Russia Trip: Day 6

The weather on Tuesday continued to be nice but a little overcast and cooler. Everyone was certain it would rain on us. They kept saying how hot and yucky it was, while we were enjoying being outside and not end up dripping with sweat.

Our activities for the day were much like what we did on Monday. In the morning we had VBS with kids and then worked in the garden. "Flexibility" continued to be our theme song and it was during this time that I was informed that half of the kids would be leaving on Wednesday morning to go to camp. This is a great opportunity for them, but left us a little saddened. Shaun, our Buckner team leader, was worried what our team would think. We prayed and talked about alternatives and came to the decision that our team would leave a day early (on Thursday instead of Friday) and visit several other orphanages in and around St. Petersburg. We wanted to make sure the team had a good experience, since they had so much invested into this trip.

Before lunch, we had to break that news to our team. That was really hard to do! And I'm sure it was hard to hear too. There were mixed emotions from all of us. Several of our people had made such strong connections with the kids, we knew that the 'goodbyes' would be hard. I don't think you are ever truly prepared to do that. After the initial shock we decided to walk in trust that God knew had things in His control and knew why this was happening. We wanted to make the most of our time left with the kids. So, instead of our afternoon nap - we spent time playing ball, playing games and hanging out with the kids.

The guys got a little creative in their picture taking.













On this day, we met this sweet little girl. She is the granddaughter of one of the caregivers and she spent the day with us. We all remember her, because of they called her "busy little sausage". What a term of endearment!







In preparation for our big Texas party, we also had things for the kids to do - decorate western bandanas, make horseshoe necklaces and bead bracelets with western charms. These kids really love to do crafts and are very particular and precise with them.




That night after dinner, we all put on bandanas and had a great time! The kids did things like
....haulin'




....seed spittin'



.....horse racin'



....jumpin' (sack races)














....runnin' (three-leg race)













Then we had some good fun with a bubble gum contest...



We had just gone inside for some music and dancin' and then the kids were told they had to take showers and head to bed. Some of them would be leaving at 5:30am the next morning and going to camp. We gave each child a sack filled with Texas goodies - corn nuts, sunflower seeds, Big Red gum, and beef jerky. Good-byes were said through tears and hugs, although the kids who were leaving in the morning were really excited to be able to to go camp. We all went to bed with some heavy hearts -wishing that our time with them could have been longer and wondering if we had said and done the right things. By the way, it rained that night. Isn't it amazing that all week it was cloudy, but it didn't rain until we had finished our outdoor activities with the kids? It was a really fun day with the kids.