The trip home started with a quiet bus ride from Slobodskoy to Kirov. Some rested, some talked quietly – but all of us decompressed from an intense week of loving and being loved. We stopped in Kirov for some quick souvenir shopping and dinner. We dined at the same restaurant from our first meal in…

The emotional final day with the orphans had arrived. We all knew this day would come but we knew we were not prepared for what was to occur today. With an early afternoon bus to Kirov, our time with the kids and staff was limited. After a quick breakfast, we had a final chance for family…

The field trips were quite successful – both the planetarium and puppet show were big hits. The bus trip to Kirov took about an hour with five buses mixed with Americans and Russian kids. Kirov is a town of 500,000, about ten times the size of Slobodskoy (about 40,000 residents – a small provincial town).…

Once again, since I know that I will have internet access quickly this morning, I will post a quick update on our plans for today, April Fool’s Day. I am not sure that I will have internet access again until at least Saturday night. We are taking all the kids on a field trip today…

The simple act of arriving at the orphanage seemed like such a strange and uncomfortable event just a day ago but was so welcome and familiar today. We arrive as if we are home in a way, greeting new friends as we walk in the building speaking our choppy and unintelligible Russian. We know where…

  Another amazing day with the children in Slobodskoy. Just as intense and draining as the first few days…and even more rewarding. A quick recap of our day with them: We arrived at 9:00 a.m. to set up our rooms for our activities and have breakfast at the orphanage. After breakfast, we were treated to…

Knowing that I will have internet access for a few minutes soon, I will start today’s blog post early. We all had an incredible night’s sleep in a comfortable bed in a warm hotel – yet my mind was filled with the images of the kids sleeping 6-8 in a room with their worn mattresses…

The train ride was a special experience for sure. Many of us had never been on a train, so the novelty was quite exciting. The rooms were small but we got used to them quickly. A few made the brave journey to the Dining Car but for most of us, we simply stayed in our…

Our group found getting off the plane much easier than getting on!! We arrived at 10:00 a.m. Moscow time (which is 2:00 a.m. EDT), relatively well-rested all things considered. Customs was uneventful, the luggage all arrived and we quickly found ourselves in Moscow for the day. At the airport, we were greeted by our cheerful…

First things first. We just heard the news of the bombing in Moscow on the day we were there. Please know that we are all okay and we were never affected by the events that day. We don’t know any details other than there was an incident, but we apologize for not getting word out…

Those are the eight words that every hardcore business traveler hates to hear.  You just boarded the plane after a long day(s) on the road and thousands of thoughts pop into your mind, all of them turning into tiny little to-dos on your growing list of responsibilities.  But not only does the flight attendant tell…

After almost a year of praying and planning, we are in the final stages of preparing for our trip to visit our sponsored orphanage in Slobodskoi, Russia in the Kirov Region of the country.  Sponsored by Children’s Hope Chest and Christ United Methodist Church, the group visiting over Easter Week includes twenty-one travelers (11 adults…