The last couple of days have been great. We’re really making a lot of connections with these kids. Our favorite part of the day is when we arrive and they scream “Americantsy, Americantsy” and throw their arms around us to greet us. There is a bit of sadness each day as we say “paka” (bye) or “dasvidania” to them. It is hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day of this.
We’ve had a busy couple of days. Tuesday, we did a bit of sightseeing around this beautiful city. We went to Spilled Blood Cathedral, with its gorgeous mosaics, and Kazansky’s Cathedral, down the street. Our plan was to include the Hermitage, but due to the lengthy line, we chose to go to St. Isaac’s Cathedral instead, choosing to do the museum Sunday. It was incredible. The weather has been warm and clear, so we were able to go all the way up to the top and get some great shots of the city.
Sunday we spent a full day with the transit center talking about the house built on the rock. All the kids loved making houses out of toothpicks and marshmallows! Especially when they licked their fingers and realized the marshmallows were not cotton. We also sang lots of songs which were also a big hit.
With each new day the team is building stronger relationships with the kids and teens. This is evident in the screams and hugs as we enter the building! 🙂 It has been great to see the kids wanting to play games, do crafts and hear stories about long ago heroes.
Tully – After spending the first day exploring this very beautiful and very different city in unusually warm weather, we spent today at the transit center for the first time. I was profoundly moved by some of the stories we heard. The kids’ smiles and laughter while playing belied the unspeakable things some had endured, but seemed showed the healing that is possible.
