Day 4 - Pokrov Day 1

We left Vladimir this morning.  I had a great experience this morning as late last night I arranged a meeting with a girl I had not seen in eight years.  She left the orphanage shortly after I was there in 2005.  She found me on a social networking site this year and wanted to see me.  I was also able to arrange for one of our interpreters to come and have breakfast with us at the hotel. 

Anna and I were able to meet with her and catch up a lot.  She went to live with her parents and now is a competitive roller skier.  That was a great conversations and she expressed her appreciation to us for even what we did eight years ago when she was eight years old.

The first day at the orphanage flew by as we arrived at about 11 o'clock at our hotel.  We quickly got to the orphanage and had our opening meeting where we introduced ourselves.  We had a nice lunch and then watched two movies made at the orphanage.  One was very funny and made by the kids themselves.  It was very well done, especially for a first effort.  the other was a professionally made film about the loneliness of being an orphan that was made on the orphanage property. 

We then watched a portion of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  Unfortunately, we were not able to finish it and our options are limited.  Many kids have seen the movie before. 

The kids put on a nice presentation of songs about childhood.  It included singing and dancing, mostly by the younger kids. 

After that we had dinner with 18 members of the orphanage staff.  It was a very special evening in a nice setting. 

Day 3 - 2nd day at Vladimir

On our second and already our last day at Vladimir, we got up and went to the orthodox cathedral again and went in for part of the service.  Some of us bought candles to light to symbolize our prayer and the smoke rising to God. 

Then we went to a Wesleyan church where many of our interpreters attend.  This is the four or fifth year that we have attended worship at the church.  Because we are often there on the first Sunday of the month, we usually are there for communion and we get to split into small groups and pray for one another.  Our group of 19 almost doubled the size of the attendance.

Going for lunch at the food court at the local mall was a good experience as Macks, one of the orphanage graduates joined me for lunch.  A few other grads joined us as well. 

Once at the ministry center, we spent some time talking with grads, and I was able to meet with Fedya and Sasha and their four year old daughter Lize.  One of the gifts that she received was a princess dress that she loved. 

Chari gave a lesson on parenting.  MacKenna, Nathan, Anna and Kate helped her with skits.

We then worked with the kids on issues in relationships with the opposite sex.  We began with a brainstorming session on what girls want from guys and guys want from girls.  American men began with Russian guys and American women with Russian young ladies, then we switched.  It was slow at first, but once the guys got talking, it seemed as if we could go forever.

After that many of us went to a large store called Globus for a buffet dinner.

Day 2 - Vladimir and the ministry center

Leaving Moscow on Saturday morning led to heavy traffic.  Our driver took back roads all the way to Vladimir, which meant a 90 miles drive took about six hours over sometimes very bumpy roads.  Several team members experienced some car sickness and bathroom stops were at a premium.  It did allow us to see a side of the country off the beaten path.  We saw dachas, small open shopping markets, and rural neighborhoods in various stages of development, sometimes brand new beautifully landscaped homes next to homes that had been standing for a hundred years. 

We finally made it to Vladimir and checked into our hotel.  After eating a traditional Russian lunch at a nearby restaurant we made it to the ministry center where kids had been waiting for hours.  There were a large group of kids, perhaps 25 at the peak.  We spent some time getting to know each other as we have new travelers and there were orphans that we had not met before as well. 

Don gave a presentation and discussion on communication skills and how to properly express feelings.  Many of the young people participated with example that Don could use to help them work through healthy ways to communicate with others.

We had our traditional pizza dinner with the grads and then some informal time together.  One big hit was Reggie's guitar playing and singing along with Josh, Nathan, Christie, Julie and Jake.

On the return to the hotel, we stopped by the largest cathedral in Vladimir.  The cathdral stands on the top of a hill that overlooks the main local river and provides a beautiful view.  From that area you can see about five or six orthodox churches that dot the hillside.

Returning to our hotel for some much needed rest, we  had a short team meeting and some of us sent of emails to family and headed off to bed.

We arrived.

We arrived in Moscow after celebrating Nathan's birthday in the middle of JFK airport.  We sang Happy Birthday to him and it was enough to get the notice of one security person who came to see us having Nathan put on a little safari outfit.  Nathan took it well, and i'm sure he won't forget it anytime soon.  He didn't do all of the dares we challenged him too (mine was for him to do 17 push ups in the middle of the airport), but it's his birthday. 

We went to Red Square and the Kremlin.  We viewed one of the cathedrals in Cathedral Square in addition to Tsar's canon and the Tsar's bell.  We walked through Red Square where there was a festival going on.  We may try to get back through next weekend. 

After a long day, a few of us took a short walk to the mall across the street just to get out of the hotel. 

We are off to Vladimir today.

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!