Oksana came over today and neither one of us was feeling very much like going today. But we bit the bullet and decided to pull it all together for the kids. We stuffed the gifts bags that I bought along with the notebooks and other goodies for the kids. The other goodies came from Reconciliation Church, they took an offering for the children and went out and purchased items. We also had three teacher gifts as well.
They each received a toothbrush, toothpaste, lots of candy, notebook (Batman for boys and Cinderella for the girls), markers, a pencil and stickers. The big hit of the night were the crowns that Judi H. had picked up for the girls... but, the boys liked them too. They decided that they were kings and queens!
We had a small group of 11 children that we gave gifts to in one building and then we were asked to come over to the other building that is like a hospital for the children when they first arrive. We gave out another 12 gifts over there. We danced and sang with the kids and were treated to a break dance competition. And if you want to know how to say Break dance in Russian... it is just the English words "Break dance"!
Oksana was able to tell the Christmas story to the kids and it was great to see that many of them already knew it!
Showing posts with label Foster Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Foster Home. Show all posts
Friday, January 05, 2007
Friday, November 10, 2006
back to work
Rainy evenings are great for watching movies. Tonight as the rain poured down outside we were watching Superman. Brandon Routh made a good Superman. He looked enough like a young Christopher Reeve to make him seem like the REAL Superman...
Spencer and I returned to work today. We were back at the Detsky Proyut. It is a temporary shelter for children. Like a foster home, they can stay there for up to three years before they are sent back to their family or on to an orphanage. Oksana (from the BLTC) has been going there alone for the past month or so. We had a short planning meeting before going over to help her out tonight. She had told us before we walked over together that there were very few children there right now. Most of them went to the other location just outside of the city. As we were setting up, more and more children piled into the room. We had over 40 kids tonight. And there was three of us! Oksana called me when she got home and said that she had no idea where all of those kids came from. She thanked Spencer and I for helping her.
We had twenty little ones (2, 3, 4 year olds) and all we had for them were coloring sheets. I caught two of them fighting over an orange crayon. I asked them to stop and they looked at me with huge eyes. I am sure it does seem strange to a small child to have a foreigner speak to them in their own language! I complimented them on their coloring and one of the little boys stroked my hand and smiled. Tom thinks he was trying to show me that he could be gentle and not hit.
Next week we should have our full team and it will be easier to manage all the kids. The older ones need some type of physical activity along with craft time. Although, they were good helpers at the end. One boy (we think his name was Victor) got the broom and handed me the dustpan and we worked together and cleaned up the floor.
Another young man, Vasa, was grilling Spencer afterwards and I asked him why he wanted to know so much about us. He said he was just curious. I told him I thought he was a spy! He laughed hard and said “no” he was not a spy... he just wanted to have a time to get to know an American better. He kept on asking Spencer about where he came from and how many brothers and sisters he had. One little boy asked Spencer how old his brother is. Spencer told him 19. The boy said he could only count to 12 in English. Spencer asked to hear him and this boy did it perfectly. He could also say please and thank you. Before we moved to Russia that was about all we could say in Russian. “Please” and “Thank you!”
Spencer and I returned to work today. We were back at the Detsky Proyut. It is a temporary shelter for children. Like a foster home, they can stay there for up to three years before they are sent back to their family or on to an orphanage. Oksana (from the BLTC) has been going there alone for the past month or so. We had a short planning meeting before going over to help her out tonight. She had told us before we walked over together that there were very few children there right now. Most of them went to the other location just outside of the city. As we were setting up, more and more children piled into the room. We had over 40 kids tonight. And there was three of us! Oksana called me when she got home and said that she had no idea where all of those kids came from. She thanked Spencer and I for helping her.
We had twenty little ones (2, 3, 4 year olds) and all we had for them were coloring sheets. I caught two of them fighting over an orange crayon. I asked them to stop and they looked at me with huge eyes. I am sure it does seem strange to a small child to have a foreigner speak to them in their own language! I complimented them on their coloring and one of the little boys stroked my hand and smiled. Tom thinks he was trying to show me that he could be gentle and not hit.
Next week we should have our full team and it will be easier to manage all the kids. The older ones need some type of physical activity along with craft time. Although, they were good helpers at the end. One boy (we think his name was Victor) got the broom and handed me the dustpan and we worked together and cleaned up the floor.
Another young man, Vasa, was grilling Spencer afterwards and I asked him why he wanted to know so much about us. He said he was just curious. I told him I thought he was a spy! He laughed hard and said “no” he was not a spy... he just wanted to have a time to get to know an American better. He kept on asking Spencer about where he came from and how many brothers and sisters he had. One little boy asked Spencer how old his brother is. Spencer told him 19. The boy said he could only count to 12 in English. Spencer asked to hear him and this boy did it perfectly. He could also say please and thank you. Before we moved to Russia that was about all we could say in Russian. “Please” and “Thank you!”
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