Hey Hey Hey,

Today was a long day, jet lag is still hitting us. We are still here at the dorms this week. We woke up, ate breakfast (yogurt, granola bars, peanut butter sandwiches etc.) Then by 10am, Olga, her friend and the driver came and picked us up. We headed straight to down town. Olga’s friend gave us some history of the city while driving around. It was so interesting , a lot to take in, but very cool! We were able to take a lot of pictures! :) Then we made our way to the Hermitage Museum. It was huge!! Olga’s friend gave us a tour(I was pushed in a wheel chair!) lol We just hit the highlights, and only really went on 2 of 3 floors(there are 5 buildings). She told us that there are over 3million pieces in the museum and if you looked at everything for 1 minute each, it would take you about 9years to get through it all!! CRAZY! We took a lot of pictures. We saw a few Vincent Van Gogh pieces, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Pablo Picasso, Leonardo de Vinci, and even a statue by Michelangelo. We were in aww.  Just to be able to say that we saw all of that was amazing.

Then we went to lunch, to this cute little café’ where they had these little croissants (of course they have a different name for them) but they had different things in it, like one had apricots in it, another had like eggs and green onions, another had cottage cheese…it was actually really good. Also, I’m trying to get use to the sparkling water at restaurants. So, as I said, breakfast is at the dorms and so is dinner, I brought a lot of Raman noodles:) and We bought at the store stuff for sandwiches, and chips and cookies, so I just had a ham and cheese sandwich w/chips. Not bad. Everything is smaller here, so we are trying to get use to the smaller portions. Haha

We went back to the Crisis Center Hospital today. Spend time with the same babies as we did yesterday. We took them outside to get some fresh air, changed some diapers and fed them their bottles. They actually got two new babies dropped off while we were there today.

Then we went to visit and play with the older kids, the same kids from yesterday and then 14 in addition. We took them outside to play ball and blow bubbles. The kids were so cute. They just hung all over us. They would say “I love you” even though we couldn’t understand a word they were saying. lol Their was one girl there, she was taken away from her family by what would be known as their version of DCF. Her mother was there visiting, it broke our hearts because she was just crying. She wanted her mom to take her home! I went over to try and distract her so that her mother could leave, I started blowing bubbles and playing play dough, it was so hard! We just started crying. They are so precious. The hardest part was when we had to leave. Just saying good bye to the kids, knowing that we are one of those people who are also leaving them….They kept asking when will you come back? We tried to share Christ with a few of the children but it is hard to keep their attention, and also with the language barrier, but we are getting there. God is good! Love you all…Gonna go get ready for bed! Another busy day tomorrow.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Lord, please help me to understand, why. Lord I know that you have a wonderful plan for each and every precious child. Lord, help me to share with them that you have a plan for their lives and to share your unconditional love with them. To tell them that YOU will never leave them nor forsake them. Thank you Lord! You are so good to me!

Your Daughter,

Melissa

Day 2-Humbled

Today, we slept in a little bit, had breakfast here in our dorm room at the University and then Olga came and picked us up. We went and did a little site seeing around the city, Saw the Church of The Spilt Blood, road the Metro all day! Even at rush hour coming home!! Now that was an experiance! Wow! lol Everyone pushing and shoving..but very cool. We were so blessed to have Olga with us, since she lives here she knows this place like the back of her hand. She knew exactly what streets to take, where to go, what to avoid, where to get on and off the metro. We even took what they consider a taxi, which is more like a van..holds more people. Oh speaking of which..the driving here is insane!! haha Everone is everywhere going any which way but there are NO accidents! ha. So that was fun..we had a very nice lunch at this little place called MamaRoma's it was kinda like their version of Italian. It was really yummy. :)
Now moving one to the reason we are really here. We went to the Crisis Center Hospital. We first held the babies, for about an hour or so, we took them outside and just loved on them. They are so precious! We changed their diapers and fed them. A baby actually got dropped off while we where there. This is where the childeren get dropped off for a month or two before they get placed into an orphanage. Then once we were done with the babies, we went into one of the older kids rooms, kids ageing from 4-8 years old. girls and boys. At first they were quiet, we brought some stuff to do, we asked one girl if she wanted to color, "no" she said, do you want to play with play dough, "no" what do you want to do, "I want to go home" she says, and begins to cry. It broke our hearts! We started talking to anouther one of the girls, who was the oldest in the room, who actually has taken on a mother like role with the other childeren even though none of them are related. We were reading her a story by Max Lucado about how God Thinks Your Wonderful and she had some very thought provoking questions, she is very smart. It was really fun to be there playing with the kids but it was so hard to leave them in that small room that they have to be in all day. Walking down the hall to leave we watched all the kids from all the rooms stand behind locked doors and stare at us as we left. They have such a nice facility there and are very well taken care of but it just breaks our hearts. We will be there again some tomorrow. We are also going tomorrow morning to the Hermithee Muesum, very excited. Anyways..it's like 10pm so I'm gonna go put my eye mask on head to bed. This day light out side is really throwing us off! Talk to you all tomorrow. Love you and thanks for all your prayers.

Dear King of Kings,
Thank you for this wonderful life changing experiance! I just pray specifically for all the childeren tonight. Each and every one of those precious babies and little ones. My they know your unconditional love for them! Use me and the girls as a shining light to glorify you. Give us strength and wisdom.
Love Your Daughter,
Melissa

Russia!!!

(Hey I wrote this last night-the first night but couldnt post it until now..because I had trouble with the fight because it was in Russian! lol But I have it figured out now..So here you go)

In Russia! Got here a little after 1pm Russian time. The longest flight from Chicago to Frankfurt was really nice. We were served dinner and then also breakfast! It's wasnt that bad. It was a huge plane, Two stories! I was like a little kid in a candy store! I couldn't stop giggling. I took pictures, don't worry! :) Then we had a very quick layover in Germany. Just enough time to get to our next plane. We had to go through security again, there for we didn't even have enough time to stop at the restroom! But that flight was nice as well. Only about 2hrs. I was luckily able to sleep on every flight:) So the jet lag hasn't really hit me until now.(almost 9pm) But the thing that is throwing us off..besides the fact that our bodies still think we are going by EST, it's still completely light outside! It's called White Nights. It won't get dark until after midnight and the sun raises again at like 4am! Thank goodness we brought eye masks!

We haven't gotten to see much of the city yet, just driving from the airport to the University here, but what we have seen is really cool...very different. Although, we have seen a KFC, McDonalds, and SubWay! lol But for lunch we had typical Russian food...we are jumping right in! The ladies that work with Orphan Outreach Olga and Lena are very nice, they picked us up and have showed us around. They took us to lunch, which was this cute little pankcake place which was more like creppe's. They also took us grocery shopping which was an experience. Oh and then also, I had to go to the restroom after shopping which was an experiance! Let me tell ya! There was no toilet seat, just the rim of the toilet! Talk about sqauting! lol and no toilet! And NO toilet paper, im glad I brought my own! Anyways, Olga and Lena will be back tomorrow to take us to the Crisis hospital where we will be working with the kids. We are so excited! But right now we are just going to get some rest! We will be here at The University all week this first week..so I should be able to keep everyone pretty well updated. Well, that's all for now. Better try and get some shut eye! LOVE YOU ALL!

Dear Jesus,

Thank you so much for safe travels, for getting all of our bags here and just working out every detail. you are an AWESOME GOD! Lord, I just pray that we all get a good nights rest and that are hearts are prepared for what is to come tomorrow and the days ahead-Amen

Your Daughter,

Melissa

Alomst Here!!!!

It's almost here! Three more days until I fly out. Destination Russia! This past week has just been crazy, getting last minute things done, such as phone calls, taking the dog to the vet, going to the college to make sure everything is set up for the fall semester when I return, and lots of shopping! Wal-Mart and the Dollar Tree are such a blessing! haha I had our weekly phone conference on Wednesday with the 3 other girls(Lydia 28, from Michigan, Caitlin 24, from Georgia and Kristen 20,from Texas). Everything is going so well, we are just making last minute adjustments to our packing lists, and making sure we have everything for VBS crafts and activities. It is just so cool to see how the Lord has brought each one of us girls together to form this team. Despite all having different straightens and weaknesses and coming from different backgrounds, we have been working really well together we each have the same purpose. We are all trusting in God to guide us and to protect us.
Anyway, I better get back to work, the girls and I are having one last conference call tonight. My flight leaves Monday morning around 10 something in the morning. My mom, brothers and some friends are all taking me to the airport! :) I don't think that it has truly sunk in yet for me that i am leaving for a month..but I'm sure it will VERY soon(like as I'm packing the suit cases)!
I'll post as often as I can while I'm gone...probably just on the weekends though...See you all in a month.

Dear Lord,
I pray that I get everything done that I need to get done before I leave. I pray that I don't have a hard time packing and getting to the air-port on time. Also, for traveling mercies for me and the other girls. That our flight goes well, and that ALL of our bags make it to Russia on time! For our safety and health as well. Lord, just prepare my heart for what I am about to do. I pray for all the children and workers that we will meet and minister too, that there hearts would be open to what you have to say. Pray that the girls and I shine our light bright for you. For the relationships between all of us girls. I pray that we are loving, caring, compassionate, comforting, understanding, and patient with one another while over seas. I just thank you Lord for all that you have given me..for my life! For this opportunity to do this for your Glory. Lord, thank you for all my wonderful friends and family who are praying for me and who have gotten me this far.-Amen.

Love Always,
Your Daughter Melissa
Jeremiah 29:11