CBU: Beautiful children!

On Thursday we said good-bye to little Visilli. He has been declared an orphan and left the Transit Center for an orphanage. We were able to give him a gift before he departed and to share with him that he is never alone, that God is with Him and will protect him. Our gift and card brought him, as he so beautifully shared, “tears of joy”. Having this experience blessed Visilli and our team immensely in that while our hearts were breaking, God in his loving-tenderness reminded us that he is fully in control of all of our lives; that … Continue reading

CBU: Almost done with first week of camp.

The past three days have been a huge blessing! We started camp with the children on Monday and it went well! We introduced ourselves and slowly the children started to open up to us. We have learned so much from the children even though they have had many obstacles in their lives. Camp on day one was awesome to watch how the children participated in the activities that we had planned. We loved hearing them laugh with us and trying to talk to us in Russian even when we didn’t understand. We quickly learned to smile and nod, but the … Continue reading

CBU: Starting the first day of camp

We safely arrived in Russia and have enjoyed immersing ourselves in the culture. On our flight here, we dealt with a few health problems such as upset stomachs, but everyone is healthy now. Upon arriving to St. Petersburg, we discovered that Lauren’s luggage, as well as one of our team bags, did not make the connecting flight. However, the next day we were pleasantly surprised to find it by our door. We started our team training and sightseeing and have been amazed at what we’ve learned so far. We’ve enjoyed training with the Vanguard team also serving in Russia at … Continue reading

CBU and Vanguard: First day in Russia!

We are back to training! The first day of training for the CBU and Vanguard teams has finished and the teams are all sleeping soundly after their first full day in Russia. The teams send their greetings to friends and family from Saint Petersburg, Russia! They are excited to be finally in Russia, after such a long time of preparation for their trip. On the first day of training the teams went through an orientation where they found out the “dos and don’ts” of living in Russia! As well as learning some Russian alphabet, numbers and colors. Very important things … Continue reading

CBU: Team three has arrived!

A third team from California Baptist University has just arrived to lead our June camp in St Petersburg! Even though one suitcase is in transit, they are excited to finally be in Russia! And, after long travels, they are finally getting some long awaited rest and soon going to sleep!  Remember, it is 11 hours difference from their home, California, to St Petersburg time. Thank you everyone for your prayers! Another team, from Vanguard University, is soon to arrive tonight. Please continue to pray for the two teams as they go through a three day training – learning about Russian history and culture, and … Continue reading