Another Blessed Day with Elena and Her Friends!

 

Elena eating sunflower seeds at the lake

We started the day at the lake with Elena and many of the children. Once again Elena spotted us first and ran to us screaming "MAMA" and we exchanged big bear hugs.  Before going to the lake we made a quick stop at the local market and bought water and sunflower seeds.  Elena and her friends LOVED the sunflower seeds!   Our friend, Natalia, encouraged us to try the sunflower seeds.  The children are accustomed to eating them shelled. Elena enjoyed her inflatable water ring float and pink towel. We are thrilled that today as soon as Elena ran over to us, many other children flocked around us with little and big grins, "hallo's" and bright eyes.  

We decided to walk back again with the children rather than drive.  We can see how meaningful this is to the kids and the workers. On the way back, we stopped and a childcare worker sent  3 children to help her fill up empty bottles at a well.  Later on in the day we learned that the water is shut off for a day or longer at a time this time of year.  Then the worker filled up one cup which was then passed from child to child to take a sip. Soon it was time to continue our walk back to the orphanage.  We walked through an outdoor small market with fresh produce and the kids started laughing when they saw a loose baby chick. It's owner ran after it and held it up for the kids to see.  Elena urged me to give her the camera and she took a great shot (see below). Another little incident which occurred is that a little boy named Daniel (he is 6 but looks about 4 years old) was walking and his plastic sandal broke.  The caretaker held the shoes and he walked back without any complaining with his bare feet.  We were impressed since it is very rocky and hard ground.  Lauren asked the caretaker for the shoes and before lunch we stopped at a store and bought him new ones.

Elena takes a picture of baby chick

The children went for lunch and we headed to lunch with another family from America who is also adopting an older girl.  We went back to the cafe on the lake and enjoyed the fellowship and break from the heat. It is such a blessing to be here with another family with similar values!  They arrived after us but with the delay we experienced, we are at the exact same point in the process.

A wonderful cafe on Lake Lutugino about 5 minutes from the orphanage

After lunch the other family went to the orphanage and we spent some time visiting with a local family here in Lutugino.  That was a really blessed time! To preserve their privacy, we will refrain from going into further detail.  After a short visit we returned to the orphanage.  It was a laid back day since it was Saturday.  The kids get up from naps around 4 pm so we got there just in time.  We asked a boy to please go get Elena and in a couple of minutes, she came down running to us with an ear to ear smile.  

We played ball with a new soccer ball, played games, and talked via the Google translate site and movements.  Elena played with mama's hair and we broke out the sidewalk chalk and then all the kids came down.   We just played with them-jump rope, tic tac toe and hopscotch with the sidewalk chalk, tossing the ball, etc.   Jay and Scott engaged the boys with thumb wrestling, bop it, and other boy oriented activities.   We were especially glad for the boys since it seems that Ukraine (and Russia) is dominated by and oriented toward women. The boys seem to be sorely lacking in interaction with men and especially God fearing men of strong leadership. The kids are looking forward to seeing us each day and seem to be so happy that we want to spend time with them!  Little Daniel was given his new shoes and what a thrill it was to see his face light up!

 Elena braids Mama's hair

They were each given an apple and a cookie (some even shared their cookies with us).  We bought each of the children ice cream and then it was time for a show the workers and children had been preparing for.  The show was right outside in the play yard and we stayed for over an hour watching it.  Elena and her friends recorded most of it and we have a little video of it as a sweet memory.

Jay and Scott play games with the boys

It is going to be hard to leave all these precious children behind. Our hearts melt and break more for these kids each day!

We piled into the car with the other family and our driver took us over to a restaurant for dinner.   We ate and then stopped at the market and then walked back with a few groceries to our apartment.  Thank you God for a truly blessed day in every way!