Overwhelmed – August 4

Following is the blog from our first day with the kids in Russia. It seems like weeks ago now!

To say we were overwhelmed when we entered the ophanage on Tuesday morning is an understatement. The orphanage workers had all the tables set up and ready for tea and cookies. The Battle Hymn of the Republic played on the computer (which I thought was an interesting choice), and later Amazing Grace. And the kids, gathered round to meet us. It was an emotional moment as we quickly fell in love with 20 kids, all in need of a home. Actually, the kids in the orphanage we’re at have been in the orphan care system two years or less. From here, they either go to another orphanage, a foster home, to the home of a relative, or back with a parent who has, since their entry, been deemed capable of providing care. There are a couple of little girls that I’d love to take home!

Never have I packed so much into a day! In the morning we washed, scrubbed, repaired and primed the stucco building which houses the orphanage. The kids even "helped" us a bit, Tomorrow we will paint.

By lunch time I was already exhausted and now it was time to play with the kids. While half the team took the older kids to the “soccer field,” the female part of our team stayed back for some time with the younger kids.

We started out playing a game to break the ice. We decided to play “Duck Duck, Goose – known in Minnesota as “Duck Duck, Grey Duck.” In Russian it’s actually “ootka, ootka, goose” which would be the American version of a similar game that they play that I think is actually called cat, cat, dog. Once I was totally worn out from “ootka, ootka, goose” we went back inside for an art project that we’d brought along.

Today’s art project was finger painting. I had been told that they don’t have finger paints in Russia so the kids had never experienced anything like this before. One little boy looked at me and said, “I like painting this way!” (at least that’s how it was translated to me.) The cook from the orphanage seemed quite concerned that the kids would put the paint in their mouths. I tried to assure her, through the translator, that the paint was “non-toxic.” She didn’t look convinced but no one ate the paint so all was good. We had a huge mess on our hands when we were done, but also lots of happy faces. What a blast!

After we cleaned up the mess we went outside to do a little program for the kids. The easiest way to describe it is like a miniature Vacation Bible School which included songs, skits, games, and a message. The kids seemed to have fun, though I’m pretty sure that as we sang Jesus, You’re My Super Hero, complete with hand motions, they were laughing AT us, not with us.

After dinner we just played with the kids in the yard. One team member made balloon animals. Some played ping pong, and I got involved in a game of catch. If you know me at ALL you know I’m the least athletic person in the continental United States, possibly the world. And yet, Nastia (a cute little 11 year old) and I WON the game. Truly an amazing moment in my life!

After a very long day, we came back to the hotel for Advil, a desperately needed shower, and a good night’s rest. Ahhh…

Finally in Russia! - August 3

What follows is the second day of our trip - sort of. Two days of travel were required to get to Russia but somehow when we got there, it was August 3. I'm having issues uploading the pictures and making everything look right on this blog. So, the story will be there, and the pictues, but it might not always look pretty.

On Monday, which seemed like it should have been Sunday, we boarded the plane to fly to Riga, Latvia and then onto Kaliningrad. The plane from Riga to Kaliningrad was a Fokker 50, which translates into a 50 passenger prop plane. When we disembarked from the plane we went straight to a bus which drove, and I’m not exaggerating, maybe 100 yards to the terminal. As I waited on the tarmac to board the bus I decided to take a picture of the plane. I heard someone yelling but I didn’t realize it was directed at me until a kind stranger translated for me. Apparently, the guards were yelling “no pictures.” Oops! Of course, my Russian lessons didn’t really benefit me in this situation because being yelled at by security was not included in the first six lessons! In fact, had someone not translated for me, I would still be oblivious to their demands, or in jail, it’s hard to say which.

If you look to the right of the following picture you can see the guard with his arms crossed. He's right before the "B" in Air Baltic. Those arns are crossed for me! Unfortunately, I didn't see that either.

It was in the customs area that I got into serious prayer mode. Amongst the eight people on our team, we had 15 suitcases, all of which we’d been told are required, by Russian officials, to weigh less than 35 pounds. I’m fairly certain that ALL 15 of our bags did not fall under that weight limit. We’d also been told that our bags would be x-rayed, and searched. We made it through immigration with no major issues, gathered our bags to go through customs and walked right though. It seems that their weighing/x-ray machine was broken. I walked out and said to another team member, “Did we really just walk straight through cust oms with no search?” Sure enough, our first miracle of the trip!

The best line of the day was from one of the two teenagers on the trip. He looked at me and said, “I feel like I’m in a foreign country.” Uh, yeah, you are!

The next big adventure was going to the grocery store for breakfast food. It looked very much like an American grocery store, except the signs were not at all helpful! We wandered aimlessly until we found what we needed. Some of the team members were buying some extra stuff on their own and trying to use credit cards, which didn’t work. I helped unload the team food cart while they were going through the line and just as it was our turn, the clerk left the station – just stood up and walked away! Craziness! The missionary we are working with said, “You’ve just experienced Russia.” So, after picking our chins up off the floor we reloaded the grocery cart and moved to another area. What a hoot!

Our room is nice. Below is the view from our room. It looks like we are in a bad neighborhood, but in fact, we arn't. I made John pose for a picture of our room. He commented that it was one of the nicest places we've stayed, which made me wonder who the man is that I've been traveling with for all these years. It is roomy, has a comfortable bed, a refrigerator and a television with one English speaking channel. I can't complain, and in fact, am thrilled with the room.

Tomorrow, we meet the kids!

Day One, and maybe Two – August 1 - 2

After each day of our mission trip to Russia, I wrote a blog post. Unfortunately, we didn't have internet access so, for the next nine days, I will be posting the blogs in order. The following is my writing, and pictures, from day one (and technically, two.)

One thing I know for sure is that we left Minneapolis for Kaliningrad, Russia at 3:10 PM on Saturday, August 1. After that it all gets a little fuzzy. We arrived in Amsterdam 7.5 hours later (thank you God for strong tailwinds) at 5:30 AM on Sunday, and then on to Stockholm a few hours after that, arriving there at 11:30 AM, still on Sunday. We were short on sleep but also short on time in Stockholm so we dropped our bags and went to tour the Old Town area of Stockholm.

Old Town was packed with people, which made for some interesting people watching. All of the streets were old cobblestone, which are beautiful to look at but take their toll on an old woman’s feet.

We visited the old Royal Castle but, apparently, the Swedish royalty have moved to a more remote location. Still, we witnessed the changing of the guard at the castle, which was really quite a hoot! My favorite was the hand off of the walkie-talkie. It looked so official. They did, however, have some scary looking bayonets.

We also visited an old cathedral, which was beautiful. We were told that this cathedral is where all the royal families have their weddings. In the back corner of the cathedral was a video of a man ice skating in the buff! To be fair, it was behind a curtain made up of a bunch of thin, very thin, cords. I’m not quite sure how that fits into a church. In fact, I’m pretty certain it doesn’t. It was just . . . . odd, very, very odd. And, it begs the question, "who in their right mind ice skates in the buff, anyway?" The whole thing was quite the contrast to the signs implying a holy atmosphere that read, “Silence Please” and “No flash photography!” The architecture of the cathedral was just amazing which made the nude ice skater film seem so much more out of place.

After the cathedral, our group split up for awhile so we could poke around on our own a bit. John and I walked down to the river. Don't ask me which one. The truth is, I had no clue what I was looking at most of the time, but it was all interesting and fun to see regardless.

We finished up our sightseeing with a great dinner at a sidewalk café.

Dinner was fabulous. I don't want to start a Scandinavian war or anything but I would have to say that in my limited experience, Swedes are better cooks than Norwegians! (Please don't spread that around to the Holte family!)

And then, finally, 37 hours after leaving home we were able to go to bed. Woo Hoo!

Going with the Flow

Well, as is often the case in foreign countries, the promised internet access didn't work. So, I'm updating quickly at a cafe with free internet service. Tomorrow we start the trip home and will spend the night in Stockholm. Hopefully, the internet service at our hotel will work and I'll be able to post a complete blog. My plan, knowing that you won't have time to read an entire week's worth of entries at one time is to upload one each day for the next week or so.

For time's sake, suffice it to say that this has been an amazing trip. Details and pictures to follow.

Why Do I Go?

Last winter, at a church event, I saw this video. I tried to hold back the tears but a few slipped out despite my best effort. And, I remember, after the event, saying to a friend, “as if having to pray for the kids in Southeast Asia, and Africa isn’t already enough!” I determined then, to give what I could (or shall I say, what “we” could) to help the children in Russia. Our church was planning to help Fund Pchyolka buy some land for a youth center near Kaliningrad, Russia. The youth center will be used by the kids who “age out” of the orphanages with the intent of helping prepare them for life on the “outside.”

The average orphaned child in Russia, once leaving the orphanage, ends up on the streets, either selling drugs or selling themselves. Most are dead by the age of 30, usually a result of suicide. It’s a sad situation, to say the least.

I came home that day ONLY with the intention that we’d help out some way financially. That’s it, just financially! Shortly thereafter we received a list of the anticipated Global Project trips for 2009. Hmmm…let’s see, there was Peru, Seattle, Iowa, Italy (that sounds like it could be interesting,) Argentina, Israel, Australia (which is the trip I was pushing for, but it was postponed), Swaziland (oh, I’d love to go back there), and Russia. John read the trip descriptions over and over and finally announced, “I’d really like to go to Russia.” Russia? Really? I was puzzled (if you could see the look on my face as I type this you’d know I still am a bit puzzled.)

My biggest concern was that Russia was listed as a “Youth Trip.” Somehow, the idea of going on a mission trip with a bunch of teens was a bit overwhelming. But, we checked with our Global Projects' pastor and found out that indeed, we were welcome on the trip. So, before I knew it our money was turned in and plans were underway.

We are, indeed, the old people on the trip, by a significant number of years, but the “kids” have welcomed us into the group (and I know at least one parent who is thrilled that we're going.) The team is actually quite small; two teens, four 20-somethings, our youth pastor, the director of Fund Pycholka, and of course, John and me. We’ll be working at an orphanage that cares for 20 kids, ages 7 – 17.

Today, a friend asked me why, with the outlook so bleak for these children, I am going. What difference could I make? Here's what I'm praying for. I want to shower these kids with love, if only for a week, like they’ve never known. I hope I can help them see, that the love I share with them is not mine really, but God’s, and it’s theirs to keep. And, I pray that they will see that Jesus is THE BEST GUY to walk through life with and offers a hope like no one else can.

When I leave Russia I don’t want the kids, or the orphan care workers, to say “How nice that they came to visit us.” I want them to say, "God made a difference here this past week." I know those kids will eventually forget who I am, but I pray they never forget the love, and hope, that can only be found in Jesus Christ. For you see, it's not about what I will do, it's about what God will do.

THAT is why I’m going to Russia.

Check back throughout the week for updates (hopefully) along the way. Your prayers are greatly appreciated. As we do our last minute packing I can’t help but think of Chris Tomlin’s song, "God of This City." I’ll probably be humming it as our plane touches down in Kaliningrad.

You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You Are

You're the light in this darkness
You're the hope to the hopeless
You're the peace to the restless
You are

For there is no one like our God
There is no one like You God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

Bone Scans are NOT for Wimps . . such as myself.

Today, I had a bone scan. Nine years ago I had knee replacement surgery and there is some concern that the cement holding everything together, well, isn’t doing its job. As far as reasons for having a bone scan go, this one is pretty benign.

I should have known, when they told me that I needed to be at the hospital at 8:00 AM, that this wouldn’t be good. Let’s just say, I’m not a morning person . . . at all. But, I managed to be on time to the hospital, mostly because it’s just a few blocks from my house and I did some careful planning the night before. Once there, I filled out the necessary papers and was brought back to the trailer that had been hauled to Cannon Falls for bone scanning purposes such as this.

The scan technician, Jay, grabbed a “space like looking” capsule of radioactive dye to shoot into my arm. The warning stickers on the outside of the capsule don’t exactly inspire confidence but I was assured that there are no side effects to this process, at least not that I’ll be able to blame them for in the future.

The advantage of living so close to the hospital allowed me to come home after the “shoot up” and do whatever I wanted for the next three hours. I was to return at 11:00 AM. As things go, Jay wasn’t quite ready for me when I returned so I was able to get a little reading in as I waited. And, I even had a few minutes to visit with a couple of friends who were at the hospital for tests today, also. Ah, the joy of small town living.

When it was finally my turn, I followed Jay back to the bone scanning trailer and waited for his instructions. Well, the first thing he had me do, after removing my jewelry is climb onto a “table” that was clearly designed for a size 4 runway model. It felt like I was attempting to get onto a raft without tipping the whole thing over. But thankfully, I didn’t fall off, and hopefully, there wasn’t a hidden camera that captured the entire procedure.

The next thing I know he’s “strapping” my feet together with a giant rubber band type of thing to help me not move them around. At this point he emphasized how important it is that I don’t move during the scan – at all. Clearly he’s never been to the movies with me. It sounds lame, I know, but I have restless leg syndrome, which pretty much propels my body into motion about every 30 seconds. I’m sure it drives those around me nuts, I know it does me.

At this point I inquire as to how long the scan takes and he says, “oh about 40 minutes.” FORTY, as in 4 – 0 minutes? That number hasn’t sounded so bad since I actually turned that age. He had to be kidding. I tried to explain to him that this would not be possible without the aid of a sedative. To this, the ever sympathetic Jay said, “well, if you move, you’ll have a blurry scan and they won’t be able to see anything.” He seemed nice enough at first but, I couldn’t help thinking, at this point, that I was grateful not to be married to him. Before I knew it the machine was turned on and, though I was told to relax, I was gripping the table with the same kind of intensity I use at the dentist office.

I tried to calm myself down by praying. I started to cry (I know, it’s pathetic) but then I realized that if I cried, tears would flow out of my eyes, and snot out of my nose and there I’d be, unable to do any wiping. I prayed some more. I thought of my friend, Lacey, and prayed for her. She has cancer and I knew that this bone scan would be like a picnic compared to what she’s been through. I prayed for the kids that we’ll be working with in Russia. And, I prayed that God would help me hold still and that I wouldn’t cry. I took a lot of deep breaths, hoping that would help. And, I thought about writing this blog, which somehow kept my mind off of the fact that I had to hold still.

As much as I tried to stop them, a couple of tears did work their way down my cheek. Well actually, kind of down the side of my head, and towards my ear. Oh great, now I had salty tears burning the corner of my eyes and there I was, unable to move. Crying, as it turned out, was a really bad idea. I wasn’t about to ask Jay to wipe them for me. Sympathy was clearly not part of his job description. Eventually, the scanner made its way to my knees and I asked if I could wipe my eyes. Jay gave me the go ahead as long as I didn’t move my legs. Phew!

The praying must have worked. The forty minutes went by rather quickly and I was able to remain still. That, my friends, is proof that prayer indeed works!

The Noticer - Book Review

Women of Faith president, Mary Graham, recommended The Noticer, by Andy Andrews, in a recent issue of the organization’s bi-monthly Connection magazine Sure, Women of Faith is associated with Thomas Nelson publishers so I suppose it’s her job to promote their books, but the last book she recommended (Same Kind of Different as Me) was excellent so I decided to trust her advice and buy this one. I was not disappointed.

The Noticer is one of the few novels that I’ve marked up with a highlighter for later reference. When I read a “learning book” (as I like to call them) I have a highlighter ready for marks at all times, but generally, when I read a novel, I just enjoy the escape. But, there was just too much "good stuff" in this book NOT to highlight a few spots.

In The Noticer you’ll meet a man named Jones. . . just Jones, not Mr. Jones. The book is an allegory and unless you are doing some serious sleeping during the first chapter you’ll notice that Jones has qualities very similar to Jesus. Though he doesn’t come to the town of Orange Beach, Alabama through a virgin birth, he does seem to know everyone (though they might not know him) and offers wise counsel to the residents. Through the book he encourages people who are struggling with poverty, homelessness, failing marriages, businesses, and dreams. He offers them a little “perspective,” as he calls it.

The Noticer is a quick read, but you won’t want to rush through it. You’ll want to relish each chapter to find a new nugget of Jones’ “perspective.”

I’ll share with you one of the passages I highlighted. “Think with me here . . . everybody wants to be on the mountaintop, but if you’ll remember, mountaintops are rocky and cold. There is no growth on the top of the mountain. Sure, the view is great. . . . . . . but, . . . . It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak.”

And that’s just in chapter one! I concur with Mary Graham – The Noticer is a great read!