Today we hosted an appreciation Tea Party for the staff here at the orphanage in Slobodskoy. It easily turned into one of the most surreal and powerful experiences along this journey. It was planned to be a simple, warm thank you to the wonderful people who put in countless hours raising and nurturing the children…
As I was preparing for our trip, God placed a song on my heart. It’s called “Give Me Your Eyes” by Brandon Heath. The chorus is my prayer for the trip. Give me your eyes for just one second Give my your eyes so I can see Everything that I keep missing Give me your…
“You have a one-year-old? And you’re here?” Sveta walks next to me as we head to stow our things and see some of Moscow before getting on the overnight train to Kirov. “Isn’t that difficult?” she asks. She is just voicing the question I’ve heard in my head and by a few others when I…
We are often told that God works in mysterious ways. It could not be more true. I did not get that hug from Vlad I was hoping for. I didn’t even see him. He was visiting his mother all week. We had hoped I might be able to see him briefly on Thursday afternoon when…
“For the Beauty of the Earth” was the song Rush chose to sing on one occasion last week in Slobodskoy. It’s an old hymn about being thankful for all the things God provides – the Earth & sky, the love of friends and family, our senses which allow us to experience the world….the list goes…
It has been a couple days since we returned from Slobodskoy Russia, stopping along the way in Kirov for the final supper with the translators and disciplers, and then Moscow for a day of rest and gift shopping before boarding the flight back home to RDU. The train ride back between Kirov and Moscow is…
At our travel team devotional gathering on the final evening in Moscow, I was reminded that our week at the orphanage was about much more than the orphan children. We had a unique opportunity to lift up the staff of 100 by showing them appreciation for their work and dedication to the children. We organized…
(Many thanks to Misha, orphanage discipler, for his committed service to the kids in Slobodskoy. We couldn’t do it with you, Misha!) It’s Friday morning in Slobodskoy and the quiet life goes on with snow melting rapidly here and there showing the untidy parts of ground and turning into one giant muddy pool that will…
For the second year in a row I have lived without an Easter service. For our past two trips Easter has either been on a travel day or our Easter does not line up with the Russian Orthodox church. Christ is risen. Christ is risen indeed. This year our theme has been “The Risen Christ”…
There’s something to be said about a group of kids who have so little but give so much, a group of kids who can open up to someone when so many others in their lives have abandoned them. The kids here in Slobodskoy have shown me a new definition of bravery by making themselves vulnerable.…
This was, by far, the most unprepared that I have been for a trip to Russia. Maybe it’s because this is my seventh trip to Slobodskoy; I may have let my familiarity with the pre-trip routine turn into a complacency in preparation. Or I could blame it on my new job, which has taken a…
(The following post was written en route to Moscow. The team has arrived safely in Slobodskoy and spent a few hours with the kids this evening. Please continue to pray for the team and the kids and staff at the orphanage.) It is intriguing how things work out. There is a sense to it all,…
Friday I will leave my infant daughter for the first time in her life. I don’t count the few nights she stayed at the hospital with other family members while I raced home to sleep for a few hours before racing back. This time we will be separated for 9 days. It isn’t because she…
As you may know, Mission 1:27’s Spring travel team will be leaving for Slobodskoy soon. You may not know, however, that an “advance team” of four is leaving sooner. They’re leaving very soon……today, in fact! One fourth of the sixteen member team will spend a couple of extra days in Kirov, scouting the best deals…
As I write this, a new mission team is starting to plan and prepare for the next trip (Spring 2013) to Slobodskoy, Russia. Twice a year people go to visit the orphans there. The visits are very important because this ministry is about forming relationships with our friends there and showing them how important they…
Mission 1:27 