Orphanage #1 - New Years Day

After sleeping in a little after the New Year's revels, we had breakfast about 10:00 and hopped on the bus to drive to Orphanage #1 in Tomsk.  This orphanage is home to 3-7 year old children with disabilities (especially fetal alcohol syndrome).  The kids gave us a wonderful holiday program and we passed out stuffed animals (including some of the ones that the patrons of Jeannie Shew's hair salon).  Everyone had a ball!

Ludmilla's Christmas Cactus

Ludmilla was the receptionist/door-keeper for Orphanage #15 and she took care of the beautiful plants in the front window.

She was particularly proud of her Christmas cactus that was in bloom.

My new friend Ludmilla!

Snow From the Orphanage Window

New Year's Friends

Holiday Costumes

Part of the New Year tradition in Russia is to dress up in funny costumes or your formal best.  Our kids got in on the fun.

Welcome 2010

Back at Orphanage #15 it was time to ring in the New Year.  Starting about 10:00 p.m. the orphanage staff, Valentina and her granddaughters, members from the First United Methodist Church of Tomsk and our team celebrated with lots of good food, games, and lots of champagne, cognac, Coke Lite and vodka.

Going In The Snow

It wasn't the ladies who had to make a rest stop ten minutes after we left Moryakovka.  No, it was our two young men (who shall go nameless here!).  The driver found a place to pull off and our guide, Elena (the pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Tomsk) walked the boys back to a building where they had a little shelter to do what they had to do.

Leaving Moryakovka

I got some good snow pictures as we left the orphanage.

Puppet Show

Rev. Chris Arveson always puts together an original puppet show for us to present to the children.  He makes the puppets, develops the backdrops, records the audio, and then teaches us how to work the puppets after we get to the orphanage where we're staying.  This year he produced "Peter and the Wolf", using the famous music and narration known to school children all over the world.  My puppet was the red firebird who distracted the wolf so Peter could capture him.

Beautiful Children of Moryakovka

During the program I sat by a beautiful young lady named Svetya.

Moryakovka Party

We had a great time partying with the kids at Moryakovka.  They sang and danced around the tree till Grandfather Frost and the Snow Maiden made their appearance and then we played all kinds of games.  As one of the teenagers in our group said, "They know how to have fun!"

Andre

While most of the group went on a tour of the orphanage, Michelle and I waited in the party room and flirted with Andre.  He was everyone's favorite!