Blessings in Disguise . . .

Over  the past couple days, some complications surrounding the timing of my receiving my (new) Russian passport arose.  Rather than bore everyone with every frustrating detail of the paperwork process, I'd like to assure everyone I am still participating in an internship at my former orphanage in St Petersburg, Russia.  Only the dates are changing. 

But, God knew all that ahead of time; He wasn't surprised.  Instead, some other really exciting doors haved opened in the interim:  First, I will be spending several weeks serving (abused and neglected) foster children at Camp Alandale, up in the mountains.  Secondly, I will be helping assist with a tour group of 10 orphans from Kyrgyzstan visiting OC in July.
Both these experiences will help me sharpen my goals for interning in Russia.  Both are consistent with my mission's theme "Love is the Key".  Love, God's love, is truly the key in bringing healing, wholeness and hope to both local foster children and international orphans.  

Besides being able to 'love on' local kids many of whom don't have a concept of real love, and serve the Kyrgis kids, a disproportionate whom are "Russian", some other newly realized benefits (of a winter internship) are:  

1) it provides an opportunity to work with a 'full house' of children as no groups (of resident children) will be away at summer camp and study administrative, housekeeping, culinary support when the orphanage is operating at the intensity of a regular rather than modified schedule, 
2) it affords me the opportunity to assist older, school-age orphans studying English curricula in school, 
3) it allows me to allocate more of my funds raised to programs that directly benefit the children vs merely offsetting travel (costs are half what they are in the summer months.
4) it provides me more opportunity to involve more people in my vision and get them excited about being 'the Key' to transformation in these children's lives.
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