Day 2 at the Orphanage

Today we were armed with a day's worth of entertainment for the kids. I had a grocery sack full to the brim with flash cards, easy reader books, Uno, Barrel of Monkeys, movies, math games, etc. I also stuffed my purse with candy we brought with us from Costco. Wow, it was a success. And may I say that Ruslan is one smart cookie. He knew his English alphabet, and we started working on the sounds the letters make. He picks up fast. We also worked on the English names for colors. I was relieved to discover he has a really good attention span. Here is his reward, a Russian animated movie we brought with us.

The next two pictures were taken in the main administration building. The walls are colorfully painted with enchanting scenes.

The Loboses, the Bensons, and the Lawrence families got to take their kids and go to a restaurant for lunch. We had to have special permission from the director. Nadia, the director, has her heart in the right place. I think she would like to see every one of the kids find homes.

The Barrel of Monkeys was a hit. Here are Ruslan, Dema, and Tawnya playing. Notice the Tootsie Roll Ruslan has. We had to get stern with him. He was nonstop begging for more candy, but once we got a little stern, he stopped. Tawnya spent a couple hours with us. What a sweet girl.

Ruslan and Sasha. We were allowed to play ping pong. They had to unlock the door for us.

More children at the orphanage.

And more.

And another. So many of them come up and touch you and tell you their names. This little girl came up and wrapped her arms around Michael's legs and told him her name.

There were games going on in this room. Twenty volunteers from The States are here for a few weeks doing games, crafts, etc. with the children. The Young Man in the black and white is a volunteer from Arizona.

This is where Ruslan sleeps with lots and lots of other boys.

I couldn't help but take a picture of Ruslan's shoes today. He was embarrassed, but I wanted my own children to appreciate their shoes. The whole side of his shoe has ripped apart. I don't know how he kept them on as he walked.

This is Zhenia. We considered adopting this little guy, but it just didn't feel right at this time. He's looking for a home.

It is heart-breaking to see these children. They are dirty and ragged for the most part. I started giving candy away out of my purse, and I got swarmed until it was all gone. I wish I could take them all and find homes for them.

Before we left today, we sat down with our fantastic interpreter, Elena, and asked Ruslan if he wanted to be part of our family. We told him that being part of a family was a great thing, but it comes with lots of responsibility--family chores, responsibility, hard work, being kind, helping each other, doing homework. He said "dah" to everything. Of course, he already knew what was going on. Why else would we be learning the alphabet? But now it is official, and we are moving forward.

A word of explanation: Since we were not here to see Ruslan but Zhenia this time, we have to travel back to Kiev for another SDA appointment and start with the paperwork for Ruslan. We are hoping that will happen Monday. It looks like another train ride.