The second of two e-mail updates received on 1/7/10, this one received at 3:35 pm:
...Yesterday, before we took the girls back home, we were also visited at the ARK house where we're staying by 2 women who found out there were Americans staying here. Julianna was the one woman's name...she was a deaf woman who worked at the deaf village we had visited 2 days earlier. She heard there were Americans visiting who were interested in deaf children, and she wanted to meet us. We really have no idea how she found out where we were staying, but she called Lena who works at the ARK house and asked if she could come. Julianna brought a 15 year old girl with her whose name is Natasha. Natasha was hearing, but both her parents are deaf. Her father works with Juliana and her mother works in a shoe factory. Natasha told us that the shoe factory provides an apartment for them where they live and they share a kitchen with other families, so it must be very similar to the apartment building we visited. Julianna and Natasha both go to the same Christian church and Natasha is the sign language interpreter at the church. The church has approximately 40 people there, 15 who are deaf. The really wonderful thing about Natasha is that she knows Russian sign language, English and Russian, which means she can interpret for the deaf children. This is truly an answer to our prayers and it is a miracle that she literally walked into the ARK house here. I know God sent her to us. If we can find a family to host this wonderful 15 year old girl this summer, not only will she be able to receive the wonderful benefits of the ABRO program, but she'll also be able to help us learn more about the deaf children and conditions of the deaf in Belarus. Please pray we find a host family for her. Natasha is a very blessed child - she must have done extremely well on the government tests to have been allowed to go to a good school where they teach her English also. I am very surprised she was given that opportunity since she has deaf parents, since the deaf are so looked down upon here in Belarus. She seemed excited about the possibility of getting to go to America, and said she would be willing to help us if she was able to come. Julianna was a very nice lady also, and was so excited to get to meet us. She told us she would love to help us find children that needed help through the ABRO program through her church , so I believe we've begun a good relationship there that may grow in the future. I hope to be able to learn more about her church in the coming months. We have been given so many children's names who are able to come to America this summer - it would take many host families, volunteers and monetary support to be able to bring them.
Today was Christmas Day (they celebrate the Russian Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7th) in Belarus so we went to a church service. The church was a good distance away - about a 3 hour drive each way on the bus. It was snowing again, and the roads were not good, but our bus driver is a very good driver, and other than a very bumpy ride, it was fine. We arrived there around 11:15 and went to church. The service was about 2 1/2 hours long - entirely in Russian. We understood very little of what was said. Other than the Americans who were there, there were mainly women and children at church. Very few Belarusian men attended the church. There were a good number of children, and they put on a Christmas play for us. There was much singing and several bible readings and a couple sermons. After the service, the Americans visited with the children in the village. Many of the other people who traveled with us to Belarus had hosted children from that town, so they were all taking pictures and exchanging gifts. It was so nice to see. We got to see Galina, who came with our group last year, and we met her mother. Galina looked pretty good, but her mother was extremely shy, quiet and had very little emotion about meeting us. Galina was thrilled to get her gift and so happy to see us. It was nice to see her and meet her mama. Rich also got to see Veronica who was a child who came to the ABRO group he was involved in when he lived in Raleigh, NC. Veronica is 14 years old and her father is the pastor of the church. Such a sweet child...
When we left the church, we all got back on the bus and went to a Belarusian restaurant in town. We had some interesting traditional Belarusian food, but it was pretty good. The meal, which was quite fancy for Belarus in a Belarusian hotel, cost about $10.
Then we got back on the bus and headed back to Mogilev. It's really nice to be able to meet back with the other Americans and hear stories about their experiences while here in Belarus. Their stories are so interesting and we all learn things from each other about the conditions for the children here in Belarus and their families. One of the ladies who hosts one of the children that we visited at the church today told us about what horrible living conditions that child lives in. They sold their "flat" (apartment) and gave the money to a man who told them he had a house for sale. The man instead stole their money. They took him to court, but lost the court case, so now they have no money and no home. Basically, they now live in a shack with no electricity, water or toilet. They also have a small child - maybe a year or so old. That child was bitten by a rat in their home. Some of the stories here are so horrible, it practically makes you sick on your stomach. Stories about children whose parents have neglected them since the parents are so drunk they forget they have any children. The children are locked in rooms and forgotten during the days. Infants whose parents were so drunk they didn't get the rat off the child before the child's lip was chewed off. Another story about a child who was taken away from her parents because during the summer she was tied up to a dog house in their yard and in the winter she was put in their attic (probably no heat). The stories are horrible...and that is why we must help...
When we got back to Mogilev, we had dinner. A sort of pork meatloaf with a hardboiled egg in the center of it, sweet bread and french fries. The bread and fries were delicious, the meatloaf was ok.
Tomorrow we have to start packing to head home. Around lunchtime, we'll be going for lunch at little Karyna's home - the youngest girl we hosted from FCOB this past summer. Then we are planning to go around Mogilev a little more, possibly do a little shopping for souvenirs from our trip in Belarus. Dinner will be here at the ARK house, and then we'll have to get a good night's sleep before our journey back home begins early on Saturday morning. On Saturday we fly to Frankfurt, Germany, and then on Sunday we leave Frankfurt to fly home to Washington DC.
While I'm looking forward to being back in America, I will miss the children of Belarus - I wish I could bring them along. These children are all so sweet, so precious. They need our love and help so much because they have so little love and hope here in Belarus. I'm so looking forward to being able to share more of my experiences with you when I return and to be able to share the pictures and videos. I wish I could bring back the smells, the tastes, and the sounds also because those are so vital to telling these stories too. If you ever have the opportunity to be involved in the ABRO program and/or come to Belarus, you should. It's not easy, but it's such an eye-opening experience. You will not be the same again...
Thank you for your prayers! I will try to write more another day and tell you more stories of Belarus.
Please pray for our safety in returning home this weekend and please pray for the children & families in Belarus.
Thank you all!
Take care,
Elaine
The second of two e-mail updates received on 1/7/10, this one received at 3:35 pm:
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment