Sunday, June 9, 2013: Day 14

Today was extremely emotionally challenging for me. We went to Hospital 8, which is the hospital for elderly people who are homeless. I tried to prepare myself mentally (we had gone there last year,) but I still wasn't ready to go back in. As we pulled in to the tight driveway, I started to shake. I was crying by the time we got out of the van.

When we got past the awful staircase that patients are bounced up when they're brought in, I locked up. It was so hard for me to consider going back, and once we got into the rooms, I had to force myself to smile - those people don't need any more tears.

Karen helped me out, though - getting involved takes my mind off all of it. Karen had me spoon feed a guy who couldn't si tup, who could barely support himself to lean up on his arm. It really did help me to help someone else. When he (Nickoli was his name,) was done, he just held my hand and stared at me and smiled at me. He spoke very little English, and my Russian barely gets me through "What is your name?" For a while, we just talked to each other in our own language, had a conversation that I'll never know the literal translation to, but could see the meaning to it in his eyes. I left his room and couldn't stop crying.

The lead paint is still peeling. There's still too many people to a room. The food looked atrocious. The bandages were less than fresh. That place isn't a hospital - it's a slow torture chamber, and I left people in there. Again.

That has to be the worst part - walking away. I didn't recognize anyone in there, which means ,more than likely, the people we saw last year have passed away. The chances of anybody recovering in that situation are slim. I have to wonder how many people do walk out of there - but then I stop, because I'm afraid of the true statistics.

I feel bad for not taking more pictures (I took 2 and then had to stop,) and for not making more powerful connections, like I did with Nickoli. I just couldn't make myself move. I just stood in the hallway and absorbed everything - the woman who said "Don't waste a Bible on me - I'm nearly blind, close to dying, and I'm a Christian. Give that Bible to someone who needs it;" the 33-year-old woman who is stuck in the hospital; the woman curled up in the fetal position, unmoving, apathetic, basically ready to go; Nickoli, barely strong enough to prop himself up on his arm; the 56-year-old war vet who is nearly completely healthy except for his missing limbs.

Images like that are engraved in my mind, forever.

Friday, June 7, 2013: Day 12

Oh my goodness, today has been excellent. We started off at Pavlovsk, the largest orphanage that we work with that's home specifically to children who have disabilities.

Side note: We tried going to this building last year, but were unable to get in. I posted that story in this entry: May 30th, 2012, and it may be beneficial to readers to reread it before continuing...

We went to a building where they have classes for kids who are able to participate. We saw an art class, a cooking class, a building/constructing class, and a choreography class. They put on two WONDERFUL performances for us! The teacher was wonderful, and he made me smile, besides the kids, who were just having a great time. Here's a video of one of their performances...

I think one of the most disheartening things about visiting this orphanage, or others that are of a similar nature, is all the kids who are in there because of physical handicaps, rather than mental. Not because they're unhappy, because they all seemed quite content. It's because of their futures - every one of these kids, with any sort of infirmity, is headed for a "human warehouse," as Pastor calls it. This just has to be one more situation where I need to be grateful for what is rather than wishing for what could be. At least these kids have 18 years (sometimes more, depending on the institution,) to laugh, smile, and learn about God's love. All the workers seem to love their job and the kids, and the kids are all smiling and happy. It really is a nice place - just hard to think about what comes after for them.

Side note: After some reflection time upon returning to the States, I remembered being very upset by this orphanage last year, despite the fact that we weren't able to go in. We had been informed that this orphanage would be hard to visit because of the kids who were bedridden - their situations were often bad, and they weren't necessarily as comfortable as the children I got to meet on this day. However, last year, we were unable to get in, and I consoled myself with the idea that I was not emotionally prepared to meet those kids. 

This year, we were able to go in, so I thought that I'd be more ready, more prepared. But this year, we didn't go past the classrooms. We only saw kids who were mobile and active, participating in extracurricular activities. 

Two years in a row, I haven't seen those kids who I saw pictures of last year, who I heard stories of, who I was warned I wouldn't want to take pictures of because I would only hurt more every time I looked at them. Something tells me that God's protecting me from what I would see, that I'm just not supposed to meet them in person.

However, that doesn't stop me from thinking that they still need our prayers - in fact, it makes me think that they need our prayers more than ever. Those kids are hurting a lot, are trapped inside feeble bodies or feeble minds, and have been brutally cast aside by their society. I pray that the love of God still reaches them, that they are blessed with gentle and loving staff members who care about the children, not just about their pay. I pray that somewhere, within those walls, these kids can build a relationship with someone, learn to love someone, at least one someone, and that their lives are not complete loneliness. I pray that one day, I will be able to hug their perfect bodies in heaven, bodies that will have no blemishes, no disabilities, no limitations at all, bodies that will join me in praising our Father in heaven, forever and ever.

On a much brighter note, we visited Volosovo today!!! This time around, almost all the kids were there and the little ones were up from their nap! Last year, most of the older kids were in school, and the younger ones were napping when we got there, so we didn't get much interaction with anyone aside from the director, which was fine, but it was nice to meet the kids this year!! We had so much time to interact with the kiddos! Also, they were super hyper and a ton of fun. 

Our director, Olga, is a very, very nice woman who works hard for the orphanage and the kids. She is very grateful for Friedensau's help and sent me a gift for the church - a paper Chinese folding paper swan - it's gorgeous. It was such a fun day, and I loved getting to see our orphanage again - such a blessing for me to go back!

Thursday, June 6, 2013: Day 11

Today was really neat! We started off at the orphanage that James's and Rachel's family sponsor. Technically it's a shelter in Tihkvin. The director there is a wonderful, firm woman, but at the same time, we can see how much she loves the kids and her job.

She shared with us that the Tihkvin community is home to a war memorial, dedicated to two young boys, about sixteen years old, who joined the Russian army to fight the Germans. The shelter has taken on the responsibility of keeping up the maintenance and appearance of the memorial, very similar to how my high school NHS adopted a highway to keep up. The kids seem very excited about their new responsibility.

James, Rachel, and I shared the story of David and Goliath again, and it went over super well! Nickoli had a young man approach him and say that he knew that story because he'd read the Bible - THAT was an awesome moment!

When we were handing out Bibles, we had a VERY high demand for them. Unfortunately, we ran out of Bibles before we ran out of kids. When the girls were asking for a Bible, they asked me in English! These girls were beautiful, too, with infectious smiles and golden brown eyes. I wrote them a note on some paper, and they understood at least some of it - it was really neat. I also signed my name in Russian for one girl, and she really seemed to at least appreciate my efforts! The 3 girls who I took a picture with were Sasha, Nastia, and Darina. Super smart, beautiful, and outgoing - I hope those girls continue to do well and become successful in their futures!

From L to R: Darina, Sasha, myself, Nastia, and Rachel

 After the shelter, we went to the abandoned baby orphanage in Tihkvin. They house children from ages 0-3. When we went there, it was right after the 2.5-3 year olds woke up. They came in to the room we were waiting in where they each had their clothes laid out on their own chair. Each kid knew which chair was his/her's, and they went straight to put their clothes on.

The chairs laid out with clothes before the babies came in.

I went to help a little girl, and when she was dressed, she climbed into my arms, wrapped her own arms around my neck, and wouldn't let go.

We stayed like that for about ten minutes, just holding on to each other. I could feel her grasp harder, if that was even possible, each time I shifted. Her head was buried in my neck, and we rocked and cuddled - I fell in love IMMEDIATELY. 

Saying goodbye was hard. Nickoli said I probably gave that little girl more attention in those ten or fifteen minutes than she'll probably get in the next month. As sick as that makes me, I have to keep focusing on the positive: at least I had the opportunity to hold her, for however brief a time. 

Our final orphanage of the day was a little bit interesting. We hadn't ever been there as a whole group before, only Nickoli and Valentina had ever gone out there before, so the director was a bit nervous, and was even more apprehensive when we settled down for a Bible story. However, we shared, captivated the kids, and all went over well. There were several older kids there, and we didn't hadn out too many Bibles - I think the fear of the unknown overtook them, but were were able to connect with them, which was good for an initial meeting. 

All in all, we had a really great day! Tomorrow we get to go to my church's orphanage, and I'M SO EXCITED!!!

Wednesday, June 5, 2013: Day 10

Today was such an incredible, overwhelming mix of emotions - but ended up being a great day. We went to the Priozorsk orphanages, 1 and 2. The first one we went to has three buildings, and is home to numerous children who have any kind of disabilities - mental, physical, anything at all. We visited several rooms and made many, many new friends! I have my two crosses away to young girls, who were between 10 and 14 years old and were in wheelchairs. One was named Sasha:

Sasha and I at Priozorsk 1

I couldn't quite get the other girl's name, even with our translator's help! Those first couple of rooms were a lot of fun to visit, lots of smiles and interaction!

One room we went into was occupied by five boys who were waking up from a nap. One of them, again with a name I couldn't grasp, is 8 years old, very sweet, and very bright. He was born with spinabifida and is paralyzed because of it. His paralyzation is the sole thing that keeps him in his wheelchair, and in the orphanages. Here's a picture of me with him:

Karen says that she's seen him grow up, and has seen him in four different orphanages, all for handicapped children, in the past eight years. At one point, money was raised to get him a nice wheelchair, but the director at one of the previous orphanages kept it, claiming it was his. Now the boy is confined to a generalized wheelchair again.

The further we went in the tour, the more we saw kids who were severely disabled. One room we went into was specifically for children who were bedridden, most of who are undersized for the worst part was when we left that room: I had been rubbing someone's back and they started screaming when I left - they hadn't finished when we passed that room on the way out of the building. Here's a picture of two friends that I made in one of those rooms:

A 15-year-old confined to a bed.

A 6-year-old child in a crib - he's wrapped himself around my arm in this picture, his immediate reaction when I put my hand in the crib to rub his back. 

On a much happier note, though, we were also able to revisit the orphanage that Michael's church supports, the one where I met Anya last year. I was so nervous pulling up in front of the orphanage. I saw Anya's friend from last year, Luva, run up to the van, and my heart jumped; Anya wasn't in the small welcoming committee, and I was worried she wasn't going to be there. It didn't help my worries when she didn't come rushing out of the orphanage to greet us.

Side note: Sorry if this comes across as semi mello-dramatic, but I try to paint as vivid a story as possible, and I feel like it may come across to the audience as somewhat of an overkill, but this was a pretty momentous moment in my trip.

As we got out of the an and were greeted by kids, I started to prepare myself to not see her. After all, kids are moved all over the place, as though they were chess pieces and the orphanages were the squares on a chess board. My chances of seeing her again were all over the place, especially since school is out, so kids are off at camp or visiting family.

As I started to interact with the other kids, the front door opened, and I saw Anya's face peek out. If you've ever had those moments when everything around you freezes and it's just you and the focus of excitement - that's exactly what happened when I realized I was looking at Anya.

I don't believe I'll ever forget the look on her face when I called out her name and she recognized me and ran into my arms. We were both laughing, I was crying, and she clung to me, exactly like she did when she first met me.

Moments like that are exactly why I wanted to come back on the trip. I want to reunite with as many people as possible, just to have another opportunity to share the love of Christ, to hand out a cross or a Bible, to smile at someone, hold someone's hand, anything. And Anya's smile upon recognizing my face convinces me that this is completely and 100% totally worth it, especially when she asks me questions such as "When are you coming back?" Soon, sweet angel. I pray very soon.

Anya and me, moments after being reunited. 

Side note: So, Anya's orphanage director, to be pictured after this note, was chatting with me and a few of the other members of my group, and she asked us what we were going to school for. When I said that I was going into education, she told me that I have a job at her orphanage whenever I want it. I'm posting about this almost a month later, and not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about it. Your prayers for the matter are very much appreciated. My first instinct is to say "Yes, sign me up, I'll graduate with my teaching degree and move here!" But I know that there are so many more factors to consider: if I want to move to Russia by myself, if I want to go there as a young first-year teacher, if I'll have time to learn the language, if I'll have anywhere to live, who I'll be leaving behind in the United States, how long I'll want to stay in Russia... I told one of my friends recently that, no matter how badly I think I want this opportunity - and have wanted it for the past year or so - fear keeps taking over. I'm terrified to go alone (though we are never alone, with Christ!) I'm scared to leave the life I've lived for the past twenty years, I'm scared about too many things. Please keep this in your prayers. I could potentially be Anya's teacher in a year and a half, if this is what I'm supposed to do, but I just haven't the foggiest about where I'll be needed most at the point in my life. 

The orphanage director who offered me the job and Michael, whose church sponsors the orphanage where I'd be working.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013: Day 9

Sorry I didn't write yesterday - I'll do my best to remember everything. We started at Madonna, where there's a parsonage and an Orphan Grain Train shipping site - we went there last year, and there was a barn that they were in the process of renovating so that they could store containers there. This may have been one of the highlights of the day: we were able to see how much work they've done on the barn since last year, and it was AMAZING.


Before pictures, 2012:

After pictures, 2013:

New roof! Or at least the beginnings of one.

The outside of the barn.

They have walls up, a floor put in, and a makeshift ceiling on, and when we went yesterday, there were parts of a shipment in there! It was so cool to see that project have progressed so much! It really makes me excited to see my church's orphanage and how much more they've renovated. 

After Madonna, we went to Svoniki orphanage. We had gone there last year, and it's the one run by a Canadian pastor and his wife in an old farm house. Last year when we went, it was cold and rainy, so we were inside. Yesterday, though, it was beautiful and sunny, the kids were having lunch outside, and it was wonderful. We saw some kids from last year, and met some new ones.

One of my highlights from that orphanage was walking with Sandra, the house mom, and 2 kids down to the chicken coop. As we were walking, she pointed out the various animals in their "animal garden," as she called it, and she told me a little bit about how much the animals help the kids and how therapeutic they are. 

Side note: One of my long-time dreams that I don't talk about much, for whatever reason, is to use horses as part of a therapy program for kids who have been abused or have special needs. It's one of those dreams that I never see taking off, but then again, I'm composing this entry from Russia - dreams happen, even if you don't expect them to. 

Any way, I told Sandra about that dream, and she and I chatted lightly about animals and kids - it was a really neat experience. Leaving that orphanage was hard - I was telling Jackie and Allen (the couple on the trip with us,) that I have super mixed feelings about not seeing kids at the orphanages. The good this is, they're possibly out and adopted and party of a loving family. On the flip side, they may have outgrown the orphanage, when we get to the special needs orphanages, they will have possibly passed away, but no matter where they are, I'm not reconnecting, not getting to see them again, and that's so hard for me. Already, at the 2 orphanages we've been to, there have been little faces replaced by other little faces. The only thing I can do is pray those kiddos are alright and that they're safe, wherever they may be. I suppose this is also another opportunity for me to say that we just have to put our trust in God, and believe that He and His angels have every single kid in their care.

When we got back to the lake house, we each packed a suitcase of clothes, baby blankets, and toys. That was pretty neat! Which leads me into today's events.

We crossed over into Russia today - we were pretty tense going through there. This particular border has been known to take a couple of hours. On top of that, each of us was taking in a suitcase holding children's clothes, toys, blankets, and a stack of Braille Bibles. The mafia is fond of taking stuff such as that, which is why we stopped sending containers directly into Russia and started taking suitcases in like we did today. Tension wasn't eased by the fact that they were scanning suitcases today. We didn't have anything dangerous, but if our contents look suspicious for any reason, it could hold us up for SEVERAL hours. 

By the grace of God, the only person who got held up was Karen, and it was because she had 3 boxes of sidewalk chalk that looked like bullets under the scanner. However, a brief opening of the suitcase revealed to the very pleasant security guard that it was simply sidewalk chalk, and let her right through. We were out of there in under two hours, which was a new record for that particular border. Not bad!

Right now, we're headed to the abandoned baby orphanage at Luga. We're not sure if we'll get in - their equivalent of state inspection is today, and having us there would just create a huge mess for them, understandably! So we don't know what's going on yet. More later...

Later...

Oh, my goodness, what a wonderful afternoon! We ended up being allowed into Luga. We made many little friends, anywhere from ages 0-3. Michael made a little friend named Vicca:

Michael and Vicca

She definitely had an obsession with cameras! (If you take a look at the picture, you'll see she's got a tight grip on Michael's Canon!) She was a lot of fun, super smart, too! She was repeating our names, and she did such a great job! I was also reminded that my name in Russian is pronounced "Styephanie." It makes me smile.

Some sad news, though, about the Luga baby orphanage: the government officials who visited today told the director that they're considering shutting down the orphanage and moving the sixty babies into an orphanage of one hundred babies for a total of 160 babies. The main reason behind this is so that they can report a lower number of orphanages. No care for the infants, the workers, the renovations on the building, anything. Just the statistics on the number of orphanages. Maybe I'm just over-sensitive, but that seems rather heartless, to me.

On a much happier note, we went from Luge to Tolmachevo orphanage, which is home to kids from age 4-16 or 17. We didn't see much more than about 6 of the kids, but the small numbers make it easier to connect with them. Michael got a GREAT picture of me and my little 4-year-old friend, Masha:

She's a cutie, and she knows it, too.

Today was the first time we, as a group, gave a Bible story to the kiddos! I gave the story of David and Goliath, James gave a very, very short message, and Rachel said a prayer. The format was from a children's message I wrote for a class this past semester, and I happened to tuck it in my Bible for whatever reason. Well, that reason was Russia. I had the Bible story paraphrased, I had a message, and I had a Bible verse and a prayer to pull it all together. It went beautifully! Nickoli translated, and the kids were captivated. It was a really moving experience.

Giving our Bible lesson!

I also gave away my first Bible, to a 7-year-old named Dasha. She wasn't as out-going as Masha, but still very sweet. Giving Bibles away is such a special moment for me - really makes me smile.

Now we're headed into Saint Petersburg to check in at our hotel and eat at good ol' Pizza Ollie's! (And there's WiFi! Hooray!) It's been a wonderful day, a great start to the Russia portion of our trip.

My Group Devotion, Given in Russia

Psalm 145

Great Is the Lord

A Song of Praise. Of David.

1 I will extol you, my God and King,

and bless your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless you

and praise your name forever and ever.

3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his greatness is unsearchable.

4 One generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness.

7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9 The Lord is good to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your saints shall bless you!

11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

and tell of your power,

12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words

and kind in all his works.]

14 The Lord upholds all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down.

15 The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

16 You open your hand;

you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways

and kind in all his works.

18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;

he also hears their cry and saves them.

20 The Lord preserves all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

In the Lutheran Study Bible, this chapter is referred to as the "Mission Psalm," and seems to fit our trip, to a T.

David models a perfect mission trip in this Psalm. He begins and ends by praising the Lord, which should really be a daily example for us. David then spends several verses meditating on the works of God, and for Christians, the sacrifice of Christ should be a main poing of concentration as we remember the works of the Lord.

Verses 14-21 remind me of our own message, the purpose of this trip. Although our first and foremost goal should be sharing the love of Christ, these 8 verses express our second purpose: sharing the loving care and mercy of our "Oтец," (Father,) in heaven. And David finishes with the hope that we take with us on all of our missions, both overseas and back in the States:

"Let all flesh bless his holy name,

forever and ever."

Dear Papa God,

Thank you for the opportunity to share your love and the love of Christ through our actions and your Word on this and all future missions we may embark on. Bless our efforts so that we may be joined by even more brothers and sisters in Christ when we join you in heaven.

In your name we pray,
Amen.

June 2, 2013: Day 7

Today was very nice, very relaxing. It's definitely going to be different from last year, in that we went from our buys, fast-paced week in Russia to our slower, more relaxed week in the Baltics. That's switched around this year, so moving into our fast-paced week may be somewhat of a challenge.

Any way, after our breakfast in Tallinn, we drove to Parnu, where we were able to attend a Lutheran church. The service was in Estonian, but we were able to pick things out like the Lord's Prayer, the sharing of the peace, and the benediction. We also had Communion, which makes Latvia the only Baltic State left for me to have Communion in - don't think it'll happen on this trip, though.

Caitlynn also sang in church, an English hymn, and she did a wonderful job, beautiful addition to the service. I had an unintentional performance myself; when the congregation had filed out, we were waiting for the pastor (he wanted to recap his sermon for us in English,) and I st down to play Für Elise on the church's grand piano. I had my back to the door, and as I was playing, a tourist group filed in, completely unbeknownst to me. THAT was embarrassing...

We were able to eat out, and then once we got back into Latvia, we stopped at the Baltic Sea and swam. Well, more like waded. The water never went much past my waist, and the further out we got, the closer to came to hypothermia (I am, of course, exaggerating, but it was extremely cold,) so we stayed pretty close to shore.

Ilze (our driver's wife and hostess while in the Baltics,) prepared a wonderful dinner for us tonight, and then afterwards we took a dip in the lake. Now I'm sitting outside, watching the sun set over the lake, full of good, homemade tea, enjoying the beautiful piece of creation.

Tomorrow will be our last full day in the Baltics - we'll be going to Madonna, Latvia to fill suitcases with things for the people in Russia. We don't send containers to Russia from Orphan Grain Train anymore because the mafia goes through it and completely rifles and pilages the contents. Instead, we send them to the Baltics and then find people, like us, to move the contents safely across the borders. Seems to work much better.

Grita, Juris's (our driver,) HUGE German shepherd, is laying so peacefully next to the house, the family across the lake is swimming with their kids, my bug spray is keeping away the evil mosquitoes - I'm juts a really content person right now. I think I'll finish up with my devos and some plans for my group devotion in Russia, and then hunker down for the night.

Side note: Tonight we learned that Oklahoma City got hit, again, with even more tornadoes. Prayers for those people back at home who are suffering from so much pain and loss - may God give them comfort in their time of grief.