Tag Archives: orphans

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 →

CBU: Almost done with first week of camp.

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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 →

Vanguard: The hugs and the laughter!

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On Sunday night the team was welcomed to the rustic town of Novgorod with a hearty Russian-style dinner. Helpings of sour cream and laughter were generously passed around the table as we planned and prayed for the week ahead. Despite our worries about difficulties with the language barrier and managing the attention spans of so many little ones, it has been a week filled with blessings and growth-inspiring challenges. As a team, we have fallen in love with the communal lifestyle of this beautiful culture. We take turns in pairs doing chores in the church, taking walks through the quaint … Continue reading →

CBU: Starting the first day of camp

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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 →