Children's Day

Here in Kazakhstan we celebrated Children’s Day on June 1^st. On this day the whole city gets together to celebrate all of the children with fun entertainment, and carnival attractions as well as free ice cream for everyone. Well that is if you are a kid. So no ice cream for me… This was a fun filled day with a concert where people from the city donated gifts to certain children, including a hefty donation from the bankers for the kids at Sarymoldaeva, the orphanage where I’ve been working.  This was a fun experience for me even though I didn’t really know what was going on since it was all in Kazakh. I did however know there was a lot of joy in the room as the kids were receiving their gifts and achievement awards. After this concert it was back home for a cold shower as it has been really hot here and over 100 degrees  which for an Oregonian like me is definite melting temperatures. But enough about weather cause it just frustrates me.  I got my relief though and just in time for another concert at Sarymoldaeva.  This was a huge highlight for my trip for sure! The concert was fun an interesting, but the part I loved most about this was something completely different. The last time I was in Kazakhstan I taught English at another orphanage called Ulan. I got to teach a group of girls from ages 11 to 16. Ulan was closed last year due to budget as well as lessening numbers of children due to a growing foster system.  All of the remaining kids from Ulan were moved to Sarymoldaeva. I have been able to see most of the girls I had in my class two years ago, however some of them have graduated so I have not been able to see them. There was one girl in particular who I connected with while I was there and she graduated that year. When I came back this year I was sad because I knew that I was not going to be able to see her. However, when I went to the concert…SHE WAS THERE! I was so excited to see her and she remembered me as well. I couldn’t believe I got to see her after all. We talked pretty much the whole time during the concert catching up on life and how she is doing. Let me just say God blessed me big time with this conversation. He allowed me to be able to understand almost every word she said and be able to respond as well which is the harder part. I was so blessed to be able to see her and find out she is doing well and studying in college. I have gotten to know many kids over the years and I have seen them graduate only to never see them again. So you can imagine how glad I was to be able to see that she was doing well and she told me about some of the other girls who also graduated and they are doing pretty good too. The Father is good and He has been so good to me in this way. Being over here for a longer time has given me so many opportunities to reconnect with my past relationships that being on a delegation wouldn’t have given me. He has also allowed me to make many new relationships which I look forward to strengthening in the years to come. Being able to see Angelina was a huge blessing for me and a great reminder that God is in control and He knows exactly what we need and even when we think there is no way. All things are possible with Him. YAY!

                                                                       Angelina and me :)

My trip to the Village

     I’ve had the backup plan for a while now that if I didn’t figure out what I’m going to do with my life that I will just find a small village somewhere in the middle of nowhere Russia and live with a little Babushka and Deyadyshka . Well I may not be in Russia, but I think I found a village that I like! Yesterday my Kazakh mom told me we were going to the village where she and her daughter grew up.

    Originally when I heard the word village, I was thinking this was going to be very primitive and there were not going to be any Russian-English speakers. Now the primitive thing I was not afraid of because I prefer that but the whole not being able communicate thing is really hard for me! As we were driving through the foggy green mountain pass in a taxi filled with strangers I was excited to finally see my first Kazakh village. As we pulled up to gate number 21 I quickly discovered Dad had my back as my Kazakh mom’s English speaking niece opened the gate. I was immediately greeted by all of her family and brought inside for some tea which is a custom here. It’s tea in the morning. Tea at lunch, tea before lunch and after lunch, afternoon tea, pre-dinner tea, after dinner tea and midnight tea. TEA TEA TEA! That’s fine with me though cause I do that at home too there’s just no one to talk to and no chocolate and cookies are on the table. They always tell me I drink tea like a Kazakh because I can throw it back. I always tell them it’s because I’m Japanese. After a nice lunch of plov and salad, I got to take a ride to a different street in the village which lined with the homes of a tone of their other relatives. When we got there it was like something out of a movie. They had barns for the sheep, cows and horses. They had a cellar to put the canned goods and things in the winter time. They had a huge garden and apple trees with a little baby cow in the middle. I was loving it! After we had another round of tea with this part of the family, they decided to show me down the street of relatives, some of them unsuspecting of a new American guest. This was such a cool experience meeting all of their family and eating bread whenever I entered a house as is a custom. I surprised many of them when I broke out the camera so they would go and change their clothes. Everyone was so nice to me and humbly welcomed me into their homes. This tour was also led by two ladies who were English teachers so that was nice for me to be able to get all of what was going on.  I also got to help some boys practice their English after a bit of coaxing by their mom. One boy didn’t want to practice his English because he thought I was Kazakh so when they told him to say something in English to me he was a bit confused. He was thinking why he would talk to me in English when I wouldn’t understand it anyway.

     After another dose of tea, I went with some of them to a grave site where the grandfather, grandmother and oldest son and his wife were buried. This was a new experience and unique experience for me. We piled into a truck and road down this bumpy dirt road past the shepherds with their sheep and cows.  Everyone covered their heads to honor their relatives’ graves since they are of the Muslim faith. This was also my first time visiting a grave site like this. They have gates all around the individual graves and at the top of the front arch there is a plaque with their name. One of the boys recited portions of the Qur’an and then his father said a prayer. I was kneeling along side of them lifting up my own words in my own way. When we got back we ate a nice dinner of Bisparmak which made me happy!

     Overall this was an amazing experience and as we drove away in the early morning I looked back at the glorious mountain range that so beautifully border Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and felt so satisfied. I hope I will be able to go back soon. I have certainly had no shortage of blessings here. I notice Dad’s hand in everything from a little girl’s smile, tea time laughter, journal entries, and the wonderful Kazakh nature to conversations with new friends. I am so thankful to be here and this trip to the village far surpassed any expectations I could have had. I just hope one day these beautiful people who made me so happy can experience the same joy, hope and love I hold dear to my heart every day.

Post Delegation

How do I even begin to sum up the last 10 days? Well how would anyone sum up ten days jammed packed with everything from orphanage visits, cooking meals, may day parades, schmoozing with the governor, touring the sights, having tea with local heroes, improve dance parties, sword swallowing, walking around the city, watching Kazakh national dances, giving wheel chairs out and so so much more. I suppose I just did but that is really only a quarter of the things that happened over the course of those 10 days the delegation was here.

On the Wednesday the delegation was to arrive I spent the day making sure the house was all ready for them to come. The anticipation and excitement was making me anxious but I was glad to soon be able to meet a batch of new friends. As they all got into the house with their things and took a much needed clean bathroom stop, the delegates sat down to a meal where I then was asked by one member if I spoke English. I love being asked that question! I told her yes indeed I spoke English and I even come from America.

This delegation was made up of people from three states, Virginia, Indiana and Colorado. It was in my opinion the A team since there was a lot of cultural peace relationships being built on this trip. That is where the schmoozing came into play. The main purpose of this delegation however was not the flashy glitz and glam or even playing with orphans. Their purpose, although at first I didn’t even see the importance of it was to lift up the city of Taraz and the country of Kazakhstan. Let me tell you these people wielded the sword better than any warrior I have seen before. They came out strong and covered this city with the power only the Father can give and for me that was an amazing thing to witness and be a part of. I really learned from these people and I will never forget the time I got to spend with them.

These past 10 days have been absolutely crazy and none stop but every moment has been a blast and I am so thankful I got to meet all of these new friends and hang out with them as they did their work here in Kazakhstan. It has been interesting being on this side of things rather than being a delegate. I think I really like it, plus going to the train station was not a sad thing because I didn’t have to get on it to go home. I don’t want to assume too much but I think I could get used to that.

Now we still have three of the delegates left here so things are a bit quite now but I still get to join them on their exciting adventures.

In the words of our team leader Walter, we will make peace not by two presidents talking and meeting together. We will make peace by the people meeting one on one and getting to know each other and building relationships by exchanging cultures. That is exactly what we are all here to do and that is why I came to Kazakhstan and I hope I will be able to spend lots of time in the near future working on building these relationships and furthering the work of my Dad.

P.S. Pictures will follow I just need to load them onto the computer but stay tuned.

Don't put the Father in a box

     On Wednesday, I got to go to this house where about six physically disabled boys live. When I walked into the room I didn’t know what to expect but from the description I got it sounded a lot like SFCV where I spent last summer. I thought I would be experienced in the area of disabled children but I walked in and there stood before me a little boy with no arms! I froze. I didn’t know what to do with him. At SFCV I never had a kid with no arms. I didn’t know how to play with him. I saw some blocks on the floor and I sat down with him hoping we would figure something out. This was definitely one of those moments when I was relying on my own knowledge and skills to be able to play with this boy. However, Dad had other plans I think that is why out of all the disabilities I saw in China, He chose the one I had never seen. Now looking back I am thankful He did because as I was sitting there with a panicked look on my face, this little boy began to play with these blocks all on his own with his feet! Let me tell you this little boy knew how to use his feet just like any other little kid with their hands. After we played with the block we brought out the bubble wands which he loved! Then came the balloons which we spent the rest of the time playing with. It was so adorable. He had the bubble wand in his feet and I would hit the balloon over to him and he would hit it like a bat. At this point I felt really dumb for doubting in the first place. I am glad that there are no limits to the things Dad can do even when I forget He is there to help me. Seeing that little boy smile reminded me that I’m not the one who brings joy to people’s hearts, I am only a vessel. Joy has already been one of the themes I have been feeling on this trip and I know that if I keep letting my Father do His thang then the joy that is in my heart will continue to overflow to all those who I meet. And that is something to be joyful about!!

My first week

Hello everyone,

     Today, well yesterday marked the end of my first week here in Kazakhstan! I am still having a great time and I am gradually settling into my home and work here in Taraz (which is the city I am living in). Everyday has been filled with some new experience and interacting with different groups of people has been fun. My Kazakh mom (Gulnazm) and my Kazakh sister (Guldonna) have been so inviting and they have taken me into their family as one of their own so quickly! Guldonna told me that before I came here she was an only child and now she has an older sister which she has always wanted and things aren’t so boring now. After my heart returned to its rightful place I told her I never had a sister either and now I do which has been fun! Gulnazm has been seriously like a mother to me. She takes care of everything; I have to hold on to my plate for dear life so I can wash it myself. She even packs my lunch for me. But don’t worry mom I’m not expecting that when I return home! J I have enjoyed sitting down at the table for meals and conversation over tea which we have with every meal and sometimes in between. I love tea so I’m good with it. Occasionally we watch tv while we eat which has been interesting. They usually watch programs in Kazakh like Kazakhstan’s got Talent, X Factor in Russian and this show called friends which is also in Kazakh but it’s so predictable I can understand what is going on. I have also enjoyed cooking with Gulnazm. She has been teaching me how to cook some of the traditional dishes of Kazakhstan and also Russia. I am glad I’m learning these things so I can make them back in America as well! These are the perks of being here on an internship rather than a delegation. I can spend time learning these things and trading cultures. Right now I’m learning how to cook Borsht and I made a salad which is veggies and mayo, another Russian/Kazakh must have in every meal.

     So some of the things I got to do this week were so fun! As I mentioned in the first post, I got to go to Savva! I have also gotten to go to Saramoldyva another orphanage which I go to most days in the week. That has been fun because I am getting to know different kids as well as seeing ones from the last time I was here in 2011. Also just being in the office and getting to know my coworkers has been fun they are all great and are good sports with my slow and limited speech patterns. Some of them speak English though so that helps a little because sometimes I just don’t understand. I have started to make this dumbfounded face whenever someone says something I didn’t understand at all. It’s my, “can you repeat that” signal. I have also begun my Russian lessons. It will be nice to brush up on the things I forgot as well as add to the foundation already have. I have also successful ridden the Marshutka all by myself which I was a little nervous about. It was way easier then I made it out to be and I actually had a bit of fun in my 15min of independence in a foreign country. You have to appreciate those little things!

     Today I got a little taste of back home because it rained most of the day today, which I loved. I had fun explaining to people that I didn’t have an umbrella because in Portland we don’t use them. However, I also forgot a jacket so Ulan had to give me a ride home because I only know one Marshutka route. I proudly told Marina that I was cold today. This is significant because the first day I came to the office I had sandals on and freaked all of Taraz out because I wasn’t in on the fact that April is not a sandal wearing month. Even if it’s 80 degrees out and you are from Oregon where 70 degrees is a border line scorcher. So far I have been really enjoying my time here and I hope all of you back home are doing fine!

Moshing on the Marshutka

Hello Everyone!

I am doing well I made it safely with no complications. It was a long and lonely journey but I  guess that is best. My driver was nice and he brought all of my stuff back to my house while I was at Savva which was very nice. I got to spend my first day at Savva which was awesome! I spent time with the kids and as they were slowly waking up since I got there at 6am they would walk by. It was funny because those who knew me where not expecting me to be there and so when they walked by me they had to do a little double take and then they were like oh hey! and they came and gave me hugs. best of all I got to talk with Raya for pretty much the whole time! I also saw Sumit another one of my favorites, Ruslan, Faru! and others. and I got to talk with them almost all by myself!!!!!!! yay! that was so cool for me!I also got to eat my favorite breakfast of porridge! yum. after that I went home and met my host family. they are both very sweet and very nice and generous. I went to her nieces house and had tea and she was nice too and spoke English. She also had the most adorable chipmunk cheeked kids in the world! I wish I had a photo, but (Rachel these kids were definitely choco chip muffins!! and made Jordan's cheeks look tiny.) and (Matt, the boy was watching Legend of Korra, in Russian!!)ye ye! 

The language barrier has been interesting because it is measurably more broken down than the last time I was here. I can carry on conversations pretty well. I'm sure I sound really dumb still though, but of course they don't correct me on my grammar only when i say the wrong word and they are trying to understand me! they are both mostly Kazakh speakers so occasionally none of us will know the correct work to say! :) it's ok though that doesn't happen very often. I still feel so behind though with speaking because there is still so much I don't know or don't remember which is frustrating. I have to keep reminding myself I am blessed to even know the Russian that I know because some of the interns and people who come here don't know any language. I hope when I begin language lessons that will help. I really wish I remembered my numbers and verbs of motion! I know that would help me a lot especially when I am on my own at a store or riding the public transportation. By the way, yesterday I rode the Marshutka which is like a small bus that was an interesting experience considering I have ridden the bus in Oregon about well, once when I was little I could even tell you exactly when i did. There were so many people packed on and I felt like I was in a mosh pit and i couldn't get my power stance so I was falling over all sorts of people while being pushed around. It was one of those cross cultural experiences that I will never forget and will definitely take away from for the future. I know this is the first of many of these experiences!

Today was my first day at Interlink and it was pretty slow going at first but I got to go to Seramoldyva(sp) which my spell check just told me should be leaseholder so if you want to see the correct spelling please consult a detailed map and look at the southern border of Kazakhstan. Anyway, I hung out with Zarina and went to her English lessons which I will be taking over in May for a little while! It will be interesting because the little kids group speaks mostly Kazakh and I am quickly learning some words but man, i got to take it one language at a time!! Hopefully i will know both eventually. So that has been my stay here so far tomorrow I will be learning how to use the marshutka so I can ride it by myself which will be an adventure to say the least. I am looking forward to being able to plug myself in and see what will happen.It is so weird I don't even feel like i am in Kazakhstan. I just think like I am still in Oregon or something I don't know, I guess it just feels natural to be here. Maybe it's because I've been here so many times. Whatever it may be, the fact is that I am in freaking Kazakhstan!! oh ya! I hope all of you are doing great and staying out of trouble! Don't forget to skype me or facebook message me or e-mail. My e-mail ismari.russell@pcc.edu

REMINDER

Please use the "lingo" when talking with Mari on facebook, email, or on this blog. The lingo meaning please don't write out Ch$**ti@n words. Thank you.

You say Goodbye but I say Hello

As I sit here thinking tomorrow and the fact that this room will no longer be my home makes me sad. I am happy to be going home, but then again, whenever I think about leaving the kids or when they ask, are you going to America tomorrow in their broken Chinglish a knot starts to form in my throat. I have gotten to know the kids pretty well over the summer and I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet the people I did and form the relationships I now have. This experience has been very informative for me and it has, I believe helped me grow in ways that I didn't really expect. I have gathered a lot of insight through it all and I would never trade this chance of a lifetime. I have been able to meet some really cool and interesting people from all over the world and been able to share my experiences with them and they with me. That is one of my favorite things about missions trips. 
Back to saying goodbye. Today I had my final class and that was sad, but fun as well and it was a great way to sum up my time here as the English teacher. I got to do some face painting, hangman, play dough and of course eating of candy, or (tong) in Mandarin. For dinner I got to take four of the kids out for dinner which was hilarious and  blast! Tomorrow (wednesday) will be my final official day here at SFCV and trust me I am not looking forward to getting in that taxi to Beijing. Before I leave however, I will be running around the campus making sure that I get to say goodbye to everyone as well as doing some last minute tasks and packing up the few straggling items in my room. This trip has gone by so fast, I still remember when I first got here and now I am watching new interns come and see them in the position I was once in. I am now the seasoned veteran now that I have to leave, figures, but I am glad to see the willing volunteers lining up to work at SFCV. I will miss this place a lot and I know that the kids will be on my mind often! So many of them have become my little buddies and I wish I could take them home with me. 
Another sad farewell, it that of saying goodbye to the staff and the other interns here. I have gotten to know these great servants over the summer and it will be weird not to see them everyday. Life here has been fun and interesting  and I don't know what I'm going to do with myself going back to a house with only four people in it, at least my brother is back from school so that fourth spot can be filled without me having to start counting the fish tanks and my cat. Aside from all of the silliness, I can honestly say that this this opportunity has blessed me in so many ways and I have learned so much about myself, and God's plan for me as well as my friends and the kids here. He is working in China and it has been an honor to have been even considered to be a part of the work which is being done. I can't wait to share more about my experiences with all those who want to hear about them. I have a lot of things to talk about! This has been a whirlwind of an adventure and I am glad I got to spend it with my lovely friends Melissa. Going through this with her has been so great and has brought us closer together and for that I am very glad. We have been friends for so long that our families have become one and we even have a last name to prove it. We are the Russlinskys and proud of it! Friends are great to have but as they say family sticks around even through the roughest of times and I am blessed to have Melissa as family and to have been in China, which is her heart land and see through her eyes this place which has become an intricate part of her life and who she is. I am excited to see what the future holds for the both of us and I will be glad to say that this trip to China has been influential and a simply unforgettable experience. With that I will end and say as the kids here say, "see you last time!"


This has been M&M Adventures-China Edition, this is Mari signing out China side. 

Feeding and washing the SFCV dogs :)

 I have no idea how but this summer, I was in charge of feeding the dogs at lunch and washing the dogs at least once a week.

Nope, I still have no idea.
Maybe it was because Philip asked me so nicely if I could have this role. So being the sucker that I am, I would help Philip put leftovers in the lunch bowls, give them to the dogs, wash the dishes, and then take it home. We would do this everyday Monday through Friday. Elizabeth and Joseph came along most of the days to call out for the dogs to come out for lunch.
When Philip left with his forever family, Joseph started feeding the dogs after his lunch. Hopefully he will keep up with it when I leave.

We also had the opportunity to wash the dogs. I remember the first week I was here, Elizabeth came up to me and said: " Dogs smell stinky. They need a shower!"
Whenever the kids would want to wash the dogs, I would have them come by the inn after school and then I would have some of the kids at least help with some parts of the showering process. It was a great activity to do with Elizabeth, Joseph, and Philip and I will never forget it. :)

Joseph giving the dogs their lunch!

Posted by Melissa

Taking one day at a time.

Do you ever have those days when you think to yourself, "This was such a fantastic day! Could it get any better than this?"
That's what I felt about Thursday July 5, 2012.
I had a great day with my therapy kids, awesome fellowship with my dad's church team, and I will never forget the memories I made walking home after eating lots of food at Hot Pot.
As I was about to get ready for bed, I glanced at my IPOD and noticed a text message from my mom.

It read: Attention-Stephen Shaffer (my cousin) is not breathing. Start praying. Paramedics are working on it.

When my mom said that the paramedics were working on starting up his heart, I had utter peace that everything was going to be fine until my mom wanted me to log on to Skype.

I had never seen my mom wail as loud as she did that night. She begged me to wake up my dad even though he was sound asleep. (Back story for this: See my dad's team had been quite busy that day and so he went to bed right away) I don't know how but by the grace of God, my dad woke up to me saying " Mom's on Skype crying and Stephen stopped breathing. Come up please!"

Then started the longest, most difficult Skype time I have ever experienced. My mom was trying to get a hold of my cousin's family to see if there was any new news. There was even a time in the beginning of our Skype time when my mom read a text saying: Stephen may not be with us anymore. When you experience a tragic accident in your family, everything flashes before your eyes. I remember at one point of the time, I was just lying on the ground as my dad was trying to comfort my mom through Skype and Mari was on the couch praying. I lay on our dirty apartment floor thinking, This is not happening to me. Are you kidding Lord? This is so not happening right now. At the end of that Skype date, they told us Stephen had experienced a cardiac arrest and was in a coma. I then went to bed wondering what was happening to my cousin just across the sea.

The next morning, I was completely numb. We all handle grief in our own different ways don't we? While I was lying around in my apartment, skipping my therapy time, and gluing myself onto Facebook to see any updates about my cousin, my dad needed to be in action so he ended up playing with the kids around SFCV. I couldn't possibly handle the idea of playing with the kids while across the ocean my cousin was fighting to stay alive!

As I was sitting on the couch trying to figure out if the night before had really happened, my friend came walking in to tell me this:
" Do you want to hear more bad news today?
"What?"
"Melanie passed away this morning."


This was a tribute I made to her the day of her passing. During my time here at SFCV, I saw her every afternoon and I couldn't believe I would never see her in the blue little wheelchair again:

Wish I had taken a picture with you this year and the fun times we had together in therapy. I will never forget the last day we had where you would scoot around in your little blue wheelchair and I would make you eat smarties by placing the

smarties on your elbow and having you eat them. Even though you were here on this earth for only 2 1/2 years, you were such an inspiration to me to never give up and keep on trying. Love you Melanie. See you in Heaven.

I could tell you a big fat lie that I was OK and moved on through the day with a big smile on my face. But I didn't, I had my friends distract me the whole day with watching TV shows as a way of getting me out of the reality that my cousin was fighting for his life and one of my therapy kids just passed away. But to be honest, it didn't really help as much.

Later into the night, Mari, our other friend, and I decided to have a prayer time for what had been going on through the day. And I realized how much I had been bottling up all these emotions....
I realized that I wasn't giving all of this over to God. Yes, I would be praying throughout the day saying: " Jesus, heal my cousin." But was I earnestly praying for him or just being anxious about the situation?

Luckily, a couple weeks later, God performed an amazing miracle and healed my cousin. He is now currently back to work after a month from having his cardiac arrest! Can't you believe it?

God used this situation in my life to help me understand how much I needed to trust in him even when I was thousand miles away. I am suppose to grab hold of God because He is the rock in which I stand.

I want to leave you with these verses: Romans 8:28-29. God showed me this to remind myself that He is in Control! Thank goodness I can rely on him!!

Posted by Mel

When it Rains, it Pours

Being a native Oregonian, I have always loved the rain. It is the perfect state for weather to be in because in the summer it keeps things from being too hot and in the winter it keeps things from being too cold. I also just love the gloomy sky and the self reflective mood that it puts me in. So because of my love for the rain it was no surprise to me that at the sight of it here in smoggy, humid, hot China that I would be thrilled. Everyday it rains brings me joy. I never thought I would be so happy at the sight of wearing pants in the summertime. It has been raining a lot here this summer, even more than it has back home in Oregon.
Although I am glad to see the rain, not many people share this feeling with me. One reason is because the rain here is a bit harder than in Oregon and in larger amounts which makes life difficult for a place with no drainage system. In Beijing as I'm sure many of you heard back in the states, there was massive flooding in the city and over 100 people died as a result of the flooding and other causes connected with it. Back here at SFCV, we had some flooding problems of our own as our laundry room flooded and a storage room which was filled with 10 new refrigerators had almost 2ft. of water in it. Along with that the river across the street rose to ground level and filled the streets with large puddles of water. We were all fine here thankfully and now things have been able to dry out for the most part, even though we have still had some rainy days here and there.
The greatest part about the rain here in China and the part I as an Oregonian do not understand is that when it rains all scheduled events cease. You would think it is like acid rain here the way the they break out the umbrellas for one drop of rain. Or how school gets cancelled if the rain is too hard, and most sickness here is blamed on the rain. If these people lived in Oregon they wouldn't get anything done. Just another one of those cultural things that I will never understand but am content in just going with it.
Posted by Mari

Paul Simon

 Life has been interesting here at the Inn for new reasons as of late because we got a temporary new roommate. His name is Paul Simon and he is the cutest little kitten! One of our friends found him outside being attacked by the dogs and so because I am a cat lover, I took him in and gave him a bath. As I was showering him with a lather of tea tree filled soap I noticed that it had tons of fleas on it and so later My roommates and I spent the afternoon bathing the cat and picking off all of the fleas. It was pretty nasty, there was one point were I almost threw the cat because there were so many fleas crawling around. After a few lice treatments and a good brushing we had the fleas off of the little guy and he joined us in our room and at night we kept him in his makeshift bed...aka a bird cage. Even though he was super cute, we couldn't keep him, which honestly wasn't too sad for me as he was a talker and wouldn't be quiet unless he was being held a certain way. It was fun while it lasted, he was a sweet cat that is why I named him Paul Simon because if he were a human he would  have written a love ballad just like his names sake. So now I say so long to him because cats may come and cats may go and never change your point of view. Here are some more pictures of the little dude.

My Boys!

It was bound to happen. The time when your mind rationalizes the packing of a child in your suitcase. This moment has come to me before and will probably happen again. I have come to love these kids over the course of a little over a month that I have been here and I can't bear the thought of leaving them. I will miss them a lot. I have enjoyed the time I've had with them and I will surely remember this summer for years to come.
As you can imagine, there are a few kids here that I have been able to form extra special bonds with and these are the ones that I will be packing in my suitcases, good thing I brought two!
First is Luke. He is a precious little 5 year old who has stolen my heart. He is the cutest little thing. I though he was Filipino the first time I saw him and he had an Aztec Indian hair cut until they buzzed it off. He has one of those wind up laughs that comes out when you tickle him or spin him around in circles. We have fun dancing together and playing karate kids together. I have been teaching him the basic Mr. Miyagi moves. We always start and finish our battles with an Asian bow.

Next is Eric. Eric is in my Primary class and he is 7 years old. He is smarter than he will let on and is a little charmer. He is one of the craziest, dramatic yet sweetest boy here. He has his moments of terror like any little boy would, but he can turn right around and be holding hands with the two younger girls in his house while escorting them home. It's no wonder why the girls are all little princesses here, the boys even if they are just 1year older than them, all act like big brothers to them and give them kisses and such. It is so precious. I think that is one good thing that orphanages can provide is a good family dynamic among the kids themselves. They take care of each other. Eric's English is pretty good and he enjoys art time as well.
There is however a catch with these two boys however. As much as I'd love to beg my parents to reconsider the amount of children they have ;) these two boys cannot be adopted by foreign families because they were dropped off at their orphanages and have no papers and therefore cannot be adopted unless they are adopted by a Chinese family. I would love to have these two boys become apart of someones family if not mine, so please pray that they will be able to find a good family here in China, or that the government might reanalyze their policies. :) I know it is going to be hard for Eric in the next few months as pretty much all of the kids in his class and around his age are matched and are going to be going home to America with their new families.
I love these boys and I am glad to have been able to spend my summer with them!
Here are some pictures of the boys and I.

 Eric being Chinese Bruno Mars at BBQ.

 Luke at VBS with the Panda team.

 Eric and I making our usual faces for the camera.

 Hands up and ready to Ninja fight, don't let the cute face fool you he is deadly!!
Posted by Mari

M&M sandwich!

One day, Philip wanted to take a picture with Mari and I. Right before we were about to take the picture, I (Melissa) looked over at her to motion a kissy picture. Here are the results:

We then decided to do it to Joseph. :)

 And then after seeing Joseph's reaction, Eric wanted a turn as well. :)

We definitely have had precious memories with these wonderful kids. Please continue to pray for us as we finish our last week here. We are both dreading saying goodbye to our kids.
Thanks!

Where else would I be?

Do you ever find yourself complaining about everything?

...................But not just complaining about one specific area but complaining throughout the whole day?


Recently I have caught myself grunting about living and working in China, saying statements such as:

"Why can't Tyler (autistic boy) realize it is ok to pet our dog Stevie?"
"Can't Vincent just for once not cry during a therapy session?"
"Ugh, Macy did not just not just slobber all over my arm?"
"Why do I not speak Chinese and have the therapy aides make fun of me for using it?"

As you can see, I realize how much these negative comments can take over the reason I am here. I get so focused on the negativity that I forgot that these complaints are actually reasons I love being here:

 I love the opportunity of playing with Tyler for thirty minutes. It is such a great session to be able to just let him be independent in his world while trying to pull him into our world.

Even though Vincent can be a handful to work with since he is irritable, I love the moments where he will surprise me in therapy. Like just the other day, he was trying to scoot himself to a toy. Oh and when he smiles, it totally brightens my day. :)

I love the opportunity to work with Macy. She has a tendency to hit herself when she feels scared or nervous. For several of our therapy sessions, I have taken off her arm bands and just held her close to have her resist hitting her face. Our therapy session on Friday, she fell asleep in my arms. It was quite adorable and I totally wish someone took a picture of it!!

And for the language part, it is an area where I have been trusting the Lord in. He definitely has shown me I need to be learning this language. One of my good friends though has been spending time with me to learn some keys phrases to help with therapy. Love you Sara! One day I will be fluent in Chinese but as of right now, I need to just take it one phrase at a time.

God has brought me here for reasons I still don't know yet. Yes, I can complain about it and wish I was in the comfort of America. But where is the adventure in that? The Lord wants me here for the summer and the truth of the matter is this:

There is no place I would rather be but here.
Melissa

Not the same as last year

Hello again! Melissa, here. As many of you know, this is my second time here at SFCV. Last year, I came as a ESL intern and spent most of my time with the school children. I made lots of new friends and G sure opened me up to what passions He has given me in my life.
As I prepared myself for this coming trip, I wanted everything just to be the way I wanted it to be. To be honest, I didn't really desire to be pushed on this trip and just wanted to have it be a relaxing time doing therapy with the kids.


Ok....you can stop laughing now. I already have. :)

This trip has been hard to be brutally honest. The Father has definitely pushed me in areas I didn't necessarily want to work on.

-He has shown me a lack in proper therapy for special need orphans in general. Not in that the Ayis aren't doing their job right but some of the orphans can be too challenging for them and they don't have the right training for it.
-He has shown me to keep trusting in Him since after all He is the Creator of the Universe.
-He has shown me the need for me to learn the language especially if the Father desires for me to live in China.
-He has also shown me the need to have faith in EVERYTHING I do.

I can go on and on but what all this rambling comes down to is this: This trip is not the same as last year and it never will be!!! Why do I think it is though? Why do I compare this SFCV internship with my last one?
I have also realized in the midst of this on how important it is to focus on each day at a time: to not be  caught up in the perfect schedule but letting G to bend it as He wishes. :)


Please keep M&M in your pr*yers as we finish up our last three weeks at SFCV. Thank you all for your support. We love you all!

These verses popped up in my head as I was typing this post :
 Joshua 1:9-^"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” 

Art Time

Every Monday and Thursday, I have art time with the Primary class which are the oldest kids at SFCV. This is my favorite time of the week!! I get to have fun getting paint all over myself and the kids enjoy it too! I have always loved getting my hands dirty and the look of paint blotches on my hands and  paint under my fingernails is a very satisfying feeling for me. The kids have been having fun creating wonderful works of art while also putting some of the paint on the canvas too. So far they have made marble paintings, color wheels, sponge paintings and ink trees. It is always interesting as I do projects with different groups of kids to see what creative ideas they come up with and how they intemperate the idea of the project I assign. Some of the concepts that i have tried to convey have become lost in translation and so some of the projects we have attempted have become just another painting, but luckily art is subjective and everyone interprets it differently so if they miss the concept completely that's ok as long as they have fun I am glad! Not everyone may agree with me, but I think that art is very important for developing well rounded people in any arena. I think you are never too old to have fun doing art and so I love it when the staff helpers get in on the action and do the art projects along with the kids. When creativity is silenced nothing can be accomplished whether you are a businessman, a banker or a doctor, artistic thinking is always useful. Because of that, it is my mission to instill this way of thinking in the minds of all the kids i work with so that in turn, our society can continue to become more innovative. You may be laughing now that I traced innovation back to elementary art class, but I think that this is a relevant thought, and I think it is evident in everyday life that art is important! Besides, who doesn't love art? Even if you are "bad" at art, you still can't deny that slapping paint on a canvas does not bring joy to your heart. I am so glad that I have been able to do art with the kids and I have been trying to incorporate it into their English lessons as well because I know that English grammar can be boring. I  enjoy the challenge of trying to make my projects go with what they have been learning in class just so they can get more practice using the English vocabulary. It also helps class a bit more bearable. That is my schpeel on the importance of art, and if you are an unsatisfied parent in the public school system I would love you talk to the school district and give them some testimonials so that your art program will not be cut! :) Art is creating beauty in this dark world and I count it an honor to help facilitate that an day. You may think that I am using strong language about this topic, but I think that art is very important and to suppress creativity would make this a very dull world, and I am not interested in living on that planet.
Posted By Mari

P.S. no one told me you have to resize the pictures before you upload them, so that is why they are so huge. :) technology is not my forte. Just click on the photo and it will display them in a smaller size.

Vincent my buddy

Vincent is one of the little boys I see from 9:00am-9:30am Mon-Fri. He has severe skin allergies which may be the cause of why he is developmentally-delayed.(I'm not an expert on this but this is what I think)  He is almost three years old but he is at the developmental stage of a 6 month old.

As of right now, I try to do as much tummy time as he allows me. Sometimes he likes it and will be on it for fifteen minutes. But today, he would do tummy time at all so I just ended up holding him.

Vincent doesn't get a lot of attention from people as he is in a house full of adorable baby girls. He can sometimes be irritable when you move him in different positions. (For example: tummy time)

I must say I never payed that much attention to him last year so I am so glad I see him every day. He is starting to recognize me now and hates it when our therapy sessions are over.

Oh and by the way, Vincent has a forever family too. :)

When trust is the issue, the leap of faith is hard.

As many of you know, one of the reasons I came here to China was so that I could discover what the future holds for me and what my purpose in life is. A tall order, I know. However, this was a reason non the less. I have only been here for a week and my mind is already on a rampage in attempting to reach self discovery. The whirlwind of thought has been plaguing with ideas of what I am supposed to be doing in life. I am still at a bit of a loss though, this loss which I have let become the bane of my existence for the past, well like 3 years! I have a problem with patience when it comes to things concerning my future. I am getting to the point where I am going to have to decide what to do with my life as far as school and I am still completely in the dark as to what that will be. I know that G has a plan for me, but waiting for that to be revealed is a whole nother issue in itself. I would really appreciate if you could lift up this burning question to the Father to give me clarity to know how I should proceed. I know that the His power is so much stronger and His will is already written for me and I just need to trust in that plan. Please pr'y that I will be patient and wait for His perfect timing and that it will be obvious to me where I should follow Him. I have been so blessed to have great friends here who have already given me council. Sometimes I struggle with pr'er and so I ask that you would help me in this area to help calm my anxieties and just give my future to G and let Him take care of it as He has promised to do time and time again. Melissa and I were looking up schools today and different majors and after talking through a number of different options, I just had to tell her what my dream job was, which was really nothing we had mentioned. I have an idea of what I want to do, but I haven't found a way academically to achieve that dream. I know that if it is meant to be than it will happen and I live by that phrase, but it is still hard to trust and wait. As I mentioned before and as you probably can see if you read this whole post, a very large chunk of my brain is being dedicated to the thought of my future. I need to live in the present and give the future back to G. Please pr'y that I can do that and that G will show me the way! Also pr'y that I will be willing to take a leap of faith and not be afraid of failure as I have become accustomed to doing. I want to make myself available just until the point of discomfort, than I dig my heels into the ground never to be moved again. I have turned myself into human concrete which no jack hammer could loosen. I feel like I am preventing my own progress and keeping myself at a standstill for fear that if I proceed something bad will happen. My fear isn't even rational for the most part, the very fact that I can't see the future and can't anticipate my next move is what is bogging me down from moving forward and making progress. I have always lived in a state of safety and no risk. The statuesque has always been kept for me and I have never really had to stretch myself. Well, I am done hindering myself from progress and I am finished with being safe. I need a challenge but I also need to tools to survive the battle, which I know I already have I just need to use them. My armors on and I'm all ready to go, I just need to know where and how and trust that when I run out  my fight will not be in vain nor will it be half hearted.

Posted by Mari

The start of the therapy intern.....

I (Melissa) just finished week one at SFCV. For me though, it feels like I finished week ten

 I definitely hit the ground running, reuniting with my primary and Kindergarten students, laughing with old and new intern friends, and staying in my same exact room and bed. (Note to self, when living at SFCV, always take the top bunk cause it is right next to the air condition.)

As I have told you before, I am the therapy intern for the summer. The typical phrase I heard  for the first couple of days was this:

"Ma-li-ssa, you teach English?"
" No, I am not."
" Then what are you doing here?"


No lie, I probably heard that twenty times since I have been here.

 But as I think about it more, I ask myself what am I doing here? What possible experience could I possibly give to these precious orphans? I have just finished my first year of the Occupational therapy assistant program which really is not enough.
I must truthfully tell you all, I definitely have felt overwhelmed these past couple of days. Dr. Ana (doctor at SFCV and my supervisor) keeps telling me that she is so glad I am here because of their need to better their therapy program. There is so much need for therapy in the kids that I have been googling links for OT therapeutic ideas, reading through my textbooks, emailing super awesome occupational therapists about different children, and figuring out with Dr. Ana what schedule we should base therapy on for the children.

 For being here for only a week now, I see the need for therapy.

I have also seen the good side of therapy here as well. There are two therapy aides currently at SFCV. They have told me their names but I keep forgetting them. We all work as a team and it it great to see their love for helping these precious ones.

Yes, I am the therapy intern, broken and pr@ying to G@d to hold my hand through these decisions about how to best treat each orphan through Occupational therapy.

When I am weak, HE is strong!

Melissa