A new girl

On Sunday we had a phone call from Victor, who had driven to Kramatorsk with a couple who works with orphans in Kirvy Rog...they had met an orphan girl at the church service there and would she be able to come to the trade school. Garry phoned Maxim  it was decided, so she got an chance to interview and decide about staying ---lots of room in the girls house, anyway.

Garry introduces Sweta to Max and Andrey

 Swetlana (Sweta) is a graduated orphan who got a diploma in greenhouse work, but was unable to get a job. She had a small room at a factory and a 300 grivna a month ($40) unemplyeement payment from the government).  She is a Christian girl who had atteneded the church there, taken English lessons with our friend Stacy last year, and was baptised this summer while working at the kitchen at a camp. She came with a bag of clothes and a cell phone to Dnepro, where they spent the night, we picked her up and brought here back to meet people at the school Monday afternoon.

Classes were on break when we drove up

We'll let you know how things turn out!

Hiking in Crimea

Andrei with his big backpack

Three of our students

 The students, along with a group of graduate orphans living in Zaporosia, and some adults took the train very early Friday (or late Thursday -3 am) to Crimea and returned Monday morning.

Our Andrei is one of the students from the village and went with the group, and borrowed our camera to take pictures, so here are some of them. Remember we want to give them lifeskills not just job skills, and this is part of the plan.

group photo

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Andrei with one of the two Maxims in school

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soup's on!

Katia's birthday

On Tuesday we were having the students for lunch between classes because their usual dinner arrangement was unavailable, the foster parents were having training last week. I had planned a nice dinner with a potato casserole, beans and fried cabbage, along with bread and dessert. I had thought about making pie, but I did cake instead. Garry had heard that Katia was having a few friends visiting, and it was an inspired choice that I made cake, because it turned out it was her birthday.

Katia is ready to blow out the candles with a full table of friends

 We got them all around the table and after a slight delay---I had not got the pototoes in the oven soon enough and we had to wait until 12:30 after Englsih class was over at noon. We found the latest television report online, while we were waiting, since some of the students had not seen it. After eating, I found some candles and we sang and had her blow out the 20 candles, she seemed to really enjoy it. She is a quiet student since school started, but has seemed happy lately. She had invited us to her party at the "girls house", along with all the students, and so you can see that I finally got some photos there. We ate dinner with everyone, lots of special salads, but could not stay for the cake and the rest of the fun, they were playng games when we left...or I left after playing a game, Garry had to run out and breed a cow somewhere in the village, he just got back in time for our drive to Dnepropetroesk for our English Bible study, or book study- we are doing Mere Christianity.

the dog-puppy at the girls' house

It's Masha the new translator in the kitchen

balloon time in the living room

shoes everywhere in the entry for the party

more balloons boucing off the walls over the couch

and more balloons!

Sasha is trying out the bunks beds- while Katia has her hair done in one of the bedrooms
 The boys and family moved into their remodelled house in the village the next day

So this is the "girls' house"

We're on television

Students doing lab at the farm on TV

Here's a link to the news story that was being filmed last week - it is in Ukrainian, but everyone can enjoy the pictures! Scroll to the bottom of the pqge to click on- and open the video - after you click this link.
the newest news broadcast

If you like to see the older news story with English subtitles, it is available on youtube, thanks to our project partners at New Hope, click this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEcGmAioKlA&feature=youtu.be

Hoping to get some photos of the houses this week, the boys and foster parents will be moving in this week, their house in the village has the renovations completed.

Television again?

This cow is 16 years old!

I don't know if you will be able to watch it on the internet again like last time, but we had television cameras back at the trade school and farm again yesterday. Here are a few photos I took while Garry had the students looking at the legs and feet on some cows outside the barn in the afternoon.
You can see the students were dressed up for the cameras. They taped at the classroom (even English class) and the girls' foster house where the students eat lunch everyday.

Last week on a foggy morning I snapped some photos of girls with wheelbarrows as two of the girls were doing their morning practicum-work experience. Andrei was filling wheelbarrows with brewers grain for them to feed the cows.