We've Arrived!

What a wonderful week we have had! From the moment we walked into the airport and were greeted by six bright, smiling faces, we have been walking on air! Marina Topoltsova, director of Road of Life (ROL) Family Homes, and four of the girls from ROL, along with SAC’s St., Petersburg Program Director, Dasha, were there to meet us, and presented me with flowers and my favorite bar of chocolate candy! Oh and we were greeted with a winter wonderland of snow and ice. We ain’t in Ruston anymore!. Then it was off to deliver resource materials to Fuydor Children’s Shelter, followed by dropping off Dave and Dustin at their apartment, and finally me at my ROL home for the next two weeks.

Just to give you the highlights for the week – we ministered to 9 teenagers and 12 younger children at Fuydor Shelter for street kids Monday through Wednesday all day. We had 32 present at our large group meeting with ROL on Monday night. On Tuesday we met with 8 girls and 8 boys from the Harbor Transitional Homes. On Wednesday we went bowling with 9 guys from the Boys’ Harbor and 6 guys from Boys’ ROL Home. Thursday was busy as we held a traditional Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday night for 29 kids!

The only disappointment for the week – there were no children at Orphanage 14 when we arrived on Friday. Buckner, a ministry agency from the U.S., had come that day and taken all the children on an excursion – without prior scheduling with the administrators, who happened to be in a meeting all day and did not get back to the orphanage until 2pm. Rayisa, the children’s director, was very upset and apologized, but there was nothing to do. So my team (2 translators from Logos Church, 2 girls from ROL, SAC’s Dasha, and my 3-member team) left and went to a coffee shop before going home for the evening.

We are never assured of anything in life, and when on a mission trip the key word is always “flexibility,” but God always blesses us, even in our disappointments. Though we didn’t have time with the kids at Orphanage 14 on Friday, we look forward to the time we can spend with them on Monday and Tuesday of next week. So pray for us! We will be at Orphan Hospital #15 on Monday and Tuesday mornings next week, followed by Orphanage #14 in the afternoons. We will also be doing small group meetings with the ROL family throughout the week.

Love to all!
Nancy