Vanguard: First day of camp!

Tuesday in Novgorod… It’s hard to believe that we left the United States nearly a whole week ago.  Today was our first day at the TB Children Center, and therefore our first day of hands-on ministry with the kids.  We were all so excited to finally meet the kids, start the summer camp for them, and really step into what we came half way around the world to do. As we were heading over to the center, a few of us were feeling a bit nervous–not sure how the kids would respond to us, not sure how our skits, lessons … Continue reading

Vanguard: Getting ready for camp!

Vanguard team has finished their training and sightseeing in Saint Petersburg and is off to Velikiy (Great) Novgorod to start their 2 week camp at the TB Children Center. Their days in Saint Petersburg consisted of learning about the Russian history, culture and language. Seeing the beautiful Orthodox Cathedrals and the Hermitage museum. On Sunday they went off in groups to several Orthodox churches, where they witnessed an Orthodox service and experienced first hand the ancient atmosphere of Orthodoxy, a religion which uses liturgy from the 5th century to this day! Sunday night the team was off to Novgorod! On … Continue reading

Vanguard: Our 4th team for the year, has arrived!

Today we finished the first day of training and sightseeing! The team from Vanguard University has arrived and is getting ready to start their camp on Monday. This afternoon they saw their first glimpses of St Petersburg, as they visited 2 cathedrals. Tomorrow they head to the Hermitage Museum to see one of the greatest museums in the world. We will do our best to put updated from the team and relay the messages that you post here to the team as well.

CBU – St Petersburg: We left with tears in our eyes…

Well another week has gone by so quickly and our team has had a wonderful time with the orphans at camp. We have had opportunities to share about God, heaven, and the love of Jesus in many personal ways. Kayla and Brooke led the lesson on listening and talked about Noah. The children were able to make an ark and had lots of fun with animals. Beth and Analeisha led the lesson on obedience and Tawni and Hannah led the lesson about faith and forgiveness. Other lessons included joy and love and the whole team worked together each day to … Continue reading

CBU-Novgorod: Saying goodbye…

So today was our last day with the kids and teens from the orphanage. It’s hard to pinpoint exact feelings but all we can say is that it has been an amazing experience. Over these past few weeks, we have grown closer as a team, as well as with the kids we have been working with. From playing games with the young ones and teaching them valuable lessons, to having in-depth discussions with the teens about grace and the meaning of life. As we had our final lesson with the kids and continued in discussion with the teens, it was … Continue reading