More Russian Friends

  Meet....................

Raphael: Our SUPER cool Russian Driver. (He's also one of the pastors in the region.) I call him Raph for short. He has an amazing smile. Such a warm face--that is unique in Russia but not among Russian believers. He makes eye contact easily, engages our Motley Crew, totes us everywhere we go at mach speed on icey goat trails (what Rader and Laddy call the Russian Roads) with the precision of a NASCAR driver. It all started with Smokey Davis Beef Jerky, he tried it, he liked it--I told him he could keep the rest of the bag--now he will eat anything Megan gives him. This morning I brought mints and offered them around. Laddy told Mesh to translate that it was a sleeping pill so he would SLOW DOWN. (Max speed today was nearing 140 km per hour...you do the math.)

  Our mission for our next ride is to get him to tell us how he lost his pinky finger.  We've heard at least three different reasons, some tied to the Russian mafia.