Thursday, July 31, 2014

The picnic!

Now that it's been well over a month since the picnic, I'm finally getting around to sharing it with you all. I can't post too many pictures, so as not to show faces of children who aren't ours, but I went through and picked out everything that isn't too revealing.

These picnics are something that my friend here does every year for the children from the orphanage we get to visit. The children talk about it and look forward to it all year long. Last year's picnic was my first introduction to them. Now I know the kids much better, and I actually got to help with some of the planning and preparation. The day before we did some baking and salad-making; the day of the picnic I translated for the Bible lesson time, and our whole family helped with crafts, games, and food.

I had asked you to pray about the weather. The rain held off until right at the end, and we had a beautiful day. I had also prayed that somehow Sergei would be able to be there, even though when I called the day before, they told me that there was no way he would be allowed out. But then he came! He enjoyed everything very much. And that was the last time we saw him before he was transferred away.

First we gathered for a short lesson time, followed by a craft. Then there was free time, with options of bowling (staffed by Jaan and Raia), fingernail painting for the girls, and face painting for all. We had to stop for a delicious lunch of shashlik, prepared by my friend's project manager (Bogdan "helped"!). All of the kids loved the food. One of the boys announced that he was pretending to eat in a restaurant, something he had only seen on TV. After lunch, everyone played hard again, until the storm broke, and we had to load everyone back into the vans as fast as possible.













The picnic is a highlight of the year for our family, too!

3 comments:

Mom said...

What a ministry your family is having! Moving photos, thank for sharing.

We love you!

Anonymous said...

sounds wonderful! love the painted faces! d/b/g

Baba Julie said...

LOVE the Tigger face!! (: And, yes, WHAT a ministry you are having! And, from your face, I would say you are LOVING it!! Love you all!