Won't you help?

The next time I see BJ Alexander will be in NYC on our layover to get to Moscow.  BJ will be meeting us there.  The next time I see Vovo, will be in Vladimir.

We are still about $4,000 short of our fundraising goal.  This places a huge burden on our team.  If you are able to help support us, any amount will do.  If you can't give a lot now, but would be willing to commit to helping us fill in our deficit over time, you can make a monthly commitment at www.covenant-pres.org.  Click to donate, then add a credit card and make a monthly commitment for the next six months.  If you'd like to make an ongoing commitment to our trips, that would be even better.

We go to give hope and encouragement and training to orphans and orphan graduates.  We teach about life skills and character development.  This year one of our activities will be a panel discussion about interacting appropriately with the opposite sex.

Please consider a gift, won't you?

Funding update for our trip to Pokrov

We are now within shouting distance of our total funding goal.  We need an additional $4,000 this week to meet our need of $61,000.  Can you help?

Please donate at www.covenant-pres.org.  Click the button for Russia Ministry and put Russia Trip in the notes box!

Thanks for your help!

The trip is getting close

Nineteen of us are now waiting for our invitation to Russia so we can submit our visa applications.  Those should come in a week or so ahead of our trip.

Plans are moving ahead with curriculum using characters from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  We'll have lessons and skits along with the story.  We'll be viewing the movie with the kids!

Other plans involve kids at the ministry center on parenting, relationships and jobs.  We'll also talk about how to treat the opposite gender.

Keep praying and if you'd like to donate, go to www.covenant-pres.org.  Thank You!

Trip planning and fundraising

As an update, we will be flying Delta again this year.  Between the better customer service as well as prices being very competitive this year, we chose Delta.  We are excited about landing in a familiar airport and having lunch at our favorite mall. 

We'll spend much of the first afternoon in Red Square and the Kremlin.  We have a number of first time travelers so it will be good to take them through some of the sights.  I imagine we'll hit cathedral square this year, but we don't have firm plans.

Saturday and Sunday will begin our time with the graduates in Vladimir where we'll spend fun times and provide lessons on life skills and attitudes. 

Monday we'll be at the orphanage and we'll stay through Friday.  Our plan is to have lessons, games, crafts, and skits.  There is lots of planning to do between now and May. 

Again, if you'd like to donate, you can send a contribution to:

Covenant Presbyterian Church
2845 Parliament Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80920

Or www.covenant-pres.org and click the donate button and specify that it is for the Russia trip.

Thanks, and there will be more to come. 

We have an indiegogo page!

Here is a new way to contribute and raise funds for causes.  Check us out at indiegogo, send us a contribution, and you get a prize as well as knowing that you've helped Russia orphans in their quest to become confident young people.

Here is our page at indiegogo!

Yoga in Pokrov

While we did far more than yoga today, that was the big hit.  Julieanna Keenan, a high school student and new member of our team,  decided to try a yoga class just for girls today.  It was our way of connecting and also encouraging the girls to exercise.  It was standing room only in the yoga room with barely enough room for all of the mats.  Tomorrow we will likely have more girls as Julieanna was a HIT.  

The day begin with our teams being set up and developing their slogans and their posters.  I was asked to write the text of our poster in English.   The kids decorated the poster in English.  The theme for the week is a positive attitude and the theme for today was do a good deed.  We were encouraged by the orphanage staff to do a good deed and to also compliment people, especially orphanage staff. 

We also played soccer and did crafts.  We didn't have time to do our lesson, but Chari thinks that she can get two skits into one lesson and combine the two themes. 

We also had an orthodox priest come to the orphanage today.  Some of our team members met with him and some kids and had an interesting time learning more about the orthodox faith.  In addition, some went to the local Grace home.  The Grace home is an apartment, supervised by Svetlana and her husband.  Five boys live in this transitional housing apartment while they adjust to their new roles in college, technical schools and universities. 

So, now we have to make plans for the talent show on Friday.  We have to provide 5 acts.  I have to find one.  ARGH.

Today was a most excellent day

That's what BJ called it.  Today, we drove from Moscow to the ministry center in Vladimir.  Fund Nadezhda runs the ministry center.  We were up early for breakfast in the hotel restaurant for its wonderful buffet.  After that we gathered out things and took off for Vladimir.  Unfortunately, traffic was very bad and in order to save time we had to stop at MacDonald's for lunch along the way and eat on the bus.  It always strikes me as funny to come to Russia and go to MacDonald's, but just as in the US, it was the most convenient option along the highway. 

Zhenya, a girl who graduated in 2010 from Pokrov arrived from Kovrov (about an hour and a half away) with her boyfriend.  He seems like a nice guy and she seems to be well.  He is 23 years old and she is 18.  He has graduated from college and has a job.  They seem happy.  It was great to see her again.

Many of our friends from the immediate Vladimir area arrived to hear and particpate in the lessons on anger by Don Shive and lessons on business that I prepared. 

In between and after the lessons our free time was filled with conversations, sharing photos, and playing Uno.  The Uno game became very loud and laughter filled the room. 

BJ's highlight was seeing both of his boys, Sasha and Dima, together for the first time in a long while.

We had a pizza dinner and finally left the ministry center a little after 8 p.m., so it was a long day and it's time for me to go to bed.  We had a team meeting and we've decided to leave all of the donated clothing at the ministry center.  The director said that they can uses all of the clothing there as some of the women in the young mothers program can have childrens as 7 or 8 years old and some of hte orphan graduates are small enough to wear even a size 14. 

We were glad for such great blessings to today and to see that the kids really do want to related to us and to learn from us.

Made it to Russia

So, we finally made it to Russia after an extra 8 hours in the Denver International Airport and our flight through Frankfurt.  It was my first time in Germany in 35 years.  We didn't see much because we arrived a the gate that was only a few gates away from our departing flight.  Everyone made it safely and Anna N. met us at the hotel.  Anna graduated last year and she now works in Moscow while she prepares to go to school next year.  She looks good and seems to be doing well.  Tomorrow we will got to the Vladimir ministry center in the morning.

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.

Today in Vladimir

Today was another great day. We started by worshiping with Russian believers this morning in a small church in a converted apartment building. The church building is not like what most of us in suburban churches at all. Songs were in Russian. Americans were singing in English to songs that they knew. I sang in Russian, the best I could, but had to look up some of the Russia words. We prayed in small groups before taking communion with our newly made Russian friends. BJ and I prayed with Irina and Lena, two Russian single moms. Lena is out of work and is praying for a job by the end of summer. Many Russians are out of work.

Then we went to see the Assumption Cathedral. It was originally built in the 12th century when Vladimir was the capital city of Russia. It is one of the most famous cathedrals in Russia, perhaps the most famous outside of Moscow.

After that we headed back to the ministry center where I was pleased and surprised to see Klara B. Klara is studying veterinary sciences. She seemed well and happy. She said that she is enjoying living outside of the orphanage.

Don Shive led a session on anger and where it comes from. He also talked about forgiveness. Some of the order orphans (in their twenties) really got involved in that discussion.

After games and conversation we left for the hotel.

I'm including a few pictures from today.

We are in Vladimir Tonight

After all of the aministrative issues getting our visas, we arrived in Moscow this morning without a hitch. The big hitch came with Moscow traffic. It took over an hour to get out of Moscow and about four and half hours to get to Vladimir. We arrived at the minsitry center to over 40 orphanage graduates, many of whom we know from Pokrov.



I was able to spend a lot of time with Valya K. who is doing well in her advertising degree program at the local university. Valya turned 21 this year.



A special surprise was seeing Lilya T. She left the orphanage early, and I was not able to see her last year. I did not know where she was and I feared the worst. However, she was at the ministry center today and is in a technical school. She looked so grown up. She will be seventeen in September.



There were many others from Pokrov. I also met some of the girls in the young mothers program. These girls are single moms between the ages of 17 and 21 who receive monthly parenting and life skills training. Many of them are still enrolled in school, although they have the year off to take care of newborns. They are allowed to live in the dorms if they have no place else to go.



I meant to post pictures, but I'm down in the lobby using wifi here at the Hotel Vladimir. I left my camera in my room. So, I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Priceless by Tom Davis coming out June 1

Tom Davis, CEO of Children's Hopechest is coming out with a new book June 1st. His first book was about orphans in Swaziland. This book is about sex trafficking of young girls in Russia and how a woman named Katya helps them. I've just read the prologue and the first chapter. It looks like another page turner.

In case you think that the issue of human trafficking and the sex trade is exaggerated, I talked to a friend the other day who worked with a couple of orphanages in Russia. She said that not only are girls just out of the orphanage involved, but sometimes girls as young as 11 or 12 are involved.

Tom also just returned from a trip to Russia and Moldova where he found that not only are claims not exaggerated, but that they may actually be underestimated.

Tom's new book is called Priceless. Learn more at www.Sheispriceless.com. The go to the Children's Hopechest web site and make a donation to help save girls in Russia and Moldova. Give them options. Give them hope.

Plane tickets paid for and on their way

Today was the day! Our plane tickets are officially paid for and we'll be leaving on June 3rd for Moscow, Vladimir, and Pokrov Russia.

We'll visit the Fund Nadezhda Ministry Center in Vladimir and the Orphanage in Pokrov.

We are getting down to the wire on planning. It's pretty exciting.

We still need donations. The more the merrier at this point.

Thanks, everyone for your prayers and donations.

Wondering aloud about our trip to Russia

Well, I received an email the other day from a teammate that she is about $700 below where she'd like to be on trip funding. That now makes our deficit about $7,000 for 14 people with only a week and a half left to raise support.

We continue to trust God that the money will come. We believe in this ministry to Russian orphans and we also are amazed that three years in a row that we have 14 trip participants. This isn't easy for a church of about 300 people.

So, while we are encouraged to keep finding people with a real heart for orphans, it is sad that the economy has hit people hard. Among my own traditional support partners, some have chosen to no longer support short term missions, some have businesses that are struggling, and some have lost jobs. For me, this means about $1,500 will come out of my pocket.

It means for other trip members, that they'll pay between $700 and $2,000 for the pleasure of working with kids who no one else wants. That's commitment. That's honorable.

Why is it that its so hard to raise money to work with Russian orphans? Because Children's HopeChest also works in Africa, I know how easy it is for many who travel to Africa to raise money. Is it the memories of the cold war? Is it some current fears about Russia?

These kids are precious. I'm so encouraged that I'm still connected with six of the kids who have left the orphanage. Three of the six are in the university. I'm so proud of them, fighting against the odds.

There are times that I wonder if I'm just stupid to pay so much money out of pocket and take the time away from my family to go visit kids who aren't wanted by their own families. But, when I see kids succeeding who may have ended up dead or on the streets. When I receive their email. When I feel the need to learn their language. I know that this is all worth it.

As I've said before, if you are reading this, you probably have some interest in the issue of Russia and its orphan population. If so, please consider a financial gift to support us. So many on our team are giving so much. Won't you help, if you can?

You may contact me at dheringcma@msn.com or send a donation to:

Covenant Presbyterian Church
c/o Russia Ministry
2845 Parliament Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80920

So, I sit wondering who will read this, and who will care. I don't know, perhaps I'm deceiving myself, but if I am, then, on behalf of the kids we visit, I'm glad I'm deceived.

Russia meeting to recruit travelers

Covenant Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs is having a meeting this Sunday at 12:15 to give potential travelers the information they need to move forward with fundraising, scheduling, and applications for passports.

The trip will take place on or about June 3rd through the 13th in 2010.

Also, Children's HopeChest has just released a new web site called HopeChest Partners. Check it out by clicking the picture on the right.