So glad

Back to normal.

We had our regular mama's at the orphanage today and our visit was back to normal. Whatever that is! "K's" group was outside again when we got there. He was standing with the kids so nice while the mama's were discussing something. It was little Putin who again alerted him to our presence. That little Putin is really something. Such a caring boy. He has to be THE boy in charge of their group. Nothing seems to get by this little guy.

"K" was eager to get to our usual spot and we did all of our usual things. They have a grounds keeper at the orphanage. A kind man that greets us every morning as he sweeps up leaves and disposes of them in his cart. He also keeps weeds from growing by hoeing the dirt areas. No grass here. We had left our pile of nut shells under the bench when we left yesterday thinking they would be safe from the grounds keeper. No such luck. He had swept them away, but it didn't take "K" long to find them. That kept us occupied for quite some time. I guess God really is the best toy maker.



We had a good visit, but it was so hot. The heat really can make visiting a challenge. It is too hot to sit inside the building in the little room they have reserved. We try to stay outside in the breeze, but the kids - all 3 - get pretty tired pretty quick. We are all sweaty messes by the time the visit is over.



After our visit, we went to a museum not too far from where our apartment is. It is dedicated to the Crimean War. The museum has artifacts and many pictures and paintings. The only way to see the museum, that we could tell anyway, was with a tour. That tour would be in Russian of course. We had heard that they offered English speaking tours, but when we asked about "Engliski" tour, we received a totally blank stare. No problem, our Russian has been improving!

The Crimean war left Sevastopol in complete ruins. It was long and drawn out and had no winner. A "committee" of dignitaries finally decided who the area should belong to. Since the destruction of Sevastopol was so severe, the land was given to Russia because they had the resources at that time to rebuild. Turkey was on their last Sultan and money was running out. They were given free trading and shipping rights in the area as part of the bargain. They still have that benefit to this day.



The top floor of this museum is a circular mural that depicts the bloodiest battle of the war. The museum sits on the highest point in Sevastopol and that is the perspective from which the picture was painted. It was sobering. Both kids really enjoyed the museum and were touched and saddened by everything they saw. "Why did they have to fight?" "What about their wives and their kids?" "Did people's homes get destroyed?" "Did a lot of people die?"

I am so glad that I have never had the experience of having my home come under attack. Knowing that there are people in this world right now that do know exactly what that feels like makes me thankful to God for our safety and health. How did we get to be the lucky ones?



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