We're in the lobby of the Ismailovo Alpha hotel waiting to check in. The are hundreds of kids here on winter break. The lobby is full of them!

We're on the ground in Moscow! On the way to the hotel.

We're at Orphanage No. 1 waiting for the little ones to put on their program. Can't wait!

Now we're off to Orphanage #1.

Breakfast was noodle and milk kasha, oranges and bananas, bread with cream cheese spread, ham an cheese, fruit juices and of course tea!

Packing!

It's hard to believe that in about 2 1/2 days I'll be in Tomsk! I've been putting things in the suitcase for the past week but now it's getting serious! I'm just about done, but now I have to get the suitcase zipped closed! :-) I'll try to post from Russia, but if I can't manage it, I'll post lots of pictures when I get back.
S'novum Godum!

First UMC of Moscow 1

We had a marvelous time worshiping and celebrating with the members of the First United Methodist Church of Moscow on New Years Eve 2007. We all fell in love with the little girl in pink!

Fun at Moscow Orphanages

This was during the 2008-2009 trip, I think.

Moscow Hotel

Most years that I have gone on this trip our group stayed at the Hotel Ismailovo Delta. They put up marvelous light displays for the holidays. This is a small sample. The first building you see is what we called the "Log House Restaurant".

Christmas Carols

There are only ten of us going on the trip this year and that doesn't include my friend Chris who has done the puppet shows in the past. Rev. Clark said that we will be doing a program for our hosts and I volunteered to help lead some Christmas carols. What do you think would be the easiest for non-singers to do a decent job with and would be known as American classics?

First UMC of Moscow

The Children of Sergei Posad

This is a video I took of the children at the Orphanage for the Blind and Deaf at Sergei Posad near Moscow the first year I traveled with Volunteers in Mission.

Getting excited!

I had a busy night on the phone last night.  First, I talked to my friend Jan to see if she had also received her ticket and information packet and she has.  We had a good time reminiscing about our past trips together (I think this will be her sixth trip!) and rejoicing that some of our old friends will be going with us.  We're also hoping that we will be roommates again when we get to the hotel in Moscow.  (Rev. Clark, are you listening?)  When we stay in the orphanage in Tomsk, all the ladies will probably be in one room (one of the orphans' rooms) and the two guys will bunk together.  We will be flying out of Charleston on United and then taking a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, Germany and on to Moscow.  I've never flown Lufthansa before so that will be a new experience.  We will then take a Russain airline from Moscow to Tomsk.  My friend and neighbor Frances has volunteered to take me to the airport the morning we leave and I hope she's also volunteering to pick me up the evening we get back!  ;-)

My other call last night was to a good friend, Nancy Williams, who is a very talented artist and author.  Among her many talents, Nancy paints beautiful Christmas ornaments and I'm hoping to get one from her to take as a present to Orphanage #11 in Moscow.  That's the orphanage that teaches music, dance and the arts to the children, many of whom are afflicted with fetal alcohol syndrome and other challenges.  The orphanage director, Lydia, has requested that each of us bring an ornament to put on the tree at #11 and I want to take something that represents West Virginia.  I know Nancy will come up with something beautiful!

Here We Go Again!

I wasn't able to go to Russia with WVVIM last year, but 2011-12 is a go!  I got my e-ticket from Rev. Tom Clark this week and I'm so excited!  We will be returning to Tomsk in Siberia for the first week and then returning to Moscow for the second week to visit several orphanages there.  We have a special invitation to spend extra time at Orphanage #11 where the emphasis is on music and the arts.  That's the orphanage where my special little girl, Masha, lived, but I'm happy to tell you that she was adopted in 2010 by a lady living in Moscow.  I think it is wonderful!

In the past I have asked my friends to donate toys and school supplies for us to take with us as presents for the kids, but because of the extremely high cost of shipping items we are asking for monetary donations and will buy the presents over there.  You can make a donation by sending a check to "Volunteers In Mission", P.O. Box 969, Summersville, WV  26651-0969.  In the memo line, put "12th Annual Orphans Christmas Party".

There are only ten of us going this year, but I know most of them and I know we'll have a great time.  My roomie Jan is one of those going, so I know we'll have fun!  I'll keep you posted!

Little Tiger

This is the Year of the Tiger in the Oriental calendar and Russia uses images of the animals in their celebrations.  This little fellow had the honor of being the Tiger at the party, but he wasn't very happy about it!

Kids Waiting For A Party

It's traditional for everyone to dress up for the celebrations.  In addition to pretty princesses there are lots of little forest animals.

We don't always get to interact closely with the kids during the parties but here, the teachers encouraged the kids to come sit on our laps.

More Delicious Food

Our hosts at the Eagle's Nest put on a wonderful spread of food for us!

Eagle's Nest Main Building

"Eagles Nest" Orphanage

The Eagles Nest Orphanage was originally built as a retreat for the wealthy and later was used by high ranking members of the Communist party.  It was turned into an orphanage in 1991.  It is a beautiful setting in the midst of the "taiga" forest.  The snow is several feet deep and the temperature the day we were there was -38C.

Morgan and Cassie.

It was a two-scarf day!

The orphanage dogs were there to greet us.

One of the cottages.

Morgan and Chris with his puppets.

The entrance to the main building.

Food City - January 2, 2010

We slept till about 8:00, then had a lovely breakfast of juice, tea, bread and cheese, Kiwi yogurt and baked egg whites.  After piling on as many clothes as possible we climbed on the bus with all the presents we had left and headed out in the cold, cold Siberian day.  Because we didn't bring as many gifts with us this year, we stopped at a large K-mart type store and most of the crew went in with Tom to buy more toys and gifts.  One of the signs on the outside of the building read "Food City" in Cyrillic letters.

Michelle Clark and I stayed on the bus with our driver Sergei.

Even though it was cold waiting on the bus, we had a good time watching people negotiate the snowy streets and sidewalks.