I've been very occupied with a special writing project during the month of November, which is why I haven't posted anything on my blog in the last 4 weeks!
Near the beginning of November, a couple of people from Canada came for a visit - Isaac had been here last summer on a short-term mission trip, so it was a time of reconnecting for him with the missionaries and the kids...and this time he brought his girlfriend, Carla, with him. (I've borrowed the picture below from their Facebook.)
It was fun to help them interact with the kids and I learned the Russian word for beard (to describe Isaac's most obvious feature): борода.
On Sunday afternoons, we go to the Rehab Center to spend some time with the kids there. Two weeks ago, I became acquainted with a 12-year-old girl named Lera. (I don't have a picture of her.) She pulled a book out of the bookshelf and started showing me the pictures and explaining them. Because the book is written entirely in Ukrainian and I don't understand it, she was translating it into Russian for me.
This Sunday, we sat on the couch and continued looking at the book together. But the exciting moment came when Curtis began sharing the story about Zechariah's 9 months of silence before the birth of John the Baptist. Lera knew the whole story and was so excited to help Curtis tell it to everyone! When I asked her who had taught her from the Bible, she told me she taught herself, that she likes to read the Bible. WOW! At the end, when I said goodbye, I told her I would pray for her, and she said that she would pray for me too.
These are just a couple of stories -- it is SO thrilling to see God at work in the lives of these precious children -- and I will share more in my upcoming newsletter!!