Day 7 - Pokrov Day 4

Today was a special day for us and the kids.  We were invited to a nearby camp that included horse and buggy rides, ATV rides, a cheese making operation, and a trip to a lake that has sponges for islands. 

The most interesting part was the lake with islands made up of plants that group together in the lake to form small islands.  Depending on the winds, the islands can move across the lake and back.  We walked mostly on planks set out, but we were allowed walk out onto the plants that were as sponges beneath our feet.  They were so dense that you could jump up and down on them.  The island created something similar tot he surface of a water bed, so that when you walk on it, you create a wave underneath. 

This took longer than we thought it would and so our afternoon was very short with a lesson about Edmund and how we all are like Edmund in a way.  We are all tempted and we often fall.  Sometimes because the temptation does not, at first, appear to be for something wrong.  Then we find out that we've been tricked, but we seem trapped.  There is no way out.  But Aslan provides a way of escape for Edmund. 

I also was especially blessed today.  I was hoping to get to Nadya's grave, but because we arrived back at the orphanage after the bus had left for errands, my only other option was to go Friday morning by taxi, which would have been more money than I hoped to spend.  Nastya (a curriculum director at the orphanage) offered to drive me there.  We got into her car with two others and then met a girl with whom Nadya went to college.  We went to the grave  and shared stories about Nadya.  Then we went by the college and the dormitory where Nadya had lived.  It was very moving for me. 

All in all a great next to last day.