August 7 2019

We all arrived safe and sound! It was an amazing travel day from Calgary to Amsterdam with about 2 hour wait for our connecting flight to St. Petersburg, Russia. We arrived to meet Pastor Lief Camp to take us to his appartment. Twelve people in a small 3 room apartment! That's 3 rooms not 3 bedrooms. Our accomodations are cozy. It's was an afternoon of planning and resting trying to get accustom to our 9 hour time change.

August 10 2019

Visiting St. Ann’s Lutheran Church in St. Petersburg, Russia. Pastor Leif took us on a tour of some of the Lutheran Church’s in the area and talked to us about the history of the church here. Below are some photos of the outside of St. Ann’s which has been beautifully restored however the inside still needs a great amount of work. The church is currently being used to film a movie and all funds made from this are going toward the restoration of this beautiful building. Yes the two photos attached are the inside of this burnt out building.

We also took an opportunity to visit a youth hostel where we visited some of the local youth. I’ve attached 3 pictures of some of are own young people sharing music with them and also these Russian youth challenged our Canadian youth to a game they call “Alias” which is an ENGLISH word game similar to a game I know as “Taboo”. The Russian kids WON!!!

August 11 2019

Travel day on an Express Train from St. Petersburg to the Nizhniy Novgorod. This was a 12 hour train ride from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am. Thankfully we all had our own bunk beds which made the train ride very relaxing for some as we were not all adjusted to the new time zone. Sorry photos are not permitted near any transportation hubs.

August 12 2019

Day of organization- crafts, Bible stories, tables and classroom spaces, songs, English vocabulary games, etc. We then take a much needed break for a pizza dinner and then off to bed for a busy first day of classes.
Supposed to have the Bible camp numbers capped at 40, but then was 45, and now at 52 – space is very small so had to limit registration. Current enrollment shows age group from age 7 to 15, approximately 12-15 in every group. Most of the children (at least 30) are from the community with no prior connection to the church so will be interesting to see how it goes. Note that most of us, including the local pastor and family also are living in the same space as the Bible school will be in so we are planning to be up very early to try to store cots, mattresses, suitcases, etc in a very small storage space to ensure there is enough room for the children. Also had to get 2 port a potties and a sink to put out in the yard as too many people to expect them all to use the single bathroom that we are sharing. Learnt how to open a window as well as an escape door in the basement in case of fire or emergency- Hopefully will not need to remember how to open it!!!
Will appreciate your thoughts and prayers as this begins tomorrow – our group is mixed emotions of frustration, anxiety, and trepidation so not really sure we are equipped for this challenge.

August 14 2019

Yesterday was the first day of classes and it was exciting!!! We finally had the opportunity to meet our kids! Bible classes, English classes, singing, crafts, games and a drama class. We have many helpers from the local church which make organization much easier and a translator per group which are greatly appreciated. We will all have many great stories to tell of our experiences with these fantastic kids. After a day of classes we all enjoyed a beautiful Russian meal with our hosting church and many of us (being exhausted) went straight to our beds. (including me!)

August 16 2019

First rainy day of English Bible program, meaning we needed to be creative with entertaining 52 kids as well as all of the staff within the walls of the building – No running around playing ball and outside games in the large yard. Very tight space. Thank goodness for use of a computer to play a movie for some of the games time – All survived without any evidence of anyone going stir crazy (including us). Our days consist of packing up all our beds, bedding, suitcases and storing in a tiny storage area, breakfast, devotion, arrival and gathering time for children, then 4 sessions (drama, crafts, bible study and English) intermixed with games, tea time, lunch for all, closing time, more games, then kids leave (hopefully as some are around for a while) while we have closing debrief, start prepping for the next days classes (usually at least couple hours) then sweep all the floors, clean the bathrooms, do remaining lunch dishes (no disposable use here) , supper, sometimes more prep, pull out the cots and bedding and suitcases and make up the night time sleep space, then CRASH!!!!! - Just to start the same thing the next day. Planning for a program for the kids to put on before church on Sunday morning which will be the wind up , then church, teatime, clean up of the building and we will be back on the train for the 12.5 hour ride back to St. Petersburg. – Not sure what else is on the agenda, but it is quite chaotic so things could change at any moment.

August 17 2019

Today was a very busy day once again but so much fun! By now we have all learnt who our kids are very well and the kids have learnt who we are too. Unfortunately it was another rainy day outside so we didn’t get to do our outside games which of course the kids always enjoy. Instead we play indoor games and even watch a Christian animated movie for some down time. We all continue to practise our English drama production which we will perform for the parents for a show on Sunday before the church service. We are all saddened by the fact that this our last day of the regular session and tomorrow is the show with the parents and then a farewell to all. For myself I have had the opportunity to get to know some of the parents (the ones who speak some English, Google translate on our phones is a lifesaver).

August 18 2019

Our Drama Production today was a big hit. The kids were incredible!!! Many of the parents were thrilled to have their kids in this program and were anxious to know if we would be returning next year! There were also many tears as we said goodbye to our new friends. It was a fantastic experience for all of us. My children became amazing craft teachers and they were also very sad to say, “do svidaniya” (Good bye). We must have had the longest tea time ever after the church service because no one seemed to want to say goodbye. We then only had a couple of hours to pack our bags, clean the church, clean our sleeping quarters, have a quick dinner and it was off to the train station for the journey back to St. Petersburg. I’m writing this now on our train journey.