to report to. - Except I would be expected to share my experience with him and his collegues at three other Festivals to take place in April, June and October of next year on Dates which were revealed to him by God just as God revealed the plan of the New Jeruselm Temple to Moses and told him to build a copy of it on earth.
The most curious thing about the meeting was that he had three books in front of them, and he referred to them off an on throughout our conversation. However, with one of the books he always put on glasses while with the other books, he read without the glasses. This in itself may not seem strange, if not for the composition of the glasses themselves.
Each of the glasses lenses was made from solid, opaque black plastic. Within each lens, several, small, pinsized holes had been drilled so that 12 - 20 small holes penetrated the surface. An observer could not have seen the eyes of the reader through the holes, and to my mind, the reader would have had a very difficult time trying to read through a small splattering of holes.
The man didn't cooperate with answering any of my questions. I had already been in his office and hour and decdied that something so mysterious as the impenatrable black glasses, would be met with an equally opaque answer as those i had been given regaurding other matters. I decided to leave.
Still, I would like to know what the glasses were for.
I had thought I had done everything right - called the right people, filled out the appropriate forms. I even read 300 pages of material in order to take (and pass) an official OSCE test for people working with the OSCE.
It turns out, that all the right people - weren't quite right. I did more that was necesary and yet managed to do none of the right things at all in order to be an observer. When I called again on Wednesday - just wanting to follow up - I was informed that the Central Election Committee was no longer accepting applications.
Well what about my application, I asked.
They hadn't heard of me. When I told them the process I had gone through she said she was sorry but that they hadn't heard of that and that the Embassy must have misunderstood and told me the wrong thing.
Sigh.
The worst part is that even my BackAlley connection turned out to be a little sketchy.
After three phone calls - always at progressively later times each night (the last calling at 11pm to set up an appointment for the next day without telling me a time or a place for the appointment) we finally managed to meet. Basically he called "the next day" I dropped everything and went to meet him then rather than meet him at 10pm at night in an unkonown region of the city - which was his first proposition.
He says that he can get me - or rather - has requested an Observer position for me. However, he will tell me more about this when i come to a festival that he and others, who he doesn't want to mention or go into details about, are sponsoring next Wednesday at 10am. This is, afterall, only the first time that we have met and is only the start of our relationship. At this next meeting he would be able to tell me more about the possibility of observing and even give me an observer pass to go and Observe wherever i want. I would be observing alone, without a group or anyone to report to. - Except I would be expected to share my experience with him and his collegues at three other Festivals to take place in April, June and October of next year on Dates which were revealed to him by God just as God revealed the plan of the New Jeruselm Temple to Moses and told him to build a copy of it on earth.
The most curious thing about the meeting was that he had three books in front of them, and he referred to them off an on throughout our conversation. However, with one of the books he always put on glasses while with the other books, he read without the glasses. This in itself may not seem strange, if not for the composition of the glasses themselves.
Each of the glasses lenses was made from solid, opaque black plastic. Within each lens, several, small, pinsized holes had been drilled so that 12 - 20 small holes penetrated the surface. An observer could not have seen the eyes of the reader through the holes, and to my mind, the reader would have had a very difficult time trying to read through a small splattering of holes.
The man didn't cooperate with answering any of my questions. I had already been in his office and hour and decdied that something so mysterious as the impenatrable black glasses, would be met with an equally opaque answer as those i had been given regaurding other matters. I decided to leave.
Still, I would like to know what the glasses were for.
Organizing orSpices
In my mother's kitchen, seasonings neatly occupy two lazy susans on the bottom and middle shelves of her cupboard. Though some herbs and spices are more beloved than others, the place of each is dictated not by frequence of use or love, but rather by whatever scientific study or luck granted to each seasoning its English name begining with one of the 26 letters of the latin alphabet. The seasoning are stacked in two contentric circles on the lazy susans - cinnamon, clove, corriander, cumin, etc.
After scouring the streets and stores of Kiev, I have finally purchased an ample store of all the useful seasonings that I am bound to use and which are available in Kiev. Some were harder than others to locate. Rosemary and Sage - for example - can only be found in the bulk food store - though I did once see a Babushka selling live rosemary plants, most Ukrainians are not likely to know what I want when I ask for rozmarin.
Now that I have my spices, I'm not uite sure what to do with them. Not only do I not have a lazy susan, but neither do the spices come in compact bottles and tubes that can be easily arranged and stacked. Rather they come in large, paper packages, which take up an abundant amount of space and are always falling over. I finally solved this problem by cuttin ghte topp off of a cerial box and stuffing the packets in the box in mimicry of a poorly formed roladex.
I had thought this would solve the problem, but unfortunately, no. The first time I went to cook - I discovered that I didn't know where my seasoning were and had to flip through every item in the box to find what i wanted. How do I organize the the spices? Alphbetically by their English names didn't work - because the packages are in Russian - But I don't know all the russian names yet - and who knows when I actually will get them all. Second - i don't know the correct order of the Russian alphabet, and not only are some of the letters in very differnt places (V coming after B) but some of the letters are completely diferent (a "sh" letter for instance that looks like a double UU).
There seem to be only three alternatives
1) I learn the Russian Alphabet and organize alphabetically using Cyrillic letters
2) I relable all of the packages in English
3)I invent a new order of the russian Alphabet that makes sense to me but not anyone else.
So far option number three is the most attractive - but we'll see how long its functionality will take it.
After scouring the streets and stores of Kiev, I have finally purchased an ample store of all the useful seasonings that I am bound to use and which are available in Kiev. Some were harder than others to locate. Rosemary and Sage - for example - can only be found in the bulk food store - though I did once see a Babushka selling live rosemary plants, most Ukrainians are not likely to know what I want when I ask for rozmarin.
Now that I have my spices, I'm not uite sure what to do with them. Not only do I not have a lazy susan, but neither do the spices come in compact bottles and tubes that can be easily arranged and stacked. Rather they come in large, paper packages, which take up an abundant amount of space and are always falling over. I finally solved this problem by cuttin ghte topp off of a cerial box and stuffing the packets in the box in mimicry of a poorly formed roladex.
I had thought this would solve the problem, but unfortunately, no. The first time I went to cook - I discovered that I didn't know where my seasoning were and had to flip through every item in the box to find what i wanted. How do I organize the the spices? Alphbetically by their English names didn't work - because the packages are in Russian - But I don't know all the russian names yet - and who knows when I actually will get them all. Second - i don't know the correct order of the Russian alphabet, and not only are some of the letters in very differnt places (V coming after B) but some of the letters are completely diferent (a "sh" letter for instance that looks like a double UU).
There seem to be only three alternatives
1) I learn the Russian Alphabet and organize alphabetically using Cyrillic letters
2) I relable all of the packages in English
3)I invent a new order of the russian Alphabet that makes sense to me but not anyone else.
So far option number three is the most attractive - but we'll see how long its functionality will take it.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Did you take pictures of our wedding?
Just a quick question - if you took pictures of our wedding - Please sign up for Winkflash, http://www.winkflash.com/ upload the photos, and add me as a friend (use junk email alt@dr.com with alister's name) capable of viewing your shared folder.
We are putting together our wedding albulm and right now Winkflash is having a sale where all books - no matter how many pages can be made for 19.95 (shipping not included) Anyway - we want to take advantage of this but we also want to include the pictures you all took too - in order to get a full picture of our speacial day.
THANKS
We are putting together our wedding albulm and right now Winkflash is having a sale where all books - no matter how many pages can be made for 19.95 (shipping not included) Anyway - we want to take advantage of this but we also want to include the pictures you all took too - in order to get a full picture of our speacial day.
THANKS
Who says stuff can't make you happy?
Just a quicky - The Meest packages we shipped arrived today! The man arrived at 9am and all boxes were intact - nothing broken and so many precious surprises! I now have cookbooks! And aprons! And my lovely, warm quilts that my mommy made me!
Not to mention my Russian textbook that I risked sending because I was sure the box would arrive before classes started ;-) My teacher, I know, will be thrilled when I come to class with my books today.
So the great thing about Meest is that its reliable (6-8 wks by boat) - unlike the post office (the only letters that seem to come through are from my dad . . . . Maybe if you pretend to be him - yours will come too. ) Also for the service (almost 100% guaranteed courier delivery) the price is reasonable - also better than standard post, fedex, and other shipping options. Prices vary depending on your location in the US and you can either mail things directly from the offices (giving you a little taste of Russia - at the Federal Way office where we shipped - there were scores of Belorussians, Ukrainians, and Russians shipping out packages and suggesting the best way to tape up our boxes - no English was spoken by any of the staff there.) Or you can pre-fill the custom forms and ship via UPS to a Meest office and they will ship your package for you.
Thanks Meest for a job well done and for adding a HUGE smile to the start of our day!
Not to mention my Russian textbook that I risked sending because I was sure the box would arrive before classes started ;-) My teacher, I know, will be thrilled when I come to class with my books today.
So the great thing about Meest is that its reliable (6-8 wks by boat) - unlike the post office (the only letters that seem to come through are from my dad . . . . Maybe if you pretend to be him - yours will come too. ) Also for the service (almost 100% guaranteed courier delivery) the price is reasonable - also better than standard post, fedex, and other shipping options. Prices vary depending on your location in the US and you can either mail things directly from the offices (giving you a little taste of Russia - at the Federal Way office where we shipped - there were scores of Belorussians, Ukrainians, and Russians shipping out packages and suggesting the best way to tape up our boxes - no English was spoken by any of the staff there.) Or you can pre-fill the custom forms and ship via UPS to a Meest office and they will ship your package for you.
Thanks Meest for a job well done and for adding a HUGE smile to the start of our day!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Scrabble losses: Mass E-mail update - Sept 2007
Greetings!
Alister and I have finally arrived in Ukraine – ok – we’ve been here almost a month – but now it seems we are finally settled. I’ve cleaned the apartment from top to bottom (who knew a one bedroom flat could take so long to scrub down?), and we’ve gotten into a routine of eating, work (Alister is teaching a class on Paul’s Epistles at a local Seminary and I am fully engrossed in language study), and playing scrabble.
I’m on a losing streak with the Scrabble. Last game, Alister beat me by 150 pts. I blame this fact that I try for longer, interesting words like saliva, or nature (with one amazing play of adoptions – which was, so far, the only game I’ve won). The words, though creating a larger letter turn-over for me – mostly serve to open up multiple spaces for him to create triple words while only using three letters (an, on, to, too, en, la, te – seriously –I never thought I would need to increase my knowledge of two letter words!).
In other news, I’m trying to get connected to observe for the latest and greatest Ukrainian Parliamentary elections. It fits in with my Thesis as well as providing an opportunity to get connected with other democracy building organizations and people in Ukraine and so open up job possibilities. So far, the traditional means haven’t taken me very far – but as in Croatia – Ukrainian life often functions through connections and so now I’m working the back channels with slightly more promising results – though we will see what happens in September.
Some pictures of the wedding and honeymoon can be found at www.alisterandsarah.blogspot.com as well as this e-mail and some other ramblings. I’ll keep sending out e-mail updates upon occasion – but they will be kept short while I will use the blog for longer stuff to keep your mailbox clear. Can’t promise how often I’ll be updating – but I’ll try.
Talk soon!
-Sarah
Alister and I have finally arrived in Ukraine – ok – we’ve been here almost a month – but now it seems we are finally settled. I’ve cleaned the apartment from top to bottom (who knew a one bedroom flat could take so long to scrub down?), and we’ve gotten into a routine of eating, work (Alister is teaching a class on Paul’s Epistles at a local Seminary and I am fully engrossed in language study), and playing scrabble.
I’m on a losing streak with the Scrabble. Last game, Alister beat me by 150 pts. I blame this fact that I try for longer, interesting words like saliva, or nature (with one amazing play of adoptions – which was, so far, the only game I’ve won). The words, though creating a larger letter turn-over for me – mostly serve to open up multiple spaces for him to create triple words while only using three letters (an, on, to, too, en, la, te – seriously –I never thought I would need to increase my knowledge of two letter words!).
In other news, I’m trying to get connected to observe for the latest and greatest Ukrainian Parliamentary elections. It fits in with my Thesis as well as providing an opportunity to get connected with other democracy building organizations and people in Ukraine and so open up job possibilities. So far, the traditional means haven’t taken me very far – but as in Croatia – Ukrainian life often functions through connections and so now I’m working the back channels with slightly more promising results – though we will see what happens in September.
Some pictures of the wedding and honeymoon can be found at www.alisterandsarah.blogspot.com as well as this e-mail and some other ramblings. I’ll keep sending out e-mail updates upon occasion – but they will be kept short while I will use the blog for longer stuff to keep your mailbox clear. Can’t promise how often I’ll be updating – but I’ll try.
Talk soon!
-Sarah
Wedding Pictures and a note on Roslyn
Ok - here they are - Pictures of the wedding.
If you came - and If you have pictures - I would LOVE to see them or have copies - esp if they are digital. If you put them up on an online share site - like snapfish.com, winkflash.com, or burn them and send them to me - It would be GREAT!.
Anyway - Pics and commentary below.
Wedding Prep took place at My Aunt Helen's - just one block away form the church - so my girls and I hiked up our skirts and walked to the church - afterall - feet are the most reliable way to get somewhere on time :-)
If you came - and If you have pictures - I would LOVE to see them or have copies - esp if they are digital. If you put them up on an online share site - like snapfish.com, winkflash.com, or burn them and send them to me - It would be GREAT!.
Anyway - Pics and commentary below.
Wedding Prep took place at My Aunt Helen's - just one block away form the church - so my girls and I hiked up our skirts and walked to the church - afterall - feet are the most reliable way to get somewhere on time :-)
Pastor William Wilton from Sunrise church in McMinnville, came up 
to do our wedding (THANKS!) We enjoyed the serice and think we even remeber what was said :)
Other people also came from far away - Alister's Parents from Northern Ireland, Pete two plane tickets and many a misadventure later from Montenegro, Yukina via Serbia, and Kanako, Christy, and Rich via New York, the Karls from Colorado, and lots of Oregonians and Washingtonians! Thanks for coming! 
After the wedding - We all did pictures and scurried over to the Reception, there was food, cake, speeches, the boquet toss, and the garter toss (to the mortification of the singles - I always thought it was fun???!) 
(Showing some leg with old roomies - Jen and Laura, Alister's Dad - Ron - giving a speech, Signing the marriage certificate, the cake (marble -with cherry filling - no the flowers aren't fake - rather they are lisianthus and delphinium, Me with my new niece , Evelyn, and her father, Jeremy. a whole Possy of Family~!~)
So those are all the wedding highlights, you all know the end . . . Happily ever after and all that jazz :)
HONEYMOON
We spent our honeymoon up at Mt Rainier National Park and went backpacking for part of it - It was absolutely gorgeous. http://www.terragalleria.com/parks/np.mount-rainier.html Our campsite looked out onto scenes just as amazing as the ones here - and our pictures turned out just as amazing - but why slow down your download speed unless you want to see the pics?
Afterwards we toured the rest of Washington - some highlights were a stop in the backwoods town of Roslyn, WA. This is the place where they filmed Northern Exposure - the irony of it is (Alister and I are now watching the 1st season of Northern Exposure) that in the Northern Exposure town of Cicely, Alaska - There is this Character maurice who want to put in this Super elite resort with a golf course and swimming pool and all sort of fancy stuff. Well, this resort actually has COME to Rosyln! http://www.suncadia.com/ Unfortunately (in my mind) the resort may not be all its cracked up to be - elite and luxurious sure - but the impact on the town is huge - driving up property prices and pushing out locals who have been there for years (according to a nice Croatian Man who owns the Cicely, Alaska Tourism shop in the town). The town has been declared a heritage site and has been preserved in all of its clapboard splendor of the mining years of the 1840's. Still, now you can find, beside the all purpose pharmacy, grocery, and gift shop, an elite coffee house that looks like it might have been imported straight from 5th Ave New York. - Unfortunately - we don't have pictures of this phenonemon as our camera disapeared shortly after our arrival in Philadelphia and before we had downloaded the newest photos.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Married and transitioning!
Greetings! A quick update - no pictures yet, but they will come soon. - Just to let you all now that we are now officially Mr. and Mrs. Alister Torrens - we spent a lovely Honeymoon at Mt. Rainer National Park, staying in a super cozy cabin and backpacking up to one of the back country sites. We followed that by a trip to Seattle where we reunited with family for the dedication of our New Niece - Evelyn Grace Shultz. We drove back to Waitsburg - stopping at filming sites for Twin Peaks and Northern Exposure with quick side-trip to a u-pick blueberry farm.
We have now packed (two suitcases each at 50lbs and two VERY full carry-ons) and are in Philadelphia - catching up with our Eastcoast friends before we leave for Ukraine on the 14th. Last minute contact can be made by email or our cell phone - leave a comment on the blog and I'll get you either of these contacts if you want them - I feel a bit odd about posting it online even though I doubt that billions of people are currently reading the blog. :-)
Thanks so much for all of you who were able to come and celebrate our wedding with us! I thought it went great - despite the air conditioner breaking - but I'm prejudiced. I only wish that there had been more time to visit with all of you.
Talk soon - Pics to come.
Sarah & Alister
We have now packed (two suitcases each at 50lbs and two VERY full carry-ons) and are in Philadelphia - catching up with our Eastcoast friends before we leave for Ukraine on the 14th. Last minute contact can be made by email or our cell phone - leave a comment on the blog and I'll get you either of these contacts if you want them - I feel a bit odd about posting it online even though I doubt that billions of people are currently reading the blog. :-)
Thanks so much for all of you who were able to come and celebrate our wedding with us! I thought it went great - despite the air conditioner breaking - but I'm prejudiced. I only wish that there had been more time to visit with all of you.
Talk soon - Pics to come.
Sarah & Alister
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Wedding Logistics: July 14, 2007
Wedding Logistics for Alister & Sarah's Wedding
Walla Walla, WA 99362
Well,
We hope that this page will make it easier for you to join us on our special day and share in our joy.
PLEASE look through ALL of the headings to see if your question is covered before emailing.
Also, please feel free to post a comment
we look forward to seeing you soon!
Plains Trains, Automobiles - How to get here
How should I dress?
Just get me to the church . . .
Getting to the reception
What else can I do in Walla Walla? ** NEW info about the Summer Musical!
Who are these people?
Future . . .
How in the world did you meet?!
Plains Trains, Automobiles - How to get here
Airports
- Walla Walla (ALW)
- Spokane (GEG) 2.5 hours North of WW
- Pasco (PSC) 45 min from Walla Walla
- Seattle (SEA) 5 hours NW of WW
- Pendelton (PDT) 1 hour SE of Walla Walla
- Portland (PDX) 5 hours SW of Walla Walla
Other
Amtrack and Greyhound both have service to Pasco.
You can also take a Bus to Pendelton
Driving
Main access is US Highway 12, running east-west. It can be accessed from several interstates, as well as US and State highways.
From the North West: From I-90 take I-82 east toward the Tri-Cities, then exit onto I-182 east. I-182 will merge into US Hwy 12 eastbound, follow it for about fifty miles to Walla Walla.
From the North East: Take US Hwy 395 south to the Tri-cities and then exit onto US Hwy 12 east, fifty miles to Walla Walla.
From the South East: From I-84 exit in Pendleton,OR and take Oregon Route 11 north toMilton-Freewater, OR. Continue through Milton-Freewater on OR-11 which will become WA-125 north at the stateline and continues into Walla Walla.
From the East: No major interstates, numerous state and local routes can be used to access US Hwy 12 westbound.
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How should I dress?
For those of you unfamiliar with the West Coast - we are pretty laid back here in rural Washington.
We've invited you to our wedding because we consider you friends and want to see you and celebrate this special moment with you - not because you look great in an evening gown or a 3 piece suit. Sure, we would like you to look great, but more importantly we want you to feel great.
Therefore, you should know that . . . .
The reception is in an airconditioned building with access to the park - Personally, I would prefer to spend my time outside if the weather is nice.
Temperatures in July have been known to be in the high 90's. Although it sometimes does rain in July, the odds are high that it will be hot and dry.
Alister says “No flip-flops!”
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Just get me to the church . . . .
Valley Church -- 549 Newell St, Walla Walla
Can be reached from Walla Walla Regional Airport by traveling west on Hwy 12. Exit left onto Clinton St. Drive south on Clinton continuing through the signal on Issacs, the 4-way stop at Boyer, and the signal on Alder. Once you cross Alder, Newell St. is close by (about 3 blocks). Turn right, drive 1block. It's the gray brick church is on the corner across from the school.
Coming from Pasco (Tri Cities) -- Stay on Hwy 12 east. Exit right onto Clinton St. Drive south on Clinton according to the above directions
Locating church from the motels -- Turn left onto 2nd St. Continue south crossing intersections at Rose, Main, and Alder. The next intersection is Poplar St. Turn left and follow Poplar eastward crossing 1st and Palouse streets to Park Street. Poplar merges with Alder St at this point. Continue east until the next traffic signal. This is Clinton St. Proceed as above.
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If you choose to gift us, you can of course do it personally, or if you prefer you can also make one time or continual support tax deductible donations through Alister's Mission Sponsors:
If you are in the USA - Cheques should be made payable to ITEM with Alister Torrens specified either in a letter or on the details line and mailed to: ITEM, P. O. Box 31456, St. Louis, MO 63131 U.S.A.or in the UK - you will need to request a gift aid form and use the following bank information to set up a standing order if you desire to do so: Moneydig Pres. Church Bank A/c no. 6-10-06754 Sort code 95-03-46 Northern Bank Main St., Kilrea, Co. Londonderry BT51 5QS NI in the UK.
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What else can I do in Walla Walla?
Sigh, we've been asking that for years . . .
Walla Walla is located in the Southeastern corner of Washington State. It is a pleasantly small city that has long been known for its sweet onions and is now making a name for itself for its artisan red wines. You can get more information about Walla Walla and its attractions by contacting the chamber of commerce. http://www.wwchamber.com/
For day trips beyond Walla Walla, you might try visiting the Columbia or Snake Rivers and taking a swim or visiting the various Museums in Dayton and Waitsburg. As you will see when you Explore the Chamber of Commerce site - Walla also has much historical importance because of its location on the Oregon Trail. Cultural Activities are often planned at the Whitman Mission.
You might enjoy attending a performance of our Quality Summer Musical at the Fort Walla Walla Amphatheater.
This year the production is Roger and Hammerstein's Cinderella. The production runs July 12th - 14th and the 19th - 22nd. Performances begin 8pm and are always enjoyable. ticket prices are reasonable at $6(child) - $20 (premium seating) call 509-527-4255 or 509-527-4557 to reserve or purchase your tickets. See http://www.wwcc.edu/CMS/fileadmin/Cory/TEMP/brochure.pdf for more information
If you choose to linger in the Walla Walla valley - you may like to check sample our famed Sweet Onions (eat 'em like an apple) at the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Festival. on the 19th - 22nd more information canbe found http://www.sweetonions.org/festival/2007/
For tourism in Washington STATE you may want to check out http://www.experiencewashington.com/
It will give you lots of fun places to visit from Seattle to Timbuktu (okay - maybe not there - but other fun places all the same)
For those of you heading south to Oregon, http://www.traveloregon.com/ will give you a place to start looking for things to do.
For more information about Walla Walla, you may also like to look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walla_Walla,_Washington
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Who are these people?
Alister is a citizen of the United Kingdom. He studied at the University of Nottingham and upon graduating spent 4 years in Russia. He then left for a four year stint in Philadelphia where he graduated with a MDiv in Theology in 2006 and began working in Kiev. He looks forward to continuing his ministry in Kiev in November 2007.
Sarah is a United States citizen. Upon graduating from Linfield College in 2003, Sarah went to Croatia for two years and became intrigued with the multiple forces impacting peace. In 2005 she began to pursue her MA in Peace and Conflict Resolution at Arcadia University, PA. Expected to graduate summer 2007, Sarah is hoping to work with Ukrainian NGO’s to further develop their civil society.
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Our future . . .
After our wedding on July 14, 2007, we plan to move to Kiev around September 2007. Currently, we expect to be in that region indefinitely. Alister will continue his work and theology teaching at Bible colleges throughout the region. While helping in this realm, Sarah will focus her energies on mastering Russian and finding work related to her interest in societal transparency and trust building.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we embark on this new adventure together.
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How in the world did you meet?!
Alister and Sarah have yet to come up with a mutually agreed upon story of how they met. Alister's story - though definitely the least probable, has been deemed the most interesting. All in all, we are both very thankful for God's miraculous providence that brought us together in his right and perfect timing.
We hope you enjoy Alister's version of our first meeting.
It was the beginning of the new school year and I was sitting in Westminter Library, which is unusual because I don't often work in the library, and especially not at the beginning of the year. I noticed this girl come in, really disheveled and raggedy and she sat down at one of the tables at the front of the Library. I hadn't seen her before and figured that she was a new student.
After a little while, the girl was standing at my table table asking to sit down. I thought that was pretty forward, moving from her table to mine and even though she didn't look like anything special I figured I should at least say something before I left- since she went to all that effort.
"That's a big pile of books you have," I said as I was leaving.
"Yes," she responded enthusiastically. "I'm writing a comparative paper on the original state of man and the Hypostatic union according to Catholics, Protestants, and Eastern Orthodoxs."
"Really?" I querried - "Who is teaching that?"
"Well I'm not really from the Seminary - I go to Arcadia, down the road, but had taken courses at a seminary in Croatia to learn more about Eastern Orthodoxy."
"That's interesting, I'm really interested in Eastern Orthodoxy as well - I'm planning to go teach in Ukraine when I am done here. I'd be interested in reading your paper when you're done with it."
It wasn't only that she was so chatty - and in a library at that - but as soon as I asked to read the paper - no hestitation and she whipped out her e-mail address.
"If you're interested," she said, "you can e-mail me and I'll send the paper when it's finished."
Well, needless to say - I did e-mail her, but not to talk about the paper and we hit it off. She turned out to be pretty cute after all.
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