Posts for Thursday, Friday and Saturday

Wow, we have been so busy that I've been too tired to write.  Here is a brief summary.

Thursday, we had big plans, but the weather was so hot that many of the kids took off for the lake for the afternoon.  We did some crafts and played some games with kids who were left, but our organized program was largely lost.  We had fun, but it was a bit disappointing.

Friday, plans went pretty well.  We decided that because the kids wanted to go to the lake, we would go with them.  So,  after a great trip to the Alexandrov Kremlin, which was built by Ivan the Great in order to avoid problems in Moscow, we went to the lake with the kids.  I did part of our program out by the lake.  We returned for dinner, and a video that the kids put together with our help.  Then we said our goodbyes. 

Saturday morning included more good buys, an uneventful trip to Moscow, a trip to the Izmailvo market, a viewing of the Tretavdov Gallery and sinner and shopping on Arbat Street.

Now.  It's late and I need to get to bed.

Pokrov - Day 6

Today we split up and some of us went to see a convent and others went to Svetlana's dacha.

We also worked in a lesson on respect and an English lesson.  All in all what felt like a good day, but a slow day.  Kids were coming and going and so it was a bit frustrating trying to relate with them.

It was also very hot and so tiring. 

Tomorrow we'll be at the orphanage all day for a lot of games, teaching and more English.

Pokrov - Day 5

Well, allergies are acting up, which has put a damper on things a bit, and one of the kids I sponsor left for camp this morning before I got to see her. 

However, it was a good day in many ways.  The lesson on unity went well and I was able to spend time with a number of kids that I might not normally spend time with. 

I also met one of ths kids' fathers as he came to visit. 

In addition to the lesson, we did some work around the orphanage and I was part of a group getting to know some of the younger kids.  We also did crafts and games.  T-shirt making is always a favorite, and this year we introduced string back packs.

We also had our annual dinner with the orphanage staff.  It was very nice and I met two staff members that I had not known well in the past.  That was a great time. 

The children also put on a concert for us about the federal children's holidays. 

Vladimir and Pokrov - Days 3 and 4

Hi.  I'm sorry that I did not get an update together yesterday.  I had an unfortunate card error and lost all of my pics, so I was spending time trying to recover them.  No luck yet.

So, here is a brief update as I need to get to bed.  It's been another long day.

On Sunday, we went to the Weslyan Church for services, then to lunch at the mall, then back to the ministry center.  Unfortunately, I lost all of those pics, except for a few toward the end of the day.

The lessons at the ministry center were on needs and motivation and on having a positive attitude.  Don and I led the lessons and we had a pretty good group of kids.  We met in small groups in the second session for a while, then we went off to dinner with the kids. 

Today, Monday, we had a good drive with minimal delay to the orphanage in Pokrov.  Most of the kids are in Moscow for a children's holiday event, so we spent some time with the real little kids and then most of the afternoon with the orphanage staff.  They provided some lessons and games for us, and Don led a lesson on anger management for the staff.  A few kids who were at the orphanage attended a portion of that session. 

Here are some pics of the day.  BTW, so far everyone is well, but I do feel a cold coming on.  :-(   I hope it's nothing. 

Russia - Day 2- Vladimir

Today we took a bus from Moscow to Vladimir.  We left before 9 a.m. to try to beat traffic.  Unfortunately, due to some bridge construction, it still took us about five and a half hours.  We had a lot of fun reconnecting with kids and we got in some organized fun activities.  Oleg Baumann was there.  It's the first time I've seen him in three years.  Kids were very excited that I could speak Russian so well.  It was nice to be able to do a majority of conversations in Russian. 

I'm pretty tired so I won't be uploading any photos today, but we had a nice pizza dinner with kids and then the guys and two of our interpreters ran off to a banya for steam room, sauna, and a pool for relaxation.  We didn't get back to the hotel until after 10 p.m. so it's off to bed soon. 

Tomorrow's plan is to do lessons on priority setting and needs/wants.  I'm also going to do a lesson on keeping a positive attitude. 

So, more pics tomorrow!

Russia 2014 - Day 1 - Moscow

We arrived today.  It's always so strange to arrive and in some ways it feels like the same day, but really it's the next day.  It's been about 28 hours since we left Denver, but it's 38 hours on the clock.  Time to go to bed.

We had a little scare when one of our team members had to wait for his passport and visa,, but was able to make a slightly later flight and arrived a little over 2 hours after we did.

Then it was off to the hotel, red square, dinner and the tomb of the unknown soldier.  We arrived just at the changings of the guard. 

Still a tiring day of travel and looking forward to going to Vladimir in the morning.

Doug