Priviet family and friends!
These first couple of weeks have been full of so much joy and chaos, and although we are exhausted right now, we could not have asked for a better group of kids and staff to have been working with throughout our first session. Right now we are back at the hostile in St. Petersburg for the weekend to get some rest and to wash our clothes, but we will return back to camp on Monday with the three beautiful SPU girls. We can confidently say that we wholeheartedly fell in love with every single kid at camp. To say that these children are special is an understatement. There is so much more to these kids than what is on the surface. They are so full of love, joy, and laughter that is absolutely contagious. After being with these children, we no longer look at them as disabled, but rather wonderful gifts from God. We also found that these children have so much to give and teach us.
Throughout these past ten days we have learned that God works in mysterious ways. He has faced us with challenging situations, but despite all those challenges we faced, we were constantly uplifted by not only God, but the beautiful children He has created. Although taking care of these kids is such a big responsibility, the camp was filled with nonstop laughter and smiles and we can’t wait to share stories with you all! We miss you all but are doing great and already cannot wait to go back for the second session. We miss all of the kids so much already, but are really looking forward to meeting the next group and know that there is so much more for us to learn and look forward to in the weeks to come. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Please pray that we will be able to rest and prepare for the next session so that we will have energy and love to give to the kids, that we will all stay healthy and safe, and for more sunshine please (we got some sun, but it was still cold and we were not able to swim quite as much as we would have liked!)
Thank you all for your support and prayers!
Paka! ~ Shannon and Savannah