Monday, Monday

What was our visit to the orphanage going to bring today?

We were curious to see "K's" reaction to us today after not seeing him yesterday. His group was outside in their designated play area. All the kids were sitting down on benches and waiting for their turn to drink water. "K" saw us coming from a distance. He quickly stood up and then just as quickly sat down again. He was next in line for water and he is a thirsty boy. I am sure he did not want to miss his turn! We did see a smile on his face though.

Little Putin was right there and ready to take "K" by the hand and bring him to us. He excitedly stood up, took a few steps and was quickly grabbed by one of the mama's and made to sit back down. Poor little guy sobbed broken hearted tears. He could not perform his important task. We would have been glad to allow him to do it, but we do not make the rules. Which is as it should be.

We had a great visit. We were able to get our toy car back that "K" tossed into the locked play area. Peter and Lydia were much happier to see it than "K" appeared to be. I suppose knowing the value of personal property made the loss of that car more real to Peter and Lydia. "K" has known nothing but communal living. Which is better? Not sure. When the car was lost, P and L spent way too much time fretting about it. "K" thought about it for a second longer and then was fine with it.

One thing he has become very attached to is his drinking cup. We found one in our neighborhood store. It is blue and has two little handles. This is a prized possession. Today was the first day that he actually threw it. We could tell he was thinking about it, but wanted to see if he would actually go through with it. Sure enough. Temptation won out. Oh that age old problem! We all have our issues with it I suppose.

Yesterday we, Ed, Lydia, Peter and myself, went for a walk. When we stepped out of our apartment building, we heard round after round of guns being fired. It is an uneasy feeling to be in an unfamiliar country with gun fire sounding in the distance. The streets were full of people all heading the same direction. Policemen had blocked off the main road. We decided to follow the crowds - into the line of fire!

As we got closer, we remembered reading about Flag Day, a celebration of the Russian Navy. That was it! Men in uniform, young and old, were every where. The women were all in nice dresses and the kids had little sailor suits on.

We went down to the water front and watched the parade of Navy boats in the harbor. Ship decks were lined with sailors standing at attention. Other boats had streams of water shooting out from every angle. It was quite a display. The crowds were filled with flag waving patriots. All the while a load speaker blared Russian to the crowd. It felt like we were listening to some sort of propaganda, but of course we had no clue what they were saying.

We then went to another area where there were all sorts of military equipment set up. The kids were able to go inside military tanks. It was crowded and hot. What our military men and women endure for the protection of all of us is admirable. Incredible.

We also saw artillery equipment and many different missiles. The rockets were quite eery. We had had talks about the cold war with the kids earlier. Lydia made a comment that if one of those bombs had hit Grandma Connie's or Grandma Teresa's school, we wouldn't be here today. She seemed very affected. To be in a former Soviet country celebrating the military might of a Cold War adversary was surreal.

So........... God bless America. God bless the nation of freedom of choice. God bless the nation of independence. God bless those who have the opportunity to do for others because of the richness of their homeland. What a blessing to live in such a great country.

Just one of our many blessings.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad