Mission Memories - 4/25

Memories of Russia

 

April 24, 2009
by Jean Huryn
 

            Crisp winter snow that crunched under our feet as we walked, warm conversations with teammates, and delightful children sharing the gift of Christmas with us—those are my memories of our Russian trip.  When I visited the Makariev Orphanage several years ago to see Timur before he aged out, I really thought that was to be the only trip to Russia.  But when Garber offered the opportunity to assist with eye exams for children and their caretakers at several orphanages, it was time to go again.  Being so cold natured, family and friends asked over and over, “How will you survive in Russian in the dead of winter?”  Truthfully, I didn’t know but had memories of celebrating “old” Christmas with my husband’s family back in Cleveland in the middle of winter.  No matter how cold it was outside, we bundled up and knew how to keep warm and celebrate being together.  Somehow I was sure Russia would be a similar experience—and it was!  Although days of eye exams were long, and we traveled miles and miles over one lane snow covered roads after dark feeling the bitter cold against the walls of the van, we were never really cold.  God kept us safe and warm as we returned to Kostroma each evening tired but with happy memories of good food and good fellowship.
 

            One trip was further than expected because the orphanages’ van that was to bring the children to Kostroma, had broken down.  When we arrived at the Nikolskoye Orphanage, I was amazed and excited as this was where our other sponsored child (Andrey) had lived-- and I still had the beautiful pipe cleaner tree he had sent us one Christmas.  Occasionally I would hear about Andrey from a church group from Georgia when they visited Nikolskoye but never expected to get there myself.  Andrey had aged out last fall and the staff said he was at Tech School learning to be a cook, but still returned for visits.  They would let him know of our visit.  What a delight to see that the orphanage where he grew up was clean and very well run.  We got to sit in on a class there and it was wonderful to see the relaxed give and take between the teacher and students who were very involved in their learning process.
 

            But spending Christmas day at the Kovolyova Orphanage was the highlight of this trip.  The children were so excited and their delight in performing and playing games with Father Christmas further proved that Christmas does not need to be all about presents to be fun and exciting.  We learned a lot from those children as they shared with us that day.  I also learned that my chess skills needed to be sharpened before playing with them again--but they enjoyed winning.  The most poignant moment was seeing a  young soldier return to the orphanage to spend a couple of hours on Christmas with his  “family.”  He was glad to see his house mothers and his two younger biological brothers.  And his brothers were just as delighted to see him and came to sit next to him at the table.  But when the youngest one sat down, the house mother asked him to go elsewhere and let the guests sit down.  You could see the hurt on his face as he left the room.  We insisted that we didn’t need that much room and there was plenty of room for him to be here with his brother during this short visit.  Another boy was quickly sent to get him and the three brothers sat together at the kitchen table as cameras snapped their unforgettable smiles that Christmas day.  What an experience!  What a blessing!  Thanks Garber for that opportunity.
 

Jean Huryn

April 24, 2009