Greetings from Russia!

Hello everyone!

Sorry this is only my first blog. Claire and I tried to post one a couple weeks ago, but couldn't figure out how to do it. Anyway, I've had a great time in Tomsk so far! Claire, George, and I have been in Russia almost 3 weeks now. We're staying at Orphanage #4 and have had a great time getting to know some of the kids. It's not exactly what we expected: most of the kids are 13-16 and new to the orphanage, but we're slowing breaking down their walls. Last night, Daniel (13) gave us all gifts. I got a seashell, Claire got a stuffed bear, and George got a little piece of art or something, I'm not quite sure. But it just kind of shows how our friendships with these kids really are growing. We're doing the best we can to show Christ's love in all situations, (even after being stuck on a packed city bus for 2 days...but that's a different story) and we greatly appreciate your prayers and the support you've shown.

We got back from the camping a few days ago and are thrilled to be back in the city where we have better food, hot showers, and (of course) flushable toilets! haha. Unfortunately, only 7 kids went on the trip and we went to the Altai mountains, which is about a 30 hour bus ride from Tomsk. So it was a little more difficult than planned. Anyway, the three of us Americans can say that we have slept 3 full nights in a crowded Russian city bus. haha. The camp was again more difficult than expected. We went to a rafting competition, so there were other trained groups there who were much better rafters than our kids. So a lot of the time, the Americans were just sitting around...But hopefully in some way, shape, or form, we touched at least 1 kid's life through Skip-Bo, Durak (a Russian card game I've gotten pretty good at...Claire & George are...still learning. haha), or cooking American spaghetti or egg salad sandwiches. Again, we're always doing our best to shine Christ's light in everything we do, no matter how rough the situation may be. Thanks again for all your prayers and support and keep them coming! The rest of the team arrives in 3 days (they get here about 6 AM...Claire & I are still decided if we're going to wake up at 4:30 to drive to the airport to greet them...haha. We can promise George will be there or Melissa might kill him. haha) and we're very excited to see them get here!

God Bless!
Kevin