Even though it was a long trip with many delays and lost luggage the children were positively beaming when they arrived at the Ottawa airport.

Unfortunately they had a 4 hour delay in Frankfurt (spent on the plane) but our amazing travel agent , Jackie Moir at Merit Travel, managed to get Air Canada to hold the last flight leaving Toronto until the group made it through Customs. Due to the late departure the luggage did not make it on the plane so we had to spend a little time reporting with the lost luggage group. Here are our intrepid interpreters (Marina & Olya) working out the details.

Not everyone lost luggage as the children from the orphanages arrive only with the clothes on their backs and a small knapsack. However, I can assure you that they will all go home with a suitcase!

In this picture are Ola and Boris. Ola has been coming to Canada for years and her host family decided this year to bring a second child. This is Boris’ first trip to Canada and he was very excited! He almost bowled me over with a running, flying hug when he saw me at the airport.

Here are a group of the girls exploring the airport while waiting for us to sort things out.

I have just received word that most of the luggage (all but 4) has arrived. We are all looking forward to a fun summer. I will keep you posted.

Eric