I have some exciting plans for the next few months. Goodbye, weekly schedule. Hello, irregularity and adventure!
1) No more teachers, no more books...The school year is ending! Ideally, I would like to treat my students to a picnic or at least a tea party in the orphanage! However, as usual, Russian holidays are throwing everything into a state of confusion. May 1st and 9th are holidays, and in order to allow for long weekends, certain weekdays in the next few weeks are going to be weekends, and certain weekends are going to become working days temporarily. Got that? So when can I go to the orphanage? The kids are leaving for camp soon...
2) Africa. I'm leaving for Congo on May 22 for my brother's wedding. Things I still have to accomplish before then:
-get a visa (impromptu trip to Moscow?)
-have my dress sewn from African fabric (currently in-progress)
3) June. Return from Africa, teach English, figure out how to renew my visa, other plans TBA...
4) July. Possibly going to summer camp with a missions team? It would be English-language based.
5) End of July. Leave for U.S., as Russian visa expires. I've been accepted to a TOEFL certificate program which will occupy the month of August. Then I will hopefully get a new visa somehow
and return to St.Petersburg.
Monday, April 28, 2008
New Family history, part 5- Teamwork
Part five, 2006-2008. Teamwork.
Starting an adoption/foster care program from scratch would take an incredible team of people, we realized. We needed people who were not only qualified professionally but who had compatible Biblical views and could work together.
The first group of people that had been meeting and praying from the beginning was mainly volunteers. Although for most of us this idea was closely linked to our current work and was a great outlet for all of our feelings and observations about working with orphans, we didn’t have anyone working full-time on the new project. Meetings took place on evenings after work or on weekends. We had a lot of energy because our hearts were so inclined to this new vision. But it was still difficult to see progress when we could only meet once a week. Many of us had qualifications for working with children or with government administration, but no one was free to work full-time. So we began the search for personnel.
It was very difficult finding someone to work full-time for New Family. We tried to work through connections in local churches, among Christian social workers and others who worked with children. But since we had been working on a volunteer level, it was difficult to put into words how this vision had come about and what specific qualifications were needed in a full-time worker. We wanted someone whom we hired to be able to use his/her gifts and not have to change to meet our job description. That was why we left it open-ended. There were younger candidates who were eager but still studying. There were older candidates with a lot of experience who were used to a slightly bigger salary and a more rigid daily working regime. We needed someone who was willing to be a pioneer and join with us in starting something new.
Some of the personnel we realized we would need were: a director, a psychologist with the qualifications to train families and interact with the children, someone skilled in dealing with legal documents, a bookkeeper, someone to do presentations and draw in participants, someone skilled in interacting with directors and administrations of other organizations, etc. There were people who already could perform some of these functions, and some who had experience in multiple areas. But there were gaps.
In addition to having a core team, we wanted to find other ministries to partner with. As I mentioned, in the research phase we had done a lot of exploration so as to not do duplicate work. Instead of hiring our own lawyer or psychologist, perhaps someone from another ministry could help us with these services or train our staff to do these tasks.
God was constantly leading us into conversations with people who had some kind of helpful connection or had felt led in this direction. But there were still many "no" answers before we found people who could make a commitment.
The first group of people that had been meeting and praying from the beginning was mainly volunteers. Although for most of us this idea was closely linked to our current work and was a great outlet for all of our feelings and observations about working with orphans, we didn’t have anyone working full-time on the new project. Meetings took place on evenings after work or on weekends. We had a lot of energy because our hearts were so inclined to this new vision. But it was still difficult to see progress when we could only meet once a week. Many of us had qualifications for working with children or with government administration, but no one was free to work full-time. So we began the search for personnel.
It was very difficult finding someone to work full-time for New Family. We tried to work through connections in local churches, among Christian social workers and others who worked with children. But since we had been working on a volunteer level, it was difficult to put into words how this vision had come about and what specific qualifications were needed in a full-time worker. We wanted someone whom we hired to be able to use his/her gifts and not have to change to meet our job description. That was why we left it open-ended. There were younger candidates who were eager but still studying. There were older candidates with a lot of experience who were used to a slightly bigger salary and a more rigid daily working regime. We needed someone who was willing to be a pioneer and join with us in starting something new.
Some of the personnel we realized we would need were: a director, a psychologist with the qualifications to train families and interact with the children, someone skilled in dealing with legal documents, a bookkeeper, someone to do presentations and draw in participants, someone skilled in interacting with directors and administrations of other organizations, etc. There were people who already could perform some of these functions, and some who had experience in multiple areas. But there were gaps.
In addition to having a core team, we wanted to find other ministries to partner with. As I mentioned, in the research phase we had done a lot of exploration so as to not do duplicate work. Instead of hiring our own lawyer or psychologist, perhaps someone from another ministry could help us with these services or train our staff to do these tasks.
God was constantly leading us into conversations with people who had some kind of helpful connection or had felt led in this direction. But there were still many "no" answers before we found people who could make a commitment.
In the past few years, we have had a lot of different people working on this project. Some have helped with special events, some have devoted many hours to working in the office. Each new team member has brought a new dynamic to the work. It has been a pleasure to work together and seek direction from the Lord. Rich friendships have formed, and the Lord will use these relationships to further His work in Russia, whether in the context of a "program" or simply in sharing our lives with people.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
He is Risen
Today Christians in Orthodox Russian churches (and in some Protestant churches , like ours) celebrated the Resurrection.
I think eggs are associated with Easter worldwide, but especially so in Russia! When I called one non-Christian (Orthodox?) friend to invite her to church, she asked, "Oh, with the eggs?" I tried to explain that it was our normal church service, but with a celebratory focus. She said she would rather go to the nearby Orthodox church and watch the priests bless the eggs.
On the other hand, we did have eggs...at Sunday school!
The weather was marvelous, so a group of us took a stroll around the city. Here we are in a non Easter-related pose in front of the Museum of Hygiene.
Next we walked over to the Church of the Spilt Blood, the familiar landmark on the Griboedova Canal. I was searching for some evidence that today was Easter. Surely somebody was celebrating? Around the corner, we found some children painting a few giant eggs with messages of love and world peace. Always the eggs...
Next, we decided to go inside the church, which I hadn't done before. But it seemed appropriate to enter the Church of the Resurrection (its other name) on Easter Sunday. We waited for a group to form and were given a tour by a very knowledgable old lady who kept coaxing us to "gather around" her and listen.
At one point we were looking at the altar and our tour guide mentioned Christ, saying that He had always promised to be with us. Then she repeated, "The Saviour said, 'I will be with you always.' Amen." A few of us said "Amen," and she looked at me and winked. I think this old lady was a bit of an evangelist! :)
I think eggs are associated with Easter worldwide, but especially so in Russia! When I called one non-Christian (Orthodox?) friend to invite her to church, she asked, "Oh, with the eggs?" I tried to explain that it was our normal church service, but with a celebratory focus. She said she would rather go to the nearby Orthodox church and watch the priests bless the eggs.
On the other hand, we did have eggs...at Sunday school!
The weather was marvelous, so a group of us took a stroll around the city. Here we are in a non Easter-related pose in front of the Museum of Hygiene.
Next we walked over to the Church of the Spilt Blood, the familiar landmark on the Griboedova Canal. I was searching for some evidence that today was Easter. Surely somebody was celebrating? Around the corner, we found some children painting a few giant eggs with messages of love and world peace. Always the eggs...
Next, we decided to go inside the church, which I hadn't done before. But it seemed appropriate to enter the Church of the Resurrection (its other name) on Easter Sunday. We waited for a group to form and were given a tour by a very knowledgable old lady who kept coaxing us to "gather around" her and listen.
At one point we were looking at the altar and our tour guide mentioned Christ, saying that He had always promised to be with us. Then she repeated, "The Saviour said, 'I will be with you always.' Amen." A few of us said "Amen," and she looked at me and winked. I think this old lady was a bit of an evangelist! :)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Happy Birthday
Today is my brother James' birthday. I think he is 20. Now that I forget my own age, it's harder to remember everyone else's!
So there are no more teenagers in our house...
James is now a big, bad college athlete. Recently, he won some throwing competitions (photos from the CMU Athletics department).
Happy Birthday, little brother!
So there are no more teenagers in our house...
James is now a big, bad college athlete. Recently, he won some throwing competitions (photos from the CMU Athletics department).
Happy Birthday, little brother!
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