Back in Vologda!

Hello Everyone!

Carey, how wonderful you are to keep my mom sane with all of your "they're safe and happy" posts! You can tell you have been to camp before...your posts where right on! (I loved your comments mom, you know me well. )

Goodness, where in the world do I start. First of all, today was my second shower in a week and first glass of wine! I guess I would call today "bittersweet" because we also said good-bye to all the kids we spent all week with and FELL IN LOVE WITH at camp. Here are a few pictures of our time...I'm sorry today is going to be brief...my eyes are getting heavy.





PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO LAST PICTURE AND WORK YOUR WAY BACK UP...still can't read much/any Russian on Dasha's computer! Ha.

This was placed in the middle of our table this afternoon before we left camp. It is sweet bread made with fresh picked berries from the lady who lives behind the camp! So sweet and very yummy!!!



Dinner. Not much else to say on this one!


I've never had more hugs in my life than I've had from Tanya. She was my buddy all week. Every time I turned around I would hear, "shenny!" (Family: Just like baby katie and mary used to say!" I had forgotten that I gave her my cross I had around my neck the first day she asked about it. So today when we were leaving camp she kept tugging at my same but new necklace (that were made for the trip.) Honestly, I was thinking..."I have given her so much and she only wants more "things." Did I make any impact on her at all?" Well, Tanya quickly grew very frustrated as I continued to say, "nee penyee mayoo" (I don't understand) as she kept pulling at my necklace. She called over Masha to translate and this is what Masha translated, "Jenny, I remember the necklace just like this one that you gave me the first day. I will never forget it. Every time I see it I will pray for you. Will you please pray for me when you see yours?"

This picture was taken this morning right before we started worship. People are starting to get teary-eyed because we know it's our last day together.

Hoedown night! Enjoying the campfire just after teaching all the kids (expect the older "cool" kids!) the Cotton Eyed Joe!!! Anxiously awaiting...yes of course...SMORES!!! I think they had about 5 each!

Talent show night!

Tea, coffee, cookies, and jam everyday at 4pm. Yum and fun.

Pin the tail on the Donkey at the Hoedown! Katia, Rita, Sasha, Tanya, ( and Illiad? who ran in the picture last minute holding HIS end where he thought the tail should go!)

Sack races during "sports time!"

Sasha, Katia, Nicole (on team), and Jenny during our fist day of crafts. If I could get ALL of you reading this to pray for Katia, as she is not going back to her foster family after camp, but back to the orphanage. :(



This is the first thing I saw as I walked in the doors...a banner that read, "Welcome to our camp!" in English and 33 precious children waving us in to sit at their table for tea!

We took an hour bus ride outside of Vologda to get to camp. Then we stopped at the bridge and walked another 30 minutes to camp. When we approached the camp all the kids ran outside and met us at the gate yelling, "Привет!" Which is pronounced Pree-veet and means Hello! I fell in love immediately.


After my first shower after 2 days of traveling, I came out to find sweet Dasha in her kitchen. Her mother made some wonderful crepes with some sweet cream to pour over them, topped with homemade jam by her grandmother! Heaven on earth!

St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. Doesn't it look fake?!!!

I just re-read my first post...please excuse all the grammatical errors!!! In all my future posts in Russia as well!

I love and miss you all terribly!

Jenny