A Picture is worth a thousand words . . .

By Elizabeth Stoddard
When Mark and I first visited Russia in 1990 we discovered a country that was rich in history and culture, but communisms mark was undeniable on the hearts and minds of her people.

While shopping on Arbat Street in Moscow we found a young artist whose watercolors were dramatic in the story they told.  He explained it represents what the people of Russia were experiencing as the door to the West opened, "allowing freedom's light to enter our meager existence."

The absolute joy was palpable as we saw people discover freedoms that had been denied them for most of the century. 

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