On our way to Anna’s apartment this morning Dave and I bumped into Svetlana and her daughter Oxana.  7 or 8 years ago, with help from Don and Shirley Green we were able to send Oxana to Moscow for life saving surgery to remove a brain tumour.  Thanks to the Greens, Oxana is alive and healthy today.  It was great to run into them and see how well Oxana is doing.

At Anna’s apartment the boys wasted no time in getting to work.  Although we already have several Continue reading →

Well the biggest news here is the weather!  Like Canada everyone talks about the weather, but right now they really have something to talk about.  It is freezing cold here and today is was snowing and blowing!  First thing this morning I took this picture at the orphanage where one of the kids was cleaning a carpet.  I have seen them bring them out and beat them before, but apparently in the winter they put them on the snow and jump up and down on them, flip them over and do it again.  Then they roll them up and take them where they can shake and sweep the snow and dirt off of them and return them indoors.  The snow really helps to keep the dust down!

I took this next picture on the road from Mogilev to Chausy so you could see the size of the snow banks, the Continue reading →

Today was kind of a mixed bag of details to be worked out and a really fun outing for a group of us.  I am going to start at the end of the day and work backwards.  Dave, Natasha (our interpreter) and I met with with Oleg and Svetlana, the Orphanage Director and Assistant Director to discuss the children who will be coming to Brockville for the Summer Respite Program.  We reviewed the returning children and discussed the new children that we are looking for.  This is always a fun exercise as we know the children will be excited at the opportunity to come to Canada.

We also visited with Ola, who came to Brockville as a child and stayed with the U’Ren family.  They asked us to come by and Continue reading →