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Children Arrive At Our Transitional Living Center... September 9, 2004 Yesterday was a fun, yet crazy day! Alyona (my co-worker) and I picked up the kids at 11 AM from the orphanage with a representative of the trade school. It was the strangest feeling to be taking these kids. It was different walking into the orphanage yesterday. My mind flashed back and I remembered many of these kids as little children and realized that now they were teenagers and how quickly we have all grown. As we were leaving, I couldn't help but feel like I was "busting them out of prison." We left quickly and the children left with nothing in their possession (the few things they have were already here). We took them to school to meet teachers, etc. but they did not keep them as they wanted them to come here and get settled in. Needless to say, we were not planning for them to arrive until 4 PM, so we were not ready for lunch, but we survived. They ate macaroni (which I overcooked, so it was soggy) and sausages. Then they spent the afternoon settling in, exploring the center and looking in every room and every cabinet in the kitchen. It was so fun to watch. We decided to have a "big" dinner to celebrate their arrival. We also decided to invite some guests to help us celebrate their arrival. What choice did I have? We couldn't have a "Baby Shower." So, we opted for dinner! Julie Duncan (my coworker from Wisconsin) cooked a tasty roast and I prepared potatoes, pumpkin and peas. Of course, no meal in Ukraine is complete without bread covered in butter, so we did that also. We finished our meal with tort (a butter/pastry style cake) and watermelon. This will NOT be a usual meal, but thought to celebrate their arrival a meal of that nature was an appropriate celebration. Tim, Alan (missionary and son), Steve (my coworker from Donetsk) and Artyum (church member) joined us for dinner. Once dinner was over, the kids washed dishes and watched a little television before heading to bed. Once they were in bed, we sat and discussed the day and what we needed to be watchful for, etc. My Ukrainian staff member who is bilingual left this morning for two weeks at university. I have hired a lady to help while she is gone, but Elena speaks no English and Julie and I speak no Russian (well, not more than hello's etc). So we had an exciting morning today trying to get the kids up, fed breakfast and out the door to school. This will be good for my Russian learning as I have no choice for the next two weeks. We are now on day three and things are pretty settled. The kids are comfortable from what I can tell and are enjoying being here. We have a few who smoke and are struggling to stop as it is a pain for them to have to go walk down the block and cross the street to smoke. I do not allow smoking on our city block. Thought this would be easier than demanding no smoking in a culture where everyone smokes. Church members are already busy getting involved. Lyudmila is always asking what she can do for us and often times I find her sweeping off our outside steps/stoop. She will be great for the kids as they come home in the afternoons, her spirit is always so happy. Peter is always wanting to burn my trash for me. I used to take it out back and burn it where other stuff has been burned, but Peter always took over, so I let him. Peter & Lyudmila are two of the older Christians here and supplements their retirement by working as "night guards" for the church property, alternating nights. So, now when I have trash I take it and put it in the dumpster and Peter always goes and takes care of it for me. Yevgenny has been doing some electrical work in our stairwell as there are not lights there as of yet. He also installed a doorbell for us and put in some locks on doors of the staff. Yesterday, Tanya came and assisted with getting the kids into clothes and making a list of what is needed at market (underwear, shoes, etc) and will return today to take the kids to buy those things. She and her husband are also donating a good sized desk for one of the bedrooms. It is so good to see the church getting involved. I pray that they will remain involved in the weeks and months to come. What a journey it has been! For years, this has been a dream in many of our hearts. The past 18 months, it has been a project that so many have been a part of (through prayer, donating funds for renovation, curtains that were made, linens to be used, kitchen necessities, toiletries, etc.) and now it is filled with children! The children who are excited to be here and not somewhere where they wouldn't have the opportunities that they now have. To each of you who are a part of this I want to express a "Bolshoi Spasiba" (A Big Thank You) for making the world a better place for these children! Continue to pray for these children and that they will see God's love in this home! Because God is Gracious and the Stork has landed, Andrew
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