Day 1
Today started with music blasted out from the sound system to wake everyone else up- it worked. Showers and getting dressed were cut short by the call to breakfast, which turned out to consist of spaghetti with cheese on and marshmallows!!! Not what you might normally expect for breakfast but it was good food. Then the kids all had to go to the doctors so we hung around drawing pretty chalk pictures on the paths and making balloon animals and shapes for everyone. We also had a balloon for Timothy who was very brave. He managed to trip up and graze his knee so went to see the doctor. She cleaned it up and sprayed some random green stuff on it, so he ended up with a green sun shape on his knee- rather entertaining. The balloons were fantastic as we got to meet the kids and have a bit of a chat with then, try out our Ru
ssian and bug the translators for new words. Then it was ‘stations’ where we had four activities stationed in different places and the kids rotated round, 15/20 minutes at each station. We had races, sit down volleyball, human mazes and human paper scissor stone (or man, woman and gorilla as it ended up). Lunch was soup, meatballs and mash. Then we had a team meeting and our only real stretch of free time- sleep time for most of the group as it turned out!
After our lovely (and much appreciated) rest time it was snack time. We worked out that natural yoghurt might have been the closest thing to the drink we were given. However we were really not sure. We also got chocolate covered biscuits- all good.After snacks it was a quick change into beach gear and off to see this famous ‘hill of death’. Well all I can say for it is
that it’s not hard to get down- gravity is your friend in that respect. However getting down safely and in one piece proved slightly more difficult. The kids of course had no problems at all, they were skipping down like little mountain goats!We were sorry to see that the hill itself wasn’t the only danger around. The route down to the sea was littered with rubbish. The track was covered with broken glass and we passed a not insubstanti
al pile of rubbish. So please pray for the safety of the kids, that we will not be treating any cuts from all the glass. The view from the top of the hill though is worth a mention- It is stunning.
On the beach we have a set of ropes with floats on which are put out to give us a swimming area. And then the kids all take turns in the water. Each different age group was allowed in twice and the members of the international team rotated between the sea (where you get jumped on, splashed and generally used as a climbing frame) and a ball game on the beach with is a similar idea to volleyball, except it is played in a circle and if you are the last one to hit it to the ground then you have to sit in the middle.After about an hour/hour and a half we traipsed back up the hill- I was just a little puffed by the time I got to the top!Showers were followed by dinner- rice and meat of some sort and very welcome it was too after all the exercise.The evening activity was a formal introduction of all the team to the kids. We all had to stand up and say our name, where we were from and then our favourite food or colour. Impressively some of the team managed bits of theirs in Russian. Then final the bit we had all been longing and wishing for since we met the first child- the making of name badges for everyone. So between the translators and us we helped the kids (and each other) to write everyone’s name in both Russian and English.In the hour or so before the kids bedtime the international team managed to come up with a name (Bards for Jesus- chosen because of the large number of musicians in the group and the word bard translates almost identically into Russian), a poster and a song and dance routine (I’m sure we will tell you all about that tomorrow). Finally we had a good old worship session before heading off to our different wards to do bedtime stories. Each ward has a different age group in, ranging from 4 to 19- yes we thought that was a big range as well. We originally said 7–14 but if they sent 4 and 19 year old kids all the way from Belarus what can you do? And they are split up into 4 wards- 4 being the little ‘uns and 1 the big ‘uns. Tonight’s bed time stories were just a get to know the kids. We asked them things about themselves and let them ask some questions. This is one of the best times to have a good chat with the kids and really get to know them (or so we have been reliably informed. I have to say after this I can see that it could well be the case).Once all the kids had been settled and put to bed we were free to go to bed, or party the night away (quietly) depending on your energy level.
ssian and bug the translators for new words. Then it was ‘stations’ where we had four activities stationed in different places and the kids rotated round, 15/20 minutes at each station. We had races, sit down volleyball, human mazes and human paper scissor stone (or man, woman and gorilla as it ended up). Lunch was soup, meatballs and mash. Then we had a team meeting and our only real stretch of free time- sleep time for most of the group as it turned out!After our lovely (and much appreciated) rest time it was snack time. We worked out that natural yoghurt might have been the closest thing to the drink we were given. However we were really not sure. We also got chocolate covered biscuits- all good.After snacks it was a quick change into beach gear and off to see this famous ‘hill of death’. Well all I can say for it is
that it’s not hard to get down- gravity is your friend in that respect. However getting down safely and in one piece proved slightly more difficult. The kids of course had no problems at all, they were skipping down like little mountain goats!We were sorry to see that the hill itself wasn’t the only danger around. The route down to the sea was littered with rubbish. The track was covered with broken glass and we passed a not insubstanti
al pile of rubbish. So please pray for the safety of the kids, that we will not be treating any cuts from all the glass. The view from the top of the hill though is worth a mention- It is stunning.On the beach we have a set of ropes with floats on which are put out to give us a swimming area. And then the kids all take turns in the water. Each different age group was allowed in twice and the members of the international team rotated between the sea (where you get jumped on, splashed and generally used as a climbing frame) and a ball game on the beach with is a similar idea to volleyball, except it is played in a circle and if you are the last one to hit it to the ground then you have to sit in the middle.After about an hour/hour and a half we traipsed back up the hill- I was just a little puffed by the time I got to the top!Showers were followed by dinner- rice and meat of some sort and very welcome it was too after all the exercise.The evening activity was a formal introduction of all the team to the kids. We all had to stand up and say our name, where we were from and then our favourite food or colour. Impressively some of the team managed bits of theirs in Russian. Then final the bit we had all been longing and wishing for since we met the first child- the making of name badges for everyone. So between the translators and us we helped the kids (and each other) to write everyone’s name in both Russian and English.In the hour or so before the kids bedtime the international team managed to come up with a name (Bards for Jesus- chosen because of the large number of musicians in the group and the word bard translates almost identically into Russian), a poster and a song and dance routine (I’m sure we will tell you all about that tomorrow). Finally we had a good old worship session before heading off to our different wards to do bedtime stories. Each ward has a different age group in, ranging from 4 to 19- yes we thought that was a big range as well. We originally said 7–14 but if they sent 4 and 19 year old kids all the way from Belarus what can you do? And they are split up into 4 wards- 4 being the little ‘uns and 1 the big ‘uns. Tonight’s bed time stories were just a get to know the kids. We asked them things about themselves and let them ask some questions. This is one of the best times to have a good chat with the kids and really get to know them (or so we have been reliably informed. I have to say after this I can see that it could well be the case).Once all the kids had been settled and put to bed we were free to go to bed, or party the night away (quietly) depending on your energy level.
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