Another Concert...
Today we were joined by our in-country Lifeline facilitator, pastor and friend named Ben. He caught the overnight train from Kiev to spend the day with us here. We utilized his language skills to order a nice meal at an Irish Pub down the street. Tony enjoyed an English breakfast, whereas I enjoyed some sort of vegetable salad and good ole Shepherd's Pie. And then we were off...
When our taxi pulled up to the orphanage we noticed two large vans. We knew we were in for another "concert". We were excited to learn that this concert was being put on by the students and sponsored by a local Baptist church! As the various segments of the presentation went along, the Gospel was clearly presented. We understood what they were sharing despite the language barrier which was exciting. They talked about the ways other countries celebrate Easter and led up to the real miracle of this celebration: Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen Indeed! Today is Good Friday in Ukraine. Orthodox Easter is this Sunday. At the conclusion of the concert, the pastor stood up to point out to the kids who Jesus Christ is and what He accomplished for us. It was beautiful to see this local pastor and this pastor's church family investing in these precious kids. Praise God with us for what HE is doing! Continue to pray for the salvation of these precious ones...
"Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb... But the angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said'..." (Matt. 28:1, 5)
Too Many Kids... And I'm not talking about ours... ha ha. Due to a different schedule for 'Good Friday', we did not have an area all to ourselves. Instead, there were a lot of other children in and around our midst. Quite the adventure. The two little ones of ours (Sophia and Joy) thoroughly enjoyed running down the hall to watch a group of girls having dance practice. Joy would stare for a couple minutes, then start 'shaking her thing', and end up doing a monkey crawl down the hall. This cycle continued for a good 20 minutes. Sophia curled up in my lap during some of that time to just watch the girls dance. I think dance or gymnastics may be calling their names. I keep hoping one of my girls would want to learn fiddle. If Joy does, she could emulate a dancing Celtic fiddler quite well. That would be awesome. :)
Meanwhile, down the hall, Tony enjoyed some quality time with James while I was busy chasing the girls... ha ha. Grace, on the other hand, didn't get to be with us much at all because it was bath time for her class. Mind you, all of this was happening within the same vicinity... Tony with James, Ben and a handful of other boys in the open couch room; Me with the two little girls up and down the hall or watching the dance practice; and Grace's class for bath time. Bath time must be like an art with so many. The teacher lines them up in the semi-wardrobe room. They children strip down and one by one jump in the shower. Then they dry off, get dressed, comb their hair and out they go.
As we attempted to wind things down with 20 kids around we soon realized we just needed to grab ours and go... ha ha. By that time, Grace and a precious handful of her classmates were doing some acrobatics in the room. James had disappeared downstairs for a moment and then reappeared with a handful of flowers he had picked for me. Precious. We did manage to get everyone back to their classes without any wounds or disasters. It was a hilarious afternoon. We had to explain to Ben that this was not the 'norm'. They were riled up just for him... ha ha. We hugged and kissed them each goodbye before making our way out to our cab. Thank you, Gracious Heavenly Father, for this "crazy" and "precious" time. We are blessed beyond words.
Our Humble Abode...
Yes, this is a rug on the wall...
1 comment:
I have really enjoyed following your journey to meet and bring home your children. We are awaiting 3 new adopted grandchildren: 1 from China and 2 from Haiti, all of whom should be home soon! Our son and his wife have just returned from visiting their 2 in Haiti, so we know a little of the emotions you are experiencing. They had to leave them at the orphanage for a while longer but did get to hold them in their arms and take them to a hotel for a couple of days for some "bonding time." I am so glad you will be bringing yours home with you. Our prayers are with you!
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