Shatalova Orphanage

Friday Jan. 13 we loaded all the gifts, luggage and 28 bodies into 2 large vans and a mini-van and headed out at 10 a.m. for a 6 hour drive to an orphanage outside Smolensk, Russia . We had been preparing for this day for a couple of months. Letters were sent to parents from school asking if they would like to supply a gift or contribute money. Announcements were made at our church for anyone who wanted to be involved. Permissions were received for students who wanted to go. At last the day had come. 
After prayers for safety, we headed out. The weather was decent. It started out snowy changing to drizzle, but the roads were clear. Over the course of the journey we even managed to see some sun. Due to gas and pit stops, one wiper flying off and being retrieved, and the last 50 km. being a local road, it was around 5 p.m. by the time we arrived. 

All the gifts, etc. had to be unloaded and rooms assigned, and then we were fed.
After supper we got into national costumes or Santa hat, etc. and prepared to visit the various dorms to sing and distribute gifts. The children were delighted and some even did recitations or acrobatics for us in order to get a gift from  дед  мороз -Ded Maroz (Grandfather Frost).












We  had about 8 dorms to visit, so that took the rest of the evening, and then all the children had to get to bed as they have school on Saturday morning.

This is the girl I bought for and I also knit her a scarf. She asked for an umbrella and because her wants were so simple I bought some other things like nail polish, stickers, candy.

The children were asked for a wish list earlier in the fall and that's what they bought for them. There were some very excited kids that night.

Then we went to our dorms also and tried to get some sleep. Next morning we had to be up for breakfast by 9 and then we spent the next 2 hours preparing the show for the afternoon. We did a shortened version of the musical the school had done. We had the music and costumes and some of the dancers, but we had to explain it all to the university students, who had come so they could fill in the parts. They had never even seen it before. We got ready in 2 hours what it had taken 2 months for the school to perfect. There was a lot of impromptu performing, but it went very well and the kids loved it...But I'm getting ahead of myself.

After rehearsal, the children had returned and we held several classes to teach them a few English words and one for French. After the lesson they were given our cameras and had to go around and shoot pictures of the words they had learned (like a scavenger hunt). They had a great time and then we put all the pictures into the computer. We were supposed to view them and have them tell us the words as a review, but there was no time.

Lunch was at 2 and then there were what they called 'master classes' to interact with the kids and do African braiding, make-up and nails, singing and something called capoeira, which is a dance/ defense movement that was done by a guy from Brazil.

The kids were crazy about this guy. He won there hearts quickly and he didn't speak Russian or English. Fortunately, there were a couple of people on the team from Mozambique, where they also speak Portuguese, but mostly he just used gestures and lots of hugs.

After those classes, at 4 p.m. we then had the concert. Their children also had some numbers prepared for us. They were great. Russian sure know how to memorize and recite and project their voices, unlike our kids who need microphones. It was a great evening, including getting the message of the musical out to them, that Jesus came as a baby to show His love for them.

We followed this with supper and then a movie-"Tangled"-in the TV room, complete with popcorn which the teens had spent hours preparing on Friday night. The only popcorn available is microwave, so they had to pop 42 bags at 3-4 min. each. You do the math... I enjoyed the movie, even though it was in Russian. The younger children had to go to bed, but the teens and our team congregated in the TV room and did a candle-passing sharing time. We sat in a circle and when the candle was passed to you, you could share something meaningful about the weekend. There were lots of tears, but I am so impressed by the ability of these kids to express themselves. I was terrified at the thought of having to speak, but they spoke from their hearts.  That, too, took a long time for around 40 people to each have their turn. Because we had to be quiet, we expressed out agreement by extending our arms and wiggling our fingers and for applause we snapped our fingers. Then after the hugging we trudged off to our beds around 1:00 a.m. I don't think some slept much at all, but I got some because this night I had a mattress.

Breakfast and devotions was again at 9 and then after a lot of pictures and hugs and good-byes we were on our way again. The trip home went more quickly and the weather again cooperated. We were back to our place by 5, tired and content.

Here are some of the precious faces.Remember these children in your prayers. They have difficult lives for ones so young. They're not all orphans, so some are dealing with rejection or loss of parental rights.

I haven't figured out how to move things around with the new format on this blog so for this time you'll have to accept the helter-skelter order of these pictures. I had a plan but not the tech know-how to accomplish it.  So for now...Good night.