We had a great day of celebration today in the village.
It is children's day tomorrow, but the festivities started today. 
There was an incredible program of dancing and singing put on by the kids . 
I was asked to bring greetings on behalf of all the foreign support that the orphanage receives.
Later we had opportunity to visit with our friends and government officials, They were so appreciative of all the support we are bringing them and we assured them that we are only a very small piece of the big picture. Speaking of picture's ,This is a photo of Julie and I with the Area Judge, a Representative of the village , the chief and deputy chief of police . 
There really are people in government that care and that want to help the kids. Later we had lunch with the Governor of the region ... Here is a photo of him with our translator Christina. ... His is not an easy job, We look forward to continuing to assist him in any way that we can . 
Next week we have been invited to his house in the mountains for supper... It will be a date that I am looking forward to. ...After lunch while talking with the Government social worker who is responsible for the adoptions in the region... They asked us to assist them with implementing a foster parent system here ... something that is so far out of our league, but it was great that our friends David and Jayne were there because Jayne will be a real resource to them ... She has worked to help train the Foster families in the Ukraine, and has all the manuals in Russian here with her. They were so excited... there will be lots of business meetings to follow. All in all it was a very fun and productive day.
I was asked to bring greetings on behalf of all the foreign support that the orphanage receives.
Later we had opportunity to visit with our friends and government officials, They were so appreciative of all the support we are bringing them and we assured them that we are only a very small piece of the big picture. Speaking of picture's ,This is a photo of Julie and I with the Area Judge, a Representative of the village , the chief and deputy chief of police . 
There really are people in government that care and that want to help the kids. Later we had lunch with the Governor of the region ... Here is a photo of him with our translator Christina. ... His is not an easy job, We look forward to continuing to assist him in any way that we can . 
Next week we have been invited to his house in the mountains for supper... It will be a date that I am looking forward to. ...After lunch while talking with the Government social worker who is responsible for the adoptions in the region... They asked us to assist them with implementing a foster parent system here ... something that is so far out of our league, but it was great that our friends David and Jayne were there because Jayne will be a real resource to them ... She has worked to help train the Foster families in the Ukraine, and has all the manuals in Russian here with her. They were so excited... there will be lots of business meetings to follow. All in all it was a very fun and productive day. 
We have friends here for a couple of weeks, so we took the opportunity with the extra hands to take a bus load of the kids to the Museum at the tower, then we took advantage of the beautiful day , and went up into the mountains for a picnic. What a wonderful time we had... The kids were so overwhelmed with everything. They had never been to the tower before, or up to the water falls for that matter..
.. They skipped and ran... and played until the were all tired out ....and starving... some of them pounded back 6 and 7 shashleek with all the trimmings
... it was so great to see them have such a good time.... Julie had a reality check as she saw a few of the girls playing....
They had this brief moment to be free... to be normal kids... to forget that they are alone in the world
.......a moment to forget things that no one should ever remember....
what an incredible story of how this all happened and who will be blessed by it... but I have to wait for a few days to share that as well... the investors have first crack at that story..... Lets' see what can I tell you... Oh I know ... This week we had two other prayer requests answered... We have a sponsor for new shoes for the entire village orphanage. ( 150 kids) Then the same day I received an email sponsoring new soccer shirts and shorts for them all as well.... We even have the sizes so they will all fit right... 
Now we are going to make arrangements to bring the vendors from the market to set up their stalls at the orphanage for the day and let the kids choose their own... how fun is that... We will try to get it all set up to happen next week... ... We have also planned a shashleek pic nic in the mountains with 4 adoptive families ( that brought us stuff like K-D...Honey nut Cheerios.. tuna..peanut butter.. craft supplies..car parts... they even brought a full suit case of brand new replacement clothing and personal items to replace the bags that Aeroflot lost on David and Jayne ) and a bus load of kids from the orphanage... The girls are busy as well they have taken 2 bus loads of kids to the capital city for who knows what! and for who knows how long! but I am sure it will be exciting. And for some strange reason they forgot to turn off our electricity today so Julie frantically got us caught up on laundry and dishes..
. Boy were they excited when the horse and wagon showed up...
.. in fact I think that the owner of the horse was as excited as the kids. 
There was one more person today that got excited, that was The man at the shirt store. He has been really great with us and was ready for the rush of kids. 
We noticed how the kids did not allow themselves to show emotion...
as if at any second it could all disappear, then one by one the smiles broke through as they picked out their shirts
Before heading back we all got an orange and a banana......it's important that you have one more thing then you have hands to hold them.... 
At the end of the trip, they all came out with their new cloths and gathered around to wish Emma Happy Birthday.....
When they were done, Altini said that this was the best food she ever tasted, then she leaned over and put her head on my shoulder and quietly said with great contentment...
Here we are enjoying a meal of Poached Salmon, Rice and a Mediterranean Salad . We are now 24 with orphanage staff ... and I cook for 40... Man can those kids eat... and it';s always gone!
The girl on the right was asked why she was in the dump and not in school. She said that she needed a uniform and books before she could go to school. She said that if she stayed in the dump for the summer she hoped to earn enough before school started next fall..... about $100..... Well the race was on . Both Sam and Kevin went for there wallets. She was told it was time for her to go home now... She later told our worker Laurisa that she feels that God has set her apart.... Maybe one day they can all feel that way ! 
Amir is at the village orphanage . The director there is a wonderful lady and loves the kids so much. she has a good staff, and a nice facility. The budget there is just to small to cover the basic needs. Food and clothing are the two daily struggles for the director. We were there to discuss arranging help for some necessary operations for a few of the kids, and took that opportunity to do a little shopping on the way. We picked up 30 jugs of oil and 4 cases of cookies.... The amazing thing is that the kids were more excited about the oil....how many of our kids know the importance of oil in there daily diet...... 
Amire is doing well and sends his best to his friend Kenny. He brought us around the orphanage and introduced us to many of the other kids.
Do you remember this little guy?
We visited his classroom .
. We brought along a bag of groceries... we were all blessed.
Unfortunately that day they had learned that Angela's Mom had just died....Instantly what runs through your head is ..Could we have done more. What if we had not waited ... what if we paid for the operation ourselves...What if....What if...
