I usually like to take a couple of weeks once I get home from a mission trip to digest all that happened during our travels, but this year just seemed to get away from me and here it is the end of July and I got home on the first. I have a sister and daughter with health issues so I like to help them around their homes and a husband who has worked seven days a week for nearly a year and I have picked up the slack here as well. Not complaining, I’m very thankful for my health and ability to help wherever I can.
So on to the summary…..
We had a great team of students this summer. Most were from Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, but we also had a high school student from Virginia and a middle school student from Ohio. The students did all the activity, craft and lesson planning for the trip and they did a great job. I am certain they touched many lives with the love of Jesus. Many teams have stopped going to this camp as they were unable to openly share the gospel, however, our team was undaunted by this and presented the love of Jesus to the children whenever possible. Our T-shirts were often a topic of conversation. They had the outline of Russia on the front with the words, “so all the world will know” in both English and Russian. They prompted many questions from the children which we were then free to answer. The dream catchers also afforded us the opportunity to share that our dream was that everyone would know how much Jesus loves them.
Our trip was not without challenges. It was very cold at camp and many needed extra blankets as the temps dipped into the 30’s most nights. The day we left, there was a hail storm that left 2 inches of hail piled on the ground. I think I was the only team member who had ever seen an outhouse, let alone use one, but that is exactly what we had available to us near our lodging quarters. That was a real challenge to some of our young women. We walked about a quarter mile to shower and then they were communal showers which also were a challenge to some of our young women. At least the water was hot!!!
Once we left camp, we spent a week in St. Petersburg at a Christian hostel which was very comfortable except for the fact that it was nearly impossible to get a warm shower. Most of the time the water was very cold. We did have cooking privileges which made it possible for us to have breakfast and some dinners there and that was a cost savings for our team. It was not always easy to prepare a meal with several other hostel guests also trying to use the kitchen as the same time, but we managed.
From our base in St. Petersburg, we visited two facilities for children with special needs. At Pavlovsk we were able to take some of the children out for a walk and one of our team members took her guitar and played songs and sang which the children just loved. At Peterhof we visited a facility for special needs adults where I was able to visit Sonya and Kostya. They grew up at the orphanage in Pavlovsk and I have known them for years. It was good to see them again and to see how they are thriving.
A couple years ago, we partnered with Perspektivy, a charity foundation that assists foreign volunteers working at the orphanage in Pavlovsk and Peterhof. We had a young woman from Ohio, Katherine Graumlich, spend six months working at Pavlovsk through this partnership and she has recently returned home. She was able to provide daily care to several children and grew quite close to them over the months. You can see some of her posting on our website at www.lifelinemissions.org. Just this week I had another inquiry about this project. It is my hope that we can continue to send volunteers who have a heart for these wonderful children that the world has forgotten, but God has not.
We are looking forward to our next project which is a trip this October to a village outside of St. Petersburg. We have been invited by our partner, the Grace Center to participate with them at orphanages in Luga. The Grace Center is doing a great job presenting Biblical principals of ethics and morals in these orphanages and our goal is to reinforce those with the children there. Our team size for this trip is limited, so if you might be interested please contact me soon.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
That the borders remain open through all the political conflict
That orphanage doors will be open to our visits
That we will continue to touch lives for Jesus
Blessings, Karen Jones, Executive Director LifeLine Missions International www.lifelinemissions.org 330-647-1032