Back from Kerch. Total time in Kerch: 39 hours. Total time on train (round trip): 46 hours. As you can see from Helen, it is important to get nice and settled in on these trips.

It was very nice catching up with old friends while in Kerch for the annual Charge Conference (Methodist lingo for yearly business and planning meeting). Kerch was Helen's and my first appointment in Ukraine and therefore especially dear to us as we lived in Kerch for a little over 2 years. Kerch is the oldest city in Ukraine and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on the continent of Europe, around 8,000 years old! We stayed with some friends and right across the road from where they live, a 7th century BC cemetery was recently uncovered, the time when the city was a Greek colony known as Panticapaeum. Our friends were sad we had not been there earlier as during the excavation, when all the skeletons adorned in jewelry were readily available to see. We enjoyed worshiping at our old church and pastor Evgenia Kozarenko was especially proud to show off her first child, Versavia. Here are some other pictures of the trip to Kerch. Be sure and put your cursor on the captions as they expand so you can read more. Also use the "slideshow" option for the best view.