Everyone is celebrating victories today! Kathy, Marca and Lindsay pulled off a great party in rotations today. They had pop and treats along with a couple carnival games. The kids were super energized due to all the sugar and caffeine they received from the party. We had to have a way to let the kids work off the extra energy.
There was 3 hours of unmitigated childhood once we got into the gym this afternoon. Soccer balls, basketball, and Russian dodgeball went on until most of us were sweaty and stinky. 17 year olds were playing with 7 year olds without any problems and it was beautiful to see. Everyone shared, and enjoyed time together as a whole group.
Pat discovered that one of the problems of playing tic tac toe with 4 kids at once wasn't the multi tasking, but how many turns the children were taking when his attention was elsewhere.
Team meeting just ended and it is a flurry of activity. We have to pack up tonight, becuse we are on the overnight train tomorrow night. Wireless internet is not guaranteed for the rest of the trip, so this may be our last post for this trip. We are all trying to condense bags as much as possible. Kathy's alarm clock has made it the entire trip but it died tragically today.
After several days of meat, potatoes, and tons of cabbage we decided to order pizza from a local pizza parlor, which was an adventure in and of itself seeing as though we didn't know how to specify toppings.
As our time with the children draws to a close we are reminded of how fortunate we have been to have had these wonderful experiences. We would like to thank every one for your continued support. We look forward to our last day with the children tomorrow with hearts filled with joy and love and broken by circumstance.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Glow Fest 2010
Today found Wally and Sheila sporting t-shirts with maps of Missouri on them. Wally has been pointing at his belly all day! Just because today was 'North America' day, Pat also wore a clown tie all day long. He's had a prop for every day in lesson and the kids have gotten a huge kick out his interpretations of the countries we are talking about!
Twister got pulled out in activity today! They put all four Twister mats together to make a huge Twister mat. They were also handing out Tootsie Roll Pops, one of the Dimas walked up to Lindsay and handed her an open Pop. He is really great at sharing, so she thought he had just opened it up for her and was sharing. A bit too late she realized that the Pop had already been wet, and not from her mouth!
Pat and Stephanie's group sat down this afternoon and played a HUGE game of Uno with most of their 10 member family group. We all acted really dramatic when we got draw 2 or 4. It made for some really funny videos of the kids teasing each other and all of us laughing so hard!
Then came the best part of the whole day...GLOW FEST 2010!!! Pat bought out a Dollar Store full of, in Pat's term, 'Glowy Things.' It gets dark here about 4 pm, so we gathered all the kids out in a large hallway where it was darker and it became a mass of bodies covered in neon glow bracelets, necklaces, bars and spinners. As you could imagine, all the kids went crazy over their options, especially when Pat pulled out the neon flashlights. A crowd mobbed him and we haven't seen him since.
On a more important note, we are mesmerized by the many varieties of Lays potato chips...after team meetings we have a regular snack time! Talk about a great way to bond over chips in flavors like bacon, shish kebob, and crab. As I type this Nick, Lindsay and Melanie are on their way back upstairs to get more of the shish kebob chips that as soon as we tasted the small bag Nick, Melanie, Lindsay and Stephanie all wanted their own instead of sharing! Then we talked everyone else into tasting the camp fire in a chip bag. Nick has decided there are a lot of things he likes about Russia! The chips definitely rank up there...just a little insight into our time at the hotel at night...and we had to put to a vote tonight that we stop talking about food at home, because we are ready for Mexican, Indian, Chinese and Italian. Not that the food has been bad, but we are ready for a bit more variety.
Twister got pulled out in activity today! They put all four Twister mats together to make a huge Twister mat. They were also handing out Tootsie Roll Pops, one of the Dimas walked up to Lindsay and handed her an open Pop. He is really great at sharing, so she thought he had just opened it up for her and was sharing. A bit too late she realized that the Pop had already been wet, and not from her mouth!
Pat and Stephanie's group sat down this afternoon and played a HUGE game of Uno with most of their 10 member family group. We all acted really dramatic when we got draw 2 or 4. It made for some really funny videos of the kids teasing each other and all of us laughing so hard!
Then came the best part of the whole day...GLOW FEST 2010!!! Pat bought out a Dollar Store full of, in Pat's term, 'Glowy Things.' It gets dark here about 4 pm, so we gathered all the kids out in a large hallway where it was darker and it became a mass of bodies covered in neon glow bracelets, necklaces, bars and spinners. As you could imagine, all the kids went crazy over their options, especially when Pat pulled out the neon flashlights. A crowd mobbed him and we haven't seen him since.
On a more important note, we are mesmerized by the many varieties of Lays potato chips...after team meetings we have a regular snack time! Talk about a great way to bond over chips in flavors like bacon, shish kebob, and crab. As I type this Nick, Lindsay and Melanie are on their way back upstairs to get more of the shish kebob chips that as soon as we tasted the small bag Nick, Melanie, Lindsay and Stephanie all wanted their own instead of sharing! Then we talked everyone else into tasting the camp fire in a chip bag. Nick has decided there are a lot of things he likes about Russia! The chips definitely rank up there...just a little insight into our time at the hotel at night...and we had to put to a vote tonight that we stop talking about food at home, because we are ready for Mexican, Indian, Chinese and Italian. Not that the food has been bad, but we are ready for a bit more variety.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
More thoughts from Pat...
In several weeks we will start the holiday season. A thursday in November nominally set aside to give thanks for whatever opens the season followed by lots of frantic shopping leading to Christmas and ending with a healthy dose of overindulgence at new years. All of this will be spiced with repeated admonition and commentary about the true meaning of the holidays and how it all seems lost in the frantic pace of our lives. (I just try to stay awake past 10 anymore. Everything changes though. I don't pass the kids, home for break, at 530 going to bed as I get up anymore. Even they are getting to bed earlier, say 3 am)
But I digress...take today's story for what it is: I am not joining the chorus denouncing or criticizing American holiday behavior early or at all. Consider this an early gift.
All of the children here, about 40, have a sponsor in our church. Sponsors write and occasionally send gifts, and probably money also. We send a team annually to visit and engage these kids: that's what Nick and I and the other 7 are doing here. One part of the visit is to deliver a small package of gifts from each sponsor to their child. The package contents probably cost less than 10$. Items included are socks, stickers, paper, pencils and the like. ( none of this would pass muster even as stocking stuffers in any but the poorest American homes.) This package also includes a personalized letter to the child. We have 6 translators with us who handle the language issues and rewrite these letters in Russian. ( so far I've learned "thank you" but I've taught "awesome", "cool", "groovy", and "whaaaatsssup". Wonder if I'll get invited back)
With that backdrop I want to share some of my observations when we handed them out this evening.
The first child received a spiderman toothbrush. It was the hit of his group. Everyone played with it The little girl behind him also received a toothbrush, though a plain one. She pawed over it with the same affection as the first child. Imagine a 10 year old gleeful with a new toothbrush. Another child received a collection of stickers, and immediately began to distribute them among all of us( I am giraffe. Nick was special as he received two). Yet another received a sketch pad and was jiggly with delight Each of them received a different collection as there was no packing list, just general guidelines. The one Yo-Yo was a big hit as were the various small bottles of shampoo and so on. In addition to the pure joy at simple gifts, though, there was absolutely no territorialism. The yo-yo went from hand to hand to hand without complaint by the owner. Kids looked through each others stacks unabated yet no one voiced any comment about someone else looking at and sorting through their stuff.
Amazingly though, the stuff was not the prize in the crackerjacks box. Without fail, the most valuable component was always the letter from the sponsor. There were many letters to translate and not all got done at the beginning. One child, who's letter remained untranslated when we started asked to open his English letter just so he could hold the envelope with his name on it while the translator worked.
Why? My friend Stephanie put it best when she noted that to these kids that letter means there is an adult or a family somewhere that cares about this child. That knowledge means more than all the "gold" packed in the sponsor packages. Somebody cares. Somebody somewhere knows them.
I suppose we all know that simple gifts are best and that being loved is everywhere better than being rich or famous or beautiful. As I noted, we hear these admonitions regularly this time of year. I simply want you to know that there are children in the world who's eyes light up at a new toothbrush but who's life lights up at a kind word someone took time to send. It may be true everywhere but it's pure joy to see at this elemental level.
Think about these stories the next 6 weeks and, by the way, Merry Christmas.
Pat
But I digress...take today's story for what it is: I am not joining the chorus denouncing or criticizing American holiday behavior early or at all. Consider this an early gift.
All of the children here, about 40, have a sponsor in our church. Sponsors write and occasionally send gifts, and probably money also. We send a team annually to visit and engage these kids: that's what Nick and I and the other 7 are doing here. One part of the visit is to deliver a small package of gifts from each sponsor to their child. The package contents probably cost less than 10$. Items included are socks, stickers, paper, pencils and the like. ( none of this would pass muster even as stocking stuffers in any but the poorest American homes.) This package also includes a personalized letter to the child. We have 6 translators with us who handle the language issues and rewrite these letters in Russian. ( so far I've learned "thank you" but I've taught "awesome", "cool", "groovy", and "whaaaatsssup". Wonder if I'll get invited back)
With that backdrop I want to share some of my observations when we handed them out this evening.
The first child received a spiderman toothbrush. It was the hit of his group. Everyone played with it The little girl behind him also received a toothbrush, though a plain one. She pawed over it with the same affection as the first child. Imagine a 10 year old gleeful with a new toothbrush. Another child received a collection of stickers, and immediately began to distribute them among all of us( I am giraffe. Nick was special as he received two). Yet another received a sketch pad and was jiggly with delight Each of them received a different collection as there was no packing list, just general guidelines. The one Yo-Yo was a big hit as were the various small bottles of shampoo and so on. In addition to the pure joy at simple gifts, though, there was absolutely no territorialism. The yo-yo went from hand to hand to hand without complaint by the owner. Kids looked through each others stacks unabated yet no one voiced any comment about someone else looking at and sorting through their stuff.
Amazingly though, the stuff was not the prize in the crackerjacks box. Without fail, the most valuable component was always the letter from the sponsor. There were many letters to translate and not all got done at the beginning. One child, who's letter remained untranslated when we started asked to open his English letter just so he could hold the envelope with his name on it while the translator worked.
Why? My friend Stephanie put it best when she noted that to these kids that letter means there is an adult or a family somewhere that cares about this child. That knowledge means more than all the "gold" packed in the sponsor packages. Somebody cares. Somebody somewhere knows them.
I suppose we all know that simple gifts are best and that being loved is everywhere better than being rich or famous or beautiful. As I noted, we hear these admonitions regularly this time of year. I simply want you to know that there are children in the world who's eyes light up at a new toothbrush but who's life lights up at a kind word someone took time to send. It may be true everywhere but it's pure joy to see at this elemental level.
Think about these stories the next 6 weeks and, by the way, Merry Christmas.
Pat
The Greatest Show On Earth!
We were at the circus today...the lions got loose and ate 3 of the kids and Marca. Nick bravely wrestled all lions to the ground with his bare hands while taming them into submission after rescuing the kids...wait, nope that was just Nick's dream last night.
In reality, there were lions at the circus, but the scariest thing they did was try to bite their own tails. We saw amazing jugglers, who even juggled on 12ft unicycles. High wire acts, tons of animals and men doing flips in the air. The kids loved seeing the animals and were fascinated by the lions. Especially when one of the lions was flying in the air. All in all we had a great time at the circus, and the kids loved their experience.
Before the circus we went to the Russian Orthodox church. It definitely wasn't Jeff's sermon, but the experience was really great being able to worship in a different way in Russia.
We gave out the sponsor gifts this afternoon and it was a moment that we all reflected on as our favorite part of the day. The kids were so enamored with their letters, most of them were reading their letter long before they even started pulling things out of their bag. Then they got so excited about toothpaste and soap that we could barely keep up with who was showing who what. One of the best things to see is how these kids share, there is none of the normal 'this is mine' they all love to show each other what their American friend sent them. Many of us got choked up watching how excited they were over things that are so readily available and simple in American terms.
It truly was a phenomenal day for our whole team and the kids! We hope the same for you! Good night from our side of the world!
In reality, there were lions at the circus, but the scariest thing they did was try to bite their own tails. We saw amazing jugglers, who even juggled on 12ft unicycles. High wire acts, tons of animals and men doing flips in the air. The kids loved seeing the animals and were fascinated by the lions. Especially when one of the lions was flying in the air. All in all we had a great time at the circus, and the kids loved their experience.
Before the circus we went to the Russian Orthodox church. It definitely wasn't Jeff's sermon, but the experience was really great being able to worship in a different way in Russia.
We gave out the sponsor gifts this afternoon and it was a moment that we all reflected on as our favorite part of the day. The kids were so enamored with their letters, most of them were reading their letter long before they even started pulling things out of their bag. Then they got so excited about toothpaste and soap that we could barely keep up with who was showing who what. One of the best things to see is how these kids share, there is none of the normal 'this is mine' they all love to show each other what their American friend sent them. Many of us got choked up watching how excited they were over things that are so readily available and simple in American terms.
It truly was a phenomenal day for our whole team and the kids! We hope the same for you! Good night from our side of the world!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The sun is shining...well...it was for a while, anyway!!!
The sun was shining TODAY! When we got to Velikoretskoye we took an unusual opportunity to bask in the sunlight by the river at Velikoretskoye. It is one of the most beautiful areas along the river where the Russian Orthodox icon of St. Nicholas was found. There is a pilgrimage to the river from Kirov every June to celebrate the icon. There is a holy spring and many small churches along the river too.
Olya, our Hopechest representative, was very excited for us to see the river area because of all the history of the icon. She also shared that Velikoretskoye is one of the only places in Russia that has 3 churches right next to each other.
Activity rotation was a bit more challenging today. The older kids were not really wanting to dance, but that team adapted well by using more games and learning some Russian games too.
The dynamic is a lot different this year in terms of not meeting with the kids in the orphanage, but in the beautiful new school. Also, the kids are a year older so we have some older kids that are trying to act 'cool,' which gives some of us challenges as well.
:) is what Nick wanted me to post on the blog today.
Tonight Melanie did a great devotion making us go around the room and say what word would describe our time with the kids so far...humbled, fulfilled, hopeful, connection, hunger, joy/pain, touch, helpless...were all thrown out by the team. The kids have already made their mark on our hearts in only 2 days.
Today during our family group time, the kids were really focused on drawing posters for their American friends. Stephanie was sitting with her family group when Sergei turned around randomly and said, 'Do you know if Bunny Douglas is well?' He was so concerned and serious she had to choke back a laugh, then explained that Bunny was well. Then he said, 'Did you bring me a letter from Bunny?' Stephanie gave him a teasing look and said, 'Maybe...' To which Sergei's face immediately became so joyful and excited...as if he was receiving the best gift of the year! It wasn't important to him if he was getting a gift, it was a treasure to know he was getting a piece of paper with words from an American friend halfway across the world. For the sponsors who are reading this...do not ever discredit your influence on these kids' lives. They crave every word you say! You are doing the work of Christ in these kids even though it doesn't always feel like it when we live in Missouri. We will be handing out the sponsor gifts tomorrow or Monday, and are very excited to see the kids' reaction to their letters and gifts from their American friends!
Pray for us Sunday...we are taking some of the kids to the circus :)
Olya, our Hopechest representative, was very excited for us to see the river area because of all the history of the icon. She also shared that Velikoretskoye is one of the only places in Russia that has 3 churches right next to each other.
Activity rotation was a bit more challenging today. The older kids were not really wanting to dance, but that team adapted well by using more games and learning some Russian games too.
The dynamic is a lot different this year in terms of not meeting with the kids in the orphanage, but in the beautiful new school. Also, the kids are a year older so we have some older kids that are trying to act 'cool,' which gives some of us challenges as well.
:) is what Nick wanted me to post on the blog today.
Tonight Melanie did a great devotion making us go around the room and say what word would describe our time with the kids so far...humbled, fulfilled, hopeful, connection, hunger, joy/pain, touch, helpless...were all thrown out by the team. The kids have already made their mark on our hearts in only 2 days.
Today during our family group time, the kids were really focused on drawing posters for their American friends. Stephanie was sitting with her family group when Sergei turned around randomly and said, 'Do you know if Bunny Douglas is well?' He was so concerned and serious she had to choke back a laugh, then explained that Bunny was well. Then he said, 'Did you bring me a letter from Bunny?' Stephanie gave him a teasing look and said, 'Maybe...' To which Sergei's face immediately became so joyful and excited...as if he was receiving the best gift of the year! It wasn't important to him if he was getting a gift, it was a treasure to know he was getting a piece of paper with words from an American friend halfway across the world. For the sponsors who are reading this...do not ever discredit your influence on these kids' lives. They crave every word you say! You are doing the work of Christ in these kids even though it doesn't always feel like it when we live in Missouri. We will be handing out the sponsor gifts tomorrow or Monday, and are very excited to see the kids' reaction to their letters and gifts from their American friends!
Pray for us Sunday...we are taking some of the kids to the circus :)
An email Pat sent to his family tonight...
It's difficult to convey, the concept of an orphanage, and truly pass
along any sense of what it really is. Where we live, orphanages are
historical relics, like a rotary phone. I suspect much if not all of our
perception of "the orphanage" is attributable to Charles Dickens whose
fiction we forcibly consumed in high school. A desperate place of cold,
foul food; harsh living conditions, a brutal emotional backwater where
cruelness consumes the human spirit. Perhaps then but not now, not here.
Since you have no history with orphanages( except for when we wanted our
parents to send one or the other of our siblings there) let me advise
that this one is clean, the children are well cared for(as much as one
may glean in two days ) and have all the physical basics. Its not fancy
but its working These children are well behaved and take care of one
another. No doubt there are juvenile rivalries(they stay here until
they graduate from the 11th grade which is the end of high school) but
the familial compassion we all assume in our lives is likewise present
among these groups of kids. They take care of each other, well, I might
add.
What is equally clear is that these kids, of all ages, truly hunger for
a relationship with an adult that resembles their mental picture of what
a parent is. I suppose my task here in part is to throw a morsel at that
hunger. I make no pretense that I am changing the world or even a life.
Hopefully I am changing a week of a life and if someone else the steps
into the breach after me, well, we might collectively actually change a
life.
As for the kids, How would they know what a parental
relationship looks like any more than we would of what an orphanage is
like. It's similarly all fiction to them.
But somewhere in the human genome is something that compels us to long
for family. When that longing is continually satisfied, the importance
of those relationships can be diminished or forgotten. Know that my time
here has made me miss all of you more than if I'd just spent another
week not connecting with you at work. To that end I've received more
than
I could ever give.
Remember each other and be thankful for your parents in spite of our
overwhelming deficiencies.
These are really loveable children who didn't win the lottery as we did
at birth. Irrespective of the challenges, they are surviving and God
willing might just thrive. It makes me humble since my accomplishments,
big and little, came on the backs of two great parents(and 4 siblings
who constantly knocked my rough edges off). There are really no soloists
in life.
So today be thankful for what you have however meager, and think
about what you might do for someone who didnt/doesnt have the advantages
we do.
Next time I'll tell you about why we have been laughing non stop for the
past two days.
Yo bro, son, friend and (most proudly) dad,
Pat
along any sense of what it really is. Where we live, orphanages are
historical relics, like a rotary phone. I suspect much if not all of our
perception of "the orphanage" is attributable to Charles Dickens whose
fiction we forcibly consumed in high school. A desperate place of cold,
foul food; harsh living conditions, a brutal emotional backwater where
cruelness consumes the human spirit. Perhaps then but not now, not here.
Since you have no history with orphanages( except for when we wanted our
parents to send one or the other of our siblings there) let me advise
that this one is clean, the children are well cared for(as much as one
may glean in two days ) and have all the physical basics. Its not fancy
but its working These children are well behaved and take care of one
another. No doubt there are juvenile rivalries(they stay here until
they graduate from the 11th grade which is the end of high school) but
the familial compassion we all assume in our lives is likewise present
among these groups of kids. They take care of each other, well, I might
add.
What is equally clear is that these kids, of all ages, truly hunger for
a relationship with an adult that resembles their mental picture of what
a parent is. I suppose my task here in part is to throw a morsel at that
hunger. I make no pretense that I am changing the world or even a life.
Hopefully I am changing a week of a life and if someone else the steps
into the breach after me, well, we might collectively actually change a
life.
As for the kids, How would they know what a parental
relationship looks like any more than we would of what an orphanage is
like. It's similarly all fiction to them.
But somewhere in the human genome is something that compels us to long
for family. When that longing is continually satisfied, the importance
of those relationships can be diminished or forgotten. Know that my time
here has made me miss all of you more than if I'd just spent another
week not connecting with you at work. To that end I've received more
than
I could ever give.
Remember each other and be thankful for your parents in spite of our
overwhelming deficiencies.
These are really loveable children who didn't win the lottery as we did
at birth. Irrespective of the challenges, they are surviving and God
willing might just thrive. It makes me humble since my accomplishments,
big and little, came on the backs of two great parents(and 4 siblings
who constantly knocked my rough edges off). There are really no soloists
in life.
So today be thankful for what you have however meager, and think
about what you might do for someone who didnt/doesnt have the advantages
we do.
Next time I'll tell you about why we have been laughing non stop for the
past two days.
Yo bro, son, friend and (most proudly) dad,
Pat
Friday, November 5, 2010
Paparazzi, Salty Tea and Generational Unity...
Our new team members experienced two Kirov rites of passage today...the roads for an hour & half to get to Velikoretskoye orphanage and meeting the orphanage director, Georgy! Their excitement about getting to the orphanage far outweighed the bumps and height we got in the back row, and literally being in the principal's office!
At the orphanage we broke out into family groups. Sheila and Wally Hammond were in a team. Kathy Carter, Melanie Adams and Lindsay Evans were with a larger group. Marca Quinn joined Nick Starke in the same group she was with last year, and Pat Starke and Stephanie Mutert worked together in the smallest family group this year. We made name tags and played games together, while trying to get to know the kids in our group.
In Marca and Nick's group they asked the kids if they could go anywhere or see anyone which would it be and why? Every single child answered 'My parents.' Marca wanted to share that this is exactly the reason we come...not to be replacements for their parents, but to bring the hope and love of Christ to them. It was a heartbreaking, but poignant moment in their room.
We had a very good welcome from the kids, for those who are visiting their sponsor kids for the first time as well as those who have been before.
At lunch Kathy, Marca and Lindsay learned the hard way that not all granulated white objects served near tea are always sugar. That made for some riotous laughter from the translators, as well as the cook, and the rest of us!
Rotations went really well in the afternoon. Especially when Pat and Wally put on African wigs (Sheila wore one in craft as well with beads that rendered the teacher speechless when she walked in the classroom!) Stephanie, to fit in with Pat and Wally, wore her Liberia dress from Africa for our lesson to start off our world theme week. The kids laughed with us and had a good time learning about an African proverb and how it was similar to the Bible verse in Ecclesiastes that two are better than one.
Little did we know the paparazzi had followed us to Velikoretskoye, but when the kids got ahold of our cameras none of us could see past the flash bulbs. They did do a great job getting the priceless shots of each other we couldn't have gotten without their expertise. Tomorrow, however, we will be explaining to them that we will be the masters of the cameras.
We ended the night laughing together as a team...but laughed even harder when we realized all the under 31 sat on one side of the room and over 31 sat on the other...just friendly banter that are team has gotten really good at together! We are very much looking forward to our team effort tomorrow, and of course being with the kids again!
At the orphanage we broke out into family groups. Sheila and Wally Hammond were in a team. Kathy Carter, Melanie Adams and Lindsay Evans were with a larger group. Marca Quinn joined Nick Starke in the same group she was with last year, and Pat Starke and Stephanie Mutert worked together in the smallest family group this year. We made name tags and played games together, while trying to get to know the kids in our group.
In Marca and Nick's group they asked the kids if they could go anywhere or see anyone which would it be and why? Every single child answered 'My parents.' Marca wanted to share that this is exactly the reason we come...not to be replacements for their parents, but to bring the hope and love of Christ to them. It was a heartbreaking, but poignant moment in their room.
We had a very good welcome from the kids, for those who are visiting their sponsor kids for the first time as well as those who have been before.
At lunch Kathy, Marca and Lindsay learned the hard way that not all granulated white objects served near tea are always sugar. That made for some riotous laughter from the translators, as well as the cook, and the rest of us!
Rotations went really well in the afternoon. Especially when Pat and Wally put on African wigs (Sheila wore one in craft as well with beads that rendered the teacher speechless when she walked in the classroom!) Stephanie, to fit in with Pat and Wally, wore her Liberia dress from Africa for our lesson to start off our world theme week. The kids laughed with us and had a good time learning about an African proverb and how it was similar to the Bible verse in Ecclesiastes that two are better than one.
Little did we know the paparazzi had followed us to Velikoretskoye, but when the kids got ahold of our cameras none of us could see past the flash bulbs. They did do a great job getting the priceless shots of each other we couldn't have gotten without their expertise. Tomorrow, however, we will be explaining to them that we will be the masters of the cameras.
We ended the night laughing together as a team...but laughed even harder when we realized all the under 31 sat on one side of the room and over 31 sat on the other...just friendly banter that are team has gotten really good at together! We are very much looking forward to our team effort tomorrow, and of course being with the kids again!
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Unexpected hotel wifi and the 2010 team adventures!
A huge thank you to everyone who has been praying so far, because we barely made our flight to Moscow. Our flight to New York had a problem with the pilot's seat which made a 3 hr layover melt into nothing. The pilot actually referred to it as his 'Cadillac' seat, which made us wonder if he was a drama king or if the chair really mattered that much. We were saved by Lindsay Evans who ran ahead while the over head speaker announced our names and FINAL BOARDING call twice! Definitely one of the closest calls our teams have had in a long time!
We dropped our luggage off at the train station, and spent the afternoon in Moscow. Everyone experienced the Moscow rites of passage being in traffic and on the subway at rush hour. All of us were packed in like sardines while Lindsay got a seat because a woman thought she looked pregnant (but it was just her camera under her coat). We saw the changing of the guard at the Kremlin and checked out Christ the Savior cathedral, before heading back to the train station for our overnight train. Nick fell asleep immediately while the rest of us made it to...wait for it...8:30! Most of us slept like babies on the train, but Marca Quinn's head almost got taken off by a water bottle flying down from the upper bunk. Every where we go with luggage is a procession of one American after another...backpack on back, wheeling 2 suitcases, sometimes one with a wheel.
We hadn't planned on blogging, but we were very suprised to that there is now wifi in our Kirov hotel this year! Thanks to an iTouch and the unexpected wifi, we are going to be able to keep people up to date on our Russia adventures this year!
Meeting our translators was great! We are already impressed with Misha who had impeccable English, and was very patient with our curiosity questions. We shopped for the rest of the supplies we need at the orphanage, and had a phenomenal lunch at past teams' favorite cafe. There is no snow on the ground and about 45 degrees, so we took the opportunity to walk along the river Vyatka afterwards. It was windy and cold, but it was really amazing to see that part of Kirov instead of the streets from the inside of the bus.
We are very excited to see the kids tomorrow...whether we have met them in the past or will meet them for the first time! Please continue to pray for our relationships with each other and the kids. We are laughing a ton and cannot wait to share that with the kids! Thank God for giving us such a fantastic team who are all looking forward to loving on the kids and being a little bit of Jesus in Velikoretskoye!
From your 2010 Russia team: Melanie Adams, Marca Quinn, Wally Hammond, Sheila Hammond, Nick Starke, Pat Starke, Lindsay Evans, Kathy Carter and Stephanie Mutert.
We dropped our luggage off at the train station, and spent the afternoon in Moscow. Everyone experienced the Moscow rites of passage being in traffic and on the subway at rush hour. All of us were packed in like sardines while Lindsay got a seat because a woman thought she looked pregnant (but it was just her camera under her coat). We saw the changing of the guard at the Kremlin and checked out Christ the Savior cathedral, before heading back to the train station for our overnight train. Nick fell asleep immediately while the rest of us made it to...wait for it...8:30! Most of us slept like babies on the train, but Marca Quinn's head almost got taken off by a water bottle flying down from the upper bunk. Every where we go with luggage is a procession of one American after another...backpack on back, wheeling 2 suitcases, sometimes one with a wheel.
We hadn't planned on blogging, but we were very suprised to that there is now wifi in our Kirov hotel this year! Thanks to an iTouch and the unexpected wifi, we are going to be able to keep people up to date on our Russia adventures this year!
Meeting our translators was great! We are already impressed with Misha who had impeccable English, and was very patient with our curiosity questions. We shopped for the rest of the supplies we need at the orphanage, and had a phenomenal lunch at past teams' favorite cafe. There is no snow on the ground and about 45 degrees, so we took the opportunity to walk along the river Vyatka afterwards. It was windy and cold, but it was really amazing to see that part of Kirov instead of the streets from the inside of the bus.
We are very excited to see the kids tomorrow...whether we have met them in the past or will meet them for the first time! Please continue to pray for our relationships with each other and the kids. We are laughing a ton and cannot wait to share that with the kids! Thank God for giving us such a fantastic team who are all looking forward to loving on the kids and being a little bit of Jesus in Velikoretskoye!
From your 2010 Russia team: Melanie Adams, Marca Quinn, Wally Hammond, Sheila Hammond, Nick Starke, Pat Starke, Lindsay Evans, Kathy Carter and Stephanie Mutert.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
