Alexsander Menn

Last night I read in the book “Martyrs”, ed. By Susan Bergman, about Alexsander Menn. He was a Russian Orthodox priest murdered on September 8, 1993. His story is so captivating that I could not put the book down until I finished the chapter on his life. He was Solzhenitsyn spiritual advisor. He tried to enter seminary at the age of 13 but was rejected. At the age of 14 he wrote the first draft for a book on the Life of Christ. As a teenager he was fluent in Hebrew, Greek, Latin as well as many other European languages. He was passionate about Christ and stood up against the many injustices in Russian society. A couple of months before he was assassinated he was interviewed on the radio.

He said, “I believe that everything that is of value in Christianity is valuable only because it belongs to Christ. If it doesn’t belong to Christ, it belongs to the same degree to Islam or Buddhism. So every religion is an attempt to reach God. But Jesus Christ is the only answer.”

This guy was brilliant and joyful. He lived his life in full confidence in Jesus Christ. What a guy!

Happy Father’s DAY!

We had a great Father’s Day weekend. Last night my mother, grandmother (on my dad’s side), brother, wife and I took my father out to dinner and a movie. It was a blast. We ate at Chadwicks 203 The Strand, Alexandria, VA 22314, (703) 836-4442. On thing made us want to return. Every month they do a fundraiser for a community in Guatemala. They raise enough money to pay for health insurance for a local restaurant employees and their families. There is a nonprofit that was founded by two Americans that served under peace corps that organaized the program. I will write more once I find more info. It was great. I was really impressed.

Then we went to see “The Terminal”. It was the best acting Tom Hanks has done. They had a lot of funny moments and it was based on a true story of an Iranian guy that has been stuck in France for 10 years (so my brother tells me). The funny thing is that my wife’s father had the same thing happen to him. He had lost his passport in Malysia and was stuck in the airport for four days b/c it was MLK weekend and the embassy was closed.

Today we did breakfast with my pops, lunch with my father-in-law, back to my father for a evening visit. It was a fun day, but I am worn out. The whole day the food was incredible. I can’t complain about all the traveling b/c the food was worth the effort.