Vanguard: Saying goodbye

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What an amazing journey it has been! For the entire team, the past three days have been a time full of both joy and sadness; laughter and tears. In only two weeks, the young souls at the TB center have openly embraced us as family and our time with them has been precious. On Wednesday morning, the team and the kids took a walk through the Kremlin (the Novgorod Kremlin, Dad), where we took a team picture in front of the memorial. We then proceeded through the other end, where a ferry awaited in the river on the outskirts. Upon … Continue reading →

Intern: Finishing up the two months of serving

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So it has been quite a while since I last updated you all about how things are going here in Russia–two and a half weeks to be exact–I have been quite busy here, but the following is just a bit about what I have been doing since you last heard from me! The week after my last update I spent helping to prepare the church here in Novgorod for the new teams that would be arriving. Beds needed to be set up, furniture moved, and just preparation in general needed to be done. Marina and I headed to St. Petersburg … Continue reading →

Vanguard: The joy on their faces is all the thanks we need!

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After a long but exciting first week with the children at the center, it was break time. Sunday we had the wonderful opportunity to tour the Kremlin, and hit the mall, due to some curious ladies, and some men on the team as well. Majority of us were shocked to find that by the end of the weekend, we were almost as exhausted as when it started on Friday night, but we were more then prepared for the upcoming week filled with outings, lessons, crafts, skits, and the closing ceremonies. Monday was the start of our second week here with … Continue reading →

CBU: Celebrating birthdays!

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Having decided to take our Sabbath on Saturday, we began our day by catching up on some much needed rest.  After a late breakfast, we headed to a local souvenir market to purchase gifts for our loved ones back home (and a few for ourselves, as well).  Our team really enjoyed bargaining with the local vendors and immersing ourselves in the culture.  We ate dinner at our favorite Russian café and enjoyed a relaxing evening of team bonding over popcorn. Sunday marked the beginning of our last week of camp, this time consisting of seven consecutive days at the Transit Center (prayers are … Continue reading →

Vanguard: Getting ready for the second week of camp.

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One week of ministry has ended with immense enthusiasm, while another waits. The first week at the TB Center encompassed the establishment of our Olympics theme, which involved having the children make Olympic rings, which were then hung up around the activities room. We also built up joy and excitement among them through a number of outside games, including relays and some of their own games graciously taught to us. Accompanying the Olympic theme came Biblical lessons dealing with the Creation account and the story of King David. Because of the limited attention span of the younger kids (which encompass … Continue reading →