Even though we are home...

the excitement hasn't stopped. I've kept in contact with many of my new friends and old friends on Facebook and Vkontakte. Also, Korvan Funk, an American who works in Russia, will be coming over to my house next week on Wednesday for dinner and a dessert get together with our team and others to talk about the trip and what it means for the kids on an ongoing basis. We'll also talk about letter writing and keeping in touch with the kids.

It's going to be a great evening. Everyone is invited.

Pokrov Day 5

Today was the last day at Pokrov. We played games, had another self defense class for girls, and we had a short talk on why the girls are learning self defense for the boys.

I saw Nadya's grave while the team worked in the garden and had free time. It was less painful this year than last year.

We also had our lesson on Responsibility and its importance with Christie and Chari.

Michael, Nathan and I went to MacDonald's with the kids who were celebrating spring birthdays. I was invited to go by one of the girls.

We also got to see kids who came back to visit. Klara, Vadim and Sasha L. all visited us today. I was especially glad to see Klara who I used to sponsor. They are all living in Vladimir now.

In the evening we passed the candle and talked about the highlights of our week.

Then we had a disco. It too a while to get kids dancing. I think there were more Americans dancing than there were Russians. The kids always want to have a disco, but it's hard to get them to dance.

We exchanged gifts with the orphanage staff, we also gave gifts to our interpreters. It is always sad to leave the kids, but we need to get home to our families.

Pray for the kids. it is difficult for them when we leave. I wish we could go quarterly, but it is not possible right now.

thanks for praying for us.

Pokrov Day 4

Well, the day started with very troubling news. Three boys were put in front of the entire group and reprimanded for leaving the orphanage without permission. No one knew where they were.

In addition, I received information that a girl that has been very close to me this week has a 25 year old boy friend. I will leave the rest to your imagination.

These are just some of the troubles of these kids among the wonderful things that we see God doing. Pray for these children who lead such difficult lives and have such confusing feelings and deep, deep emotional needs.

Today was chocolate day. We had some skits on the history of chocolate as well as a chocolate tasting that the kids put together. It's a terrible job, but someone has to do it.

This was one of those terrible days where everything gets changed on us. At the last minute, we had to take the kids to the chocolate museum. A few of us stayed behind with the kids who had already seen the museum, but a day that was supposed to have a lot of free time with the kids turned into a day of juggling the schedule.

We did manage to get in a great lesson about honesty as well as finishing up some crafts. We also had a 1-1 soccer game, although the American goal was scored by one of the Russian kids who was playing for us.

Pokrov Day 3

I'm beginning to fade tonight so this will be a short one. We have passed the midway point at Pokrov. Many of our new travelers have already expressed what we experienced folks have seen. The time goes too fast.

I am so thrilled with the progress that we've made with the kids over the years, and the progress that we are making on this trip. It seems as if even the newer kids warm up to us so fast because of the trust that the current kids have in us.

Today began with positive emotions. One of the exercises was to write positive notes to others on the opposing team. I received six letters, all of which made be very happy, even the one from Jeff that was a bit of a back handed compliment. In addition, we had to interview others and some got up and read their interview results in front of the auditorium. This way we learned a bit about one another.

We worked in the garden and repaired books with the kids. Each team took a turn at each project.

Our lesson today was on respect. The kids learned about respecting others and also listening to other before jumping to conclusions. We discussed the issue of perspective and understanding another's perspective. We also used the golden rule as a guideline for respect. The kids had to find, then piece together the words of the golden rule that had been hidden around the auditorium.

We had some free time and crafts. Today was tie dyed t-shirts.

So, that's all for now. Blessings to you all and thanks for your continued prayers.

Pokrov Day 2

It was our first full day at the orphanage and we made our annual trip to the lake. We did not have a huge bonfire this time, but we did eat on the blankets laid out for us. We played a lot of games and had a lot of fun. Many of us made new friends. I also was able to spend some time with my sponsored child, Kiril, who I had not seen at all yesterday.

The theme of today was camping. We helped the kids put up tents before we played games.

I also met a girl who had some obvious scars on her arms from past issues. She is a beautiful young 15 year old, and I have no idea what led her to do this to herself.

Kiril is an interesting young boy, still small and thin, but more confident than last year.

BJ led a session on Cooperation. Between the skit and the games, the kids really got the point of the need to work together. BJ ended the session by giving each child a life saver candy and made the rule that the kids could not bend their arms. Many quickly realized that the only way to get a life saver to eat was to exchange lifesavers with another person.

Just before dinner, Zach got a chance to jam with two of the boys from the orphanage. He had a blast playing some instrumental hard rock.

After dinner, we began our annual competition of Russians versus Americans in soccer. This first game turned out to be a 3-0 win for the Russians, but we are determined to come back. More to come on this one.

Please pray for me, as I pulled my calf muscle again. It is the third time in two weeks, and I really want to play some soccer. I also felt bad for our team as I was the goal keeper and let in an easy goal. We will be back.

Tomorrow's theme is "Positive Emotions."

Pokrov Day 1

This morning we left Vladimir at 9:30 and made good time getting to Pokrov. It was less than two hours and we were able to meet with the orphanage director and then have a little time of introduction before lunch.

After lunch the children put on a play for us and then after a small break, we had tea. After tea, we made crafts. The main craft was painting tote bags. The kids really liked it, and many of the kids were very creative with their designs (in a good way).

We then played some group games in the front of the orphanage.

After the games and relay races we headed in for a dinner prepared partly by the older boys who live in the orphanage, even though they have graduated.

Later we circled and said some things that we were thankful for about the day. Each person saying something. I think that the most amazing thing that I heard a lot of very thoughtful comments from even the youngest of particpants. During the ending free time, Zach Brown decided to entertain the kids with a few drum solos. I think he raised his credibility pretty to a pretty high level. It was very evident that God is working here and healing brokeness. These kids are so open to love and to our returning trips.

Blessings.

Back at the hotel, I know hope to sleep. Good Ni.........

Vladimir Day 3

Today began with a double worship service for many of us. Seven of us got up early and went to an 8 a.m. Orthodox worship service. It was 2 hours long and, if you do not know, it is all standing. I actually got light headed and had to sit for a while with the elderly women on a bench on the side of the church for a while. The church is almost 900 years old. Think about that as an American. what buildings would we have that are 900 years old. It is not well kept, but still beautiful inside. It would have been more interesting if we could have had the liturgy in English, but still it was a beautiful service.

Then we went to the Wesleyan church where many of our interpreters attend. There was another group from Indiana that is there to run an English day camp at the church. It is both for the benefit of the church as well as outreach to the surrounding community members who might want to learn English. We had communion and broke into small groups to pray with others.

I also was able to meet Natalie Prikhoda (Натале Прихода), the church administrator whom I met on FB as she was looking for help in her business management program. I brought a book for her on leadership and some of her favorite candies as they do not have Wint-o-green Lifesavers in Russia.

One of my favorite people was there. Zhenya Demidova was there and will also be one of our interpreters for the trip. I am glad that she is along. I will be attending her wedding in Minnesota in August.


We then went to lunch nearby and then back to the ministry center. At the ministry center, I was able to speak with many kids and get to know our new interpreters better. We began our session with Jeff Kintner discussing why read the Bible.

A highlight of my day is that while I gave a gift to Sasha for her and her husband Fedya, Sasha invited me over for tea in the evening. Korvan Funk and I went to visit her and Fedya (and their beautiful daughter Leeza) for tea and cake. This became even more special as I'll explain later.

After this Nancy Steele did a session on personal health, including a session on alcohol. Alcohol is a big problem in Russia. Some of the kids asked how much can you drink, and what is wrong with drinking too much? Nancy did an excellent job from the health perspective. Then some issues came up that touched on the legal issues and practice ramifications of excessive alcohol consumption. Our police officer, Chris Burns, was able to address several of these issues and things that he has seen happen as a result of alcohol consumption as a police officer.

We then had further free time with the kids. We also took a group picture. I was then able to spend a little time with Ilya Petrovski, an old friend from my first visit to Pokrov. He graduated in 2005 and is now 22 years old. He is a fine young man and going to the army soon. He has also graduated from the pedagogical college.

A very interesting thing happened just after the group picture. A girl was standing off to the side dressed in a pretty noticeable hot pink outfit. I was a little surprised to say the least. As she moved closer, I realized that it was a girl that I met on my very first visit as well. A few years ago she had fallen into a deep depression. I was a afraid for her life. She also became very rebellious and even left the orphanage a year early than normal at age 15. Now, I believe that she is 19 years old and finishing telephone operator school. However, she would like to go on to the university and study marketing. I believe that she can do it. We ended up having a very good conversation.

BJ and most of the younger members of our group then went to play volleyball with members of the Wesleyan Church. Others went back to the hotel. Korvan and I went off to Fedya and Sasha's home.

It was a humbling experience. The family of three live in a one room dormitory, which means that many of the common amenities such as a bathroom, sinks, and stove are in a separate common area. Their one room is about 250 square feet. The convertible couch is the only piece of furniture besides the dining table and the crib. It is not in terrible shape and they did not complain about their situation, but, especially by American standards, it was an exceptionally humble abode. This wonderful family had bought a cake for me--certainly an imposition on their small family budget. I was so very touched. They apologized for how small their home is. (Sasha was in the US living with families with huge homes less than two weeks ago). Fedya's siblings were adopted to the U.S. and he has never been to see them. I hope to find a way to pay for an airline ticket for him to see his siblings and to visit the U.S.

The other humbling thing about this couple is that they often expressed how much they appreciated me coming to visit them and that they really hoped I had a good time. I expressed to them that a home does not depend on the size of the dwelling, but on the size of the hearts of those in the family. I've never been so humbled in my life. I hope so much to be able to go back and see them again.

I was met with yet another surprise when I returned to the hotel with Korvan. He and I were discussing plans for tomorrow when we would leave for the orphanage in Pokrov when Alyosha Smolin, yet another former interpreter called and said that he would like to see me and BJ on this last day that we would be in Vladimir. He was at the hotel within fifteen minutes. BJ, Losha and I walked across the street to a store and got some ice cream and talked for a while. It was so wonderful to see Losha and realize what good friends we have made in Russia.

I did forget to take a picture, not that I think about it. That's too bad. Losha is a great guy.

Well, it's late and a few things have happened since then, but I'll need to wait until tomorrow to write about them. One of them is a big secret.

I continue to improve my Russian as I see God work so mightily in these kids' lives. What a wonderful blessing to these unwanted children of God to be affected so much by the lives of ordinary Americans who are willing to step out in faith. Thank you Jeff, Nancy and Chris for your presentations. Thank you God for bringing Sasha, Ilya and Lilya into my life.

Vladimir Day 2

In our first full day in Vladimir, we went to the ministry center after breakfast to meet with our interpreters, and run two educational sessions, as well as to have some fun and conversation with graduates as well as pizza.

It took a little while to get started as many of the graduates did not show up or were late, but once we got started it was great. I was able to speak with Sasha, a young woman who was a graduate from Pokrov in 2001 (I think). She was in the U.S. last week and I got to know her a bit better today. She had been the victim of trafficking back in about 2003. She is now married and has a beautiful 2 year old girl. Don Shive started after tea and cookies. He presented on how to have a fair argument. As always Don was engaging as well as clear in walking through the elements of fair fighting.

We took a break, then I spoke on personal finance, talking about a budget as a road map. We discussed budgeting, and budget killers. We also talked about some tips for sticking with a program.

Then we had pizza and played some games and talked. Some played Jenga. I also spoke about Russian and American economies with one of the graduates.

We left for dinner and upon arriving back at the hotel, I was waiting for a friend so that I could deliver some clothing sent by her mother. While waiting outside the hotel, I witnessed a very sad sight. An older woman was searching the hotel trash cans in front for water bottles with water remaining. She would pour any remaining water into her own water bottle until it was full. I also had a very important discussion with one of our interpreters. It went on so late, that I arrived back at my room just before 11 p.m.

Nathan was asleep and I could not wake him. Due to the way Russian hotels often work, there was one key and Nathan had it inside the room. I went to the front desk and had to use my limited Russian to explain that my friend was sleeping and that I needed the room unlocked. They sent up a maid and she tried to open the door, but then couldn't so she just walked away and I got no other help.

Just about the time I was going to resign myself to sleeping in the hallway, a very inebriated gentleman about 25 years old came up and assisted me in waking Nathan. So, now I am about to go to sleep in my bed.

Good Night.

First day in Russia

Well, we all made it through two stops safe and sound to Russia with all of our luggage. We even had one kid come to see us as soon as we got into Vladimir.

I did have one disappointment today in that a friend of mine who lives very close to where we had lunch could not be contacted, and we were not able to see each other.

The weather was nice and warm. Our hotel is decent and has wifi, which for me is the main requirement.

I'm including a couple of pictures, including one of Chris touching a door on the airport shuttle. You can see that he should not be doing that.

All are healthy. Tomorrow we will work with the kids at the Vladimir Ministry Center. We'll cover Conflict Resolution, Personal Finance and one other topic related to spiritual growth.

We are excited. And now it is almost 2 a.m. here, so I should go to sleep.
Blessings to all of you and thanks for your prayers.

Doug

I'm leaning out of the blocks

Gotta get to bed. A few pictures to print, then off to bed.

Getting up around 4 to get to the airport. WOW, it's here.

Seeing friends, working with orphans, working with orphans that are now friends. How cool.