Global Aid Network Mission Reports

As reported by Duane Z.:

Greetings from Vladimir. What an incredible day we had! Our day began at 8am with breakfast and we looked at the story of Peter walking on the water and were reminded of the importance of taking steps of faith. We asked God to give us opportunities to take those small steps of faith even today. Our first activity was to meet our Russian interpreters and then go out in groups of four on a shopping trip to the market. Each group was given a list and our mission was to buy things like 250 kg of sugar, 25 kg of fish, bread, oranges, a vacuum cleaner and many other items. It was a fun exercise of sudden immersion in the culture. The items bought included gifts that we will be delivering to the sights we visit this week. Included were items for our lunch. Back at the hotel we prepared our own sandwiches for lunch and the departed for the Barskoe Orphanage.

Barskoe Orphanage was about an hour out of town and upon arrival we were greeted by about 30 children. The children had special needs but were wonderful kids. Our group gave a short program and then we split into three groups where we did crafts, shared our stories through pictures and visited the rooms they lived in. The MCA kids had a great time loving on these special children. Lots of hugs and smiles were exchanged. It was hard to pull away and waves and tears were part of the good byes. From there we traveled another 45 minutes to a Christian Rehabilitation Center. About 35 men and women are at this center for recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. Our group presented a program which included music, a testimony from Allie H. and a short message from Coach Anderson. We were told later that the men and women were touched by the message and our time with them. We also had the privilege of eating dinner with them and the staff. It was fun to see several of the students take the initiative to show their pictures as they chatted with the residents. We arrived back at the hotel around 10 pm and after assembling about 200 CarePacks, everyone went off to get a good night’s rest. In closing, everyone is well. We are rejoicing at God’s goodness and are looking forward to another great day tomorrow. Please continue to pray for us.