What a trip. If only I had room to tell you all the details:)) So here goes:
Nov 1 and 2 - Travel days. We left DFW around 5 on a direct flight to Frankfurt. We had about a 4 hour layover there. Suzanne searched the airport for Brats with no luck, so we ended up all eating at McDonald's. From there we hoped on a plane to St. Petersburg, Russia. We arrived there around 7 pm and headed to our hotel - The Park Inn - Victory Square. Lets just say that the Russian idea of 4 start would not meet up with the American version of it. All in all, it wasn't a bad place to stay. The beds were pretty comfortable, and once I gathered up all the extra pillows, I was quite comfortable. The room were very hot, but we were able to get them to open the windows.
Nov 3 - Catherine's Palace and Intake Hospital. Today we had a light day. We started our morning out by visiting Catherine's Palace. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
After the Palace we were treated to a HUGE lunch. So much food, some good and some not so much!! From there we visited the intake hospital. This is kind of a holding place before they are placed in an orphanage. We delivered some of the coloring bags, made the bandanna bunnies and played with the kids. They were all so sweet and cute.
Nov 4 - Church and the Nehemiah House. - Today we went to a Russian Evangelical church. We participated in their worship service and my dad sang Amazing Grace. It was kind of neat singing songs in English and hearing them sing the same songs in Russian. After church we went to the pastor's home. He and his wife run a place called "the Nehemiah House". It is almost like an orphanage. They bring kids in (I think they had 20) and provide them a place to live and learn. They fed us lunch and then we stayed the rest of the day there. We did leather working, mice, zipper purses and hats with them.
Nov 5 - The Baby House and Lopoohinka. - Today was a sweet day. We started the morning by visiting the baby house. It is hard to believe that this place was not condemned. We just couldn't imagine people, much less kids. Several of us were lucky enough to get to see/hold/fall in love with the newborns. There were about 14 babies in this part of the house. There was one little boy, Petrav, that was 2 weeks old. his mother had left him on the couch at the front door when he was 2 days old. He was so sweet. We all had a hard time leaving there. They were so cute and we wanted to take them all home with us. After some tearful goodbyes, we headed out to Lopoohinka. We had a fantastic lunch there, not. It was our third day of having borsch (spell), the wonderful beet and cabbage soup. These kids were older and just as lovable. They were so excited to see us. The boys did leather work again and we sewed vests with the girls. Afterwards they took us on a tour of their living space. Once again, can't imagine that kids here would be allowed to live in such a place, but they seem grateful to have a roof over their heads.
Nov 6 - Sick day at the hotel for me - Everyone on the trip was feeling a little off. For me I think it was a combination of the pure exhaustion and the massive amounts of smoke. My sinuses just couldn't take it. Plus my feet were extremely swollen from the plane ride over. i stayed behind at the hotel and slept all day. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to sleep that night, but I did not seem to have a problem doing that.
Nov 7 - Day of sightseeing in St. Petersburg - Today we had a little break and got to see a few of the sights around this amazing city. That morning Tatiana came to the hotel and taught us how to make Russian dolls. Most of us did not have time to finish them, but got the supplies we needed to do so. Hopefully that will take place:)) After that we went to lunch (i bet you can't guess what we had). After lunch, we got a tour of the Tzar's Winter Palace and the Hermitage. Both beautiful places. The hermitage is connected to the Winter palace and was built by Catherine the Great. It is a museum with many famous and beautiful pieces of art. After that we went to the market by the famous Spilt Blood church. The church is beautiful, but the at the market we got to shop. Everyone really enjoyed this day as we got to take a little break from the go, go, going.
Nov 8 - Number 7 and St. Isaac's Church - This was a very special day. We visited orphanage #7. This one is especially for the children with special needs. They have to amazing women there that teach art and sewing to the kids. Galena just happens to be both of their names. Talk about patience. I cannot even imagine how much they must have. The work that these kids have done is simply amazing. I know how hard it is teaching people without special needs. I think we were all moved when we saw how loving and patient they are with the kids. After we got to see some of their work, we got to have fun playing with them. We made vests and did leather working again. These kids did not need our help at all. They were quite amazing sewers on their own. A few people went outside to help rake the leaves (in the snow I might add). We also made some bunnies and delivered them to the kids with downs and other severe disabilities. This was also the place where the quilts that were made, were delivered. before we left, we had tea with them. After lunch, we got to visit Saint Isaac's church. It is no loner an active church. It was built during the time of Catherine the Great and was the central Russian Orthodox church for it's time. it was absolutely beautiful. Once again the pictures can speak for themselves. Mom got to have her picture by the Neva river. Her first name is Neva, but she goes by Ann. All week she was calling baby girl - Neva. Izmael (one of our translators) said we have to give her a good Russian name. That night was Nayda's(she is Steve and Kathie's Russia staff) b-day, so we had a party for her.
Nov 9 - The Harbor and Rodnichok Day Center - During the morning we met to discuss and plan Saturday's women's seminar. Mary and Marilyn did a great job getting us organized. We spent most of the afternoon stuck in traffic which kind of made the rest of our day a bust. Our group split, and a few of the group went to the Harbor. This is a place that the girls can go to once they exit the orphanage. It is a two year program. The rest of us were supposed to spend the evening at Rondnichok. Unfortunately, with the traffic we arrived 2 hours late and did not get to sew with the kids. We were only able to spend about a 1/2 hour there. Ts place is supported by a church. They do Bible study with them, singing, art, sewing and teach them English. They were amazing. We delivered some Bibles to hem for their studies. They sang for us and we were able to enjoy them for a short time. They gave us all a present of their art work. This was probably one of my favorite places and I was really disappointed that we did not get to spend more time with them. (pictures will be coming later as i forgot to take my camera in. I will get pictures from my mom.)
Nov 10 - Women's Seminar at Nayda's Church - Today we started with an early morning. We arrived early at the church to get everything set up. We were expecting about 60 women to be in attendance for the day. The morning started out with a group worship time. We were blessed to have a group of Russian singers come in and lead us. After the morning opening, we broke into 2 groups. One group did scrap booking/cards while the other did quilting. Once again, these women did not need our help. They are amazingly talented ladies. Tatiana joined us as well and set up another card project. I really wanted to make one of her cards. They were so cute. Ruth did an amazing job coming up with the quilting projects. The ladies had a choice between a Bible cover and a Christmas place mat. I was the official photographer for the day. The ladies at Nadya's church made an amazing lunch for us (I really thought it was good but after a week or borsch anything would taste good:)). That afternoon we had a time of sharing the Gospel through the sharing of personal life experiences from our ladies. The rest of the afternoon was spent with workshops the groups switched projects for the afternoon), and then the men fixed a tacos for dinner. Unfortunately, there were a few people that were sick from the week and we went back to the hotel to get an early nights sleep. The rest of the group got treated to a performance from a children's choir. It was a late night for those that stayed, especially since the next day was such an early morning!!!
Nov 11 - Travel home - the day started at 2:30 am. We were up for final packing and a trip to the airport. We left St. Petersburg and headed for Munich. We had a 4 hour layover there before our 9 hour flight to Chicago. Unfortunately, there was a mix up with Debi's ticket. Apparently, she never had a ticket getting her from Chicago to Dallas (oops). They couldn't do anything for us, so she left not knowing exactly how she was going to get home. Once in Chicago, we cleared customs with 34 bags (minus Debi's - they are still not sure where it was sent). We had a short turn around time, but enough to buy Debi a new ticket home and for most people to get a little McDonald"s!!! I personal chose to hit Chili's for some chips and salsa. YUMMMMMM Onto the final stretch. The longest 2 hour flight of my life. I was so ready to be home, as was the mood of the entire group. I was greeted at the airport, by my wonderful husband and my sweet little Herculez!!
Nov 1 and 2 - Travel days. We left DFW around 5 on a direct flight to Frankfurt. We had about a 4 hour layover there. Suzanne searched the airport for Brats with no luck, so we ended up all eating at McDonald's. From there we hoped on a plane to St. Petersburg, Russia. We arrived there around 7 pm and headed to our hotel - The Park Inn - Victory Square. Lets just say that the Russian idea of 4 start would not meet up with the American version of it. All in all, it wasn't a bad place to stay. The beds were pretty comfortable, and once I gathered up all the extra pillows, I was quite comfortable. The room were very hot, but we were able to get them to open the windows.
Nov 3 - Catherine's Palace and Intake Hospital. Today we had a light day. We started our morning out by visiting Catherine's Palace. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
After the Palace we were treated to a HUGE lunch. So much food, some good and some not so much!! From there we visited the intake hospital. This is kind of a holding place before they are placed in an orphanage. We delivered some of the coloring bags, made the bandanna bunnies and played with the kids. They were all so sweet and cute.
Nov 4 - Church and the Nehemiah House. - Today we went to a Russian Evangelical church. We participated in their worship service and my dad sang Amazing Grace. It was kind of neat singing songs in English and hearing them sing the same songs in Russian. After church we went to the pastor's home. He and his wife run a place called "the Nehemiah House". It is almost like an orphanage. They bring kids in (I think they had 20) and provide them a place to live and learn. They fed us lunch and then we stayed the rest of the day there. We did leather working, mice, zipper purses and hats with them.
Nov 5 - The Baby House and Lopoohinka. - Today was a sweet day. We started the morning by visiting the baby house. It is hard to believe that this place was not condemned. We just couldn't imagine people, much less kids. Several of us were lucky enough to get to see/hold/fall in love with the newborns. There were about 14 babies in this part of the house. There was one little boy, Petrav, that was 2 weeks old. his mother had left him on the couch at the front door when he was 2 days old. He was so sweet. We all had a hard time leaving there. They were so cute and we wanted to take them all home with us. After some tearful goodbyes, we headed out to Lopoohinka. We had a fantastic lunch there, not. It was our third day of having borsch (spell), the wonderful beet and cabbage soup. These kids were older and just as lovable. They were so excited to see us. The boys did leather work again and we sewed vests with the girls. Afterwards they took us on a tour of their living space. Once again, can't imagine that kids here would be allowed to live in such a place, but they seem grateful to have a roof over their heads.
Nov 6 - Sick day at the hotel for me - Everyone on the trip was feeling a little off. For me I think it was a combination of the pure exhaustion and the massive amounts of smoke. My sinuses just couldn't take it. Plus my feet were extremely swollen from the plane ride over. i stayed behind at the hotel and slept all day. I was a little concerned that I wouldn't be able to sleep that night, but I did not seem to have a problem doing that.
Nov 7 - Day of sightseeing in St. Petersburg - Today we had a little break and got to see a few of the sights around this amazing city. That morning Tatiana came to the hotel and taught us how to make Russian dolls. Most of us did not have time to finish them, but got the supplies we needed to do so. Hopefully that will take place:)) After that we went to lunch (i bet you can't guess what we had). After lunch, we got a tour of the Tzar's Winter Palace and the Hermitage. Both beautiful places. The hermitage is connected to the Winter palace and was built by Catherine the Great. It is a museum with many famous and beautiful pieces of art. After that we went to the market by the famous Spilt Blood church. The church is beautiful, but the at the market we got to shop. Everyone really enjoyed this day as we got to take a little break from the go, go, going.
Nov 8 - Number 7 and St. Isaac's Church - This was a very special day. We visited orphanage #7. This one is especially for the children with special needs. They have to amazing women there that teach art and sewing to the kids. Galena just happens to be both of their names. Talk about patience. I cannot even imagine how much they must have. The work that these kids have done is simply amazing. I know how hard it is teaching people without special needs. I think we were all moved when we saw how loving and patient they are with the kids. After we got to see some of their work, we got to have fun playing with them. We made vests and did leather working again. These kids did not need our help at all. They were quite amazing sewers on their own. A few people went outside to help rake the leaves (in the snow I might add). We also made some bunnies and delivered them to the kids with downs and other severe disabilities. This was also the place where the quilts that were made, were delivered. before we left, we had tea with them. After lunch, we got to visit Saint Isaac's church. It is no loner an active church. It was built during the time of Catherine the Great and was the central Russian Orthodox church for it's time. it was absolutely beautiful. Once again the pictures can speak for themselves. Mom got to have her picture by the Neva river. Her first name is Neva, but she goes by Ann. All week she was calling baby girl - Neva. Izmael (one of our translators) said we have to give her a good Russian name. That night was Nayda's(she is Steve and Kathie's Russia staff) b-day, so we had a party for her.
Nov 9 - The Harbor and Rodnichok Day Center - During the morning we met to discuss and plan Saturday's women's seminar. Mary and Marilyn did a great job getting us organized. We spent most of the afternoon stuck in traffic which kind of made the rest of our day a bust. Our group split, and a few of the group went to the Harbor. This is a place that the girls can go to once they exit the orphanage. It is a two year program. The rest of us were supposed to spend the evening at Rondnichok. Unfortunately, with the traffic we arrived 2 hours late and did not get to sew with the kids. We were only able to spend about a 1/2 hour there. Ts place is supported by a church. They do Bible study with them, singing, art, sewing and teach them English. They were amazing. We delivered some Bibles to hem for their studies. They sang for us and we were able to enjoy them for a short time. They gave us all a present of their art work. This was probably one of my favorite places and I was really disappointed that we did not get to spend more time with them. (pictures will be coming later as i forgot to take my camera in. I will get pictures from my mom.)
Nov 10 - Women's Seminar at Nayda's Church - Today we started with an early morning. We arrived early at the church to get everything set up. We were expecting about 60 women to be in attendance for the day. The morning started out with a group worship time. We were blessed to have a group of Russian singers come in and lead us. After the morning opening, we broke into 2 groups. One group did scrap booking/cards while the other did quilting. Once again, these women did not need our help. They are amazingly talented ladies. Tatiana joined us as well and set up another card project. I really wanted to make one of her cards. They were so cute. Ruth did an amazing job coming up with the quilting projects. The ladies had a choice between a Bible cover and a Christmas place mat. I was the official photographer for the day. The ladies at Nadya's church made an amazing lunch for us (I really thought it was good but after a week or borsch anything would taste good:)). That afternoon we had a time of sharing the Gospel through the sharing of personal life experiences from our ladies. The rest of the afternoon was spent with workshops the groups switched projects for the afternoon), and then the men fixed a tacos for dinner. Unfortunately, there were a few people that were sick from the week and we went back to the hotel to get an early nights sleep. The rest of the group got treated to a performance from a children's choir. It was a late night for those that stayed, especially since the next day was such an early morning!!!
Nov 11 - Travel home - the day started at 2:30 am. We were up for final packing and a trip to the airport. We left St. Petersburg and headed for Munich. We had a 4 hour layover there before our 9 hour flight to Chicago. Unfortunately, there was a mix up with Debi's ticket. Apparently, she never had a ticket getting her from Chicago to Dallas (oops). They couldn't do anything for us, so she left not knowing exactly how she was going to get home. Once in Chicago, we cleared customs with 34 bags (minus Debi's - they are still not sure where it was sent). We had a short turn around time, but enough to buy Debi a new ticket home and for most people to get a little McDonald"s!!! I personal chose to hit Chili's for some chips and salsa. YUMMMMMM Onto the final stretch. The longest 2 hour flight of my life. I was so ready to be home, as was the mood of the entire group. I was greeted at the airport, by my wonderful husband and my sweet little Herculez!!
Thanks again to everyone that supported my trip, financially and through prayer. Me and the baby girl made it home safely.
2 comments:
Looks like a fantastic trip!!! I came across the check I wrote you for the crayons today - apparently I never actually sent it. Oops! Will send it tomorrow!
not a problem. It was a good time. i am so glad to be home with clean water and good toilets. oh the little things in life we forget to appreciate:))
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