Children Heading Home!

It is unbelievable how quickly 6 weeks can pass. I had full intentions of posting pictures of activities during their stay but we were so busy that time just slipped by. Instead I have gathered a some pictures of a few of the children and will post them here. I wish I had pictures of all of the children .. but this is what I do have. I’ll start with some of the less than fun events, but it should be noted that our community is fantastic at stepping up to help these children. We have Dentists, Doctors, Optometrists, Specialists in and out of town as well as any number of retail stores and businesses too numerous to mention here, that all pitch in to help! And they do it out of the goodness of their hearts! Here’s to all of them!

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And here are the kids having fun:

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_05NastyaHorse.jpg

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_09Ina.jpg

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Well the six weeks sped by and this morning the bags were packed and prepared. We held the weigh-in at the Bethel Christian Reformed Church. The weight restrictions were much lower this year and I am sure everyone struggled as much as we did with what to send and what to leave out.

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I think even Red Green would have been proud of the amount of duct tape used this morning:

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I think we got almost all of the children and interpreters in this shot:

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Of course there were plenty of hugs to go around too!

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Maybe the next 46 weeks will go by just as fast!

Eric

2 thoughts on “Children Heading Home!

  1. Eric McKenzie Post author

    # L. Newman Says:
    August 16th, 2008 at 9:28 am e

    We are also very sad here to hear of what has happened in Petaluma. Everyone of us goes through the sadness of watching the kids leave every year, but it is with the understanding that we must do this for the continued well being and greater good of the Belarussian program. Lets all keep our fingers crossed that this issue is resolved quickly and the programs do not suffer for it.

    On a brighter note, I am glad your summer went so well there Eric! Thanks for sharing all the pictures!! We had a wonderful productive summer as well. Here is to many more successful summers for all of us and the children of Belarus!

  2. Eric McKenzie Post author

    # Kate Van Dyck Says:
    August 15th, 2008 at 12:11 am e

    Eric,

    Looks like you all had another wonderful summer! In Virginia, we had a great summer, too! We had 56 happy children who had a blast- going to the pool, baseball games, waterparks, and yes, even some smiles at the dentist!

    Unfortunately, the end of the summer has not gone so well. As you have heard, there was a host family in Petaluma, CA who made a very bad choice to not take their visiting 16 yr old to the airport to depart with her group. They hired an immigration lawyer for her and she is asking to stay. As you know, this means disaster for the non-profit in Belarus and for the future of our programs in the US.

    Ask your community to keep us in your prayers for a positive outcome! It is not looking good.

    Take care,
    Kate Van Dyck
    Virginia Host Parent

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