Hello all! We are all so excited to finally post a blog. We apologize for the long delay but this has been the first opportunity we have had to connect to the internet and let you all know what is going on. So far we have visited three orphanages: Lopuhinka, Volkov, and Nikolsky. This upcoming week we will spend at the camp with Orphanage #2. Now you will get the chance to read a little something from all of us interns about our experiences so far!
“The time has flown by here. I can’t believe we only have one week left until we head back to the states. The Lord has definitely been stretching me over the past few weeks. I have been together with the older kids in all of the orphanages that we have visited so far and it has been a challenge for me to try and think of ways to relate the Word of God to their lives. However, I have had some chances to bond with them and use my little knowledge of the Russian language to communicate with them and share a little bit of how much God really loves them. I’m so thankful for everything God has been teaching me and I can’t wait to see what is in store this upcoming week! Please pray that I would not be overwhelmed by the difficulties but rather that I would rely on the strength of God to keep me going everyday!”
-Kelly
“Adventures like this always bring a plethora of lessons to be learned. The most practical lesson learned here is to not wash khakis and green shirts together. You think someone should know that, but just think back to the time you made a similar mistake and then you can laugh at me. But yes, my poor khakis are now a mint-like green. Sorry, Mom. But I digress. I was putting away these pants, and I began to realize this trip has made me like my pants. No, it didn’t turn me green, but this trip has changed me. This trip has brought priceless lessons that I could not have learned anywhere else. These children have taught me the power of love and the power of this emotion. This trip has been such a blessing and I praise God for allowing me to go. I ask that you join me in praying for these children that they might know God. Pray that this last week is not too overwhelming and that the team and the kids are open to what God has to teach us. Pray that God gives us the strength, physically and emotionally, for the rest of the trip!”
- Wil
“The first week of the trip with Grand Parkway was such a blast; I can’t believe how fast great friends can be made. Already having been gone from the country for two weeks before Russia, homesickness was setting in pretty intensely; but God spoke to my heart with tons of jokes, an amazing song about Jesus going to A&M (don’t forget the Aggie-postles), and new, beautiful adventures every day. After ten days, I had hit the fifty mosquito-bite count, and I woke up in the University with my eye swollen shut. I always love when ‘firsts’ happen overseas. : ) Finally getting to call home was like a breath of fresh air, and leaving Nikolsky proved nearly impossible. We loved those kids like there was no tomorrow, and while we made smores, the children begged the director of the orphanage to make us stay. They said they “didn’t want their mommies to leave.” Dima, one of the older boys that danced like a madman, made a picture with my name on it, and made me cry like a madwoman. He took a picture of himself off the wall and presented it to me so that I could “always remember him” (little did know that no matter how hard I tried, I could never forget). I left him a picture of my boyfriend and me and the last thing I saw as we drove away (through my tears) was him proudly showing everyone. It’s the little things that God uses to bless us in eternal ways. It is my goal to absorb as many of those moments as possible. Thank you, Lord, for this incredible journey.”
-Cinnamon Sticks,
AKA: Jennifer
“I am so glad I am able to share with you what the Lord has been doing on this trip. I really have no words to express how I am feeling, but I will do my best to share some of my thoughts. First of all, I am so thankful that God has allowed me to go on this trip. I fell like I have learned so much already and to know we get to have one more week here makes me so happy. As I play, talk, sit, hold hands, smile, hug, and share God’s love with these children from the various orphanages I see God’s never-ending love and faithfulness. It leads me to think about my Lord, and how he knows each of these children by name, how he fearfully and wonderfully created each of them. What gives me the most comfort as I am with them is knowing that despite my constant failures or even lack of being able to remember or pronounce all of their names, God knows, and as their heavenly Father he will never leave them. I would love for you to pray for Orphanage #2 as we go there this coming Monday. Prepare our team’s hearts and pray for safe travel. Pray for the kids who we will be meeting and ministering to. Help them to see more of Jesus and less of us in our words and our actions. Pray that we are unified as a team, and that we communicate the most important message with these kids, that Jesus loves them unconditionally and that he wants to be the most important part in their lives.”
-Katie Fox
“Hi everyone,
Being in Russia again is beyond words. Last year I came to Russia with my church to visit Lopuhinka, and to return this year to see the kids from last year was so special. I wasn’t sure how things would be, and I didn’t want to set myself up because I know that many things can change in a year, but the kid’s faces lit up just like they had in my mind. It was a very sweet reunion, and while I was so sad to leave them again, I truly believe that I will see them again and I can’t wait.
I will say that throwing 7 strangers can potentially be very dangerous, but it has been a very refreshing time of 7 people in love with God and have a passion for the kids we get to meet each week. There are ups and downs like there are with all families (after spending this much time with a group of people I consider them my family) but working with the kids we move as one unit and work together as true team.
There are so many stories to relate, stories about how Vageef called me by name when he saw me, pulled me into a tight hug and then kissed me on the cheek. Or about how Dima would run into my arms every time we walked in for VBS, and since it was right after their nap he would hug me tight and lay his head on my shoulder while I rubbed his back. But there isn’t enough time. So for now I will just leave you with how content I am, how excited I am to be apart of what God is doing here in Russia through our team, and that I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next year. Thank you all for your prayers – they are appreciated and felt.”
-Rebecca
“It is amazing to me just how much can happen in less than three weeks. How many kids you can fall in love with, how much God can teach you, and how many times your heart can break. I’ve come to realize, no matter how much love we can give these kids in the short time we are at each orphanage, no matter how deep a mark they leave on our hearts and no matter how much we know we’ll never forget them, in the end we have to leave. Therefore, our hope is not that they come to love us. Our hope is that somehow through us being there and allowing God to use us to love them, and by others hopefully sharing God’s love for them throughout their life, they come to experience the same relationship with Christ that each one of us is fortunate enough to know. Because, even though we will leave God will always be there with them. This is something I knew, but God really had to teach me how to apply as we left the first orphanage.
A few other things I have learned on this trip: cinnamon makes breakfast much more enjoyable (thanks Jenn), puppy dog faces on six-year-olds are universally pitiful and can get you to do almost anything, and 4th of July picnics are wonderful no matter where you are.
It somehow has gotten harder to say goodbye each time we leave an orphanage (especially Nikolsky), yet I am looking forward to our final week here. I can’t wait to see what God has in store. Please pray that I would keep my heart surrendered to God’s will and continue to rely on him for my strength. Please pray for our entire team, including our translators, that we would stay safe, healthy, and unified. Pray for the hearts of the kids we are going to meet as well.”
~Katelyn
“I guess I should start saying that I can’t believe how fast this trip has gone by! God has most definitely done some amazing work here! The kids here are so precious and it kills me to know that they have to live the kind of life they are living. Some of the kids shared to us why they were in that orphanage. My heart is breaking for some of these kids. It makes me so sad when I see some of these beautiful girls with cuts all over their arms, and necks, and seeing some of the smart intelligent boys out smoking. This past week, we spent in Nikolsky which is an orphanage that has mostly children with some kind of challenge, and I rarely saw the care givers play with them, but the one lady. She was 72 years old, and she had more energy than I did some days. When I saw her, she was so happy and it really opened my eyes a lot. I was complaining because I had mosquito bites on my legs, or not getting enough sleep the night before because the light was so bright, and I am watching this lady ride a scooter up and down the pavement, jump up and down with the kids, chasing the younger kids around the play ground, with a big smile on her face. She was not a care taker for those kids because she didn’t have another option for a job, she was a care taker because she loves those kids so much and just being around them just givers her so much energy. One time I went up to her to give her a hug and she literally, picked me up as she was hugging me. It just made me re-think a little bit about why I was here, and how I could show the kids that no matter the situation, they are still loved, even if they don’t feel like they are. I guess that has been my prayer lately. I am very excited to be going to the orphanage #2 because this is a camp and so some of the kids aren’t going to be from that orphanage. I am super excited to see what God is going to do this week. Please pray that the kids will listen to what we have to say and open up to us. And that we continue to have the same kind of energy that we have put in the past few weeks. I know that its our last week so we are all going to be pretty tired, and I am praying that we are not tired this week, and if we are, that we do not show it to the kids. I am so amazed at how much God has opened my eyes!!! Please keep praying! We never know how much we impact these childrens’ lives and the what all God can do in just such little time.”
-Rachel Rogers
